Isaiah 28:10
ESV
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
NIV
For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that ; a little here, a little there."
NASB
For He says, ‘ Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’?'
CSB
"Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there."
NLT
He tells us everything over and over — one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!'
KJV
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
NKJV
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”
What does Isaiah 28:10 mean?
Here are Israel's religious leaders—priests and prophets—mocking Isaiah for daring to correct them for their public drunkenness and failure to carry out the Lord's work. They have asked, in essence, why he is talking to them like children (Isaiah 28:9).Now they mock Isaiah's message from the Lord. This perhaps means warning that Samaria won't last much longer before being destroyed (Isaiah 28:3–4). The Hebrew words in the first part of this verse are rhyming sounds: saw' lā sāw', saw' lā sāw', qaw' lā qaw', qaw' lā qaw', z󠄓eēr sām', z󠄓eēr sām'. This is meant to imitate the babbling speech of a child, taunting Isaiah for his message.
A literal rendering of the mocking chant is "do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule." The ESV translates them more formally as "precept upon precept, line upon line," while the NIV aims to capture the spirit of the words: "Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that." They end with "here a little, there a little" to describe the continuous proclamation of the lessons, a little at a time.
The scoffers make themselves sound like a strict teacher reciting the rule book to her students—while speaking like a simpleton. They see Isaiah in this way, and they don't take his godly message seriously. After all, why would they want to be lectured by someone still committed to proclaiming God's message? The Lord will throw these words back into the faces of the obstinate Israelites (Isaiah 28:13).
Something similar often happens today when attempting to discuss Scripture with those who have given up believing it. It's easier to mock the believer than to engage with the content of the message.
