Isaiah 5-8

New International Version

The Song of the Vineyard

5 I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:^(A)
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.^(B)
He built a watchtower^(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress^(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.^(E)

³“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.^(F)
⁴What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?^(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?^(H)
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;^(I)
I will break down its wall,^(J)
    and it will be trampled.^(K)
⁶I will make it a wasteland,^(L)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns^(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain^(N) on it.”

⁷The vineyard^(O) 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,^(P) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,^(Q) but heard cries of distress.^(R)

Woes and Judgments

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

⁹The Lord Almighty^(U) has declared in my hearing:^(V)

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

¹¹Woe^(Y) 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.^(Z)
¹²They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes^(AA) and timbrels^(AB) and wine,
but they have no regard^(AC) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.^(AD)
¹³Therefore my people will go into exile^(AE)
    for lack of understanding;^(AF)
those of high rank^(AG) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.^(AH)
¹⁴Therefore Death^(AI) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;^(AJ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.^(AK)
¹⁵So people will be brought low^(AL)
    and everyone humbled,^(AM)
    the eyes of the arrogant^(AN) humbled.
¹⁶But the Lord Almighty will be exalted^(AO) by his justice,^(AP)
    and the holy God will be proved holy^(AQ) by his righteous acts.
¹⁷Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;^(AR)
    lambs will feed^[d] among the ruins of the rich.

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

²⁰Woe^(AY) to those who call evil good^(AZ)
    and good evil,^(BA)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,^(BB)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.^(BC)

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

²²Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine^(BE)
    and champions at mixing drinks,^(BF)
²³who acquit the guilty for a bribe,^(BG)
    but deny justice^(BH) to the innocent.^(BI)
²⁴Therefore, as tongues of fire^(BJ) lick up straw^(BK)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay^(BL)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;^(BM)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word^(BN) of the Holy One^(BO) of Israel.
²⁵Therefore the Lord’s anger^(BP) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,^(BQ)
    and the dead bodies^(BR) are like refuse^(BS) in the streets.^(BT)

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

²⁶He lifts up a banner^(BW) for the distant nations,
    he whistles^(BX) for those at the ends of the earth.^(BY)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
²⁷Not one of them grows tired^(BZ) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt^(CA) is loosened at the waist,^(CB)
    not a sandal strap is broken.^(CC)
²⁸Their arrows are sharp,^(CD)
    all their bows^(CE) are strung;
their horses’ hooves^(CF) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.^(CG)
²⁹Their roar is like that of the lion,^(CH)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize^(CI) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.^(CJ)
³⁰In that day^(CK) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.^(CL)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness^(CM) and distress;^(CN)
    even the sun will be darkened^(CO) by clouds.

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah^(CP) died,^(CQ) I saw the Lord,^(CR) high and exalted,^(CS) seated on a throne;^(CT) and the train of his robe^(CU) filled the temple. ²Above him were seraphim,^(CV) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,^(CW) and with two they were flying. ³And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy^(CX), holy is the Lord Almighty;^(CY)
the whole earth^(CZ) is full of his glory.”^(DA)

⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.^(DB)

⁵“Woe^(DC) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(DD) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(DE) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(DF) and my eyes have seen^(DG) the King,^(DH) the Lord Almighty.”^(DI)

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal^(DJ) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;^(DK) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.^(DL)”

⁸Then I heard the voice^(DM) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?^(DN) And who will go for us?^(DO)”

And I said, “Here am I.^(DP) Send me!”

