1. I will sing a song for the Lord. He is the one I love. It's a song about his vineyard Israel. The one I love had a vineyard. It was on a hillside that had rich soil.
2. He dug up the soil and removed its stones. He planted the very best vines in it. He built a lookout tower there. He also cut out a winepress for it. Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes. But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.
3. So the Lord said, "People of Jerusalem and Judah, you be the judge between me and my vineyard.
4. What more could I have done for my vineyard? I did everything I could. I kept looking for a crop of good grapes. So why did it produce only bad ones?
5. Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence. And it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall. And people will walk all over it.
6. I will turn my vineyard into a dry and empty desert. It will not be pruned or taken care of. Thorns and bushes will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."