The Meaning of Isaiah 28:13 Explained

Isaiah 28:13

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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.

Darby: 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.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 28:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord would continue to teach them bit by bit, and a little here and a little there, through hardship. The result would be retrogression, brokenness, entrapment, and captivity.
". . . in order for maturity to be reached, the child must be allowed to suffer the consequences of its actions. For the parent to intervene constantly and to nullify the results is to give the child a wholly misshapen understanding of life." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 28:1-13 - The Decay Of An Intemperate People
A new series of prophecies begins here and extends to Isaiah 32:20. Samaria is described as a faded crown or garland on the nation's head because it was disgraced by the national drunkenness. See Amos 4:1. So corrupted was she by strong drink and its attendant evils that the Assyrian invader would plunder her as a man gathers ripe figs. But to Judah, that is, the remnant, the Lord would be a crown or garland, not of pride but of glory. His beauty would not be as a fading flower, but a lasting diadem. What wine is to the sensuous man, that God is to the spiritual. See Ephesians 5:18. You that have to form right judgments, and you that have to turn the battle from the gate, will find all your need in Him. In Isaiah 28:7-8 we have a terrible picture of widespread effects of strong drink; and in Isaiah 28:9-10 the prophet recites the ribald remarks addressed to himself by the roisterers of those evil days. He replies that God would Himself answer them by the stern accents of the Assyrian tongue, which would sound like stammering, Isaiah 28:11; and this would befall them because they would not need the wooing accents of His love, Isaiah 28:12. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 28

1  The prophet threatens Ephraim for their pride and drunkenness
5  The residue shall be advanced in the kingdom of Christ
7  He rebukes their error
9  Their unwillingness to learn
14  And their security
16  Christ the sure foundation is promised
17  Their security shall be tried
23  They are incited to the consideration of God's providence

What do the individual words in Isaiah 28:13 mean?

But was to them the word of Yahweh Precept upon precept upon precept Line upon line upon line a little Here a little there that they might go and fall backward and be broken and snared and caught -
וְהָיָ֨ה לָהֶ֜ם דְּבַר־ יְהוָ֗ה צַ֣ו לָצָ֞ו לָצָו֙ קַ֤ו לָקָו֙ לָקָ֔ו זְעֵ֥יר שָׁ֖ם זְעֵ֣יר שָׁ֑ם לְמַ֨עַן יֵלְכ֜וּ וְכָשְׁל֤וּ אָחוֹר֙ וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּ וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ פ

וְהָיָ֨ה  But  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לָהֶ֜ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition-l, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
דְּבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֗ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צַ֣ו  Precept 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַו  
Sense: command, ordinance, oracle (meaning dubious).
לָצָ֞ו  upon  precept 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַו  
Sense: command, ordinance, oracle (meaning dubious).
לָצָו֙  upon  precept 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַו  
Sense: command, ordinance, oracle (meaning dubious).
קַ֤ו  Line 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָו 
Sense: cord, line, measuring-line.
לָקָו֙  upon  line 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָו 
Sense: cord, line, measuring-line.
לָקָ֔ו  upon  line 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָו 
Sense: cord, line, measuring-line.
זְעֵ֥יר  a  little 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זְעֵיר  
Sense: a little.
שָׁ֖ם  Here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
זְעֵ֣יר  a  little 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זְעֵיר  
Sense: a little.
לְמַ֨עַן  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: לְמַעַן 
Sense: purpose, intent prep.
יֵלְכ֜וּ  they  might  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְכָשְׁל֤וּ  and  fall 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: כָּשַׁל  
Sense: to stumble, stagger, totter.
אָחוֹר֙  backward 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָחֹור  
Sense: the back side, the rear.
וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּ  and  be  broken 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ  and  snared 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָקַשׁ  
Sense: to lure, entice, snare, lay a snare or lure, set a trap.
וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ  and  caught 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָכַד  
Sense: to capture, take, seize.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation