Isaiah 5
5
The song of the vineyard
1I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
my loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3‘Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.’
7The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Woes and judgments
8Woe to you who add house to house
and join field to field
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:
‘Surely the great houses will become desolate,
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath#5:10 That is, about 22 litres of wine;
a homer#5:10 That is, probably about 160 kilograms of seed will yield only an ephah#5:10 That is, probably about 16 kilograms of grain.’
11Woe to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.
12They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes and tambourines and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.
13Therefore my people will go into exile
for lack of understanding;
those of high rank will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.
14Therefore Death expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revellers.
15So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled,
the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
16But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,
and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.
17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;
lambs will feed#5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
and wickedness as with cart ropes,
19to those who say, ‘Let God hurry;
let him hasten his work
so that we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One of Israel –
let it approach, let it come into view,
so that we may know it.’
20Woe 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.
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
24Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,
and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
26He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,
he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt is loosened at the waist,
not a sandal strap is broken.
28Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29Their roar is like that of the lion,
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize their prey
and carry it off with no-one to rescue.
30In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness and distress;
even the sun will be darkened by clouds.
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Isaiah 5: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 5
5
The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed
1Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had #Ps. 80:8; Matt. 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9; [Hos. 9:10]a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with #Jer. 2:21 choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and #[Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13; Luke 13:6]he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 # [Mic. 6:3, 4] What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
# [See ver. 2 above] When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove #[Jer. 5:10] its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;#5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
#
Ps. 80:12; [Prov. 24:31] I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and #See ch. 7:23-25 briers and thorns shall grow up;
# [1 Kgs. 17:1; Jer. 14:1, 22] I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7 # [ch. 3:14]; See Ps. 80:8-11 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;#5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!#5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike
Woe to the Wicked
8Woe to those who #Mic. 2:2join 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.
9The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
# ch. 6:12 “Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10 # [Lev. 26:26; Hag. 1:6; 2:16] For ten acres#5:10 Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a #Ezek. 45:11homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”#5:10 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
11Woe to those who #ver. 22; [Prov. 23:29, 30; Eccles. 10:16, 17]rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12 #
Amos 6:5, 6 They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
# ch. 26:11 but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
or see the work of his hands.
13Therefore my people go into exile
# ch. 1:3; Hos. 4:6 for lack of knowledge;#5:13 Or without their knowledge
their #[Lam. 4:2, 7, 8]honored men go hungry,#5:13 Or die of hunger
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol has #Hab. 2:5 enlarged its appetite
and opened #Ps. 141:7 its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem#5:14 Hebrew her nobility and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who #[ver. 12; Job 1:18, 19]exults in her.
15 # ch. 2:9 Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty#5:15 Hebrew high are brought low.
16 # ch. 2:11, 17 But the Lord of hosts is exalted#5:16 Hebrew high in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17Then shall the lambs graze #Mic. 2:12 as in their pasture,
and #[Judg. 6:3]nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who draw iniquity with #Prov. 5:22cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19who say: #[Ezek. 12:22; 2 Pet. 3:4]“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!”
20Woe to #[Amos 5:7] those who call evil good
and good evil,
# [Job 17:12; Matt. 6:22, 23; Luke 11:34, 35] who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21Woe to those who are #Prov. 3:7; Rom. 12:16wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22Woe to those who are #ver. 11heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23who #Ex. 23:8; Prov. 17:15acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!
24Therefore, #ch. 47:14; Joel 2:5; [Ex. 15:7] as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so #Job 18:16 their root will be #Hos. 5:12 as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have #ch. 30:9 rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
and have #ch. 1:4despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore #2 Kgs. 22:13, 17 the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and #Jer. 4:24; [Ps. 97:5; Hab. 3:6] the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were #[2 Kgs. 9:37; Jer. 36:30] as refuse
in the midst of the streets.
# ch. 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4 For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
26He will #ch. 11:12; 13:2; 18:3 raise a signal for nations far away,
and #ch. 7:18; Zech. 10:8 whistle for them #ch. 10:3; Deut. 28:49from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27 # See ch. 10:28-31 None is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
not a sandal strap broken;
28 #
Ps. 7:12, 13 their arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,
and their wheels #ch. 21:1like the whirlwind.
29Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and #See 2 Kgs. 18:13-16seize their prey;
they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30They will growl over it on that day,
like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
behold, #ch. 8:22darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.
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