Isaiah 5
5
Israel, God’s Special Field
1Now I will sing a song to my friend. This song is about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a hill with very rich soil.
2He dug and cleared the field of stones.
He planted the best grapevines there.
And he built a tower in the middle of it.
He cut out a winepress as well.
He hoped good grapes would grow there.
But only bad grapes grew.
3My friend says, “You people living in Jerusalem,
and you men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more could I have done for my vineyard?
I did everything I could.
I hoped for good grapes to grow.
But why were there only bad grapes?
5Now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard:
I will remove the hedge,
and it will be burned.
I will break down the stone wall,
and it will be walked on.
6I will ruin my field.
It will not be trimmed or hoed.
Weeds and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7The vineyard belonging to the Lord of heaven’s armies
is the nation of Israel.
The garden that the Lord loves
is the men of Judah.
The Lord looked for justice, but there was only killing.
The Lord hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.
8How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses
and more fields to your fields.
Finally there is no room left for other people.
Then you are left alone in the land.
9The Lord of heaven’s armies said this to me:
“The fine houses will be destroyed.
The large and beautiful houses will be left empty.
10At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine.
And ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”
11How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning
to look for strong drink.
They stay awake late at night,
becoming drunk with wine.
12At their parties they have lyres, harps,
tambourines, flutes and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done.
They don’t notice the work of his hands.
13So my people will be captured and taken away
because they don’t really know me.
All the great men will die of hunger.
The common people will die of thirst.
14So the place where the dead are wants more and more people.
It opens its mouth wide.
Jerusalem’s important men will go down into it.
And the common people will go down into it.
15So the common people and the great people will be humbled.
Those who are proud will be humbled.
16The Lord of heaven’s armies will receive glory by judging fairly.
The holy God will show himself holy by doing what is right.
17Then the sheep will go anywhere they want.
Lambs will feed on the land that rich people once owned.
18How terrible it will be for those people!
They pull their guilt and sins behind them
as people pull wagons with ropes.
19They say, “Let’s see God hurry.
Let’s see him do his work soon.
We want to see it.
Let’s see the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon.
Then we would know what it really is.”
20How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad
and bad things good.
They think darkness is light
and light is darkness.
They think sour is sweet
and sweet is sour.
21How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise.
They think they are clever.
22How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine.
They are champions at mixing drinks.
23They take money to set the guilty free.
But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.
24They will be destroyed
just as fire burns straw or dry grass.
They will be destroyed
like a plant whose roots rot
and whose flower dies and blows away like dust.
They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.
25So the Lord has become very angry with his people.
And he has raised his hand to punish them.
Even the mountains are frightened.
Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage.
But the Lord is still angry.
His hand is still raised to strike down the people.
26God raises a banner for the nations far away.
He is whistling to call those people.
The enemy comes quickly!
27Not one of them becomes tired or falls down.
Not one of them gets sleepy and falls asleep.
Their weapons are close at hand.
Their sandal straps are not broken.
28Their arrows are sharp.
All of their bows are ready to shoot.
The horses’ hooves are hard as rock.
Their chariot wheels move like a whirlwind.
29Their shout is like the roar of a lion.
It is loud like a young lion.
The enemy growls as they grab their captives.
There is no one to stop them from taking their captives away.
30On that day they will roar
like the waves of the sea.
And when people look at the land,
they will see only darkness and pain.
All light will become dark in this thick cloud.
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Isaiah 5: ICB
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Isaiah 5
5
A Song about a Vineyard
The Lord said:
1 #
Mt 21.33; Mk 12.1; Lk 20.9. I will sing a song
about my friend's vineyard
that was on the side
of a fertile hill.
2My friend dug the ground,
removed the stones,
and planted the best vines.
He built a watchtower
and dug a pit in rocky ground
for pressing the grapes.
He hoped they would be sweet,
but bitter grapes
were all it produced.
3Listen, people of Jerusalem
and of Judah!
You be the judge of me
and my vineyard.
4What more could I have done
for my vineyard?
I hoped for sweet grapes,
but bitter grapes
were all that grew.
5Now I will let you know
what I am going to do.
I will cut down the hedge
and tear down the wall.
My vineyard will be trampled
and left in ruins.
6It will turn into a desert,
neither pruned nor hoed;
it will be covered
with thorns and briars.
I will command the clouds
not to send rain.
7I am the Lord All-Powerful!
Israel is the vineyard,
and Judah is the garden
I tended with care.
I had hoped for honesty
and for justice,
but dishonesty
and cries for mercy
were all I found.
Isaiah Condemns Social Injustice
8You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land. 9But the Lord All-Powerful has made this promise to me:
Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them. 10Four hectares of grapevines will produce only 27 liters of juice, and 180 liters of seed will produce merely 18 liters of grain.
11 #
Ws 2.7-9. You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night. 12At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the Lord has done, 13and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.
14The world of the dead has opened its mouth wide and is eagerly waiting for the leaders of Jerusalem and for its noisy crowds, especially for those who take pride in that city. 15Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame. 16But the holy Lord God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice. 17His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others.#5.17 and they … others: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
18You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil. 19And you say, “Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves.” 20You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.
21You think you are clever and smart. 22And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. 23You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.
24You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy Lord God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.
25You are the Lord's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The Lord is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again.#5.25 is ready … again: Or “hasn't given up on you yet.”
Foreign Nations Will Attack
26The Lord has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can. 27None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break. 28Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.
29They roar and growl like fierce young lions as they grab their victims and drag them off where no one can rescue them. 30On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.