Isaiah 5
King James Version
5 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 And 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.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What 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?
5 And 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:
6 And 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.
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.
8 Woe 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!
9 In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
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.
13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with 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.
15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
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 nigh and come, that we may know it!
20 Woe 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!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous 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.
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 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.
26 And 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:
27 None 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:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
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.
30 And 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.
Isaiah 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 Under the similitude of the vine, he describeth the state of the people. 8 Of their avarice. 11 Their drunkenness. 13 Of their captivity.
1 Now will [a]I sing to my [b]beloved a song of my beloved to his vineyard, (A)My beloved had a [c]vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
2 And he hedged it, and gathered out the stones of it, and he planted it with the best plants, [d]and he built a tower in the midst thereof, and made a winepress therein, then he looked that it should bring forth grapes: but it brought forth [e]wild grapes.
3 Now therefore, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, [f]between me and my vineyard.
4 What could I have done anymore to my vineyard that I have not done unto it? why have I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it bringeth forth wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I [g]will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up: I will break the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be cut, nor dug, but briers and thorns shall grow up: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 ¶ Surely the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant, and he looked for [h]judgment, but behold oppression: for righteousness, but behold [i]a crying.
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no [j]place, that ye may be placed by yourselves in the midst of the earth.
9 This is in mine [k]ears, saith the Lord of hosts. Surely many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair without inhabitant.
10 For ten acres of vines shall yield one [l]bath, and the seed of an [m]homer shall yield an [n]ephah.
11 ¶ Woe unto them, that [o]rise up early to follow drunkenness, and to them that continue until [p]night, till the wine do inflame them,
12 And the harp and viol, timbrel and pipe, and wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the [q]work of the Lord, neither consider the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people [r]is gone into captivity, because they had [s]no knowledge, and the glory thereof are men famished, and the multitude thereof is dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore [t]hell hath enlarged itself, and hath opened his mouth without measure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, shall descend into it.
15 And man shall be brought down, and man shall be humbled, even the eyes of the proud shall be humbled.
16 And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be sanctified in justice.
17 Then shall [u]the lambs feed after their manner, and the strangers shall eat the desolate places of the fat.
18 ¶ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with [v]cords of vanity, and sin, as with cart ropes:
19 Which say, [w]Let him make speed: let him 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.
20 Woe unto them that speak good of evil, [x]and evil of good, which put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for sour.
21 Woe unto them that are [y]wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.
22 Woe unto them that are [z]mighty to drink wine, and unto them that are strong to pour in strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.
24 Therefore as the flame of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the chaff is consumed of the flame: so their [aa]root shall be a rottenness, and their bud shall rise up like dust, because they have cast off the Law of the Lord of hosts, and contemned the word of the Holy one of Israel.
25 Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his [ab]hand upon them, and hath smitten them that the mountains did tremble: and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets, and for all this his wrath was not turned away, but his hand was stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up a sign [ac]unto the nations afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and behold, they shall come hastily with speed.
27 None shall [ad]faint nor fall among them: none shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the girdle of his loins be loosed, nor [ae]the latchet of his shoes be broken.
28 Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all his bows bent: his horse hoofs shall be thought like flint, and his wheels like whirlwind.
29 His roaring shall be like a lion, and he shall roar like lion’s whelps: they shall [af]roar, and lay hold of the prey: they shall take it away, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar upon them, as the roaring of the sea: and if [ag]they look unto the earth, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light shall be darkened in their [ah]sky.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 The Prophet by this song doth set before the people’s eyes their ingratitude, and God’s mercy.
- Isaiah 5:1 That is, to God.
- Isaiah 5:1 Meaning, that he had planted his Church in a place most plentiful and abundant.
- Isaiah 5:2 He spared no diligence nor cost.
- Isaiah 5:2 In the seventh verse he declareth what they were.
- Isaiah 5:3 He maketh them judges in their own cause, forasmuch as it was evident that they were the cause of their own ruin.
- Isaiah 5:5 I will take no more care for it: meaning, that he would take from them his word and ministers, and all other comforts, and send them contrary plagues.
- Isaiah 5:7 Judgment and righteousness are true fruits of the fear of God, and therefore in the cruel oppression there is no religion.
- Isaiah 5:7 Of them that are oppressed.
- Isaiah 5:8 To wit, for the poor to dwell in.
- Isaiah 5:9 I have heard the complaint and cry of the poor.
- Isaiah 5:10 Which containeth about ten pottels: so that every acre should but yield one pottel.
- Isaiah 5:10 Which containeth an hundred pottels.
- Isaiah 5:10 An Ephah containeth ten pottels and is in dry things as much as Bath is in liquors.
- Isaiah 5:11 That spare no pain nor diligence to follow their lusts.
- Isaiah 5:11 Which are never weary of their rioting and excessive pleasures, but use all means to provoke to the same.
- Isaiah 5:12 They regard not the provident care of God over them, nor for what end he hath created them.
- Isaiah 5:13 That is, shall certainly go: for so the Prophets use to speak, as though the thing which shall come to pass, were done already.
- Isaiah 5:13 Because they would not obey the word of God.
- Isaiah 5:14 Meaning, the grave shall swallow up them that shall die for hunger and thirst, and yet for all this great destruction it shall ever be satiate.
- Isaiah 5:17 God comforteth the poor lambs of his Church, which had been strangers in other countries, promising that they should dwell in these places again, whereof they had been deprived by the fat and cruel tyrants.
- Isaiah 5:18 Which use all allurements, occasions, and excuses to harden their conscience in sin.
- Isaiah 5:19 He showeth what are the words of the wicked, when they are menaced with God’s judgments, 2 Pet. 3:4.
- Isaiah 5:20 Which are not ashamed of sin, nor care for honesty, but are grown to a desperate impiety.
- Isaiah 5:21 Which are contemners of all doctrine and admonition.
- Isaiah 5:22 Which are never weary, but show their strength, and brag in gluttony and drunkenness.
- Isaiah 5:24 Both they and their posterity, so that nothing shall be left.
- Isaiah 5:25 He showeth that God had so sore punished this people, that the dumb creatures, if they had been so plagued, would have been more sensible, and therefore his plagues must continue, till they begin to feel them.
- Isaiah 5:26 He will make the Babylonians to come against them at his beck, and to fight under his standard.
- Isaiah 5:27 They shall be prompt and lusty to execute God’s vengeance.
- Isaiah 5:27 The enemy shall have none impediment.
- Isaiah 5:29 Whereby is declared the cruelty of the enemy.
- Isaiah 5:30 The Jews shall find no succor.
- Isaiah 5:30 In the land of Judah.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
