Isaiah 5:8-18

8 Woe to you that join house to house, and couple field to field, till to the end of (the) place. Whether ye alone shall dwell in the midst of the land? (Woe to you who join house to house, and couple field to field, until the end of the place. Shall ye live alone in the midst of the land, with no room for anyone else?)

9 These things be in the ears of me, (yea,) the Lord of hosts (hath said); If many houses be not forsaken, great and fair, without dweller (If many houses be not abandoned, yea, large and beautiful, but with no inhabitants), believe ye not to me.

10 For why ten acres of vines shall make one pottle, and thirty bushels of seed shall make three bushels.

11 Woe to you that rise altogether early to follow drunkenness, and to drink till to eventide, that ye burn with wine. (Woe to you who rise up early to follow drunkenness, and drink until the evening, so that ye burn with wine.)

12 Harp, and gittern, and tympan, and pipe, and wine be in your feasts; and ye behold not the work of the Lord, neither ye behold the works of his hands. (Harp, and lute, and drum, or tambourine, and pipe, and wine be at your feasts; but ye do not see the work of the Lord, nor do ye see the works of his hands.)

13 Therefore my people is led captive, either prisoner, for it had not knowing; and the noblemen thereof perished in hunger, and the multitude thereof was dry in thirst. (And so my people be led away as prisoners, for they had no knowledge, or no understanding; and their noble people perished from hunger, and their multitude were dry with thirst.)

14 Therefore hell hath alarged his soul, and opened his mouth without any end (And so hell hath enlarged itself, and opened its mouth wide); and the strong men thereof, and the people thereof, and the high men (thereof), and the glorious men thereof, shall go down (in)to it.

15 And a man shall be bowed down, and a man of age shall be made low; and the eyes of high men shall be pressed down.

16 And the Lord of hosts shall be enhanced in doom, and [the] holy God shall be hallowed in rightfulness. (And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgement, and the Holy God shall be consecrated in righteousness.)

17 And lambs shall be fed by their order, and comelings shall eat (of the) desert places turned into plenty.

18 Woe to you that draw wickedness in the cords of vanity, and draw sin as the bond of a wain; (Woe to you who draw along wickedness with the cords of emptiness and futility, and draw along sin as if it were the rope of a cart;)

Isaiah 5:8-18 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.