American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Isaiah 5
1
Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
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2
And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the middle of it, and also made a wine press therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
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3
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? why, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
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5
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
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6
And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor dig; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.
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Parallel theme
Jeremiah 25:11
7
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Reference
Judgment
Isaiah 3:14
Parallel theme
Isaiah 5:2
Isaiah 1:6
Isaiah 62:5
Psalm 80:15
Job 34:28
References Lord
James 5:4
Isaiah 3:17
Psalm 147:11
Psalm 149:4
8
Woe to them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the middle of the earth!
Reference
Parallel theme
Micah 2:2
9
In my ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
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10
Yes, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
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11
Woe to them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
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12
And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
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13
Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
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14
Therefore hell has enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it.
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15
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
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16
But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
Reference
Holy
Isaiah 29:23
Ezekiel 36:23
Revelation 3:7
References God
Psalm 46:10
1 Peter 2:15
References Lord
Isaiah 12:4
1 Chronicles 29:11
Isaiah 8:13
Isaiah 2:17
Righteousness
Isaiah 33:5
17
Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
Reference
18
Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
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19
That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!
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20
Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Reference
Evil
Proverbs 17:15
Malachi 3:15
Light
Malachi 2:17
Job 17:12
Parallel theme
Luke 16:15
2 Peter 2:1
Amos 5:7
23
Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Reference
Evil
Micah 3:11
Micah 7:3
Proverbs 17:23
Parallel theme
Isaiah 10:2
Isaiah 1:23
Righteousness
Psalm 94:21
Proverbs 17:15
James 5:6
Proverbs 24:24
Deuteronomy 16:19
24
Therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Reference
Holy
Isaiah 30:12
Parallel theme
Job 18:16
Luke 3:17
Joel 2:5
Isaiah 47:14
Exodus 15:7
Word
Isaiah 30:9
25
Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against them, and has smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the middle of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 10:4
Isaiah 9:21
2 Kings 9:37
Jeremiah 4:24
Psalm 18:7
Jeremiah 16:4
Nahum 1:5
1 Thessalonians 2:16
References Lord
Isaiah 9:17
Daniel 9:16
26
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss to them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
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27
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the lace of their shoes be broken:
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28
Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
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Parallel theme
Psalm 45:5
29
Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yes, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
Reference
30
And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look to the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Reference
Darkness
Isaiah 8:22
Joel 2:10
Light
Isaiah 13:10
Matthew 24:29
Parallel theme
Revelation 6:12
Jeremiah 6:23
Summary of Isaiah 5
Isaiah 5 presents Judah as a nation that has received enormous care and opportunity from God but has failed to produce the justice and righteousness He expected.
The chapter begins with the image of a carefully cultivated vineyard.
The owner prepares fertile land, removes stones, plants the best vines, builds protection around it, and provides everything necessary for a productive harvest.
Yet instead of good grapes, the vineyard produces worthless fruit.
Isaiah then reveals that the vineyard represents God's people.
The image shows that Judah's failure cannot be explained by a lack of opportunity or God's neglect.
The people have been given guidance, protection, and the conditions necessary to live faithfully, but they have chosen a different path.
Instead of justice, violence appears.
Instead of righteousness, the cries of oppressed people are heard.
The chapter then describes several forms of social corruption.
Wealthy people accumulate houses and fields until ordinary families lose access to land.
Others spend their lives pursuing alcohol, feasting, music, and pleasure while ignoring God's work and the problems surrounding them.
The issue is not simply wealth, celebration, or possessions themselves.
The problem is that these things have become more important than responsibility toward God and other people.
Isaiah warns that such prosperity will not last.
Large houses will become empty, productive land will fail to produce, and people who once appeared secure will experience hunger, thirst, displacement, and loss.
The chapter then becomes a series of increasingly serious warnings against moral corruption.
People deliberately continue in sin and even mock God's warnings.
Some reverse moral values so completely that they call evil good and good evil.
Others believe themselves wise while rejecting God's wisdom.
Judges accept bribes and release guilty people while denying justice, showing that corruption has entered the very institutions that should protect society.
Isaiah's concern is therefore much broader than individual wrongdoing.
The entire social structure has become distorted.
The wealthy exploit the poor, leaders abuse their authority, people pursue pleasure without restraint, and moral standards are being deliberately reversed.
The result is a society that has lost its ability to recognize right from wrong.
The chapter then returns to the vineyard image and explains the consequence.
Because the vineyard has repeatedly failed to produce good fruit, its protection will be removed.
