1 L et me sing of and for my greatly Beloved a tender song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.

Let me sing, I pray you, for my beloved, A song of my beloved as to his vineyard: My beloved hath a vineyard in a fruitful hill,

2 A nd He dug and trenched the ground and gathered out the stones from it and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the midst of it and hewed out a winepress in it. And He looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!

3 A nd now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.

And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

4 W hat more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to bring forth grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

What -- to do still to my vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I waited to the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!

5 A nd now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten and burned up; and I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down.

And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place.

6 A nd I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or cultivated, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

And I make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain.

7 F or the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant planting. And He looked for justice, but behold, oppression and bloodshed; for righteousness (for uprightness and right standing with God), but behold, a cry!

Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.

8 W oe to those who join house to house and join field to field until there is no place for others and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!

Wo those joining house to house, Field to field they bring near, till there is no place, And ye have been settled by yourselves In the midst of the land!

9 I n my ears the Lord of hosts said, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and beautiful ones shall be without inhabitant.

By the weapons of Jehovah of Hosts Do not many houses a desolation become? Great and good without inhabitant!

10 F or ten acres of vineyard shall yield only about eight gallons, and ten bushels of seed will produce but one bushel.

For ten acres of vineyard do yield one bath, And an homer of seed yieldeth an ephah.

11 W oe unto those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who tarry late into the night till wine inflames them!

Wo those rising early in the morning, Strong drink they pursue! Tarrying in twilight, wine inflameth them!

12 T hey have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, neither do they consider the operation of His hands.

And harp, and psaltery, tabret, and pipe, And wine, have been their banquets, And the work of Jehovah they behold not, Yea, the work of His hands they have not seen.

13 T herefore My people go into captivity without knowing it and because they have no knowledge. And their honorable men are famished, and their common people are parched with thirst.

Therefore my people removed without knowledge, And its honourable ones are famished, And its multitude dried up of thirst.

14 T herefore Sheol (the unseen state, the realm of the dead) has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure; and nobility and her multitude and her pomp and tumult and who exults in her descend into it.

Therefore hath Sheol enlarged herself, And hath opened her mouth without limit. And gone down hath its honour, and its multitude, And its noise, and its exulting one -- into her.

15 A nd the common man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.

And bowed down is the low, and humbled the high, And the eyes of the haughty become low,

16 B ut the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and God, the Holy One, shows Himself holy in righteousness and through righteous judgments.

And Jehovah of Hosts is high in judgment, And the Holy God sanctified in righteousness,

17 T hen shall the lambs feed as in their own pasture, and the desolate places of the rich shall sojourners and aliens eat.

And fed have lambs according to their leading, And waste places of the fat ones Do sojourners consume.

18 W oe to those who draw with cords of iniquity and falsehood, who bring punishment to themselves with a cart rope of wickedness,

Wo those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as thick ropes of the cart -- sin.

19 W ho say, Let make haste and speed His vengeance, that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!

Who are saying, `Let Him hurry, Let Him hasten His work, that we may see, And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Draw near and come, and we know.'

20 W oe 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!

Wo those saying to evil `good,' And to good `evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

21 W oe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent and shrewd in their own sight!

Wo the wise in their own eyes, And -- before their own faces -- intelligent!

22 W oe to those who are mighty heroes at drinking wine and men of strength in mixing alcoholic drinks!—

Wo the mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink.

23 W ho justify and acquit the guilty for a bribe, but take away the rights of the innocent and righteous from them!

Declaring righteous the wicked for a bribe, And the righteousness of the righteous They turn aside from him.

24 T herefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be like rottenness and their blossom shall go up like fine dust—because they have rejected and cast away the law and the teaching of the Lord of hosts and have not believed but have treated scornfully and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised.

25 T herefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people, and He has stretched forth His hand against them and has smitten them. And the mountains trembled, and their dead bodies were like dung and sweepings in the midst of the streets. For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still stretched out.

Therefore hath the anger of Jehovah burned among His people, And He stretcheth out His hand against it, And smiteth it, and the mountains tremble, And their carcase is as filth in the midst of the out-places. With all this His anger did not turn back, And still His hand is stretched out!

26 A nd He will lift up a signal to call together a hostile people from afar, and will hiss for them from the end of the earth, and behold, they shall come with speed, swiftly!

And He lifted up an ensign to nations afar off, And hissed to it from the end of the earth, And lo, with haste, swift it cometh.

27 N one is weary or stumbles among them, none slumbers or sleeps; nor is the girdle of their loins loosed or the latchet (thong) of their shoes broken;

There is none weary, nor stumbling in it, It doth not slumber, nor sleep, Nor opened hath been the girdle of its loins, Nor drawn away the latchet of its sandals.

28 T heir arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.

Whose arrows sharp, and all its bows bent, Hoofs of its horses as flint have been reckoned, And its wheels as a hurricane!

29 T heir roaring is like that of a lioness, they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it safely away, and there is none to deliver it.

Its roaring like a lioness, It roareth like young lions, And it howleth, and seizeth prey, And carrieth away safely, and there is none delivering.

30 A nd in that day they shall roar against like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; and the light will be darkened by the clouds of it.

And it howleth against it in that day as the howling of a sea, And it hath looked attentively to the land, And lo, darkness -- distress, And light hath been darkened by its abundance!