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.
Let me sing now a song respecting my friend, A song respecting my friend touching his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard On a very fruitful hill;
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.
He digged it, and cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine, And built a tower in the midst of it, And hewed out a wine-press therein; Then he looked that it should bring forth its grapes, But it brought forth sour grapes.
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 ye 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 could have been done for my vineyard That I have not done for it? Why, then, when I looked that it should bring forth its grapes, Brought it forth sour grapes?
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.
But come now, and I will tell you What I mean to do with my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; 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 make it a waste; It shall not be pruned, nor digged, But shall grow up into thorns and briers; I will also command the clouds That they shed 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.
The vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah the plant of his delight. He looked for justice, and behold, bloodshed! For righteousness, and behold, 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 them that join house to house, That add field to field, Till there is no place left, And they dwell alone in the land.
9 Yahweh of hosts told me, many houses will be empty, even great and impressive ones, without any inhabitant.
To mine ear hath Jehovah of hosts revealed it: Surely many houses shall become a desolation, The great and the fair 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 a single bath of wine, And a homer of seed shall produce 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 to them that rise early in the morning to follow strong drink, —Who sit late in the night that wine may 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 the lyre and the harp, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are at their feasts, But they regard not the work of Jehovah, Nor attend to the operation 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.
Therefore shall my people be led captive, when they think not of it; Their honorable men shall be famished with hunger, And their rich men parched 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 doth the under-world enlarge its greedy throat, And stretch open its mouth without measure, And down go her nobility and her wealth, Her busy throng, and all that was joyful within her. (Sheol h7585)
15 Man will be forced to bend down, and mankind will be humbled; the eyes of the lofty will be cast down.
The mean man shall be bowed down, And the great man shall be brought low, And the eyes of the haughty 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.
Jehovah of hosts shall be exalted through judgment; Yea, God, the Holy One, shall be sanctified through righteousness.
17 Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture, and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners.
Then shall the lambs feed, as in their own pasture, And the deserted fields of the rich shall strangers consume.
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 them that draw calamity with cords of wickedness, And punishment as with wagon-traces, —
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.”
Who say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work that we may see it! Let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and be fulfilled, 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 them that call evil good, and good 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 to them that are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own conceit!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine, and masters at mixing strong drinks;
Woe to them that are valiant 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!
That clear the guilty for a reward, And take away from the righteous his 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 fire devours stubble, And as the withered grass sinks into the flame, So their root shall become rottenness, And their blossom shall fly up like dust. For they have despised the law of Jehovah of hosts, And contemned the word 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.
Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people; He stretcheth forth his hand against them, and smiteth them, so that the mountains tremble, And their carcasses are as dung in the midst of the streets; For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.
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.
He lifteth up a banner for the nations afar off, He whistleth for them from the ends of the earth, And behold, they haste, and come swiftly.
27 None tire or stumble among them; none slumbers or sleeps. Nor are their belts loose, or the thongs of their sandals broken.
None among them is weary, and none stumbleth; None slumbereth nor sleepeth; The girdle of their loins is not loosed, Nor the latchet of their shoes 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 bent; The hoofs of their horses are like flint, And their wheels like a 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.
Their roaring is like the roaring of the lion; They roar like young lions; They roar, and seize the prey; They bear it away, and none 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.
Yea, in that day shall they roar against them like the roaring of the sea; And if one look to the land, behold darkness and sorrow, And the light is darkened by its clouds.
