Isaiah 5:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

NIV: The vineyard 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, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

NASB: For the vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel, And the people of Judah are His delightful plant. So He waited for justice, but behold, there was bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

CSB: For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant he delighted in. He expected justice but saw injustice; he expected righteousness but heard cries of despair.

NLT: The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

KJV: For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

NKJV: For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Isaiah has been telling his audience a song about a vineyard built and cared for by a farmer he calls his "beloved" (Isaiah 5:1). This vineyard fails because the grapes are worthless (Isaiah 5:2). In his disgust, the farmer has declared that he will tear down the protective wall and let the animals devour what remains (Isaiah 5:5). He will also direct the clouds not to rain on the vineyard making the destruction of the vineyard complete (Isaiah 5:6).

The prophet has reached the point in the parable where he openly explains what his song has been about. His "beloved" is none other than the Lord. All along God has been the owner and farmer of this vineyard. And the vineyard is Israel and Judah. The Lord is going through great lengths to ensure the people understand He established His people as His own. They are His vineyard. His desire for them was that of a grape farmer, that his vines would produce good and useful fruit.

Instead, God's people—the vines of the garden—have produced a corrupt and sour crop. At harvest time, the Lord went to look for good deeds bringing Him honor. Instead, He found lawlessness. Instead of honoring the Lord and bringing justice to those who were treated poorly, the Israelites' behaviors were as worthless as sour grapes (Isaiah 3:9–15).

The frustration of the owner of the vineyard represents God's frustration with His people Israel. His plan to leave the vineyard in ruin because of its worthlessness fits with the Lord's plan to leave Israel and Judah a wasteland. The animals who will destroy the vines are the invading armies that will destroy Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kings 24:14).

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).