Song of the Vineyard

I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(A)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(B)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(C) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(D)

So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between Me
and My vineyard.
What more could I have done for My vineyard
than I did?(E)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,(F)
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,(G)
and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland.(H)
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.(I)
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the house of Israel,(J)
and the men[a] of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:7 Lit man

The Song of the Vineyard

Let me sing for my beloved
    a song of my love concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard[a] on a fertile hill.[b]
And he dug it and cleared it of stones,
    and he planted it with choice vines,[c]
and he built a watchtower in the middle of it,
    and he even hewed out a wine vat in it,
and he waited for it to yield grapes—
    but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men[d] of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?
    Why did I hope for it to yield grapes, and it yielded wild grapes?

And now let me tell you what I myself am about to do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge, and it shall become a devastation.
    I will break down its wall, and it shall become a trampling.
And I will make it a wasteland;
    it shall not be pruned and hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers[e] and thornbushes.[f]
    And concerning the clouds, I will command them not to send[g] rain down upon it.
For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel,
    and the man[h] of Judah is the plantation of his delight.
And he waited for justice,[i]
    but look! Bloodshed![j]
For righteousness,[k]
    but look! A cry of distress![l]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:1 Literally “A vineyard was for my beloved”
  2. Isaiah 5:1 Literally “a horn of a son of olive oil.” The Hebrew for horn, qeren, sounds like the Hebrew for vineyard, kerem
  3. Isaiah 5:2 Hebrew “vine”
  4. Isaiah 5:3 Hebrew “man”
  5. Isaiah 5:6 Hebrew “brier”
  6. Isaiah 5:6 Hebrew “thornbush”
  7. Isaiah 5:6 Literally “from sending”
  8. Isaiah 5:7 Or “people”
  9. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew word, mishpat, sounds like mishpakh in the next line
  10. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew word, mishpakh, sounds like mishpat in the previous line
  11. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew word, tsedaqah, sounds like tsa`aqah in the next line
  12. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew word, tsa`aqah, sounds like tsedaqah in the previous line