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Pentecost Season · Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A

Isaiah 5:1-7

The Song of the Vineyard

The Red Vineyard, Vincent van Gogh
The Red Vineyard, Vincent van Gogh, 1888Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow · public domain

Overview & Insights

“The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel… he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed.” (Isaiah 5:7)

Judgment Missed and Demonstrated: In length and theme chapter 5 pairs with chapter 1 and closes a bracket around 2:2–4:6. Chapter 5 comprises a mock love song; a series of woes that will be completed in 10:1–4; and a warning about Yahweh’s outstretched hand that will continue in chapter 9. In contrast to 1:1–2:1 and 2:2–4:6, no positive note is struck at the beginning or the end. Chapters 1–5 come to a close as bleak as their opening. Rebellion and darkness ultimately bracket them.

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What is the Song of the Vineyard?

Isaiah sings a love song about a carefully tended vineyard that yields only wild grapes, then reveals it is Israel: God looked for justice but saw bloodshed. It stands directly behind Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants.

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