Isaiah 5
Isaiah Chapter 5 begins with the prophet Isaiah singing, and it contains a warning from God’s judgment on the people of Israel. Most of this chapter is made up of parables and six prophetic declarations of “Woe.” It describes how God’s judgment will come upon Israel for their disobedience and injustice, showing God’s justice and love at the same time.
1verseLet me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
2verseHe dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in the middle of it, and also cut out a wine press in it. He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3verse“Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
4verseWhat could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
5verseNow I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
6verseI will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned or hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
7verseFor the vineyard of the LORD of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
8verseWoe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
9verseIn my ears, the LORD of Armies says: “Surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied.
10verseFor ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah.”
11verseWoe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
12verseThe harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of the LORD, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
13verseTherefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.
14verseTherefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
15verseSo man is brought low, mankind is humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled;
16versebut the LORD of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
17verseThen the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.
18verseWoe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope,
19versewho say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”
20verseWoe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21verseWoe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22verseWoe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
23versewho acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
24verseTherefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have rejected the law of the LORD of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25verseTherefore the LORD’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.
26verseHe will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
27verseNo one shall be weary nor stumble among them; no one shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the strap of their sandals be broken,
28versewhose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29verseTheir roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver.
30verseThey will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
The Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7)
Isaiah begins the chapter by singing a song about his beloved and the vineyard: “
‘Beloved’ refers to God, and ‘vineyard’ refers to the people of Israel. Though God chose Israel and cared for them with great devotion, they produced not the good grapes (righteous fruit) that God had expected, but wild grapes (injustice and sin), and Isaiah laments it. This parable symbolizes Israel’s rejection and the resulting judgment.| Vineyard = Israel | God’s special care |
| Expecting good grapes | Righteousness and justice |
| Wild grapes result | Injustice and hypocrisy |
Six Warnings of Judgment (5:8-23)
From verse 8 onward, a message of judgment is proclaimed six times with “Woe.”
- First, greed (verses 8-10): it warns of endless desire to add house to house and field to field.
- Second, pleasure (verses 11-17): it rebukes those who waste their lives chasing pleasure and dissipation and become indifferent to God’s work.
- Third, those who draw in sin (verses 18-19): it rebukes people who delight in sin and ignore God’s judgment.
- Fourth, those who call evil good (verse 20): it reproaches those who overturn moral standards.
- Fifth, pride (verse 21): it warns those who think of themselves as wise and are proud.
- Sixth, bribery and corruption (verses 22-23): it points out the social leaders who abandon justice and fall into corruption and bribery.
This section helps Israel’s society recognize the harm of materialism, moral confusion, indifference, and arrogance that have become widespread.
The Coming of Judgment (5:24-30)
Following the “Woe” declaration, it explains in detail what the results of Israel’s sins and disobedience will be. God’s holy judgment will overthrow injustice, and it foretells that it will come severely through the instruments of judgment (such as foreign armies). The final part ends with a noisy catastrophe, darkness, and chaotic scenes, emphasizing the heavy burden of extreme judgment.
Points for Reflection
- You can reflect on what fruit God expects from your life, and what kind of fruit you are bearing.
- As you think about six warnings that appear in today’s society or in your own life—greed, pleasure, indifference, moral confusion, pride, and injustice—you get an opportunity to examine yourself.
- You can also reflect on how God’s justice and love are revealed together.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- In what areas of life are you courageously checking yourself to see where you are bearing “wild grapes” rather than “good grapes”?
- Within the grace and circumstances God has given, you can plan one concrete practice for today so that you may bear fitting fruit.
- Apply specifically in your daily life how you will display social responsibility, justice, and truthfulness.
