Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Study Note
Study Note
'For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry' — the allegory of the vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–7) reaches its interpretive conclusion with the explicit identification of vineyard as Israel and the devastating wordplay of its punchline. The Hebrew paronamasia is untranslatable precisely: 'mishpat' (justice) versus 'mispach' (bloodshed); 'tsedaqah' (righteousness) versus 'tse'aqah' (outcry) — the sonic proximity makes the moral distance all the more devastating. The vineyard song has been read as a juridical parable in which the audience pronounces judgment on themselves before realizing the application — a structure Jesus replicates in the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33–46), which explicitly recalls this passage. The 'cry' of oppression connects the verse to the blood of Abel and the cry of Sodom (Genesis 4:10; 18:20), embedding it in the cosmic moral grammar of the Hebrew Bible.
Other Translations
For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry.
Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts <FI>Is<Fi> the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.
For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.
Cross References
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel …
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard …
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall …
Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is …
And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring …
If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;