1 L et me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard: My well-beloved had a vineyard upon a fruitful hill.

2 H e dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

And he dug it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine; and he built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

3 “ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

4 “ What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

What was there yet to do 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?—

5 “ So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

And now, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden under foot;

6 “ I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

and I will make it a waste—it shall not be pruned nor cultivated, but there shall come up briars and thorns; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

7 F or the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Woes for the Wicked

For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plant of his delight: and he looked for justice, and behold, blood-shedding; for righteousness, and behold, a cry.

8 W oe to those who add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!

Woe unto them that add house to house, that join field to field, until there is no more room, and that ye dwell yourselves alone in the midst of the land!

9 I n my ears the Lord of hosts has sworn, “Surely, many houses shall become desolate, Even great and fine ones, without occupants.

In mine ears Jehovah of hosts, Many houses shall assuredly become a desolation, great and excellent ones, without inhabitant.

10 “ For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain.”

Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah.

11 W oe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

Woe unto them that, rising early in the morning, run after strong drink; that linger till twilight, wine inflameth them!

12 T heir banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

And harp and lyre, tambour and flute, and wine are in their banquets; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, nor do they see the operation of his hands.

13 T herefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.

Therefore my people are led away captive from lack of knowledge, and their nobility die of famine, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

14 T herefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

Therefore doth Sheol enlarge its desire, and open its mouth without measure; and her splendour shall descend, and her multitude, and her tumult, and that is joyful within her.

15 S o the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased.

And the mean man shall be bowed down, and the great man brought low, and the eyes of the lofty shall be brought low;

16 B ut the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.

and Jehovah of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God hallowed in righteousness.

17 T hen the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy.

And the lambs shall feed as on their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

18 W oe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes;

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes!

19 W ho say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!”

who say, Let him hasten, let him speed his work, that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

20 W oe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe unto them 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 W oe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!

22 W oe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink,

Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink;

23 W ho justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

who justify the wicked for a bribe, and turn away the righteousness of the righteous from them!

24 T herefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore as a tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and dry grass sinketh down in the flame, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; for they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 O n this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.

Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

26 H e will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.

And he will lift up a banner to the nations afar off, and will hiss for one from the end of the earth; and behold, it will come rapidly lightly.

27 N o one in it is weary or stumbles, None slumbers or sleeps; Nor is the belt at its waist undone, Nor its sandal strap broken.

None among them is weary, none stumbleth; they slumber not, nor sleep; none hath the girdle of his loins loosed, nor the thong of his sandals broken;

28 I ts arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.

their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.

29 I ts roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions; It growls as it seizes the prey And carries it off with no one to deliver it.

Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar as the young lions; yea, they growl, and snatch the prey, and carry it away safe, and there is none to deliver;

30 A nd it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.