EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 5:30
In all directions, people see nothing but trouble. Their future is without hope.
vineyard ~ field where vines grow.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of vines; the juice makes wine.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of vines; the juice makes wine.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.
winepress ~ hole to collect juice of grapes.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of vines; the juice makes wine.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of vines; the juice makes wine.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.'self-centred ~ a description of someone who cares only about himself.
woe ~ a very sad cry because much pain is to come.
Sheol ~ the place where Jews thought that dead people went.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ a group of the later family of one father.
seize ~ to take a person’s possessions away from that person, either by law, or in a war. Or, to overcome a city or nation in order to rule it. Or, to take a person as a prisoner or a slave. Or, to hold something or someone firmly.
earthquake ~ when the earth shakes powerfully.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Assyria.
Babylonian ~ a person from the country called Babylon, or anything that has a relationship with the country called Babylon.
Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth
Isaiah Begins to *Prophesy
Isaiah Chapter s 1 to 6
Gordon Churchyard
The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.Chapter 5
Punishment from God
v1 Now I will sing [a song] for the person that I love. [I will sing] a song [to show my] love. [The song is] about his *vineyard.
‘The person that I love has a *vineyard.
It is on a hill where plants grow well.
v2 He dug [the ground] and he cleared away the stones.
He planted the best *vines in it.
That [person] built a place where he could watch [the *vineyard].
He also made a place to store *grapes there.
Then he expected [that the *vineyard would] produce [good] *grapes.
But it produced sour *grapes.’
v3 ‘And now [decide], you inhabitants of Jerusalem. [Decide], all you people that live in Judah. You, decide who was wrong. [Decide whether it was] me or my *vineyard.
v4 There was nothing else that I ought to have done for my *vineyard. I had done everything for it! I looked for [good] *grapes. [Tell me] why [my *vineyard] gave sour *grapes!
v5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my *vineyard. I will take away its hedge. Then [animals will come in and they will] eat [the *vines]. I will knock down the wall [of the *vineyard]. Then [the animals] will walk all over [the *vineyard].
v6 I will make the land [poor, so that it has] no use. Nobody will *prune the *vines [and nobody will] dig the ground round them. So weeds and *thorn bushes will grow there. I will order the clouds not to [drop] rain on it.
v7 Now the *vineyard [that] the *LORD of Everything [has] is a description of Israel. The plants [there] that he likes are a description of the people in Judah. The *LORD looked for what was fair and right. But he saw only the opposite. [He expected] goodness. But he heard only people that were crying for help.’
Notes
Isaiah Chapter s 1 to 4 are about the problems that the people in Jerusalem and Judah had. However, God makes promises to his people if they obey him. So there is also some good news in Isaiah Chapter s 1 to 4. But now, in chapter 5, there is no good news. Instead, God promises to punish the people in Jerusalem and Judah. We can divide the chapter into three groups of verses.1) Verses 1-7 are often called ‘the song about the *vineyard’. Or they are called ‘the story about the *vineyard’. They are also called ‘the parable (special story) about the *vineyard’. The writer has hidden inside the story what he really means. The song itself may only be in verses 1 and 2. But it may be all of verses 1b-7. (1b means the second part of verse 1.)
2) Verses 8-25 describe the wrong things that the people in Jerusalem and Judah have done.
3) Verses 26-30 describe how God will punish the people in Jerusalem and Judah. He will call a distant nation to do it. He does not tell us the name of that nation. Perhaps it was the nation called Assyria, whose army would come to punish the people in Israel, the northern country. Perhaps it was the nation called Babylon, whose army would come to punish the people in Judah, the southern country.
Verse 1 The love here is not the love between two people. It is the love with which God loves his people in Judah and Israel. A *vineyard is a place where people produce the fruit called *grapes. They make wine from the *grapes. But sometimes in the Bible, ‘*vineyard’ means ‘the people in Judah and Israel’. It has that meaning here, as it does in Isaiah 1:8 and Isaiah 3:14. We do not know when Isaiah wrote chapter 5. ‘B.C.’ means ‘years Before Christ came to the Earth’. The army from Assyria destroyed Israel in 722 B.C. If Isaiah wrote chapter 5 after that, then the ‘*vineyard’ means only Judah.
