Isaiah 5
5
Song of the Vineyard
1Let me sing of my beloved, a song of my beloved, about His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard in a very fertile hill.
2He dug it out and cleared its stones, planted it with a choice vine, built a tower in the midst of it, and even cut out a winepress. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes.
3So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done? Why then, when I expected it to yield good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes?
5So now, I will make known to you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down the fence, and it will be trodden down.
6I will lay it waste: it will not be pruned or hoed, but briers and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.
7For the vineyard of Adonai-Tzva’ot is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah the planting of His delight. He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed, for righteousness, but behold, a cry!
Judgment for Injustice
8Woe to those who join house to house and merge field to field, until there is no room, and you will live alone in the midst of the land!
9In my ears, Adonai-Tzva’ot has said: “Surely many houses will be desolate— even grand and fine ones— with no occupants.”
10Ten acres of vineyard will yield six gallons, and an omer of seed will yield one ephah.
11Woe to those who rise up early in the morning— so they may pursue liquor, who stay up late at night, until wine inflames them!
12Harp and lyre, tambourine and flute, and wine are at their banquets. They do not notice Adonai’s activity nor see the works of His hands.
13“Therefore My people are in captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished and their multitudes parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol has enlarged its gullet and opened its measureless mouth— down goes her glory, her tumult, her uproar, and the revelry in her.
15So humanity will be bowed down mankind will be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty humbled.”
16But Adonai-Tzva’ot will be exalted through justice, and the Holy God consecrated through righteousness.
17Then lambs will graze as if in their own pasture, and nomads will eat in the ruins of the wealthy.
18Oy to those that drag iniquity along with cords of deceit, and sin as if with a cart rope!
19They say: “Let Him hurry up and hasten His work, so we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, so we may know it!”
20Oy to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present bitter as sweet, and sweet as bitter!
21Oy to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight!
22Oy to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant at mixing drinks,
23who justify the wicked for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of justice!
24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw, and as chaff collapses into the flame, so their root will be like rot, and their blossom will go up like dust. For they have rejected the Torah of Adonai–Tzva’ot, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore Adonai’s anger is kindled against His people. When He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them, the hills trembled, and their carcasses were like refuse in the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, yet His hand is still outstretched.
26He will lift up a banner to nations far off, and will whistle for them from the ends of the earth. Look! Swiftly, speedily they come!
27None will be weary and none stumble among them; none will slumber or sleep; no belt will be loose at the waist; no strap of sandals be broken.
28Their arrows are sharp and all their bows bent; their horse hooves will be like flint and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29Their roaring will be like a lion. They will growl like young lions— yes, they will roar, seize their prey and carry it away safely— and there will be none to rescue.
30They will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress! The light is darkened by the clouds.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Isaiah 5
5
A song about a vineyard
The LORD said:
1I will sing a song#Mt 21.33; Mk 12.1; Lk 20.9.
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 twenty-seven litres of juice, and a hundred and eighty litres of seed will produce merely eighteen litres of grain.
11You 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 wise. 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 rubbish. 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 signalled 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 sea. 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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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012