Глава 5

1–7. A song about an ungrateful vineyard and its judge. 8–10. Sevenfold woe upon the insatiable acquirers of real estate, 11–17. on devotees to the feasts, 18–19. on unbelieving scoffers, 20. on those who do not recognize the difference between good and evil, 21. on the proud, 22. on drunkards, 23. and on violators of justice. 24–30. The threat to the wicked people of Israel from the invasion of a distant, alien, powerful people. Isa.5:1–7. The prophet appears here as a lyrical poet, but his song contains a truth of a completely tragic nature. The prophet sings about the work of his beloved Lord, who planted his vineyard, that is, the chosen people, in a beautiful place and granted them all the conditions for a prosperous existence. However, this vineyard did not produce wonderful grapes, but bad berries, unfit for consumption. The listeners of this parable-song must say for themselves what the Almighty has the right to do with such a vineyard. But since the listeners cannot admit guilt, the Lord Himself determines for His vineyard or, what is also the case for the Jews, their future fate, which promises to be very sad. Isa.5:1. I will sing to my Beloved the song of my Beloved about His vineyard. My Beloved had a vineyard on the top of a fattened mountain, “I will sing” from Hebrew. “I begin to sing about my Friend: this is a song about His love for His vineyard.” The prophet wants to depict the relationship of his friend (as Jehovah Himself is figuratively called here) to His vineyard, as the chosen people are often called in Scripture (cf. Is. 3:14; Jer. 2:21; Jer. 12:10; Matt. 21:33). This vineyard was grown on the most convenient soil - on the ledges of the mountain, most open to the action of the sun's rays. “Bacchus loves open hills,” says Virgil, (George II, 113). Isa.5:2. and He surrounded it with a fence, and cleared it of stones, and planted choice vines in it, and built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a winepress in it, and expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild berries. “And He surrounded it with a fence” - more precisely from Hebrew. dug or dug up for planting grapevine cuttings. “I cleared it of stones” - from large stones, while a small stone serves to anchor the vines in the soil. Towers in the vineyard were arranged so that the vineyard guard could observe from there the integrity of the vines, which could be damaged mainly by cattle. “Whetstone” is the actual lower vat, located in the ground, into which grape juice flowed from the upper vat, where the grapes were crushed. Selected grapes - according to Euro. soreк (ass. Sarka), i.e. predominantly dark red in color. “Wild berries” are poor quality berries. Isa.5:3. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. Isa.5:4. What more should I have done for My vineyard that I have not done for it? Why, when I expected him to bring good grapes, did he bring wild berries? Isa.5:5. Therefore I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be desolate; I will break down its walls, and it will be trampled upon, Isa.5:6. and I will leave it desolate: they will neither prune it nor dig it, but it will be overgrown with thorns and thistles, and I will command the clouds not to rain rain on it. The Beloved speaks here, i.e. the Most High. “Fence” – (v. 5) – low stone walls around the vineyard, 1–2 arshins in height. “Pruning” the vines (Article 6) was necessary to give them greater fertility. The vineyard soil was dug up several times a year to increase its fertility. Isa.5:7. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His beloved planting. And He waited for justice, but behold - bloodshed; I was waiting for the truth, and then - a cry. The parable with which the Lord spoke in v. 3-6. to Israel, is explained here. “Cry,” that is, the cries of people offended by powerful people are heard among the people. Isaiah 5:8–23. The Jews will be severely punished for their sins and crimes. Those who encroach on other people's possessions will suffer: their own lands will be devastated and the income from them will decrease. People who spend all their time in pleasure will suffer from hunger and thirst and will eventually be swallowed up by the gaping jaws of the underworld. Slaves of sin, who blatantly deny the existence of Providence and the inevitability of God’s judgment over people, will soon experience the brunt of this judgment. Other sinners will also pay for their sins. Isa.5:9. The Lord of hosts said in my ears: these many houses will be empty, large and beautiful - without inhabitants; The Law of Moses required that each Israeli family should own only its own, designated plot of land from the beginning of the taking of the