‘On a hill where plants grow well’ is more a guess than a translation. The *Hebrew words mean ‘on the horn of a son of oil’. ‘Horns’ (hard bony pieces) grow on the head of some animals. Cows, for example, have horns. People blew into horns to make music. Also, they used them as jugs, from which people poured out oil (1 Samuel 16:1). Some Bible students think that those *Hebrew words are the name of a place, Ben Shamen. But most Bible students prefer the translation ‘on a hill where plants grow well’. Isaiah sings a song for ‘the person that I love’. That person is God. ‘His *vineyard’ is ‘God’s *vineyard’.
Verse 2 A ‘vine’ is a plant that climbs up walls and fences. Different fruits grow on different kinds of *vines. They include *grapes. The *Hebrew word for ‘the best *vines’ is the name of a place, Sorek. It was a place where people produced good *grapes. So Bible students translate Sorek as ‘the best *vines’. The man that planted the *vineyard probably used stones. He may have used them to build a wall round his *vineyard. He certainly built a little house in it. He could sit in that house to keep away birds and thieves. He also made a place (a store) in which to store the *grapes. The house and the store showed that he expected a lot of good *grapes. But the *vineyard produced sour *grapes. ‘Sour *grapes’ is the translation of a *Hebrew word that probably means ‘fruit with a bad smell’. People could not use them to make wine.
Verses 3-4 Here God speaks by means of Isaiah. The song is probably over. God says that he could do nothing more for his *vineyard. That means that the problem was in the *vineyard. The problem was not in God!
Verse 5 When there is no hedge or wall, animals will destroy the *vineyard. There will be no more *grapes. There will be no more good *grapes and there will not even be any sour *grapes. This is a description of what Assyria’s or Babylon’s armies would do to Israel and Judah. God would not protect his people then. It was as if he would take away the wall. The wall had kept the enemies out.
Verse 6 The land will become the kind of land that has no use. This means that instead of *vines there will be weeds. *Thorn bushes are one type of weed that will grow. ‘Thorn bushes’ are bushes with sharp points (called ‘thorns’) that grow out of their branches. Nobody will *prune the *vines. When people *prune *vines, they cut off some branches. Then, other branches will have more fruit on them and that fruit will be better. ‘Thorn bushes’ reminds us about Genesis 3:18. There we read that thorn bushes would grow on the land. The end of verse 6 reminds us that only God can send rain.
Verse 7 *LORD is a special name for God. It probably means ‘always alive’. People did not do what was right and fair. The word ‘goodness’ here means ‘acts that are good, right and fair’. God looked at his people in Israel and Judah. But he did not see goodness in them. It was as if God was in a *vineyard. And he looked for good *grapes. But he found only sour *grapes, which smelt bad. God looked for goodness in his people. He expected them to be good, right and fair. But he found the opposite. They were bad, wrong and unfair.
v8 It will be very sad for the people that build [one] house [next] to [another] house. Also, they join [one] field to [another] field. [They do that] until there is no more room. Then you (those people) live alone on the land.
v9 I have heard the *LORD of Everything [promise this. He said], ‘It is certain that many houses will become empty. There will be large and beautiful houses in which nobody lives.
v10 Also, large areas of *vineyard will give only a small amount [of wine]. Huge amounts of seed will produce only a little [corn].’
v11 It will be very sad for the people that get up early in the morning. [They do that] so that they can get a drink of alcohol. They stay up late in the evening so that wine can make them into drunks.
v12 At [those people’s] parties, there is [music from] the lyre and harp (instruments with strings). [There is music from the] tambourine (instrument for rhythm) and from the flute (instrument to blow). [Those people enjoy] their wine. But they do not consider God’s works as valuable. They do not appreciate what he has made.
v13 So my people will go into *exile, because they do not understand [God]. Their leaders will starve. And very many people’s [mouths] will be very dry because they desperately need to drink.
v14 So *Sheol will open its mouth very wide to eat more [people]. The leaders and the people will go into it. [Death will take] the noisy crowds [into itself]. And [it will take into itself] the people that have parties [in Jerusalem].
v15 So [the *LORD] will make people humble. Then [God] will make everybody low! [He will] take away their proud looks.
v16 But [he], the *LORD of Everything, [is] right and fair. [And that] will make him great! The holy God will prove that he is holy by his very great goodness.
v17 Then the sheep will eat grass as [they do in] their own fields. Beggars (people that ask for food or money) will eat in the large houses [that the enemy] ruined.
v18 It will be very sad for the people that tie themselves to *sin. [It is as if they were using] stupid [pieces of] string. [They pull] *sin [along] as [a horse pulls] a cart with ropes (very thick strings).
v19 [It will be very sad for] those that say this. ‘Let [the *LORD] hurry! Let him do his work quickly so that we can see it. Let the plan of the *Holy [God] of Israel come near. Let it happen. Then we will really know [that it is true]!’
v20 It will be very sad for the people that call evil things good. Also, [they call] good things evil. Those [people] say that darkness is light. And [they say] that light is darkness. Those [people] say that bitter things are sweet. And [they say that] sweet things are bitter.
v21 It will be very sad for the people that are wise in their own opinion. They think that they are clever.
v22 It will be very sad for the people that are great in their own opinion. [They think it] because they drink a lot of wine. Also, some people mix drinks that contain alcohol. And those drinks make [them seem] strong. [It will be very sad] for those people too.
v23 People [that have done wrong things] give money to those people. Then they do not punish the people that have done wrong things. [But] they are not right and fair towards innocent people.
v24 Therefore, [those people are like plants whose] roots will rot (change to dirt). [That will happen] as [certainly as] flames burn straw. And as fire burns away dry grass, their flowers will blow away like dust. [This will happen] because they refused to obey the laws of the *LORD of Everything. And they laughed at what the Holy [God] of Israel said. [They laughed at it] in a bad way.
v25 For that reason the *LORD became angry with his people. He punished them like someone that hits them with his hand. And the mountains shook. And [his people’s] dead bodies were like rubbish in the streets. Yet [the *LORD] is still angry with them, although [he has already done] all this. And his hand is still ready [to hit them again].
Notes
Verses 8-25 contain 6 sections that start in the same way. Each section starts with the words ‘it will be very sad for’ certain people. In those sections, we learn this. God will punish people that do these things:• They buy all the houses and lands, so that the poor people cannot find anywhere to live (verses 8-10).
• They drink too much alcohol at parties and they forget God. They forget that they should act rightly and fairly (verses 11-17).
• They ask God to do what he has promised. But they do not believe that God can do it (verses 18-19).
• They tell lies (verse 20).
• They think that they know everything. But really, they know nothing (verse 21).
• They are not fair when they are judges over the people. That is because the judges are drunks (verses 22-23).
Verse 8 The people will be sad because God will punish them. We know that they did wrong things. We know it because God will punish them. They were rich people. They built houses for themselves. They bought all the fields. As a result, poorer people could find nowhere to live. That still happens in many places. Only the rich people lived on that land. They had no neighbours.
Verse 9 The word ‘promise’ is not in the *Hebrew Bible. The text there just has ‘In my ears the *LORD of Everything’. People may have big houses. But they will become empty and then nobody will live in them.
Verse 10 Not only will the houses be empty, but also the fields will not give good crops. The crops of *grapes (to make wine) will be poor. So will the crops of corn (to make bread). Our translation has the words ‘large areas’, ‘small’, ‘huge amounts’ and ‘little’. Those are all *Hebrew measurements. We are not sure what some words among them mean. Also, the words that mean ‘wine’ and ‘corn’ are not in the *Hebrew text.
Verse 12 The ‘lyre’, ‘harp’, ‘tambourine’ and ‘flute’ are musical instruments. Together, they would make a small orchestra. The lyre and harp have strings. People hit the tambourine and they shake it. In that way, they produce rhythm. People blow into the flute. Those instruments would provide music at the parties while people were becoming drunks. But in addition to that, there is something else that God does not like. It is this. These people have also forgotten what God has done. They have forgotten what he has made. A more exact translation of the *Hebrew words is this. ‘They do not appreciate the works of his hands.’
