The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed
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Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had 1a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
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He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with 2choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and 3he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
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And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
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4What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? 5When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
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And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove 6its hedge, and it shall be devoured;a 7I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
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I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and 8briers and thorns shall grow up; 9I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
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10For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;b for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!c
Woe to the Wicked
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Woe to those who 11join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
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The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: 12"Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
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13For ten acresd of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a 14homer of seed shall yield but an ephah."e
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Woe to those who 15rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
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16They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, 17but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.
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Therefore my people go into exile 18for lack of knowledge;f their 19honored men go hungry,g and their multitude is parched with thirst.
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Therefore Sheol has 20enlarged its appetite and opened 21its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalemh and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who 22exults in her.
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24But the LORD of hosts is exaltedj in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
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Then shall the lambs graze 25as in their pasture, and 26nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
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Woe to those who draw iniquity with 27cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
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who say: 28"Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"
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Woe to 29those who call evil good and good evil, 30who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
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Woe to those who are 31wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
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Woe to those who are 32heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
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who 33acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!
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Therefore, 34as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so 35their root will be 36as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have 37rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have 38despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
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Therefore 39the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and 40the mountains quaked; and their corpses were 41as refuse in the midst of the streets. 42For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
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He will 43raise a signal for nations far away, and 44whistle for them 45from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
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46None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;
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47their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels 48like the whirlwind.
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Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and 49seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.
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They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, 50darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)