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Selected Verse: Isaiah 5:3 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 5:3	Strong Concordance	And now, O inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], and men [0376] of Judah [03063], judge [08199], I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard [03754].
	King James	And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
And now, &c.--appeal of God to themselves, as in Isa 1:18; Mic 6:3. So Jesus Christ, in Mat 21:40-41, alluding in the very form of expression to this, makes them pass sentence on themselves. God condemns sinners "out of their own mouth" (Deu 32:6; Job 15:6; Luk 19:22; Rom 3:4).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

And now, &c.--appeal of God to themselves, as in Isa 1:18; Mic 6:3. So Jesus Christ, in Mat 21:40-41, alluding in the very form of expression to this, makes them pass sentence on themselves. God condemns sinners "out of their own mouth" (Deu 32:6; Job 15:6; Luk 19:22; Rom 3:4).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And now ... - This is an appeal which God makes to the Jews themselves, in regard to the justice and propriety of what he was about to do. A similar appeal he makes in Mic 6:3 : 'O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me.' He intended to "punish" them Isa 5:5-6, and he appeals to them for the justice of it. He would do to them as they would do to a vineyard that had been carefully prepared and guarded, and which yet was valueless. A similar appeal he makes in Isa 1:18; and our Saviour made an application remarkably similar in his parable of the vineyard, Mat 21:40-43. It is not improbable that he had his eye on this very place in Isaiah; and it is, therefore, the more remarkable that the Jews did not understand the bearing of his discourse.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The song of the beloved who was so sorely deceived terminates here. The prophet recited it, not his beloved himself; but as they were both of one heart and one soul, the prophet proceeds thus in Isa 5:3 and Isa 5:4 : "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard! What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore did I hope that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes?" The fact that the prophet speaks as if he were the beloved himself, shows at once who the beloved must be. The beloved of the prophet and the lover of the prophet (yâdid and dōd) were Jehovah, with whom he was so united by a union mystica exalted above all earthly love, that, like the angel of Jehovah in the early histories, he could speak as if he were Jehovah Himself (see especially Zac 2:12-13). To any one with spiritual intuition, therefore, the parabolical meaning and object of the song would be at once apparent; and even the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah (yoosheeb and iish are used collectively, as in Isa 8:14; Isa 9:8; Isa 22:21, cf., Isa 20:6) were not so stupefied by sin, that they could not perceive to what the prophet was leading. It was for them to decide where the guilt of this unnatural issue lay - that is to say, of this thorough contradiction between the "doing" of the vineyard and the "doing" of the Lord; that instead of the grapes he hoped for, it brought forth wild grapes. (On the expression "what could have been done," quid faciendum est, mah-la'asoth, see at Hab 1:17, Ges. 132, Anm. 1.) Instead of למה (למּה) we have the more suitable term מדּוּע, the latter being used in relation to the actual cause (Causa efficiens), the former in relation to the object (Causa finalis). The parallel to the second part, viz., Isa 50:2, resembles the passage before us, not only in the use of this particular word, but also in the fact that there, as well as here, it relates to both clauses, and more especially to the latter of the two. We find the same paratactic construction in connection with other conjunctions (cf., Isa 12:1; Isa 65:12). They were called upon to decide and answer as to this what and wherefore; but they were silent, just because they could clearly see that they would have to condemn themselves (as David condemned himself in connection with Nathan's parable, Sa2 12:5). The Lord of the vineyard, therefore, begins to speak. He, its accuser, will now also be its judge.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The song of the beloved who was so sorely deceived terminates here. The prophet recited it, not his beloved himself; but as they were both of one heart and one soul, the prophet proceeds thus in Isa 5:3 and Isa 5:4 : "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard! What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore did I hope that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes?" The fact that the prophet speaks as if he were the beloved himself, shows at once who the beloved must be. The beloved of the prophet and the lover of the prophet (yâdid and dōd) were Jehovah, with whom he was so united by a union mystica exalted above all earthly love, that, like the angel of Jehovah in the early histories, he could speak as if he were Jehovah Himself (see especially Zac 2:12-13). To any one with spiritual intuition, therefore, the parabolical meaning and object of the song would be at once apparent; and even the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah (yoosheeb and iish are used collectively, as in Isa 8:14; Isa 9:8; Isa 22:21, cf., Isa 20:6) were not so stupefied by sin, that they could not perceive to what the prophet was leading. It was for them to decide where the guilt of this unnatural issue lay - that is to say, of this thorough contradiction between the "doing" of the vineyard and the "doing" of the Lord; that instead of the grapes he hoped for, it brought forth wild grapes. (On the expression "what could have been done," quid faciendum est, mah-la'asoth, see at Hab 1:17, Ges. 132, Anm. 1.) Instead of למה (למּה) we have the more suitable term מדּוּע, the latter being used in relation to the actual cause (Causa efficiens), the former in relation to the object (Causa finalis). The parallel to the second part, viz., Isa 50:2, resembles the passage before us, not only in the use of this particular word, but also in the fact that there, as well as here, it relates to both clauses, and more especially to the latter of the two. We find the same paratactic construction in connection with other conjunctions (cf., Isa 12:1; Isa 65:12). They were called upon to decide and answer as to this what and wherefore; but they were silent, just because they could clearly see that they would have to condemn themselves (as David condemned himself in connection with Nathan's parable, Sa2 12:5). The Lord of the vineyard, therefore, begins to speak. He, its accuser, will now also be its judge.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Inhabitants - ישבי yoshebey, in the plural number; three MSS., (two ancient), and so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate.

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⁴ God forbid [3361] [1096]: yea [1161], let [1096] God [2316] be [1096] true [227], but [1161] every [3956] man [444] a liar [5583]; as [2531] it is written [1125], That [3704] thou mightest [302] be justified [1344] in [1722] thy [4675] sayings [3056], and [2532] mightest overcome [3528] when [1722] thou [4571] art judged [2919].

²² And [1161] he saith [3004] unto him [846], Out of [1537] thine own [4675] mouth [4750] will I judge [2919] thee [4571], thou wicked [4190] servant [1401]. Thou knewest [1492] that [3754] I [1473] was [1510] an austere [840] man [444], taking up [142] that [3739] I laid [5087] not [3756] down [5087], and [2532] reaping [2325] that [3739] I did [4687] not [3756] sow [4687]:

⁶ Thine own mouth [06310] condemneth [07561] thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips [08193] testify [06030] against thee.

⁶ Do ye thus requite [01580] the LORD [03068], O foolish [05036] people [05971] and unwise [02450]? is not he thy father [01] that hath bought [07069] thee? hath he not made [06213] thee, and established [03559] thee?

³ O my people [05971], what have I done [06213] unto thee? and wherein have I wearied [03811] thee? testify [06030] against me.

¹⁸ Come now [03212], and let us reason together [03198], saith [0559] the LORD [03068]: though your sins [02399] be as scarlet [08144], they shall be as white [03835] as snow [07950]; though they be red [0119] like crimson [08438], they shall be as wool [06785].

⁴⁰ When [3752] the lord [2962] therefore [3767] of the vineyard [290] cometh [2064], what [5101] will he do [4160] unto those [1565] husbandmen [1092]?
⁴¹ They say [3004] unto him [846], He will miserably [2560] destroy [622] those [846] wicked men [2556], and [2532] will let out [1554] his vineyard [290] unto other [243] husbandmen [1092], which [3748] shall render [591] him [846] the fruits [2590] in [1722] their [846] seasons [2540].
⁴² Jesus [2424] saith [3004] unto them [846], Did ye [314] never [3763] read [314] in [1722] the scriptures [1124], The stone [3037] which [3739] the builders [3618] rejected [593], the same [3778] is become [1096] [1519] the head [2776] of the corner [1137]: this [3778] is [3844] the Lord's [2962] doing [1096], and [2532] it is [2076] marvellous [2298] in [1722] our [2257] eyes [3788]?
⁴³ Therefore [1223] [5124] say I [3004] unto you [5213], [3754] The kingdom [932] of God [2316] shall be taken [142] from [575] you [5216], and [2532] given [1325] to a nation [1484] bringing forth [4160] the fruits [2590] thereof [846].

