Isaiah 28:13

Isaiah 28:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
• New International Version (NIV)So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Isaiah 28:13

11So now the Lord will use foreign enemies to speak to these people. He will speak to them in a strange language. 12In the past, he said to them, ‘This is a place where you can rest when you are tired. It is a place where you can be safe.’ But his people refused to listen. So the Lord's message will seem to them like, ‘One rule at a time, one line at a time, a little bit here, a little bit there.’ So as they try to move forward, they will fall over. An enemy will hurt them, and he will catch them in a trap. 14So listen to the Lord's message, you leaders in Jerusalem who rule these people. Do not laugh at what the Lord is doing. 15You boast, ‘We have made a covenant with death. Yes, we have made an agreement with Sheol. When trouble comes to our city like a deep flood of water, we will be safe. We trust in our lies to keep us safe.’

Isaiah 28:13 word by word

וְהָיָ֨ה לָהֶ֜ם דְּבַר־יְהוָ֗ה צַ֣ו לָצָ֞ו צַ֤ו לָצָו֙ קַ֤ו לָקָו֙ קַ֣ו לָקָ֔ו זְעֵ֥יר שָׁ֖ם זְעֵ֣יר שָׁ֑ם לְמַ֨עַן יֵלְכ֜וּ וְכָשְׁל֤וּ אָחוֹר֙ וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּ וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• was unto them preceptצַוtsav tsâv · commandH6673
• lineקַוqav qâv · cordH6957
• here a littleזְעֵירze‛êyr · littleH2191
• that they might goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• and fallכָּשַׁלkâshal · to stumbleH3782
• backwardאָחוֹר'âchôr 'âchôr · backH268
• and be brokenשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• and snaredיָקֹשׁyâqôsh · to snareH3369
• and takenלָכַדlâkad · to captureH3920

Cross-references for Isaiah 28:13

• Isaiah 28:10He teaches us one rule at a time, one line at a time. He says it several times, a little bit here, a little bit there.’
• Jeremiah 23:36But you must not speak any more about “a message of trouble from the Lord”. It is the person's own message that brings the trouble. In that way, you change the true message of our God, the living God who is the Lord Almighty.
• Hosea 6:5I sent my prophets to warn you. They gave you my messages that I would punish you. Now that punishment will certainly happen to you! I will suddenly come to judge you, like the sun that rises at dawn.
• Isaiah 6:9The Lord said, ‘Go! Tell my message to those people: “You will continue to listen, but you will never understand! You will continue to look, but you will not see anything!”
• Isaiah 8:14He will be a safe place for you. But for both nations in Israel he will become like a stone that causes people to fall to the ground. He will be like a rock that makes them fall down. He will take hold of the people who live in Jerusalem, like a trap that catches a bird.
• Psalms 69:22Please God, cause their feasts to become a trap for them. Let it bring trouble to them and their friends.
• Matthew 13:14Long ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke a message from God about those people. Now it has become true. God said: “You will listen and listen. But you will not understand. You will look and look. But you will not see anything.
• Matthew 21:44When a person falls onto that stone, it will break his body into pieces. When that stone falls on top of someone, it will destroy him completely.’
• Romans 11:9King David says this: ‘They enjoy eating lots of good food together. I pray that God will catch them while they are eating! I want those good things to lead them into trouble. I want God to punish them because of what they have done.
• 2 Corinthians 2:16For the people who are dying, we are like a bad smell that brings a message of death. But for the people that God is saving, we are like a lovely smell that brings a message of new life. Nobody is really good enough to tell such an important message!
• 1 Peter 2:7This stone is very valuable to you who believe in Jesus. But the Bible says this about people who do not believe in him: ‘The builders refused to use a certain stone. They thought that it had no value. But now that stone has become the most important stone at the corner of the building.’
• 2 Peter 3:16He wrote about them in all his letters. Some things that he has written are difficult for people to understand. Some people have weak minds and they are not sure about what they believe. They explain Paul's teaching in a way that deceives people. They also explain other things in the Bible wrongly. As a result, those people will destroy themselves and God will punish them.

Commentaries on Isaiah 28:13

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13But the word of the Lord was unto them - Or, rather, but the word of Yahweh “shall be” unto them. This refers to the mode in which God said He would instruct them in a foreign land. They had complained Isaiah 28:9-10 that his instructions had been like a short lesson constantly repeated, as we instruct children. God here says that it should be as they said it was - they would be carried away to a distant land, and long abide among strangers; they would…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-15Verses 5-15 The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and notions concerning the kingdom and salvation of the Messiah…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there: The Hebrew text is hard to understand. The words might be intentional nonsense to illustrate the point that the people were so spiritually blind that God’s clearest revelation was nonsense to them (see Isaiah 6:9–10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-135-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria. crown--in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3). the residue--primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so are they called His (Is 62:3); a beautiful reciprocity.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 28:13

• Blindness
• Isaiah
• Reprobacy
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Battle
• Diadem
• Doctrine
• Foundation
• Hasty
• Refuge
• Rod
• Short
• Sure
• Hoshea

Commentaries on Isaiah 28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings