1 Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower {tzitz: fading bloom}—his beauty—which is on the head of the fat valleys of those struck down by wine {yayin: fermented grape drink}.
2 Behold, the Lord {Adonai, Supreme Authority} has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a storm of destruction, like a torrent of mighty overflowing waters; He will cast it down to the earth with His hand {yad: decisive action}.
3 By feet shall be trampled the crown {ateret: symbol of arrogance} of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim {ephrayim: northern Israelite tribe}.
4 And the fading flower of his glorious beauty {tsevi: splendor}, which is on the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first-ripe fig {kevikkurat: early fig} before the summer; when one sees it, while it is still in his hand, he swallows it up.
5 In that day the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Supreme Commander} will be a crown {tzevi: radiance} and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of His people.
6 And for a spirit of judgment {mishpat: judicial decree} to the one who sits in judgment, and for strength {gevurah: heroic might} to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 And these also err in wine {yayin: intoxicating drink} and wander in strong drink; the priest and the prophet err in strong drink, are swallowed up by wine, wander from strong drink; they err in vision and stumble in judgment {peliliyah: decision-making}.
8 For all the tables are filled with vomit and filth {tzo’ah: ritual impurity}; there is no place {māqôm: physical location} left clean.
9 Whom will He {YHWH, Divine Instructor} teach knowledge, and whom will He cause to understand instruction {shemuah: message}? Those weaned from milk and removed from the breasts.
10 For precept {tsaw: structured instruction} upon precept, line {qaw: measuring line} upon line; here a little, there a little.
11 For with stammering {belaggei: halting speech} lips and with a different tongue, He {YHWH, Divine Orator} will speak to this people.
12 To whom He {YHWH, Patient Rest-Caller} said, “This is the rest {menuchah: God-Given Repose}; give rest to the weary, and this is the repose.” Yet they were not willing to listen.
13 And the word {devar: divine decree} of the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} will be to them: command to command, command to command; line to line, line to line; little here, little there; so that they may go and stumble backward and be broken and be ensnared and be caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Speaker}, you men of scoffing {latzon: derision}, rulers of this people in Jerusalem.
15 Because you have said, “We have cut a covenant with death, and with Sheol {sheol: Underworld Domain} we have made an agreement; when the inundation, the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have set a lie as our refuge {mahsenu: False Shelter}, and in the falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD {YHWH Adonai, Sovereign Promise-Maker}: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes {maamin: one who trusts unwaveringly} will not be in haste.
17 And I {YHWH, Just Arbiter} will set judgment {mishpat: legal decision according to truth} as a measuring line, and righteousness as a plumb line {mishqelet: leveling instrument for exactness}; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will flood the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death will be annulled {vekupar: made void}, and your agreement with Sheol {sheol: underworld realm} will not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.
19 From the time it passes, it will seize you; morning by morning it will pass over by day and by night. And it will be only terror {zeva’ah: dread-inducing threat} to understand the report {shemu’ah: prophetic message}.
20 For the bed {matza: makeshift bedding} is too short to stretch out upon, and the covering {massekah: thin covering} is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For as at Mount Perazim the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} will rise up, as in the valley of Gibeon He will rage, to do His work—His strange work {zar: unprecedented act}—and to carry out His task—His alien task.
22 And now, do not be mockers, lest your bonds become strong; for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts {YHWH Adonai Tzvaot, Supreme Commander} of an utter end {kalah: utter end} decreed upon all the earth.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice; pay attention {haqshivu: attentive listening}, and hear my utterance {imrati: spoken declaration}.
24 Does the plowman {choresh: agricultural worker} plow all day to sow, and does he open and break up his ground {adamah: cultivated soil}?
25 Does he not, after he has leveled its surface, scatter black cumin {qetsach: aromatic seed} and sow cumin {kammon: spice seed}, and place wheat in rows, and barley in an appointed plot, and spelt within its border?
26 And his God {Elohav, Divine Instructor} instructs him in prudence {mishpat: right judgment}, and He teaches him.
27 For black cumin {ketzach: aromatic spice seed} is not threshed with a sharp threshing-sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin; but black cumin is beaten out with a staff {matteh: light threshing implement}, and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain for bread {lechem: ground grain} is crushed, yet one does not thresh it forever; though the wheel of his cart and his horses pass over it, they do not pulverize {yedukkanu: entirely crush} it.
29 Also, this has come forth from the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Sovereign Commander}; He has done wonders in counsel {etzah: wise guidance} and has made skill great.