1. I will sing about the one I love,a song about my loved one’s vineyard: The one I love had a vineyardon a very fertile hill.
2. He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of itand even dug out a winepress there.He expected it to yield good grapes,but it yielded worthless grapes.
3. So now, residents of Jerusalemand men of Judah,please judge between Meand My vineyard.
4. What more could I have done for My vineyardthan I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,did it yield worthless grapes?
5. Now I will tell youwhat I am about to do to My vineyard:I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed;I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
6. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded;thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the cloudsthat rain should not fall on it.
7. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hostsis the house of Israel, and the men of Judah,the plant He delighted in.He looked for justicebut saw injustice,for righteousness,but heard cries of wretchedness.
8. Woe to those who add house to house and join field to fielduntil there is no more roomand you alone are left in the land.
9. I heard the Lord of Hosts say:Indeed, many houses will become desolate,grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10. For a ten-acre vineyard will yieldonly six gallons, and 10 bushels of seed will yieldonly one bushel.
11. Woe to those who rise early in the morningin pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening,inflamed by wine.
12. At their feasts they have lyre, harp,tambourine, flute, and wine.They do not perceive the Lord’s actions, and they do not see the work of His hands.
13. Therefore My people will go into exilebecause they lack knowledge; her dignitaries are starving,and her masses are parched with thirst.
14. Therefore Sheol enlarges its throatand opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,her crowds, and those who carouse in her!
15. Humanity is brought low, man is humbled,and haughty eyes are humbled.
16. But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice, and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness.
17. Lambs will grazeas if in their own pastures, and strangers will eatamong the ruins of the rich.
18. Woe to those who drag wickednesswith cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19. to those who say:“Let Him hurry up and do His work quicklyso that we can see it!Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take placeso that we can know it! ”
20. Woe to those who call evil goodand good evil, who substitute darkness for lightand light for darkness,who substitute bitter for sweetand sweet for bitter.
21. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinionand clever in their own sight.
22. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,who are fearless at mixing beer,
23. who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
24. Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes strawand as dry grass shrivels in the flame,so their roots will become like something rottenand their blossoms will blow away like dust,for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,and they have despisedthe word of the Holy One of Israel.
25. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against His people.He raised His hand against them and struck them;the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.In all this, His anger is not removed,and His hand is still raised to strike.
26. He raises a signal flag for the distant nations and whistles for them from the ends of the earth.Look — how quickly and swiftly they come!
27. None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps.No belt is looseand no sandal strap broken.
28. Their arrows are sharpened,and all their bows strung.Their horses’ hooves are like flint;their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29. Their roaring is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their preyand carry it off,and no one can rescue it.
30. On that day they will roar over it,like the roaring of the sea.When one looks at the land,there will be darkness and distress;light will be obscured by clouds.