Isaiah 28:13

11 For with ^astammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,

12 To whom He said, “This is the ^arest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.

13 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.

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

15 Because 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,
^aFor we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion ^aa stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Isaiah 28:13

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 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 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 Isaiah 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.

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.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 28:13:**

Isaiah 10:30
Isaiah 28:22
Isaiah 30:12
Micah 2:6

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Isaiah 28:14 >>

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