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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

Song of the vineyard

Let me sing for my loved one
    a love song for his vineyard.
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it,
    cleared away its stones,
    planted it with excellent vines,
    built a tower inside it,
    and dug out a wine vat in it.
He expected it to grow good grapes—
    but it grew rotten grapes.
So now, you who live in Jerusalem, you people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
    that I haven’t done for it?
When I expected it to grow good grapes,
    why did it grow rotten grapes?
Now let me tell you what I’m doing to my vineyard.
I’m removing its hedge,
    so it will be destroyed.
I’m breaking down its walls,
    so it will be trampled.
I’ll turn it into a ruin;
    it won’t be pruned or hoed,
    and thorns and thistles will grow up.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
The vineyard of the Lord of heavenly forces is the house of Israel,
    and the people of Judah are the plantings in which God delighted.
God expected justice, but there was bloodshed;
    righteousness, but there was a cry of distress!

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