Isaiah 28:15
ESV
Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter";
NIV
You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
NASB
Because you have said, 'We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by, Because we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.'
CSB
For you said, "We have made a covenant with Death, and we have an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming catastrophe passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery."
NLT
You boast, 'We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.'
KJV
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:
NKJV
Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
What does Isaiah 28:15 mean?
Isaiah has harshly rebuked the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah as scoffers (Isaiah 28:14). Now he begins to say why. They have made some sort of plan: alliances with foreign nations such as Egypt (Isaiah 30:1–2) and worship of false gods. These were in exchange for protection against the powerful Assyrian Empire. Isaiah calls this a bargain with death and "Sheol," the place of the dead. They are being taken in by their own lies, believing themselves safe from the harm which is to come.Most commentators agree that Isaiah is being deeply sarcastic here. Instead of saving Judah, these measures will guarantee their destruction. Their "shelter" is made of lies; the Egyptians have deceived them and will not step in to save them when the Assyrians come. Repeatedly (Isaiah 19—20), Isaiah has called out Judah for hoping in foreign nations to save them instead of simply trusting the Lord.
Some commentators suggest it possible, though unlikely, that Judah's leaders had made a formal religious pact with foreign gods of death and the underworld. This would mean agreeing to worship them in exchange for their protection against Assyria. If so, Isaiah's statement that they were seeking safety in lies would still hold true.
