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Isaiah 5:8-23
New King James Version
Isaiah 5:8-23
New King James Version
Impending Judgment on Excesses
8 Woe to those who [a]join (A)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 (B)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 (C)bath,[b]
And a homer of seed shall yield one [c]ephah.”
11 (D)Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may [d]follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
12 (E)The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But (F)they do not regard the work of the Lord,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.
13 (G)Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no (H)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,
(I)Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be (J)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 (K)the [e]fat ones strangers shall eat.
18 Woe to those who [f]draw iniquity with cords of [g]vanity,
And sin as if with a cart rope;
19 (L)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 (M)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 (N)justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:8 Accumulate houses
- Isaiah 5:10 1 bath=1⁄10 homer
- Isaiah 5:10 1 ephah=1⁄10 homer
- Isaiah 5:11 pursue
- Isaiah 5:17 Lit. fatlings, rich ones
- Isaiah 5:18 drag
- Isaiah 5:18 emptiness or falsehood
Isaiah 5:8-23
New International Version
Isaiah 5:8-23
New International Version
Woes and Judgments
8 Woe(A) to you who add house to house
and join field to field(B)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty(C) has declared in my hearing:(D)
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(E)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”(F)
11 Woe(G) 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.(H)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes(I) and timbrels(J) and wine,
but they have no regard(K) for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.(L)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(M)
for lack of understanding;(N)
those of high rank(O) will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.(P)
14 Therefore Death(Q) expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;(R)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.(S)
15 So people will be brought low(T)
and everyone humbled,(U)
the eyes of the arrogant(V) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(W) by his justice,(X)
and the holy God will be proved holy(Y) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(Z)
lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe(AA) to those who draw sin along with cords(AB) of deceit,
and wickedness(AC) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten(AD) his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(AE) of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”(AF)
20 Woe(AG) to those who call evil good(AH)
and good evil,(AI)
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,(AJ)
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.(AK)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(AL)
and clever in their own sight.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.