Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 28:16

"therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner -[stone] of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste." — Isaiah 28:16 (ASV)

Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation ... — We first have to deal with the imagery, then with the interpretation. The former connects itself with the importance which attached, in ancient as in modern architecture, to the foundation stone of a building (1 Kings 5:17). So in Zion, the foundation stone was laid on the solid rock, as witnessed by the Arabic name of the Mosque of Omar (Kubhet-es-Sakhra, i.e., “dome of the rock”). In the stone that was made “the head of the corner” (Psalms 118:22), we have a similar thought. From the prophet’s standpoint, this was identical to the manifestation of Jehovah’s righteousness in and through the Temple in its higher spiritual aspect.

Christian interpreters have rightly found the true fulfillment of the words in the person of the Christ (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6–7). The “corner stone,” the lapis angularis of the Vulgate, is that upon which two walls at right angles to each other rest and are bonded together. The “tried stone” (literally, stone of proof) may be:

1. one that stands every test, or
2. one that tries those who come in contact with it, becoming an asylum or “a stone of stumbling,” according to their character (Luke 20:18).

He that believeth shall not make haste. — The Septuagint and some other versions render this as “shall not be ashamed,” which is a paraphrase rather than a translation. The English Version, following the Vulgate, represents the meaning of the Hebrew, haste and hurry being regarded in their contrast to the calm temper of a steadfast faith .