Woe to Ephraim
Woe to the proud crown of the adrunkards of bEphraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the fertile valley
Of those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and acourageous agent;
As a storm of bhail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of cmighty overflowing waters,
He has set it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is atrodden under foot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the fertile valley,
Will be like the afirst‑ripe fig prior to summer,
Which one sees,
And as soon as it is in his hand,
He swallows it.
5 In that day aYahweh of hosts will become a beautiful bcrown
And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;
6 A aspirit of just judgment for him who sits in judgment,
A bmight to those who turn back the onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also areel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
bThe priest and cthe prophet reel with strong drink;
They are swallowed up by wine, they stagger from dstrong drink;
They reel while having evisions;
They totter when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy avomit, without a single clean place.
9 “aWhom would He instruct in knowledge,
And whom would He provide understanding about the report?
Those just bweaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
‘aOrder 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 astammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is arest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of Yahweh to them will be,
“Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and astumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore, ahear the word of Yahweh, O bscoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have cut a acovenant with death,
And with Sheol we have made a pact.
bThe overflowing scourge will not reach us when it passes by,
For we have made cfalsehood our refuge and we have dhidden ourselves with lying.”
16 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh,
“aBehold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested bstone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
17 I will make ajustice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then bhail will sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your acovenant with death will be bcanceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the aoverflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will become its ctrampling place.
19 As aoften as it passes through, it will take you;
For bmorning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be sheer cterror to understand the report.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the ablanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount aPerazim;
He will be stirred up as in the valley of bGibeon,
To work His cwork, His dunusual work,
And to labor in His labor, His exceptional labor.
22 So now do not carry on as ascoffers,
Lest your fetters be made stronger;
For I have heard from Lord Yahweh of hosts
Of complete bdestruction, one that is decreed, on all the earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
Does he continually turn and harrow his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter acumin
And plant bwheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its area?
26 For his God disciplines and teaches him proper judgment.
27 For dill is not threshed with a athreshing sledge,
Nor is the wheel of a cart driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
But he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually disturb it,
He does not crush it longer.
29 This also comes from Yahweh of hosts,
Who has made His counsel awonderful and His wisdom bgreat.