New English Translation
Isaiah 28:17
17I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
Isaiah 28:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter."
- New King James Version (NKJV)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.
Context of Isaiah 28:17
15For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 16Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic. I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place. 18Your treaty with death will be dissolved; your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it. 19Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you; indeed, every morning it will sweep by, it will come through during the day and the night.” When this announcement is understood, it will cause nothing but terror.
Read all of Isaiah 28Isaiah 28:17 word by word
וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י מִשְׁפָּט֙ לְקָ֔ו וּצְדָקָ֖ה לְמִשְׁקָ֑לֶת וְיָעָ֤ה בָרָד֙ מַחְסֵ֣ה כָזָ֔ב וְסֵ֥תֶר מַ֖יִם יִשְׁטֹֽפוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- also will I layשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- to the lineקַוqav qâv · lineH6957
- and righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
- to the plummetמִשְׁקֶ֫לֶתmishqeleth mishqôleth · levelH4949
- and the hailבָּרָדbârâd · hailH1259
- shall sweep awayיָעָהyâ‛âh · to sweep awayH3261
- the refugeמַחְסֶּהmachăseh machseh · refugeH4268
- of liesכָּזָבkâzâb · lieH3577
- and the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- shall overflowשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
- the hiding placeסֵ֫תֶרsêther sithrâh · secrecyH5643
Cross-references for Isaiah 28:17
- Isaiah 10:22For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you.
- 2 Kings 21:13I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides.
- Psalms 94:15For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated.
- Amos 7:7He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand.
- Romans 2:2Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things.
- Romans 9:28for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”
- Revelation 19:2because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”
- Isaiah 28:2Look, the sovereign master sends a strong, powerful one. With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, he will knock that crown to the ground with his hand.
- Isaiah 25:4For you are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. Though the breath of tyrants is like a winter rainstorm,
- Isaiah 32:2Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from a rainstorm; like streams of water in a dry region and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
- Exodus 9:18I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
- Joshua 10:11As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
- Jeremiah 7:4Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, “We are safe! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!”
- Jeremiah 23:19But just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.
- Jeremiah 30:23Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.
- Ezekiel 13:10“‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.
Commentaries on Isaiah 28:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Judgment also will I lay to the line - The sense of this is, I will judge them according to the exact rule of law, as an architect frames everything according to the rule which he uses. In other words, there shall be no mercy intermingled. The line is used by a carpenter for measuring; the plummet consists of a piece of lead attached to a string, and is also used by carpenters to obtain a perpendicular line. A carpenter works exactly according to the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearing the whole weight; precious in the sight of the Lord, and of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The Lord judges people based on their actions, which show if they have true faith (for justice and righteousness, see Isaiah 1:21–23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. line--the measuring-line of the plummet. Horsley translates, "I will appoint judgment for the rule, and justice for the plummet." As the corner-stone stands most perpendicular and exactly proportioned, so Jehovah, while holding out grace to believers in the Foundation-stone, will judge the scoffers (Is 28:15) according to the exact justice of the law (compare Jas 2:13). hail--divine judgment (Is 30:30; 32:19).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 28:17
In the dictionaries
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
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