And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
(A)What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
(B)When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove (C)its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;[a]
(D)I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and (E)briers and thorns shall grow up;
(F)I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.

(G)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;[b]
for righteousness,
    but behold, an outcry![c]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
  2. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike
  3. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(A)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(B)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(C)
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(D)
I will break down its wall,(E)
    and it will be trampled.(F)
I will make it a wasteland,(G)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(H) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(I) on it.”

The vineyard(J) 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,(K) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(L) but heard cries of distress.(M)

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