1. Now I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my belovedconcerning His vineyard:My well-beloved has a vineyardin a very fruitful hill.
2. And He fenced it, and removed its stones,and planted it with the choicest vine.And He built a tower in the midst of it,and also made a winepress in it;and He expected it to bring forth good grapes,but it brought forth wild grapes.
3. Now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,judge between My vineyard and Me.
4. What more could have been done to My vineyardthat I have not done in it?Why, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,did it bring forth wild grapes?
5. So now I will tell youwhat I will do to My vineyard:I will take away its hedge,and it shall be consumed;I will break down its wall,and it shall be trodden down.
6. And I will lay it waste:It shall not be pruned or dug,but briers and thorns shall come up.I will also command the cloudsthat they rain no rain on it.
7. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hostsis the house of Israel,and the men of JudahHis pleasant plant.Thus He looked for justice, but saw oppression;for righteousness, but heard a cry.
8. Woe to those who join house to house,who add field to field,until there is no more spacewhere they may live alone in the midst of the land!
9. In my ears the Lord of Hosts said: Truly, many houses shall be desolate,even great and beautiful, without inhabitants.