Isaiah 5
5
1Let me sing a song for my love, about his vineyard. My love owned a vineyard on a productive hill. 2He dug it over, cleared the ground of stones, and planted it with the very best vines. In the middle of it he built a watchtower, and he also cut out a winepress from the rock. Then he waited for a good harvest of grapes, but it only produced wild, sour grapes.
3“Now, you people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard. 4What more could I have done for my vineyard than I've already done? When I looked for sweet grapes, why did it only produce sour ones?
5So let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. I'll remove its hedge, and it will be destroyed. I'll tear down its wall, and it will be trampled underfoot. 6I'll turn it into a wasteland. It won't be pruned or weeded—it will be overgrown with brambles and thorns. I'll order the clouds not to rain on it.”
7Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty, and the people of Judah are the plants in his garden that made him happy. Yet while he hoped for justice, he only saw injustice; he hoped people would live right, but he only heard the cries of those who were suffering.
8Tragedy is coming to you who buy house upon house and field upon field, joining them all together until no one else has anywhere to live and you live alone in the land. 9I heard the Lord Almighty declare: You can be sure that many houses are destined to become ruins, and beautiful mansions destined to become uninhabited. 10Ten acres of vineyard will only produce six gallons of wine, and a measure of seed only a tenth of that in grain.#5:10. Literally, “a homer of seed will only produce an ephah of grain.”
11Tragedy is coming to you who get up early in the morning wanting a drink, and who stay up late drinking wine until you're drunk. 12At their feasts you have lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine, but you don't ever consider what the Lord is doing, and you don't recognize his help. 13As a result my people will be exiled for their lack of understanding.#5:13. “For their lack of understanding”: or “unawares.” Their honored leaders will starve, and the crowds will be dying of thirst. 14The grave's appetite increases, its mouth opens wide, and Jerusalem's nobility and the masses will go down into it, along with the rowdy, drunken mobs. 15Everyone will be brought down, everyone will be humbled; the proud will lower their eyes in humiliation.
16But the Lord Almighty will be vindicated because he does what is right; the holy God will be shown to be holy because of his goodness. 17Lambs will graze as in their own pasture; fattened livestock and goats will feed among the ruins of the rich.#5:17. Septuagint reading.
18Tragedy is coming to you who drag along your sins behind you with cords made of lies, pulling with ropes your cartful of wickedness. 19You are among the people who say, “God should hurry up! Why doesn't God get a move on with what he's doing so we can see it? Why doesn't the Holy One of Israel execute his plan? Let's see it happen so we can understand what it is!”
20Tragedy is coming to you who say evil is good, and good is evil; who turn darkness into light and light into darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter.
21Tragedy is coming to you who are wise in your own eyes and think you're so clever.
22Tragedy is coming to you who are wine-drinking champions, and experts at mixing alcoholic drinks; 23you who set the guilty free for a bribe, and yet deny justice to the innocent. 24In the same way fire burns up stubble and dry grass falls down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers disintegrate into dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty, and have treated with contempt what the Holy One of Israel has said. 25That's why the Lord burns with anger#5:25. There are many references to the Lord's anger in Isaiah, as in other Old Testament books. This should not be equated to human anger which is often “out of control” and vindictive. The Lord's anger is an expression of his extreme displeasure, couched in human language so we can understand to some extent the impact of human sin on the Lord. Nor is it a question of God taking personal offense, but rather his concern as to what continued sin does to us, and a desire to do all he can to heal the damage sin causes. against his people. He has lifted up his hand and hit them, shaking the mountains, and leaving their corpses lying like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, his anger is not finished, and his hand is still lifted up.
26He will send a signal to the distant nations, and will whistle for those living at the ends of the earth. See how quickly they respond, how speedily they come! 27None of them gets tired or stumbles; none of them rests or sleeps. No belt comes loose, and no sandal strap breaks. 28Their arrows are already sharpened, and all their bows have been strung. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint; their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind. 29They roar like lions, like young lions. They growl, and pounce on their prey. They drag it off so it can't be rescued. 30At that time they will roar over their prey like the roaring of the sea. Anyone who looks out over the land will see only darkness and distress—even the sunlight will be darkened by clouds.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 5
5
A Song about the Lord’s Vineyard
1Now I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a rich and fertile hill.
2He plowed the land, cleared its stones,
and planted it with the best vines.
In the middle he built a watchtower
and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.
Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes,
but the grapes that grew were bitter.
3Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
you judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more could I have done for my vineyard
that I have not already done?
When I expected sweet grapes,
why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?
5Now let me tell you
what I will do to my vineyard:
I will tear down its hedges
and let it be destroyed.
I will break down its walls
and let the animals trample it.
6I will make it a wild place
where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed,
a place overgrown with briers and thorns.
I will command the clouds
to drop no rain on it.
7The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
He expected a crop of justice,
but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find righteousness,
but instead he heard cries of violence.
Judah’s Guilt and Judgment
8What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field,
until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.
9But I have heard the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
swear a solemn oath:
“Many houses will stand deserted;
even beautiful mansions will be empty.
10Ten acres#5:10a Hebrew A ten yoke, that is, the area of land plowed by ten teams of oxen in one day. of vineyard will not produce even six gallons#5:10b Hebrew a bath [21 liters]. of wine.
Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket#5:10c Hebrew A homer [5 bushels or 220 liters] of seed will yield only an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters]. of grain.”
11What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning
looking for a drink of alcohol
and spend long evenings drinking wine
to make themselves flaming drunk.
12They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties—
lyre and harp, tambourine and flute—
but they never think about the Lord
or notice what he is doing.
13So my people will go into exile far away
because they do not know me.
Those who are great and honored will starve,
and the common people will die of thirst.
14The grave#5:14 Hebrew Sheol. is licking its lips in anticipation,
opening its mouth wide.
The great and the lowly
and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up.
15Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down;
even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.
16But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice.
The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness.
17In that day lambs will find good pastures,
and fattened sheep and young goats#5:17 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads and strangers. will feed among the ruins.
18What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them
with ropes made of lies,
who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
19They even mock God and say,
“Hurry up and do something!
We want to see what you can do.
Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,
for we want to know what it is.”
20What sorrow for those who say
that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
21What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
and think themselves so clever.
22What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine
and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
23They take bribes to let the wicked go free,
and they punish the innocent.
24Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble
and dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will rot
and their flowers wither.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;
they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25That is why the Lord’s anger burns against his people,
and why he has raised his fist to crush them.
The mountains tremble,
and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage.
But even then the Lord’s anger is not satisfied.
His fist is still poised to strike!
26He will send a signal to distant nations far away
and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
27They will not get tired or stumble.
They will not stop for rest or sleep.
Not a belt will be loose,
not a sandal strap broken.
28Their arrows will be sharp
and their bows ready for battle.
Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves,
and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
29They will roar like lions,
like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
and no one will be there to rescue them.
30They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
only darkness and distress will be seen;
even the light will be darkened by clouds.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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