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ISAIAH CHAPTER 5
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand within the
normative rules of language, context and logic 
.
.This
limits the observer to the content offered by the book of Isaiah. This
will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more
importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective
comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
The context of
the Day of the LORD in chapter 4 .moves
back to Isaiah's time in chapter 5:
(Isa 5:1 NKJV) "Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill.
(Isa 5:2 ASV) and he [cultivated] 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 hewed out a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth [good] grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
(Isa 5:3 YLT) "And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.
(Isa 5:4 YLT) What - to do still to My vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I [have] waited to the yielding of grapes, And it [yields] bad [lit., wild] ones!
(Isa 5:5 ASV) And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
(Isa 5:6 NKJV) I 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."
(Isa 5:7 NASB) For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
(Isa 5:8 HOLMAN) Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land.
(Isa 5:9 NKJV) In my hearing the LORD of hosts said, 'Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.
(Isa 5:10 NKJV) For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.
(Isa 5:11 NKJV) Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
(Isa 5:12 NKJV) The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider [lit., have they considered] the operation of His hands.
(Isa 5:13 NKJV) Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.
(Isa 5:14 NKJV) Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.
(Isa 5:15 YLT) And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low,
(Isa 5:16 KJV) But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
(Isa 5:17 NKJV) Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones lambs [LXX version] shall eat.
(Isa 5:18 NKJV) Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
(Isa 5:19 NKJV) That say, 'Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.'
(Isa 5:20 NKJV) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
(Isa 5:21 NKJV) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
(Isa 5:22 NKJV) Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
(Isa 5:23 NKJV) Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!
(Isa 5:24 NKJV) Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
(Isa 5:25 NKJV) Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
(Isa 5:26 NKJV) He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
(Isa 5:27 NKJV) No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken:
(Isa 5:28 NKJV) Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind.
(Isa 5:29 NKJV) Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver.
(Isa 5:1 NKJV) "Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. (Isa 5:2 ASV) and he [cultivated] 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 hewed out a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth [good] grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. (Isa 5:3 YLT) "And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard. (Isa 5:4 YLT) What - to do still to My vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I [have] waited to the yielding of grapes, And it [yields] bad [lit., wild] ones! (Isa 5:5 ASV) And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: (Isa 5:6 NKJV) I 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." (Isa 5:7 NASB) For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress" =
Chapter 5 began with an allegorical song composed by Isaiah to depict his beloved LORD's point of view about His people Israel during Isaiah's time, (cf. Isa 1:1). Notice that Isaiah spoke of his LORD in endearing terms. The song was about the LORD's vineyard, (symbollic of the house of Israel and the men of Judah, implying that the LORD had a unique relationship with them as His people, (cf. Isa 3:14; 5:7)). In the song, the LORD located his "vineyard" on a fertile hillside. He cultivated it, [the Hebrew word "u-iozq-eu" rendered "digged" in the ASV, is literally "cultivated"]; gathered out the stones; built a tower in her midst to guard her; and hewed out a winepress; implying His perfect care. Yet the vineyard only brought forth wild grapes, i.e., bad or poisonous fruit. The Hebrew word "bashim" rendered "wild grapes," in the NKJV, literally means "stinking things," and in this context, "poisonous fruit," (Isa 5:1-2).
The song moves to the LORD addressing the people of Jerusalem and Judah. They were asked by the LORD to judge who was at fault relative to the matter of the failure of the LORD's vineyard. The answer given in the song was that the LORD indicted that He could not have done anything more to make the vineyard productive, implying that the fault lay solely with the vineyard. Therefore the LORD declared that He would tear down the protective "hedge," most likely a stone wall, leaving the vineyard to be trambled down, most likely by animals. He would no longer prune or cultivate, leaving the briers and thorns to overwhelm the vineyard and strangle the vines. Finally, the LORD would command the clouds not to rain, causing the vineyard's complete destruction, (Isa 5:3-6).
At the end of the song, Isaiah pointed out that the house of Israel and the men of Judah were the vineyard - "His delightful plant;" and that the fault was solely with them. He indicated that they would be completely destroyed; for the LORD looked for justice and righteousness from His people, and instead, there was bloodshed and a cry of distress from those they preyed upon. In his song, Isaiah used assonance to stress the contrast between what God expected of His people and what they acted like: 'Bloodshed' (mispoh) instead of 'Justice' (mispAt) and 'distress' (seAqah) instead of 'righteousness' (sedAqAh), (Isa 5:7).
B) (5:8-23) ISAIAH'S SONG WAS FOLLOWED BY SIX WOES - SIX JUDGMENTS:
3) WOE TO THOSE WHO WERE DEEPLY AND INEXORABLY ATTACHED TO SINFUL ACTS, WHO MOCKED THE LORD.
4) WOE TO THOSE WHO CALLED EVIL GOOD AND GOOD EVIL.
5) WOE TO THOSE WHO WERE WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES.
(Isa 5:8 HOLMAN) "Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land. (Isa 5:9 NKJV) In my hearing the LORD of hosts said, 'Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.' (Isa 5:10 NKJV) For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah. (Isa 5:11 NKJV) Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them! (Isa 5:12 NKJV) The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider [lit., have they considered] the operation of His hands. (Isa 5:13 NKJV) Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. (Isa 5:14 NKJV) Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. (Isa 5:15 YLT) And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low, (Isa 5:16 KJV) But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. (Isa 5:17 NKJV) Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones lambs [LXX version] shall eat. (Isa 5:18 NKJV) Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; (Isa 5:19 NKJV) That say, 'Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.' (Isa 5:20 NKJV) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isa 5:21 NKJV) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! (Isa 5:22 NKJV) Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, (Isa 5:23 NKJV) Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!" =
Isaiah's song was followed by six woes - six judgments - which the LORD pronounced upon the house of Israel and the men of Judah as a consequence of her bad fruit, i.e., her sins:
1) "Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land," in the sense of pronouncing a judgment upon those greedy individuals of Judah who were acquiring as many houses and as much land as they could at the expense of their fellow countrymen - greedy to the point of owning all the houses and land at the expense of everyone they could - the goal to be that no one else had possession of houses and land! Note that the jubilee restoration of possessions was a guard against such avarice, (Lev 25:13). The first phrase of verse 9, which commenced the judgment of the LORD for the first woe, reads, 'The LORD Almighty is in my ears' which corroborated that the LORD provided the information to His prophet Isaiah to convey to the house of Israel and the men of Judah, (cf. Isa 1:1; 2:1). The LORD's judgment upon Judah would be that many houses would be desolate - even great and beautiful ones would be without inhabitants - implying death and mass destruction. And as for the land: a ten-acre vineyard would yield only one bath [only six gallons], and a homer [10 bushels] of seed would yield only one ephah [one bushel] implying crop failure, (Isa 5:8-10).
2) "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!" Consumption of wine is in view from morning through the night - a sign of drunken debauchery - of extreme alcoholic addiction, (cf. Isa 5:22), "The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider [lit., nor have they considered] the operation of His hands." So they carried their revelry late into the night with music and banquets, caring little for the work of the LORD, that those in charge were arrogant and abusive toward the people of the LORD, (Isa 5:11-12).
So because of this, the LORD would judge His people as follows: "Therefore My people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge;" in the sense that they have willfully remained ignorant of the truth about the LORD - that He was sovereign and they were accountable to Him. Hence the people of the LORD of Isaiah's time would be captured and taken into captivity, to the extent that "Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst," i.e., many would die of hunger and thirst no matter what their social standing. Note that the prophet Isaiah sees the future as if it were before his eyes in the present as a vision, (Isa 5:13).
Isa 5:14
continues the context of God's judgment upon His people: "Therefore
Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure..." The
Hebrew word "sheol," (Greek equivalent = "hades"),
refers to the unseen world of spirits, i.e., the existance and location of
the afterlife. It does not refer to the grave. For graves would not be
enlargened to contain innumerable dead bodies.Furthermore, the Hebrew word
for grave is transliterated, "kever," not "sheol."
According to Scripture, the location of the afterlife referred to sheol is
a place which contains those who are believers and those who are not,
.
The end of Isa 5:13-14 describes the experience of those who have come to an early physical death:
(Isa 5:13 NKJV) "Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. (Isa 5:14 NKJV) Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure;Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it," in the sense that all of the people of the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, (cf. Isa 5:7), from those of glory, i.e., those who had social position down to those of no position, and those who were drunkards will all be destined for Sheol, i.e., an early physical death - sudden and violent. Hence the words, "Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure," in the symbollic sense of accommodating such a large number the souls of the people of the LORD who would suddenly depart the physical life, (Isa 5:14).
"And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high And the eyes of the haughty become low," [in the sense that those who are low in stature to those who are proud will be brought down in humiliation and death]. "But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, [in the sense that the actions of the LORD will be perfectly justified and righteous in His forthcoming actions with His people] and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness," [sanctified = regarded as holy, i.e., set apart by reason of His Perfect Righteousness in all that He does]. Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places [in the sense of the ruined places] of the fat ones [i.e., the rich ones], lambs [LXX reading] shall eat," [the land which formerly had the houses of the wealthy will turn to pasture for grazing by the animals of the field]. Most commentators and translators accept the LXX reading 'lambs' as authentic rather than the Masoretic 'strangers' because it fits the context better. So the land of Judah will become a vast pasturage for wandering nomad shepherds to feed their flocks and herds, (Isa 5:15-17).
