Isaiah 5
1 Let me sing for my well beloved, a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My well beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my paternal cousin, about his vineyard. A vineyard was made for my beloved, at the horn in the son of oil.
2 He spaded it, removed the stones, and planted it with an excellent kind of vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and also built a winepress. He waited for it to produce grapes, but it only produced wild grapes.
And he fenced it in, and he picked the stones out of it, and he planted it with the best vines, and he built a tower in the middle of it, and he set up a winepress within it. And he expected it to produce grapes, but it produced wild vines.
3 So now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
Now then, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah: judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard, that I have not done for it? When I looked for it to produce grapes, why did it produce wild grapes?
What more should I have done for my vineyard that I did not do for it? Should I not have expected it to produce grapes, though it produced wild vines?
5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will remove the hedge, I will turn it into a pasture, I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
And now, I will reveal to you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence, and it will be plundered. I will pull down its wall, and it will be trampled.
6 I will lay it waste, and it will not be pruned nor hoed. Instead, briers and thorns will spring up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.
And I will make it desolate. It will not be pruned, and it will not be dug. And briers and thorns will rise up. And I will command the clouds not to rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah his pleasant planting; he waited for justice, but instead, there was killing; for righteousness, but, instead, a shout for help.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. And the man of Judah is his delightful seedling. And I expected that he would do judgment, and behold iniquity, and that he would do justice, and behold an outcry.
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who join field to field, until no room remains, and you alone remain in the land!
Woe to you who join house to house, and who combine field to field, even to the limits of the place! Do you intend to live alone in the midst of the earth?
9 Yahweh of hosts told me, many houses will be empty, even great and impressive ones, without any inhabitant.
These things are in my ears, says the Lord of hosts. Otherwise, many houses, great and beautiful, will become desolate, without an inhabitant.
10 For a ten-yoke vineyard will yield only one bath, and one homer of seed will yield only an ephah.
Then ten acres of vineyard will produce one small bottle of wine, and thirty measures of seed will produce three measures of grain.
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning to obtain strong drink, those who linger late into the night until wine inflames them.
Woe to you who rise up in the morning to pursue drunkenness, and to drink even until evening, so as to be inflamed with wine.
12 They banquet with harp, lute, tambourine, flute, and wine, but they do not recognize the work of Yahweh, nor have they considered the doings of his hands.
Harp and lyre and timbrel and pipe, as well as wine, are at your feasts. But you do not respect the work of the Lord, nor do you consider the works of his hands.
13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity for lack of understanding; their honored leaders go hungry, and their common people have nothing to drink.
Because of this, my people have been led away as captives, for they did not have knowledge, and their nobles have passed away from famine, and their multitudes have dried up from thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has made its appetite greater and has opened its mouth very wide; their elite, the people, their leaders, and the revelers and those who are happy among them, descend into Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
For this reason, Hell has expanded its soul, and has opened its mouth without any limits. And their strong ones, and their people, and their exalted and glorious ones will descend into it. (Sheol h7585)
15 Man will be forced to bend down, and mankind will be humbled; the eyes of the lofty will be cast down.
And man will be bowed down, and man will be humbled, and the eyes of the exalted will be brought low.
16 Yahweh of hosts will be exalted in his justice, and God the Holy One will show himself holy by his righteousness.
And the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the holy God will be sanctified in justice.
17 Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture, and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners.
And the lambs will pasture in proper order, and new arrivals will eat from the deserts turned into fertile lands.
18 Woe to those who pull along iniquity with useless cords and who pull along sin as if it were with a cart rope.
Woe to you who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and who draw sin as if with the rope of a cart,
19 Woe to those who say, “Let God hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see it happen; and let the plans of the Holy One of Israel come, so that we may know them.”
and who say: “Let him hurry, and let his work arrive soon, so that we may see it. And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach and arrive, so that we may know it.”
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who represent darkness as light, and light as darkness; who represent bitter as sweet, and sweet as bitter!
Woe to you who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness; who exchange bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own understanding!
Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own sight!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine, and masters at mixing strong drinks;
Woe to you who are powerful at drinking wine, who are strong men in contriving inebriation!
23 who acquit the wicked for payment, and deprive the innocent of his rights!
For you justify an impious man in exchange for bribes, and you carry away the justice of a just man from him.
24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours stubble, and as the dry grass goes down in flame, so their root will rot, and their blossom will blow away like dust. This will happen because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of hosts, and because they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Because of this, as the tongue of fire devours stubble, and as the heat of a flame burns it completely, so will their root become like glowing embers, and so will their offshoot ascend like dust. For they have cast aside the law of the Lord of hosts, and they have blasphemed the eloquence of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of Yahweh is kindled against his people. He has reached out with his hand against them and has punished them. The mountains tremble, and their corpses are like garbage in the streets. In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
For this reason, the fury of the Lord has been enraged against his people, and he has extended his hand over them, and he has struck them. And the mountains were disturbed. And their carcasses became like dung in the midst of the streets. After all this, his fury was not turned away; instead, his hand was still extended.
26 He will lift up a signal flag for far away nations and will whistle for those at the end of the earth. Look, they will come speedily and promptly.
And he will lift up a sign to nations far away, and he will whistle to them from the ends of the earth. And behold, they will rush forward speedily.
27 None tire or stumble among them; none slumbers or sleeps. Nor are their belts loose, or the thongs of their sandals broken.
There is no one weak or struggling among them. They will not become drowsy, and they will not sleep. Neither will the belt around their waist be loosened, nor the laces of their boots be broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are bent; their horses' hooves are like flint, and their chariot wheels like storms.
Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are taut. The hoofs of their horses are like flint, and their wheels are like the force of a tempest.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion; they will roar like young lions. They will growl and seize the prey and drag it away, with none to rescue.
Their roaring is like the lion; they will roar like young lions. They will both roar and seize their prey. And they will wrap themselves around it, and there will be no one who can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar against the prey as the sea roars. If anyone looks over the land, he will see darkness and suffering; even the light will be made dark by the clouds.
And in that day, they will make a noise over it, like the sound of the sea. We will gaze out toward the land, and behold, the darkness of the tribulation, and even the light has been darkened by its gloom.
