The Meaning of Isaiah 28:12 Explained

Isaiah 28:12

KJV: To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

YLT: Unto whom He hath said, 'This is the rest, give ye rest to the weary, And this -- the refreshing:' And they have not been willing to hear,

Darby: to whom he said, This is the rest: cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. But they would not hear.

ASV: to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To whom he said,  This [is] the rest  [wherewith] ye may cause the weary  to rest;  and this [is] the refreshing:  yet they would  not hear. 

What does Isaiah 28:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 28:1-13 - The Decay Of An Intemperate People
A new series of prophecies begins here and extends to Isaiah 28:7-828. 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 1711662362_7 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 28:12 mean?

Whom He said to whom this [is] the rest [with which] You may cause to rest the weary and this [is] the refreshing and yet not they would hear
אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אָמַ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם זֹ֤את הַמְּנוּחָה֙ הָנִ֣יחוּ לֶֽעָיֵ֔ף וְזֹ֖את הַמַּרְגֵּעָ֑ה וְלֹ֥א אָב֖וּא שְׁמֽוֹעַ

אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀  Whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אָמַ֣ר  He  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם  to  whom 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
זֹ֤את  this  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
הַמְּנוּחָה֙  the  rest 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְנוּחָה 
Sense: resting place, rest.
הָנִ֣יחוּ  [with  which]  You  may  cause  to  rest 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נוּחַ 
Sense: to rest.
לֶֽעָיֵ֔ף  the  weary 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָיֵף  
Sense: faint, exhausted, weary.
וְזֹ֖את  and  this  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
הַמַּרְגֵּעָ֑ה  the  refreshing 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַרְגֵּעָה  
Sense: rest, repose, place to rest.
וְלֹ֥א  and  yet  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אָב֖וּא  they  would 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָבָה  
Sense: to be willing, consent.
שְׁמֽוֹעַ  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.