3) "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;" [in the sense that they were deeply and inexorably attached to and unwilling to let go of their sinful acts]. "That say, 'Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.' " The phrase 'the Holy One of Israel' has a sacrcastic and arrogant tone, suggesting a confrontational attitude toward the LORD and toward His warning to His people for their egregious sinful conduct. They are so attached to their sin that they mock the LORD by challenging Him to follow through on His warning of destruction, (Isa 5:18-19).
4) "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Evil - for example, adultery, idolatry, materialism, murder, and many others sins which are forbidden in Scripture was and is often held up as being good. This has the same dark tone of sarcasm and arrogance as the previous "woe," which inevitably leads to a reversal of values where good is looked upon as evil, and evil as good, and God is mocked, (Isa 5:20 NKJV).
5) "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!" [in the sense of thinking that they knew better than the prophet and the LORD, and therefore rejected His warnings about their sinful attitude and self-dependency], (Isa 5:21 NKJV)
6) "Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!" Largely in view are the rulers of the house of Israel and the men of Judah who, rather than being honest, caring leaders, were not only wise in their own eyes; but were dishonest, pleasure / self-seeking drunkards that who justified the wicked for a bribe, taking away justice from righteous men. Thereby be judged all the much more harshly, (Isa 5:22-23).
(Isa 5:24 NKJV) "Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isa 5:25 NKJV) Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. (Isa 5:26 NKJV) He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. (Isa 5:27 NKJV) No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken: (Isa 5:28 NKJV) Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. (Isa 5:29 NKJV) Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. (Isa 5:30 NKJV) In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds," =
Verses 5-6, 9-10, 13-17 in chapter 5 stipulated a number of judgments that the LORD would bring upon the people of Judah of the time of Isaiah, (cf. Isa 1:1), because of the extent of their sinfulness. Verses 24-30 then go into more detail and indicate that their sins were symptomatic of their despisement of the LORD and their consequent and persistent violations of His law. As a result, their destruction was pictured as a flame which devoured straw and dry grass. The extent of their depravity was portrayed as a rotten root which destroyed the plant; their destruction was as flower blossoms were blown away in the wind like dust. Verses 25-30 indicated that the anger of the LORD would be so aroused that He would stretch out His hand against them to strike them beginning with an earthquake which would make the hills tremble. Note that this probably fixes the date of this chapter, as it refers to the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, (Amos 1:1; Zec 14:5 ). Many would die - "their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets." And then the LORD would summon nations from afar - He will lift up a banner to them, And whistle to them and they would come with speed, without delay, with their lethal weapons, like roaring lions - like the roaring of the sea, they would come. And as lions which lay hold of their prey, there would be no one to deliver the people of the LORD from them; leaving only darkness and sorrow in the land. The imagery of Isaiah was graphic, terrifying and inevitable.
[The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord & Zuck, Eds., Victor Books, USA, 1987, p. 1043]:
"5:26-30 When God's judgment would come on Judah, the nations of Egypt and Assyria (7:18), and later Babylon would respond as if God had raised a banner as a signal for war. Those nations would seemingly come from the ends of the earth, a phrase Isaiah used frequently to suggest people everywhere (5:26; 24:16; 40:28; 41:5, 9; 42:10; 43:6; 45:22; 48:20; 49:6; 52:10; 62:11). The soldiers, responding speedily, would be vigorous (5:27) and well armed. Their chariots would be fast (v. 28). Ferocious like lions (v. 29) they would completely devastate Judah (v. 30). They would cover Judah like a sea and blot out the sun like the clouds, a picture of distress and gloom."
(Isa 1:1 YLT) "The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he [had] seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
(Isa 1:2 NKJV) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: 'I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me:
(Isa 1:3 YLT) An ox [has] known its owner, And [a donkey] the crib of its master, Israel [has] not known, My people [have] not understood.
(Isa 1:4 YLT) Ah, sinning nation, a people heavy [with] iniquity, A seed of evil doers, sons - corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward.
(Isa 1:5 NKJV) Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
(Isa 1:6 NKJV) From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
(Isa 1:7 NKJV) Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
(Isa 1:8 YLT) And left [has] been the daughter of Zion, As a booth in a vineyard, As a lodge in a place of cucumbers - as a city besieged.'
(Isa 1:9 NKJV) Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant [lit., a few survivors], we would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah."