Isaiah 5:1-7
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]
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 5:1-7
International Standard Version
The Lord’s Vineyard
5 I will sing[a] for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
“The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He plowed its land[b] and cleared it of stones.
Then he planted it with the choicest vines,
built a watchtower in the middle of it,
and dug a wine vat in it;
He expected[c] it to produce good[d] grapes,
but it produced only wild ones.”[e]
3 “So now, you inhabitants[f] of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge, won’t you please,
between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I do in[g] my vineyard,
that I haven’t already done?
When I expected it to produce good[h] grapes,
why did it yield[i] wild ones?[j]
5 “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please,
what I’m going to do to my vineyard.
“I’m going to take away its protective hedge,
and it will be devoured;[k]
I’ll break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I’ll make it a wasteland,
and it won’t be pruned or cultivated.
Instead, briers and thorns will grow up.
I’ll also issue commands to the clouds,
that they drop no rain upon it.”
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden in which he delights.[l]
He looked for justice,
but saw only bloodshed;
he searched[m] for righteousness,
but heard only an outcry!
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Please, let me sing
- Isaiah 5:2 1QIsaa MT lack its land
- Isaiah 5:2 Or waited for
- Isaiah 5:2 1QIsaa MT lack good
- Isaiah 5:2 I.e. grapes unsuitable for wine making
- Isaiah 5:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads inhabitant
- Isaiah 5:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads for
- Isaiah 5:4 1QIsaa MT lack good
- Isaiah 5:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read produce
- Isaiah 5:4 I.e. grapes unsuitable for wine making
- Isaiah 5:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads will be for devouring; LXX reads will be for plundering
- Isaiah 5:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads his delightful garden
- Isaiah 5:7 1QIsaa MT lack he searched
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