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Isaiah 5
New American Standard Bible 1995
Isaiah 5
New American Standard Bible 1995
Parable 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)expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.
3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men 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 or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to (J)rain no rain on it.”
7 For the (K)vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, (L)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
Woes for the Wicked
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 the Lord of hosts has sworn, “Surely, (N)many houses shall become (O)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 “For (P)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one [g]bath of wine,
And a (Q)homer of seed will yield but an [h]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 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (S)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (T)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (U)lack of knowledge;
And [i]their (V)honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (W)Sheol has enlarged its [j]throat and opened its mouth without measure;
And [k]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
(X)The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
16 But the (Y)Lord of hosts will be (Z)exalted 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 strangers will eat in the waste places of the [l]wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag (AC)iniquity with the cords of [m]falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
19 (AD)Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose 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 [n](AF)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who [o]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (AG)wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
22 (AH)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 (AI)Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And (AJ)take away the [p]rights of the ones who are in the right!
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 [q]blow away as dust;
For they have (AN)rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 On this account the (AO)anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the (AP)mountains quaked, and their (AQ)corpses [r]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
(AR)For all this His anger [s]is not spent,
But His (AS)hand is still stretched out.
26 He will also lift up a (AT)standard to the [t]distant nation,
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 [u](AZ)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses [v]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 as it (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 I.e. Approx 10 1/2 gal.
- Isaiah 5:10 I.e. Approx one bu
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit their glory are men of famine
- Isaiah 5:14 Or appetite
- Isaiah 5:14 Lit her
- Isaiah 5:17 Lit the fat
- Isaiah 5:18 Or worthlessness
- Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
- Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
- Isaiah 5:23 Lit righteousness
- Isaiah 5:24 Lit ascend
- Isaiah 5:25 Lit were
- Isaiah 5:25 Lit has not turned away
- Isaiah 5:26 Lit nations; probably Assyria
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit Which, its arrows
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit are regarded as
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 American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.