Revised Literal Translation
Isaiah 5:4
4What 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?
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
2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 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? 5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon 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
- What could have been doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- more to my vineyardכֶּרֶםkerem · vineyardH3754
- in it? whereforeמַדּוּעַmaddûa‛ maddûa‛ · why?H4069
- when I lookedקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
- that it should bring forthעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- grapesעֵנָב‛ênâb · grapeH6025
- wild grapesבְּאֻשִׁיםbe'ûshîym · sour grapesH891
Cross-references for Isaiah 5:4
- Isaiah 1:5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of Yhwh which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 2:30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
- Jeremiah 6:29The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
- Ezekiel 24:13In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
- Matthew 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
- Acts 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
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
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries