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
New American Standard Bible
Parable of the Vineyard
5 Let me sing now for my beloved
A song of my beloved about His vineyard.
My beloved had a (A)vineyard on [a]a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, cleared it of stones,
And planted it with [b]the (B)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it,
And also carved out a [c]wine vat in it;
Then He (C)expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.
3 “And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
(D)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 expected 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 nor hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to (J)rain on it.”
7 For the (K)vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel,
And the people of Judah are His delightful plant.
So He waited for justice, but behold, there was (L)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 Lit horn, a son of fatness
- Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape
- Isaiah 5:2 Or wine press
- Isaiah 5:2 Or unripe
- Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done
- Isaiah 5:4 Or unripe
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