New King James Version
Isaiah 28:13
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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
Context of Isaiah 28:13
11For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 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. 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. 14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, 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.”
Read all of Isaiah 28Isaiah 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 28:10For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”
- Jeremiah 23:36And the oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.
- Hosea 6:5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
- Isaiah 6:9And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
- Isaiah 8:14He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Psalms 69:22Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.
- Matthew 13:14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
- Matthew 21:44And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
- Romans 11:9And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
- 2 Corinthians 2:16To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
- 1 Peter 2:7Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
- 2 Peter 3:16as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries