Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken.
Parallel Translations
-
Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken.
-
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.
-
And so the word of the LORD is unto them precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Isaiah 28:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 13:14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
- Isaiah 6:9-10 He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
- Psalms 69:22 Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.
- Isaiah 8:14-15 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
- Isaiah 28:10 For it is precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little.
- Jeremiah 23:36-38 You will mention the message from Yahweh no more: for every man’s own word has become his message; for you have perverted the words of the living God, of Yahweh of Armies, our God. You will say to the prophet, ‘What has Yahweh answered you?’ and, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ Although you say, ‘The message from Yahweh;’ therefore Yahweh says: ‘Because you say this word, “The message from Yahweh,” and I have sent to you, telling you not to say, “The message from Yahweh;”
- Matthew 21:44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”
- 2 Peter 3:16 as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
- 1 Peter 2:7-8 For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and, “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
- Hosea 6:5 Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.
- Hosea 8:12 I wrote for him the many things of my law; but they were regarded as a strange thing.
- Romans 11:9 David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
- 2 Corinthians 2:16 to the one a stench from death to death, to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Because they will not receive the word of God,…
Because they will not receive the word of God, when it is offered, it cometh of their own malice, if after their hearts be so hardened, that they care not for it, as before, Isa. 6:9.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was…
Isa 28:13 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.
Ver. 13. But the word of God was unto them precept upon precept, &c., ] i.e., A derision, {as Isa 28:10} therefore henceforth; hearing they shall hear and not understand: Sic Sanniones Deus punit.
Read full note →
That they may go, and fall backward.] Ut vadant et cadant retrorsum, tanquam turpiter ab hoste superati et resuperati, laid flat on their backs, brought to remediless ruin. This came of their obstinace; though not intentionally, yet eventually.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The sense of the words thus rendered may be…
The sense of the words thus rendered may be this, They spake of God’s word with scorn and contempt, repeating the prophet’s words in a scoffing manner, and with a stammering and ridiculous tone, saying, Precept upon precept, &c.; as if they had said, It seems the prophet takes us to be mere children, that need to be taught our first rudiments, and that but slowly. That these were scornful men. and mockers is affirmed, Isa 28:14,22; and as scoffers frequently catch the words out of other men’s mouths, and use them in way of derision, so it may be thought they did with the prophet’s words. But the words may be, and by divers learned men are, rendered a little otherwise;
And the word of the Lord shall be unto them precept upon precept, &c. As this method hath been used by them, and was altogether necessary for them; so it still is, and for the future shall be. As they were children in understanding, they shall still continue to be such; they shall be ever learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth; as they formerly would not, so now they shall not, profit by the word; and their sin shall be their punishment. And this seems to suit with the following clause, which notes the dreadful design and effect of that judicial blindness,
Read full note →
that they may or might go and fall backward, & c.
That they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken: according to the former, which is our translation, this clause notes only the event or consequent of their sin; according to the latter, it notes the judgment of God designed and inflicted for it; that God’s word being so horribly abused by them, might be an occasion at which they might stumble and fall, and that backward, which is the worst and most dangerous way of falling; and so be broken to pieces, or by which they might be snared and taken.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful…
Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men,.... Men of scorn and mockery, that scoffed and mocked at the word of God, as in the preceding verse Isa 28:13; or at the threatenings of punishment; and even made a jest of death and hell, as in the following words: "the word of the Lord" they are called upon to hear, hearken, and attend to, is either the word of promise of the Messiah, Isa 28:16 or rather the word threatening them with ruin, Isa 28:18 or it may be both:
that rule this people which is in Jerusalem; which must not be understood of the chief ruler Hezekiah, but rather of some subordinate rulers, such as Shebna and others; these set a very bad example to the common people: no wonder that irreligion and profaneness prevail, when civil magistrates are scoffers at religion. It agrees best with the rulers of the Jewish people in the times of Christ, who mocked at him and his ministry, and that of his apostles.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Here a little - As this method has been…
Here a little - As this method has been used and was altogether necessary for them; so it still is, and for the future shall be. As they were children in understanding, they shall still continue to be such; they shall be ever learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. That - This will be the event, or consequence of their sin: they will fall backward, which is the worst, and most dangerous way of falling; and so be broken to pieces.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 28:13. But the word of the Lord was…
Isa 28:13. But the word of the Lord was unto them, &c. — The sense of the passage thus rendered, may be, that they spake of God’s word with scorn and contempt, repeating the prophet’s words, (which are as peculiar in sound, as they are strong and expressive in sense, קו לקו, קו לקו, צו לצו, צו לצו, tzav latzav, tzav latzav, kav lakav, kav lakav,) in a scoffing manner, and with a ridiculous tone of voice; as if they had said, It seems the prophet takes us to be mere children, that need to be taught the very rudiments of knowledge, and that but slowly. Precept upon precept, line upon line, &c. — That these were scornful men and mockers, is affirmed Isa 28:14; Isa 28:22; and, as scoffers frequently catch the words out of other men’s mouths, and use them in the way of derision; so it may be thought they did with the prophet’s words. But the clause may be rendered a little otherwise, as indeed it is by divers learned men, thus: And the word of the Lord shall be unto them, precept upon precept, &c.; as this method has been used, and was altogether necessary for them, so it still is, and for the future shall be. As they were children in understanding, they shall continue to be such; they shall be ever learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth; as they formerly would not, so now they shall not profit by the word, and their sin shall be their punishment. That they may, or might go, and fall backward — This will be the event, or consequence of their sin: they will fall backward, which is the worst and most dangerous way of falling; and so be broken to pieces.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But the word of the Lord was unto them…
But 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 Isa 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 have ample time there to acquire instruction, and all that they would receive would be lesson after lesson of the same kind - line upon line, one judgment following another, until the lesson of their disobedience had been fully inculcated, and they had been brought to true repentance.
