What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

ISAIAH 5:4KJV
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Isaiah 5:4 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 5:4 mean?

Isaiah 5:4 describes God asking what more He could have done for His people, pictured as a vineyard, since He cared for them fully but they produced disappointing results—wild grapes instead of good fruit. The verse expresses God’s frustration and sorrow that, despite His efforts, His people did not respond as He hoped.

In this verse, God is speaking through Isaiah to the people of Judah. The vineyard is a picture of Israel, and God is the one who planted and tended it with care. The “wild grapes” represent the injustice and unrighteousness that the people produced, even though God had given them every opportunity to thrive and do good.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 5:4

  • done (עָשָׂה, ʿasah): This word appears several times and means “to do” or “to make.” God repeats it to emphasize that nothing was left undone in His care for the vineyard—He did everything possible.
  • vineyard (כֶּרֶם, kerem): This word refers to a cultivated vineyard, highlighting the idea that Israel was specially tended and valued by God.
  • grapes (עֵנָב, enav) and wild grapes (בְּאֻשִּׁים, be’ushim): “Grapes” are the expected good fruit, while “wild grapes” are sour or worthless fruit. The contrast shows the disappointment between what God hoped for and what actually happened.

Why Isaiah 5:4 matters

  • Isaiah 5:4 clears up the idea that God was somehow neglectful or unfair; instead, it stresses that God did everything possible for His people.
  • The verse highlights personal responsibility, showing that the failure was not in God’s care, but in the people’s response.
  • This verse connects to the larger passage, where Isaiah uses the vineyard image to set up a warning about coming judgment, making clear that the consequences are not arbitrary but follow from the people’s choices.

Where else these words appear

“grapes” Hebrew H891 · used in 2 verses

  • Isaiah 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

“wherefore” Hebrew H4069 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
  • Exodus 1:18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
  • Exodus 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

“grapes” Hebrew H6025 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
  • Numbers 13:20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
  • Nehemiah 13:15 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

“looked” Hebrew H6960 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
  • Psalms 40:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
  • Isaiah 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.