Online Bible

Parable 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 ^bexpected it to produce good grapes,But it produced only ³worthless ones.

3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men 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 or hoed,But briars and thorns will come up.I will also charge the clouds to ^brain no rain on it.”

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

Woes for the Wicked

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 the LORD of hosts has sworn, “Surely, ^amany houses shall become ^bdesolate,Even great and fine ones, without occupants.10 “For ^aten acres of vineyard will yield only one ¹bath of wine,And a ^bhomer of seed will yield but an ²ephah 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 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 ¹their ^bhonorable men are famished,And their multitude is parched with thirst.14 Therefore ^aSheol has enlarged its ¹throat and opened its mouth without measure;And ²Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,^aThe eyes of the proud also will be abased.16 But the ^aLORD of hosts 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 waste places of the ¹wealthy.

18 Woe to those who drag ^ainiquity with the cords of ¹falsehood,And sin as if with cart ropes;19 ^aWho say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;And let the purpose 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 clever in their own sight!22 ^aWoe to those who are heroes in drinking wineAnd valiant men in mixing strong drink,23 ^aWho justify the wicked for a bribe,And ^btake away the ¹rights of the ones who are in the right!

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 the LORD of hostsAnd despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.25 On this account the ^aanger of the LORD has burned against His people,And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.And the ^bmountains quaked, and their ^ccorpses ¹lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.^dFor all this His anger ²is not spent,But His ^ehand is still stretched out.

26 He will also lift up a ^astandard to the ¹distant nation,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 as it ^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.