New King James 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 plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
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.
- 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 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, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.” 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. 8Woe 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! 9In my hearing the Lord of hosts said, “Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, 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 have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
- Jeremiah 12:10“Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard, They have trodden My portion underfoot; They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
- Isaiah 62:5For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
- Psalms 147:11The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.
- Psalms 149:4For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
- Zephaniah 3:17The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Isaiah 5:2He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.
- Isaiah 58:6“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
- Exodus 22:22“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
- Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
- Zechariah 7:9“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.
- Matthew 3:8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
- John 15:2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- 1 Corinthians 6:8No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!
- 1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries