Isaiah 5
5
1I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard: My well-beloved had a vineyard upon a fruitful hill. 2And he dug it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine; and he built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 4What was there yet to do to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? — 5And now, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden under foot; 6and I will make it a waste — it shall not be pruned nor cultivated, but there shall come up briars and thorns; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plant of his delight: and he looked for justice, and behold, blood-shedding; for righteousness, and behold, a cry.
8Woe unto them that add house to house, that join field to field, until there is no more room, and that ye dwell yourselves alone in the midst of the land! 9In mine ears Jehovah of hosts hath said, Many houses shall assuredly become a desolation, great and excellent ones, without inhabitant. 10Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah. 11Woe unto them that, rising early in the morning, run after strong drink; that linger till twilight, till wine inflameth them! 12And harp and lyre, tambour and flute, and wine are in their banquets; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, nor do they see the operation of his hands. 13Therefore my people are led away captive from lack of knowledge, and their nobility die of famine, and their multitude are parched with thirst. 14Therefore doth Sheol enlarge its desire, and open its mouth without measure; and her splendour shall descend into it, and her multitude, and her tumult, and all that is joyful within her. 15And the mean man shall be bowed down, and the great man brought low, and the eyes of the lofty shall be brought low; 16and Jehovah of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy ·God#GodHebrew: El hallowed in righteousness. 17And the lambs shall feed as on their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes! 19who say, Let him hasten, let him speed his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20Woe unto them 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 unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem! 22Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink; 23who justify the wicked for a bribe, and turn away the righteousness of the righteous from them! 24Therefore as a tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and dry grass sinketh down in the flame, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; for they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. 26And he will lift up a banner to the nations afar off, and will hiss for one from the end of the earth; and behold, it will come rapidly and lightly. 27None among them is weary, none stumbleth; they slumber not, nor sleep; none hath the girdle of his loins loosed, nor the thong of his sandals broken; 28their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind. 29Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar as the young lions; yea, they growl, and snatch the prey, and carry it away safe, and there is none to deliver; 30and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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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