⁵ And now go to; I will tell [03045] you what I will do [06213] to my vineyard [03754]: I will take away [05493] the hedge [04881] thereof, and it shall be eaten up [01197]; and break down [06555] the wall [01447] thereof, and it shall be trodden down [04823]:
⁶ And I will lay [07896] it waste [01326]: it shall not be pruned [02168], nor digged [05737]; but there shall come up [05927] briers [08068] and thorns [07898]: I will also command [06680] the clouds [05645] that they rain [04305] no rain [04306] upon it.

³ O my people [05971], what have I done [06213] unto thee? and wherein have I wearied [03811] thee? testify [06030] against me.

⁵ And David's [01732] anger [0639] was greatly [03966] kindled [02734] against the man [0376]; and he said [0559] to Nathan [05416], As the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], the man [0376] that hath done [06213] this thing shall surely [01121] die [04194]:

¹² Therefore will I number [04487] you to the sword [02719], and ye shall all bow down [03766] to the slaughter [02874]: because when I called [07121], ye did not answer [06030]; when I spake [01696], ye did not hear [08085]; but did [06213] evil [07451] before mine eyes [05869], and did choose [0977] that wherein I delighted [02654] not.

¹ And in that day [03117] thou shalt say [0559], O LORD [03068], I will praise [03034] thee: though thou wast angry [0599] with me, thine anger [0639] is turned away [07725], and thou comfortedst [05162] me.

² Wherefore, when I came [0935], was there no man [0376]? when I called [07121], was there none to answer [06030]? Is my hand [03027] shortened [07114] at all [07114], that it cannot redeem [06304]? or have I no power [03581] to deliver [05337]? behold, at my rebuke [01606] I dry up [02717] the sea [03220], I make [07760] the rivers [05104] a wilderness [04057]: their fish [01710] stinketh [0887], because there is no water [04325], and dieth [04191] for thirst [06772].

¹⁷ Shall they therefore empty [07324] their net [02764], and not spare [02550] continually [08548] to slay [02026] the nations [01471]?

⁶ And the inhabitant [03427] of this isle [0339] shall say [0559] in that day [03117], Behold, such [03541] is our expectation [04007], whither we flee [05127] for help [05833] to be delivered [05337] from [06440] the king [04428] of Assyria [0804]: and how shall we escape [04422]?

²¹ And I will clothe [03847] him with thy robe [03801], and strengthen [02388] him with thy girdle [073], and I will commit [05414] thy government [04475] into his hand [03027]: and he shall be a father [01] to the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], and to the house [01004] of Judah [03063].

⁸ The Lord [0136] sent [07971] a word [01697] into Jacob [03290], and it hath lighted [05307] upon Israel [03478].

¹⁴ And he shall be for a sanctuary [04720]; but for a stone [068] of stumbling [05063] and for a rock [06697] of offence [04383] to both [08147] the houses [01004] of Israel [03478], for a gin [06341] and for a snare [04170] to the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389].

¹² And the LORD [03068] shall inherit [05157] Judah [03063] his portion [02506] in the holy [06944] land [0127], and shall choose [0977] Jerusalem [03389] again.
¹³ Be silent [02013], O all flesh [01320], before [06440] the LORD [03068]: for he is raised up [05782] out of his holy [06944] habitation [04583].

⁴ What could have been done [06213] more to my vineyard [03754], that I have not done [06213] in it? wherefore [04069], when I looked [06960] that it should bring forth [06213] grapes [06025], brought it forth [06213] wild grapes [0891]?

³ And now, O inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], and men [0376] of Judah [03063], judge [08199], I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard [03754].