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.
Let me sing for my loved one a love song about His grape-field: My loved one had a grape-field on a hill that grows much fruit.
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.
He dug all around it and took away its stones, and planted it with the best vine. He built a tower in the center of it, and cut out a place in it for crushing grapes. Then He expected it to give good grapes, but it gave only wild grapes.
3 “ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard.
“And now, O people living in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My grape-field.
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 more was there to do for My grape-field that I have not done for it? When I expected it to give good grapes, why did it give 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.
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to My grape-field. I will take away its fence and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall and it will be crushed 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.”
I will make it a waste. It will not be taken care of, and thistles and thorns will come up. I will also tell the clouds not to rain on 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 grape-field of the Lord of All is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the vines He planted. So He looked for what is right and fair, but He saw blood poured out. He looked for what is right and good, but He heard a cry of those in trouble. It Is Bad for the Sinful
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!
It is bad for those who join house to house and field to field until there is no empty space, and you have to live alone in 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.
The Lord of All has sworn in my ears, “For sure, many houses will be laid waste. Large and beautiful houses will be empty.
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.”
For ten fields of vines will give only eleven large bottles of wine. And 110 jars of seed will give only eleven jars of grain.”
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!
It is bad for those who get up early in the morning to run after strong drink! It is bad for those who stay up late in the evening that they may get drunk!
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.
They have harps, a noise-maker, a horn, and wine at their special suppers. But they do not think about the works of the Lord. They do not think of the work 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.
So My people are taken away to strange lands because they have not been wise. Their men of honor are dying because they are hungry. Their people are dried up because they are thirsty.
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.
So the grave has become larger and has opened its mouth wide. And Jerusalem’s greatness, her people, her sounds of wild joy, and those who are happy with sin go down into it.
15 S o the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
Man’s pride will be taken away. Important men will be put to shame. The eyes of the proud also will be put to shame.
16 B ut the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
But the Lord of All will be honored in what is right and fair. The holy God will show Himself holy in what is right and good.
17 T hen the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy.
Then the lambs will eat as in their field. And strangers will eat in the waste places of the rich.
18 W oe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes;
It is bad for those who pull sin along with ropes of lies, who pull wrong-doing as with a wagon rope,
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 hurry. Let Him be quick to do His work, that we may see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel be done, 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!
It is bad for those who call what is sinful good, and good sinful, who say dark is light and light is dark, who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!
21 W oe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!
It is bad for those who are wise in their own eyes, and who think they know a lot!
22 W oe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
It is bad for those who are good at drinking wine, and are proud as they 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!
They take money in secret for saying that bad people are good. And they take away the rights of those who are not guilty.
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.
So, as fire destroys what is left of the cut grain and dry grass falls into the fire, so their root will waste away and their flower blow away like dust. For they have turned away from the Law of the Lord of All. They have hated 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.
Because of this the anger of the Lord has burned against His people. He has put out His hand against them and destroyed them. The mountains shook. Their dead bodies lay like waste in the center of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is still put out.
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.
He will raise up flags as a sign to the nations far away. He will call for them from the ends of the earth, and they will hurry to come.
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.
Not one of them is tired or falls. No one sleeps. Not a belt is loosened at the waist, or a shoe string 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 their bows are ready. The feet of their horses are like hard stone. And the wheels of their war-wagons are like a strong-wind.
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 noise is like that of a female lion. They sound like young lions. They make an angry noise as they take their food, and carry it away where no one can take it from them.
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.
In that day they will make an angry noise over it like the noise of the sea. If one looks to the land, he will see darkness and trouble. Even the light is made dark by its clouds.