Isaiah 28:17

Justice

¹⁵ For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

¹⁶ So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.

¹⁸ Your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be trampled by it.

¹⁹ As often as it passes through, it will carry you away; it will sweep through morning after morning, by day and by night.” The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.
KJV: Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
WEB: I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.
ASV: And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.
DARBY: And I will appoint judgment for a line, and righteousness for a plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.
BLB: And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumbline; and the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.

ÅB: Og jeg vil gjøre rett til målesnor og rettferdighet til lodd, og hagl skal rive bort løgnens tilflukt, og skjulet skal vannene skylle bort.
OTB: Jeg vil gjøre rettferdighet til målesnor og rettferdighet til lodd; hagl vil feie bort løgnens tilflukt, og vann vil oversvømme skjulestedet.
B1930: Og jeg vil gjøre rett til målesnor og rettferdighet til lodd, og hagl skal rive bort løgnens tilflukt, og skjulet skal vannene skylle bort.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Kings 21:13
I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
Read in context
Revelation 16:21
And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
Read in context
Amos 7:7–9
This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
Read in context
Romans 2:5
But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Read in context
Romans 2:2
And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
Read in context
Isaiah 28:2
Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground.
Read in context
Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Read in context
Jeremiah 7:14
therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.
Read in context