Isaiah 5:7-17

7Israel's nation is like the vineyard of the Lord Almighty. Judah's people are his beautiful garden. But when the Lord looked there for justice, he found only murder! When he looked for people who were righteous, he saw that they were cruel.

8It will be very bad for you people who buy many houses for yourselves. You also buy land to join to the land that you already have. Then there is no more land left for anyone else. You are the only people who remain on the land.

9I have heard the Lord Almighty promise this: ‘All these great, beautiful houses will certainly become empty. There will be nobody to live in them.

10Large vineyards will give only a few bottles of wine. If you plant ten bags of seed, you will only get one bag of grain as your harvest.’

11It will be bad for you people who like to get up early to start drinking. You continue to drink late into the night, until you are very drunk.

12You have wild parties with plenty of music and wine. You make music with your lyres, harps, tambourines and flutes. But you do not understand the things that the Lord is doing. You do not see the things that he has made.

13Because of that, my people will go into exile in countries far away. They do not know God. Their leaders will die because they have nothing to eat. All the other people will have nothing to drink.

14So the deep hole of death will be hungry! It will open wide to eat the people of Jerusalem. The leaders and the people will go down into it. It will eat up those who are happy at their wild parties in Jerusalem.

15So the Lord will bring its people down low. Its proud people will become ashamed.

16But the Lord Almighty will be lifted up high by his justice. People will know that he is holy when he comes as judge.

17Then lambs will find good grass to eat, as they do in their own fields. Fat sheep will find food to eat among the stones of the old houses.