Isaiah 28:17
in Isaiah 28I 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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.
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.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 28
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Judgment also will I lay to the line - The sense of this is, I will judge them according to the exact rule of law, as an architect frames everything according to the rule which he uses. In other words, there shall be no mercy intermingled. The line is used by a carpenter for measuring; the plummet consists of a piece of lead attached to a string, and is also used by carpenters to obtain a perpendicular line. A carpenter works exactly according to the lines which are thus indicated, or his frame would not be properly adjusted.
This site's exposition
I lay a stone in Zion
on Isaiah 28:16-17
The Lord GOD sets His foundation: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone". First Peter 2:6 quotes the verse of Christ, and Romans 9:33 joins it to the stumbling stone of Isaiah 8:14. The promise is "the one who believes will never be shaken".
This site's exposition
make justice the measuring line
The measuring line and the level are a builder's tools. Barnes explains the line and the plumb weight a carpenter uses, and he reads the image as judgment by the exact rule of the law. The stone is laid true, and every refuge of lies is tested against it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verses 17-18). And I will put judgment in the balance, and justice in the measure: and hail will overthrow the hope of lies, and the covering waters will flood. And your covenant with death shall be abolished, and your pact with Hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, you shall be trampled.
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:4 · Written before 390.
proposed
Discourse awhile on our present heavy blow, about the just judgments of God, whether we grasp their meaning or are ignorant of their great depth. How again "mercy is put in the balance," as holy Isaiah declares. For goodness is not without discernment, as the first laborers in the vineyard fancied, because they could not perceive any distinction between those who were paid alike. [Perceive] how anger, which is called "the cup in the hand of the Lord" and "the cup of falling which is drained," is in proportion to transgressions, even though he shows mercy to every one according to what they are due and dilutes with compassion the unmixed draught of his wrath. For he inclines from severity to indulgence toward those who accept chastisement with fear, and who after a slight affliction conceive and are in pain with conversion, and bring forth the perfect spirit of salvation. But nevertheless he reserves the dregs, the last drop of his anger, that he may pour it out entire upon those who, instead of being healed by his kindness, grow obdurate, like the hard-hearted Pharaoh, that bitter taskmaster, who is set forth as an example of the power of God over the ungodly.
The Judge wishes to have mercy on you and to share his own compassion, but on condition that he finds you humble after sin, contrite, lamenting much for your evil deeds, announcing publicly without shame sins committed secretly, begging the brothers to labor with you in reparation. In short, if he sees that you are worthy of pity, he provides his mercy for you ungrudgingly. But if he sees your heart unrepentant, your mind proud, your disbelief of the future life and your fearlessness of the judgment, then he desires the judgment for you. [This is like] a reasonable and kind doctor [who] tries at first with hot applications and soft poultices to reduce a tumor. But, when he sees that the mass is rigidly and obstinately resisting, casting away the olive oil and the gentle method of treatment, he prefers henceforth the use of the knife. Therefore [God] loves mercy in the case of those repenting, but he also loves judgment in the case of the unyielding. Isaiah says some such thing, too, to God: "Your mercy in measure." For he compares the mercy with the judgment of him who gives compensation by scale and number and weight according to the deserts of each.
The Medieval Church1 voice
647. And I will set. Here he excludes both of these remedies, and first, the first remedy, second, the second remedy: for the bed is straitened (Isa 28:20). Concerning the first, he does three things: first, he sets out the just judgment of exclusion: I …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): Judgment will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet. This denotes, (1.) The building up of his church; having laid the foundation (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
All this is confirmed by a comparison borrowed from the method which the husbandman takes with his ground and grain, according to which they must expect God would proceed with his people, whom he had lately called his threshing and the corn of his floor ( ch. xxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Plummet - I will execute just judgment, as it were by a line and plummet annexed to it; that is, with exactness and care: I will severely punish, and utterly destroy all who reject that stone.
