Isaiah 5:11-13
New English Translation
11 Beware, those who get up early to drink beer,[a]
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.[b]
12 They have stringed instruments,[c] tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.[d]
13 Therefore my[e] people will be deported[f]
because of their lack of understanding.
Their[g] leaders will have nothing to eat,[h]
their[i] masses will have nothing to drink.[j]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.”
- Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “[who] delay until dark, [until] wine enflames them.”sn This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease—their social injustice.
- Isaiah 5:12 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
- Isaiah 5:12 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
- Isaiah 5:13 sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
- Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (metey, “men of”) as מֵתֵי (metey, “dead ones of”).
- Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
- Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”
Isaiah 5:11-13
English Standard Version
11 Woe to those who (A)rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12 (B)They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
(C)but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
or see the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people go into exile
(D)for lack of knowledge;[a]
their (E)honored men go hungry,[b]
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:13 Or without their knowledge
- Isaiah 5:13 Or die of hunger
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