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Isaiah 5

Introduction

Isaiah 5 opens with the "Song of the Vineyard" (vv. 1--7) -- a parable in which God is the careful vinedresser and Israel is his disappointing vineyard. What begins as a love song quickly turns into a courtroom drama, as the listeners are invited to judge the vineyard's failure before realizing they are pronouncing judgment on themselves. The parable draws on imagery familiar to an agrarian society and establishes a metaphor that reverberates throughout Scripture, from Psalm 80:8-16 to Jesus' own parable of the tenants (Matthew 21:33-46).

The second half of the chapter (vv. 8--30) delivers a series of six "woe" oracles (הוֹי), each targeting a specific form of social and moral corruption in Judah: land-grabbing greed, drunken excess, brazen defiance of God, moral inversion, intellectual arrogance, and the perversion of justice. These woes are punctuated by announcements of judgment, culminating in a vision of a foreign army summoned by God to execute his sentence. The refrain "His anger is not turned away; his hand is still upraised" (v. 25) links this chapter to the sequence of judgments in Isaiah 9:12 and Isaiah 10:4, suggesting that the woes of chapter 5 are part of a larger structure of escalating divine discipline. The historical backdrop is the mid-to-late eighth century BC, as Assyria was emerging as the instrument of God's judgment against his own people.

The Song of the Vineyard (vv. 1--7)

1 I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well.

He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!

3 "And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?

5 Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it."

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

1 Let me sing for my beloved a song of my loved one about his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it over and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower in its midst and also hewed out a winepress in it.

He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced rotten fruit.

3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray, between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes, did it produce rotten fruit?

5 Now then, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be devoured; I will break down its wall and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a waste -- it will not be pruned or hoed, and thorns and briers will come up. And I will command the clouds not to rain upon it."

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the planting of his delight. He waited for justice, but look -- bloodshed! For righteousness, but listen -- a cry of distress!

Notes

The Song of the Vineyard is a carefully constructed piece of prophetic rhetoric. Isaiah begins as if singing a love song (שִׁירַת דּוֹדִי, "a song of my beloved"), drawing in his audience before springing the trap. Both יְדִידִי ("my beloved") and דּוֹדִי ("my loved one") are terms of deep affection, the same vocabulary used in the Song of Solomon. The vineyard is planted on a קֶרֶן בֶּן שָׁמֶן, literally "a horn, a son of oil" -- a fertile, well-positioned hillside. Everything about the setup signals ideal conditions.

The owner's care is exhaustive. He עַזְּקֵהוּ ("dug it up" or "trenched it"), סַקְּלֵהוּ ("cleared its stones"), planted שֹׂרֵק ("choice vines" -- a premium red grape variety), built a מִגְדָּל ("watchtower") for protection, and hewed out a יֶקֶב ("winepress") in anticipation of a rich harvest. Yet the vineyard produced בְּאֻשִׁים ("rotten" or "stinking fruit") -- wild, sour, worthless grapes. The word may suggest something putrid or foul-smelling, not merely inferior.

In verses 3--4, the speaker shifts from Isaiah to God himself, who invites Jerusalem and Judah to render a verdict. The rhetorical question "What more was there to do?" expects the answer "Nothing." God's care has been complete; the failure belongs entirely to the vineyard. This is the same technique Nathan used with David (2 Samuel 12:1-7) -- the audience condemns itself before recognizing it is the subject of the parable.

Verses 5--6 announce the sentence: the protective מְשׂוּכָּה ("hedge") will be removed, the גָּדֵר ("wall") broken down, and the vineyard left as a בָתָה ("wasteland"). It will receive no זָמִיר ("pruning") and no עֲדָר ("hoeing"), and שָׁמִיר וָשָׁיִת ("thorns and briers") will overrun it. The climactic line -- "I will command the clouds not to rain upon it" -- unmasks the owner as God himself, since no human vinedresser controls the weather.

Verse 7 unlocks the parable with a striking wordplay. God expected מִשְׁפָּט ("justice") but found מִשְׂפָּח ("bloodshed"); he expected צְדָקָה ("righteousness") but heard צְעָקָה ("a cry of distress"). The pairs are near-homophones -- they sound almost identical but mean opposite things. The effect in Hebrew is sharp, something like "He looked for equity but found iniquity; for a righteous nation but found lamentation." This wordplay is untranslatable; the exclamations "look" and "listen" in the translation attempt to signal the shock and irony present in the Hebrew.

The vineyard metaphor for Israel reappears throughout Scripture: Psalm 80:8-16, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 15:1-8, Hosea 10:1. Jesus draws directly on Isaiah 5 in his parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12), and his allegory of the vine in John 15:1-8 transforms the image -- Jesus himself becomes the true vine that Israel failed to be.

Interpretations

The vineyard parable raises the question of whether God's judgment on Israel is final or restorative:

First Woe: Greed for Land (vv. 8--10)

8 Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.

9 I heard the LORD of Hosts declare: "Surely many houses will become desolate, great mansions left unoccupied. 10 For ten acres of vineyard will yield but a bath of wine, and a homer of seed only an ephah of grain."

8 Woe to those who join house to house, who bring field to field together, until there is no more room and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.

9 In the hearing of the LORD of Hosts -- surely many houses will become a desolation, great and fine ones with no inhabitant. 10 For ten yoke of vineyard will produce a single bath, and a homer of seed will yield only an ephah.

Notes

The first הוֹי ("woe") targets the wealthy land-grabbers who consolidate property at the expense of small landholders. In Israel's covenantal land system, the land ultimately belonged to God and was distributed among the tribes and families as an inheritance (Leviticus 25:23). Laws of Jubilee were designed to prevent permanent land accumulation (Leviticus 25:10-13). The practice Isaiah denounces -- joining בַיִת בְּבַיִת ("house to house") and שָׂדֶה בְשָׂדֶה ("field to field") -- directly violates the covenantal order, creating latifundia (large estates) while dispossessing the poor.

The judgment fits the crime with poetic precision. Those who accumulated land will find it barren. "Ten yoke of vineyard" (עֲשֶׂרֶת צִמְדֵּי כֶרֶם) -- the area ten pairs of oxen could plow in a day, roughly ten acres -- would produce only one בַּת ("bath"), approximately six gallons of wine. A חֹמֶר ("homer") of seed (about six bushels) would yield only an אֵיפָה ("ephah"), which is one-tenth of a homer. The land will return a fraction of what is invested -- a devastating agricultural failure. Those who seized all the land will dwell "alone" in it, not in luxury but in desolation.

Second Woe: Drunken Revelry (vv. 11--17)

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. 12 At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.

13 Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion's nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

15 So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled; the arrogant will lower their eyes. 16 But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. 17 Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning to chase strong drink, who linger late into the evening as wine inflames them. 12 Lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine are at their feasts, but the work of the LORD they do not regard, and the deeds of his hands they do not see.

13 Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored ones are dying of hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and down go her splendor and her masses, her tumult and the one who rejoices in her.

15 Humanity is bowed down, and each person is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled. 16 But the LORD of Hosts is exalted through justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy through righteousness. 17 Then lambs will graze as in their own pasture, and sojourners will eat among the ruins of the rich.

Notes

The second woe targets those whose lives revolve around drinking and feasting from dawn to dusk. שֵׁכָר ("strong drink") refers to fermented beverages other than grape wine -- possibly barley beer or date wine. The verb יַדְלִיקֵם ("inflames them") suggests that wine sets them ablaze, keeping them in a state of perpetual intoxication.

Verse 12 sharpens the charge. The problem is not merely drunkenness but spiritual blindness. Their feasts feature every kind of musical instrument -- כִנּוֹר ("lyre"), נֶבֶל ("harp"), תֹּף ("tambourine"), חָלִיל ("flute") -- and plenty of wine, but they do not יַבִּיטוּ ("regard" or "look at") the work of the LORD. The verb implies deliberate refusal to look. They cannot discern what God is doing in history because their senses are dulled by pleasure-seeking.

Verse 13 delivers the consequence: exile -- גָּלָה ("go into exile" or "be carried away"). The phrase מִבְּלִי דָעַת ("for lack of knowledge") echoes Hosea 4:6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." This is not ignorance in the sense of unavailable information but willful refusal to heed what God has revealed.

Verse 14 personifies שְׁאוֹל (the grave, the realm of the dead) as a ravenous beast that הִרְחִיבָה נַפְשָׁהּ ("enlarges its appetite" -- literally "widens its throat/desire") and פָעֲרָה פִיהָ ("opens its mouth") without limit. The imagery is grotesque and intentional: the revelers who lived to consume will themselves be consumed.

Verses 15--16 state the theological principle underlying all the woes. When humanity is brought low, the LORD is exalted -- not through arbitrary power but בַּמִּשְׁפָּט ("through justice"). The הָאֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ ("the Holy God") is נִקְדָּשׁ ("sanctified" or "shown to be holy") בִּצְדָקָה ("through righteousness"). God's holiness is not an abstract attribute but is demonstrated concretely when he acts justly.

