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Isaiah 5
Evangelical Heritage Version
Isaiah 5
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Song About the Lord’s Vineyard
5
Let me sing for my loved one a song about my loved one’s vineyard.
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge.[a]
2 He dug it up[b] and gathered the stones out of it.
He planted it with the best vines.
He built a tower in the middle of it.
He also cut a winepress into it.
He expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes,
but it produced only sour grapes.
3 So now, you residents of Jerusalem and you men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
that I have not already done for it?
When I expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes,
why did it produce sour grapes?
5 Now, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will take away its hedge, and it will become a pasture.
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
6 I will make it a wasteland.
It will not be pruned or hoed.
So briers and thorns will shoot up.
I will also command the clouds not to pour rain on it.
7 Yes, the vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are the planting that was pleasing to him.
He expected justice, but instead there was oppression.
He expected righteousness, but there was an outcry.
Woe to the Wicked
8 Woe to you[c] who join house to house,
who connect field to field, until there is no room left,
except room for you alone to live in the middle of the land!
9 The Lord of Armies announces this in my hearing:
I swear that many houses will be deserted.
Even the large and beautiful houses will be unoccupied.
10 Then ten acres[d] of vineyard will yield only six gallons[e] of wine,
and six bushels[f] of seed will yield less than a bushel.[g]
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning to chase after beer,[h]
who stay up late into the night until wine inflames them.
12 Harp, lyre, drum, flute, and wine are at their drinking parties,
but they have no regard for the work of the Lord,
nor have they paid attention to what his hands are doing.
13 This is why my people go into captivity—lack of knowledge.
Their dignitaries starve to death,
and the whole crowd is parched with thirst.
14 That is why the grave has increased its appetite,
and its mouth is wide open.
Their[i] splendor and their noisy crowds, their loud revelry,
and their celebration will go down into the grave.
15 So mankind is humbled,
man is brought low,
and the eyes of the arrogant are brought low,
16 but the Lord of Armies is exalted by justice,
and God, the Holy One, reveals his holiness by righteousness.
17 Then lambs will graze there as their pasture,
and aliens will eat among the ruins of the rich.[j]
18 Woe to those who drag their guilt behind them with cords of lies
and their wickedness with cart ropes.
19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him speed up his work,
so that we may see it,
and let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near.
Let it come, so that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil,
who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine
and heroes at mixing drinks,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice for the innocent!
24 Therefore, as the flames of a fire devour stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down into the flames,
in the same way their roots will rot,
and their blossoms will dry up like dust,
because they have rejected the law[k] of the Lord of Armies,
and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore, the Lord’s anger burns against his people,
and he has stretched out his hand against them and has struck them.
The mountains tremble,
and their dead bodies will lie like garbage in the middle of the streets.
In spite of all this, his anger is not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.
26 He will raise a signal flag for the nations from far away,
and he will whistle for them to come from the end of the earth.
Watch, they will come quickly and swiftly.
27 No one among them will be weary or stumble.
No one will slumber or sleep.
The belt around their waist will not be unbuckled.
The straps of their sandals will not be broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp,
and all their bows bent.
Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint,
and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roar will sound like a lioness.
They will roar like young lions.
Yes, they will growl.
They will seize their prey and carry it off,
and there will be no one to rescue anyone from them.
30 In that day the roar against them will be like the roaring of the sea.
If anyone looks at the land, he sees only darkness and distress.
The light is darkened by clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:1 Literally on a horn, a son of oil
- Isaiah 5:2 Or built a fence around it
- Isaiah 5:8 Or how terrible it will be for you
- Isaiah 5:10 Literally ten yokes
- Isaiah 5:10 Literally one bath
- Isaiah 5:10 Literally a homer
- Isaiah 5:10 Literally an ephah
- Isaiah 5:11 Beer refers to any fermented drink not made from grapes. Distilled alcohol was not used in biblical times.
- Isaiah 5:14 Literally her, referring to Jerusalem
- Isaiah 5:17 The meaning of this text is uncertain. Literally the text reads ruins, fatlings, resident aliens, will eat.
- Isaiah 5:24 Here law refers to the whole Word of God.
Isaiah 5
New International Version
Isaiah 5
New International Version
The Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)
3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?(H)
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
and it will be trampled.(K)
6 I will make it a wasteland,(L)
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain(N) on it.”
7 The vineyard(O) of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(P) but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)
Woes and Judgments
8 Woe(S) to you who add house to house
and join field to field(T)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty(U) has declared in my hearing:(V)
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(W)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”(X)
11 Woe(Y) to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.(Z)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes(AA) and timbrels(AB) and wine,
but they have no regard(AC) for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.(AD)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(AE)
for lack of understanding;(AF)
those of high rank(AG) will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.(AH)
14 Therefore Death(AI) expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;(AJ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.(AK)
15 So people will be brought low(AL)
and everyone humbled,(AM)
the eyes of the arrogant(AN) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(AO) by his justice,(AP)
and the holy God will be proved holy(AQ) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(AR)
lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe(AS) to those who draw sin along with cords(AT) of deceit,
and wickedness(AU) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten(AV) his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(AW) of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”(AX)
20 Woe(AY) to those who call evil good(AZ)
and good evil,(BA)
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,(BB)
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.(BC)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(BD)
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(BE)
and champions at mixing drinks,(BF)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(BG)
but deny justice(BH) to the innocent.(BI)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(BJ) lick up straw(BK)
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(BL)
and their flowers blow away like dust;(BM)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word(BN) of the Holy One(BO) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(BP) burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(BQ)
and the dead bodies(BR) are like refuse(BS) in the streets.(BT)
26 He lifts up a banner(BW) for the distant nations,
he whistles(BX) for those at the ends of the earth.(BY)
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(BZ) or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(CA) is loosened at the waist,(CB)
not a sandal strap is broken.(CC)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(CD)
all their bows(CE) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(CF) seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(CG)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(CH)
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(CI) their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.(CJ)
30 In that day(CK) they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.(CL)
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness(CM) and distress;(CN)
even the sun will be darkened(CO) by clouds.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.