« | Isaiah 5 | » |
1 Now I will sing to my Beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
2 And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with choice vines, and built a tower in its midst, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and He looked for it to produce grapes. And it produced wild grapes.
3 And now, O people of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Who knows? I looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes.
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down;
6 and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor dug; but briers and thorns shall come up. And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.
7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant; and He looked for justice, but behold bloody iniquity; for righteousness, but behold a cry!
8 Woe to those who join house to house, laying field to field, until the end of space, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
9 Jehovah of Hosts swore in my ears, Truly many houses shall be deserted, big and fair, without inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning to go after strong drink; tarrying in the twilight while wine inflames them!
12 And the lyre, and the harp, the timbrel, and pipe, and wine, are at their feasts; but they do not regard the work of Jehovah. Yea, they do not see the work of His hands.
13 For this My people go into exile without knowledge, and their honorable men into famine, and his multitude is dried up with thirst.
14 So hell has enlarged itself, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pride, and he who rejoices in her, shall go down into it.
15 And man is bowed down, and man is humbled and the eyes of the lofty are humbled.
16 But Jehovah of Hosts is exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed in their way, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin with cart ropes;
19 who say, Let Him hurry and hasten His work, so that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, so that we may know!
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those wise in their own eyes, and bright in their own sight!
22 Woe to those mighty to drink wine, and brave men to mix strong drink;
23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 So, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame burns up the chaff; their root shall be like rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up like dust, because they have cast away the Law of Jehovah of Hosts, and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled on His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them, and has stricken them; and the hills trembled, and their dead bodies were as filth in the midst of the streets. In all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
26 And He will lift up a banner to distant nations, and will hiss to them from the ends of the earth; and behold, they shall come with swift speed.
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the waistcoat of their loins be loosened, nor the thong of their sandals be broken;
28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions; for, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea; and one looks to the land, behold darkness, and lo, darkness! Distress! And the light shall be darkened by its clouds.
The Modern King James Version (MKJV)
The Modern King James Version (MKJV) is a contemporary English translation of the Bible that aims to preserve the majesty and accuracy of the original King James Version (KJV) while updating its language for modern readers. Developed by Jay P. Green Sr. and first published in 1990, the MKJV seeks to maintain the literary beauty and doctrinal reliability of the KJV, making only necessary adjustments to archaic terms and phrases to enhance readability. This careful balance allows the MKJV to retain the classic feel of the KJV while making it more accessible to today’s audience.
One of the standout features of the MKJV is its commitment to formal equivalence, or word-for-word translation. The translators have meticulously preserved the structure and vocabulary of the KJV, only updating words and phrases that have become outdated or whose meanings have shifted over time. This approach ensures that the MKJV remains faithful to the original texts and maintains the theological and literary integrity of the KJV. By preserving the cadence and phrasing of the original, the MKJV offers a reading experience that is both familiar and refreshed for modern readers.
The MKJV also pays special attention to the textual basis of the translation. Like the KJV, it relies on the Textus Receptus for the New Testament and the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament. This adherence to traditional source texts underscores the MKJV’s commitment to continuity with the historic Christian tradition. The translation is designed to serve both devotional and scholarly purposes, providing a text that is suitable for study, teaching, and public reading in a variety of settings.
Despite its strengths, the Modern King James Version has faced some criticism. Some scholars and readers argue that the translation could benefit from a more extensive revision to fully embrace contemporary language, suggesting that the MKJV’s adherence to the structure and style of the KJV may still pose challenges for modern readers. Others appreciate the balance it strikes but note that it occupies a niche space, appealing primarily to those who have a strong attachment to the KJV. Nonetheless, the MKJV remains a respected and valued translation for those seeking a modern update of the KJV that honors its rich heritage and timeless message.