Song of the Vineyard
1I will sing about the one I love,
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.5:2 Jr 2:21
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected5:2 Is 40:31 it to yield good grapes,
3So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
4What more could I have done for my vineyard
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,5:5 Ps 80:12
and it will be trampled.
6I will make it a wasteland.5:6 2Ch 36:19–21; Is 7:19–25; 24:1,3; 27:2–6; Jr 25:11
It will not be pruned or weeded;
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies
is the house of Israel,5:7 Ps 80:8–11
and the men5:7 Lit man of Judah,
the plant he delighted in.
He expected justice
but saw injustice;
he expected righteousness
but heard cries of despair.
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8Woe to those who add house to house5:8 Jr 22:13–17; Mc 2:2; Hab 2:9–12
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9I heard the Lord of Armies say:
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10For a ten-acre5:10 Lit ten-yoke vineyard will yield
only six gallons of wine,5:10 Lit one bath
and ten bushels5:10 Lit one homer of seed will yield
only one bushel of grain.5:10 Lit yield an ephah
11Woe to those who rise early in the morning
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
and they do not see the work of his hands.5:12 Ex 32:16; 34:10; Ps 8:3,6; 19:1; 92:4–5; Is 10:12; 29:23
13Therefore my people will go into exile
her5:13 Lit its dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who celebrate in her!
15Humanity is brought low, each person is humbled,
and the holy God5:16 Is 6:3 demonstrates his holiness through his righteousness.5:16 Is 8:13; 29:23; 1Pt 3:15
17Lambs will graze
as if in5:17 Syr reads graze in their own pastures,5:17 Mc 2:12
and resident aliens5:17 LXX reads sheep will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who drag iniquity
with cords of deceit5:18 Pr 5:22; Is 59:4–8; Jr 23:10–14
and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19to those who say,
“Let him hurry up and do his work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan5:19 Jb 38:2; 42:3; Ps 33:11; 106:13; 107:11; Pr 19:21; Is 14:26; 19:17; 46:10–11 of the Holy One of Israel5:19 Is 1:4 take place
so that we can know it!”
20Woe to those who call evil good
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21Woe to those who consider themselves wise
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at pouring beer,5:22 Is 5:11
and deprive the innocent of justice.
24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
the instruction of the Lord of Armies,
and they have despised
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
Look — how quickly and swiftly they come!
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29Their roaring is like a lion’s;5:29 Jdg 14:5; Hs 13:8; Jl 1:6; Nah 2:12–13
they roar like young lions;5:29 Rv 9:17
they growl and seize their prey
and carry it off,
and no one can rescue it.
30On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.5:30 Lit its clouds
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