Isaiah 5
21st Century King James Version
5 Now will I sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard: my Well-beloved hath a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
2 And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine; and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine press therein. And He looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to My vineyard than I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to bring forth good grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5 “And now, I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down.
6 And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.”
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, His pleasant plant. And He looked for judgment, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
9 In mine ears said the Lord of hosts: “In truth many houses shall be desolate, even the great and fair, without inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”
11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
12 And the harp and the viol, and the taboret and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands.
13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth beyond measure; and their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
15 And the lowly man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed according to their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18 Woe unto them that draw along iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
19 who 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 nigh and come, that we may know it.”
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that count darkness as light, and light as darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink,
23 who justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people, and He hath stretched forth His hand against them, and hath smitten them; and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
26 And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken;
28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea; and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Isaiah 5
Holman 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 Hosts
is the house of Israel,(J)
and the men[a] of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.
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 Hosts 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,[c]
and 10 bushels[d] of seed will yield
only one bushel.[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[g] 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 carouse in her!
15 Humanity is brought low, man is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.(R)
16 But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice,(S)
and the holy God(T) is distinguished by righteousness.(U)
17 Lambs will graze
as if in[h] their own pastures,(V)
and strangers[i] will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who drag wickedness
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 are wise in their own opinion
and clever in their own sight.[j](AA)
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are fearless at mixing 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 Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(AE)
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger burns(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 is not removed,
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.[k]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:7 Lit man
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit ten-yoke
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit one bath
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit one homer
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit [one] ephah
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit its
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit its
- Isaiah 5:17 Syr reads graze in
- Isaiah 5:17 LXX reads sheep
- Isaiah 5:21 Lit clever before their face
- Isaiah 5:30 Lit its clouds
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