Isaiah 5:5

5 "Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.

Isaiah 5:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 5:5

And now, go to; I will tell you what I will do to my
vineyard
Not by bestowing fresh favours upon them, but by inflicting punishment on them, for abusing what they had received; and this he told by John Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, what he determined to do; and what he was about to do to the Jewish nation, in the utter ruin of it, ( Matthew 3:12 ) ( Luke 19:43 Luke 19:44 ) . I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
that is, the vineyard shall be eaten by the wild beasts that will enter into it, when the hedge is taken away; or "it shall be burnt"; that is, the hedge, being a hedge of thorns, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe; such there were about vineyards, besides the stone wall after mentioned: [and] break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down;
the vineyard, or the vines in it, see ( Psalms 80:12 Psalms 80:13 ) this is to be understood of the Lord's removing his presence, power, and protection from the Jewish nation, and leaving them naked, destitute, and helpless, and exposed to their enemies. The Targum is,

``and now I will declare to you what I will do to my people; I will cause my Shechinah, or Majesty, to remove from them, and they shall be for a spoil; and I will break down the house of their sanctuary, and they shall be for treading.''

Isaiah 5:5 In-Context

3 So now my friend says, "You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.

4 Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?

5 "Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.

6 I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it."

7 Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty; the people of Judah are the vines he planted. He expected them to do what was good, but instead they committed murder. He expected them to do what was right, but their victims cried out for justice.