And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet: The building imagery of the previous verse continues in these two lines. For Good News Translation the building is still the “foundation,” but the text does not make this explicit. If translators have to specify something here, Good News Translation provides a good model. They may also say “building.” In place of the “lies” and “falsehood” in which the leaders of Judah trust, Yahweh offers justice and righteousness. The Hebrew verb rendered will make highlights this contrast since it is the same verb translated “have made” in verse 15. For the word pair justice and righteousness, see 1.21. Two building tools are used as metaphors here: the line and the plummet (plumb line). A line is a rope stretched along a wall to measure its length and to ensure that it is horizontally straight, while a plummet (which is basically a weight hanging on a string) is suspended next to a wall to ensure it is vertically straight. Here they are figures for the standards of justice and righteousness that Yahweh will use to evaluate his people. In languages where the line and plummet are unknown, see the second example below for alternatives. Line renders the same Hebrew word translated line in verses 10 and 13, where it has the sense of meaninglessness.

And hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter: This implies Yahweh will terminate the alliance made between Judah and its unreliable ally, Egypt. As in verse 2, Yahweh’s agent is compared to a destructive hailstorm and floodwaters. In both cases the hail and waters are probably veiled references to the Assyrian army. The Hebrew verb translated sweep away only appears here in the Old Testament. The verb rendered overwhelm is the same one translated “overflowing” in verse 2. For refuge of lies and shelter, see verse 15. By repeating vocabulary from verses 2 and 15, the prophet demonstrates his literary skills in weaving different themes into one literary unit. He also has a wordplay within this verse since the Hebrew words for justice (shapat) and overwhelm (shatap) use the same root letters (sh, p, t).

Translation examples for this verse are:

• And I will make justice the [measuring] line,
and use righteousness as a plumb line.
A hailstorm will sweep away the refuge based on lies,
and floodwaters will overwhelm the promised shelter.”

• For the people[‘s way of living],
I will enforce justice as the standard/norm/rule,
righteousness as the measure.
A hailstorm is to sweep away your refuge,
and an overwhelming flood to wash away your shelter.”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .