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Isaiah 5
New King James Version
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
Isaiah 5
International Children’s Bible
Isaiah 5
International Children’s Bible
Israel, God’s Special Field
5 Now I will sing a song to my friend. This song is about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a hill with very rich soil.
2 He dug and cleared the field of stones.
He planted the best grapevines there.
And he built a tower in the middle of it.
He cut out a winepress as well.
He hoped good grapes would grow there.
But only bad grapes grew.
3 My friend says, “You people living in Jerusalem,
and you men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard?
I did everything I could.
I hoped for good grapes to grow.
But why were there only bad grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard:
I will remove the hedge,
and it will be burned.
I will break down the stone wall,
and it will be walked on.
6 I will ruin my field.
It will not be trimmed or hoed.
Weeds and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7 The vineyard belonging to the Lord of heaven’s armies
is the nation of Israel.
The garden that the Lord loves
is the men of Judah.
The Lord looked for justice, but there was only killing.
The Lord hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.
8 How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses
and more fields to your fields.
Finally there is no room left for other people.
Then you are left alone in the land.
9 The Lord of heaven’s armies said this to me:
“The fine houses will be destroyed.
The large and beautiful houses will be left empty.
10 At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine.
And ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”
11 How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning
to look for strong drink.
They stay awake late at night,
becoming drunk with wine.
12 At their parties they have lyres, harps,
tambourines, flutes and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done.
They don’t notice the work of his hands.
13 So my people will be captured and taken away
because they don’t really know me.
All the great men will die of hunger.
The common people will die of thirst.
14 So the place where the dead are wants more and more people.
It opens its mouth wide.
Jerusalem’s important men will go down into it.
And the common people will go down into it.
15 So the common people and the great people will be humbled.
Those who are proud will be humbled.
16 The Lord of heaven’s armies will receive glory by judging fairly.
The holy God will show himself holy by doing what is right.
17 Then the sheep will go anywhere they want.
Lambs will feed on the land that rich people once owned.
18 How terrible it will be for those people!
They pull their guilt and sins behind them
as people pull wagons with ropes.
19 They say, “Let’s see God hurry.
Let’s see him do his work soon.
We want to see it.
Let’s see the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon.
Then we would know what it really is.”
20 How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad
and bad things good.
They think darkness is light
and light is darkness.
They think sour is sweet
and sweet is sour.
21 How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise.
They think they are clever.
22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine.
They are champions at mixing drinks.
23 They take money to set the guilty free.
But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.
24 They will be destroyed
just as fire burns straw or dry grass.
They will be destroyed
like a plant whose roots rot
and whose flower dies and blows away like dust.
They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.
25 So the Lord has become very angry with his people.
And he has raised his hand to punish them.
Even the mountains are frightened.
Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage.
But the Lord is still angry.
His hand is still raised to strike down the people.
26 God raises a banner for the nations far away.
He is whistling to call those people.
The enemy comes quickly!
27 Not one of them becomes tired or falls down.
Not one of them gets sleepy and falls asleep.
Their weapons are close at hand.
Their sandal straps are not broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp.
All of their bows are ready to shoot.
The horses’ hooves are hard as rock.
Their chariot wheels move like a whirlwind.
29 Their shout is like the roar of a lion.
It is loud like a young lion.
The enemy growls as they grab their captives.
There is no one to stop them from taking their captives away.
30 On that day they will roar
like the waves of the sea.
And when people look at the land,
they will see only darkness and pain.
All light will become dark in this thick cloud.
Isaiah 5
English Standard Version
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
Isaiah 5
New International Version
Isaiah 5
New International Version
The Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)
3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?(H)
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
and it will be trampled.(K)
6 I will make it a wasteland,(L)
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain(N) on it.”
7 The vineyard(O) of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(P) but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)
Woes and Judgments
8 Woe(S) to you who add house to house
and join field to field(T)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty(U) has declared in my hearing:(V)
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(W)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”(X)
11 Woe(Y) to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.(Z)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes(AA) and timbrels(AB) and wine,
but they have no regard(AC) for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.(AD)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(AE)
for lack of understanding;(AF)
those of high rank(AG) will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.(AH)
14 Therefore Death(AI) expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;(AJ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.(AK)
15 So people will be brought low(AL)
and everyone humbled,(AM)
the eyes of the arrogant(AN) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(AO) by his justice,(AP)
and the holy God will be proved holy(AQ) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(AR)
lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe(AS) to those who draw sin along with cords(AT) of deceit,
and wickedness(AU) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten(AV) his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(AW) of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”(AX)
20 Woe(AY) to those who call evil good(AZ)
and good evil,(BA)
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,(BB)
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.(BC)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(BD)
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(BE)
and champions at mixing drinks,(BF)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(BG)
but deny justice(BH) to the innocent.(BI)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(BJ) lick up straw(BK)
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(BL)
and their flowers blow away like dust;(BM)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word(BN) of the Holy One(BO) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(BP) burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(BQ)
and the dead bodies(BR) are like refuse(BS) in the streets.(BT)
26 He lifts up a banner(BW) for the distant nations,
he whistles(BX) for those at the ends of the earth.(BY)
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(BZ) or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(CA) is loosened at the waist,(CB)
not a sandal strap is broken.(CC)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(CD)
all their bows(CE) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(CF) seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(CG)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(CH)
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(CI) their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.(CJ)
30 In that day(CK) they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.(CL)
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness(CM) and distress;(CN)
even the sun will be darkened(CO) by clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
International Children’s Bible (ICB)
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.