| New King James Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Woe 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! | 1Woe 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! |
| 2Behold, 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. | 2Behold, 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. |
| 3The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot; | 3The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. |
| 4And 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. | 4And 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. |
| 5In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, | 5In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; |
| 6For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. | 6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate. |
| 7But 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. | 7And 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. |
| 8For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. | 8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. |
| 9“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? | 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? |
| 10For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” | 10"For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'" |
| 11For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, | 11Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, |
| 12To 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. | 12He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not listen. |
| 13But 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. | 13So 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. |
| 14Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, | 14Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, |
| 15Because 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.” | 15Because 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." |
| 16Therefore 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. | 16Therefore 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. |
| 17Also 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. | 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. |
| 18Your 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. | 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. |
| 19As 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.” | 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." |
| 20For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it. | 20The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in. |
| 21For 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. | 21For 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. |
| 22Now 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. | 22And 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. |
| 23Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech. | 23Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words. |
| 24Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods? | 24Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground? |
| 25When 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? | 25Does 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? |
| 26For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him. | 26For his God instructs and teaches him properly. |
| 27For 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. | 27For 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. |
| 28Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen. | 28Grain 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. |
| 29This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. | 29This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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