New English Translation
Isaiah 5:8
8Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, those who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.
Isaiah 5:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
Context of Isaiah 5:8
6I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it. 7Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, those who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. 9The Lord who commands armies told me this: “Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 10Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons, and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel.”
Read all of Isaiah 5Isaiah 5:8 word by word
ה֗וֹי מַגִּיעֵ֥י בַ֙יִת֙ בְּבַ֔יִת שָׂדֶ֥ה בְשָׂדֶ֖ה יַקְרִ֑יבוּ עַ֚ד אֶ֣פֶס מָק֔וֹם וְהֽוּשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם לְבַדְּכֶ֖ם בְּקֶ֥רֶב הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto them that joinנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- layקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
- fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- noאֶ֫פֶס'ephes · endH657
- placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- that they may be placedיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- alone in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
Cross-references for Isaiah 5:8
- Jeremiah 22:13“‘Sure to be judged is the king who builds his palace using injustice and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor.
- Micah 2:2They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited.
- Habakkuk 2:9The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.
- Luke 12:16He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop,
- 1 Kings 21:16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
- Ezekiel 11:15“Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
- Ezekiel 33:24“Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’
Commentaries on Isaiah 5:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Wo unto them that - lay field to field "You who lay field unto field" - Read תקריבו takribu, in the second person; to answer to the verb following. So Vulgate.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Wo unto them - The prophet now proceeds to “specify” some of the crimes to which he had referred in the parable of the vineyard, of which the Jews had been guilty. The first is “avarice.” That join house to house - That seek to possess many houses; or perhaps that seek to live in large and magnificent palaces. A similar denunciation of this sin is recorded in Micah 2:2; Nehemiah 5:1-8. This, together with what follows, was contrary to the law of Moses…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-23Verses 8-23 Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. Those who set their hearts…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-10Woe: The first warning of judgment was against oppressive greed. People took properties, like houses and fields, illegally. The new owners were bullies who used every method to get richer at the expense of the poor (see 1 Kings 21:1–29; Amos 2:6–7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-238. (Le 25:13; Mi 2:2). The jubilee restoration of possessions was intended as a guard against avarice. till there be no place--left for any one else. that they may be--rather, and ye be. the earth--the land.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 5:8
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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