Verse 17 presents a quiet, almost pastoral image of reversal: lambs graze freely where the wealthy once feasted, and sojourners eat among the ruins of their estates. The word גָּרִים ("sojourners" or "strangers") may also be read as "kids" (young goats) following the LXX, but the MT reading carries a sharper social reversal -- the displaced now inhabit the ruins of the dispossessors.

Third Woe: Brazen Defiance (vv. 18--19)

18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, 19 to those who say, "Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!"

18 Woe to those who drag iniquity with cords of falsehood and sin as with cart ropes, 19 who say, "Let him hurry -- let him hasten his work so we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come so we can know it!"

Notes

The third woe depicts sinners who are so brazen that they harness themselves to their sin like draft animals pulling a cart. The image is vivid: they drag הֶעָוֺן ("iniquity") with חַבְלֵי הַשָּׁוְא ("cords of falsehood") and חַטָּאָה ("sin") with עֲבוֹת הָעֲגָלָה ("cart ropes"). The progression from thin cords to thick ropes suggests how sin strengthens its grip over time -- what begins as a slender thread of deception becomes a heavy yoke.

Verse 19 reveals the attitude behind this behavior: mocking defiance of God. They dare the Holy One of Israel to act -- "Let him hurry!" This is not honest doubt but contemptuous provocation. They use Isaiah's own title for God, קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל ("the Holy One of Israel"), perhaps sarcastically. The prophet Amos encountered the same attitude: people who said "Let the day of the LORD come!" without understanding what it would mean (Amos 5:18). Peter warns of similar scoffers in the last days who say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Fourth Woe: Moral Inversion (v. 20)

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.

20 Woe 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.

Notes

The briefest of the six woes, this one describes the complete inversion of moral categories -- not merely doing evil but redefining it as good. Three pairs of opposites are listed: רַע ("evil") and טוֹב ("good"), חֹשֶׁךְ ("darkness") and אוֹר ("light"), מַר ("bitter") and מָתוֹק ("sweet"). These cover the moral, intellectual, and experiential dimensions of life. When a society loses the ability to distinguish good from evil, it has reached the deepest form of corruption -- not the violation of recognized standards but the destruction of the standards themselves.

This verse has been quoted and applied extensively throughout Christian history as a warning against cultural and moral relativism. The prophet does not describe people who struggle with temptation or who sin in weakness; he describes those who systematically relabel reality so that sin appears virtuous and virtue appears foolish. Paul describes a similar condition in Romans 1:32, where people "not only continue to do these things but also approve of those who practice them."

Fifth Woe: Intellectual Arrogance (v. 21)

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and discerning in their own sight.

Notes

The fifth woe targets self-sufficient wisdom -- those who are חֲכָמִים בְּעֵינֵיהֶם ("wise in their own eyes") and נְבֹנִים ("discerning" or "clever") נֶגֶד פְּנֵיהֶם ("in their own sight"). The language echoes Proverbs 3:7: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil." True wisdom in the biblical tradition begins with the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:7); wisdom that takes itself as its own standard is a form of idolatry -- worshiping one's own mind rather than submitting to God's revelation. This woe connects to the fourth: when people trust their own moral reasoning above God's word, they inevitably end up calling evil good and good evil.

Sixth Woe: Corruption of Justice (vv. 22--23)

22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and valiant men at mixing strong drink, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.

Notes

The sixth and final woe returns to the themes of drunkenness and injustice, weaving them together. The irony is biting: these men are גִּבּוֹרִים ("mighty men" or "heroes") -- but their heroism consists of drinking prowess. They are אַנְשֵׁי חַיִל ("men of valor") -- but their valor is displayed in mixing שֵׁכָר ("strong drink"). The same vocabulary used for warriors and leaders of distinction is applied with devastating sarcasm to drunken judges.

The drunkenness fuels judicial corruption: they מַצְדִּיקֵי רָשָׁע ("declare the wicked righteous") because of שֹׁחַד ("a bribe"), and they יָסִירוּ ("remove" or "take away") the צִדְקַת צַדִּיקִים ("righteousness of the righteous"). The wordplay is pointed: those who should be dispensing צְדָקָה ("righteousness") are instead stripping the righteous of their rights. This echoes the vineyard parable's central indictment: God looked for justice but found the opposite.

The Burning Anger of God (vv. 24--25)

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lie like refuse in the streets.

Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire devours stubble and as dry grass sinks in the flame, their root will become like rot and their blossom will go up like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the LORD has burned against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked and their corpses were like refuse in the middle of the streets.

For all this, his anger has not turned back, and his hand is stretched out still.

Notes

Verse 24 employs botanical imagery to describe total destruction: both root and blossom -- the hidden source and the visible fruit -- will perish. The שֹׁרֶשׁ ("root") will become כַּמָּק ("like rot" or "like decay"), and the פִּרְחָה ("blossom") will blow away like אָבָק ("dust"). The cause is stated with finality: they have מָאֲסוּ ("rejected") the תּוֹרַת ("instruction") of the LORD of Hosts and נִאֵצוּ ("spurned" or "despised") the אִמְרַת ("word" or "utterance") of the Holy One of Israel. Both of Isaiah's characteristic divine titles appear here, underscoring the gravity of the offense.

Verse 25 pivots from threatened consequence to present reality: the judgment is already underway. The mountains themselves tremble, and corpses lie in the streets כַּסּוּחָה ("like refuse" or "like dung"). The refrain "his anger has not turned back, and his hand is stretched out still" (לֹא שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה) is a chilling formula that recurs in Isaiah 9:12, Isaiah 9:17, Isaiah 9:21, and Isaiah 10:4. It signals that the judgment described so far is not the end -- more is coming. God's outstretched hand, which in the Exodus narrative was a sign of deliverance (Exodus 6:6), is now a sign of continuing wrath against his own people.

The Summoned Army (vv. 26--30)

26 He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold -- how speedily and swiftly they come! 27 None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken. 28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. 29 Their roaring is like that of a lion; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they carry it away, and no one can rescue it. 30 In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. If one looks over the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be obscured by clouds.

26 He raises a signal for a nation far away and whistles for it from the ends of the earth -- and look, swiftly, speedily it comes! 27 None among them is weary, none stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt at the waist is loosened, no sandal strap is broken. 28 Their arrows are sharpened and all their bows are bent. The hooves of their horses are like flint, and their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Their roar is like that of a lioness; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and there is no one to deliver. 30 And they will roar over it on that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress -- and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Notes

The chapter closes with a vision of a foreign army summoned by God as his instrument of judgment. God raises a נֵס ("signal" or "banner") for nations far away and שָׁרַק ("whistles") for them -- the same verb used for a beekeeper summoning a swarm (Isaiah 7:18). The image of God whistling for an army as casually as one whistles for a dog underscores his absolute sovereignty over the nations. Though not named here, the army is almost certainly Assyria, which Isaiah identifies explicitly elsewhere (Isaiah 10:5: "Assyria, the rod of my anger").

Verses 27--28 describe this army's relentless efficiency. No soldier is עָיֵף ("weary") or כּוֹשֵׁל ("stumbling"). No one sleeps. Every piece of equipment is battle-ready -- belts are tight, sandals are intact, arrows are שְׁנוּנִים ("sharpened"), bows are דְּרֻכוֹת ("strung" or "bent"). Their horses' hooves are like צַר ("flint"), and their chariot wheels spin like a סוּפָה ("whirlwind" or "storm"). This is an idealized portrait of military perfection -- an unstoppable force.

Verse 29 piles on lion imagery: לָבִיא ("lioness" or mature lion), כְּפִירִים ("young lions" in their prime). They seize טֶרֶף ("prey") and carry it off with no מַצִּיל ("deliverer" or "rescuer"). The lion imagery for foreign conquerors recurs throughout the prophets (Jeremiah 4:7, Nahum 2:11-13).

Verse 30 closes the chapter in darkness. The roaring of the army becomes like the roaring of the sea -- an image of primordial chaos. The final image is desolation: looking over the land, one sees only חֹשֶׁךְ ("darkness"), צַר ("distress"), and light itself swallowed by the clouds. The Hebrew of the final clause is difficult; אוֹר חָשַׁךְ בַּעֲרִיפֶיהָ may mean "the light has grown dark in its clouds" or "the light is darkened by its overcast sky." Either way, the chapter ends without relief -- no promise of restoration, no turning point. The darkness at the end of chapter 5 sets the stage for the overwhelming vision of divine glory in Isaiah 6, where Isaiah finally sees the light that this chapter's close has extinguished.

Interpretations

The identity and significance of the summoned army has been read in several ways: