Isaiah 5
1 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,
[Now] I will sing a song about my dear friend, and about his vineyard. The vineyard was on a very fertile hillside.
2 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.
My friend plowed the ground and cleared away the stones. Then he planted very good grapevines on that ground. In the middle of the vineyard, he built a watchtower, and he dug a (winepress/pit for squeezing the grapes). Then he waited [each year] to harvest some good grapes, but the vines produced [only] sour grapes.
3 Now therefore, O inhabitants of Ierusalem and men of Iudah, iudge, I pray you, betweene me, and my vineyarde.
Now [this is what Yahweh says]: “You people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, I [am like the friend, and you are like] my vineyard; [so] you judge which of us [has done what is right].
4 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?
What more could I have done for you than what I have already done? I expected you to be doing good deeds [MET], so it is disgusting that [RHQ] you were [doing only evil things] like the vineyard that produced only sour grapes!
5 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:
[So], I will now tell you what I will do to [Judah, the place that is like] my vineyard. I will cut down the hedges, and they will be destroyed. I will tear down the walls [of the cities] and allow [wild animals] to trample the land.
6 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.
I will cause it to become a wasteland where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed. It will be a place where briers and thorns [DOU] grow. And I will command that no rain will fall on it.”
7 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.
The nation of Israel is [like] [MET] the vineyard of the Commander of the armies of angels. The people of Judah are [like] the garden that was pleasing to him. He expected you to be doing what is just/fair, but instead, [what he saw was people] murdering [MTY] others. [He expected that you would be doing] righteous deeds, but instead, he heard cries from people who were being [attacked] violently.
8 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.
Terrible things will happen to you who continually [illegally] acquire houses and fields. You force one family after another to leave their homes until you are the only ones [HYP] [still] living in the land.
9 This is in mine cares, saith the Lord of hostes. Surely many houses shall be desolate, euen great, and faire without inhabitant.
[But] I heard the Commander of the armies of angels solemnly declare this: “[Some day], many of those huge houses will be empty/deserted; no one will be living in those beautiful mansions.
10 For ten acres of vines shall yelde one bath, and the seede of an homer shall yelde an ephah.
The vines on ten acres of land will not produce enough grapes to make (six gallons/22 liters) [of juice/wine], and ten baskets of seed will produce only one basket [of grain].”
11 Wo vnto them, that rise vp early to follow drunkennes, and to them that continue vntill night, till the wine doe inflame them.
Terrible things will happen to those who get up early [each] morning to begin drinking alcoholic drinks, and who stay awake until late at night [drinking a lot of wine] until they are completely drunk.
12 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.
They have [big parties and provide lots of] wine. At their parties, there are [people playing] harps and lyres and tambourines and flutes, but they never think about what Yahweh does or appreciate what he has created.
13 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.
So, my people will be (exiled/taken to other countries) [far away] because they do not know [about me]. Those who are [now very important and] honored will starve, and the other people will die from thirst.
14 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)
[It is as though] [PRS] the place where the dead people are is eagerly looking for more Israeli people, opening its mouth to swallow them, and a huge number of people will be thrown into that place, including their leaders as well as a noisy crowd of people who enjoy living in Jerusalem. (Sheol h7585)
15 And man shalbe brought downe, and man shalbe humbled, euen the eyes of the proude shalbe humbled.
[Yahweh] will get rid of a huge number of people; and he will humble [many more] people who [now] are proud/arrogant.
16 And the Lord of hostes shalbe exalted in iudgement, and the holy God shalbe sanctified in iustice.
But the Commander of the armies of angels will be exalted/praised because of his acting justly. God will show that he is holy by doing righteous/just deeds.
17 Then shall the lambes feede after their maner, and the strangers shall eate the desolate places of the fat.
Then lambs and fat sheep will [be able to] find good grass to eat, [even] among the ruins [of the houses of rich people].
18 Woe vnto them, that draw iniquitie with cordes of vanitie, and sinne, as with cart ropes:
Some people constantly tell lies, and [it is as though] they are dragging behind them the wrong things that they have done. Terrible things will happen to them!
19 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.
They [make fun of God and] say [to him, ] “Go ahead, do something [to punish us]! We want to see what you will do. You, the Holy One of Israel, should do what you are planning to do, because we want to know what it is.”
20 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.
Terrible things will happen to those who say that evil is good, and that good is evil, that darkness is light and that light is darkness, that what is bitter is sweet and what is sweet is bitter.
21 Woe vnto them that are wise in their owne eyes, and prudent in their owne sight.
Terrible things will happen to those who think that they are wise and that they (are very clever/know everything).
22 Wo vnto them that are mightie to drinke wine, and to them that are strong to powre in strong drinke:
Terrible things will happen to those who [think that] [IRO] they are great/heroes because they are able to drink [lots of] wine, and boast about being able to mix good alcoholic drinks.
23 Which iustifie the wicked for a rewarde, and take away the righteousnesse of the righteous from him.
If people offer them bribes in order that they will enable wicked people not to be punished, they accept those bribes, and they cause people who are innocent to be punished.
24 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.
Therefore, just like [SIM] fires burn up stubble and dry grass shrivels up and quickly burns in flames, [it will be as though] those people have roots that will rot and have flowers that will wither. [That will happen] because they rejected the laws of the Commander of the armies of angels; they have despised the messages of the Holy One of Israel.
25 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.
That is why Yahweh is [extremely] angry [with his people]; [it is as though] his hand is raised [and he is ready to smash them]. [When he does that], the mountains will shake, and the corpses of people will be scattered in the streets like [SIM] manure. But even when that happens, Yahweh will still be very angry; he will be ready to punish his people [MET] again.
26 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.
Yahweh will send a signal to summon [armies of] nations far away; [it is as though] he will whistle [to summon those soldiers who are] in very remote places on the earth. They will come very swiftly [DOU] [to Jerusalem].
27 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:
They will not get tired or stumble. They will not [stop to] rest or to sleep. None of their belts will be loose, and none of them will have sandals with broken straps, [so they will all be ready to fight in battles].
28 Whose arrowes shall be sharpe, and all his bowes bent: his horse hoofes shall be thought like flint, and his wheeles like a whirlewinde.
Their arrows will be sharp, and their bows will be ready [to shoot those arrows in a battle]. [Because their horses pull the chariots fast], sparks will shoot out from their hooves, and the wheels of the chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
29 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.
They will roar like [very strong] lions [DOU] that growl and [then] pounce on the animals they want to kill and carry them off, and no one is able to rescue them.
30 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.
[Similarly, your enemies] will roar when they see the people they are about to kill, like [SIM] the sea roars. [On that day], if someone looks across the land, he will see [only people who are in] darkness and distressed; [it will be as though] even the sunlight is hidden by dark clouds.
