Isaiah 5:1

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I ¹  will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard. ² 

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill. ³ 

Isaiah 12:1-6

12:1 At that time ⁴  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ⁵ 

I will trust in him ⁶  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ⁷ 

he has become my deliverer.” ⁸ 

12:3 Joyfully you will draw water

from the springs of deliverance. ⁹ 

12:4 At that time ¹⁰  you will say:

“Praise the Lord!

Ask him for help! ¹¹ 

Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!

Make it known that he is unique! ¹² 

12:5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things,

let this be known ¹³  throughout the earth!

12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,

for the Holy One of Israel ¹⁴  acts mightily ¹⁵  among you!”

[5:1]  ¹ tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.

[5:1]  ² sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ⁸ tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”

[12:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “victory.”

[12:4]  ¹³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “call in his name,” i.e., “invoke his name.”

[12:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “bring to remembrance that his name is exalted.” The Lord’s “name” stands here for his character and reputation.

[12:5]  ¹⁶ tc The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), which is a Hophal participle from יָדַע (yada’), understood here in a gerundive sense.

[12:6]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[12:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “is great” (TEV). However, the context emphasizes his mighty acts of deliverance (cf. NCV), not some general or vague character quality.