Isaiah 5 (New American Standard)

Parable of the Vineyard

1 Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a ¹vineyard on ^aa fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with ^bthe ²choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a ^cwine vat in it; Then He ³expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only ^dworthless ones. 3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, ⁴Judge between Me and My vineyard. 4 "⁵What more was there to do for My vineyard ^ethat I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce ^fworthless ones ? 5 "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard : I will ⁶remove its hedge and it will be consumed ; I will ⁷break down its wall and it will become ⁸trampled ground. 6 "I will ⁹lay it waste ; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to ¹⁰rain no rain on it." 7 For the ¹¹vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, ¹²bloodshed ; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

Woes for the Wicked

8 Woe to those who ¹³add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land ! 9 In my ears the LORD of hosts has sworn, "Surely , ¹⁴many houses shall become ¹⁵desolate, Even great and fine ones, without occupants. 10 "For ¹⁶ten acres of vineyard will yield only one ^gbath of wine, And a ¹⁷homer of seed will yield but an ^hephah of grain." 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue ¹⁸strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! 12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ¹⁹harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine ; But they ²⁰do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands. 13 Therefore My people go into exile for their ²¹lack of knowledge ; And ⁱtheir ²²honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. 14 Therefore ²³Sheol has enlarged its ^jthroat and opened its mouth without measure ; And ^kJerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it. 15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, ²⁴The eyes of the proud also will be abased. 16 But the ²⁵LORD of hosts will be ²⁶exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself ²⁷holy in righteousness. 17 ²⁸Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the waste places of the ^lwealthy. 18 Woe to those who drag ²⁹iniquity with the cords of ^mfalsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes ; 19 ³⁰Who say, "Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!" 20 Woe to those who ³¹call evil good, and good evil ; Who ⁿ³²substitute darkness for light and light for darkness ; Who ^osubstitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter ! 21 Woe to those who are ³³wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight ! 22 ³⁴Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, 23 ³⁵Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And ³⁶take away the ^prights of the ones who are in the right ! 24 Therefore, ³⁷as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their ³⁸root will become ³⁹like rot and their blossom ^qblow away as dust ; For they have ⁴⁰rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 On this account the ⁴¹anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the ⁴²mountains quaked, and their ⁴³corpses ^rlay like refuse in the middle of the streets. ⁴⁴For all this His anger ^sis not spent, But His ⁴⁵hand is still stretched out. 26 He will also lift up a ⁴⁶standard to the ^tdistant nation, And will ⁴⁷whistle for it ⁴⁸from the ends of the earth ; And behold, it will ⁴⁹come with speed swiftly. 27 ⁵⁰No one in it is weary or stumbles, None slumbers or sleeps ; Nor is the ⁵¹belt at its waist undone, Nor its sandal strap broken. 28 ^u52Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent ; The hoofs of its horses ^vseem like flint and its chariot ⁵³wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Its ⁵⁴roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions ; It growls as it ⁵⁵seizes the prey And carries it off with ⁵⁶no one to deliver it. 30 And it will ⁵⁷growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one ⁵⁸looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress ; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.