Verse 13 ‘In *exile’ means the situation where people have to live away from their own country. They are there because enemies have taken them away. In 722 *B.C., Israel’s people went into *exile. They went to Assyria. In 587 *B.C., Judah’s people went into *exile. They went to Babylon. They did not understand why they had to go. Verse 12 tells us this. They did not understand what God was doing. There will be little food and not much to drink. Perhaps verse 10 explains why that will be so. As a result, many people will die.
Verse 14 The inhabitants of Judah and Israel used to say that people went to Sheol after death. By ‘Sheol’, they meant a dark place under the ground. The word Sheol includes the idea of punishment. Sheol means death. Isaiah describes death as if it has a mouth. Death eats people with its mouth! Like the leaders and people, death is hungry! The *Hebrew words mean ‘her people’ and ‘her leaders’. ‘Her’ probably refers to Jerusalem.
Verse 15 The first part of this verse repeats Isaiah 2:9. Here, ‘make low’ is another way to say ‘make humble’. In *exile, the people will not be proud any longer. They will be servants and slaves.
Verse 16 But the *LORD will be even greater! Only he can be proud of the wonderful things that he has made. He is right to have pride in these things because he is fair. ‘Very great goodness’ means the good things that God does.
Verse 17 When the people have gone from the towns, animals will feed in their houses. But the enemy will have made the houses into heaps of stones. Some Bible students think that ‘the sheep’ means the *Jews. They also think that the beggars were foreigners. ‘Beggars’ are people that ask other people for things. They ask for food or for money. Assyria’s armies usually moved foreigners into countries that its armies had defeated.
Verse 18 This verse is very difficult to understand. And so it is very difficult to translate. It seems that people have bad habits. They are always doing those bad things. They have tied themselves to their bad habits as a piece of strong string ties things together! God will punish those people. ‘Ropes’ are very thick strings. A horse pulls a cart by means of ropes. They are very strong. It is not easy to break them. Similarly, it is not easy to stop one’s sin (wrong deeds). ‘Sin’ is when we do not obey God.
Verse 19 These people speak to God in a proud way. This is what they want to tell him: ‘Do something! That will prove that your words are really true! Then we will believe you!’ In fact, they probably mean this: ‘Do what you have said. Send us into *exile.’ They do not really think that God will do it. They will not believe God’s plans until they happen. The ‘Holy [God] of Israel’ is a name for God. It is also in Isaiah 1:4. Isaiah uses ‘Holy’ as a name for God.
Verse 20 These are people that speak lies. They say that truth is really not true. And they say that lies are the truth.
Verse 21 This verse links with verse 13. These people think that they are clever. But they do not believe what God has done. So really, they are not clever, but they are stupid!
Verses 22-23 Probably here, the same people that become drunks are also the judges. Because they are drunks, they do not punish criminals. Also, they are not fair to innocent people. They drink strong drinks that contain alcohol. Some examples of those are beer and wine. People then imagine that they are strong. But usually they are not strong then, especially when they mix different drinks!
Verses 24-25 The 6 sections above started with ‘it will be very sad’. These verses finish those 6 sections. Nobody can stop a fire that burns straw and dry grass. So nobody will be able to stop God! Isaiah describes the people as if they were plants. Their roots will rot. (A plant ‘rots’ as it dies. It first becomes soft and damp. And then it changes into dirt.) As it happens for a plant, their flowers will die. And then the flowers will blow away in the wind. Nothing whatever will remain! At the beginning of verse 25, the *Hebrew words mean this. ‘His anger burned against his people.’ That links verses 24 and 25 together. Because also verse 24 is about a fire that burns. The *LORD used the enemies of his people to punish them. He used the enemies to defeat his people. The *Hebrew words for ‘punished’ mean ‘lifted his hand against them’. It is a description of somebody that is hitting somebody else. Notice that the beginning of verse 25 is in the past tense. There are two reasons for that.
1) Isaiah is referring to the past war in Isaiah 1:2-9. That war has ruined the whole country.
2) A similar thing will happen again in the future. Judah will go into *exile in Babylon then. Because that is so certain to happen, Isaiah puts it into the past tense! In Isaiah’s mind, it is almost as if it had happened already.
