Song of the Vineyard
1
I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(A)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(A)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(B)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(C) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(D)
and planted it with the finest vines.(B)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(C) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(D)
3
So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between Me
and My vineyard.
4 and men of Judah,
please judge between Me
and My vineyard.
What more could I have done for My vineyard
than I did?(E)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5
6
7
than I did?(E)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8
Woe to those who add house to house(K)
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9 I heard the Lord of Hosts say:
10
10
For a ten-acre(b) vineyard will yield
only six gallons,(c)
and 10 bushels(d) of seed will yield
only one bushel.(e)
only six gallons,(c)
and 10 bushels(d) of seed will yield
only one bushel.(e)
11
Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,(M)
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12 in pursuit of beer,(M)
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,(N)
and they do not see the work of His hands.(O)
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,(N)
and they do not see the work of His hands.(O)
13
14
Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,(Q)
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who carouse in her!
15
16
17 and opens wide its enormous jaws,(Q)
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who carouse in her!
Lambs will graze
as if in(h) their own pastures,(V)
and strangers(i) will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
as if in(h) their own pastures,(V)
and strangers(i) will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18
19
20
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,(Z)
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21
22
23 and good evil,(Z)
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
24
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected(AD)
the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(AE)
25 and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected(AD)
the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(AE)
Therefore the Lord’s anger burns(AF) against His people.
He raised His hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,(AG)
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.(AH)
He raised His hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,(AG)
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.(AH)
26
27
None of them grows weary or stumbles;(AK)
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28 no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29
30 and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.(k)
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.(k)
Footnotes:
a.
Isaiah 5:7: Lit man
b.
Isaiah 5:10: Lit ten-yoke
c.
Isaiah 5:10: Lit one bath
d.
Isaiah 5:10: Lit one homer
e.
Isaiah 5:10: Lit [one] ephah
f.
Isaiah 5:13: Lit its
g.
Isaiah 5:13: Lit its
h.
Isaiah 5:17: Syr reads graze in
i.
Isaiah 5:17: LXX reads sheep
j.
Isaiah 5:21: Lit clever before their face
k.
Isaiah 5:30: Lit its clouds
Cross references:
H.
Isaiah 5:6:
2 Chronicles 36:19-21; Isaiah 7:19-25; Isaiah 24:1; Isaiah 24:3; Isaiah 27:2-6; Jeremiah 25:11
M.
Isaiah 5:11:
Leviticus 10:9; Numbers 6:3; Deuteronomy 29:6; Judges 13:4; Isaiah 5:22; Isaiah 24:9; Isaiah 28:7; Isaiah 56:12
O.
Isaiah 5:12:
Exodus 32:16; Exodus 34:10; Psalm 8:3; Psalm 8:6; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 92:4-5; Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 29:23
X.
Isaiah 5:19:
Job 38:2; Job 42:3; Psalm 33:11; Psalm 106:13; Psalm 107:11; Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 14:26; Isaiah 19:17; Isaiah 46:10-11
AB.
Isaiah 5:22:
Isaiah 5:11
AF.
Isaiah 5:25:
Numbers 11:10; Numbers 11:33; Numbers 32:10-13; Deuteronomy 6:15; Joshua 7:1; Joshua 23:16; Psalm 106:40
AG.
Isaiah 5:25:
Amos 1:1
AJ.
Isaiah 5:26:
Isaiah 7:18
AK.
Isaiah 5:27:
1 John 2:10