The first half of Isaiah 28 is both a woe (a judgment) pronounced against Ephraim/Israel and an announcement of the Messianic hope for the remnant of faithful people who lived in Israel. Even in the midst of judgment, there would be “a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty” (Isaiah 28:5, ESV). Ephraim was the tribe located immediately to the north of the southern kingdom of Judah. Ephraim was a border tribe and one of the more prominent tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, which included ten tribes to the north of Judah and Benjamin. Because of Ephraim’s prominence and location, it was sometimes representative of the entire northern kingdom (e.g., Ezekiel 37:16).