Isaiah 5
Parable of the Vineyard
1 Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a wine vat in it;
Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.
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?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
5 "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
6 "I will lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it."
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
Woes for the Wicked
8 Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears the LORD of hosts has sworn, "Surely, many houses shall become desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 "For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one tbath of wine,
And a homer of seed will yield but an tephah of grain."
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge;
And their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure;
And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
16 But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
19 Who say, "Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may 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 eyes
And clever in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent,
But His hand is still stretched out.
26 He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation,
And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth;
And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.
27 No one in it is weary or stumbles,
None slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the belt at its waist undone,
Nor its sandal strap broken.
28 Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Its roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
It growls as it seizes the prey
And carries it off with no one to deliver it.
30 And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even 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