1 W oe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, 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!

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine!

2 B ehold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.

Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.

3 T he proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.

The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot;

4 A nd the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.

And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand.

5 I n that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;

In that day the Lord of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people,

6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

7 A nd these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.

But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

8 F or all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean.

9 “ To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?

“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?

10 “ For He says, ‘ Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’”

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

11 I ndeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,

For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,

12 H e who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.

To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.

13 S o the word of the Lord 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 stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. Judah Is Warned

But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.

14 T herefore, hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

15 B ecause you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” A Cornerstone in Zion

16 T herefore thus says the Lord God, “ Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.

17 “ I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.

Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.

18 “ Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place.

Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.

19 “ As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”

20 T he bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.

21 F or the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work.

For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon— That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.

22 A nd now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts Of decisive destruction on all the earth.

Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth. Listen to the Teaching of God

23 G ive ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.

24 D oes the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?

25 D oes he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the spelt in its place?

26 F or his God instructs and teaches him properly.

For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him.

27 F or dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.

For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, And the cummin with a rod.

28 G rain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen.

29 T his also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.