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 now for my beloved, the song of my dear one touching his vineyard. A vineyard had my beloved on a rich hill-top;
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 cleared it of stones, and planted it with the choicest vines, and built a tower in its midst, and also a winepress he hewed out therein: and he hoped that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth worthless fruit.
3 So now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, 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 was to be done to my vineyard, that I had not done in it? Why then did I hope that it should bring forth grapes, while it brought forth worthless fruit?
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 let you know also what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten off; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down;
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 lay it quite waste; it shall not be pruned, nor hoed around; and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; and the clouds will I command that they send down no 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 men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he hoped for justice, but behold injustice; for equity, but behold iniquity.
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 unto those that cause house to join on house, bring field near to field, till there is no more room, so that ye may be left alone as the inhabitants in the midst of the land!
9 Yahweh of hosts told me, many houses will be empty, even great and impressive ones, without any inhabitant.
In my ears [spoke] the Lord of hosts, Truly many houses shall become desolate, yea, great and beautiful ones without an inhabitant.
10 For a ten-yoke vineyard will yield only one bath, and one homer of seed will yield only an ephah.
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield [but] one bath, and a chomer-seed shall yield [but] an ephah.
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 unto those that rise up early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink; that continue until late in the twilight, till wine inflame them!
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.
And there are harp and psaltery, tambourine and flute, and wine at their drinking-feasts; but the deeds of the Lord they regard not, and the works of his hands they behold not.
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.
Therefore are my people led into exile, for want of knowledge: and their honorable men suffer of famine, and their multitude are panting with 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)
Therefore hath the deep enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure: and there descend [Jerusalem's] glory, and her multitude, and her noise, and whoever rejoiced therein. (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 bent down shall be the son of earth, and humbled shall be the man, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled;
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 shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be sanctified by [displaying his] righteousness.
17 Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture, and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners.
Then shall the sheep feed according to their wont, and the ruins of the fat ones shall sojourners eat.
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 unto those that draw iniquity with the cords of falsehood, and as with a wagon-rope, sinfulness;
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.”
That say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it: and let draw nigh and come the counsel of the Holy One of Israel, 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 unto those that say of the evil it is good, and of the good it is evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put 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 unto those that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine, and masters at mixing strong drinks;
Woe unto those that are heroes to drink wine, and men of might to mingle strong drink;
23 who acquit the wicked for payment, and deprive the innocent of his rights!
Who justify the wicked in lieu of a bribe, and who deprive the righteous of their right!
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.
Therefore as the tongue of the fire devoureth the stubble, and dry hay sinketh before the flame: so shall their root be as rotten things, and their blossom shall fly up as the dust; because they have despised the law of the Lord of hosts, and the word of the Holy One of Israel they have rejected.
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 cause is kindled the anger of the Lord against his people, and he stretcheth forth his hand against them, and he smiteth them; and the mountains tremble, and their carcasses lie like sweepings in the midst of the streets: with all this his anger is not turned away, but still is his hand stretched out.
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 an ensign to the nations from afar, and will call for one of them from the end of the earth; and, behold, with speed, swiftly, it cometh;
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 none weary, nor stumbling among its men; it slumbereth not, it sleepeth not; not loosened is the girdle of its loins, not broken is the latchet of its shoes;
28 Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are bent; their horses' hooves are like flint, and their chariot wheels like storms.
Whose arrows are sharpened, and all whose bows are bent; its horses hoofs are hard like the flint, and its wheels like the whirlwind;
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.
It hath a roar like the lioness, it roareth like the young lions: yea, it growleth, and layeth hold of the prey, and carrieth it safely off, with none to deliver.
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 it will rage against them on that day like with the raging of the sea: and if one look unto the earth, behold, there is darkness, oppression, and the light is darkened through the darkness of its clouds.
