Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 5:7
7For 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.
Isaiah 5:7 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (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.
- English Standard Version (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!
- New King James Version (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.
Context of Isaiah 5:7
5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. 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. 8Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land. 9I heard the Lord of Armies say: Indeed, many houses will become desolate, grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
Read all of Isaiah 5Isaiah 5:7 word by word
כִּ֣י כֶ֜רֶם יְהוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֔ה נְטַ֖ע שַׁעֲשׁוּעָ֑יו וַיְקַ֤ו לְמִשְׁפָּט֙ וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִשְׂפָּ֔ח לִצְדָקָ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה צְעָקָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the vineyardכֶּרֶםkerem · vineyardH3754
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
- the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- and the menאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- his pleasantשַׁעֲשֻׁעִיםsha‛shûa‛ · delightH8191
- plantנֶ֫טַעneţa‛ · plantationH5194
- and he lookedקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
- for judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- but behold oppressionמִשְׂפָּחmiώpâch · bloodshedH4939
- for righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
- but behold a cryצְעָקָהtsa‛ăqâh · cryH6818
Cross-references for Isaiah 5:7
- Psalms 80:8You dug up a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
- Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled my plot of land. They have turned my desirable plot into a desolate wasteland.
- Isaiah 62:5For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a groom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- Psalms 147:11The Lord values those who fear him, those who put their hope in his faithful love.
- Psalms 149:4For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
- Zephaniah 3:17The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing.”
- Isaiah 5:2He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes.
- Isaiah 58:6Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?
- Exodus 22:22“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
- Micah 6:8Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
- Zechariah 7:9“The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another.
- Matthew 3:8Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
- 1 Corinthians 6:8Instead, you yourselves do wrong and cheat — and you do this to brothers and sisters!
- 1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Commentaries on Isaiah 5:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7And he looked for judgment - The paronomasia, or play on the words, in this place, is very remarkable; mishpat, mishpach, tsedakah, tseakah . There are many examples of it in the other prophets, but Isaiah seems peculiarly fond of it. See Isaiah 13:6, Isaiah 24:17, Isaiah 32:7, Isaiah 28:1, Isaiah 57:6, Isaiah 61:3, Isaiah 65:11, Isaiah 65:12. Rabbi David Kimchi has noticed the paronomasia here: he expected משפט mishpat, judgment, but behold משפח…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7For the vineyard - This is the application of the parable. God had treated the Jews as a farmer does a vineyard. This was “his” vineyard - the object of his faithful, unceasing care. This was his “only” vineyard; on this people alone, of all the nations of the earth, had he bestowed his special attention. His pleasant plant - The plant in which he delighted. As the farmer had been at the pains to plant the “sorek” Isaiah 5:2, so had God selected the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The identification of Israel as the vineyard is a surprise. It resolves the riddle of the passage. Here, a clever play on Hebrew words is used to accuse Israel. The Lord expected justice (Hebrew mishpat) but saw only oppression (mispakh) of the needy. Instead of righteousness (tsedaqah), there were cries of violence (tse‘aqah) against the poor (see Isaiah 1:21–23). These similar-sounding words make the message memorable.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Isaiah here applies the parable. It is no mere human owner, nor a literal vineyard that is meant. vineyard of the Lord--His only one (Ex 19:5; Am 3:2). pleasant--"the plant of his delight"; just as the husbandman was at pains to select the sorek, or "choicest vine" (Is 5:2); so God's election of the Jews. judgment--justice. The play upon words is striking in the Hebrew, He looked for mishpat, but behold mispat ("bloodshed"); for tsedaqua, but behold…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 5:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries