Isaiah 5

1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful 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 And he dug it, and removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress in it: and he expected that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth 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 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, 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 to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth 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 And now come; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall of it, and it shall be trodden 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 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor dug; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon 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 the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

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 them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there is no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

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 In my ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without 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 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield 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 them that rise early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till 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 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation 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, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

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 hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. (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 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be abased:

And man will be bowed down, and man will be humbled, and the eyes of the exalted will be brought low.

16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

And the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the holy God will be sanctified in justice.

17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

And the lambs will pasture in proper order, and new arrivals will eat from the deserts turned into fertile lands.

18 Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as 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 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!

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 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!

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 them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own sight!

22 Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mix strong drink:

Woe to you who are powerful at drinking wine, who are strong men in contriving inebriation!

23 Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

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 fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and 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 is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills trembled, and their dead bodies were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

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 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss to them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

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 shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the belt of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be 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 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

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 shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

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 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one looketh to the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in its heavens.

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.