Isaiah 5
1 Let me sing for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
Let me sing, I pray you, for my beloved, A song of my beloved as to his vineyard: My beloved hath a vineyard in a fruitful hill,
2 And he dug it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress in it. And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it [with] a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes?
What — to do still to my vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I waited to the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge of it, and it shall be eaten up. I will break down the wall of it, and it shall be trodden down.
And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place.
6 And I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned nor hoed, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
And I make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain.
7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. And he looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry.
Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts [Is] the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, till there is no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
Woe [to] those joining house to house, Field to field they bring near, till there is no place, And ye have been settled by yourselves In the midst of the land!
9 In my ears says Jehovah of hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
By the weapons of Jehovah of Hosts Do not many houses a desolation become? Great and good without inhabitant!
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.
For ten acres of vineyard do yield one bath, And an homer of seed yieldeth an ephah.
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!
Woe [to] those rising early in the morning, Strong drink they pursue! Tarrying in twilight, wine inflameth them!
12 And the harp and the lute, the tambourine and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts, but they do not regard the work of Jehovah, nor have they considered the operation of his hands.
And harp, and psaltery, tabret, and pipe, And wine, have been their banquets, And the work of Jehovah they behold not, Yea, the work of His hands they have not seen.
13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity for lack of knowledge, and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.
Therefore my people removed without knowledge, And its honourable ones are famished, And its multitude dried up of thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure. And their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it. (Sheol h7585)
Therefore hath Sheol enlarged herself, And hath opened her mouth without limit. And gone down hath its honour, and its multitude, And its noise, and its exulting one — into her. (Sheol h7585)
15 And the common man is bowed down, and the great man is debased, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled,
And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low,
16 but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
And Jehovah of Hosts is high in judgment, And the Holy God sanctified in righteousness,
17 Then the lambs shall feed as in their pasture, and wanderers shall eat the waste places of the fat ones.
And fed have lambs according to their leading, And waste places of the fat ones Do sojourners consume.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope,
Woe [to] those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as [with] thick ropes of the cart — sin.
19 who say, 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!
Who are saying, 'Let Him hurry, Let Him hasten His work, that we may see, And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Draw near and come, and we know.'
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe [to] those saying to evil 'good,' And to good 'evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes, And — before their own faces — intelligent!
22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink,
Woe [to] the mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink.
23 who justify the wicked for rewards, and take away the justice of the righteous man from him!
Declaring righteous the wicked for a bribe, And the righteousness of the righteous They turn aside from him.
24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised.
25 Therefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against them, and has smitten them. And the mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Therefore hath the anger of Jehovah burned among His people, And He stretcheth out His hand against it, And smiteth it, and the mountains tremble, And their carcase is as filth in the midst of the out-places. With all this His anger did not turn back, And still His hand is stretched out!
26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will whistle for them from the end of the earth, and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.
And He lifted up an ensign to nations afar off, And hissed to it from the end of the earth, And lo, with haste, swift it cometh.
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them. None shall slumber nor sleep, nor shall the belt of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken,
There is none weary, nor stumbling in it, It doth not slumber, nor sleep, Nor opened hath been the girdle of its loins, Nor drawn away the latchet of its sandals.
28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses' hoofs shall be accounted as flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.
Whose arrows [are] sharp, and all its bows bent, Hoofs of its horses as flint have been reckoned, And its wheels as a hurricane!
29 Their roaring shall be like a lioness. They shall roar like young lions. Yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.
Its roaring [is] like a lioness, It roareth like young lions, And it howleth, and seizeth prey, And carrieth away safely, and there is none delivering.
30 And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if a man looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the clouds of it.
And it howleth against it in that day as the howling of a sea, And it hath looked attentively to the land, And lo, darkness — distress, And light hath been darkened by its abundance!
