Isaiah 5

The Lord’s Vineyard Song

1 Let me sing a song for the One I love, a song about His vineyard. My Friend had a vineyard on a good hill with rich soil.

2 He dug it up, cleared the rocks, planted the best vines, built a lookout tower, and even set up a winepress. He expected sweet grapes, but all He got was rotten ones.

3 “So now, people of Jerusalem and Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard,” says the Lord.

4 “What more could I have done, I gave it everything. Why did it give Me trash fruit instead of the good stuff?”

5 “Alright then, I am taking the fence down. Let it get trampled. I will knock the wall down and let it get destroyed.”

6 “I am turning it into wasteland, no one is going to prune it, no one is going to work it. It will grow weeds and thorns. I will even shut up the clouds so no rain hits it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is Israel; Judah is the garden He loved. He looked for justice, found bloodshed. Looked for righteousness, heard cries of pain instead.

Judgment Against Greed and Pride

8 Doom is coming for you all who keep grabbing house after house, stacking field after field, until no space left, just you sitting alone in the land.

9 The Lord said, “Sure thing, those big houses are going to sit empty. No one’s living in them.”

10 A huge vineyard will barely make a few bottles of wine; ten acres of seed will not even fill one basket.

11 Woe to those who wake up early chasing liquor, partying till late, drunk with music and pleasure.

12 They got harps, drums, flutes, everything turned up, but they do not even notice what the Lord’s doing or see His work in their lives.

13 That is why My people are going to end up in exile, no knowledge, no awareness. The fancy ones are going to starve; the partiers are going to dry out.

14 The grave’s mouth is wide open, ready to swallow their pride, their crowds, their laughter, their hype.

15 People are going to get humbled, arrogance brought low, only the Lord is going to be lifted up.

16 The Lord Almighty is going to be proven holy in His justice. The Holy God is going to show His righteousness when He lays things right.

17 Then the lambs are going to graze like they own it, and strangers are going to eat up what the rich left behind.

Judgment Against Sin and Mockery

18 Woe to those who drag their sins around like they on a leash, pulling evil behind them like it is normal.

19 They mocking God, saying, “Let Him hurry up and do something! Let us see this ‘plan of the Holy One of Israel’ play out.”

20 Woe to those who flip truth, calling evil good and good evil, trading light for darkness and bitterness for sweet.

21 Woe to the ones who think they the smartest in the room, trusting their own wisdom.

22 Woe to the heavy drinkers, the ones who brag about mixing strong drinks and showing off how much they can handle.

23 They let the guilty go free for a bribe and deny justice to the innocent.

24 So fire is going to burn them like dry grass, roots rotten, flowers turning to dust, because they rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

The Lord’s Anger and Judgment

25 That is why the Lord’s anger burns against His people. He raised His hand, struck them down, mountains shaking, bodies scattered like trash in the streets. Even after that, His anger is not cooled off; His hand still raised for more.

26 He will call distant nations with a whistle; they will come running quick from the ends of the earth.

27 Not one of them tired or tripping, no one sleeping, no loose belts, no broken sandals.

28 Their arrows sharp, bows ready, horses’ hooves sparking like flint, and their wheels spinning fast like a storm.

29 They will roar like lions, catch their prey, and nobody can save it once it is caught.

30 They will growl over it that day like the sea roaring. If you look across the land, all you will see is darkness and distress, even the light will feel heavy with gloom.