28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
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.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 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.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
Must-Read Christian Books
Knowing God
A classic that helps believers move from knowing about God to truly knowing Him in a personal and biblical way.
View on Amazon
The Knowledge of the Holy
Short, powerful meditations on the attributes of God that lift the reader into a bigger, more biblical view of who He is.
View on Amazon
The Cost of Discipleship
A penetrating look at Jesus' call to follow Him, contrasting cheap grace with true, costly discipleship.
View on Amazon
The Pilgrim's Progress
A classic allegory of the Christian journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, saturated with Scripture.
View on Amazon
Institutes of the Christian Religion
A classic work of Reformed theology in an accessible form, laying out Christian doctrine with deep biblical roots.
View on Amazon
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands
Biblical counseling and discipleship that helps believers speak God's truth into one another's lives.
View on Amazon
Let the Nations Be Glad!
Missions-focused theology showing that worship is the goal of evangelism to the nations.
View on Amazon
God's Big Picture
Traces the storyline of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a clear, Christ-centered way.
View on Amazon
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
Outlines nine biblical priorities for congregations that want to be faithful and healthy.
View on Amazon
Just Do Something
A wise, biblical approach to knowing God's will without paralysis or mysticism.
View on Amazon
The Sovereignty of God
A strong, Scripture-based defense of God's absolute rule over all things.
View on Amazon
The Westminster Confession of Faith
A historic confession that systematically sets forth Reformed theology from Scripture.
View on Amazon
Expository Listening
Teaches Christians how to listen to expository preaching in a way that bears fruit.
View on Amazon
Preaching and Preachers
Classic lectures on the nature and power of biblical preaching.
View on Amazon
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
A Puritan classic on learning contentment in God in every circumstance.
View on Amazon
The Christian Life
A clear, doctrinally rich overview of salvation and Christian living.
View on Amazon
The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
Shows how the gospel frees us from self-obsession to live in joy and service.
View on Amazon