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®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 5
5
1Let me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard.
My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
2He dug it up,
gathered out its stones,
planted it with the choicest vine,
built a tower in the middle of it,
and also cut out a wine press in it.
He looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3“Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
please judge between me and my vineyard.
4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?
Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
5Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up.
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
6I will lay it a wasteland.
It won’t be pruned or hoed,
but it will grow briers and thorns.
I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
7For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah his pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression,
for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
8Woe to those who join house to house,
who lay field to field, until there is no room,
and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
9In my ears, Yahweh of Armies says: “Surely many houses will be desolate,
even great and beautiful, unoccupied.
10For ten acres#5:10 literally, ten yokes, or the amount of land that ten yokes of oxen can plow in one day, which is about 10 acres or 4 hectares. of vineyard shall yield one bath,#5:10 1 bath is about 22 liters or 5.8 U. S. gallons
and a homer#5:10 1 homer is about 220 liters or 6 bushels of seed shall yield an ephah.”#5:10 1 ephah is about 22 liters or 0.6 bushels or about 2 pecks—only one tenth of what was sown.
11Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink,
who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
12The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts;
but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh,
neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
13Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge.
Their honorable men are famished,
and their multitudes are parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol#5:14 Sheol is the place of the dead. has enlarged its desire,
and opened its mouth without measure;
and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
15So man is brought low,
mankind is humbled,
and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled;
16but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice,
and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
17Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
and wickedness as with cart rope,
19who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
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 prudent in their own sight!
22Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine,
and champions at mixing strong drink;
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice for the innocent!
24Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root shall be as rottenness,
and their blossom shall go up as dust,
because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies,
and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore Yahweh’s anger burns against his people,
and he has stretched out his hand against them and has struck them.
The mountains tremble,
and their dead bodies are as refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this, his anger is not turned away,
but his hand is still stretched out.
26He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away,
and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth.
Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
27No one shall be weary nor stumble among them;
no one shall slumber nor sleep,
neither shall the belt of their waist be untied,
nor the strap of their sandals be broken,
28whose arrows are sharp,
and all their bows bent.
Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint,
and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29Their roaring will be like a lioness.
They will roar like young lions.
Yes, they shall roar,
and seize their prey and carry it off,
and there will be no one to deliver.
30They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress.
The light is darkened in its clouds.
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