Isaiah 5
Christian Standard Bible
Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(A)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(B)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(C) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(D)
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard
than I did?(E)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,(F)
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,(G)
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.(H)
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.(I)
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies
is the house of Israel,(J)
and the men[a] of Judah,
the plant he delighted in.
He expected justice
but saw injustice;
he expected righteousness
but heard cries of despair.
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8 Woe to those who add house to house(K)
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9 I heard the Lord of Armies say:
Indeed, many houses(L) will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10 For a ten-acre[b] vineyard will yield
only six gallons of wine,[c]
and ten bushels[d] of seed will yield
only one bushel of grain.[e]
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,(M)
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12 At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,(N)
and they do not see the work of his hands.(O)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;(P)
her[f] dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,(Q)
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who celebrate in her!
15 Humanity is brought low, each person is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.(R)
16 But the Lord of Armies is exalted by his justice,(S)
and the holy God(T) demonstrates his holiness through his righteousness.(U)
17 Lambs will graze
as if in[g] their own pastures,(V)
and resident aliens[h] will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who drag iniquity
with cords of deceit(W)
and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19 to those who say,
“Let him hurry up and do his work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan(X) of the Holy One of Israel(Y) take place
so that we can know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,(Z)
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who consider themselves wise
and judge themselves clever.[i](AA)
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at pouring beer,(AB)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe(AC)
and deprive the innocent of justice.
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected(AD)
the instruction of the Lord of Armies,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(AE)
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned(AF) against his people.
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,(AG)
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.(AH)
26 He raises a signal flag for the distant nations(AI)
and whistles(AJ) for them from the ends of the earth.
Look—how quickly and swiftly they come!
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles;(AK)
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion’s;(AL)
they roar like young lions;(AM)
they growl and seize their prey
and carry it off,
and no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.[j]
Isaiah 5
English Standard Version
The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed
5 Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had (A)a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with (B)choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and (C)he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 (D)What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
(E)When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove (F)its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;[a]
(G)I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and (H)briers and thorns shall grow up;
(I)I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7 (J)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]
Woe to the Wicked
8 Woe to those who (K)join 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.
9 The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
(L)“Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10 (M)For ten acres[d] of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a (N)homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”[e]
11 Woe to those who (O)rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12 (P)They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
(Q)but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
or see the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people go into exile
(R)for lack of knowledge;[f]
their (S)honored men go hungry,[g]
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has (T)enlarged its appetite
and opened (U)its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem[h] and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who (V)exults in her.
15 (W)Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty[i] are brought low.
16 (X)But the Lord of hosts is exalted[j] in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs graze (Y)as in their pasture,
and (Z)nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with (AA)cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19 who say: (AB)“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!”
20 Woe to (AC)those who call evil good
and good evil,
(AD)who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (AE)wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are (AF)heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who (AG)acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!
24 Therefore, (AH)as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so (AI)their root will be (AJ)as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have (AK)rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
and have (AL)despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore (AM)the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and (AN)the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were (AO)as refuse
in the midst of the streets.
(AP)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
26 He will (AQ)raise a signal for nations far away,
and (AR)whistle for them (AS)from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27 (AT)None is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
not a sandal strap broken;
28 (AU)their arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses' hoofs seem like flint,
and their wheels (AV)like the whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and (AW)seize their prey;
they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30 They will growl over it on that day,
like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
behold, (AX)darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
- Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike
- Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike
- Isaiah 5:10 Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day
- Isaiah 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
- Isaiah 5:13 Or without their knowledge
- Isaiah 5:13 Or die of hunger
- Isaiah 5:14 Hebrew her nobility
- Isaiah 5:15 Hebrew high
- Isaiah 5:16 Hebrew high
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
