Isaiah 5 (NET)

A Love Song Gone Sour

1 I1 will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard.2

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill.3

2 He built a hedge around it,4 removed its stones,

and planted a vine.

He built a tower in the middle of it,

and constructed a winepress.

He waited for it to produce edible grapes,

but it produced sour ones instead.5

3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,6

people7 of Judah,

you decide between me and my vineyard!

4 What more can I do for my vineyard

beyond what I have already done?

When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,

why did it produce sour ones instead?

5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,8

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.9

6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,10

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

7 Indeed11 Israel12 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people13 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience!14

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!15

Disaster is Coming

8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead,16

those who also accumulate landed property17

until there is no land left,18

and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.19

9 The Lord who commands armies told me this:20

“Many houses will certainly become desolate,

large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.21

10 Indeed, a large vineyard22 will produce just a few gallons,23

and enough seed to yield several bushels24 will produce less than a bushel.”25

11 Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead,26

those who keep drinking long after dark

until they are intoxicated with wine.27

12 They have stringed instruments,28 tambourines, flutes,

and wine at their parties.

So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,

they do not perceive what he is bringing about.29

13 Therefore my30 people will be deported31

because of their lack of understanding.

Their32 leaders will have nothing to eat,33

their34 masses will have nothing to drink.35

14 So Death36 will open up its throat,

and open wide its mouth;37

Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,

including those who revel and celebrate within her.38

15 Men will be humiliated,

they will be brought low;

the proud will be brought low.39

16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted40 when he punishes,41

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.42

17 Lambs43 will graze as if in their pastures,

amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.44

18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,45

who pull sin as with cart ropes.46

19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,47

so we can see;

let the plan of the Holy One of Israel48 take shape49 and come to pass,

then we will know it!”

20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead,50

who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,

who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.51

21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead,52

those who think they possess understanding.53

22 Those who are champions54 at drinking wine are as good as dead,55

who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,

they ignore the just cause of the innocent.56

24 Therefore, as flaming fire57 devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust.58

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands59 of the Holy One of Israel.60

25 So the Lord is furious61 with his people;

he lifts62 his hand and strikes them.

The mountains shake,

and corpses lie like manure63 in the middle of the streets.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again.64

26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,65

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they66 come quickly and swiftly.

27 None tire or stumble,

they don’t stop to nap or sleep.

They don’t loosen their belts,

or unstrap their sandals to rest.67

28 Their arrows are sharpened,

and all their bows are prepared.68

The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,69

and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.70

29 Their roar is like a lion’s;

they roar like young lions.

They growl and seize their prey;

