Online Bible

The Song of the Vineyard

Let me sing now for my well-belovedA song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.My well-beloved had a ^avineyard on ¹a fertile hill.2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,And planted it with ¹the ^achoicest vine.And He built a tower in the middle of itAnd also hewed out a ²wine vat in it;Then He ^bhoped for it to produce good grapes,But it produced only ³worthless ones.

3 “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,^aPlease judge between Me and My vineyard.4 “^aWhat more was there to do for My vineyard ¹that I have not done in it?Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce ²worthless ones?5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:I will ^aremove its hedge, and it will be consumed;I will ^bbreak down its wall, and it will become ^ctrampled ground.6 “I will ^alay it waste;It will not be pruned or hoed,But briars and thorns will come up.I will also command the clouds to ^brain no rain on it.”

7 For the ^avineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of IsraelAnd the men of Judah His delightful plant.Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, ^bbloodshed;For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

Woes to Those Who Call Evil Good

8 Woe to those who ^aadd house to house and join field to field,Until there is no more room,So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!9 In my ears Yahweh of hosts has sworn, “Surely, ^amany houses shall become ^bdesolate,Even great and good ones, without inhabitants.10 “For ^aten ¹acres of vineyard will yield only one ²bath of wine,And a ³^bhomer of seed will yield but an ⁴ephah of grain.”

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue ^astrong drink,Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!12 And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ^aharp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;But they ^bdo not look upon the deeds of Yahweh,Nor do they see the work of His hands.

13 Therefore My people go into exile for their ^alack of knowledge;And ¹their ^bhonorable men are famished,And their multitude is parched with thirst.14 Therefore ^aSheol has enlarged its ¹throat and opened its mouth without limit;And ²Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it.15 So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low,^aThe eyes of the lofty also will be made low.16 But ^aYahweh of hosts will be ^blofty in judgment,And the holy God will show Himself ^choly in righteousness.17 ^aThen the lambs will graze as in their pasture,And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the ¹wealthy.

18 Woe to those who drag ^ainiquity with the cords of worthlessness,And sin as if with cart ropes,19 ^aWho say, “Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nearAnd come to pass, that we may know it!”

20 Woe to those who ^acall evil good and good evil,Who ¹^bsubstitute darkness for light and light for darkness,Who ²substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!21 Woe to those who are ^awise in their own eyesAnd understanding in their own ¹sight!22 ^aWoe to those who are mighty men in drinking wineAnd valiant men in mixing strong drink,23 ^aWho ¹declare the wicked righteous for a bribe,And ^bremove the ²righteous standing of the ones who are ³righteous!

24 Therefore, ^aas a tongue of fire consumes stubbleAnd dry grass collapses into the flame,So their ^broot will become ^clike rot and their blossom ¹blow away as dust;For they have ^drejected the law of Yahweh of hostsAnd the word of the Holy One of Israel they have spurned.25 On this account, the ^aanger of Yahweh has burned against His people,And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.And the ^bmountains trembled, and their ^ccorpses ¹lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.^dFor all this His anger is not turned back,But His ^ehand is still stretched out.

26 He will also lift up a ^astandard to the ¹distant nations,And will ^bwhistle for it ^cfrom the ends of the earth;And behold, it will ^dcome with speed swiftly.27 ^aNo one in it is weary or stumbles,None slumbers or sleeps;Nor is the ^bbelt at its waist undone,Nor its sandal strap broken.28 ¹^aIts arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;The hoofs of its horses ²seem like flint and its chariot ^bwheels like a whirlwind.29 Its ^aroaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;It growls and ^bseizes the preyAnd carries it off with ^cno one to deliver it.30 And it will ^agrowl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea.If one ^blooks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

Parable of the Vineyard

Let me sing now for my belovedA song of my beloved about His vineyard.My beloved had a ^avineyard on ¹a fertile hill.2 He dug it all around, cleared it of stones,And planted it with ¹the ^achoicest vine.And He built a tower in the middle of it,And also carved out a ²wine vat in it;Then He ^bexpected it to produce good grapes,But it produced only ³worthless ones.

3 “And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,^aJudge between Me and My vineyard.4 “^aWhat more was there to do for My vineyard ¹that I have not done in it?Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce ²worthless ones?5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:I will ^aremove its hedge and it will be consumed;I will ^bbreak down its wall and it will become ^ctrampled ground.6 “I will ^alay it waste;It will not be pruned nor hoed,But briars and thorns will come up.I will also command the clouds not to ^brain on it.”

7 For the ^avineyard of the LORD of armies is the house of Israel,And the people of Judah are His delightful plant.So He waited for justice, but behold, there was ^bbloodshed;For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Woes for the Wicked

8 Woe to those who ^aattach house to house and join field to field,Until there is no more room,And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!9 In my ears the LORD of armies has sworn, “^aMany houses shall certainly become ^bdesolate,Even great and fine ones, without occupants.10 “For ^aten acres of vineyard will yield only one ¹bath of wine,And a ²^bhomer of seed will yield only an ³ephah of grain.”11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue ^aintoxicating drink,Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ^aharp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;But they ^bdo not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD,Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

13 Therefore My people go into exile for their ^alack of knowledge;And their ¹^bnobles are famished,And their multitude is parched with thirst.14 Therefore ^aSheol has enlarged its ¹throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;And ²Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.15 So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,^aThe eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.16 But the ^aLORD of armies will be ^bexalted in judgment,And the holy God will show Himself ^choly in righteousness.17 ^aThen the lambs will graze as in their pasture,And strangers will eat in the ruins of the ¹wealthy.

18 Woe to those who drag ^awrongdoing with the cords of ¹deceit,And sin as if with cart ropes;19 ^aWho say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it;And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approachAnd come to pass, so that we may know it!”20 Woe to those who ^acall evil good, and good evil;Who ¹^bsubstitute darkness for light and light for darkness;Who ²substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!21 Woe to those who are ^awise in their own eyesAnd ¹clever in their own sight!22 ^aWoe to those who are heroes in drinking wine,And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,23 ^aWho declare the wicked innocent for a bribe,And ^btake away the ¹rights of the ones who are in the right!

24 Therefore, ^aas a tongue of fire consumes stubble,And dry grass collapses in the flame,So their ^broot will become ^clike rot, and their blossom ¹blow away like dust;For they have ^drejected the Law of the LORD of armies,And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.25 For this reason the ^aanger of the LORD has burned against His people,And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them.And the ^bmountains quaked, and their ^ccorpses ¹lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.^dDespite all this, His anger ²is not spent,But His ^ehand is still stretched out.

26 He will also lift up a ^aflag to the distant ¹nation,And ^bwhistle for it ^cfrom the ends of the earth;And behold, it will ^dcome with speed swiftly.27 ^aNo one in it is tired or stumbles,No one slumbers or sleeps;Nor is the ^bundergarment at his waist loosened,Nor his sandal strap broken.28 ¹^aIts arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;The hoofs of its horses ²seem like flint, and its chariot ^bwheels like a storm wind.29 Its ^aroaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;It growls as it ^bseizes the preyAnd carries it off with ^cno one to save it.30 And it will ^aroar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea.If one ^blooks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;Even the light is darkened by its clouds.