The nation that once appeared secure will become vulnerable.
Isaiah then describes a foreign army being summoned from a distant land.
The final verses portray this army as disciplined, powerful, fast, and terrifying.
Its soldiers are compared to lions, while its military equipment creates the sound and appearance of an approaching storm.
The description strongly reflects the military power of the Assyrian Empire, which was expanding aggressively throughout the region during Isaiah's lifetime.
The chapter ends with darkness and distress covering the land.
The image is of a nation that once enjoyed prosperity but now finds itself surrounded by danger.
Isaiah 5 therefore connects spiritual rebellion with social consequences.
The people's failure to produce justice and righteousness eventually affects their economy, leadership, security, land, and national survival.
The central lesson of the chapter is that God expects the people He has blessed to produce good fruit through justice, righteousness, responsibility, and faithfulness.
When they instead produce greed, violence, corruption, pride, and moral confusion, their apparent prosperity cannot protect them.
The chapter's vineyard therefore becomes a picture of both privilege and responsibility.
The more a society has been given, the greater its responsibility to use those blessings rightly.
Isaiah 5 ultimately warns that when people repeatedly reject God's standards and replace justice with greed, pleasure, pride, and corruption, the structures that appear to protect them can eventually collapse, leaving them exposed to consequences they once refused to believe would come.
The chapter begins with the image of a carefully cultivated vineyard.
The owner prepares fertile land, removes stones, plants the best vines, builds protection around it, and provides everything necessary for a productive harvest.
Yet instead of good grapes, the vineyard produces worthless fruit.
Isaiah then reveals that the vineyard represents God's people.
The image shows that Judah's failure cannot be explained by a lack of opportunity or God's neglect.
The people have been given guidance, protection, and the conditions necessary to live faithfully, but they have chosen a different path.
Instead of justice, violence appears.
Instead of righteousness, the cries of oppressed people are heard.
The chapter then describes several forms of social corruption.
Wealthy people accumulate houses and fields until ordinary families lose access to land.
Others spend their lives pursuing alcohol, feasting, music, and pleasure while ignoring God's work and the problems surrounding them.
The issue is not simply wealth, celebration, or possessions themselves.
The problem is that these things have become more important than responsibility toward God and other people.
Isaiah warns that such prosperity will not last.
Large houses will become empty, productive land will fail to produce, and people who once appeared secure will experience hunger, thirst, displacement, and loss.
The chapter then becomes a series of increasingly serious warnings against moral corruption.
People deliberately continue in sin and even mock God's warnings.
Some reverse moral values so completely that they call evil good and good evil.
Others believe themselves wise while rejecting God's wisdom.
Judges accept bribes and release guilty people while denying justice, showing that corruption has entered the very institutions that should protect society.
Isaiah's concern is therefore much broader than individual wrongdoing.
The entire social structure has become distorted.
The wealthy exploit the poor, leaders abuse their authority, people pursue pleasure without restraint, and moral standards are being deliberately reversed.
The result is a society that has lost its ability to recognize right from wrong.
The chapter then returns to the vineyard image and explains the consequence.
Because the vineyard has repeatedly failed to produce good fruit, its protection will be removed.
The nation that once appeared secure will become vulnerable.
Isaiah then describes a foreign army being summoned from a distant land.
The final verses portray this army as disciplined, powerful, fast, and terrifying.
Its soldiers are compared to lions, while its military equipment creates the sound and appearance of an approaching storm.
The description strongly reflects the military power of the Assyrian Empire, which was expanding aggressively throughout the region during Isaiah's lifetime.
The chapter ends with darkness and distress covering the land.
The image is of a nation that once enjoyed prosperity but now finds itself surrounded by danger.
Isaiah 5 therefore connects spiritual rebellion with social consequences.
The people's failure to produce justice and righteousness eventually affects their economy, leadership, security, land, and national survival.
The central lesson of the chapter is that God expects the people He has blessed to produce good fruit through justice, righteousness, responsibility, and faithfulness.
When they instead produce greed, violence, corruption, pride, and moral confusion, their apparent prosperity cannot protect them.
The chapter's vineyard therefore becomes a picture of both privilege and responsibility.
The more a society has been given, the greater its responsibility to use those blessings rightly.
Isaiah 5 ultimately warns that when people repeatedly reject God's standards and replace justice with greed, pleasure, pride, and corruption, the structures that appear to protect them can eventually collapse, leaving them exposed to consequences they once refused to believe would come.