Isaiah 5:22-25

Woe to the Wicked

22 Woe to those who are z heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
 23 who a acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!

24 Therefore, b as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so c their root will be d as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have e rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
and have f despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
 25 Therefore g the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and h the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were i as refuse
in the midst of the streets.
j For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:11
    Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
  2. Cross References
    Exodus 23:8
    And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
    Proverbs 17:15
    He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 47:14
    Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!
    Joel 2:5
    As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.
    Exodus 15:7
    In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
  4. Cross References
    Job 18:16
    His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.
  5. Cross References
    Hosea 5:12
    But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:9
    For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord.
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:4
    Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
  8. Cross References
    2 Kings 22:13
    "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
    2 Kings 22:17
    Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:24
    I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.
    Psalms 97:5
    The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
    Habakkuk 3:6
    He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.
  10. Cross References
    2 Kings 9:37
    And the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.'
    Jeremiah 36:30
    Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 9:12
    The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
    Isaiah 9:17
    Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
    Isaiah 9:21
    Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
    Isaiah 10:4
    Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.