English Standard Version
Isaiah 5:7
7For 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!
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (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.
Context of Isaiah 5:7
5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 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! 8Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. 9The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: "Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
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 brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
- Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
- Isaiah 62:5For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
- Psalms 147:11but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
- Psalms 149:4For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
- Zephaniah 3:17The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
- Isaiah 5:2He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
- Isaiah 58:6"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
- Exodus 22:22You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
- Micah 6:8He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Zechariah 7:9"Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
- Matthew 3:8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
- Matthew 23:23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- 1 Corinthians 6:8But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
- 1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, 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
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