The Meaning of Isaiah 28:4 Explained

Isaiah 28:4

KJV: 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.

YLT: And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory That is on the head of the fat valley, Hath been as its first-fruit before summer, That its beholder seeth, While it is yet in his hand he swalloweth it.

Darby: and the fading flower of his glorious adornment which is on the head of the fat valley shall be like an early fig before the summer: as soon as he that seeth it perceiveth it, scarcely is it in his hand, he swalloweth it down.

ASV: and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 28:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Ephraim"s pride ( Isaiah 28:3) made her ripe for judgment. Her enemy would pluck her and consume her as greedily and as easily as a person who sees a ripe fig on a tree at the beginning of the fig season picks it, pops it into his mouth, and swallows it (cf. Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1).

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 28:4 mean?

and is a flower fading glorious the beauty which [is] at the head of the valley verdant Like the first fruit before the summer which an observer sees - while it is still in his hand He eats it up -
וְֽהָ֨יְתָ֜ה צִיצַ֤ת נֹבֵל֙ צְבִ֣י תִפְאַרְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־ רֹ֖אשׁ גֵּ֣יא שְׁמָנִ֑ים כְּבִכּוּרָהּ֙‪‬ בְּטֶ֣רֶם קַ֔יִץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִרְאֶ֤ה הָֽרֹאֶה֙ אוֹתָ֔הּ בְּעוֹדָ֥הּ בְּכַפּ֖וֹ יִבְלָעֶֽנָּה ס

וְֽהָ֨יְתָ֜ה  and  is 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
צִיצַ֤ת  a  flower 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: צִיצָה  
Sense: blossom, flower.
נֹבֵל֙  fading 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָבֵל 
Sense: to be senseless, be foolish.
צְבִ֣י  glorious 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: beauty, glory, honour.
תִפְאַרְתּ֔וֹ  the  beauty 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: תִּפְאֶרֶת  
Sense: beauty, splendour, glory.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
עַל־  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
רֹ֖אשׁ  the  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
גֵּ֣יא  of  the  valley 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: גַּיְא  
Sense: valley, a steep valley, narrow gorge.
שְׁמָנִ֑ים  verdant 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שֶׁמֶן  
Sense: fat, oil.
כְּבִכּוּרָהּ֙‪‬  Like  the  first  fruit 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בִּכּוּרִים  
Sense: first-fruits.
בְּטֶ֣רֶם  before 
Parse: Preposition-b, Adverb
Root: טֶרֶם  
Sense: before, not yet, before that.
קַ֔יִץ  the  summer 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַיִץ  
Sense: summer, summer-fruit.
יִרְאֶ֤ה  an  observer 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
הָֽרֹאֶה֙  sees 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אוֹתָ֔הּ  - 
Parse: Direct object marker, third person feminine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בְּעוֹדָ֥הּ  while  it  is  still 
Parse: Preposition-b, Adverb, third person feminine singular
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
בְּכַפּ֖וֹ  in  his  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.
יִבְלָעֶֽנָּה  He  eats  it  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: בָּלַע 
Sense: to swallow down, swallow up, engulf, eat up.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation