Isaiah 5
New King James Version
God’s Disappointing Vineyard
5 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved (A)regarding His vineyard:
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.
Impending Judgment on Excesses
8 Woe to those who [e]join (H)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 (I)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 (J)bath,[f]
And a homer of seed shall yield one [g]ephah.”
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!
24 Therefore, (V)as the [l]fire devours the stubble,
And the flame consumes the chaff,
So (W)their root will be as rottenness,
And their blossom will ascend like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 (X)Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people;
He has stretched out His hand against them
And stricken them,
And (Y)the hills trembled.
Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.
(Z)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
26 (AA)He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will (AB)whistle to them from (AC)the end of the earth;
Surely (AD)they shall come with speed, swiftly.
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them,
No one will slumber or sleep;
Nor (AE)will the belt on their loins be loosed,
Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 (AF)Whose arrows are sharp,
And all their bows bent;
Their horses’ hooves will [m]seem like flint,
And their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion,
They will roar like young lions;
Yes, they will roar
And lay hold of the prey;
They will carry it away safely,
And no one will deliver.
30 In that day they will roar against them
Like the roaring of the sea.
And if one (AG)looks to the land,
Behold, darkness and [n]sorrow;
And the light is darkened by the clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 Lit. In a horn, the son of fatness
- Isaiah 5:2 Lit. hewed out
- Isaiah 5:6 hoed
- Isaiah 5:7 wailing
- 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 5:24 Lit. tongue of fire
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit. be regarded as
- Isaiah 5:30 distress
Isaia 5
Cornilescu 1924 - Revised 2010, 2014
Via Domnului
5 Voi cânta Preaiubitului meu cântarea Preaiubitului meu despre via(A) Lui. Preaiubitul meu avea o vie pe o câmpie foarte mănoasă. 2 I-a săpat pământul, l-a curăţat de pietre şi a sădit în el viţele cele mai alese. A zidit un turn în mijlocul ei şi a săpat şi un teasc, apoi trăgea nădejde(B) că are să-I facă struguri buni, dar a făcut struguri sălbatici. 3 „Acum dar – zice Domnul –, locuitori ai Ierusalimului şi bărbaţi ai lui Iuda, judecaţi(C) voi între Mine şi via Mea! 4 Ce aş mai fi putut face viei Mele şi nu i-am făcut? Pentru ce a făcut ea struguri sălbatici, când Eu mă aşteptam să facă struguri buni? 5 Vă voi spune însă acum ce voi face viei Mele: îi voi smulge gardul, ca să fie păscută de vite; îi voi surpa(D) zidul, ca să fie călcată în picioare; 6 o voi pustii; nu va mai fi curăţată, nici săpată; spini şi mărăcini vor creşte în ea! Voi porunci şi norilor să nu mai plouă peste ea.” 7 Via Domnului oştirilor este casa lui Israel, şi bărbaţii lui Iuda sunt viţa pe care o iubea. El se aştepta la judecată şi, când colo, iată sânge vărsat! Se aştepta la dreptate şi, când colo, iată strigăte de apăsare! 8 Vai de cei ce înşiră casă(E) lângă casă şi lipesc ogor lângă ogor, până nu mai rămâne loc şi locuiesc în mijlocul ţării! 9 Iată(F) ce mi-a descoperit Domnul oştirilor: Hotărât, aceste case multe vor fi pustiite, aceste case mari şi frumoase nu vor mai fi locuite. 10 Chiar zece pogoane de vie nu vor da decât un bat(G) şi un omer de sămânţă nu va da decât o efă. 11 Vai(H) de cei ce dis-de-dimineaţă aleargă după băuturi ameţitoare şi şed până noaptea târziu şi se înfierbântă de vin! 12 Harpa(I) şi alăuta, timpana, flautul şi vinul le înveselesc ospeţele, dar nu iau seama la lucrarea(J) Domnului şi nu văd lucrul mâinilor Lui. 13 De aceea(K), poporul meu va fi dus pe neaşteptate(L) în robie; boierimea lui va muri de foame şi gloata lui se va usca de sete. 14 De aceea îşi şi deschide Locuinţa morţilor gura şi îşi lărgeşte peste măsură gâtlejul, ca să se pogoare în ea măreţia şi bogăţia Sionului, cu toată mulţimea lui gălăgioasă şi veselă. 15 Şi astfel, cei mici vor fi doborâţi(M), cei mari vor fi smeriţi şi privirile trufaşe vor fi plecate. 16 Dar Domnul oştirilor va fi înălţat prin judecată şi Dumnezeul cel sfânt va fi sfinţit prin dreptate. 17 Acolo vor paşte mieii ca pe imaşul lor şi păstorii pribegi vor mânca moşiile prăpădite ale bogaţilor(N). 18 Vai de cei ce trag după ei nelegiuirea cu funiile minciunii şi păcatul, cu şleaurile unei căruţe 19 şi zic(O): „Să-Şi grăbească, să-Şi facă iute lucrarea, ca s-o vedem! Să vină odată hotărârea Sfântului lui Israel şi să se aducă la îndeplinire, ca s-o cunoaştem!” 20 Vai de cei ce numesc răul bine şi binele rău, care spun că întunericul este lumină şi lumina întuneric, care dau amărăciunea în loc de dulceaţă şi dulceaţa în loc de amărăciune! 21 Vai de cei ce se socot înţelepţi(P) şi se cred pricepuţi! 22 Vai(Q) de cei tari când este vorba de băut vin şi viteji când este vorba de amestecat băuturi tari; 23 care scot(R) cu faţa curată pe cel vinovat, pentru mită, şi iau drepturile celor nevinovaţi! 24 De aceea, cum(S) mistuie o limbă de foc miriştea şi cum arde flacăra iarba uscată, tot aşa ca putregaiul le va fi rădăcina(T) lor şi floarea li se va risipi în vânt ca ţărâna, căci au nesocotit Legea Domnului oştirilor şi au dispreţuit Cuvântul Sfântului lui Israel. 25 De(U) aceea Se şi aprinde Domnul de mânie împotriva poporului Său, Îşi întinde mâna împotriva lui şi-l loveşte de se(V) zguduie munţii şi trupurile moarte stau ca noroiul în mijlocul uliţelor. Cu(W) toate acestea, mânia Lui nu se potoleşte şi mâna Lui este încă întinsă. 26 El(X) ridică un steag popoarelor îndepărtate şi le fluieră(Y) de la un capăt(Z) al pământului: şi iată-le, vin(AA) repede şi uşor. 27 Niciunul nu este obosit, niciunul nu şovăie de oboseală, niciunul nu dormitează, nici nu doarme; niciunuia nu i se descinge brâul(AB) de la mijloc, nici nu i se rupe cureaua de la încălţăminte. 28 Săgeţile(AC) lor sunt ascuţite şi toate arcurile, încordate; copitele cailor lor parcă sunt cremene şi roţile carelor lor parcă sunt un vârtej. 29 Răcnesc ca nişte lei, mugesc ca nişte pui de lei, sforăie şi apucă prada, o iau cu ei, şi nimeni nu vine în ajutor. 30 În ziua aceea, va fi asupra lui Iuda un muget, ca mugetul unei furtuni pe mare; uitându-se(AD) la pământ, nu vor vedea decât întuneric şi strâmtorare, iar lumina se va întuneca în norii lui.
Isaiah 5
New English Translation
A Love Song Gone Sour
5 I[a] will sing to my love—
a song to my lover about his vineyard.[b]
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill.[c]
2 He built a hedge around it,[d] removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead.[e]
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,
people[f] of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,[g]
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.[h]
6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,[i]
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
7 Indeed,[j] Israel[k] is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the people[l] of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got—disobedience![m]
He waited for fairness, but look what he got—cries for help![n]
Disaster is Coming
8 Beware, those who accumulate houses,[o]
who also accumulate field after field[p]
until there is no land left,[q]
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.[r]
9 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this:[s]
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.[t]
10 Indeed, a large vineyard[u] will produce just a few gallons,[v]
and enough seed to yield several bushels[w] will produce less than a bushel.”[x]
11 Beware, those who get up early to drink beer,[y]
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.[z]
12 They have stringed instruments,[aa] tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.[ab]
13 Therefore my[ac] people will be deported[ad]
because of their lack of understanding.
Their[ae] leaders will have nothing to eat,[af]
their[ag] masses will have nothing to drink.[ah]
14 So Death[ai] will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth;[aj]
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.[ak]
15 Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.[al]
16 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted[am] when he punishes,[an]
the holy God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.[ao]
17 Lambs[ap] will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.[aq]
18 Beware, those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,[ar]
who pull sin as with cart ropes.[as]
19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,[at]
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel[au] take shape[av] and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
20 Beware, those who call evil good and good evil,[aw]
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.[ax]
21 Beware, those who think they are wise,[ay]
those who think they possess understanding.[az]
22 Beware, those who are champions[ba] at drinking,
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent.[bb]
24 Therefore, as flaming fire[bc] devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust.[bd]
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
they have spurned the commands[be] of the Holy One of Israel.[bf]
25 So the Lord is furious[bg] with his people;
he lifts[bh] his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure[bi] in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[bj]
26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,[bk]
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they[bl] come quickly and swiftly.
27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest.[bm]
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared.[bn]
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,[bo]
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.[bp]
29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
30 At that time[bq] they will growl over their prey,[br]
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.[bs]
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness.[bt]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.
- Isaiah 5:1 sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.
- Isaiah 5:1 tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).
- Isaiah 5:2 tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.
- Isaiah 5:2 tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).sn At this point the love song turns sour as the Lord himself breaks in and completes the story (see vv. 3-6). In the final line of v. 2 the love song presented to the Lord becomes a judgment speech by the Lord.
- Isaiah 5:3 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
- Isaiah 5:5 tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (baʿar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”
- Isaiah 5:5 tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).
- Isaiah 5:6 tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.
- Isaiah 5:7 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
- Isaiah 5:7 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 5:7 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
- Isaiah 5:7 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mispakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
- Isaiah 5:7 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tseaʿqah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsedaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
- Isaiah 5:8 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.”
- Isaiah 5:8 tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”sn This verse does not condemn real estate endeavors per se, but refers to the way in which the rich bureaucrats of Judah accumulated property by exploiting the poor, in violation of the covenantal principle that the land belonged to God and that every family was to have its own portion of land. See the note at 1:23.
- Isaiah 5:8 tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”
- Isaiah 5:8 tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”
- Isaiah 5:9 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord of armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
- Isaiah 5:9 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
- Isaiah 5:10 tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown.
- Isaiah 5:10 tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons.
- Isaiah 5:10 tn Heb “a homer.” A homer was a dry measure, the exact size of which is debated. Cf. NCV “ten bushels”; CEV “five bushels.”
- Isaiah 5:10 tn Heb “an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure; there were ten ephahs in a homer. So this verse envisions major crop failure, where only one-tenth of the anticipated harvest is realized.
- Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.”
- Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “[who] delay until dark, [until] wine enflames them.”sn This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease—their social injustice.
- Isaiah 5:12 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
- Isaiah 5:12 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
- Isaiah 5:13 sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
- Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (metey, “men of”) as מֵתֵי (metey, “dead ones of”).
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
- Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”
- Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); the underworld, the land of the dead, according to the OT world view. Cf. NAB “the nether world”; TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NLT “the grave.”
- Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “so Sheol will make wide its throat, and open its mouth without limit.”sn Death is portrayed in both the OT (Prov 1:12; Hab 2:5) and Canaanite myth as voraciously swallowing up its prey. In the myths Death is portrayed as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens…and a tongue to the stars.” (G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 69, text 5 ii 2-3.) Death describes his own appetite as follows: “But my appetite is the appetite of lions in the waste….If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [a reference to his human victims], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [indicating fullness and completeness] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the god of the river responsible for ferrying victims from the land of the living to the land of the dead] has to mix the cup.” (Driver, 68-69, text 5 i 14-22).
- Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “and her splendor and her masses will go down, and her tumult and the one who exults in her.” The antecedent of the four feminine singular pronominal suffixes used in v. 14b is unclear. The likely referent is personified Zion/Jerusalem (see 3:25-26; 4:4-5).
- Isaiah 5:15 tn Heb “men are brought down, men are brought low, the eyes of pride are brought low.”
- Isaiah 5:16 tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”
- Isaiah 5:16 tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.
- Isaiah 5:16 tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsedaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.
- Isaiah 5:17 tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.”
- Isaiah 5:17 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and ruins, fatlings, resident foreigners, will eat.” This part of the verse has occasioned various suggestions of emendation. The parallelism is tighter if the second line refers to animals grazing. The translation, “amid the ruins the fatlings and young sheep graze,” assumes an emendation of “resident foreigners” (גָּרִים, garim) to “young goats/sheep” (גְּדַיִם, gedaim)—confusion of dalet and resh is quite common—and understands “fatlings” and “young sheep” as a compound subject or as in apposition as the subject of the verb. However, no emendations are necessary if the above translation is correct. The meaning of מֵחִים (mekhim) has a significant impact on one’s textual decision and translation. The noun can refer to a sacrificial (“fat”) animal as it does in its only other occurrence (Ps 66:15). However, it could signify the rich of the earth (cf. Ps 22:29 [MT 30]: “the fat ones of the earth”), using a different word for “fatness” (Ps 22:29: דָּשֶׁן, dashen). If so, it serves a figurative reference to the rich. Consequently, the above translation coheres with the first half of the verse. Just as the sheep are out of place grazing in these places (“as in their pasture”), the sojourners would not have expected to have the chance to eat in these locations. Both animals and itinerant foreigners would eat in places not normal for them.sn The image completes the picture begun in v. 14 and adds to the irony. When judgment comes, Sheol will eat up the sinners who frequent the feasts; then the banqueting halls will lie in ruins and only sheep will eat there.
- Isaiah 5:18 sn See the note at v. 8.
- Isaiah 5:18 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shaveʾ, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (se, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (ʿagalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (ʿegel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead, who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention.
- Isaiah 5:19 tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his “work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.
- Isaiah 5:19 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 5:19 tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”
- Isaiah 5:20 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.
- Isaiah 5:20 sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.
- Isaiah 5:21 tn Heb “the wise in their own eyes.”
- Isaiah 5:21 tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding ones.”sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30).
- Isaiah 5:22 tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.
- Isaiah 5:23 tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”sn In vv. 22-23 the prophet returns to themes with which he opened his speech. The accusatory elements of vv. 8, 11-12, 18-23 are arranged in a chiastic manner: (A) social injustice (8), (B) carousing (11-12a), (C) spiritual insensitivity (12b) // (C') spiritual insensitivity (18-21), (B') carousing (22), (A') social injustice (23).
- Isaiah 5:24 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
- Isaiah 5:24 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
- Isaiah 5:24 tn Heb “the word.”
- Isaiah 5:24 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 5:25 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”
- Isaiah 5:25 tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”
- Isaiah 5:25 tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”
- Isaiah 5:25 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
- Isaiah 5:26 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (legoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (legoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (legoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”), a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.
- Isaiah 5:26 tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.
- Isaiah 5:27 tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.”
- Isaiah 5:28 tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”
- Isaiah 5:28 tn Heb “regarded like flint.”
- Isaiah 5:28 sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.
- Isaiah 5:30 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
- Isaiah 5:30 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Isaiah 5:30 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
- Isaiah 5:30 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).
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