Isaiah 28 11

Isaiah 28:11 kjv

For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

Isaiah 28:11 nkjv

For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,

Isaiah 28:11 niv

Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,

Isaiah 28:11 esv

For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people,

Isaiah 28:11 nlt

So now God will have to speak to his people
through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!

Isaiah 28 verses

Isaiah 28 11 Meaning

Isaiah 28:11 foretells a profound divine judgment upon the people of Judah, specifically the scoffers and corrupt leaders in Jerusalem. Because they have dismissed God's clear and simple instructions, perceiving them as childish babbling, God declares that He will speak to them through an unfamiliar, alien means – symbolized by "stammering lips and another tongue." This signifies either the unintelligible language of foreign conquerors who will overwhelm them or a bewildering, harsh form of judgment that will humble them and force them to listen to a "language" of divine wrath they could not understand through prior, merciful revelation. It highlights an ironic divine response, mirroring their own contempt for His accessible truth.

Isaiah 28 11 Context

Isaiah 28 opens with a denunciation of Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom) for its drunkenness and arrogance. The "crown of pride" in Samaria, once beautiful, is now faded. The chapter then shifts to the leaders of Judah/Jerusalem, who share a similar spiritual intoxication and dismissive attitude towards God's warnings. They mock Isaiah's straightforward prophecies, comparing his teachings to the childish babble of "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little" (Isa 28:10), as if he were instructing infants. This verse, Isaiah 28:11, is a direct divine response to that contempt. Because they refuse to hear God's clear, simple word from His prophets, He promises to speak to them in a harsh, bewildering way – through the foreign, guttural language of invading armies like the Assyrians, symbolizing judgment and conquest. This serves as an ironic fulfillment of their mockery; if they disliked the simple words, they would be forced to listen to a truly incomprehensible, yet devastating, language of divine wrath. The immediate historical context points to the looming Assyrian threat and Judah's foolish reliance on alliances rather than the Lord.

Isaiah 28 11 Word analysis

• Indeed, / For: (כִּי - kî) This particle emphasizes the certainty and causal connection. It implies "Because of what you have done (as in vv.9-10), therefore this will happen." It serves as a strong indicator that the following statement is a direct consequence.
• by stammering lips / stammering lips: (בְּלַעֲגֵי שָׂפָה - bəla‘agê śāp̄â)
  • בְּ (bə-) "by" or "with," indicating the instrument.
  • לַעֲגֵי (la‘agê): A plural participle derived from the root לָעַג (la'ag), meaning "to mock," "to scorn," "to stammer," or "to deride." In this context, it evokes sounds that are derisive, incoherent, or childish, mirroring the perception the leaders had of Isaiah's plain teaching. It implies an unintelligible or broken speech, reflecting divine irony.
  • שָׂפָה (śāp̄â): "lip," "speech," or "language."
  • Together, it refers to a form of communication that is unintelligible, perhaps broken or derisive, reflecting God's response to those who ridiculed His prophets' plain teaching as childlike babble.
• and another tongue / another tongue: (וּבְלָשׁוֹן אַחֶרֶת - uvəlāšôn ’aḥeret)
  • וּבְ (ūvə-) "and with," connecting this second instrument of speech.
  • לָשׁוֹן (lāšôn): "tongue" or "language."
  • אַחֶרֶת (’aḥeret): "other," "another," "foreign."
  • This phrase clearly denotes a foreign language, specifically that of the invading armies (Assyrian/Babylonian) that would soon overwhelm Judah. It represents a concrete and terrifying manifestation of God's judgment through an alien culture.
• He will speak / He will speak: (יְדַבֵּר - yəḏabbēr)
  • From the root דָּבַר (dabar), "to speak," "to command," "to promise."
  • The subject is God Himself, emphasizing His direct, active, and sovereign role in bringing about this judgment. This is not merely a natural consequence but a deliberate divine act. God, the ultimate communicator, chooses this terrifying means.
• to this people: (אֶל־הָעָם הַזֶּה - ’el-hā‘ām hazzeh)
  • אֶל־ (’el-): "to" or "towards."
  • הָעָם (hā‘ām): "the people," specifically Judah/Jerusalem.
  • הַזֶּה (hazzeh): "this," indicating a specific group – the very people addressed throughout chapter 28, who rejected clear prophecy. This pinpoints the target of God's judgment.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "by stammering lips and another tongue": This phrase describes the method and nature of God's future communication. It highlights both the perceived incomprehensibility ("stammering lips," mirroring their ridicule) and the definite foreignness ("another tongue," representing a concrete military threat). It's an instrument of judgment chosen ironically by God.
• "He will speak to this people": This emphasizes God's sovereign intent and the direct target of His message. He is not passively observing; He is actively intervening with a devastating "message" of judgment upon the very people who scorned His accessible warnings. The verb "speak" underscores that even the foreign invasion is God's voice, delivering His sentence.

Isaiah 28 11 Bonus section

The context of Isaiah 28:11 is further amplified by the concept of "the plumb line" (v. 17) and "the cornerstone" (v. 16) mentioned in the same chapter. God's clear revelation and righteous standards (the "precept upon precept" that the leaders mocked) are like a plumb line for measuring righteousness. Because they rejected this simple truth, they would face a "flood" (v. 18) of judgment. The very clear instruction they disdained was meant to establish a sure foundation (the cornerstone); their rejection led instead to a stumbling. Thus, Isaiah 28:11 serves as a bridge, showing that despising plain spiritual guidance results in God’s judgment delivered in a truly incomprehensible, yet physically devastating, manner. The consequence of dismissing divine pedagogy is divine pedagogy by crisis.

Isaiah 28 11 Commentary

Isaiah 28:11 functions as a divine quid pro quo – a stern ironic reversal from God. Because the leaders of Judah had ridiculed the clear, yet seemingly simple, instruction of God's prophets (Isa 28:9-10), viewing it as unintelligible babbling fit only for infants, God promises to speak to them in a language that is genuinely unintelligible and deeply terrifying: the harsh, foreign tongues of conquering armies. This serves as a divine judgment that directly mirrors their contempt.

It's not that God desires to be obscure, but rather that their spiritual dullness and rebellious hearts have rendered them incapable of hearing His clear voice. Therefore, He will resort to the severe language of calamity and foreign oppression. This verse underscores God's sovereignty in judgment; He chooses the means of discipline, transforming a foreign invasion into His own spoken message of retribution.

The New Testament, specifically 1 Corinthians 14:21, famously quotes this verse. Paul applies the principle: just as God used foreign speech as a sign of judgment against rebellious Israel, so too the gift of tongues, if not properly understood or interpreted, can function as a sign of judgment for unbelievers, leading to confusion rather than conviction. In both contexts, whether ancient Israel facing invaders or first-century unbelievers witnessing miraculous speech, the inability or unwillingness to understand God's communication leads to intensified divine judgment. It warns against spiritual arrogance and highlights that a refusal to heed simple truths will inevitably lead to harsher, more confusing, and painful realities.