Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ We were like a grapevine
    you brought out of Egypt.
You chased other nations away
    and planted us here.
⁹ Then you cleared the ground,
and we put our roots deep,
    spreading over the land.
¹⁰ Shade from this vine covered
    the mountains.
Its branches climbed
the mighty cedars
¹¹     and stretched to the sea;
its new growth reached
    to the river.^[a]

¹² Our Lord, why have you
torn down the wall
    from around the vineyard?
You let everyone who walks by
    pick the grapes.
¹³ Now the vine is gobbled up
by pigs from the forest
    and other wild animals.

¹⁴ God All-Powerful,
    please do something!
Look down from heaven
and see what's happening
    to this vine.
¹⁵ With your own hands
    you planted its roots,
and you raised it
    as your very own.

¹⁴ People of Israel,
you weren't born slaves;
    you were captured in war.
¹⁵ Enemies roared like lions
and destroyed your land;
    towns lie burned and empty.
¹⁶ Soldiers from the Egyptian towns
of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    have cracked your skulls.
¹⁷ It's all your own fault!
You stopped following me,
    the Lord your God,
¹⁸ and you trusted the power
    of Egypt and Assyria.^[a]
19 Your own sins will punish you,
because it was a bitter mistake
    for you to reject me
    without fear of punishment.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    have spoken.

²⁰ Long ago you left me
and broke all ties between us,
    refusing to be my servant.
Now you worship other gods
    by having sex
on hilltops or in the shade
    of large trees.^[b]
21 You were a choice grapevine,
but you have become
    a wild, useless vine.