“Cursed be the proud garland
Of the drunkards of Ephraim!
Cursed be the fading flower
Of its glorious beauty!
Cursed on the head of those
Bloated with rich food!
Cursed be those
Overcome with wine!
See!
Yahweh has one that is mighty!
He has one that is strong!
Like a storm of hail,
Like a destroying tempest,
Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,
He will hurl them down
To the earth with his hand.
The proud garland
Of the drunkards of Ephraim
Will be trampled underfoot.
The fading flower
Of its glorious beauty,
Is on the head
Of those bloated with rich food.
They will be
Like a first-ripe fig
Before the summer.
Whoever sees it,
Eats it up
As soon as it comes to his hand.”
This is an obvious warning to northern Israel Ephraim in Samaria, before the fall of this kingdom in 722 BCE, under the Assyrian army of King Sargon II (722-705 BCE). Isaiah refers to the people in the north as the drunkards of Ephraim. They will lose their crown and garland as well as its beautiful fading flower, a refrain that is repeated twice. The folks in Ephraim were bloated with rich food and overcome with wine. Yahweh then sent a mighty strong hail storm, a tempest that flooded the area. They were going to be trampled underfoot. They were like the first fig of the season that someone immediately grabs and eats it as soon as they see it.