1 And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of thea Lit valley of fatnessfertile valley
Of those who areb Lit smittenovercome with wine! | |
2 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, | |
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent;
As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,
He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. | |
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. | |
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of thec Lit valley of fatnessfertile valley,
Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer,
Whichd Lit the one seeing seesone sees,
Ande Lit while it is yetas soon as it is in hisf Lit palmhand,
He swallows it. | |
5 In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown
And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; | |
6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A strength to those who repel theg Lit battleonslaught at the gate. | |
7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink;
They reel whileh Lit seeinghaving visions,
They totter when rendering judgment. | |
8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. | |
9 “To whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast? | |
10 “For He says,
‘i Heb Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Ze’ er sham, ze’ er sham These Hebrew monosyllables, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preachingOrder on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’” | |
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, | |
12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. | |
13 So the word of the LORD to them will be,
“j V 10, note 1 The responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conquerorOrder on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. | |
14 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, | |
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And withk I.e. the nether worldSheol we have made al So some ancient versions; Heb seerpact.
The overwhelmingm Or floodscourge will not reach us when it passes by,
For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” | |
16 Therefore thus says the Lordn Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGOD,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation,o Lit well-laidfirmly placed.
He who believes in it will not bep Lit in a hurrydisturbed. | |
17 “I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies
And the waters will overflow the secret place. | |
18 “Your covenant with death will beq Lit covered overcanceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
Then you become its trampling place. | |
19 “As often as it passes through, it willr Lit takeseize you;
For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will bes Lit onlysheer terror to understandt Lit the report, or, the messagewhat it means.” | |
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the blanket is toou Lit narrowsmall to wrap oneself in. | |
21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon,
To do His task, Hisv Lit task is strangeunusual task,
And to work His work, Hisw Lit work is alienextraordinary work. | |
22 And now do not carry on as scoffers,
Or your fetters will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lordx Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGOD of hosts
Of decisive destruction on all the earth. | |
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my words. | |
24 Does they Lit plowmanfarmer plowz Lit all daycontinually to plant seed?
Does he continuallyaa Lit openturn and harrow the ground? | |
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter cummin
Andab Lit putplant wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within itsac Lit regionarea? | |
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly. | |
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheelad Lit rolleddriven over cummin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club. | |
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventuallyae Lit discomfitdamage it,
He does not thresh it longer. | |
29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great. | |
