Isaiah 5:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.

NIV: So people will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

NASB: So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low, The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.

CSB: Humanity is brought low, each person is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled.

NLT: Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.

KJV: And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

NKJV: People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

The picture coming into focus is of a people committed to exalting themselves first. They use their money and power to acquire more and more property (Isaiah 5:8–9). They adorn themselves with expensive clothes and jewelry with the purpose to be noticed by others (Isaiah 3:16–18). And lastly, they live in a constant state of personal pleasure by drinking and partying (Isaiah 5:11–12).

Through Isaiah, God warns His people they will not go unchecked in this direction for long. He will bring an end in the form of foreign invaders who will strip away every luxury and opportunity to elevate oneself above others and above the Lord (2 Kings 24:14). In that day, there will be no one looking up at the Lord in defiance. Those who survive will hang their heads in the humility that comes from defeat and loss. The following verse will show that it will not be the Lord who loses. It will be His people who have abandoned knowing Him.

Isaiah 5:8–30 contains Isaiah's dire predictions about the upcoming judgment of Israel. The first "woes" are to the greedy and the pleasure-seeking drinkers. They will go into exile and to the grave for refusing to acknowledge God. The Lord then will be exalted for restoring justice and righteousness. The next woes are to those who embrace sin and mock the coming judgment. These are also those people who have mixed evil and good and believe they know better than God. The final listed woes are those who make it a point of pride how much alcohol they can drink, as well as how they can work the system with bribes. The Lord will summon the armies of the nations to bring judgment on His people.

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).

Accessed 12/4/2024 3:45:17 AM