Isaiah 28:17
ESV
And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter."
NIV
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
NASB
I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the secret place.
CSB
And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason’s level." Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.
NLT
I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away.
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.
NKJV
Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
What does Isaiah 28:17 mean?
Isaiah seems to have called out the rulers of Jerusalem (Isaiah 28:14–15) for making an alliance with the Egyptians to save them from the looming Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 30:1–2). Isaiah has said they have used lies as a refuge, by trusting the myth that the Egyptians will save them.Now Isaiah quotes the Lord who laid the trustworthy cornerstone in Jerusalem (Isaiah 28:15). He alone can be trusted to save Judah. Continuing the building metaphor, the Lord says He will build on that perfect foundation using righteousness and justice as the standard against which everything else is measured. What He builds will stand. The refuge of lies—Judah trusting Egypt to save them—will be swept away by the hailstorm and flood of the Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 28:17). Anticipating the storm to come, Jerusalem's rulers were building their house on sand, not stone (Matthew 7:24–27).
