Isaiah 1:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

NIV: Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege.

NASB: The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a city under watch.

CSB: Daughter Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

NLT: Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.

KJV: And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

NKJV: So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.

The Lord is describing the spiritual condition of the hearts of His people with a series of vivid word pictures. He has described the nation as a human body (Isaiah 1:5—6), sick and covered in open wounds, although the person walks around as if well. He has also described Israel's spiritual state as a land desolated by foreign invaders (Isaiah 1:7), with fields devoured and cities burned to the ground.

Now the Lord uses a name for His people, calling her the daughter of Zion. He pictures her spiritual condition as that of a booth or shack in a vineyard or cucumber field. This is the temporary shelter which Israelites would set up during the harvest time. Instead of returning home to the city each night during harvest, families would camp out in the fields so they could spend all the daylight hours gathering in the crops.

These booths or shacks in the fields would not be safe places when invaders came to conquer a city. They were not even meant to last the winter. They were far outside the walls of the city and could be easily knocked down. The Lord pictures Israel as one of these booths instead of as the mighty Zion, Jerusalem, sitting on a hill surrounded by massive walls.

As a result of Israel's sinful rebellion against the Lord, her protector, the nation is vulnerable to attack. She is weak, though she appears to be strong. Israel's spiritual condition means that she will be easily defeated by enemies in the physical world, as she was later. (2 Kings 23—25)

Isaiah 1:2–20 begins a presentation somewhat like a lawsuit against the people of Judah in Israel. The Lord will show many of the ways they have broken their covenant with Him. The people are saturated with sin. They have forsaken Him. Isaiah describes a spiritual sickness Israel refuses to treat. It will lead to their physical destruction by enemy invaders. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful rebellion. God calls them to stop sinning and to do good. He offers to make their sins white as snow if they repent and to consume them if they rebel.

After identifying himself as the son of Amoz, Isaiah begins his vision from the Lord with the introduction of God's lawsuit against the people of Israel. His children are living in rebellion against Him. They are saturated in sin and have forsaken the Lord. Their spiritual sickness will lead to their destruction, though a few will be saved. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful lifestyles. If they repent now, they will be redeemed. If not, they will be destroyed. The Lord will restore justice to once righteous Jerusalem. All who do not repent will be consumed.

Isaiah 1 begins Isaiah's massive book of prophecy with the Lord presenting a lawsuit against His people Israel in Judah for breach of covenant. They live in rebellion against Him and are saturated in sin. They refuse to treat their spiritual illness and will be decimated by their enemies. Their offerings are meaningless. They must stop doing evil and start doing what is good. The Lord will burn off the corrupt from Jerusalem and return it to a place of justice and righteousness. Those who refuse to repent will be broken and destroyed.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).