A Holy Branch of the Lord Will Survive

1 In that day seven women will desperately seize one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take our disgracea away from us!”

A Holy Branch of the Lord Will Survive

2 In that day the Branch of the L will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and gloryb of the survivors in Israel. 3 And it will come about that everyone who is recorded as living in Jerusalem— that is, everyone who is left in Zion and who remains in Jerusalem— will be called holy 4 when the Lord has washed away the filth from the daughters of Zion and rinsed the blood from the midst of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the L will create a cloud of smoke by day and a bright flaming fire by night over all the foundations of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there. There will be a canopy over all the glory. 6 It will be a shelter to give shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and a protection from the storm and rain.

Part 3. Woes to a Wasted Vineyard

5Isaiah

Song of the Vineyard

1 Now I will sing for my beloved a song about my beloved and his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up, removed its stones, and planted it with the finest grapevines. He built a watchtower in the middle of it, and he even dug out a winepress.c And he expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced bitter grapes.

a “Disgrace”: the disgrace (in those times) of being single and/or childless. b Literally, “and adornment.” c Winepresses were oftentimes dug out of the chalk or limestone bedrock of Israel. Grapes were put in a treading area, and the juice flowed into a vat, where it fermented.

3 “Now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I haven’t done for it?

Why did it produce only bitter grapes when I expected it to produce good grapes? 5 Now I’ll tell you what I’m doing to my vineyard:

I’m taking away its hedge, and it will be burned;

I’m breaking down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I’ll make it a waste, neither pruned nor hoed, and briars and thorns will come up;

I’ll command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the L of Armies is the house of Israel, and the people of

Judah are the plants he delighted in.

And he expected justice, but he saw bloodshed; righteousness, but he heard a cry of distress.

Woes to the Wicked

8 Woe to you who join house to house and connect field to field until there’s no room left, and you live alone in the land. 9 In my ears the L of Armies has said, “Surely many houses will become desolate; the largest and best will have no occupants. 10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only twenty bottlesa of wine; a half a bushelb of seed will yield only two quartsc of grain.” 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning to chase after their liquor, who stay up at night till wine inflames them. 12 At their feasts, there’s a harp and a lyre, a tambourine and a flute, and wine; but they don’t even notice the works of the L; they don’t see what he has done with his hands. 13 That’s why my people go into exile for lack of knowledge, their honored men will suffer starvation, and their crowds will be parched with thirst. 14 That’s why the graved has expanded its appetite—opened its mouth without limit—and Jerusalem’s nobles and masses, their brawlers and revelers, will go down into it. 15 Therefore people will be humbled, everyone will be made low, and the eyes of the proud will be brought low.

a Literally, “a bath,” whereas an acre normally produces more than a thousand bottles. b Literally, “a homer.” c Literally, “an ephah,” whereas a bushel of seed would normally produce over three hundred quarts. d Literally, “Sheol.”

16 But the L of Armies will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be shown to be holy by his righteousness. 17 Then lambs will graze as in their own pasture, and strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich. 18 Woe to those who pull sin behind them with ropes of lies, drag sin along as with cart ropes, and 19 mockingly say, “Let God hurry; let him rush his work so we may see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come near and come to pass, so we may know it.” 20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, exchange darkness for light and light for darkness, and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and discerning in their own sight. 22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine and great ones at mixing drinks, 23 who exonerate the wicked for a bribe but take away justice from the righteous. 24 Therefore, as a flamea of fire consumes straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their roots will decay, and their blossom will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the L of Armies, and they have spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the L has burned against his people; his hand has stretched out against them and struck them. The mountains quaked, and the dead bodies were like garbage in the middle of the streets. Even with all this, his anger isn’t turned away, and his hand is still stretched out. 26 He will lift up a sign for the distant nations; he will whistle for those at the end of the earth. And look, they’ll come swiftly and speedily! 27 No one will be weary or stumble or be drowsy or sleepy; no belt will be loosened at their waists, and no sandal strap will be torn. 28 Their arrows will be sharp, and all their bows strung; their horses’ hooves will seem like flint and their chariot wheels like a windstorm. 29 Their roar will be like the lion. They’ll roar like young lions and growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue them.