Promised Land (Lev.25:23). But the Jews repeatedly violated this law in various ways (see 1 Kings 21). Mainly, rich people tried to take possession of large plots of land because the wheat cultivated on these plots was in ancient times the most profitable item of trade and the land, one might say, was a goldmine in Palestine. Isaiah, like other prophets, pays special attention to this abnormality, due to which a few rich people became the owners of vast expanses of land and masses of houses, and the rest of the population had to work for them for a piece of bread, gradually turning into a real proletariat. Moreover, since wheat was cultivated for export abroad, ordinary Jewish villagers did not have enough bread for themselves and their families. In addition, this created a gap between the separate classes of the people, while the law did not establish any distance, no difference in the social status of the Israelis, and then the integrity of the state was endangered, which could only be defended by people who felt in it not as mercenaries, but as masters to whom the land was theirs. It should be noted that the prophet, however, announcing woe to such Jews who sought to expand their possessions, does not incite the people to forcibly restore the original boundaries of the possessions of each Jewish family, but only wants to influence these violators of the Law of Moses with the threat of the wrath of God (v. 10). The prophets were generally against any violence... Isa.5:10. ten plots of vineyard will yield one bath, and a homer of grain sown will barely yield an ephah. “Baht” is a measure of liquids about one epic measure or 34, 44 French liters. A “homer” was equal to ten ephas or baths. Rich Jews will receive ten times less than what they sow. Isa.5:11. Woe to those who look for strong drink from early morning and warm themselves with wine until late in the evening; “Siker” is an intoxicating drink made from apples or other fruits, even from bread, but wheat (like our beer); 7 “Wine” was made from grapes, which at that time were famous for their taste. The Prophet Isaiah here arms himself against drunkenness, a vice that began to spread among the Jews since the time of Solomon, whose example undoubtedly affected people close to the palace. (1 Kings 4:20). The excess in wine made the drink the most widespread and drunkenness thus had rich soil for itself. The prophets, seeing all the harm from this hobby, tried in every possible way to reason with their listeners, who were even proud of their ability to drink as much wine as possible (cf. v. 22). Isa.5:12. and the harp and harp, the tambourine and the pipe, and the wine at their feasts; but they do not look at the works of the Lord and do not think about the work of His hands. “Zither” is an empty wooden box with strings stretched across the top (in Heb. kinnor). “Gusli” is a harp (in Hebrew nebel). “Tympanum” is a hand tambourine or tambourine (in Hebrew, toph). “Pipe” – flute (in Hebrew cholil). Isa.5:13. For this reason, my people will go into captivity unexpectedly, and their nobles will starve, and their rich people will languish with thirst. "Unforeseen". - The people, without any guilt behind them, will have to suffer because of the excesses that the rich allowed themselves. Isa.5:14. Therefore, the underworld expanded and opened its mouth without measure: and their glory and their wealth, and their noise and everything that makes them happy, will descend there. Isa.5:15. And man will bow, and man will humble himself, and the eyes of the proud will droop; “He will bow down” - that is, he will repent. Isa.5:16. and the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the Holy God will reveal His holiness in righteousness. Isa.5:17. And the sheep will graze of their own accord, and strangers will eat the rich pastures left behind by the rich. By “sheep” we can mean poor Jews, who previously had no place in Palestine, since all the lands were in the possession of a few rich people. After all the rich and noble Jews were taken into captivity, the poor remaining in Judea could freely choose their fields anywhere. Isa.5:18. Woe to those who drag iniquity upon themselves with ropes of vanity, and sin as with the straps of a chariot; “They attract” - it is more correct to translate: “they incur God’s punishment for their crimes.” In this sense, these words of the prophet are understood by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, and Saint John Chrysostom, as well as some of the newest interpreters. The punishment, one might say, is firmly established and attached to the wicked Jews, just as a cart is firmly tied to the animal carrying it. Isa.5:19. who say: “Let Him make haste and