Isaiah 28:11
For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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God's message, often simplified for His people, will be delivered through the harsh, foreign language of conquerors. This isn't just about a different language; it's God using their own rejection of His clear word to teach them through terrifying, unintelligible sounds.
This verse comes amidst Isaiah's stern message to the drunkards of Ephraim and Jerusalem who mock his prophetic pronouncements, dismissing them as simplistic. God responds to their scorn by declaring He will speak to them through a foreign, unintelligible language, signifying an impending judgment by an invading power like Assyria. Their inability to understand this new "language" will be a consequence of their stubborn refusal to heed God's clear messages delivered in their own tongue through His prophets.
Have you ever felt completely misunderstood, or struggled to understand someone speaking a different language? God intentionally uses foreign tongues as a tool of judgment.
A Divine Retort
God's people in Isaiah's day were mocking His messages, finding them too simple or repetitive. They essentially said, "This is just baby talk!"
God's response, through Isaiah, is a chilling one: "For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people." This wasn't just about a new language; it was about a new method of divine communication.
The Language of Exile
The "strange lips" and "foreign tongue" refer to the language of the invading Assyrians (or later, the Babylonians). When God delivered His people through prophets in their own language, they refused to listen. So, God would bring foreign conquerors whose unintelligible speech would become the instrument of His discipline. Imagine living in a land you once knew, now ruled by those whose words you can't understand, whose commands are harsh and alien. This foreign language becomes a symbol of their alienation from God and a stark reminder of their disobedience.
Why would God's message, which is meant to bring rest, become like meaningless babble? It's all about the hearers' hearts.
'Here a Little, There a Little'
Before this verse, Isaiah describes how God's message felt to the proud and rebellious: "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." They found God's instructions tedious and childish.
From Repetition to Babble
God’s response in verse 11 flips this. The very method they scorned – repetitive, simple instruction – is twisted. Instead of clear words from God's prophets, they will hear the harsh, confusing, and unintelligible sounds of foreign invaders. The invaders' speech, alien and grating, becomes the judgment. It’s God saying, 'You found my clear words like babble? Fine. You’ll hear actual babble, and it will bring you nothing but sorrow and exile.'
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal, covenantal name of God, revealed to Israel, emphasizing His self-existence and faithfulness to His promises. It is the name by which He makes Himself known as the Redeemer of His people.
The prophecy in Isaiah 28:11 speaks directly to the imminent judgment Judah would face. Having scorned God's prophetic word, delivered in their own language, they would soon hear His judgment through the harsh, foreign tongue of their Assyrian (or later, Babylonian) conquerors, a sound that would be both unintelligible and terrifying.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Expansion and Influence
The Neo-Assyrian Empire, under rulers like Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II, was a dominant military and political force in the ancient Near East, exerting significant pressure and influence on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Fall of Israel
The northern kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrians, leading to the deportation of its inhabitants and the scattering of the ten tribes. This event serves as a stark warning to the southern kingdom of Judah.
c. 701 BC— this verse
Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, campaigns against Judah and besieges Jerusalem. While the city is not captured, the Assyrian presence and threat are deeply felt, emphasizing Judah's precarious position.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
This passage directly connects the idea of speaking in 'tongues' (languages unknown to the listener) to the prophetic message of Isaiah, suggesting that unintelligible speech can be a sign of judgment when it's not coupled with understanding.
Deuteronomy 28:49This Old Testament passage prophesies that God will bring a distant nation, speaking a foreign language, to attack Israel, directly paralleling Isaiah's warning of judgment through incomprehensible speech.
Jeremiah 5:15This verse describes God bringing a nation with a foreign tongue to judge Judah, echoing the theme of God using unfamiliar languages as a tool of discipline for His people's disobedience.
Isaiah 33:19This verse reiterates the idea of a people with a 'foreign tongue' and 'stammering speech,' directly linking back to Isaiah 28 and reinforcing the concept of incomprehensible language as a symbol of judgment and confusion.
bensonIsaiah 28:11: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people."
Isaiah 28:11-12 . For — Or, rather, therefore, as the particle כי is often used. For the prophet here evidently intends to express the punishment of their dulness. With stammering lips, and another tongue — By people of a strange language, whom he will bring among them, and into whose power he will deliver them; will he speak to this people — Seeing they will not hear him speaking by his prophets and minis…
cambridgeIsaiah 28:11: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people."
11 . Isaiah parries the gibe with a terrible threat. Jehovah is about to employ a more uncouth language, to which their mocking description will fully apply, viz., the harsh barbarous accents of the Assyrian invaders. stammering lips ] either “stammerings of lip” or “stammerers of lip” (cf. the Greek use of βάρβαρος ). Comp. 1 Corinthians 14:21 .
God's message, often simplified for His people, will be delivered through the harsh, foreign language of conquerors. This isn't just about a different language; it's God using their own rejection of His clear word to teach them through terrifying, unintelligible sounds.
This verse comes amidst Isaiah's stern message to the drunkards of Ephraim and Jerusalem who mock his prophetic pronouncements, dismissing them as simplistic. God responds to their scorn by declaring He will speak to them through a foreign, unintelligible language, signifying an impending judgment by an invading power like Assyria. Their inability to understand this new "language" will be a consequence of their stubborn refusal to heed God's clear messages delivered in their own tongue through His prophets.
This verse comes amidst Isaiah's stern message to the drunkards of Ephraim and Jerusalem who mock his prophetic pronouncements, dismissing them as simplistic. God responds to their scorn by declaring He will speak to them through a foreign, unintelligible language, signifying an impending judgment by an invading power like Assyria. Their inability to understand this new "language" will be a consequence of their stubborn refusal to heed God's clear messages delivered in their own tongue through His prophets.
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A Judgment of Deaf Ears
The core issue isn't the language itself, but the people's unwillingness to hear. They had rejected God's offered rest and wisdom, choosing instead their own way. God’s judgment, therefore, is to give them what their hearts secretly desired: a message they couldn't understand, forcing them to confront the consequences of their spiritual deafness.
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon defeats the Egyptians and begins to exert control over Judah, leading to the first deportation of Judean exiles, including young nobles like Daniel.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Babylonian forces destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the majority of the population. This marks a catastrophic turning point for the Judean people.
"For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people," — God's message, often simplified for His people, will be delivered through the harsh, foreign language of conquerors. This isn't just about a different language; it's God using their own rejection of…
