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Isaiah 28:10

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 28:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
Isaiah 28:10 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 28

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8For all tables are full of vomit [and] filthiness, [so that there is] no place [clean].
9Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?
10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
11Nay, but by [men of] strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people;
12to 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.
13Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
← Isaiah 28:9Isaiah 28:11 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept, &c.] Signifying, that they must be dealt with as children were, when first instructed in the rudiments of a language, first had one rule given them, and then another, and so one after another till they had gone through the whole: line upon line, line upon line; who are taught first to write one line, and then another; or to draw one line, and write after that, and then another; or where to begin one line, and, when finished, where to begin another; for the allusion is to writing by line, and not to a line used in building, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think: here a little, [and] there a little; a small lesson out of one book, and a small…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“For - They must be taught like little children, because of their great dullness. Line - One line of the book after another, as children are taught to read. Isaiah 28:11”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“For precept: Isa 28:13, Isa 5:4; Deu 6:1-6; Ch2 36:15, Ch2 36:16; Neh 9:29, Neh 9:30; Jer 11:7, Jer 25:3-7; Mat 21:34-41; Phi 3:1; Ti2 3:7; Heb 5:12 must be: or, hath been Isaiah 28:11”
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Related study paths

Read Isaiah 28 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification