The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and their leaders: “It is you who have eaten up the vineyard. The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
- BSB The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.
- NKJV The Lord will enter into judgment With the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
- NASB The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
- NLT The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The LORD brings charges against the elders and leaders for plundering His people, the poor. The nation's leaders are indicted for exploiting the vulnerable.
Overview
God's people are pictured as His vineyard, which the leaders have devoured for their own gain. The plunder of the poor stored in their houses is direct evidence of their guilt. God's special concern for the oppressed shines through, reflecting His just and compassionate character.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Job 22:4Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
- Isa 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
- Jas 2:6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
- Jer 5:27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
- Amos 4:1Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
- Ps 143:2And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
- Job 24:9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
- Ps 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
- Isa 3:2–3The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
- Mic 2:2And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
- Job 34:23For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
- Mic 6:10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
- Matt 21:33Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
- Job 24:2–7Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 3:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.