The Vineyard Song and the Six Woes

5:1 I will sing to my love – a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 5:2 He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead. 5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! 5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead? 5:5 Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. 5:6 I 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. 5:7 Indeed 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! 5:8 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. 5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: “Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 5:10 Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons, and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel.” 5:11 Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine. 5:12 They have stringed instruments, tambourines, flutes, and wine at their parties. So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing, they do not perceive what he is bringing about. 5:13 Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink. 5:14 So Death will open up its throat, and open wide its mouth; Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it, including those who revel and celebrate within her. 5:15 Men will be humiliated, they will be brought low; the proud will be brought low. 5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes, the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. 5:17 Lambs will graze as if in their pastures, amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze. 5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes. 5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!” 5:20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. 5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, those who think they possess understanding. 5:22 Those who are champions at drinking wine are as good as dead, who display great courage when mixing strong drinks. 5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff, they ignore the just cause of the innocent. 5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel. 5:25 So the Lord is furious with his people; he lifts his hand and strikes them. The mountains shake, and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again. 5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they come quickly and swiftly. 5:27 None tire or stumble, they don’t stop to nap or sleep. They don’t loosen their belts, or unstrap their sandals to rest. 5:28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are prepared. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. 5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue. 5:30 At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness. Isaiah’s Commission

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Isaiah 5:1-30 is a warning song about Judah. The Lord cared for his people like a farmer caring for a vineyard, but they produced bad fruit instead of justice and righteousness. So God announced judgment: he would remove their protection, leave the land desolate, and bring a foreign nation against them.

This passage begins like a love song, but it becomes a courtroom message. The Lord says he planted his vineyard with great care. He gave it everything needed to flourish. Yet it gave worthless fruit. The point is clear: Israel and Judah had received much from God, but they did not live as they should.

Verse 7 explains the picture. The vineyard is Israel and Judah. God looked for justice and righteousness, but he found violence, corruption, and cries for help. Because of this, the Lord says he will remove the vineyard’s hedge and wall. The land will be left open, ruined, and dry.

Then come six woes, or warnings of judgment. Some people kept taking more houses and land, which harmed others. Some lived for drinking and partying and no longer noticed what the Lord was doing. Some dragged sin after themselves and even mocked God’s work. Some called evil good and good evil. Some trusted in their own wisdom. Others used drink, bribery, and lies to excuse the guilty and deny justice to the innocent.

God says this sin is not small. They rejected his law and spurned his holy commands. So his judgment will come like fire. The proud will be brought low. The land will be shaken. And the Lord will summon a distant nation to carry out his judgment. That army will come quickly and powerfully, and the whole land will face darkness and disaster.

• God gives real care, protection, and privilege.
• The Lord expects fruit that matches his grace: justice, righteousness, and obedience.
• Sin can be public and social, not only private.
• Drunkenness, greed, bribery, and false judgment are serious offenses before God.
• Rejecting the Lord’s word brings covenant judgment.
• God remains sovereign even over foreign nations used for judgment.

• Warning: God may remove protection from people who keep producing bad fruit.
• Warning: greed, drunkenness, moral confusion, and bribery lead to judgment.
• Warning: calling evil good and good evil is rebellion against God.
• Command: live with justice, righteousness, and obedience to the Lord.
• Command: pay attention to what the Lord is doing.
• Promise/Truth: the Lord of hosts is exalted when he judges and shows his holiness.

God planted his people for a purpose: to bear the fruit of covenant faithfulness. When they refused that purpose, he judged them to show his holiness. This fits the larger biblical pattern of privilege, failure, judgment, and the need for a faithful servant and righteous king.

Do not assume that religious privilege is enough. God looks for real fruit. His people should pursue justice, honesty, self-control, and reverence. We should not become dull through pleasure, pride, or sin. Instead, we should listen to God’s word and live in a way that matches it.

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