Isaiah 28 · Verse 13

Isaiah 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.
Isaiah 28:13, King James Version

Isaiah 28:13 in other translations

BSBThen the word of the LORD to them will become: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” so that they will go stumbling backward and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.
WEBTherefore the LORD’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.
ASVTherefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto 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.
YLTAnd to whom a word of Jehovah hath been, Rule on rule, rule on rule, line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there, So that they go and have stumbled backward, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
DARBYAnd the word of Jehovah was unto 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 taken.
BBEFor this cause the word of the Lord will be to them rule after rule, line after line, here a little, there a little; so that they may go on their way, and falling back may be broken, and taken in the net.
WebsterBut the word of the LORD was to 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.

What does Isaiah 28:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 28:5-13

5-13. 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)…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 28:5-13 →

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 28:5-15

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…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 28:5-15 →

Isaiah 28:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָיָ֨הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
לָהֶ֜םla.Hemto them
דְּבַר\־de.var-[the] word ofH1697
יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צַ֣וtzavcommandH6673
לָצָ֞וla.Tzavto [the] commandH6673
צַ֤וtzavcommandH6673
לָצָו֙la.Tzavto [the] commandH6673
קַ֤וkavlineH6957
לָקָו֙la.Kavto [the] lineH6957
קַ֣וkavlineH6957
לָקָ֔וla.Kavto [the] lineH6957
זְעֵ֥ירze.'Eira littleH2191
שָׁ֖םshamthereH8033
זְעֵ֣ירze.'Eira littleH2191
שָׁ֑םShamthereH8033
לְמַ֨עַןle.Ma.'anso thatH4616
יֵלְכ֜וּye.le.Khuthey may goH1980
וְכָשְׁל֤וּve.kha.she.Luand they will stumbleH3782
אָחוֹר֙'a.chOrbackwardsH268
וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּve.nish.Ba.ruand they will be brokenH7665
וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּve.nok.Shuand they will be ensnaredH3369
וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ\׃\ \פve.nil.Ka.duand they will be capturedH3920

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 28:13

  • Matthew 13:14

    And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

  • Isaiah 6:9-10

    And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

  • 2 Peter 3:16

    As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

  • Isaiah 28:10

    For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

  • Isaiah 8:14-15

    And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

  • Jeremiah 23:36-38

    And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;

  • Psalms 69:22

    Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

  • Matthew 21:44

    And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

  • 1 Peter 2:7-8

    Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:16

    To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

  • Romans 11:9

    And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

  • Hosea 6:5

    Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
precept upon precept.
10; Jer 23:36-38; Ho 6:5; 8:12
that.
6:9,10; 8:14,15; Ps 69:22; Mt 13:14; 21:44; Ro 11:9; 2Co 2:16
1Pe 2:7,8; 2Pe 3:16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 28:12

    To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

  • Isaiah 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.

  • Isaiah 28:14

    Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Read all of Isaiah 28

Isaiah 28:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
La palabra pues de Jehová les será mandamiento tras mandamiento, mandato sobre mandato, renglón tras renglón, línea sobre línea, un poquito allí, otro poquito allá; que vayan y caigan de espaldas, y sean quebrantados, y enlazados, y presos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et la parole de l’ Éternel leur a été commandement sur commandement, commandement sur commandement; ligne sur ligne, ligne sur ligne; ici un peu, là un peu; afin qu’ils marchent, et qu’ils tombent en arrière, et qu’ils soient brisés, et enlacés, et pris.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und so wird ihnen das Wort Jehovas sein: Gebot auf Gebot, Gebot auf Gebot, Vorschrift auf Vorschrift, Vorschrift auf Vorschrift, hier ein wenig, da ein wenig; auf daß sie hingehen und rücklings fallen und zerschmettert werden und verstrickt und gefangen werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et erit eis verbum Domini: Manda, remanda; manda, remanda; exspecta, reexspecta; exspecta, reexspecta; modicum ibi, modicum ibi; ut vadant, et cadant retrorsum, et conterantur, et illaqueentur, et capiantur.