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Israel, the Lord’s Vineyard

Now I will sing for my ·friend [or beloved] a song about his vineyard [C Israel is the vineyard and God is its owner].
My ·friend [or beloved] had a vineyard
    on a ·hill with very rich soil [fertile hillside].
He ·dug [or fenced it] and cleared the field of stones
    and planted the best grapevines there.
He built a ·tower [watchtower; C for protection] in the middle of it
    and ·cut [carved] out a winepress as well [C symbolizing God’s protection of Israel].
He ·hoped [expected; looked to see if] good grapes would grow there,
    but ·only bad ones grew [L it produced only wild/sour grapes].

[C The vineyard owner now speaks:] “You ·people living in [residents/citizens of] Jerusalem,
    and you people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard [C the scene changes from a love song to a courtroom indictment].
What more could I have done for my vineyard
    than I have already done?
Although I ·expected [waited/looked for] good grapes to grow,
    why ·were there [did it produce] only ·bad [sour; wild] ones?
Now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard:
I will remove the hedge,
    and it will ·be burned [be purged/destroyed; or become a pasture].
I will break down the stone wall,
    and it will be ·walked [trampled; C referring to the Assyrian conquest in 722 bc].
I will ·ruin my field [make it a wasteland; leave it untended].
    It will not be ·trimmed [pruned] or hoed,
    and ·weeds [briers] and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it.”

[L For; Because] The vineyard belonging to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
    is the ·nation [L house] of Israel;
and the people of Judah
    are the ·garden [vines; plants] that he ·loves [delights in].
He looked for justice, but ·there was [look; behold] only ·killing [bloodshed; or oppression; injustice; C the Hebrew words for “justice” and “killing” sound alike].
    He hoped for ·right living [righteousness], but ·there were [look; behold] only ·cries of pain [cries of distress; or an outrcy; C the Hebrew words for “righteousness” and “cries of pain” sound alike].

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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
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.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(H)
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
    and it will be trampled.(K)
I will make it a wasteland,(L)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(N) on it.”

The vineyard(O) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(P) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)

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