Isaiah 28:15

Isaiah 28:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
• New International Version (NIV)You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead 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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter";
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.”

Context of Isaiah 28:15

13So 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. You 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.’ 16So the Almighty Lord says this: ‘Look! I am putting a special stone in Zion. It is a valuable stone, because it makes a strong foundation at the corner of my building. Anyone who trusts in that foundation will never be disappointed. 17Justice and righteousness will make that foundation strong and true. But if you trust in lies, a storm of ice will destroy your safe place. A flood of water will destroy the place where you are hiding.

Isaiah 28:15 word by word

כִּ֣י אֲמַרְתֶּ֗ם כָּרַ֤תְנֽוּ בְרִית֙ אֶת־מָ֔וֶת וְעִם־שְׁא֖וֹל עָשִׂ֣ינוּ חֹזֶ֑ה שׁ֣וֹט שׁוֹטֵ֤ף כִּֽי־יַֽעֲבֹר֙ לֹ֣א יְבוֹאֵ֔נוּ כִּ֣י שַׂ֧מְנוּ כָזָ֛ב מַחְסֵ֖נוּ וּבַשֶּׁ֥קֶר נִסְתָּֽרְנוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Because ye have saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We have madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
• a covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• with deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• and with hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
• are weעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• at agreementחֹזֶהchôzeh · seerH2374
• when the overflowingשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
• scourgeשַׁ֫יִטshayiţ · oarH7885
• scourgeשׁוֹטshôţ · whipH7752
• shall pass throughעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• it shall not comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• unto us: for we have madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• liesכָּזָבkâzâb · lieH3577
• our refugeמַחְסֶּהmachăseh machseh · refugeH4268
• and under falsehoodשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• have we hidסָתַרsâthar · to hideH5641

Cross-references for Isaiah 28:15

• Isaiah 5:18It will be very bad for you people who are always deceiving others. You cannot leave your sins behind, like someone who pulls a cart with a rope.
• Ecclesiastes 8:8Nobody has the power to control the wind. Also, nobody has the power to decide the day of their death. Soldiers are not allowed to leave a battle. Also, if people do wicked things, that will not rescue them.
• Job 5:23The stones in your fields will not give you trouble. The wild animals will not attack you.
• Job 15:25That happens to the person who turns against God. He thinks that he is greater than Almighty God.
• Jeremiah 44:17So we will continue to do what we have promised to do. We will make sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. We will pour out drink offerings to her. That is what our ancestors, our kings and our leaders did when we lived in Jerusalem and in the other towns of Judah. When we did that, we had plenty of food to eat. We enjoyed a good life and we had no troubles.
• Ezekiel 8:12The Lord said, ‘Son of man, look at the wicked things that Israel's leaders are doing! They are doing them secretly in the dark. Each of them has a room where they worship their images of idols. They say, “The Lord does not see us! The Lord has gone away from our land!” ’
• Hosea 2:18At that time, I will make a promise that nothing will hurt my people. I will make an agreement with the wild animals, with the birds in the fields and with the animals that move along the ground. I will remove from their land all the weapons that soldiers use to fight wars. I will destroy their swords and their bows and arrows. I will allow my people to live safely in peace.
• Zephaniah 1:12‘At that time, I will look in all Jerusalem's dark corners. I will take lights with me. I will find the drunks and I will punish them. These people say in their minds, “The Lord will do neither good things nor bad things to us.”
• Isaiah 8:7So I will cause this to happen. I, the Lord God, will bring floods of water from the Euphrates river. That will be the king of Assyria and his powerful armies. They will come like a great river that rises high over its sides.
• Daniel 11:22He will quickly destroy any army that tries to attack him. He will even kill the leader of God's covenant.
• Isaiah 30:10They say to the seers, ‘Do not see any more visions!’ They say to the prophets, ‘Do not tell us messages about what is right! Tell us nice things, even if they are not true.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets speak messages that are not true. The priests make their own rules for people to obey. And my people love to live like this! But when all this comes to an end, my people will be helpless!’
• Jeremiah 14:13I said, ‘Lord God, the prophets are deceiving the people. They say that there will not be any war or famine or disease that will hurt the people. Instead, they say that you have promised peace in our land.’
• Jeremiah 16:19Lord, you give me strength. You are the safe place where I can hide. When I am in trouble, I can run to you and be safe. People will come from nations all over the earth, to give you honour. They will say, ‘Our ancestors worshipped false gods. Those gods were useless and they could not help us.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, ‘Listen to me, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you as his prophet. You have spoken lies to these people and they have believed you.
• Ezekiel 13:16They were prophets of Israel who told lies. They promised that Jerusalem would have peace. But there was really no peace.’ That is what the Almighty Lord says.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 28:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15A covenant with death - To be in covenant with, is a kind of proverbial expression to denote perfect security from evil and mischief of any sort: - "For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee." Job 5:23. "And I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field. And with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground." Hosea 2:18. That is, none of these shall…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15We have made a covenant with death - We are not to suppose that they had formally said this, but that their conduct was as if they had said it; they lived as securely as if they had entered into a compact with death not to destroy them, and with hell not to devour them. The figure is a very bold one, and is designed to express the extraordinary stupidity of the nation. It is most strikingly descriptive of the great mass of people. They are as little…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. 15have made a covenant with death … fashioned an agreement with Sheol: There are two possible interpretations: The people had pledged themselves to the Canaanite god of death, Mot, for his supposed protection. The prophet was sarcastic. The people believed their political and economic actions ensured their safety, but they had actually harmed themselves. lies … and falsehood: The leaders did not see themselves as deceptive, but they were.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. said--virtually, in your conduct, if not in words. covenant--There may be a tacit reference to their confidence in their "covenant" with the Assyrians in the early part of Hezekiah's prosperous reign, before he ceased to pay tribute to them, as if it ensured Judah from evil, whatever might befall the neighboring Ephraim (Is 28:1). The full meaning is shown by the language ("covenant with death--hell," or sheol) to apply to all lulled in false security…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 28:15

• Blindness
• Confidence
• Falsehood
• Hell
• Infidelity
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Mocking
• Presumption
• Rulers
• Security

In the dictionaries

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

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