Isaiah 5:1-17

New American Standard Bible

Parable of the Vineyard

5 Let me sing now for my beloved
A song of my beloved about His vineyard.
My beloved had a ^(A)vineyard on ^[a]a fertile hill.
²He dug it all around, cleared it of stones,
And planted it with ^[b]the ^(B)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it,
And also carved out a ^[c]wine vat in it;
Then He ^(C)expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only ^[d]worthless ones.

³“And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
^(D)Judge between Me and My vineyard.
⁴^(E)What more was there to do for My vineyard ^[e]that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce ^[f]worthless ones?
⁵So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will ^(F)remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will ^(G)break down its wall and it will become ^(H)trampled ground.
⁶I will ^(I)lay it waste;
It will not be pruned nor hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to ^(J)rain on it.”

⁷For the ^(K)vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel,
And the people of Judah are His delightful plant.
So He waited for justice, but behold, there was ^(L)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Woes for the Wicked

⁸Woe to those who ^(M)attach house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
⁹In my ears the Lord of armies has sworn, “^(N)Many houses shall certainly become ^(O)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
¹⁰For ^(P)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one ^[g]bath of wine,
And a ^[h]^(Q)homer of seed will yield only an ^[i]ephah of grain.”
¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue ^(R)intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!
¹²Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ^(S)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they ^(T)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

¹³Therefore My people go into exile for their ^(U)lack of knowledge;
And their ^[j]^(V)nobles are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
¹⁴Therefore ^(W)Sheol has enlarged its ^[k]throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And ^[l]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
¹⁵So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,
^(X)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
¹⁶But the ^(Y)Lord of armies will be ^(Z)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself ^(AA)holy in righteousness.
¹⁷^(AB)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the ruins of the ^[m]wealthy.