Isaiah 5:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”

NIV: A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.'

NASB: For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.'

CSB: For a ten-acre vineyard will yield only six gallons of wine, and ten bushels of seed will yield only one bushel of grain.

NLT: Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine. Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.'

KJV: Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

NKJV: For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.”

Here the prophet reveals one reason the great houses of the rich will sit empty with nobody to enjoy them (Isaiah 5:9). The farm-based economy will take a nosedive. Years of drought or blight will reduce crop yields to the point where a ten-acre vineyard only produces one bath of wine. This measure was equivalent to about eight gallons or thirty liters. Likewise, a homer of grain seed, about eight bushels, will only yield one ephah, about one-half of a bushel.

Those terrible returns on investment are so bad that wealthy landowners will be forced to downsize. They will be driven out of their sizable homes to occupy smaller ones on less land. In the end, their greed was futile. Instead of building their fortunes, they over-extended and lost much or all their wealth.

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 5/1/2024 7:18:19 PM