Judgment also will I lay to the line,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
HORSLEY translates, "I will appoint judgment for the rule, and justice for the plummet." As the corner-stone stands most perpendicular and exactly proportioned, so Jehovah, while holding out grace to believers in the Foundation-stone, will judge the scoffers (Isa 28:15) according to the exact justice of the law (compare Jas 2:13). hail--divine judgment (Isa 30:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
OVER against amazing mercy, the Holy Spirit sets awakening judgment. The acceptable year of the Lord is also the day of vengeance of our God and the sentence which shall confirm the righteous in his righteousness is attended by another which says, "He that is unjust let him be unjust still." When the Lord shall come to be glorified in His saints, He will, at the same time, take vengeance in flaming fire upon those that know Him not.
OVER against amazing mercy, the Holy Spirit sets awakening judgment. The acceptable year of the Lord is also the day of vengeance of our God and the sentence which shall confirm the righteous in his righteousness is attended by another which says, "He that is unjust let him be unjust still." When the Lord shall come to be glorified in His saints, He will, at the same time, take vengeance in flaming fire upon those that know Him not. In the present instance, in the 16th verse of this chapter, the Lord declares "Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone" and then, immediately in our text, He speaks of another laying—"Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet." Upon the roses of Grace grow the thorns of Justice. Whenever the Lord bares His arm for mercy towards Believers, He gives a backstroke to His enemies. Therefore, even the activity of love wears a threatening aspect to those who live impenitent, wedded to their sins, since it is accompanied by an energetic display of justice. Take care that you remember this, you who are unbelievers and yet dream of some millennial benediction, or latter day glory which may bring salvation to you. Is it not written, "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light"? Whatever good may be in store for Believers there is none for you! The pillar of fire which will give light to the Lord's Israel will be darkness to you, O you Egyptians! To those who are out of Christ, even the greatest triumphs of Divine love will be terrible—they shall behold and wonder and perish—they shall see the plentiful goodness of the Lord but they shall not eat thereof, but die in the gate.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י | vesamti | and I will make | H7760 → | 584 times |
| מִשְׁפָּט֙ | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| לְקָ֔ו | lekav | <into> a measuring-line | H6957 → | 21 times |
| וּצְדָקָ֖ה | utzedakah | and righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| לְמִשְׁקָ֑לֶת | lemishkalet | <into> a leveling tool | H4949 → | |
| וְיָעָ֤ה | veyaah | and it will sweep away | H3261 → | |
| בָרָד֙ | varad | hail | H1259 → | 29 times |
| מַחְסֵ֣ה | machseh | [the] refuge of | H4268 → | 20 times |
| כָזָ֔ב | khazav | falsehood | H3577 → | |
| וְסֵ֥תֶר | veseter | and [the] shelter | H5643 → | 36 times |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יִשְׁטֹֽפוּ׃ | yishtofu | they will overflow | H7857 → | 31 times |
וְשַׂמְתִּ֤יand I will make
vesamtiH7760 →584 times
מִשְׁפָּט֙justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
לְקָ֔ו<into> a measuring-line
lekavH6957 →21 times
וּצְדָקָ֖הand righteousness
utzedakahH6666 →157 times
לְמִשְׁקָ֑לֶת<into> a leveling tool
lemishkaletH4949 →
וְיָעָ֤הand it will sweep away
veyaahH3261 →
בָרָד֙hail
varadH1259 →29 times
מַחְסֵ֣ה[the] refuge of
machsehH4268 →20 times
כָזָ֔בfalsehood
khazavH3577 →
וְסֵ֥תֶרand [the] shelter
veseterH5643 →36 times
מַ֖יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
יִשְׁטֹֽפוּ׃they will overflow
yishtofuH7857 →31 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 11:19Then 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,…
it leads to
- 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.
- Ezekiel 38:22
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
- Revelation 15:5–8
After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.
- Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven Spirits of God.
- Revelation 8:5
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
- Revelation 16:21
Through
Revelation 16:21And 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.
it leads to
- 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,…
- Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
- Revelation 11:19
Through
2 Kings 21:13I 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 leads to
- Amos 7:7–8
This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
- Amos 7:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 32:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1501: “Refuges of Lies and What Will Become of Them” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.