New International Version
Isaiah 5:7
7The 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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
5Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 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. 8Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. 9The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing: “Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants.
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 transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
- Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
- Isaiah 62:5As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
- Psalms 147:11the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
- Psalms 149:4For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
- Zephaniah 3:17The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Isaiah 5:2He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
- Isaiah 58:6“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
- Exodus 22:22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.
- Micah 6:8He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
- Zechariah 7:9“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
- Matthew 3:8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- John 15:2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
- 1 Corinthians 6:8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.
- 1 John 3:7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. 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
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