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Isaiah 5:8
ESV Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
NIV Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
NASB Woe to those who attach house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
CSB Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land.
NLT What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.
KJV Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

What does Isaiah 5:8 mean?

Beginning with this verse, Isaiah describes some of the sour grapes (Isaiah 5:2) the Israelites have produced instead of bearing the good fruit the Lord wants to see from them. He officially declares the Lord's "woe" upon the greediness of the wealthy in Judah.

They were buying up the houses and land of their neighbors. These were not merely properties their neighbors could no longer afford. Rather, these were properties which had been in their families for generations, passed down from father to son. The rich among them were only too happy to snap up their farms and houses when the poor were forced to sell. Although technically legal, this amassing of land by some over others was not God's intention for His people. The Lord built provisions into the Law so properties could stay in families for generations. This went as far as the Year of Jubilee where the Lord built in a schedule where all property was returned to its original owners. (Leviticus 25:23–28; Ezekiel 46:16–18).

One result of buying up of houses and land was that one person or one family would be left alone and isolated from others in the middle of their land. It was never the Lord's intention that we live in isolation. They occupied great houses and many acres all alone while the poor were left to make do in in cramped quarters. The result of this wealth was not the useful fruit which the Lord had intended for his people.
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