When the ground shakes, we call it an ‘earthquake’. Perhaps Isaiah meant the earthquake in Amos 1:1 and Zechariah 14:5. Or perhaps he meant a future earthquake.
v26 [The *LORD] will send a signal to distant nations. And he will [blow his] whistle to [a nation that is a long way away. It is at] the ends of the earth. And look! Here [its army] comes, at great speed!
v27 Nobody is tired. Nobody falls down. Nobody rests. Nobody sleeps. Nobody has a loose belt. And not one shoe has a strap (strip of leather to fasten it) that has broken.
v28 Their arrows are sharp and their bows are ready to shoot. Their horses’ feet are [as hard as] stones. And their wheels [on their chariots (carts that soldiers rode in) go as fast] as a strong wind.
v29 Their roar is like a lion’s [roar]. They make a noise like a young lion. They make a low, angry noise as they seize their prey (animals that they catch for food). They carry it away and nobody can rescue it.
v30 On that day [the enemies] will make a low, angry noise over their prey (what they catch to eat). Their roar will be like the [roar of the] sea. And if anybody looks at that country, they will see darkness. And [they will see] people that are afraid. Also, clouds [of dust] will hide the light [of the sun].
Notes
This section describes the enemy that will attack God’s people.Verse 26 The *LORD calls to a distant nation. But Isaiah does not say which this distant nation is. The army of that nation comes at great speed.
Verse 27 The soldiers have come a long way. But they are not tired when they arrive. Neither are their clothes untidy. A ‘strap’ of a shoe is a piece of leather. It fastens the shoe onto the foot.
Verse 28 The soldiers’ equipment is efficient. The horses’ feet (called ‘hoofs’) are very hard. So the roads will not hurt them. The horses pull chariots. ‘Chariots’ were special carts in which soldiers rode.
Verses 29-30 The enemies frighten people by the noise that they make. In the same way, a lion makes a low, angry noise to frighten its prey. ‘Prey’ is what an animal catches to eat. The army moves quickly. So a lot of dust rises up round it. That dust hides the light that comes from the sun.
Something to do
1. Isaiah wrote about God’s *vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7. *Vines grow in *vineyards. Study also what Jesus said about *vines (John 15:1-8). There, Jesus gave a special description of himself and of his people. He said that he is the true *vine. And his people are the branches. Compare those two parables. ‘Parables’ are stories with a special meaning inside them. They help us to understand people and things. Here, they help us to understand God.
2. Isaiah 5:8-25 is often called the ‘Book of Woes’. ‘Woes’ are sad feelings. We have those feelings when trouble comes. Also Jesus said that it would be very sad for some people. You will find what he said in Matthew 23:13-33. The *Jews did not have their own government when Jesus gave that list. Leaders in Rome ruled over the *Jews. So Jesus told bad leaders of religion that it would be very sad for them. Read what Jesus said. Then compare it with what Isaiah said.
3. In the Book of Revelation, there are more things that will make people feel very sad. Read Revelation chapter 9 and compare it with Isaiah 5:26-30. In Isaiah, God used armies from Assyria. And later he used armies from Babylon. What kind of armies does he use in Revelation chapter 9?
4. Read through Isaiah Chapter s 1 to 5. Make sure that you can find these things:
• what happened when Isaiah was alive.
• what happened when Jesus first came to the Earth.
• what will happen when Jesus will come to the Earth again.
Isaiah chapter 6: God appoints Isaiah to be a *prophet
heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.prophesy ~ tell people what God is saying.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
vineyard ~ a field where people grow grapes.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
vine ~ a plant on which fruits grow. In the Book of Isaiah, the fruits are grapes.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
prune ~ cut off part of a plant to make the plant grow better.
thorns ~ plants which have sharp points on their branches.
LORD ~ a special name for God that only his servants should use. It is not a translation. It represents the Hebrew word YHWH. It probably means that God is always alive.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
thorns ~ plants which have sharp points on their branches.
exile ~ a person whom enemies force to live away from his own home or country. Or, the place where that person has to live.
Sheol ~ death. Many people thought that your spirit went to a place called Sheol after the death of your body.
sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
vine ~ a plant on which fruits grow. In the Book of Isaiah, the fruits are grapes.
grapes ~ fruits that people use to make wine.
prophet ~ someone who says what God is saying. There is a note at Isaiah 1:1.