Isaiah 5

Gods Disappointing Vineyard

1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill.2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.4 What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Impending Judgment on Excesses

8 Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!9 In my hearing the Lord of hosts said, Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!12 The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the Lord, Nor consider the operation of His hands.13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.15 People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat.18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;19 That say, Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and 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 prudent in their own sight!22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;28 Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind.29 Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver.30 In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the 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