Parable of the Vineyard

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.
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.

“And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
(D)Judge between Me and My vineyard.
(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?
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.
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.”

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.

Woes for the Wicked

Woe to those who (M)attach house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
In my ears the Lord of armies has sworn, “(N)Many houses shall certainly 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 [h](Q)homer of seed will yield only an [i]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue (R)intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the evening so 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 their [j](V)nobles are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (W)Sheol has enlarged its [k]throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And [l]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,
(X)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
16 But the (Y)Lord of armies 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 ruins of the [m]wealthy.

18 Woe to those who drag (AC)wrongdoing with the cords of [n]deceit,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
19 (AD)Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it;
And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so 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 [q]clever in their own sight!
22 (AH)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine,
And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,
23 (AI)Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe,
And (AJ)take away the [r]rights of the ones who are in the right!

24 Therefore, (AK)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble,
And dry grass collapses in the flame,
So their (AL)root will become (AM)like rot, and their blossom [s]blow away like dust;
For they have (AN)rejected the Law of the Lord of armies,
And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 For this reason the (AO)anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them.
And the (AP)mountains quaked, and their (AQ)corpses [t]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
(AR)Despite all this, His anger [u]is not spent,
But His (AS)hand is still stretched out.

26 He will also lift up a (AT)flag to the distant [v]nation,
And (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 tired or stumbles,
No one slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the (AY)undergarment at his waist loosened,
Nor his sandal strap broken.
28 [w](AZ)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses [x]seem like flint, and its chariot (BA)wheels like a storm wind.
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 save it.
30 And it will (BE)roar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one (BF)looks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:1 Lit horn, a son of fatness
  2. Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape
  3. Isaiah 5:2 Or wine press
  4. Isaiah 5:2 Or unripe
  5. Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done
  6. Isaiah 5:4 Or unripe
  7. Isaiah 5:10 About 6 gallons or 23 liters
  8. Isaiah 5:10 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubit meters or more
  9. Isaiah 5:10 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  10. Isaiah 5:13 Lit glory is men of famine
  11. Isaiah 5:14 Or appetite
  12. Isaiah 5:14 Lit her
  13. Isaiah 5:17 Lit fat
  14. Isaiah 5:18 Or worthlessness
  15. Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
  16. Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
  17. Isaiah 5:21 Lit discerning
  18. Isaiah 5:23 Lit justice
  19. Isaiah 5:24 Lit ascend
  20. Isaiah 5:25 Lit were
  21. Isaiah 5:25 Lit has not turned away
  22. Isaiah 5:26 Lit nations; prob. Assyria
  23. Isaiah 5:28 Lit Which, its arrows
  24. Isaiah 5:28 Lit are regarded as

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
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)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
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)
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)
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.”

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

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.

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)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(BU)
    his hand is still upraised.(BV)

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

  1. Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
  2. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
  3. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  4. Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat