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King James Version

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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blindness;   Isaiah;   Reprobacy;   Word of God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Social Duties;   Temperance;   Temperance-Intemperance;   The Topic Concordance - Understanding;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Word;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Tongues, Gift of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Isaiah;   Line;   Samaria, Samaritans;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Isaiah, Book of;   Stone;   Untoward;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Vagabond;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Measuring Line;   Precept;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Aquila (Βλώμβσ);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The word of the Lord will come to them:“Law after law, law after law,line after line, line after line,a little here, a little there,”so they go stumbling backward,to be broken, trapped, and captured.
Hebrew Names Version
Therefore shall the word of the LORD 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, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
English Standard Version
And the word of the Lord will be to 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.
New American Standard Bible
So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there," That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
New Century Version
So the words of the Lord will be, "A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there." They will fall back and be defeated; they will be trapped and captured.
Amplified Bible
Therefore the word of the LORD to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]: "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little." That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive.
World English Bible
Therefore shall the word of Yahweh 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, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore shall the worde of the Lord be vnto them precept vpon precept, precept vpo precept, line vnto line, line vnto line, there a litle and there a litle, that they may goe, and fall backward, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
Legacy Standard Bible
So the word of Yahweh to them will be,"Order on order, order on order,Line on line, line on line,A little here, a little there,"That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the word of the LORD will come to them: "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 be injured, snared, and captured.
Contemporary English Version
Now his message to you will be senseless sound after senseless sound. Then you will fall backwards, injured and trapped.
Complete Jewish Bible
So now the word of Adonai for them comes "precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there," so that when they walk, they stumble backward, and are broken, trapped and captured!
Darby Translation
And 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.
Easy-to-Read Version
So the Lord 's words will be senseless sounds to them: "Saw lasaw saw lasaw. Qaw laqaw qaw laqaw. Ze'er sham ze'er sham." When the people try to walk, they will fall backwards. They will be defeated, trapped, and captured.
George Lamsa Translation
So the word of the LORD was to them filth upon filth, filth upon filth, vomit upon vomit, vomit upon vomit; a little here, a little there; that they might return and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken.
Good News Translation
That is why the Lord is going to teach you letter by letter, line by line, lesson by lesson. Then you will stumble with every step you take. You will be wounded, trapped, and taken prisoner.
Lexham English Bible
And to them the word of Yahweh will be blah-blah upon blah-blah blah-blah upon blah-blah gah-gah upon gah-gah gah-gah upon gah-gah, a little here, a little there, so that they may go and stumble backward and be broken and ensnared and captured.
Literal Translation
Yet the Word of Jehovah was to them, precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they might go, and stumble, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And therfore the LORDE shal answere their stubbournes (Comaunde yt maye be comaunded, byd yt maye be bydden, forbyd yt maye be forbydde, kepe backe yt maye be kepte backe, here a litle, there a litle) That they maye go forth, fall backwarde, be brussed, snared and taken.
American Standard Version
Therefore 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.
Bible in Basic English
For 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.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And so the word of the LORD is unto them precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
King James Version (1611)
But the word of the Lord was vnto them, precept vpon precept, precept vpon precept, line vpon line, line vpon line, here a litle and there a litle: that they might goe and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore shall the word of the Lord be vnto them, lesson vpon lesson, commaundement vpon commaundement, rule vpon rule, instruction vpon instruction, there a litle, and there a litle: that they may go on and fall backwarde, be brused, tangled, and snared.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Therefore the oracle of God shall be to them affliction on affliction, hope on hope, yet a little, and yet a little, that they may go and fall backward; and they shall be crushed and shall be in danger, and shall be taken.
English Revised Version
Therefore shall the word of the LORD 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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the word of the Lord schal be to hem, Sende thou, sende thou ayen; send thou, sende thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; a litil there, a litil there; that thei go, and falle backward, and be al to-brokun, and be snarid, and be takun.
Update Bible Version
Therefore shall the word of Yahweh 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, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Webster's Bible Translation
But 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.
New English Translation
So the Lord 's word to them will sound like meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there. As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, and be injured, ensnared, and captured.
New King James Version
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.
New Living Translation
So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
New Life Bible
So the Word of the Lord to them will be, "Law on law, law on law, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there," that they may go and fall back, be broken, trapped, and taken away by those who hate them.
New Revised Standard
Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little;" in order that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So the word of Yahweh must be to them - Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, A little here, a little there, - That they may go and fall backward and be torn and snared and captured.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the word of the Lord shall be to them: Command, command again; command, command again; expect, expect again; a little there, a little there: that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Revised Standard Version
Therefore the word of the LORD will be to 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.
Young's Literal Translation
And 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.
THE MESSAGE
So God will start over with the simple basics and address them in baby talk, one syllable at a time— "Da, da, da, da, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's a good little girl, that's a good little boy." And like toddlers, they will get up and fall down, get bruised and confused and lost.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there," That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.

Contextual Overview

9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 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. 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

precept upon precept: Isaiah 28:10, Jeremiah 23:36-38, Hosea 6:5, Hosea 8:12

that: Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 8:14, Isaiah 8:15, Psalms 69:22, Matthew 13:14, Matthew 21:44, Romans 11:9, 2 Corinthians 2:16, 1 Peter 2:7, 1 Peter 2:8, 2 Peter 3:16

Reciprocal: Psalms 9:16 - wicked Psalms 70:2 - be turned Psalms 119:165 - nothing shall offend them Isaiah 8:9 - and ye Isaiah 29:12 - I am not Jeremiah 15:6 - thou art Ezekiel 33:31 - show much love Matthew 13:24 - put Luke 14:18 - all 2 Timothy 2:26 - out Hebrews 5:12 - teach

Cross-References

Genesis 12:7
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord , who appeared unto him.
Genesis 13:15
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Genesis 26:3
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Genesis 26:24
And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Genesis 28:4
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
Genesis 28:6
When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;
Genesis 28:7
And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
Genesis 28:15
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Genesis 28:16
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept,.... Was despised and derided by them; they took the prophet's words out of his mouth, and in a scoffing manner repeated them; which, in the Hebrew text, is in a rhyming form, and were sung and drawled out by them, "Tsau lotsau, Tsau lotsau, Kau lakau, Kau lakau": this is all he can say to us, and we have from him:

precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; or the words may be rendered, "and the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept", c. as it had been, so it still was; the same method was continued to be taken with them, and they still treated as children; and it is suggested that they should remain so, and not be men in understanding; and that they should be ever learning like children, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. Moreover, the words may be rendered, "though the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept", c. though it was delivered in so plain and easy a manner to them, and such methods of instruction were used gradually and gently, to instil knowledge into them, yet so stupid were they as not to receive it, and so perverse and stubborn as wilfully to reject it; hence they were given up to judicial blindness and hardness, Romans 11:8:

that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken: go on in their own sinful ways, backslide from God, and be broken by his judgments; and be ensnared and taken in the net of the Babylonians, and be carried by them into captivity; see Ezekiel 12:13 compare with this Matthew 21:44 or rather fall into the hands of the Romans, and be taken and dispersed by them among the nations.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.


 
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