Isaiah 5:2-30

2 He dug and cleared the field of stones and planted the best grapevines there. He built a tower in the middle of it and cut out a winepress as well. He hoped good grapes would grow there, but only bad ones grew.

3 My friend says, "You people living in Jerusalem, and you people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could I have done for my vineyard than I have already done? Although I expected good grapes to grow, why were there only bad ones?

5 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.

6 I will ruin my field. It will not be trimmed or hoed, and weeds and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."

7 The vineyard belonging to the Lord All-Powerful is the nation of Israel; the garden that he loves is the people of Judah. He looked for justice, but there was only killing. He hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.

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

9 The Lord All-Powerful 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, who stay awake late at night, becoming drunk with wine.

12 At their parties they have lyres, harps, tambourines, flutes, and wine. or 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 people will die of hunger, and the common people will die of thirst.

14 So the place of the dead wants more and more people, and it opens wide its mouth. Jerusalem's important people and common people will go down into it, with their happy and noisy ones.

15 So the common people and the great people will be brought down; those who are proud will be humbled.

16 The Lord All-Powerful 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, and 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 God hurry; let him do his work soon so we may see it. so that we will know what it is."

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

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

22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine and are champions at mixing drinks.

23 They take money to set the guilty free and 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. and have 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 He raises a banner for the nations far away. He whistles to call those people from the ends of the earth.

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, and their sandal straps are not broken.

28 Their arrows are sharp, and all of their bows are ready to shoot. The horses' hoofs are hard as rocks, and their chariot wheels move like a whirlwind.

29 Their shout is like the roar of a lion; it is loud like a young lion. They growl 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.

Isaiah 5:2-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 5

In this chapter, under the parable of a vineyard and its ruins, the Jews and their destruction are represented; the reasons of which are given, their manifold sins and transgressions, particularly enumerated, with the punishment threatened to them, and which is delivered in form of a song. The vineyard is described by the owner of it, a well beloved one; by the situation of it, in a fruitful hill; by the fence about it, and care and culture of it; and by its not answering the expectation of the owner, it bringing forth wild grapes instead of good ones, Isa 5:1,2 wherefore the men of Judah and Jerusalem are made judges between the owner and his vineyard, what more could have been done to it, or rather what was now to be done to it, since this was the case; and the result is, that it should be utterly laid waste, and come to ruin; and the whole is applied to the house of Israel, and men of Judah, Isa 5:3-7 whose sins, as the cause of their ruin, are mentioned in the following verses; their covetousness, with the punishment of it, Isa 5:8-10 their intemperance, luxury, and love of pleasure, with the punishment threatened thereunto, Isa 5:11-14 whereby haughty men should be humbled, the Lord be glorified, and at the same time his weak and innocent people would be taken care of, Isa 5:15-17 next, other sins are taken notice of, and woes pronounced on account of them, as, an impudent course of sinning, insolent impiety against God, confusion of good and evil, conceit of their own wisdom, drunkenness, and perversion of justice, Isa 5:18-23 wherefore for these things, and for their contempt and rejection of the law and word of the Lord, utter destruction is threatened them, Isa 5:24 yea, the anger of God had been already kindled against them, and they had felt it in some instances, Isa 5:25 but they are given to expect severer judgments, by means of foreign nations, that should be gathered against them; who are described by their swiftness, strength, and vigilance; by their armour, horses, and carriages; and by their terror and cruelty; the consequence of which would be utter darkness, distress, and calamities, in the land of Judea, Isa 5:26-30.