New American Standard Bible 1995
Isaiah 5:4
41What more was there to do for My vineyard 2that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce 3worthless ones?
Isaiah 5:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
- New International Version (NIV)What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
- English Standard Version (ESV)What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
- New King James Version (NKJV)What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?
Context of Isaiah 5:4
2He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. 3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? 5So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”
Read all of Isaiah 5Isaiah 5:4 word by word
מַה־לַּעֲשׂ֥וֹת עוֹד֙ לְכַרְמִ֔י וְלֹ֥א עָשִׂ֖יתִי בּ֑וֹ מַדּ֧וּעַ קִוֵּ֛יתִי לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עֲנָבִ֖ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ בְּאֻשִֽׁים׃Read the interlinear
- Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- moreעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
- was there to doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- for My vineyardכֶּרֶםkerem · vineyardH3754
- Whyמַדּוּעַmaddûa‛ maddûa‛ · why?H4069
- when I expectedקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
- to produceעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- grapesעֵנָב‛ênâb · grapeH6025
- worthlessבְּאֻשִׁיםbe'ûshîym · sour grapesH891
Cross-references for Isaiah 5:4
- Isaiah 1:5Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 2:30“In vain I have struck your sons; They accepted no chastening. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.
- Jeremiah 6:29The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated.
- Ezekiel 24:13In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again Until I have spent My wrath on you.
- Matthew 23:37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
- Acts 7:51“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
Commentaries on Isaiah 5:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4What could I - As a man who had done what is described in Isaiah 5:2, would have done all that “could” be done for a vineyard, so God says that he has done all that he could, in the circumstances of the Jews, to make them holy and happy. He had chosen them; had given them his law; had sent them prophets and teachers; had defended them; had come forth in judgment and mercy, and he now appeals “to them” to say what “could” have been done more. This…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Clearly, the Lord had kindly done everything possible for the vineyard. He was not responsible for the bitter grapes. I extort you to judge: Isaiah wanted the audience to condemn the vineyard before revealing that they were the vineyard themselves (Isaiah 5:7). This rhetorical tactic is similar to the one Nathan used to confront David (2 Samuel 12:1–5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. God has done all that could be done for the salvation of sinners, consistently with His justice and goodness. The God of nature is, as it were, amazed at the unnatural fruit of so well-cared a vineyard.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 5:4
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Isaiah 5:4 2 Chr 36:16; Jer 2:5; 7:25, 26; Mic 6:3; Matt 23:37 ↩
- 2. Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done ↩
- 3. Isaiah 5:4 Or wild grapes ↩
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries