Isaiah 5

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

1 Let me sing for my beloved

my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had *Ps. 80:8;Matt. 21:33;Mark 12:1;Luke 20:9;[Hos. 9:10]a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with *Jer. 2:21choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and *[Matt. 21:19;Mark 11:13;Luke 13:6]he looked for it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 *[Mic. 6:3,4] What more was there to do for my vineyard,

that I have not done in it?

*[See ver. 2above]When I looked for it to yield grapes,

why did it yield wild grapes?

5 And now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove *[Jer. 5:10] its hedge,

and it shall be devoured;*5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5

*Ps. 80:12;[Prov. 24:31]I will break down its wall,

and it shall be trampled down.

6 I will make it a waste;

it shall not be pruned or hoed,

and *See ch. 7:23-25briers and thorns shall grow up;

*[1 Kgs. 17:1;Jer. 14:1,22]I will also command the clouds

that they rain no rain upon it.

7 *[ch. 3:14]; See Ps. 80:8-11For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are his pleasant planting;

and he looked for justice,

but behold, bloodshed;*5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike

for righteousness,

but behold, an outcry!*5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike

Woe to the Wicked

8 Woe to those who *Mic. 2:2join house to house,

who add field to field,

until there is no more room,

and you are made to dwell alone

in the midst of the land.

9 The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:

*ch. 6:12"Surely many houses shall be desolate,

large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

10 *[Lev. 26:26;Hag. 1:6;2:16] For ten acres*5:10 Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day of vineyard shall yield but one bath,

and a *Ezek. 45:11homer of seed shall yield but an ephah."*5:10 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

11 Woe to those who *ver. 22;[Prov. 23:29,30;Eccles. 10:16,17]rise early in the morning,

that they may run after strong drink,

who tarry late into the evening

as wine inflames them!

12 *Amos 6:5,6They have lyre and harp,

tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,

*ch. 26:11but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,

or see the work of his hands.

13 Therefore my people go into exile

*ch. 1:3;Hos. 4:6for lack of knowledge;*5:13 Or without their knowledge

their *[Lam. 4:2,7,8]honored men go hungry,*5:13 Or die of hunger

and their multitude is parched with thirst.

14 Therefore Sheol has *Hab. 2:5enlarged its appetite

and opened *Ps. 141:7its mouth beyond measure,

and the nobility of Jerusalem*5:14 Hebrew her nobility and her multitude will go down,

her revelers and he who *[ver. 12; Job 1:18,19]exults in her.

15 *ch. 2:9Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,

and the eyes of the haughty*5:15 Hebrew high are brought low.

16 *ch. 2:11,17But the Lord of hosts is exalted*5:16 Hebrew high in justice,

and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

17 Then shall the lambs graze *Mic. 2:12as in their pasture,

and *[Judg. 6:3]nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with *Prov. 5:22cords of falsehood,

who draw sin as with cart ropes,

19 who say: *[Ezek. 12:22;2 Pet. 3:4]"Let him be quick,

let him speed his work

that we may see it;

let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,

and let it come, that we may know it!"

20 Woe to *[Amos 5:7] those who call evil good

and good evil,

*[Job 17:12;Matt. 6:22,23;Luke 11:34,35]who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are *Prov. 3:7;Rom. 12:16wise in their own eyes,

and shrewd in their own sight!

22 Woe to those who are *ver. 11heroes at drinking wine,

and valiant men in mixing strong drink,

23 who *Ex. 23:8;Prov. 17:15acquit the guilty for a bribe,

and deprive the innocent of his right!

24 Therefore, *ch. 47:14;Joel 2:5;[Ex. 15:7] as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,

and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,

so *Job 18:16their root will be *Hos. 5:12as rottenness,

and their blossom go up like dust;

for they have *ch. 30:9rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,

and have *ch. 1:4despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore *2 Kgs. 22:13,17the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,

and *Jer. 4:24;[Ps. 97:5;Hab. 3:6] the mountains quaked;

and their corpses were *[2 Kgs. 9:37;Jer. 36:30] as refuse

in the midst of the streets.

*ch. 9:12,17,21;10:4For all this his anger has not turned away,

and his hand is stretched out still.

26 He will *ch. 11:12;13:2;18:3raise a signal for nations far away,

and *ch. 7:18;Zech. 10:8whistle for them *ch. 10:3;Deut. 28:49from the ends of the earth;

and behold, quickly, speedily they come!

27 *See ch. 10:28-31None is weary, none stumbles,

none slumbers or sleeps,

not a waistband is loose,

not a sandal strap broken;

28 *Ps. 7:12,13their arrows are sharp,

all their bows bent,

their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,

and their wheels *ch. 21:1like the whirlwind.

29 Their roaring is like a lion,

like young lions they roar;

they growl and *See 2 Kgs. 18:13-16seize their prey;

they carry it off, and none can rescue.

30 They will growl over it on that day,

like the growling of the sea.

And if one looks to the land,

behold, *ch. 8:22darkness and distress;

and the light is darkened by its clouds.