they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

30 At that time71 they will growl over their prey,72

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.73

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness.74

15:1tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover. 25:1sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12. 35:1tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”). 45:2tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק. 55:2tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).sn At this point the love song turns sour as the Lord himself breaks in and completes the story (see vv. 3-6). In the final line of v. 2 the love song presented to the Lord becomes a judgment speech by the Lord. 65:3map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 75:3tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense. 85:5tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.” 95:5tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”). 105:6tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar. 115:7tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). 125:7tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV). 135:7tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense. 145:7tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations. 155:7tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations. 165:8tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. 175:8tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”sn This verse does not condemn real estate endeavors per se, but refers to the way in which the rich bureaucrats of Judah accumulated property by exploiting the poor, in violation of the covenantal principle that the land belonged to God and that every family was to have its own portion of land. See the note at 1:23. 185:8tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.” 195:8tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.” 205:9tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” 215:9tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.” 225:10tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown. 235:10tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons. 245:10tn Heb “a homer.” A homer was a dry measure, the exact size of which is debated. Cf. NCV “ten bushels”; CEV “five bushels.” 255:10tn Heb “an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure; there were ten ephahs in a homer. So this verse envisions major crop failure, where only one-tenth of the anticipated harvest is realized. 265:11tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.” 275:11tn Heb “[who] delay until dark, [until] wine enflames them.”sn This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease – their social injustice. 285:12tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”). 295:12tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21). 305:13sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point. 315:13tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed. 325:13tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.” 335:13tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (mÿtey, “men of”) as מִתֵי (mitey, “dead ones of”). 345:13tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.” 355:13tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.” 365:14tn Heb “Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); the underworld, the land of the dead, according to the OT world view. Cf. NAB “the nether world”; TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NLT “the grave.” 375:14tn Heb “so Sheol will make wide its throat, and open its mouth without limit.”sn Death is portrayed in both the OT (Prov 1:12; Hab 2:5) and Canaanite myth as voraciously swallowing up its prey. In the myths Death is portrayed as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens … and a tongue to the stars.” (G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 69, text 5 ii 2-3.) Death describes his own appetite as follows: “But my appetite is the appetite of lions in the waste…If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [a reference to his human victims], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [indicating fullness and completeness] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the god of the river responsible for ferrying victims from the land of the living to the land of the dead] has to mix the cup.” (Driver, 68-69, text 5 i 14-22). 385:14tn Heb “and her splendor and her masses will go down, and her tumult and the one who exults in her.” The antecedent of the four feminine singular pronominal suffixes used in v. 14b is unclear. The likely referent is personified Zion/Jerusalem (see 3:25-26; 4:4-5). 395:15tn Heb “men are brought down, men are brought low, the eyes of pride are brought low.” 405:16tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.” 415:16tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior. 425:16tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands. 435:17tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.” 445:17tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and ruins, fatlings, resident aliens, will eat.” This part of the verse has occasioned various suggestions of emendation. The parallelism is tighter if the second line refers to animals grazing. The translation, “amid the ruins the fatlings and young sheep graze,” assumes an emendation of “resident aliens” (גָּרִים, garim) to “young goats/sheep” (גְּדַיִם, gÿdayim) – confusion of dalet and resh is quite common – and understands “fatlings” and “young sheep” taken as a compound subject or as in apposition as the subject of the verb. However, no emendations are necessary if the above translation is correct. The meaning of מֵחִים (mekhim) has a significant impact on one’s textual decision and translation. The noun can refer to a sacrificial (“fat”) animal as it does in its only other occurrence (Ps 66:15). However, it could signify the rich of the earth (“the fat ones of the earth”; Ps 22:29 [MT 30]) using a different word for “fatness” (דָּשֶׁן, dashen). If so, it serves a figurative reference to the rich. Consequently, the above translation coheres with the first half of the verse. Just as the sheep are out of place grazing in these places (“as in their pasture”), the sojourners would not have expected to have the chance to eat in these locations. Both animals and itinerant foreigners would eat in places not normal for them.sn The image completes the picture begun in v. 14 and adds to the irony. When judgment comes, Sheol will eat up the sinners who frequent the feasts; then the banqueting halls will lie in ruins and only sheep will eat there. 455:18sn See the note at v. 8. 465:18tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (she, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention. 475:19tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way. 485:19sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4. 495:19tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.” 505:20tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8. 515:20sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness. 525:21tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8. 535:21tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30). 545:22tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors. 555:22tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8. 565:23tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”sn In vv. 22-23 the prophet returns to themes with which he opened his speech. The accusatory elements of vv. 8, 11-12, 18-23 are arranged in a chiastic manner: (A) social injustice (8), (B) carousing (11-12a), (C) spiritual insensitivity (12b) // (C') spiritual insensitivity (18-21), (B') carousing (22), (A') social injustice (23). 575:24tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame. 585:24sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate. 595:24tn Heb “the word.” 605:24sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4. 615:25tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.” 625:25tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.” 635:25tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.” 645:25tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.” 655:26tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word. 665:26tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars. 675:27tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.” 685:28tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.” 695:28tn Heb “regarded like flint.” 705:28sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust. 715:30tn Or “in that day” (KJV). 725:30tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 735:30tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.” 745:30tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).