Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Isaiah 28:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The tested Zion foundation answers rulers who claimed refuge through a covenant with death and falsehood.
Scoffing rulers in Jerusalem claim a covenant with death
This verse is one part of that explanation in Isaiah 28:14–22. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Isaiah 28:14–22
Read Isaiah 28:16 with 28:14–22. By itself, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Scoffing rulers claim refuge in lies, but a tested Zion foundation and measuring line expose the false covenant under repeated scourging.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “Priests and Prophets Stumble over Repeated Instruction” into “Jerusalem's Covenant with Death Cannot Stand.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: Scoffing rulers claim refuge in lies, but a tested Zion foundation and measuring line expose the false covenant under repeated scourging. This verse's placement is specific: The tested Zion foundation answers rulers who claimed refuge through a covenant with death and falsehood.
Follow the Context
- The unit opens at 28:14 with the address, scene, poem, sign, question, or action named in its title.
- Scoffing rulers claim refuge in lies, but a tested Zion foundation and measuring line expose the false covenant under repeated scourging.
- By 28:22 the movement reaches its warning, promise, answer, response, or transition before the next unit begins.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“tried stone”
In plain language: The tested foundation answers rulers whose refuge is falsehood; later canonical reuse follows this local Zion and justice argument rather than replacing it.
The tested Zion foundation answers rulers who claimed refuge through a covenant with death and falsehood. Scoffing rulers claim refuge in lies, but a tested Zion foundation and measuring line expose the false covenant under repeated scourging.
Why it matters: The tested foundation answers rulers whose refuge is falsehood; later canonical reuse follows this local Zion and justice argument rather than replacing it.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The tested Zion stone does not erase its immediate leadership context or settle every later New Testament use without argument.
What Remains True
Religious seriousness is tested by truthful institutions and concrete protection from exploitation. In Isaiah 28:16, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The tested Zion foundation answers rulers who claimed refuge through a covenant with death and falsehood.
Teach It Back
Explain Isaiah 28:16's precise role in Isaiah 28:14–22. Include “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried…,” state the unit's historical or literary limit, give one proportionate truth and action, and explicitly reject one harmful use.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Isaiah 28:14–22 — Jerusalem's Covenant with Death Cannot StandSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 28:14–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 28:14–22 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 28:14–22 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah and the Wise guide on Egypt policy, wisdom, and Assyria; applied to Isaiah 28:14–22
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Books 1C-1D and themes of judgment, hope, Zion, and trust; applied to Isaiah 28:14–22
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