Isaiah 5:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

NIV: I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.

NASB: Let me sing now for my beloved A song of my beloved about His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

CSB: I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one’s vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

NLT: Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.

KJV: Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

NKJV: Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill.

The first seven verses of chapter 5 contain a parable. A parable is an example in the format of a story which contains a spiritual truth or lesson. In these verses Isaiah begins with a love song and ends with condemnation It becomes clear later on that Isaiah is speaking of the Lord as his "beloved".

This is unusual language from Isaiah, but not unheard of for writers of Scripture. The prophet is humble before the Lord. He also obeys the commandment to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5). His use of the title "beloved" shows his affection for God goes beyond mere obedience and service.

The singer's beloved is said to have a vineyard on a hill. A vineyard is a field used for farming grapes. These were common metaphors in the Bible, as they were common in and around Israel's more mountainous region. This example was relevant to Isaiah's audience. Everyone in that era knew something about how vineyards were developed and maintained to produce the best crops of wine grapes possible.

When selecting the location for a vineyard, soil would be the first consideration on a farmer's mind. If the soil wasn't good, nothing good was likely to grow properly from it. The soil for this hilltop vineyard was perfectly fertile and would be useful for growing vines. For the purposes of this parable, neither the soil nor the location of the vineyard could be blamed for any worthless produce.

Isaiah 5:1–7 contains Isaiah's parable about his beloved about their vineyard. His beloved invests time and money to dig stones from the field, plant vines, build a watchtower, and make vats. He does all this work only to find the resulting grapes are sour and useless. The owner declares he will lay waste to the vineyard since the fruit is not good. Isaiah reveals that the vineyard is Israel and the owner is the Lord. He expected Judah to produce justice and integrity, but instead it has yielded trampling down of the weak and an ignoring of God's ways.

Isaiah 5 begins with a parable about a farmer who builds a vineyard that produces sour grapes. The owner says he will lay waste to the vineyard. Isaiah reveals the owner to be the Lord and the vineyard to be Israel. Israel's bad fruit includes the greed of the wealthy and the hedonism of the people. They will go hungry and thirsty, into exile, and the grave. The Lord will be exalted for His righteousness. Isaiah pronounces woe on the sinners, the mockers, and the unjust rulers. The Lord will summon the nations to judge His people.

Early chapters (Isaiah 1—4) established a prophetic message given to the people of Israel. Isaiah 5 begins a new section with a parable about a vineyard that produces wild grapes despite all the work the owner has done. The vineyard is Israel, and the owner is the Lord. He will lay waste to the vineyard for the greed and drunkenness of the people. They will go into exile and the grave. The Lord will be exalted, but woe to those who embrace sin, and mock God's judgment. As well as those who take bribes against the poor. He has summoned the nations. Judgment is coming. The next chapter includes one of the Bible's most famous visions (Isaiah 6).

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).