Isaiah 28:9 Meaning: When God’s Teaching Sounds Childish
Whom will he teach knowledge? To whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Whom 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?
By whom doth He teach knowledge? And by whom doth He cause to understand the report? The weaned from milk, the removed from breasts,
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand the report? Them that are weaned from the milk, withdrawn from the breasts?
Meaning in one sentence
Who is being taught in Isaiah 28:9? Learn the meaning of this verse in context of the drunkards' mockery and God's response to pride.
Context
Chapter 28 finds Isaiah confronting the leaders of Judah, especially priests and prophets, who have given themselves over to drunkenness. They stagger with wine and mock the warnings God sends through His prophet. As Isaiah calls them to repentance, they sneer at his message. In verse 9 they are pictured asking a sarcastic question: who does this prophet think he is teaching? They scoff that his lessons are fit only for infants just weaned from milk. The verse captures their contempt for the simple, repeated truths God has been patiently giving them. Their pride will lead to devastating judgment, as God later declares He will speak to them through a foreign nation.
Key Words
Two Hebrew words carry the weight here. The noun da'ath (knowledge) throughout Isaiah means intimate, personal knowledge of God, not just facts. The scoffers mocked the very thing God most wanted to give them. And the verb yabin (make understand) comes from a root that means to discern, to perceive with the heart. These leaders claimed they had no need of such simple lessons. But the words they used to mock, gemulei mechalav (weaned from milk) and attikei mishadayim (removed from breasts), tell a different story. In Psalm 131, a weaned child is a picture of humble trust. Here the same image is twisted into pride. The people who thought they were beyond basic teaching had actually become like self-sufficient infants, unable to receive the nurture they still needed.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have read this verse as the voice of the drunkards, not the prophet. Many Protestant commentators (Barnes, Clarke, Keil and Delitzsch) see it as their sneering retort. The Cambridge Bible notes that the priests and prophets felt insulted by Isaiah's recriminations. Calvin, however, reads it as the prophet's own lament over their incurable stupidity, they are like infants who cannot be taught. Both readings agree that pride prevented the people from receiving God's instruction. The Church has often returned to this verse to warn against the temptation to think we have outgrown the basics of faith.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is that Isaiah is saying God only teaches babies. In fact, the verse is the mockers' own words. They sarcastically ask if they are weaned infants who need such simple teaching. The joke is on them: their pride had made them spiritually infantile, unable to receive the very knowledge they scorned.
Living This Out
This week, pay attention to the voice inside that says, 'I already know this.' It may be the same pride Isaiah confronted. The truths you think you have outgrown, repentance, trust, humility, are the ones you most need to hear again. God is not ashamed to repeat Himself. Let the simple words of Scripture do their patient work in you today.
Main takeaway: Pride dismisses God's repeated instruction as childish, but humility receives it as the very knowledge of life.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Sometimes we think we are too big for simple lessons. But God loves to teach us, and we need to listen carefully, like little children who trust their Father.
For ages 9, 12
The leaders in this verse thought they were too important to listen to Isaiah's simple messages. But the truth is, we never outgrow God's basic teachings. When you already know a Bible story, ask God to show you something new in it. Humility means staying teachable no matter how old you get.
Questions People Ask
Who is speaking in Isaiah 28:9?
Most interpreters believe it is the drunken priests and prophets mocking Isaiah. They sarcastically ask if he thinks they are weaned babies who need such simple lessons. The verse captures their pride and rejection of God's instruction.
What does 'weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts' mean?
This is a metaphor for infants who have just stopped nursing and need basic lessons. The scoffers use it to insult Isaiah, implying his teaching is fit only for children. Ironically, they themselves were acting like stubborn children.
Why does God respond by saying He will speak with stammering lips?
In verses 11-12, God turns their mockery into judgment. They mocked the clear, simple teaching of the prophet; so God says He will speak to them through a foreign language, that of the Assyrians. What seemed childish to them would become incomprehensible, a sign of their exile.
How does this verse apply to Christians today?
The danger of spiritual pride is universal. When we think we have outgrown the basics of faith, repentance, Scripture reading, prayer, we become like the scoffers. This verse calls us to stay humble and teachable, receiving God's Word no matter how familiar it seems.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study