Isaiah 5

1Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill:

1I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard: My well-beloved had a vineyard upon a fruitful hill.

1Let me sing, I pray you, for my beloved, A song of my beloved as to his vineyard: My beloved hath a vineyard in a fruitful hill,

2And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.

2And he dug it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine; and he built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

2And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it <FI>with<Fi> a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!

3And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden.

3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

3And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

4Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?

4What was there yet to do to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? —

4What--to do still to my vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I waited to the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!

5And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it;

5And now, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden under foot;

5And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place.

6And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it.

6and I will make it a waste — it shall not be pruned nor cultivated, but there shall come up briars and thorns; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

6And I make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain.

7For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.

7For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plant of his delight: and he looked for justice, and behold, blood-shedding; for righteousness, and behold, a cry.

7Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts <FI>Is<Fi> the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.

8Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land!

8Woe unto them that add house to house, that join field to field, until there is no more room, and that ye dwell yourselves alone in the midst of the land!

8Woe <FI>to<Fi> those joining house to house, Field to field they bring near, till there is no place, And ye have been settled by yourselves In the midst of the land!

9The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them.

9In mine ears Jehovah of hosts [hath said], Many houses shall assuredly become a desolation, great and excellent ones, without inhabitant.

9By the weapons of Jehovah of Hosts Do not many houses a desolation become? Great and good without inhabitant!

10For ten fields of vines will only give one measure of wine, and a great amount of seed will only give a small measure of grain.

10Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah.

10For ten acres of vineyard do yield one bath, And an homer of seed yieldeth an ephah.

11Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!

11Woe unto them that, rising early in the morning, run after strong drink; that linger till twilight, [till] wine inflameth them!

11Woe <FI>to<Fi> those rising early in the morning, Strong drink they pursue! Tarrying in twilight, wine inflameth them!

12And corded instruments and wind-instruments and wine are in their feasts: but they give no thought to the work of the Lord, and they are not interested in what his hands are doing.

12And harp and lyre, tambour and flute, and wine are in their banquets; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, nor do they see the operation of his hands.

12And harp, and psaltery, tabret, and pipe, And wine, have been their banquets, And the work of Jehovah they behold not, Yea, the work of His hands they have not seen.

13For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water.

13Therefore my people are led away captive from lack of knowledge, and their nobility die of famine, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

13Therefore my people removed without knowledge, And its honourable ones are famished, And its multitude dried up of thirst.

14For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it.

14Therefore doth Sheol enlarge its desire, and open its mouth without measure; and her splendour shall descend [into it], and her multitude, and her tumult, and [all] that is joyful within her.

14Therefore hath Sheol enlarged herself, And hath opened her mouth without limit. And gone down hath its honour, and its multitude, And its noise, and its exulting one--into her.

15And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face, and the eyes of pride are put to shame:

15And the mean man shall be bowed down, and the great man brought low, and the eyes of the lofty shall be brought low;

15And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low,

16But the Lord of armies is lifted up as judge, and the Holy God is seen to be holy in righteousness.

16and Jehovah of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holyGod hallowed in righteousness.

16And Jehovah of Hosts is high in judgment, And the Holy God sanctified in righteousness,

17Then the lambs will get food as in their grass-lands, and the fat cattle will be feasting in the waste places.

17And the lambs shall feed as on their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

17And fed have lambs according to their leading, And waste places of the fat ones Do sojourners consume.

18Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!

18Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes!

18Woe <FI>to<Fi> those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as <FI>with<Fi> thick ropes of the cart--sin.

19Who say, Let him do his work quickly, let him make it sudden, so that we may see it: let the design of the Holy One of Israel come near, so that it may be clear to us.

19who say, Let him hasten, let him speed his work, that we may see [it]; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

19Who are saying, `Let Him hurry, Let Him hasten His work, that we may see, And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Draw near and come, and we know.'

20Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!

20Woe unto them 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!

20Woe <FI>to<Fi> those saying to evil `good,' And to good `evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

21Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

21Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!

21Woe <FI>to<Fi> the wise in their own eyes, And--before their own faces--intelligent!

22Cursed are those who are strong to take wine, and great in making mixed drinks!

22Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink;

22Woe <FI>to<Fi> the mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink.

23Who for a reward give support to the cause of the sinner, and who take away the righteousness of the upright from him.

23who justify the wicked for a bribe, and turn away the righteousness of the righteous from them!

23Declaring righteous the wicked for a bribe, And the righteousness of the righteous They turn aside from him.

24For this cause, as the waste of the grain is burned up by tongues of fire, and as the dry grass goes down before the flame, so their root will be like the dry stems of grain, and their flower will go up in dust: because they have gone against the law of the Lord of armies, and have given no honour to the word of the Holy One of Israel.

24Therefore as a tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and dry grass sinketh down in the flame, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; for they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

24Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised.

25For this reason the wrath of the Lord has been burning against his people, and his hand has been stretched out against them in punishment, and the hills were shaking, and their dead bodies were like waste in the open places of the town.

25Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

25Therefore hath the anger of Jehovah burned among His people, And He stretcheth out His hand against it, And smiteth it, and the mountains tremble, And their carcase is as filth in the midst of the out-places. With all this His anger did not turn back, And still His hand is stretched out!

26And he will let a flag be lifted up as a sign to a far-off nation, whistling to them from the ends of the earth: and they will come quickly and suddenly.

26And he will lift up a banner to the nations afar off, and will hiss for one from the end of the earth; and behold, it will come rapidly [and] lightly.

26And He lifted up an ensign to nations afar off, And hissed to it from the end of the earth, And lo, with haste, swift it cometh.

27There is no weariness among them, and no man is feeble-footed: they come without resting or sleeping, and the cord of their shoes is not broken.

27None among them is weary, none stumbleth; they slumber not, nor sleep; none hath the girdle of his loins loosed, nor the thong of his sandals broken;

27There is none weary, nor stumbling in it, It doth not slumber, nor sleep, Nor opened hath been the girdle of its loins, Nor drawn away the latchet of its sandals.

28Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm.

28their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.

28Whose arrows <FI>are<Fi> sharp, and all its bows bent, Hoofs of its horses as flint have been reckoned, And its wheels as a hurricane!

29The sound of their armies will be like the voice of a lion, and their war-cry like the noise of young lions: with loud cries they will come down on their food and will take it away safely, and there will be no one to take it out of their hands.

29Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar as the young lions; yea, they growl, and snatch the prey, and carry it away safe, and there is none to deliver;

29Its roaring <FI>is<Fi> like a lioness, It roareth like young lions, And it howleth, and seizeth prey, And carrieth away safely, and there is none delivering.

30And his voice will be loud over him in that day like the sounding of the sea: and if a man's eyes are turned to the earth, it is all dark and full of trouble; and the light is made dark by thick clouds.

30and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness [and] distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

30And it howleth against it in that day as the howling of a sea, And it hath looked attentively to the land, And lo, darkness--distress, And light hath been darkened by its abundance!