Isaiah 5

1Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:footnote a

2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.footnote bfootnote c

3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:footnote d

6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

7For 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.footnote efootnote f

8Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!footnote g

9In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.footnote hfootnote i

10Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

11Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!footnote j

12And 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.

13Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.footnote k

14Therefore 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.

15And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

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

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

18Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

19That 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 nigh and come, that we may know it!

20Woe unto 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!footnote m

21Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!footnote n

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

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

24Therefore 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.footnote o

25Therefore 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 did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.footnote p

26And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

27None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

28Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

29Their 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.

30And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.footnote qfootnote r

The Song of the Vineyard

1I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard:My beloved had a vineyardon a very fertile hill. 2He dug it up and cleared the stonesand planted the finest vines.He built a watchtower in the middleand dug out a winepress as well.He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes,but the fruit it produced was sour!

3“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalemand men of Judah,I exhort you to judgebetween Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done for My vineyardthan I have done for it?Why, when I expected sweet grapes,did it bring forth sour fruit?

5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard:I will take away its hedge,and it will be consumed;I will tear down its wall,and it will be trampled. 6I will make it a wasteland,neither pruned nor cultivated,and thorns and briers will grow up.I will command the cloudsthat rain shall not fall on it.”

7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hostsis the house of Israel,and the men of Judahare the plant of His delight.He looked for justice,but saw bloodshed;for righteousness,but heard a cry of distress.

Woes to the Wicked

8Woe to you who add house to houseand join field to fielduntil no place is leftand you live alone in the land.

9I heard the LORD of Hosts declare:“Surely many houses will become desolate,great mansions left unoccupied. 10For ten acres of vineyardwill yield but a bath of wine,footnote aand a homer of seedonly an ephah of grain.footnote b”

11Woe to those who rise early in the morningin pursuit of strong drink,who linger into the evening,to be inflamed by wine. 12At their feasts are the lyre and harp,tambourines and flutes and wine.They disregard the actions of the LORDand fail to see the work of His hands.

13Therefore My people will go into exilefor their lack of understanding;their dignitaries are starvingand their masses are parched with thirst. 14Therefore Sheol enlarges its throatand opens wide its enormous jaws,and down go Zion’s nobles and masses,her revelers and carousers!

15So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled;the arrogant will lower their eyes. 16But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice,and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. 17Lambs will graze as in their own pastures,and strangersfootnote cwill feed in the ruins of the wealthy.

18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceitand pull sin along with cart ropes, 19to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His workso that we may see it!Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel comeso that we may know it!”

20Woe to those who call evil goodand good evil,who turn darkness to lightand light to darkness,who replace bitter with sweetand sweet with bitter.

21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyesand clever in their own sight.

22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wineand champions in mixing strong drink, 23who acquit the guilty for a bribeand deprive the innocent of justice.

24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw,and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,so their roots will decayand their blossoms will blow away like dust;for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hostsand despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people;His hand is raised against them to strike them down.The mountains quake,and the corpses lie like refuse in the streets.Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;His hand is still upraised.

26He lifts a banner for the distant nationsand whistles for those at the ends of the earth.Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come! 27None of them grows weary or stumbles;no one slumbers or sleeps.No belt is looseand no sandal strap is broken. 28Their arrows are sharpened,and all their bows are strung.The hooves of their horses are like flint;their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. 29Their roaring is like that of a lion;they roar like young lions.They growl and seize their prey;they carry it away, and no one can rescue it. 30In that day they will roar over it,like the roaring of the sea.If one looks over the land,he will see darkness and distress;even the light will be obscured by clouds.