²¹ But I was the one who planted you,
    choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best.
    How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?

² “In that day,
    sing about the fruitful vineyard.
³ I, the Lord, will watch over it,
    watering it carefully.
Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.

⁸ You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;
    you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.
⁹ You cleared the ground for us,
    and we took root and filled the land.
¹⁰ Our shade covered the mountains;
    our branches covered the mighty cedars.
¹¹ We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;
    our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River.^[a]
12 But now, why have you broken down our walls
    so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?
¹³ The wild boar from the forest devours it,
    and the wild animals feed on it.

¹⁴ Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Look down from heaven and see our plight.
Take care of this grapevine
¹⁵     that you yourself have planted,
    this son you have raised for yourself.
¹⁶ For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies.
    May they perish at the sight of your frown.
¹⁷ Strengthen the man you love,
    the son of your choice.
¹⁸ Then we will never abandon you again.
    Revive us so we can call on your name once more.

¹⁹ Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.

²¹ All your people will be righteous.
    They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
    in order to bring myself glory.

³ Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
    you judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ What more could I have done for my vineyard
    that I have not already done?
When I expected sweet grapes,
    why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

⁵ Now let me tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard:
I will tear down its hedges
    and let it be destroyed.
I will break down its walls
    and let the animals trample it.
⁶ I will make it a wild place
    where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed,
    a place overgrown with briers and thorns.
I will command the clouds
    to drop no rain on it.

⁷ The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
    The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
He expected a crop of justice,
    but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find righteousness,
    but instead he heard cries of violence.