Isaiah 5:3-6

Context

5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,¹

people² 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,³

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.⁴

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,⁵

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

[5:3] ²tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:5] ³tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

[5:5] ⁴tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

[5:6] ⁵tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.