The Captivity of Ephraim

1Woe, to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,†

and the withering flower, the beauty of his glory,

which is at the head of the valley of fatness,

those having been struck down by wine!

2Behold, a mighty and strong one

is unto the Lord,

like a storm of hail and a tempest of destruction,

like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,

He will bring it to the ground with the hand.

3With his feet, the pride of the crown of the drunkards

of Ephraim will be trampled.

4The fading flower, the beauty of his glory

that is on the head of the valley of fatness,

will be like a ripe fig before summer,

which the one seeing it sees,

and with it still in his palm, he swallows it.

5In that day YHWH of Hosts will be

a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of His people,

6and as a spirit of justice for the one sitting in judgment,

and as strength for those turning back the battle at the gate.

7And also these through wine have erred,

and with strong drink have wandered;

priest and prophet have erred through strong drink

and are swallowed up by the wine,

they go astray through strong drink;

they err in vision, they have stumbled in judgment.

8For all the tables are full of vomit

and filth without a place to stand.

9To whom will He teach knowledge?

And to whom will he explain the message?

Those weaned from milk?

Those removed from the breasts?

10For,

“Order on order, order on order;

line on line, line on line;†

a little here, a little there.”

11For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue

He will speak to this people,† 12to whom He said:

“This is the resting, may they give rest to the weary,

and this is the refreshing,”

they were not willing to listen.

13And the word of YHWH will become to them

“Order on order, order on order;

line on line, line on line;

a little here, a little there,”

that they might go and stumble backward,

and be broken and ensnared and captured.

A Cornerstone in Zion
(1 Corinthians 3:10–15; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:1–8)

14Therefore hear the word of YHWH, O men of scorning,

rulers of this people who are in Jerusalem.

15For you⁺ have said, “We have cut a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have made an agreement.

The overflowing scourge, when it passes over,

it will not come to us,

for we have made falsehood our refuge,

and in deception† we have hidden ourselves.”

16Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH:

“Behold, I lay for a foundation in Zion a stone,

a stone tested,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.

One believing will not be in haste.†

17And I will make justice the measuring line,

and righteousness the plumbline;

and the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and the waters will overflow the hiding place.

18And your⁺ covenant with death will be dissolved,

and your⁺ agreement with Sheol will not stand;

the overwhelming scourge, when it passes over,

then you⁺ will be trampled by it.

19As often as it passes over,

it will take you⁺;

for morning by morning it will pass over.”

And by day and by night,

then it will be only a terror

to understand the report.

20For the bed is too short for stretching out,

and the covering too narrow for wrapping oneself.

21For as at Mount Perazim, YHWH will rise up;

as in the Valley of Gibeon, He will rouse Himself,

to do His work—His strange work!

And to perform His task—His unusual task!

22And now, do not mock,

lest your⁺ bonds be made strong;

for destruction is decreed—I have heard from the Lord YHWH of Hosts—

upon the whole land.

Listen and Hear

23Give ear and hear my voice;

pay attention and hear my speech.

24Does the one plowing plow all the day to sow?

He opens and harrows his ground.

25Does he not, when he has leveled its face,

then scatter caraway and sow cummin

and put in a row the wheat in the appointed place

and the barley and the spelt at its border?

26And He instructs him in judgment,

and His God teaches him.

27For caraway is not threshed with a sledge,

and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin.

But with the staff caraway is beaten out,

and the cummin with the rod.

28Bread must be ground,

but not forever does the one threshing thresh it;

and he runs it over with the wheels of his cart,

and his horses do not crush it.

29Also this has gone forth from YHWH of Hosts,

wonderful in counsel,

great in wisdom.

Footnotes:

1 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verse 3
10 Or Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; Hebrew sav lasav sav lasav kav lakav kav lakav (possibly meaningless sounds to demonstrate an inability to understand); also in verse 13
11 Cited in 1 Corinthians 14:21
15 Or false gods
16 LXX will never be put to shame; cited in Romans 9:33, Romans 10:11, and 1 Peter 2:6