Isaiah 5
Legacy Standard Bible
The Song of the Vineyard
5 Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a (A)vineyard on [a]a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with [b]the (B)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a [c]wine vat in it;
Then He (C)hoped for it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.
3 “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
(D)Please 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 hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce [f]worthless ones?
5 So 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.
6 I will (I)lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds to (J)rain no rain on it.”
7 For the (K)vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, (L)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
Woes to Those Who Call Evil Good
8 Woe to those who (M)add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears Yahweh of hosts has sworn, “Surely, (N)many houses shall become (O)desolate,
Even great and good ones, without inhabitants.
10 For (P)ten [g]acres of vineyard will yield only one [h]bath of wine,
And a [i](Q)homer of seed will yield but an [j]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue (R)strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
12 And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (S)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (T)do not look upon the deeds of Yahweh,
Nor do they see the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (U)lack of knowledge;
And [k]their (V)honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (W)Sheol has enlarged its [l]throat and opened its mouth without limit;
And [m]Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low,
(X)The eyes of the lofty also will be made low.
16 But (Y)Yahweh of hosts will be (Z)lofty 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 sojourners will eat in the waste places of the [n]wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag (AC)iniquity with the cords of worthlessness,
And sin as if with cart ropes,
19 (AD)Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who (AE)call evil good and good evil,
Who [o](AF)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness,
Who [p]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (AG)wise in their own eyes
And understanding in their own [q]sight!
22 (AH)Woe to those who are mighty men in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 (AI)Who [r]declare the wicked righteous for a bribe,
And (AJ)remove the [s]righteous standing of the ones who are [t]righteous!
24 Therefore, (AK)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their (AL)root will become (AM)like rot and their blossom [u]blow away as dust;
For they have (AN)rejected the law of Yahweh of hosts
And the word of the Holy One of Israel they have spurned.
25 On this account, the (AO)anger of Yahweh has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the (AP)mountains trembled, and their (AQ)corpses [v]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
(AR)For all this His anger is not turned back,
But His (AS)hand is still stretched out.
26 He will also lift up a (AT)standard to the [w]distant nations,
And will (AU)whistle for it (AV)from the ends of the earth;
And behold, it will (AW)come with speed swiftly.
27 (AX)No one in it is weary or stumbles,
None slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the (AY)belt at its waist undone,
Nor its sandal strap broken.
28 [x](AZ)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses [y]seem like flint and its chariot (BA)wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Its (BB)roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
It growls and (BC)seizes the prey
And carries it off with (BD)no one to deliver it.
30 And it will (BE)growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one (BF)looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light is darkened by its clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 Lit a horn, the son of fatness
- Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape
- Isaiah 5:2 Or wine press
- Isaiah 5:2 Or wild grapes
- Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done
- Isaiah 5:4 Or wild grapes
- Isaiah 5:10 One acre is what oxen could plow in one day
- Isaiah 5:10 A bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
- Isaiah 5:10 A homer was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
- Isaiah 5:10 An ephah was approx. 21 qt. or 23 l
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit their glory are men of famine
- Isaiah 5:14 Or appetite
- Isaiah 5:14 Lit her
- Isaiah 5:17 Lit fat
- Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
- Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
- Isaiah 5:21 Lit face
- Isaiah 5:23 Or justify the wicked for a bribe, cf. 53:11
- Isaiah 5:23 Or justification
- Isaiah 5:23 Or justified
- Isaiah 5:24 Lit ascend
- Isaiah 5:25 Lit were
- Isaiah 5:26 Probably Assyria
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit Which, its arrows
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit are regarded as
Isaiah 5
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Song about the Vineyard
5 Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
2 He dug it up, removed its stones,
planted it with the choicest vines,
built a watchtower in it,
and made a winepress in it.
Then he waited for it to produce good grapes,
but it produced only sour, wild grapes.
3 Now then, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard!
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than what I have already done for it?
When I waited for it to produce good grapes,
why did it produce only sour, wild grapes?
5 Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured
and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.
It will never be pruned or hoed.
Thorns and weeds will grow in it,
and I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
7 The vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight.
He hoped for justice but saw only slaughter,
for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.
Six Sins Condemned
8 How horrible it will be for you
who acquire house after house and buy field after field
until there’s nothing left
and you have to live by yourself in the land.
9 With my own ears I heard the Lord of Armies say,
“Many houses will become empty.
Large, beautiful houses will be without people to live in them.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only six gallons of wine,
and two quarts of seed will produce only four quarts of grain.”
11 How horrible it will be for those
who get up early to look for a drink,
who sit up late until they are drunk from wine.
12 At their feasts there are lyres and harps,
tambourines and flutes, and wine.
Yet, they don’t pay attention to what the Lord is doing
or see what his hands have done.
13 “My people will go into exile
because they don’t understand what I’m doing.
Honored men will starve,
and common people will be parched with thirst.”
14 That is why the grave’s appetite increases.
It opens its mouth very wide
so that honored people and common people will go down into it.
Those who are noisy and joyous will go down into it.
15 People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled.
And the eyes of arrogant people will be humbled.
16 The Lord of Armies will be honored when he judges.
The holy God will show himself to be holy when he does what is right.
17 Then lambs will graze as if they were in their own pasture,
and foreigners will eat among the ruins of the rich.
18 How horrible it will be for those
who string people along with lies and empty promises,
whose lives are sinful.
19 They say,
“Let God hurry and quickly do his work
so that we may see what he has in mind.
Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen quickly
so that we may understand what he is doing.”
20 How horrible it will be for those
who call evil good and good evil,
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn what is bitter into something sweet
and what is sweet into something bitter.
21 How horrible it will be for those
who think they are wise
and consider themselves to be clever.
22 How horrible it will be for those
who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at mixing drinks,
23 who declare the guilty innocent for a bribe,
who take away the rights of righteous people.
The Lord Will Use Another Nation to Punish His People
24 As flames burn up straw
and dry grass shrivels in flames,
so their roots will rot,
and their blossoms will blow away like dust.
They have rejected the teachings of the Lord of Armies
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 That’s why the anger of the Lord burns hot against his people,
and he is ready to use his power to strike them down.
The hills tremble,
and dead bodies lie like garbage in the streets.
Even after all this, his anger has not disappeared,
and he is still ready to use his power.
26 The Lord raises up a flag for the nations far away.
With a whistle he signals those at the ends of the earth.
Look, they are coming very quickly!
27 None of them grow tired or stumble.
None of them slumber or sleep.
The belts on their waists aren’t loose
or their sandal straps broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened; all their bows are ready to shoot.
Their horses’ hoofs are as hard as flint.
Their chariot wheels are as quick as the wind.
29 They roar like a lioness.
They growl like a young lion.
They growl as they snatch their prey
and carry it off to where no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over their prey
as the sea roars.
If they look at the land,
they will see only darkness and distress.
Even the light will be darkened by thick clouds.
Isaiah 5
King James Version
5 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in 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 winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5 And now go to; 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 digged; 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, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, 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 honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
15 And the mean 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 that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 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 nigh and come, that we may know it!
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for 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 Which justify the wicked for 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 as 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 carcases 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 far, 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
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
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
