15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased , The eyes of the proud also will be abased . 16 But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment , And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness . 17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture , And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy .
18 Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood , And sin as if with cart ropes ; 19 Who say , "Let Him make speed , let Him hasten His work , that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass , that we may know it!" 20 Woe to those who call evil good , and good evil ; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness ; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter ! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight e ! 22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink , 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe , And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right ! 24 Therefore , as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame , So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust ; For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel . 25 On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people , And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down . And the mountains quaked , and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets . For all this His anger is not spent , But His hand is still stretched out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 5:15-25
Commentary on Isaiah 5:8-23
(Read Isaiah 5:8-23)
Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. Those who set their hearts upon the world, will justly be disappointed. Here is woe to those who dote upon the pleasures and the delights of sense. The use of music is lawful; but when it draws away the heart from God, then it becomes a sin to us. God's judgments have seized them, but they will not disturb themselves in their pleasures. The judgments are declared. Let a man be ever so high, death will bring him low; ever so mean, death will bring him lower. The fruit of these judgments shall be, that God will be glorified as a God of power. Also, as a God that is holy; he shall be owned and declared to be so, in the righteous punishment of proud men. Those are in a woful condition who set up sin, and who exert themselves to gratify their base lusts. They are daring in sin, and walk after their own lusts; it is in scorn that they call God the Holy One of Israel. They confound and overthrow distinctions between good and evil. They prefer their own reasonings to Divine revelations; their own devices to the counsels and commands of God. They deem it prudent and politic to continue profitable sins, and to neglect self-denying duties. Also, how light soever men make of drunkenness, it is a sin which lays open to the wrath and curse of God. Their judges perverted justice. Every sin needs some other to conceal it.
Commentary on Isaiah 5:24-30
(Read Isaiah 5:24-30)
Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking people, he can find instruments to be employed in it, as he sent for the Chaldeans, and afterwards the Romans, to destroy the Jews. Those who would not hear the voice of God speaking by his prophets, shall hear the voice of their enemies roaring against them. Let the distressed look which way they will, all appears dismal. If God frowns upon us, how can any creature smile? Let us diligently seek the well-grounded assurance, that when all earthly helps and comforts shall fail, God himself will be the strength of our hearts, and our portion for ever.