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, I pray you, for my beloved, A song of my beloved as to his vineyard: My beloved hath a vineyard in a 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.
And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it [with] a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
3 So now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man 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 — to do still to my vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I waited to the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
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, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place.
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 make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain.
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.
Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts [Is] the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.
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] those joining house to house, Field to field they bring near, till there is no place, And ye have been settled by yourselves 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.
By the weapons of Jehovah of Hosts Do not many houses a desolation become? Great and good without inhabitant!
10 For a ten-yoke vineyard will yield only one bath, and one homer of seed will yield only an ephah.
For ten acres of vineyard do yield one bath, And an homer of seed yieldeth 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] those rising early in the morning, Strong drink they pursue! Tarrying in twilight, wine inflameth 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 harp, and psaltery, tabret, and pipe, And wine, have been their banquets, And the work of Jehovah they behold not, Yea, the work of His hands they have not seen.
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 my people removed without knowledge, And its honourable ones are famished, And its multitude dried up of 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 Sheol enlarged herself, And hath opened her mouth without limit. And gone down hath its honour, and its multitude, And its noise, and its exulting one — into 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.
And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low,
16 Yahweh of hosts will be exalted in his justice, and God the Holy One will show himself holy by his righteousness.
And Jehovah of Hosts is high in judgment, And the Holy God sanctified in righteousness,
17 Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture, and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners.
And fed have lambs according to their leading, And waste places of the fat ones Do sojourners 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] those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as [with] thick ropes of the cart — sin.
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 are saying, 'Let Him hurry, Let Him hasten His work, that we may see, And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Draw near and come, and we know.'
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] those saying to evil 'good,' And to good 'evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting 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] the wise in their own eyes, And — before their own faces — intelligent!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine, and masters at mixing strong drinks;
Woe [to] the mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink.
23 who acquit the wicked for payment, and deprive the innocent of his rights!
Declaring righteous the wicked for a bribe, And the righteousness of the righteous They turn aside 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.
Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised.
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 hath the anger of Jehovah burned among His people, And He stretcheth out His hand against it, And smiteth it, and the mountains tremble, And their carcase is as filth in the midst of the out-places. With all this His anger did not turn back, And still His hand is 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 lifted up an ensign to nations afar off, And hissed to it from the end of the earth, And lo, with haste, swift 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 in it, It doth not slumber, nor sleep, Nor opened hath been the girdle of its loins, Nor drawn away the latchet of its sandals.
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] sharp, and all its bows bent, Hoofs of its horses as flint have been reckoned, And its wheels as a hurricane!
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.
Its roaring [is] like a lioness, It roareth like young lions, And it howleth, and seizeth prey, And carrieth away safely, and there is none delivering.
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 howleth against it in that day as the howling of a sea, And it hath looked attentively to the land, And lo, darkness — distress, And light hath been darkened by its abundance!
