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A Song about a Vineyard

The Lord said:

(A) I will sing a song
    about my friend's vineyard
that was on the side
    of a fertile hill.
My friend dug the ground,
removed the stones,
    and planted the best vines.
He built a watchtower
and dug a pit in rocky ground
    for pressing the grapes.
He hoped they would be sweet,
but bitter grapes
    were all it produced.

Listen, people of Jerusalem
    and of Judah!
You be the judge of me
    and my vineyard.
What more could I have done
    for my vineyard?
I hoped for sweet grapes,
but bitter grapes
    were all that grew.

Now I will let you know
    what I am going to do.
I will cut down the hedge
    and tear down the wall.
My vineyard will be trampled
    and left in ruins.
It will turn into a desert,
    neither pruned nor hoed;
it will be covered
    with thorns and briars.
I will command the clouds
    not to send rain.

I am the Lord All-Powerful!
    Israel is the vineyard,
and Judah is the garden
    I tended with care.
I had hoped for honesty
    and for justice,
but dishonesty
and cries for mercy
    were all I found.

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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(H)
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
    and it will be trampled.(K)
I will make it a wasteland,(L)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(N) on it.”

The vineyard(O) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(P) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)

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