Isaiah 5
1 Let me sing a song for my love, about his vineyard. My love owned a vineyard on a productive hill.
Now will I sing to my beloued a song of my beloued to his vineyarde, My beloued had a vineyarde in a very fruitefull hill,
2 He dug it over, cleared the ground of stones, and planted it with the very best vines. In the middle of it he built a watchtower, and he also cut out a winepress from the rock. Then he waited for a good harvest of grapes, but it only produced wild, sour grapes.
And hee hedged it, and gathered out the stones of it, and he planted it with the best plants, and hee builte a towre in the middes thereof, and made a wine presse therein: then hee looked that it should bring foorth grapes: but it brought foorth wilde grapes.
3 “Now, you people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
Now therefore, O inhabitants of Ierusalem and men of Iudah, iudge, I pray you, betweene me, and my vineyarde.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard than I've already done? When I looked for sweet grapes, why did it only produce sour ones?
What coulde I haue done any more to my vineyard that I haue not done vnto it? why haue I looked that it should bring foorth grapes, and it bringeth foorth wilde grapes?
5 So let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. I'll remove its hedge, and it will be destroyed. I'll tear down its wall, and it will be trampled underfoot.
And nowe I will tell you what I will do to my vineyarde: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten vp: I will breake the wall thereof, and it shall be troden downe:
6 I'll turn it into a wasteland. It won't be pruned or weeded—it will be overgrown with brambles and thorns. I'll order the clouds not to rain on it.”
And I will laye it waste: it shall not be cut, nor digged, but briers, and thornes shall growe vp: I will also commande the cloudes that they raine no raine vpon it.
7 Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty, and the people of Judah are the plants in his garden that made him happy. Yet while he hoped for justice, he only saw injustice; he hoped people would live right, but he only heard the cries of those who were suffering.
Surely the vineyard of the Lord of hostes is the house of Israel, and the men of Iudah are his pleasant plant, and hee looked for iudgement, but beholde oppression: for righteousnesse, but beholde a crying.
8 Tragedy is coming to you who buy house upon house and field upon field, joining them all together until no one else has anywhere to live and you live alone in the land.
Woe vnto them that ioyne house to house, and laye fielde to fielde, till there bee no place, that ye may be placed by your selues in the mids of the earth.
9 I heard the Lord Almighty declare: You can be sure that many houses are destined to become ruins, and beautiful mansions destined to become uninhabited.
This is in mine cares, saith the Lord of hostes. Surely many houses shall be desolate, euen great, and faire without inhabitant.
10 Ten acres of vineyard will only produce a six gallons of wine, and a measure of seed only a tenth of that in grain.
For ten acres of vines shall yelde one bath, and the seede of an homer shall yelde an ephah.
11 Tragedy is coming to you who get up early in the morning wanting a drink, and who stay up late drinking wine until you're drunk.
Wo vnto them, that rise vp early to follow drunkennes, and to them that continue vntill night, till the wine doe inflame them.
12 At their feasts you have lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine, but you don't ever consider what the Lord is doing, and you don't recognize his help.
And the harpe and viole, timbrel, and pipe, and wine are in their feastes: but they regard not the worke of the Lord, neither consider the worke of his handes.
13 As a result my people will be exiled for their lack of understanding. Their honored leaders will starve, and the crowds will be dying of thirst.
Therefore my people is gone into captiuitie, because they had no knowledge, and the glorie thereof are men famished, and the multitude thereof is dried vp with thirst.
14 The grave's appetite increases, its mouth opens wide, and Jerusalem's nobility and the masses will go down into it, along with the rowdy, drunken mobs. (Sheol h7585)
Therefore hell hath inlarged it selfe, and hath opened his mouth, without measure, and their glorie, and their multitude, and their pompe, and hee that reioyceth among them, shall descend into it. (Sheol h7585)
15 Everyone will be brought down, everyone will be humbled; the proud will lower their eyes in humiliation.
And man shalbe brought downe, and man shalbe humbled, euen the eyes of the proude shalbe humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be vindicated because he does what is right; the holy God will be shown to be holy because of his goodness.
And the Lord of hostes shalbe exalted in iudgement, and the holy God shalbe sanctified in iustice.
17 Lambs will graze as in their own pasture; fattened livestock and goats will feed among the ruins of the rich.
Then shall the lambes feede after their maner, and the strangers shall eate the desolate places of the fat.
18 Tragedy is coming to you who pull along your sins behind you with iniquity with cords made of lies, and pulling with ropes a cartful of wickedness.
Woe vnto them, that draw iniquitie with cordes of vanitie, and sinne, as with cart ropes:
19 You are among the people who say, “God should hurry up! Why doesn't God get a move on with what he's doing so we can see it? Why doesn't the Holy One of Israel execute his plan? Let's see it happen so we can understand what it is!”
Which say, Let him make speede: let him hasten his worke, that wee may see it: and let the counsell of the holy one of Israel draw neere and come, that we may knowe it.
20 Tragedy is coming to you who say evil is good, and good is evil; who turn darkness into light and light into darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter.
Woe vnto them that speake good of euill, and euill of good, which put darkenes for light, and light for darkenes, that put bitter for sweete, and sweete for sowre.
21 Tragedy is coming to you who are wise in your own eyes and think you're so clever.
Woe vnto them that are wise in their owne eyes, and prudent in their owne sight.
22 Tragedy is coming to you who are wine-drinking champions, and experts at mixing alcoholic drinks;
Wo vnto them that are mightie to drinke wine, and to them that are strong to powre in strong drinke:
23 you who set the guilty free for a bribe, and yet deny justice to the innocent.
Which iustifie the wicked for a rewarde, and take away the righteousnesse of the righteous from him.
24 In the same way fire burns up stubble and dry grass falls down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers disintegrate into dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty, and have treated with contempt what the Holy One of Israel has said.
Therefore as the flame of fire deuoureth the stubble, and as the chaffe is cosumed of the flame: so their roote shalbe as rottennesse, and their bud shall rise vp like dust, because they haue cast off the Lawe of the Lord of hostes, and contemned the word of the holy one of Israel.
25 That's why the Lord burns with anger against his people. He has lifted up his hand and hit them, shaking the mountains, and leaving their corpses lying like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, his anger is not finished, and his hand is still lifted up.
Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and hee hath stretched out his hand vpon them, and hath smitten them that the mountaines did tremble: and their carkases were torne in the middes of the streetes, and for all this his wrath was not turned away, but his hande was stretched out still.
26 He will send a signal to the distant nations, and will whistle for those living at the ends of the earth. See how quickly they respond, how speedily they come!
And he will lift vp a signe vnto the nations a farre, and wil hisse vnto them from the ende of the earth: and beholde, they shall come hastily with speede.
27 None of them gets tired or stumbles; none of them rests or sleeps. No belt comes loose, and no sandal strap breaks.
None shall faint nor fall among them: none shall slumber nor sleepe, neither shall the girdle of his loynes be loosed, nor the latchet of his shooes be broken:
28 Their arrows are already sharpened, and all their bows have been strung. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint; their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind.
Whose arrowes shall be sharpe, and all his bowes bent: his horse hoofes shall be thought like flint, and his wheeles like a whirlewinde.
29 They roar like lions, like young lions. They growl, and pounce on their prey. They drag it off so it can't be rescued.
His roaring shalbe like a lyon, and he shall roare like lyons whelpes: they shall roare, and lay holde of the praye: they shall take it away, and none shall deliuer it.
30 At that time they will roar over their prey like the roaring of the sea. Anyone who looks out over the land will see only darkness and distress—even the sunlight will be darkened by clouds.
And in that day they shall roare vpon them, as the roaring of the sea: and if they looke vnto the earth, beholde darkenesse, and sorowe, and the light shalbe darkened in their skie.
