Dual Panel1The splendid <01348> crown <05850> of Ephraim’s <0669> drunkards <07910> is doomed <01945>, the withering <05034> flower <06731>, its beautiful <06643> splendor <08597>, situated <0834> at <05921> the head <07218> of a rich <08081> valley <01516>, the crown of those overcome <01986> with wine <03196>.
2Look <02009>, the sovereign master <0136> sends a strong <02389>, powerful <0533> one. With the force of a hailstorm <01259> <02230> or a destructive <06986> windstorm <08178>, with the might <03524> of a driving, torrential <07857> rainstorm <04325> <02230>, he will knock that crown <03240> to the ground <0776> with his hand <03027>.
3The splendid <01348> crown <05850> of Ephraim’s <0669> drunkards <07910> will be trampled <07429> underfoot <07272>.
4The withering <05034> flower <06733>, its beautiful <08597> splendor <06643>, situated at the head <07218> of a rich <08081> valley <01516>, will be like an early fig <01061> before <02962> harvest <07019>– as <0834> soon as someone notices <07200> <07200> it, he grabs <05750> it and swallows <01104> it.
5At that time <03117> the Lord <03068> who commands armies <06635> will become <01961> a beautiful <06643> crown <05850> and a splendid <08597> diadem <06843> for the remnant <07605> of his people <05971>.
6He will give discernment <04941> <07307> to the one <03427> who makes judicial decisions <04941>, and strength <01369> to those who defend <07725> the city <08179> from attackers <04421>.
7Even <01571> these <0428> men stagger <07686> because of wine <03196>, they stumble around <08582> because of beer <07941>– priests <03548> and prophets <05030> stagger <07686> because of beer <07941>, they are confused <01104> because <04480> of wine <03196>, they stumble around <08582> because <04480> of beer <07941>; they stagger <07686> while seeing prophetic visions <07203>, they totter <06328> while making legal decisions <06417>.
8Indeed <03588>, all <03605> the tables <07979> are covered <04390> with vomit <06892>; no <01097> place <04725> is untouched <06675>.
9Who <04310> is the Lord trying to teach <01844> <03384>? To whom <04310> is he explaining <0995> a message <08052>? Those just weaned <01580> from milk <02461>! Those just taken from their mother’s <06267> breast <07699>!
10Indeed <03588>, they will hear meaningless <06673> gibberish <06673>, senseless <06673> babbling <06673>, a syllable <06957> <06957> here <08033>, a syllable <06957> <06957> there <08033>.
11For <03588> with mocking <03934> lips <08193> and a foreign <0312> tongue <03956> he will speak <01696> to <0413> these <02088> people <05971>.
12In the past he said <0559> to <0413> them, “This <02063> is where security <04496> can be found. Provide security <05117> for the one who is exhausted <05889>! This <02063> is where rest <04774> can be found.” But they refused <014> <03808> to listen <08085>.
13So the Lord’s <03068> word <01697> to them <01992> will sound <01961> like meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling <06673> <06673> <06673> <06673>, a syllable <06957> <06957> here <08033>, a syllable <06957> <06957> there <08033>. As <04616> a result <04616>, they will fall <03782> on their backsides <0268> when they try to walk <01980>, and be injured <07665>, ensnared <03369>, and captured <03920>.
14Therefore <03651>, listen <08085> to the Lord’s <03068> word <01697>, you who mock <03944>, you rulers <04910> of these <02088> people <05971> who <0834> reside in Jerusalem <03389>!
15For <03588> you say <0559>, “We have made <03772> a treaty <01285> with <0854> death <04194>, with <05973> Sheol <07585> we have made <06213> an agreement <02374>. When the overwhelming judgment <07752> sweeps by <05674> it will not <03808> reach <0935> us. For <03588> we have made <07760> a lie <03577> our refuge <04268>, we have hidden <05641> ourselves in a deceitful <08267> word.”
16Therefore <03651>, this is what <03541> the sovereign <0136> master, the Lord <03069>, says <0559>: “Look <02005>, I am laying a stone <068> in Zion <06726>, an approved <0976> stone <068>, set in place as a precious <03368> cornerstone <06438> for the foundation <04143>. The one who maintains <03245> his faith <0539> will not <03808> panic <02363>.
17I will make <07760> justice <04941> the measuring line <06957>, fairness <06666> the plumb <04949> line; hail <01259> will sweep away <03261> the unreliable <03577> refuge <04268>, the floodwaters <04325> will overwhelm <07857> the hiding place <05643>.
18Your treaty <01285> with <0854> death <04194> will be dissolved <03722>; your agreement <02380> with <0854> Sheol <07585> will not <03808> last <06965>. When the overwhelming <07857> judgment <07752> sweeps <05674> by, you will be <01961> overrun <04823> by it.
19Whenever <01767> it sweeps <05674> by, it will overtake <03947> you; indeed <03588>, every morning <01242> <01242> it will sweep by, it will come through <05674> during the day <03117> and the night <03915>.” When <01961> this announcement <02113> is understood <0995>, it will cause nothing but <07535> terror <08052>.
20For <03588> the bed <04702> is too short <07114> to stretch out <08311> on, and the blanket <04541> is too narrow <06887> to wrap around <03664> oneself.
21For <03588> the Lord <03068> will rise up <06965>, as he did at Mount <02022> Perazim <06559>, he will rouse <07264> himself, as he did in the Valley <06010> of Gibeon <01391>, to accomplish <06213> his work <04639>, his peculiar <02114> work <04639>, to perform <05647> his task <05656>, his strange <05237> task <05656>.
22So now <06258>, do not <0408> mock <03887>, or <06435> your chains <04147> will become heavier <02388>! For <03588> I have heard <08085> a message about decreed <02782> destruction <03617>, from the sovereign master <0136>, the Lord <03068> who commands armies <06635>, against <05921> the entire <03605> land <0776>.
23Pay attention <0238> and listen <08085> to my message <06963>! Be attentive <07181> and listen <08085> to what I have to say <0565>!
24Does a farmer <02790> just keep <03117> <03605> on plowing <02790> at planting <02232> time? Does he keep breaking up <06605> and harrowing <07702> his ground <0127>?
25Once he has leveled <07737> its surface, does <06440> he not <03808> scatter <06327> the seed of the caraway plant <07100>, sow <02236> the seed of the cumin plant <03646>, and plant <07760> the wheat <02406>, barley <08184>, and grain <03698> in their designated <05567> places <01367>?
26His God <0430> instructs <03256> him; he teaches <03384> him the principles <04941> of agriculture.
27Certainly <03588> caraway seed <07100> is not <03808> threshed <01758> with a sledge <02742>, nor is the wheel <0212> of <05921> a cart <05699> rolled over <05437> cumin seed <03646>. Certainly <03588> caraway seed <07100> is beaten <02251> with a stick <04294>, and cumin seed <03646> with a flail <07626>.
28Grain <03899> is crushed <01854>, though <03588> one certainly does not <03808> thresh <01758> <0156> it forever <05331>. The wheel <01536> of one’s wagon <05699> rolls over <02000> it, but his horses <06571> do not <03808> crush <01854> it.
29This <02063> also <01571> comes from <05973> the Lord <03068> who commands armies <06635>, who gives <03318> supernatural <06381> guidance <06098> and imparts great <01431> wisdom <08454>.