Isaiah 5

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

1  Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2  He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and 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  What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
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 its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;t
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 briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.

7  For 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;t
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!t

Woe to the Wicked

8  Woe to those who join 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:
"Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10  For ten acrest of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah."t

11  Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12  They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
or see the work of his hands.

13  Therefore my people go into exile
for lack of knowledge;t
their honored men go hungry,t
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14  Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
and opened its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalemt and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who exults in her.
15  Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughtyt are brought low.
16  But the Lord of hosts is exaltedt in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17  Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,
and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.

18  Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19  who say: "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 those 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!
21  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23  who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!

24  Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25  Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were as refuse
in the midst of the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.

26  He will raise a signal for nations far away,
and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27  None is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
not a sandal strap broken;
28  their arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses' hoofs seem like flint,
and their wheels like the whirlwind.
29  Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize 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, darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah 5

A Love Song Gone Sour

1 It will sing to my love –
a song to my lover about his vineyard.s
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill.t

2 He built a hedge around it,t removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead.ts

3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,s
peoplet of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!

4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?

5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,t
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.t

6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,t
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.

7 Indeedt Israelt is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the peoplet of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience!t
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!t

Disaster is Coming

8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead,t
those who also accumulate landed propertyts
until there is no land left,t
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.t

9 The Lord who commands armies told me this:t
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.t

10 Indeed, a large vineyardt will produce just a few gallons,t
and enough seed to yield several bushelst will produce less than a bushel.”t

11 Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead,t
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.ts

12 They have stringed instruments,t tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.t

13 Therefore mys people will be deportedt
because of their lack of understanding.
Theirt leaders will have nothing to eat,t
theirt masses will have nothing to drink.t

14 So Deatht will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth;ts
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.t

15 Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.t

16 The Lord who commands armies will be exaltedt when he punishes,t
the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.ts

17 Lambst will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.ss

18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,s
who pull sin as with cart ropes.s

19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,t
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israels take shapet and come to pass,
then we will know it!”

20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead,t
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.s

21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead,t
those who think they possess understanding.ts

22 Those who are championst at drinking wine are as good as dead,t
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent.ts

24 Therefore, as flaming firet devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust.s
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commandst of the Holy One of Israel.s

25 So the Lord is furioust with his people;
he liftst his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manuret in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.t

26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,s
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, theyt come quickly and swiftly.

27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest.t

28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared.t
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,t
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.s

29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

30 At that timet they will growl over their prey,t
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.t
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness.ts