Isaiah 5:1-23

New King James Version

My Well-beloved has a vineyard
^[a]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 ^[b]made a winepress in it;
^(B)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,
^(C)Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
⁴ What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in ^(D)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:
^(E)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 ^(F)waste;
It shall not be pruned or ^[c]dug,
But there shall come up briers and ^(G)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, ^[d]a cry for help.

^11 (K)Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may ^[h]follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
^12 (L)The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But ^(M)they do not regard the work of the Lord,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.

^13 (N)Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no ^(O)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,
^(P)Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
¹⁶ But the Lord of hosts shall be ^(Q)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 ^(R)the ^[i]fat ones strangers shall eat.

¹⁸ Woe to those who ^[j]draw iniquity with cords of ^[k]vanity,
And sin as if with a cart rope;
^19 (S)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 ^(T)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 ^(U)justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!