Isaiah 5

Israel, the Lord’s Vineyard

1 Now I will sing for my friend a song about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard on a hill with very rich soil.

2 He dug and cleared the field of stones and planted the best grapevines there.
He built a tower in the middle of it and cut out a winepress as well.
He hoped good grapes would grow there, but only bad ones grew.

3 My friend says, “You people living in Jerusalem, and you people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could I have done for my vineyard than I have already done?
Although I expected good grapes to grow, why were there only bad ones?

5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard:
I will remove the hedge, and it will be burned.
I will break down the stone wall, and it will be walked on.

6 I will ruin my field. It will not be trimmed or hoed, and weeds and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard belonging to the Lord All-Powerful is the nation of Israel;
the garden that he loves is the people of Judah.
He looked for justice, but there was only killing. He hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.

8 How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses and more fields to your fields
until there is no room left for other people. Then you are left alone in the land.

9 The Lord All-Powerful said this to me:
“The fine houses will be destroyed; the large and beautiful houses will be left empty.

10 At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine, and ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”

11 How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning to look for strong drink,
who stay awake late at night, becoming drunk with wine.

12 At their parties they have lyres, harps, tambourines, flutes, and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done or notice the work of his hands.

13 So my people will be captured and taken away, because they don’t really know me.
All the great people will die of hunger, and the common people will die of thirst.

14 So the place of the dead wants more and more people, and it opens wide its mouth.
Jerusalem’s important people and common people will go down into it, with their happy and noisy ones.

15 So the common people and the great people will be brought down; those who are proud will be humbled.

16 The Lord All-Powerful will receive glory by judging fairly; the holy God will show himself holy by doing what is right.

17 Then the sheep will go anywhere they want, and lambs will feed on the land that rich people once owned.

18 How terrible it will be for those people! They pull their guilt and sins behind them as people pull wagons with ropes.

19 They say, “Let God hurry; let him do his work soon so we may see it.
Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon so that we will know what it is.”

20 How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad and bad things good,
who think darkness is light and light is darkness,
who think sour is sweet and sweet is sour.

21 How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise and believe they are clever.

22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine and are champions at mixing drinks.

23 They take money to set the guilty free and don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.

24 They will be destroyed just as fire burns straw or dry grass.
They will be destroyed like a plant whose roots rot and whose flower dies and blows away like dust.
They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful and have hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.

25 So the Lord has become very angry with his people, and he has raised his hand to punish them.
Even the mountains are frightened. Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage.
But the Lord is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.

26 He raises a banner for the nations far away. He whistles to call those people from the ends of the earth.
Look! The enemy comes quickly!

27 Not one of them becomes tired or falls down. Not one of them gets sleepy and falls asleep.
Their weapons are close at hand, and their sandal straps are not broken.

28 Their arrows are sharp, and all of their bows are ready to shoot.
The horses’ hoofs are hard as rocks, and their chariot wheels move like a whirlwind.

29 Their shout is like the roar of a lion; it is loud like a young lion.
They growl as they grab their captives. There is no one to stop them from taking their captives away.

30 On that day they will roar like the waves of the sea.
And when people look at the land, they will see only darkness and pain; all light will become dark in this thick cloud.

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