hasten His work, so that we may see, and may the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to fruition, so that we may know!” “His work,” i.e., His judgment on us. Isa.5:20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who consider darkness to be light and light to be darkness, who consider bitter to be sweet and sweet to be bitter! Isa.5:21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding in themselves! “Those who are wise in their own eyes” do not want to know the law of God. Isa.5:24–30. For their crimes, all sinners will suffer heavy punishment from God; their corpses will be lying everywhere - a sign that some terrible epidemic will begin, but this is not enough. God will call against the sinful Jews from a distant side such an enemy who, like a lion, will rush at the chosen people and take many Jews captive. Isa.5:25. Therefore the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against His people, and He will stretch out His hand against them and smite them, so that the mountains will tremble, and their corpses will be like dung in the streets. And despite all this, His anger will not be turned away, and His hand will still be stretched out. “His hand... will be stretched out,” that is, this execution will be for Judea only the beginning of its disasters. Isa.5:26. And he will raise a banner to the distant nations, and give a sign to those who live on the ends of the earth, and behold, he will come easily and quickly; “He will raise a banner” - indicates a place for the assembly of troops going to Judea. “Far peoples” - most likely, here the prophet means the Assyrians and the peoples neighboring and subject to them. Isa.5:27. He will not have anyone who is tired or weary; no one will slumber or fall asleep, and the belt of his waist will not be removed, and the thong of his shoes will not be torn; Isa.5:28. his arrows are sharpened, and all his bows are drawn; The hoofs of his horses are like flint, and his wheels are like a whirlwind; Isa.5:29. his roar is like the roar of a lioness; he roars like the skimn, and roars, and seizes the prey and carries it away, and no one will take it away. The Assyrians were indeed distinguished by their tirelessness in campaigns and their ability to use all means of military art. Isa.5:30. And on that day it will roar against him like the roar of an angry sea; and he will look at the earth, and behold - darkness, grief, and the light has faded in the clouds. "Here is the darkness." These words depict the impression that will be made on the Jews by the invasion of the powerful and numerous Assyrians, who walked with great noise (like the sound of the sea). Critics are fairly unanimous in dividing chapter five into three parts: 1–7, 8–24, and 26–30. The first part maintains a well-known rhythm throughout its entire length. Verse 1 – 2 half 2 art. 1 stanza – in 4 half lines. – 2, 2 Stanza 2 – in 4 half lines. – 2, 2 3rd stanza – from 6 half lines. – 3, 3 Stanzas 1 and 2 – 2 half lines each. – 2, 2 This song was probably composed a little after the appearance of the prophet’s previous speeches, around 735. The second part does not, in general, raise serious objections regarding its authenticity, although criticism almost unanimously considers Articles 15 and 16. insert, which could be placed below, since its content is too general and does not fit the list of specific punishments that began in verse 14. 17th Art. also, according to Condamin, it should be placed after the 10th, as it is more suitable to it in its content. The stanzas in this part, which also probably appeared around 735, can be distributed as follows: 8–10 and 17 verse – 1 stanza – 2, 3, 3 Verse 11–14 – stanza 2 – 3, 3, 2 Verse 18–23 – stanza 3 – 3, 3, 3 As for the third part, Condamin suggests that it originally had a different place - namely Art. 24–25 after 9 ch. 16th century and Art. 26–30 – after 8 chapters. 20th Art., since they are more suitable in their content to those departments. But the said critic does not present other, more convincing, grounds for his hypothesis, and what has been said is very insufficient to make such a change. Ambiguous interpretation. The fact is that in Palestine and among the Greeks, “strong drink” was made from the fruits of the date palm and was, in fact, date vodka. The Aramaic concept of “strong drink” meant an intoxicating, intoxicating drink, technology close to mead or brewing, without race. That is, an intoxicating drink of natural origin. In Isaiah in the Slavic version in Is. 5:11 - “woe to those who rise up in the morning and strong drink to those who persecute.” Thus, the point of view that this is trivial moonshine is confirmed. Note ed. You might be interested in: