Isaiah 28:14

"Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem: Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto me; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:"

Practically all scholars suppose that Isaiah here does not mean that the leaders of Jerusalem actually spoke such words as these, but that their actions, instead of their words, indicated the thoughts and attitude in their hearts. There is also the possibility that the mention of a covenant with death and Sheol may mean that the leaders, "through necromancy, had actually invoked the false gods of the underworld."[11] Faith in the true God was at a low ebb in Jerusalem at the time indicated here.

In Isaiah 28:14, the focus actually shifts to the blind guides that were misleading God's people in Jerusalem. We are indebted to Payne for making this accurate division of the chapter. He wrote: "Isaiah 28:1-13 castigate the blind guides of the northern kingdom; and Isaiah 28:14-22 bring the rebuke home to Judah, and especially to the leading politicians in Jerusalem."[12]