First Upload: Wednesday March 13, 2019
Last Modified: Wednesday June 24, 2020
Author: Eduardo Freire Canosa
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1 Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley—to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like a fig ripe before harvest—as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand, he swallows it.
5 In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
9 "Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
12 to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest" and "This is the place of repose"—but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there—so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
23 Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field?
26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Every canonical verse is exportable.
1-4. Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley—to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! 2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. 3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. 4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like a fig ripe before harvest—as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand, he swallows it.
Destination: Obviously Revised Chapter 9, "Ephraim." See verses 7-8 for the placement of verse 1.
5-6. In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. 6 He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Analysis: Although verses 5-6 resemble Isaiah 4:2, "In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel," the clause, "a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate," stranges them because there will be no possibility of war in the monarchy of the Branch of the Lord: "Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4). Verses 5-6 then point instead to the monarchy of Hezekiah. The king encouraged the besieged people of Jerusalem by pleading the power of the Lord Almighty (2 Chronicles 32:6-8). The king's reminder was in effect "a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate."
Destination: Revised Chapter 8, "Assyria Will Invade Judah."
7-8. And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
Analysis: These two verses are an obvious continuation of verse 1. The drunkards of Ephraim stagger (v 1) and so do Ephraim's priests and prophets.
Destination: Obviously Revised Chapter 9, "Ephraim,"
1 Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley—to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! 7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. 42:18 Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! 42:20 You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.
9-13. Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? 10 For it is: "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there." 11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, 12 to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest" and "This is the place of repose"—but they would not listen. 13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there"—so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.
Early Analysis: As a first consideration there is no singular antecedent anywhere in the Book of Isaiah that satisfies the two instances of "he" in verse 9. Therefore either the canonical Book of Isaiah is incomplete or a plural antecedent must be brooked, e.g. prophets, priests, teachers, elders. The best plural antecedent is "O my people, your guides lead you astray" (Isaiah 3:12) or "Those who guide this people mislead them" (Isaiah 9:16). The second consideration is that the term "this people" (v 11) occurs eight times in the Book of Isaiah, tagging always those who disobey the Lord. Thirdly the Lord showed the "resting place" or the "place of repose" (v 12) to Judah (Isaiah 30:15-17, 32:17-18). The conclusion is that the speaker of verses 9-13 must be addressing the teaching staff of unfaithful Judah. The only one who can do this on his own authority is the Lord, and he sometimes refers to himself in third person singular as "the Lord" or as "God" (Isaiah 65:13-16).
Final Analysis: The singular antecedent was found on Isaiah 56:11-12.
Destination: Revised Chapter 6, "The Vision of The Lord,"
9:16 "Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. 56:10 Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. 56:11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. 56:12 'Come,' each one cries, 'let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.' 9 Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? 10 For it is: 'Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there.' 11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, 12 to whom he said, 'This is the resting place, let the weary rest' and 'This is the place of repose'—but they would not listen. 13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: 'Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there,' so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured."
14 to First Half of 19. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. 15 You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place." 16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. 17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. 18 Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. First Half of 19 As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through."
Analysis: The "scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem" (v 14) tags the monarchy of Ahaz during a period of peace and prosperity ahead of the invasion of Judah.
Destination: Revised Chapter 3, "The Lord's Displeasure With Judah and Jerusalem."
21. The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
Analysis: "Mount Perazim" (2 Samuel 5:18-25) and the "Valley of Gibeon" (Joshua 10:5-14) were battlefields where the Lord intevened miraculously on Israel's behalf. Thus verse 21 forecasts another miraculous intervention of the Lord. It came against the Assyrians this time (2 Kings 19:32-36).
Destination: Revised Chapter 8, "Assyria Will Invade Judah,"
25:9 In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation." 21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task. Second Half of 33:23 Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
22. Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
Analysis: The land whose destruction was decreed by the Lord Almighty has to be Ephraim, the northern kingdom, and it came by the hand of Shalmaneser king of Assyria (2 Kings 17:3-6).
Destination: Revised Chapter 9, "Ephraim,"
22 Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land. 10:22 Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
23-29. Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. 24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? 25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? 26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. 27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a stick. 28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it. 29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Analysis: These seven verses must be a fragment of a lost lecture on the Lord's wisdom (v 29). The subject-matter and the style of writing suit Isaiah son of Amoz more than the Babylonian Isaiah. Consequently this stranded fragment of seven verses is arbitrarily deposited in Revised Chapter 50, "Isaiah The Servant of The Lord."
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