SONG OF THE VINEYARD

5 I will sing about the one I love,

a song about my loved one’s vineyard:ai

The one I love had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,

and planted it with the finest vines.aj

He built a tower in the middle of it

and even dug out a winepress there.

He expectedak it to yield good grapes,

but it yielded worthless grapes.al

3 So now, residents of Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

please judge between me

and my vineyard.

4 What more could I have done for my vineyard

than I did?a

Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,

did it yield worthless grapes?

5 Now I will tell you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge,b

and it will be consumed;

I will tear down its wall,c

and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland.d

It will not be pruned or weeded;

thorns and briers will grow up.e

I will also give orders to the clouds

that rain should not fall on it.

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies

is the house of Israel,f

and the menA of Judah,

the plant he delighted in.

He expected justice

but saw injustice;

he expected righteousness

but heard cries of despair.