Here a little, and there a little - So they had said Isa 28:10 the lessons of God were to them by the prophets. So God says his lessons “shall be” to them by judgment. It shall not come in one sudden and overpowering burst of indignation, but it shall be, as it were, dealt out to them in small portions that it may not be soon exhausted.
Read full note →
That they might go ... - That they may go into captivity, and stumble, and be broken by the judgments of God. God will so deal out the lessons of his judgment and wrath, that as a people they shall be broken up, and made prisoners, and be borne to a distant land.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Taken. God will make his prophets speak, notwithstanding your…
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Taken. God will make his prophets speak, notwithstanding your repugnance; or he will reduce you to the necessity of learning an unknown language. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But--rather, "Therefore," namely, because "they would not hear" (Isa…
But--rather, "Therefore," namely, because "they would not hear" (Isa 28:12).
that they might go--the designed result to those who, from a defect of the will, so far from profiting by God's mode of instructing, "precept upon precept," &c., made it into a stumbling-block (Hos 6:5; Hos 8:12; Mat 13:14).
Read full note →
go, and fall--image appropriately from "drunkards" (Isa 28:7-8, which they were) who in trying to "go forward fall backward."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Word… unto them precept — God’s method of…
13. Word… unto them precept — God’s method of training this people is described, namely, by the most patient, ploddingly-repeated, lessons.
That — Two things are meant by this word. 1. The consequences to the people for their disloyalty to Jehovah, namely, ruin to them as a nation. 2. Intention to maintain the majesty of the divine law of righteousness. Scoffing men are long and patiently endured, to the end that, if they will not hear, their guilt shall be punished, their example shall be a warning, and the divine honour shall be maintained.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. But the word of the Lord was] Render:…
13. But the word of the Lord was] Render: And (so) the word of Jehovah shall be—all that they had scoffingly said about Isaiah’s message (Isa_28:10), a monotonous, intolerable, yet unavoidable, succession of judgments (cf. Isa_28:19).
that they might … backward] that they may go and stumble backwards (cf. ch. Isa_6:11-12). and be broken … taken] as in ch. Isa_8:15.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) That they might go, and fall backward .…
(13) That they might go, and fall backward . . .—The words are an echo of those in Isa_8:14-15. The preaching which might have led to “rest and refreshing” would become to those who scorned it a “stumbling stone” on which they would fall, a “net” in which they, who boasted of their freedom, would be entangled.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The word of the Lord was to them; rather,…
The word of the Lord was to them; rather, shall be to them. God will now speak to them, not by his prophet, but by the Assyrian conqueror, who will do what they said Isaiah had done, i.e. lay upon them command after command, rule alter rule, a constant series of minute injunctions, under which they will chafe and fret and at last rebel, but only to be "snared and taken." It is uncertain whether the reference is to the immediate future and to the Assyrians proper only, or whether the Babylonians are not taken into account also, and their oppression of Judaea pointed to. The yoke of Babylon was probably quite as difficult to endure as that of Assyria; and we find that, in the space of eighteen years, it produced at least three rebellions.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 So the word of Yahweh
So the word of Yahweh
"So Yahweh's message"
Read full note →
command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little
These are the words that the drunk priests and prophets used to criticize how Isaiah teaches them. See how you translated this in Isaiah 28:10.
so that they may go and fall backward, and be broken, ensnared, and captured
This can be stated in active form. AT: "in order that the army of Assyria will come and defeat them and take them as captives" (See: Active or Passive)
go and fall backward, and be broken
People losing in battle to the enemy army is spoken of as if the people will fall down and break. (See: Metaphor)
ensnared
The enemy soldiers capturing the people of Israel is spoken of as if they were hunters that catch an animal in a snare. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
word of God
command
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:13 one line at a time, one line at…
28:13 one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there: The Hebrew here is difficult 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 6:9-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.