Isaiah / Chapter 28

Isaiah 28

29 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 2 traditions available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 28 opens the sequence of six 'Woe' oracles (chapters 28-33) with a judgment against the drunkards of Ephraim, whose fading crown of glory will be trampled by an Assyrian flood. The oracle then pivots sharply to Jerusalem, where scoffing leaders have made a 'covenant with death' — trusting in lies rather than the LORD. Against their false foundation, God lays a tested stone in Zion: a precious cornerstone, sure and unshakable. Justice becomes the measuring line, righteousness the plumb line, and the refuge of lies is swept away. The chapter closes with a masterful farmer parable (vv. 23-29) in which God teaches that His discipline — like plowing, sowing, and threshing — is always purposeful, proportioned, and temporary. We rendered this chapter with attention to its structural irony: the mockers' babble-syllables become the instrument of their own undoing, and the cornerstone passage stands as one of the most important messianic texts in the prophetic canon.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Verse 16 introduces the image of the eben bochan — a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation laid in Zion. This language is quoted or alluded to in Romans 9:33, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:4-8, where it is applied directly to the Messiah. The farmer parable (vv. 23-29) is unique in Isaiah — an extended wisdom mashal embedded within a prophetic oracle, teaching that God's judgments are as purposeful and varied as the farmer's methods of plowing, sowing, and threshing. The tsav latsav, qav laqav refrain (vv. 10, 13) is one of the most debated passages in Hebrew prophecy: likely onomatopoeic mockery that God turns back on the mockers.

Translation Friction

We rendered eben bochan as 'a tested stone' rather than the traditional 'a tried stone,' since the Hebrew bochan derives from the root b-ch-n (to assay, to test metals for quality). The phrase 'covenant with death' (v. 15) is retained literally; it likely refers to a diplomatic alliance with Egypt, though some scholars see an allusion to necromancy or an occult pact. The tsav latsav, qav laqav syllables (vv. 10, 13) resist definitive translation — they may mimic a child's alphabet lesson, mock prophetic repetition, or be deliberately meaningless babble. We rendered them as 'command upon command... line upon line' to preserve recognizability while noting the mockery in the translator's notes. In verse 16, 'will never be shaken' replaces the KJV's 'shall not make haste,' following the Septuagint reading that Paul uses in Romans 9:33.

Connections

The cornerstone (v. 16) connects to Psalm 118:22, Zechariah 10:4, Daniel 2:34-35 (the stone that strikes the statue), Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, Romans 9:33, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:4-8. The 'foreign lips' judgment (v. 11) is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21 regarding the gift of tongues. The 'strange work' of God (v. 21) fighting against His own people reverses the victories at Perazim (2 Samuel 5:20) and Gibeon (Joshua 10:10-12). The farmer parable echoes wisdom traditions found in Proverbs and anticipates Jesus' agricultural parables. The 'covenant with death' reverses the covenant hope of Isaiah 25:8 ('He will swallow up death forever'). **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 11 has a variant in the 'stammering lips' passage. Verse 15 has the 'covenant with death' phrase. Verse 16 — the cornerstone passage quoted in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6 — is the theological centerpiece. Verse 21 references Mount Perazim and the Valley of Gibeon.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/28). Targum Jonathan provides interpretive renderings: The cornerstone is interpreted as a Messianic king. Jonathan decodes the architectural metaphor as royal prophecy: the foundation stone in Zion is the king whom God appoints there. See [Targum Jonathan on Isaiah](/targum/isaiah).

Isaiah 28:1

הוֹי עֲטֶרֶת גֵּאוּת שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם וְצִיץ נֹבֵל צְבִי תִפְאַרְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עַל־רֹאשׁ גֵּיא־שְׁמָנִים הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן׃

Woe to the proud crown of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading blossom of its splendid beauty, set on the head of a rich valley — those hammered by wine!

KJV Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Hoi' is rendered 'Woe' throughout these oracles as a standard prophetic exclamation of grief and judgment. The 'proud crown' (ateret ge'ut) likely refers to Samaria's hilltop position, wreathed like a garland above the fertile valleys of the northern kingdom. The participle halumei ('hammered, struck down') conveys violent inebriation, not casual drinking.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"crown of"

Identical consonantal text. The 'proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim' — the fading flower of their glorious beauty — is described identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:2

הִנֵּה חָזָק וְאַמִּץ לַאדֹנָי כְּזֶרֶם בָּרָד שַׂעַר קָטֶב כְּזֶרֶם מַיִם כַּבִּירִים שֹׁטְפִים הִנִּיחַ לָאָרֶץ בְּיָד׃

Look — the Lord has one who is mighty and strong. Like a storm of hail, a torrent of destruction, like a flood of mighty, overwhelming waters, he will hurl it down to the earth with force.

KJV Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The unnamed 'mighty and strong one' is the Assyrian king, used as God's instrument of judgment against Samaria. Three storm images — hail, destructive wind, and flood — pile up to convey irresistible force.
Isaiah 28:3

בְּרַגְלַיִם תֵּרָמַסְנָה עֲטֶרֶת גֵּאוּת שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרָיִם׃

The proud crown of Ephraim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot.

KJV The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The trampling metaphor completes the garland image from verse 1 — what was worn on the head in drunken revelry is now crushed beneath the feet of the invader.
Isaiah 28:4

וְהָיְתָה צִיצַת נֹבֵל צְבִי תִפְאַרְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עַל־רֹאשׁ גֵּיא שְׁמָנִים כְּבִכּוּרָהּ בְּטֶרֶם קַיִץ אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה הָרֹאֶה אוֹתָהּ בְּעוֹדָהּ בְּכַפּוֹ יִבְלָעֶנָּה׃

And the fading blossom of its splendid beauty, set on the head of a rich valley, will be like an early fig before summer — whoever sees it swallows it the moment it is in his hand.

KJV And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The early fig (bikkurah) ripened in June, weeks before the main harvest; its rarity made it a prized delicacy snatched up instantly. So Samaria will be devoured the moment the opportunity arises — eagerly and completely.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"first-ripe fig"

Identical consonantal text. The simile of the first-ripe fig — eagerly devoured as soon as it is seen — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:5

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת לַעֲטֶרֶת צְבִי וְלִצְפִירַת תִּפְאָרָה לִשְׁאָר עַמּוֹ׃

On that day the LORD of Hosts Himself will become a crown of splendor and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of His people,

KJV In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The contrast is sharp: Ephraim's proud crown fades (v. 1), but the LORD becomes the true crown for the faithful remnant. The phrase 'on that day' (bayyom hahu) marks the eschatological pivot within the oracle.
Isaiah 28:6

וּלְרוּחַ מִשְׁפָּט לַיּוֹשֵׁב עַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּט וְלִגְבוּרָה מְשִׁיבֵי מִלְחָמָה שָׁעְרָה׃

a spirit of justice for the one who sits in judgment, and strength for those who turn back the battle at the gate.

KJV And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The gate was the place of both civic judgment and military defense. God empowers righteous governance and courageous defense alike — a portrait of the restored community.
Isaiah 28:7

וְגַם־אֵלֶּה בַּיַּיִן שָׁגוּ וּבַשֵּׁכָר תָּעוּ כֹּהֵן וְנָבִיא שָׁגוּ בַשֵּׁכָר נִבְלְעוּ מִן־הַיַּיִן תָּעוּ מִן־הַשֵּׁכָר שָׁגוּ בָּרֹאֶה פָּקוּ פְּלִילִיָּה׃

But these also stagger from wine and reel from strong drink: priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, swallowed up by wine, reeling from strong drink. They stagger in their visions; they stumble in their judgments.

KJV But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The focus shifts from Ephraim to Judah's own leaders. The hammering repetition of shagu ('they stagger') and ta'u ('they reel') mimics the lurching of drunkenness. Both priest (kohen) and prophet (navi) — the twin pillars of spiritual leadership — are compromised.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"with wine"

1QIsaiah-a writes ביין with a shorter form. The drunkenness imagery — priests and prophets staggering with wine — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:8

כִּי כָּל־שֻׁלְחָנוֹת מָלְאוּ קִיא צֹאָה בְּלִי מָקוֹם׃

For every table is covered with vomit — filth with no clean place left.

KJV For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The revolting image conveys total moral and spiritual contamination among the leadership. These are banquet tables — the places where leaders deliberate and feast — now defiled beyond use.
Isaiah 28:9

אֶת־מִי יוֹרֶה דֵעָה וְאֶת־מִי יָבִין שְׁמוּעָה גְּמוּלֵי מֵחָלָב עַתִּיקֵי מִשָּׁדָיִם׃

'Whom will he teach knowledge? Whom will he instruct in the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?'

KJV Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The mockers speak sarcastically, implying Isaiah treats them like infants who need elementary lessons. Their disdain for prophetic instruction becomes the basis for God's devastating response in vv. 11-13.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"message/report"

Identical consonantal text. 'Whom will he teach knowledge? To whom will he explain the message?' — the people's mocking question about Isaiah's preaching. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:10

כִּי צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו קַו לָקָו קַו לָקָו זְעֵיר שָׁם זְעֵיר שָׁם׃

'For it is command upon command, command upon command, line upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there.'

KJV For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Hebrew syllables are nearly nonsensical, possibly mimicking a child's alphabet lesson or mocking the repetitive cadence of prophetic instruction. The effect is deliberate contempt: 'He just goes on and on with his little rules and little lines.' This mockery will be turned against the mockers in v. 13.
Isaiah 28:11

כִּי בְּלַעֲגֵי שָׂפָה וּבְלָשׁוֹן אַחֶרֶת יְדַבֵּר אֶל־הָעָם הַזֶּה׃

Indeed, through foreign lips and an alien tongue the LORD will speak to this people.

KJV For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Since they mocked the prophet's clear Hebrew, God will 'speak' through Assyrian invaders whose language they cannot understand. Paul applies this passage to the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:21, arguing that unintelligible speech is a sign of judgment, not blessing.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"stammering"

1QIsaiah-a reads לעגי identically in consonantal form. The passage about 'stammering lips and a foreign tongue' through which God will speak to this people is preserved in both traditions. Paul quotes this in 1 Corinthians 14:21 in the context of speaking in tongues. The DSS confirm the reading.

Isaiah 28:12

אֲשֶׁר אָמַר אֲלֵיהֶם זֹאת הַמְּנוּחָה הָנִיחוּ לֶעָיֵף וְזֹאת הַמַּרְגֵּעָה וְלֹא אָבוּא שְׁמוֹעַ׃

He had told them, 'This is the place of rest — give rest to the weary; this is the place of repose.' But they would not listen.

KJV To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God had offered genuine rest (menuchah) through obedience and trust, but their refusal transforms the gracious offer into a sentence of judgment. The theme of rest refused anticipates 30:15.
Isaiah 28:13

וְהָיָה לָהֶם דְּבַר־יְהוָה צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו קַו לָקָו קַו לָקָו זְעֵיר שָׁם זְעֵיר שָׁם לְמַעַן יֵלְכוּ וְכָשְׁלוּ אָחוֹר וְנִשְׁבָּרוּ וְנוֹקְשׁוּ וְנִלְכָּדוּ׃

So the word of the LORD will become for them command upon command, command upon command, line upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there — so that they will go and stumble backward, be broken, ensnared, and captured.

KJV But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The same babble-syllables the mockers used (v. 10) now become the instrument of their downfall — prophetic irony at its sharpest. The fivefold chain of consequences (go, stumble backward, be broken, be ensnared, be captured) conveys total and progressive destruction.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"command"

Identical consonantal text. The mocking repetition צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו (tsav la-tsav, tsav la-tsav — 'precept upon precept') is preserved identically. These may be nonsense syllables imitating Isaiah's preaching, or genuine Hebrew meaning 'command upon command.' The ambiguity is present in both traditions.

Isaiah 28:14

לָכֵן שִׁמְעוּ דְבַר־יְהוָה אַנְשֵׁי לָצוֹן מֹשְׁלֵי הָעָם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בִּירוּשָׁלָ‍ִם׃

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.

KJV Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The address shifts explicitly to Jerusalem's leaders — anshei latson ('men of scoffing'). This is no longer about Ephraim alone; the southern kingdom's rulers are equally culpable.
Isaiah 28:15

כִּי אֲמַרְתֶּם כָּרַתְנוּ בְרִית אֶת־מָוֶת וְעִם־שְׁאוֹל עָשִׂינוּ חֹזֶה שֵׁיט שׁוֹטֵף כִּי יַעֲבֹר לֹא יְבוֹאֵנוּ כִּי שַׂמְנוּ כָזָב מַחְסֵנוּ וּבַשֶּׁקֶר נִסְתָּרְנוּ׃

Because you have said, 'We have cut a covenant with death; with Sheol we have made a pact. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps through, it will not reach us, for we have made lies our refuge and hidden ourselves behind falsehood,'

KJV Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

שְׁאוֹל she'ol
"Sheol" — grave, underworld, realm of the dead

Retained as a proper noun for the abode of the dead, paralleling 'death' in the covenant metaphor. The leaders boast of immunity from death itself.

Translator Notes

  1. The 'covenant with death' likely refers to a political alliance with Egypt or possibly occult practices such as necromancy. Either way, it is a grotesque parody of covenant faith — trusting in death and lies rather than in the living God.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"covenant with death"

1QIsaiah-a preserves the phrase ברית את מות ('covenant with death') identically. Jerusalem's rulers have made a 'covenant with death' and an 'agreement with Sheol' — likely referring to a political alliance with Egypt, described in the most extreme theological terms. The metaphor influenced apocalyptic literature and is echoed in the Qumran community's own covenant theology.

Isaiah 28:16

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה הִנְנִי יִסַּד בְּצִיּוֹן אָבֶן אֶבֶן בֹּחַן פִּנַּת יִקְרַת מוּסָד מוּסָּד הַמַּאֲמִין לֹא יָחִישׁ׃

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Look — I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. The one who trusts will never be shaken.'

KJV Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

אֶבֶן בֹּחַן eben bochan
"a tested stone" — tried stone, assayed stone, proven stone

From the root b-ch-n meaning to test or assay metals for purity. The stone has been proven reliable through testing — it is not untried but verified.

פִּנַּת יִקְרַת pinnat yiqrat
"a precious cornerstone" — corner of costliness, valued cornerstone

The cornerstone (pinnah) anchors and aligns the entire structure. Its preciousness (yiqrat) indicates supreme value — this is no ordinary building stone.

Translator Notes

  1. This is one of the premier messianic texts in the Old Testament, quoted in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6, where it is applied to Christ. We render 'will never be shaken' rather than the KJV's 'shall not make haste,' following the Septuagint reading (ou me kataischythe) that the apostolic writers adopted. The Hebrew yachish can mean both 'to hurry in panic' and 'to be disturbed' — 'never be shaken' captures the intended sense of unshakable confidence.
2 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)theological

"a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation"

The cornerstone passage. 1QIsaiah-a reads אבן בוחן (with plene spelling of 'tested') but otherwise preserves the MT reading exactly. The full phrase: 'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation.' Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6 both quote this passage, identifying the cornerstone with Christ. The DSS confirm the pre-Christian form of this crucial text. The phrase 'the one who believes will not be in haste' (ha-ma'amin lo yachish) — trusting rather than panicking — is preserved identically.

Targum Jonathan (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)messianic

"Behold, I will appoint in Zion a king, a strong and mighty and terrible king."

The cornerstone is interpreted as a Messianic king. Jonathan decodes the architectural metaphor as royal prophecy: the foundation stone in Zion is the king whom God appoints there.

Isaiah 28:17

וְשַׂמְתִּי מִשְׁפָּט לְקָו וּצְדָקָה לְמִשְׁקָלֶת וְיָעָה בָרָד מַחְסֵה כָזָב וְסֵתֶר מַיִם יִשְׁטֹפוּ׃

I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will flood the hiding place.

KJV Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

קָו qav
"measuring line" — line, cord, measuring line, standard

The same word mocked in v. 10 (qav laqav) now becomes God's instrument of precise judgment. What the scoffers ridiculed as babble becomes the standard by which they are measured.

Translator Notes

  1. The construction metaphor continues: God builds with justice and righteousness as His measuring instruments, and what was built on falsehood cannot withstand the inspection. The hail and flood imagery echoes v. 2.
Isaiah 28:18

וְכֻפַּר בְּרִיתְכֶם אֶת־מָוֶת וְחָזוּתְכֶם אֶת־שְׁאוֹל לֹא תָקוּם שׁוֹט שׁוֹטֵף כִּי יַעֲבֹר וִהְיִיתֶם לוֹ לְמִרְמָס׃

Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps through, you will be trampled by it.

KJV And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The false security of v. 15 collapses entirely. The verb kuppar ('annulled, wiped away') uses the same root as 'atonement' (kippur) — but here the covenant itself is what gets 'covered over' and erased.
Isaiah 28:19

מִדֵּי עָבְרוֹ יִקַּח אֶתְכֶם כִּי־בַבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר יַעֲבֹר בַּיּוֹם וּבַלָּיְלָה וְהָיָה רַק־זְוָעָה הָבִין שְׁמוּעָה׃

As often as it passes through, it will seize you — morning after morning it will sweep over, by day and by night. Sheer terror will be the only way to understand this message.

KJV From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The judgment is not a single event but relentless — morning after morning, day and night. What they refused to learn through the prophet's words they will learn through the visceral experience of terror. The Hebrew ze'va'ah ('sheer terror, trembling') is the grim tutor.
Isaiah 28:20

כִּי קָצַר הַמַּצָּע מֵהִשְׂתָּרֵעַ וְהַמַּסֵּכָה צָרָה כְּהִתְכַּנֵּס׃

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.

KJV For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A proverb-like image of absurd inadequacy: their self-made security (the 'covenant with death') cannot cover or comfort them. It was never sufficient — the lie is exposed by simple experience.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"the bed"

Identical consonantal text. The proverbial image — 'the bed is too short to stretch out on and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in' — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:21

כִּי כְּהַר־פְּרָצִים יָקוּם יְהוָה כְּעֵמֶק בְּגִבְעוֹן יִרְגָּז לַעֲשׂוֹת מַעֲשֵׂהוּ זָר מַעֲשֵׂהוּ וְלַעֲבֹד עֲבֹדָתוֹ נָכְרִיָּה עֲבֹדָתוֹ׃

For the LORD will rise as He did at Mount Perazim; He will storm as in the Valley of Gibeon — to do His work, His strange work, and perform His task, His alien task.

KJV For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. At Perazim, God broke through the Philistines for David (2 Samuel 5:20). At Gibeon, God fought for Israel with hailstones (Joshua 10:10-11). Now the 'strange' reversal: He fights against His own people. The words zar ('strange, foreign') and nakhriyyah ('alien') emphasize how unnatural this is — judgment against His people is not God's native work.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"Perazim"

1QIsaiah-a writes פרצים identically. Mount Perazim references David's victory in 2 Samuel 5:20. The Valley of Gibeon references Joshua 10. God's coming work will be 'strange' (zarah) and 'alien' (nokhriyyah) — judgment against his own people. Both historical allusions are preserved identically.

Isaiah 28:22

וְעַתָּה אַל־תִּתְלוֹצָצוּ פֶּן־יֶחְזְקוּ מוֹסְרֵיכֶם כִּי־כָלָה וְנֶחֱרָצָה שָׁמַעְתִּי מֵאֵת אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה צְבָאוֹת עַל־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ׃

Now stop your scoffing, lest your chains grow even tighter, for I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a decree of destruction determined against the whole land.

