ISAIAH 5 [†] Let me sing for my beloved

my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had  v a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2[†] He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with  w choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and  x he looked for it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4[†]  y What more was there to do for my vineyard,

that I have not done in it?

 x When I looked for it to yield grapes,

why did it yield wild grapes?

5[†] And now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove  z its hedge,

and it shall be devoured; [1]

 a I will break down its wall,

and it shall be trampled down.

6 I will make it a waste;

it shall not be pruned or hoed,

and  b briers and thorns shall grow up;

 c I will also command the clouds

that they rain no rain upon it.

7[^][†]  d For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are his pleasant planting;

and he looked for justice,

but behold, bloodshed; [2]

for righteousness,

but behold, an outcry! [3]

8[†] Woe to those who  e join house to house,

who add field to field,

until there is no more room,

and you are made to dwell alone

in the midst of the land.

9 The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:

 f “Surely many houses shall be desolate,

large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

10  g For ten acres [4] of vineyard shall yield but one bath,

and a  h homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.” [5]

11[†] Woe to those who  i rise early in the morning,

that they may run after strong drink,

who tarry late into the evening

as wine inflames them!

12  j They have lyre and harp,

tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,

 k but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,

or see the work of his hands.

13[†] Therefore my people go into exile

 l for lack of knowledge; [6]

their  m honored men go hungry, [7]

and their multitude is parched with thirst.

14 Therefore Sheol has  n enlarged its appetite

and opened  o its mouth beyond measure,

and the nobility of Jerusalem [8] and her multitude will go down,

her revelers and he who  p exults in her.

15  q Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,

and the eyes of the haughty [9] are brought low.

16[†]  r But the LORD of hosts is exalted [10] in justice,

and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

17[†] Then shall the lambs graze  s as in their pasture,

and  t nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.

18[†] Woe to those who draw iniquity with  u cords of falsehood,

who draw sin as with cart ropes,

19 who say:  v “Let him be quick,

let him speed his work

that we may see it;

let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,

and let it come, that we may know it!”

20[†] Woe to  w those who call evil good

and good evil,

 x who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are  y wise in their own eyes,

and shrewd in their own sight!

22 Woe to those who are  z heroes at drinking wine,

and valiant men in mixing strong drink,

23 who  a acquit the guilty for a bribe,

and deprive the innocent of his right!

24[†] Therefore,  b as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,

and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,

so  c their root will be  d as rottenness,

and their blossom go up like dust;

for they have  e rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,

and have  f despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore  g the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,

and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,

and  h the mountains quaked;

and their corpses were  i as refuse

in the midst of the streets.

 j For all this his anger has not turned away,

and his hand is stretched out still.

26[†] He will  k raise a signal for nations far away,

and  l whistle for them  m from the ends of the earth;

and behold, quickly, speedily they come!

27[†]  n None is weary, none stumbles,

none slumbers or sleeps,

not a waistband is loose,

not a sandal strap broken;

28  o their arrows are sharp,

all their bows bent,

their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,

and their wheels  p like the whirlwind.

29 Their roaring is like a lion,

like young lions they roar;

they growl and  q seize their prey;

they carry it off, and none can rescue.

30[†] They will growl over it on that day,

like the growling of the sea.

And if one looks to the land,

behold,  r darkness and distress;

and the light is darkened by its clouds.