Isaiah 28:10

10 so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z'eir sham, z'eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there].

Isaiah 28:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:10

For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept,
&c.] Signifying, that they must be dealt with as children were, when first instructed in the rudiments of a language, first had one rule given them, and then another, and so one after another till they had gone through the whole: line upon line, line upon line;
who are taught first to write one line, and then another; or to draw one line, and write after that, and then another; or where to begin one line, and, when finished, where to begin another; for the allusion is to writing by line, and not to a line used in building, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think: here a little, [and] there a little;
a small lesson out of one book, and a small lesson out of another; a little one day, and a little on the next, and so on, that their memories may not be overburdened.

Isaiah 28:10 In-Context

8 All tables are covered with vomit and feces, not a single place is clean.
9 Can no one be taught anything? Can no one understand the message? Must one teach barely weaned toddlers, babies just taken from the breast,
10 so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z'eir sham, z'eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there].
11 So with stammering lips, in a foreign accent, [ADONAI] will speak to this people.
12 He once told this people, "It's time to rest, the exhausted can rest, now you can relax" - but they wouldn't listen.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.