Isaiah 5:3
in Isaiah 5“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
KJV
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
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This verse in Isaiah 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 3, 4.) Now therefore, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? I have done everything I could for it; I planted it in the best soil, built a protective wall around it, carefully selected stones, and raised its branches with sturdy poles and supports. The vine itself was not just any vine, but a chosen and fruitful one.
This site's exposition
And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem
on Isaiah 5:3-4
The song turns from story to trial, as the LORD asks Jerusalem and Judah to "judge between Me and My vineyard" in their own case. The question "What more could I have done for My vineyard" is the argument, since nothing further was owed and nothing further could have been tried. The vineyard parable Jesus told at Matthew 21:33 takes up this same setup.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
159. And now, O you inhabitants. Here the questioning of the court is set out, and concerning this, he does two things. First, he beseeches the judges, saying: therefore, because I did what I ought to have done, now, my reason having been heard, judge …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah,....
By an enumeration of the sins that did abound among them, with a threatening of punishments that should answer to the sins. Covetousness, and greediness of worldly wealth, which shall be punished with famine,
They had the scriptures, the lively oracles, a standing ministry in the priests and Levites, besides what was extraordinary in the prophets. No nation had statutes and judgments so righteous.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And now, &c.--appeal of God to themselves, as in Isa 1:18; So Jesus Christ, in Mt 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" (De 32:6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Inhabitants - ישבי yoshebey, in the plural number; three MSS., (two ancient), and so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֛ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יוֹשֵׁ֥ב | yoshev | O inhabitant[s] of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְאִ֣ישׁ | veish | and everyone of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| שִׁפְטוּ־ | shiftu- | judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| נָ֕א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| בֵּינִ֖י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵ֥ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| כַּרְמִֽי׃ | karmi | vineyard my | H3754 → | 92 times |
וְעַתָּ֛הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
יוֹשֵׁ֥בO inhabitant[s] of
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְאִ֣ישׁand everyone of
veishH376 →1663 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
שִׁפְטוּ־judge
shiftu-H8199 →202 times
נָ֕אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
בֵּינִ֖יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵ֥יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
כַּרְמִֽי׃vineyard my
karmiH3754 →92 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 3:4Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
it leads to
- Psalms 51:4
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Psalms 116:11
In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”
- Galatians 2:17
But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Psalms 51:4
Through
Psalms 51:4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:13–14
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- Luke 15:21
The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- Genesis 39:9
No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin…
- 2 Samuel 12:13–14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.