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 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.