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Israel, God’s Special Field

Now I will sing a song to my friend. This song is about his vineyard.

My friend had a vineyard
    on a hill with very rich soil.
He dug and cleared the field of stones.
    He planted the best grapevines there.
And he built a tower in the middle of it.
    He cut out a winepress as well.
He hoped good grapes would grow there.
    But only bad grapes grew.

My friend says, “You people living in Jerusalem,
    and you men of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could I have done for my vineyard?
    I did everything I could.
I hoped for good grapes to grow.
    But why were there only bad grapes?
Now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard:
I will remove the hedge,
    and it will be burned.
I will break down the stone wall,
    and it will be walked on.
I will ruin my field.
    It will not be trimmed or hoed.
    Weeds and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it.”

The vineyard belonging to the Lord of heaven’s armies
    is the nation of Israel.
The garden that the Lord loves
    is the men of Judah.
The Lord looked for justice, but there was only killing.
    The Lord hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.

How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses
    and more fields to your fields.
Finally there is no room left for other people.
    Then you are left alone in the land.

The Lord of heaven’s armies said this to me:

“The fine houses will be destroyed.
    The large and beautiful houses will be left empty.
10 At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine.
    And ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”

11 How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning
    to look for strong drink.
They stay awake late at night,
    becoming drunk with wine.
12 At their parties they have lyres, harps,
    tambourines, flutes and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done.
    They don’t notice the work of his hands.
13 So my people will be captured and taken away
    because they don’t really know me.
All the great men will die of hunger.
    The common people will die of thirst.
14 So the place where the dead are wants more and more people.
    It opens its mouth wide.
Jerusalem’s important men will go down into it.
    And the common people will go down into it.
15 So the common people and the great people will be humbled.
    Those who are proud will be humbled.
16 The Lord of heaven’s armies will receive glory by judging fairly.
    The holy God will show himself holy by doing what is right.
17 Then the sheep will go anywhere they want.
    Lambs will feed on the land that rich people once owned.

18 How terrible it will be for those people!
    They pull their guilt and sins behind them
    as people pull wagons with ropes.
19 They say, “Let’s see God hurry.
    Let’s see him do his work soon.
    We want to see it.
Let’s see the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon.
    Then we would know what it really is.”

20 How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad
    and bad things good.
They think darkness is light
    and light is darkness.
They think sour is sweet
    and sweet is sour.

21 How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise.
    They think they are clever.

22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine.
    They are champions at mixing drinks.
23 They take money to set the guilty free.
    But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.
24 They will be destroyed
    just as fire burns straw or dry grass.
They will be destroyed
    like a plant whose roots rot
and whose flower dies and blows away like dust.
They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
    They hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.
25 So the Lord has become very angry with his people.
    And he has raised his hand to punish them.
Even the mountains are frightened.
    Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage.

But the Lord is still angry.
    His hand is still raised to strike down the people.

26 God raises a banner for the nations far away.
    He is whistling to call those people.
The enemy comes quickly!
27 Not one of them becomes tired or falls down.
    Not one of them gets sleepy and falls asleep.
Their weapons are close at hand.
    Their sandal straps are not broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp.
    All of their bows are ready to shoot.
The horses’ hooves are hard as rock.
    Their chariot wheels move like a whirlwind.
29 Their shout is like the roar of a lion.
    It is loud like a young lion.
The enemy growls as they grab their captives.
    There is no one to stop them from taking their captives away.
30 On that day they will roar
    like the waves of the sea.
And when people look at the land,
    they will see only darkness and pain.
    All light will become dark in this thick cloud.

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
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)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
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)
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)
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.”

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

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.

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)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(BU)
    his hand is still upraised.(BV)

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

  1. Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
  2. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
  3. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  4. Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat