Online Bible

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.