Isaiah 3-5

New International Version

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

3 See now, the Lord,
    the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
    both supply and support:^(A)
all supplies of food^(B) and all supplies of water,^(C)
²    the hero and the warrior,^(D)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner^(E) and the elder,^(F)
³the captain of fifty^(G) and the man of rank,^(H)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman^(I) and clever enchanter.^(J)

⁴“I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.”^(K)

⁵People will oppress each other—
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.^(L)
The young will rise up against the old,
the nobody against the honored.

⁶A man will seize one of his brothers
    in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
    take charge of this heap of ruins!”
⁷But in that day^(M) he will cry out,
    “I have no remedy.^(N)
I have no food^(O) or clothing in my house;
    do not make me the leader of the people.”^(P)

⁸Jerusalem staggers,
    Judah is falling;^(Q)
their words^(R) and deeds^(S) are against the Lord,
    defying^(T) his glorious presence.
⁹The look on their faces testifies^(U) against them;
    they parade their sin like Sodom;^(V)
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
    They have brought disaster^(W) upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well^(X) with them,
    for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.^(Y)
¹¹Woe to the wicked!^(Z)
    Disaster^(AA) is upon them!
They will be paid back^(AB)
    for what their hands have done.^(AC)

¹²Youths^(AD) oppress my people,
women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;^(AE)
they turn you from the path.

¹³The Lord takes his place in court;^(AF)
    he rises to judge^(AG) the people.
¹⁴The Lord enters into judgment^(AH)
    against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
    the plunder^(AI) from the poor^(AJ) is in your houses.
¹⁵What do you mean by crushing my people^(AK)
    and grinding^(AL) the faces of the poor?”^(AM)
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.^(AN)

¹⁶The Lord says,
    “The women of Zion^(AO) are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,^(AP)
    flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
    with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
    the Lord will make their scalps bald.^(AQ)”

¹⁸In that day^(AR) the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,^(AS) ¹⁹the earrings and bracelets^(AT) and veils,^(AU) ²⁰the headdresses^(AV) and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, ²¹the signet rings and nose rings,^(AW) ²²the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,^(AX) the purses ²³and mirrors, and the linen garments^(AY) and tiaras^(AZ) and shawls.

²⁴Instead of fragrance^(BA) there will be a stench;^(BB)
    instead of a sash,^(BC) a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;^(BD)
    instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;^(BE)
    instead of beauty,^(BF) branding.^(BG)
²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,^(BH)
    your warriors in battle.^(BI)
²⁶The gates^(BJ) of Zion will lament and mourn;^(BK)
    destitute,^(BL) she will sit on the ground.^(BM)

4 ¹In that day^(BN) seven women
    will take hold of one man^(BO)
and say, “We will eat our own food^(BP)
    and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
    Take away our disgrace!”^(BQ)

The Branch of the Lord

²In that day^(BR) the Branch of the Lord^(BS) will be beautiful^(BT) and glorious, and the fruit^(BU) of the land will be the pride and glory^(BV) of the survivors^(BW) in Israel. ³Those who are left in Zion,^(BX) who remain^(BY) in Jerusalem, will be called holy,^(BZ) all who are recorded^(CA) among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴The Lord will wash away the filth^(CB) of the women of Zion;^(CC) he will cleanse^(CD) the bloodstains^(CE) from Jerusalem by a spirit^[a] of judgment^(CF) and a spirit^[b] of fire.^(CG) ⁵Then the Lord will create^(CH) over all of Mount Zion^(CI) and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;^(CJ) over everything the glory^[c]^(CK) will be a canopy.^(CL) ⁶It will be a shelter^(CM) and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge^(CN) and hiding place from the storm^(CO) and rain.

The Song of the Vineyard

5 I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:^(CP)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
²He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.^(CQ)
He built a watchtower^(CR) in it
    and cut out a winepress^(CS) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.^(CT)

³“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.^(CU)
⁴What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?^(CV)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?^(CW)
⁵Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;^(CX)
I will break down its wall,^(CY)
    and it will be trampled.^(CZ)
⁶I will make it a wasteland,^(DA)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns^(DB) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain^(DC) on it.”

⁷The vineyard^(DD) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,^(DE) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,^(DF) but heard cries of distress.^(DG)

Woes and Judgments

⁸Woe^(DH) to you who add house to house
and join field to field^(DI)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.

⁹The Lord Almighty^(DJ) has declared in my hearing:^(DK)

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,^(DL)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
¹⁰A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath^[d] of wine;
a homer^[e] of seed will yield only an ephah^[f] of grain.”^(DM)

¹¹Woe^(DN) to those who rise early in the morning
    to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
    till they are inflamed with wine.^(DO)
¹²They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes^(DP) and timbrels^(DQ) and wine,
but they have no regard^(DR) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.^(DS)
¹³Therefore my people will go into exile^(DT)
    for lack of understanding;^(DU)
those of high rank^(DV) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.^(DW)
¹⁴Therefore Death^(DX) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;^(DY)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.^(DZ)
¹⁵So people will be brought low^(EA)
    and everyone humbled,^(EB)
    the eyes of the arrogant^(EC) humbled.
¹⁶But the Lord Almighty will be exalted^(ED) by his justice,^(EE)
    and the holy God will be proved holy^(EF) by his righteous acts.
¹⁷Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;^(EG)
    lambs will feed^[g] among the ruins of the rich.

¹⁸Woe^(EH) to those who draw sin along with cords^(EI) of deceit,
    and wickedness^(EJ) as with cart ropes,
¹⁹to those who say, “Let God hurry;
    let him hasten^(EK) his work
    so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One^(EL) of Israel—
    let it approach, let it come into view,
    so we may know it.”^(EM)

²⁰Woe^(EN) to those who call evil good^(EO)
    and good evil,^(EP)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,^(EQ)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.^(ER)

²¹Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes^(ES)
and clever in their own sight.

²²Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine^(ET)
    and champions at mixing drinks,^(EU)
²³who acquit the guilty for a bribe,^(EV)
    but deny justice^(EW) to the innocent.^(EX)
²⁴Therefore, as tongues of fire^(EY) lick up straw^(EZ)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay^(FA)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;^(FB)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word^(FC) of the Holy One^(FD) of Israel.
²⁵Therefore the Lord’s anger^(FE) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,^(FF)
    and the dead bodies^(FG) are like refuse^(FH) in the streets.^(FI)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,^(FJ)
his hand is still upraised.^(FK)

²⁶He lifts up a banner^(FL) for the distant nations,
    he whistles^(FM) for those at the ends of the earth.^(FN)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
²⁷Not one of them grows tired^(FO) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt^(FP) is loosened at the waist,^(FQ)
    not a sandal strap is broken.^(FR)
²⁸Their arrows are sharp,^(FS)
    all their bows^(FT) are strung;
their horses’ hooves^(FU) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.^(FV)
²⁹Their roar is like that of the lion,^(FW)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize^(FX) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.^(FY)
³⁰In that day^(FZ) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.^(GA)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness^(GB) and distress;^(GC)
    even the sun will be darkened^(GD) by clouds.