1 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!

2 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.

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

4 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.

5 ¶ 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,

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

7 ¶ 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.

8  For all tables are full of vomit [ Drunk priests probably did throw up on tables, but even worse is the fact that they were spewing spiritual vomit on everybody around them. ] and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

9 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. [ In other words, He’s asking if you are spiritually mature enough to start to learn real doctrine or not? ]

10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: [ A way of saying that we learn incrementally, and that as we learn one concept well, God is prepared to teach us the next concept which builds on the first. Yet there is something more going on here. If you read it in native Hebrew. It reads “tsav le-tsav, tsav le-tsav, qav le-qav, qav le-qav.” It sounds almost like childish babbling of the sounds and rhythm. To further this impression, you should know that none of those are complete words. We can’t be certain, but it seems like Isaiah is using partial words to create an effect. The word “tsav” is part of the word for command, or commandment, which has been translated as “precept.” The word “qav” is part of the word for measuring. Because in the ancient world they measured with a line they stretched out, the King James translators rendered this as “line.” In reality the phrase we translate as “precept upon precept,” and “line upon line” would read more like “cept, cept, cept, cept, ine, ine, ine, ine.” With this in mind, listen again, and you will hear how the phrase “tsav le-tsav, tsav le-tsav, qav le-qav, qav le-qav” sounds like babbling, or baby-talk. ]

11  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. [ Isaiah is saying that what God is teaching will sound like stammering, or a foreign tongue to the portion of Israel who have been listening to the false prophets and priests who have been spewing forth spiritual vomit. To them the word of God will sound like all the Hebrew to someone who hears it for the first time. ]

12 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. [ If one is influenced by the ideas of the world – those ideas which are so continually pounded into us through our earbuds and our surround sound – they will prevail in our lives more than the things of God, and then the things of God will sound like nonsense and babbling to us. We won’t be able to receive His commands or teachings as He tries to measure them out to us. But when we listen to God, He will speak to us, we will hear Him, and He will teach us incrementally, precept by precept, line by line, whatever it is that we need to know. Another way of putting this is to say, as our Prophet has, “If most of the information you get comes from social or other media, your ability to hear the whisperings of the Spirit will be diminished. If you are not also seeking the Lord through daily prayer and gospel study, you leave yourself vulnerable to philosophies that may be intriguing but are not true. Even Saints who are otherwise faithful can be derailed by the steady beat of Babylon’s band.” ]

13 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.

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

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge [ Isaiah's wording in Hebrew is pretty cool - he does poetry and rhymes all over the place. The words for "overflowing scourge" actually sound nearly identical [shote shotep], and he uses it in several places in Chapter 28. There are several references in this chapter about an overflowing scourge and a flood of waters. This reference is often used to describe a large army, as with the Assyrian army, whose "mascot" or catchphrase was that they were as an overwhelming / overflowing flood. The previous references point to a scourge, which we in our biblical parlance usually associate the word "scourge" with a disease, but the Hebrew word here literally means "a whip", so it is a punishment of some sort. This reference to Mount Perazim points to this overflowing flood being directed by God to punish the wicked. The setting of this chapter really speaks a lot about the drunkards of Ephraim, which, as you all probably know, I believe is the wicked leaders of our nation and associated secret combinations. The story of the city of Gibeon is also pertinent: it was a Canaanite city that the Israelites were supposed to destroy. But before they knew about the city, its leaders tricked Joshua into making a covenant of protection with them. The Israelites honored the covenant but sentenced the city to servitude (wood cutters and water carriers). Two other notable points in the Bible: the covenant with Gibeon was honored even generations later by David, at God's direction; and solomon saw God in a vision at Gibeon. When v 21 speaks of the Lord being wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, it is in reference to King Saul killing many Gibeonites despite their earlier covenant of protection, and a 3-year drought that occurred as a punishment for it. Later, during that drought, King David was told by the Lord the cause of the drought and was told to deliver 7 descendants of Saul to the Gibeonites for execution to repent of the broken covenant. The 7 descendants is explained by many that it is a number of completion, but most commentators really overlook / ignore the prime symbol of the number 7 among the Israelites: it is the completion of a _covenant_ above all things. These two references, then, point to an overflowing victory of the Lord by miraculous means over those who have broken a sacred covenant, and likely the breaking of that covenant involves killing those who are not in positions of power, such as servants. ] shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation [ The placement is in Zion, and the stone laid has certain qualities required for a solid foundation. ] a stone, [ The Savior. ] a tried stone, One that is tested. [1) found good, faithful, or trustworthy through experience or testing 2) subjected to trials or distress. A good mason will always check the integrity of a brick of stone before placement. This is often done by tapping on the stone or brick in a few places to test the strength, and to check and see if the stone will break down under the pressure of the extra force. If the stone or brick passes it has been tried. The idea is, that you would not lay a foundation with a stone whose qualities are unknown, and whose stability might be doubtful, but one whose firmness and solidity were so fully known, that the foundation and the superstructure would be secure. In this case we are speaking of the Savior- one who was certainly been tried and tested; and is most worthy to be the chief cornerstone. ] a precious corner stone, [ Precious in that there are only a very few stones that would meet the qualifications for size, color, and strength (having been tried); to be considered as a corner stone. ] a sure foundation: [ = safe from harm or danger; firmly established : steadfast; reliable, trustworthy; - sure in the fact that he that trustieth in it will not perish, sure in the fact that it is true in every way. ] he that believeth shall not make haste. [ This is a direct reference tp the son of God. He is the corner stone, he is the tried stone, he is the precious stone, and he is the sure foundation. So it is upon him that we will build the holy city under his direction. ]

17 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.

18 ¶ 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.

19 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.

20 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.

21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, [ Mount Perazim was a mountain or hill where King David beat the Philistines in a battle. The word "Perazim" means "breaking through, as with the bursting of waters". ] he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, [ Reference to Joshua when he bring Israel across the Jordan. ] that he may do his work, his strange work; [ In Hebrew, "His awesome / awe-inspiring deeds". ] and bring to pass his act, his strange act. [ Which is the restoration of the gospel. Or the gospel that is restored will bring forth things that are strange to the world - Baptism for the dead; Young missionaries going out into the world paying their own way; Have a living prophet. So the wording of the "strange act" that follows these references is tied back to the happenings in verse 15. The "awe-inspiring" [zar] is far more often used in terms of foreign or strange, and the word is also used in describing adulterous actions by euphemism (the Israelites didn't like to speak of sexual sins or other abominations directly - they felt that it was inappropriate to do so). Second is His act: "nokri" is also usually used to describe foreigners, but also generally to describe adulterers - in fact, more often adulterers (again as a euphemism) than foreigners. The "act" here is "labor or service", from the word for servant or slave: Obed. This is the name of King David's grandfather, the son of Boaz and Ruth. It is also the beginning of the name of one of the prophets: Obadiah (servant of God). Interesting that this single verse 21 has 3 specific references to King David, and then the two side references to him through adultery. The first two references to King David are pointing to him winning a battle miraculously as a flood, then correcting a broken covenant. The last two are obscure and hard to read correctly. The Lord's actions, however strange, are not likely to include adultery. The connotation of both of these "foreign" words is nearly always negative, except a couple of instances when "zar" is taken to mean "awe-inspiring". I think here the most appropriate translation should be "offensive" - meaning, that these actions of the Lord will be seen as offensive by the world. Note that the execution of Saul's descendants over Saul's actions is something that our world would find horribly offensive, but which in their day would have been accepted as completely justified. One thing to note is that "nokri" sometimes is used, although rarely, to indicate "gentiles", which I would take to mean "descendants of Ephraim" generally if this is the intended meaning here. so in summary, the meaning, would be this: As the Lord enabled an unexpected victory for David upon Perazim, and as His wrath (over a broken covenant) was appeased by a scourge (the drought and then punishment of Saul's descendants) at Gibeon, the Lord will do similar miraculous but offensive things to punish the drunkards of Ephraim in the last days. Also note that the punishments on the drunkards of Ephraim will likely include armies and executions. ]

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands [ something that restricts you. ] be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. [ This event is the second coming. So before this God will do a strange act and what is that? It is the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Verse 21) ]

23 ¶ Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] , and hear my speech.

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

25 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?

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

27 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.

28 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.

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