Isaiah 5

Song of the Vineyard

1 I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one's vineyard:
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.

2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.

3 So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between Me
and My vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for My vineyard
than I did?
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.

Judah's Sins Denounced

8 Woe to those who add house to house
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.

9 I heard the Lord of Hosts say:

Indeed, many houses will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.

10 For a ten-acre vineyard will yield
only six gallons,
and 10 bushels of seed will yield
only [one] bushel.

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.

12 At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord's actions,
and they do not see the work of His hands.

13 Therefore My people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;
her dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,
and down go Zion's dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who carouse in her!
15 Humanity is brought low, man is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.
16 But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice,
and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness.

17 Lambs will graze
as [if in] their own pastures,
and strangers will eat
[among] the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who drag wickedness
with cords of deceit
and [pull] sin along with cart ropes,
19 to those who say:
"Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place
so that we can know it!"
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are fearless at mixing beer,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe
and deprive the innocent of justice.

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected
the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore the Lord's anger burns against His people.
He raised His hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised [to strike].

26 He raises a signal flag for the distant nations
and whistles for them from the ends of the earth.
Look-how quickly and swiftly they come!
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles;
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses' hooves are like flint;
their [chariot] wheels are like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion's;
they roar like young lions;
they growl and seize their prey
and carry [it] off,
and no one can rescue [it].

30 On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by 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