Isaiah 5:1-7

Context

Isaiah 5:1-7 is commonly called the "Song of the Vineyard." According to Isaiah 1:1, Isaiah prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

The song opens with the prophet singing of the vineyard of his "wellbeloved" (a close friend). The owner dug up the ground on a very fruitful hill, gathered out the stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He even built a tower and made a winepress, yet the vineyard "brought forth wild grapes." Beginning in verse 3, the speaker shifts to the owner himself, who calls on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah: "judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard" (Isaiah 5:3). Then, in verse 7, he reveals that the vineyard is the house of Israel and the vine is the men of Judah.

The passage leads the hearers to pronounce a verdict first and then turns that verdict back upon them. For this reason it is often compared to the story Nathan told David (2 Samuel 12). The "woe" oracles that follow in 5:8-30 rebuke land-grabbing, drunkenness, bribery, and similar sins, spelling out in concrete terms the indictment of verse 7.

Interpretation

• Prophetic reading: Many commentators read this unit as a declaration of judgment on the injustice of eighth-century BC Judean society. Verse 7 is known for its Hebrew wordplay: God looked for justice (mishpat) but found bloodshed (mispach), for righteousness (tsedaqah) but found a cry (tse'aqah). The KJV renders it, "he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." This reading holds that the fruit God expected was social justice.
• Literary reading: This approach focuses on the structure, which begins as a love song and turns into a courtroom indictment. It views the passage as employing the technique of the parable, first winning the audience's sympathy and then reversing it.
• Reading alongside the New Testament: Christian interpreters read Jesus' parable of the wicked tenants (Mark 12:1-12 and parallels) together with this passage, since that parable borrows its language, such as the hedge, the winepress, and the tower. Some also connect it with the image of the vine in John 15, reading it as background for "a fruitful life."

Questions Concerning Application

This passage is not the subject of marked doctrinal controversy among denominations. Nevertheless, several questions have been raised.

• Can it be applied to the church today? The passage explicitly names Israel and Judah as its subject. Some therefore point out that applying the vineyard to the church or to believers is an interpretation mediated through the New Testament parables and should be acknowledged as such. Others, citing Romans 11 and related passages, urge caution toward readings in which Israel is cast off and the church takes its place.
• Is the declaration of desolation final? In connection with the declaration of desolation in verse 6, interpreters also note that Isaiah 27:2-6 sings again of a restored vineyard.

In the Korean Church

Both the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render the term as "wild grapes" (deulpodo). In Korean Protestant preaching, the expression is used to describe a faith that has only outward form or a life without fruit. Verse 7 is cited in sermons on justice and righteousness.

Related Passages

• Isaiah 27:2-6
• Psalm 80:8-16
• Mark 12:1-12
• John 15:1-8
• Micah 6:6-8