⁹He said, “Go^(DQ) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’^(DR)
¹⁰Make the heart of this people calloused;^(DS)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.^[e]^(DT)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,^(DU)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”^(DV)

¹¹Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”^(DW)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined^(DX)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted^(DY)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,^(DZ)
¹²until the Lord has sent everyone far away^(EA)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.^(EB)
¹³And though a tenth remains^(EC) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.^(ED)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps^(EE) when they are cut down,
    so the holy^(EF) seed will be the stump in the land.”^(EG)

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahaz^(EH) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin^(EI) of Aram^(EJ) and Pekah^(EK) son of Remaliah^(EL) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David^(EM) was told, “Aram has allied itself with^[f] Ephraim^(EN)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,^(EO) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,^[g]^(EP) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.^(EQ) ⁴Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm^(ER) and don’t be afraid.^(ES) Do not lose heart^(ET) because of these two smoldering stubs^(EU) of firewood—because of the fierce anger^(EV) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.^(EW) ⁵Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s^(EX) son have plotted^(EY) your ruin, saying, ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:^(EZ)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,^(FA)
⁸for the head of Aram is Damascus,^(FB)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.^(FC)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered^(FD) to be a people.
⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria,^(FE)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand^(FF) firm in your faith,^(FG)
    you will not stand at all.’”^(FH)

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹“Ask the Lord your God for a sign,^(FI) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.^(FJ)”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.^(FK)”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!^(FL) Is it not enough^(FM) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience^(FN) of my God^(FO) also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you^[h] a sign:^(FP) The virgin^[i]^(FQ) will conceive and give birth to a son,^(FR) and^[j] will call him Immanuel.^[k]^(FS) ¹⁵He will be eating curds^(FT) and honey^(FU) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶for before the boy knows^(FV) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,^(FW) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.^(FX) ¹⁷The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away^(FY) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.^(FZ)”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

¹⁸In that day^(GA) the Lord will whistle^(GB) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.^(GC) ¹⁹They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices^(GD) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes^(GE) and at all the water holes. ²⁰In that day^(GF) the Lord will use^(GG) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River^(GH)—the king of Assyria^(GI)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard^(GJ) also.^(GK) ²¹In that day,^(GL) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.^(GM) ²²And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds^(GN) and honey.^(GO) ²³In that day,^(GP) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,^[l]^(GQ) there will be only briers and thorns.^(GR) ²⁴Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers^(GS) and thorns. ²⁵As for all the hills^(GT) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;^(GU) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.^(GV)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll^(GW) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”^[m]^(GX) ²So I called in Uriah^(GY) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses^(GZ) for me. ³Then I made love to the prophetess,^(HA) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.^(HB) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.^(HC) ⁴For before the boy knows^(HD) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus^(HE) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.^(HF)”

⁵The Lord spoke to me again:

⁶“Because this people has rejected^(HG)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah^(HH)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,^(HI)
⁷therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters^(HJ) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria^(HK) with all his pomp.^(HL)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks^(HM)
⁸and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,^(HN)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings^(HO) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel^[n]!”^(HP)

⁹Raise the war cry,^[o]^(HQ) you nations, and be shattered!^(HR)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare^(HS) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
¹⁰Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;^(HT)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,^(HU)
    for God is with us.^[p]^(HV)

¹¹This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,^(HW) warning me not to follow^(HX) the way of this people:

¹²“Do not call conspiracy^(HY)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,^(HZ)
    and do not dread it.^(IA)
¹³The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,^(IB)
    he is the one you are to fear,^(IC)
    he is the one you are to dread.^(ID)
¹⁴He will be a holy place;^(IE)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone^(IF) that causes people to stumble^(IG)
    and a rock that makes them fall.^(IH)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.^(II)
¹⁵Many of them will stumble;^(IJ)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶Bind up this testimony of warning^(IK)
and seal^(IL) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
¹⁷I will wait^(IM) for the Lord,
who is hiding^(IN) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.^(IO)

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.^(IP) We are signs^(IQ) and symbols^(IR) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.^(IS)

The Darkness Turns to Light

¹⁹When someone tells you to consult^(IT) mediums and spiritists,^(IU) who whisper and mutter,^(IV) should not a people inquire^(IW) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰Consult God’s instruction^(IX) and the testimony of warning.^(IY) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light^(IZ) of dawn. ²¹Distressed and hungry,^(JA) they will roam through the land;^(JB) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse^(JC) their king and their God. ²²Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,^(JD) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.^(JE)

Footnotes

Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / ¹⁰This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel