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Isaiah 5
1599 Geneva Bible
Isaiah 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 Under the similitude of the vine, he describeth the state of the people. 8 Of their avarice. 11 Their drunkenness. 13 Of their captivity.
1 Now will [a]I sing to my [b]beloved a song of my beloved to his vineyard, (A)My beloved had a [c]vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
2 And he hedged it, and gathered out the stones of it, and he planted it with the best plants, [d]and he built a tower in the midst thereof, and made a winepress therein, then he looked that it should bring forth grapes: but it brought forth [e]wild grapes.
3 Now therefore, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, [f]between me and my vineyard.
4 What could I have done anymore to my vineyard that I have not done unto it? why have I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it bringeth forth wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I [g]will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up: I will break the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be cut, nor dug, but briers and thorns shall grow up: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 ¶ Surely the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant, and he looked for [h]judgment, but behold oppression: for righteousness, but behold [i]a crying.
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no [j]place, that ye may be placed by yourselves in the midst of the earth.
9 This is in mine [k]ears, saith the Lord of hosts. Surely many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair without inhabitant.
10 For ten acres of vines shall yield one [l]bath, and the seed of an [m]homer shall yield an [n]ephah.
11 ¶ Woe unto them, that [o]rise up early to follow drunkenness, and to them that continue until [p]night, till the wine do inflame them,
12 And the harp and viol, timbrel and pipe, and wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the [q]work of the Lord, neither consider the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people [r]is gone into captivity, because they had [s]no knowledge, and the glory thereof are men famished, and the multitude thereof is dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore [t]hell hath enlarged itself, and hath opened his mouth without measure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, shall descend into it.
15 And man shall be brought down, and man shall be humbled, even the eyes of the proud shall be humbled.
16 And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be sanctified in justice.
17 Then shall [u]the lambs feed after their manner, and the strangers shall eat the desolate places of the fat.
18 ¶ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with [v]cords of vanity, and sin, as with cart ropes:
19 Which say, [w]Let him make speed: let him 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 unto them that speak good of evil, [x]and evil of good, which put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for sour.
21 Woe unto them that are [y]wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.
22 Woe unto them that are [z]mighty to drink wine, and unto them that are strong to pour in strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.
24 Therefore as the flame of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the chaff is consumed of the flame: so their [aa]root shall be a rottenness, and their bud shall rise up like dust, because they have cast off the Law of the Lord of hosts, and contemned the word of the Holy one of Israel.
25 Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his [ab]hand upon them, and hath smitten them that the mountains did tremble: and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets, and for all this his wrath was not turned away, but his hand was stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up a sign [ac]unto the nations afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and behold, they shall come hastily with speed.
27 None shall [ad]faint nor fall among them: none shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the girdle of his loins be loosed, nor [ae]the latchet of his shoes be broken.
28 Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all his bows bent: his horse hoofs shall be thought like flint, and his wheels like whirlwind.
29 His roaring shall be like a lion, and he shall roar like lion’s whelps: they shall [af]roar, and lay hold of the prey: they shall take it away, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar upon them, as the roaring of the sea: and if [ag]they look unto the earth, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light shall be darkened in their [ah]sky.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 The Prophet by this song doth set before the people’s eyes their ingratitude, and God’s mercy.
- Isaiah 5:1 That is, to God.
- Isaiah 5:1 Meaning, that he had planted his Church in a place most plentiful and abundant.
- Isaiah 5:2 He spared no diligence nor cost.
- Isaiah 5:2 In the seventh verse he declareth what they were.
- Isaiah 5:3 He maketh them judges in their own cause, forasmuch as it was evident that they were the cause of their own ruin.
- Isaiah 5:5 I will take no more care for it: meaning, that he would take from them his word and ministers, and all other comforts, and send them contrary plagues.
- Isaiah 5:7 Judgment and righteousness are true fruits of the fear of God, and therefore in the cruel oppression there is no religion.
- Isaiah 5:7 Of them that are oppressed.
- Isaiah 5:8 To wit, for the poor to dwell in.
- Isaiah 5:9 I have heard the complaint and cry of the poor.
- Isaiah 5:10 Which containeth about ten pottels: so that every acre should but yield one pottel.
- Isaiah 5:10 Which containeth an hundred pottels.
- Isaiah 5:10 An Ephah containeth ten pottels and is in dry things as much as Bath is in liquors.
- Isaiah 5:11 That spare no pain nor diligence to follow their lusts.
- Isaiah 5:11 Which are never weary of their rioting and excessive pleasures, but use all means to provoke to the same.
- Isaiah 5:12 They regard not the provident care of God over them, nor for what end he hath created them.
- Isaiah 5:13 That is, shall certainly go: for so the Prophets use to speak, as though the thing which shall come to pass, were done already.
- Isaiah 5:13 Because they would not obey the word of God.
- Isaiah 5:14 Meaning, the grave shall swallow up them that shall die for hunger and thirst, and yet for all this great destruction it shall ever be satiate.
- Isaiah 5:17 God comforteth the poor lambs of his Church, which had been strangers in other countries, promising that they should dwell in these places again, whereof they had been deprived by the fat and cruel tyrants.
- Isaiah 5:18 Which use all allurements, occasions, and excuses to harden their conscience in sin.
- Isaiah 5:19 He showeth what are the words of the wicked, when they are menaced with God’s judgments, 2 Pet. 3:4.
- Isaiah 5:20 Which are not ashamed of sin, nor care for honesty, but are grown to a desperate impiety.
- Isaiah 5:21 Which are contemners of all doctrine and admonition.
- Isaiah 5:22 Which are never weary, but show their strength, and brag in gluttony and drunkenness.
- Isaiah 5:24 Both they and their posterity, so that nothing shall be left.
- Isaiah 5:25 He showeth that God had so sore punished this people, that the dumb creatures, if they had been so plagued, would have been more sensible, and therefore his plagues must continue, till they begin to feel them.
- Isaiah 5:26 He will make the Babylonians to come against them at his beck, and to fight under his standard.
- Isaiah 5:27 They shall be prompt and lusty to execute God’s vengeance.
- Isaiah 5:27 The enemy shall have none impediment.
- Isaiah 5:29 Whereby is declared the cruelty of the enemy.
- Isaiah 5:30 The Jews shall find no succor.
- Isaiah 5:30 In the land of Judah.
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
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.