1 It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.
2 Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.
3 Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill ( 902 ) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain ( קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).
4 Or, “dug it up” (so ); “fenced it.’ See עזק.
5 Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4). At this point the love song turns sour as the Lord himself breaks in and completes the story (see vv. 3–6). In the final line of v. 2 the love song presented to the Lord becomes a judgment speech by the Lord.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Let me sing for my beloved

my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and he looked for it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I will sing about the one I love,

a song about my loved one’s vineyard:

The one I love had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,

and planted it with the finest vines.

He built a tower in the middle of it

and even dug out a winepress there.

He expected it to yield good grapes,

but it yielded worthless grapes.

NLTNew Living Translation

Now I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a rich and fertile hill.

He plowed the land, cleared its stones,

and planted it with the best vines.

In the middle he built a watchtower

and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.

Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes,

but the grapes that grew were bitter.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Let me sing for my beloved

a song of my love concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

And he dug it and cleared it of stones,

and he planted it with choice vines,

and he built a watchtower in the middle of it,

and he even hewed out a wine vat in it,

and he waited for it to yield grapes—

but it yielded wild grapes.

KJV 1900King James Version

Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.

My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof,

And planted it with the choicest vine,

And built a tower in the midst of it,

And also made a winepress therein:

And he looked that it should bring forth grapes,

And it brought forth wild grapes.

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