Isaiah 5

Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

Now, I'll serenade my cherished one with a melody about his vineyard. My dear one owns a vineyard on a bountiful hill.

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

He lovingly protected it, cleared the stones, and planted the finest vines. He built a tower in its heart and crafted a winepress. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it only produced wild ones.

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

Now, dear people of Jerusalem and Judah, I implore you, help me discern the truth about my vineyard.

What could have been done more 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?

What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven't already done? Why, when I expected it to yield good grapes, did it only produce sour ones?

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:

Now listen, I'll tell you what I'll do to my vineyard: I'll remove its protection, leaving it vulnerable to be consumed; I'll tear down its walls, allowing it to be trampled.

And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

I will leave it in ruins, untouched by human hands. Instead of crops, only thorns and weeds will grow. I will instruct the clouds not to shed a single drop of rain on it.

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.

God's cherished garden is Israel, and the people of Judah are His favorite blooms. He expected fairness, but found only injustice; He sought goodness, but heard only cries of distress.

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Alas for those who greedily amass homes and lands until there's no room left, isolating themselves in the process!

In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

The Lord whispered to me, "Indeed, many homes, even the grand and beautiful ones, will be left empty and abandoned."

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

Indeed, a vast vineyard of ten acres will only produce a small amount of wine, and a large quantity of seed will yield but a modest harvest.

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Woe to those who wake at dawn to chase after strong drink, and keep drinking until night, until wine inflames them!

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.

They celebrate with music and wine, but they ignore God's deeds and don't appreciate His creations.

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

My people have been enslaved due to their ignorance. Their respected leaders are starving, and the masses are parched with thirst.

Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Thus, hell has expanded its boundaries, swallowing everything in its path: their pride, their numbers, their grandeur, and even those who revel in joy, will all be consumed.

And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

The ordinary man will fall, the powerful man will be humbled, and the arrogant will lower their gaze.

But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

The Lord, our mighty leader, will be honored for His fair judgments, and the pure and holy God will be revered for His righteousness.

Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

Then lambs will graze there as in their own pasture, and strangers will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Woe to those who drag their guilt along with ropes of falsehood, hauling their sin behind them like a cart on a rope.

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 nigh and come, that we may know it!

They are the ones who say, "Let Him hurry up and do His work, so we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come about, so we can know it!"

Woe unto 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!

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who make bitter sweet and sweet bitter.

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Woe to those who believe they know it all and see only their own wisdom!

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

Woe to those who pride themselves on how much wine they can drink, and who boast of their strength at mixing potent drinks,

Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Those who declare the guilty innocent for personal gain, and rob the virtuous of their deserved justice, are in the wrong!

Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth 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.

Just as fire consumes dry grass, and flames destroy the husk, so will their foundation rot and their achievements turn to dust. This is because they've rejected God's laws and disrespected His holy words.

Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

God's anger burns against his people, and in his anger, he has raised his hand and struck them. The earth shook, and their bodies lay torn in the streets. Yet, despite all this, God's anger hasn't turned away, and his hand is still raised to strike.

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

He will call out to nations far and wide, beckoning them from the earth's edge. And they will respond, rushing to him swiftly.

None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

No one among them will feel tired or falter; no one will rest or sleep; their strength will not wane, nor will their resolve weaken.

Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

Their weapons are deadly, ready to strike; their horses' hooves as hard as stone, their chariots swift and fierce.

Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

Their cries will echo like a lion's roar, like young lions roaring. They will growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and no one will be able to rescue it.

And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

On that day, their cries will echo like a stormy sea. If you gaze upon the land, you'll see only darkness and despair, and even the light in the sky will be dimmed.