KJV Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The warning bridges the judgment oracle and the wisdom parable that follows. The 'decree of destruction' (kalah venecheratsah) echoes 10:22-23 and conveys an irreversible divine decision. The scoffers' continued mockery only strengthens their own bondage.
Isaiah 28:23

הַאֲזִינוּ וְשִׁמְעוּ קוֹלִי הַקְשִׁיבוּ וְשִׁמְעוּ אִמְרָתִי׃

Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my words.

KJV Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A fourfold call to attention (listen, hear, pay attention, hear) introduces the farmer parable, emphasizing its importance as a wisdom teaching. The imperatives demand the engagement the mockers have refused.
Isaiah 28:24

הֲכֹל הַיּוֹם יַחֲרֹשׁ הַחֹרֵשׁ לִזְרֹעַ יְפַתַּח וִישַׂדֵּד אַדְמָתוֹ׃

Does the farmer plow all day just to sow? Does he endlessly break and harrow his ground?

KJV Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rhetorical questions expect the answer 'no' — plowing is purposeful preparation, not an end in itself. The parable begins with the most basic agricultural observation: there are seasons for every task.
Isaiah 28:25

הֲלוֹא אִם־שִׁוָּה פָנֶיהָ וְהֵפִיץ קֶצַח וְכַמֹּן יִזְרֹק וְשָׂם חִטָּה שׂוֹרָה וּשְׂעֹרָה נִסְמָן וְכֻסֶּמֶת גְּבֻלָתוֹ׃

When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter black cumin and sow cumin, plant wheat in rows and barley in its place, and spelt along the border?

KJV When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Each crop has its proper location and method — the farmer exercises careful discernment, not random effort. The variety of crops (black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, spelt) mirrors the variety of God's dealings with different people and situations.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"black cumin"

Identical consonantal text. The agricultural parable — the farmer knows when to plow and when to harvest — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 28:26

וְיִסְּרוֹ לַמִּשְׁפָּט אֱלֹהָיו יוֹרֶנּוּ׃

For his God instructs him and teaches him the right way.

KJV For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The farmer's skill comes from God — agricultural wisdom is itself a form of divine revelation. This grounding in theology elevates the parable: if God teaches even the farmer to work with purpose and proportion, how much more purposeful is God's own work of judgment and restoration?
Isaiah 28:27

כִּי לֹא בֶּחָרוּץ יוּדַשׁ קֶצַח וְאוֹפַן עֲגָלָה עַל־כַּמֹּן יוּסָּב כִּי בַמַּטֶּה יֵחָבֶט קֶצַח וְכַמֹּן בַּשָּׁבֶט׃

Black cumin is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin. Black cumin is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.

KJV For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Delicate seeds require gentle treatment — a heavy threshing sledge would crush them to powder. The analogy is clear: God's discipline is proportioned to what each situation and each people require. He does not treat everyone the same way.
Isaiah 28:28

לֶחֶם יוּדָק כִּי לֹא לָנֶצַח אָדוֹשׁ יְדוּשֶׁנּוּ וְהָמַם גִּלְגַּל עֶגְלָתוֹ וּפָרָשָׁיו לֹא יְדֻקֶּנּוּ׃

Grain for bread is crushed, but not forever does the farmer thresh it. He drives the cart wheel over it but does not grind it to dust.

KJV Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Even heavy threshing has its limit — the grain must be processed but not destroyed. God's judgment is severe but purposeful: it separates husk from grain, never annihilating the grain itself.
Isaiah 28:29

גַּם־זֹאת מֵעִם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת יָצָאָה הִפְלִיא עֵצָה הִגְדִּיל תּוּשִׁיָּה׃

This also comes from the LORD of Hosts — wonderful in counsel, magnificent in wisdom.

KJV This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The parable concludes by attributing all purposeful action — farming and judging alike — to God's sovereign wisdom. The word tushiyyah ('wisdom, sound counsel, effective working') emphasizes that God's plans are not merely intelligent but effective. His discipline always achieves its purpose.
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