Isaiah 5
5
The Song of the Vineyard
1I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Woes and Judgments
8Woe to you who add house to house
and join field to field
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath#5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters of wine;
a homer#5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms of seed will yield only an ephah#5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of grain.”
11Woe to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.
12They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes and timbrels and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.
13Therefore my people will go into exile
for lack of understanding;
those of high rank will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.
14Therefore Death expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.
15So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled,
the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
16But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,
and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.
17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;
lambs will feed#5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
and wickedness as with cart ropes,
19to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”
20Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
24Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,
and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
26He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,
he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt is loosened at the waist,
not a sandal strap is broken.
28Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29Their roar is like that of the lion,
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.
30In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness and distress;
even the sun will be darkened by clouds.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 5
5
Song of the Vineyard
1I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:#Ps 80:8; Jr 12:10; Mt 21:33; Lk 20:9
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.#Jr 2:21
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected#Is 40:31 it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.#Mt 21:19; Mk 11:13; Lk 13:6
3So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
4What more could I have done for my vineyard
than I did?#Mc 6:3–4; Mt 23:37
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,#Ps 89:40; Jr 5:10
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,#Ps 80:12
and it will be trampled.
6I will make it a wasteland.#2Ch 36:19–21; Is 7:19–25; 24:1,3; 27:2–6; Jr 25:11
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.#Gn 3:18; Is 7:23–25; 9:18; 10:17; 27:4; 32:13
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies
is the house of Israel,#Ps 80:8–11
and the men#5:7 Lit man of Judah,
the plant he delighted in.
He expected justice
but saw injustice;
he expected righteousness
but heard cries of despair.
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8Woe to those who add house to house#Jr 22:13–17; Mc 2:2; Hab 2:9–12
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9I heard the Lord of Armies say:
Indeed, many houses#Am 3:10,15 will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10For a ten-acre#5:10 Lit ten-yoke vineyard will yield
only six gallons of wine,#5:10 Lit one bath
and ten bushels#5:10 Lit one homer of seed will yield
only one bushel of grain.#5:10 Lit yield an ephah
11Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,#Lv 10:9; Nm 6:3; Dt 29:6; Jdg 13:4; Is 5:22; 24:9; 28:7; 56:12
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,#Dt 32:4; Jb 34:27; 36:24; Ps 28:5; 44:1; 64:9–10
and they do not see the work of his hands.#Ex 32:16; 34:10; Ps 8:3,6; 19:1; 92:4–5; Is 10:12; 29:23
13Therefore my people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;#Is 1:3; 27:11; Hs 4:6; Lk 11:52; 19:42; 1Tm 1:13
her#5:13 Lit its dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,#Pr 30:16; Hab 2:5
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who celebrate in her!
15Humanity is brought low, each person is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.#Is 2:9,11,17; 10:33
16But the Lord of Armies is exalted by his justice,#Is 33:5,10
and the holy God#Is 6:3 demonstrates his holiness through his righteousness.#Is 8:13; 29:23; 1Pt 3:15
17Lambs will graze
as if in#5:17 Syr reads graze in their own pastures,#Mc 2:12
and resident aliens#5:17 LXX reads sheep will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who drag iniquity
with cords of deceit#Pr 5:22; Is 59:4–8; Jr 23:10–14
and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19to those who say,
“Let him hurry up and do his work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan#Jb 38:2; 42:3; Ps 33:11; 106:13; 107:11; Pr 19:21; Is 14:26; 19:17; 46:10–11 of the Holy One of Israel#Is 1:4 take place
so that we can know it!”
20Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,#Pr 17:15; Am 5:7; Mal 2:17
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21Woe to those who consider themselves wise
and judge themselves clever.#5:21 Lit and clever before their face#Pr 3:7; Rm 12:16; 1Co 3:18
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at pouring beer,#Is 5:11
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe#Ex 23:8; Pr 17:15; Is 1:23; 33:15
and deprive the innocent of justice.
24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected#Is 8:6; 30:9,12; Am 2:4; Ac 13:41
the instruction of the Lord of Armies,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.#Is 5:19; Jr 51:5
25Therefore the Lord’s anger burned#Nm 11:10,33; 32:10–13; Dt 6:15; Jos 7:1; 23:16; 2Kg 13:3; Ps 106:40 against his people.
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,#Am 1:1; Zch 14:5
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.#Is 9:12,17,21; 10:4; 14:27
26He raises a signal flag for the distant nations#Is 10:5; 11:10,12; 13:2; 18:3
and whistles#Is 7:18; Zch 10:8 for them from the ends of the earth.
Look — how quickly and swiftly they come!
27None of them grows weary or stumbles;#1Jn 2:10
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29Their roaring is like a lion’s;#Jdg 14:5; Hs 13:8; Jl 1:6; Nah 2:12–13
they roar like young lions;#Rv 9:17
they growl and seize their prey
and carry it off,
and no one can rescue it.
30On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.#5:30 Lit its clouds
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