Reading Isaiah 5:1-22, NIV
Map: Song of the vineyard, vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight (vs 7, NIV)-hidden underlying meaning and lessons of this song; both low and high will be humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant brought low (vs 15, NIV); ..the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness (vs 16, NIV).
Summary: God expects something good from the vineyard but it disappoints-no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no justice hence punishments follow.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,.. (vs 20, NIV).
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight (vs 21, NIV).
..who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent (vs 23, NIV).
Isaiah 5:1-23, GNB
[1]Listen while I sing you this song, a song of my friend and his vineyard: My friend had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
[2]He dug the soil and cleared it of stones; he planted the finest vines. He built a tower to guard them, dug a pit for treading the grapes. He waited for the grapes to ripen, but every grape was sour.
[3]So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.
[4]Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?
[5]“This is what I am going to do to my vineyard; I will take away the hedge round it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.
[6]I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not prune the vines or hoe the ground; instead I will let briars and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
[7]Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty; the people of Judah are the vines he planted. He expected them to do what was good, but instead they committed murder. He expected them to do what was right, but their victims cried out for justice.
[8]You are doomed! You buy more houses and fields to add to those you already have. Soon there will be nowhere for anyone else to live, and you alone will live in the land.
[9]I have heard the Lord Almighty say, “All these big, fine houses will be empty ruins.
[10]The grapevines growing on ten hectares of land will yield only eight litres of wine. 180 litres of seed will produce only eighteen litres of corn.”
[11]You are doomed! You get up early in the morning to start drinking, and you spend long evenings getting drunk.
[12]At your feasts you have harps and tambourines and flutes — and wine. But you don’t understand what the Lord is doing,
[13]and so you will be carried away as prisoners. Your leaders will starve to death, and the common people will die of thirst.
[14]The world of the dead is hungry for them, and it opens its mouth wide. It gulps down the nobles of Jerusalem along with the noisy crowd of common people.
[15]Everyone will be disgraced, and all who are proud will be humbled.
[16]But the Lord Almighty shows his greatness by doing what is right, and he reveals his holiness by judging his people.
[17]In the ruins of the cities lambs will eat grass and young goats will find pasture.
[18]You are doomed! You are unable to break free from your sins.
[19]You say, “Let the Lord hurry up and do what he says he will, so that we can see it. Let Israel’s holy God carry out his plans; let’s see what he has in mind.”
[20]You are doomed! You call evil good and call good evil. You turn darkness into light and light into darkness. You make what is bitter sweet, and what is sweet you make bitter.
[21]You are doomed! You think you are wise, so very clever.
[22]You are doomed! Heroes of the wine bottle! Brave and fearless when it comes to mixing drinks!
[23]But for just a bribe you let the guilty go free, and you prevent the innocent from getting justice.