Isaiah · Majority Standard Bible
Isaiah 5 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
1 Let me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!
2 He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in the middle of it, and also cut out a wine press in it. He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
3 “Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
5 Now 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.
5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
6 I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned or hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
8 Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
9 I heard the LORD of Hosts declare: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great mansions left unoccupied.
9 In my ears, Yahweh of Armies says: “Surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied.
10 For ten acres of vineyard will yield but a bath of wine, and a homer of seed only an ephah of grain.”
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
12 At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
12 The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
13 Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
13 Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
15 So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled; the arrogant will lower their eyes.
15 So man is brought low, mankind is humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled;
16 But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
16 but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
17 Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.
17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope,
19 to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
19 who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore 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.
25 Therefore Yahweh’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 are as refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.
26 He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
27 No one shall be weary nor stumble among them; no one shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the strap of their sandals be broken,
28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their 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.
29 Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver.
30 In 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.
30 They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
Cross references (30)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9; John 15:1; Jeremiah 2:21; Matthew 21:33
- 2 Jeremiah 2:21; Deuteronomy 32:32–33; Isaiah 1:2–4; 1 Corinthians 9:7; Mark 11:13
- 3 Micah 6:2–3; Jeremiah 2:4–5; Psalm 50:4–6; Romans 2:5; Psalm 51:4
- 4 Matthew 23:37; Micah 6:3–4; Jeremiah 2:5; Acts 7:51–60; Jeremiah 6:29–30
- 5 Luke 21:24; Lamentations 1:15; Isaiah 28:18; Revelation 11:2; Isaiah 28:3
- 6 Isaiah 7:23–25; Jeremiah 25:11; Isaiah 24:1–3; Isaiah 24:12; Deuteronomy 28:23–24
- 7 Psalm 80:8–11; Matthew 3:8–10; Jeremiah 12:10; James 5:4; Zechariah 7:9–14
- 8 Micah 2:2; Habakkuk 2:9–12; Jeremiah 22:13–17; Luke 12:16–24; 1 Kings 21:16–20
- 9 Matthew 23:38; Amos 5:11; Isaiah 22:14; Amos 3:7; Isaiah 6:11–12
- 10 Leviticus 26:26; Haggai 2:16; Haggai 1:6; Haggai 1:9–11; Leviticus 27:16
- 11 Proverbs 23:29–30; Romans 13:13; Proverbs 20:1; Isaiah 5:22; Ecclesiastes 10:16–17
- 12 Psalm 28:5; Job 21:11–14; Job 34:27; Amos 6:4–6; Jude 12
- 13 Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 1:3; Isaiah 27:11; Isaiah 1:7; Romans 1:28
- 14 Luke 21:34; Habakkuk 2:5; Proverbs 30:16; Psalm 55:15; Matthew 7:13
- 15 Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:9; Jeremiah 5:4–5; 1 Peter 5:5; Isaiah 37:29
- 16 Psalm 46:10; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Isaiah 12:4; Ezekiel 36:23; Isaiah 29:23
- 17 Zephaniah 2:6; Zephaniah 2:14; Isaiah 7:25; Isaiah 10:16; Psalm 17:14
- 18 Jeremiah 23:14; Psalm 36:2; Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 23:10; Ezekiel 13:22
- 19 Ezekiel 12:22; Jeremiah 17:15; Isaiah 66:5; Jeremiah 23:36; 2 Peter 3:3–4
- 20 Proverbs 17:15; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; Luke 16:15; Malachi 2:17; Job 17:12
- 21 1 Corinthians 3:18–20; Proverbs 3:7; Romans 12:16; Proverbs 26:12; Proverbs 26:16
- 22 Isaiah 5:11; Habakkuk 2:15; Isaiah 28:7; Isaiah 56:12; Proverbs 23:19–20
- 23 Isaiah 10:2; Psalm 94:21; James 5:6; Proverbs 17:15; Proverbs 31:4–5
- 24 Isaiah 30:12; Job 18:16; Joel 2:5; Luke 3:17; Isaiah 47:14
- 25 Isaiah 10:4; Isaiah 9:21; Isaiah 9:17; 2 Kings 9:37; Daniel 9:16
- 26 Zechariah 10:8; Isaiah 7:18; Deuteronomy 28:49; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 11:12
- 27 Job 12:18; Joel 2:7–8; Job 12:21; Isaiah 45:1; Isaiah 45:5
- 28 Psalm 45:5; Ezekiel 21:9–11; Nahum 2:3–4; Jeremiah 5:16; Psalm 7:12–13
- 29 Isaiah 42:22; Micah 5:8; Zechariah 11:3; Isaiah 49:24–25; Jeremiah 49:19
- 30 Isaiah 8:22; Joel 2:10; Jeremiah 4:23–28; Revelation 16:10–11; Luke 21:25–26
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… against those who confessed Christ, and that those who slandered Him, and said that it was well to preserve the ancient customs, should be miserable, hear what was briefly said by Isaiah; it is this: "Woe unto them that call sweet bitter, and bitter sweet." Chapter L — His humiliation predicted But that, having become man for our sakes, He …
… the evil, and sends rain upon the just and unjust." And the righteous suffer persecution, are afflicted, and are slain, while sinners are possessed of abundance, and "drink with the sound of the harp and psaltery, but do not regard the works of the Lord." But, according to the language [used by the prophet], they ought to be combined, and …
… he, "whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." For it is Christ Himself who planted the vine of which the prophet says, "The vine of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel;" and He drinks of its wine, whether we thus understand that cup of which He …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For it is no longer "a flying sickle," nor "the taking down of a hedge," nor "the treading under foot of the vineyard;" but an axe exceeding sharp, and what is worse, it is even at the doors.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… Esaias aforetime bewail you, saying, My well-beloved had a vineyard in a hill in a fruitful place; and (not to recite the whole) I waited, he says, that it should bring forth grapes; I thirsted that it should give wine; but it brought forth thorns; for thou seest the crown, wherewith I am adorned.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)