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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing a song for the Lord.
    He is the one I love.
    It’s a song about his vineyard Israel.
The one I love had a vineyard.
    It was on a hillside that had rich soil.
He dug up the soil and removed its stones.
    He planted the very best vines in it.
He built a lookout tower there.
    He also cut out a winepress for it.
Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes.
    But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.

So the Lord said, “People of Jerusalem and Judah,
    you be the judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could I have done for my vineyard?
    I did everything I could.
I kept looking for a crop of good grapes.
    So why did it produce only bad ones?
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard.
I will take away its fence.
    And the vineyard will be destroyed.
I will break down its wall.
    And people will walk all over my vineyard.
I will turn my vineyard into a dry and empty desert.
    It will not be pruned or taken care of.
    Thorns and bushes will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it.”

The vineyard of the Lord who rules over all
    is the nation of Israel.
The people of Judah
    are the vines he took delight in.
He kept looking for them to do what is fair.
    But all he saw was blood being spilled.
He kept looking for them to do what is right.
    But all he heard were cries of suffering.

The Lord Judges His Vineyard

How terrible it will be for you who get too many houses!
    How terrible for you who get too many fields!
Finally there won’t be any space left in the land.
    Then you will live all alone.

I heard the Lord who rules over all announce a message. He said,

“You can be sure that the great houses will become empty.
    The fine homes will be left with no one living in them.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only six gallons of wine.
    360 pounds of seeds will produce only 36 pounds of grain.”

11 How terrible it will be for those who get up early in the morning
    to start drinking!
How terrible for those who stay up late at night
    until they are drunk with wine!
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets.
    They have tambourines, flutes and wine.
But they don’t have any concern for the mighty acts of the Lord.
    They don’t have any respect for what his power has done.
13 So my people will be taken away as prisoners.
    That’s because they don’t understand what the Lord has done.
Their nobles will die of hunger.
    The rest of the people won’t have any water to drink.
14 So Death opens its jaws to receive them.
    Its mouth is open wide to swallow them up.
Their nobles and the rest of the people will go down into it.
    They will go there together with all those who have wild parties.
15 So people will be brought low.
    Everyone will be made humble.
    Those who brag will be brought down.
16 But the Lord who rules over all will be honored
    because he judges fairly.
The holy God will prove that he is holy
    by doing what is right.
17 Then sheep will graze as if they were in their own grasslands.
    Lambs will eat grass among the destroyed buildings
    where rich people used to live.

18 How terrible it will be for those who continue to sin
    and lie about it!
How terrible for those who keep on doing what is evil
    as if they were tied to it!
19 How terrible for those who say,
    “Let God hurry up and do what he says he will.
    We want to see it happen.
Let us see the plan of the Holy One of Israel.
    We want to know what it is.”

20 How terrible it will be for those who say
    that what is evil is good!
How terrible for those who say
    that what is good is evil!
How terrible for those who say
    that darkness is light
    and light is darkness!
How terrible for those who say
    that what is bitter is sweet
    and what is sweet is bitter!

21 How terrible it will be for those who think they are wise!
    How terrible for those who think they are really clever!

22 How terrible it will be for those
    who are heroes at drinking wine!
How terrible for those
    who are heroes at mixing drinks!
23 How terrible for those
    who take money to set guilty people free!
How terrible for those
    who don’t treat good people fairly!
24 Flames of fire burn up straw.
    Dry grass sinks down into those flames.
Evil people will be like plants whose roots rot away.
    They will be like flowers that are blown away like dust.
That’s because they have said no to the law of the Lord who rules over all.
    They have turned against the message of the Holy One of Israel.
25 So the Lord is angry with his people.
    He raises his hand against them and strikes them down.
The mountains shake.
    The bodies of dead people lie in the streets like trash.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.
    His hand is still raised against them.

26 He lifts up a banner to gather the nations that are far away.
    He whistles for them to come
    from the farthest places on earth.
Here they come.
    They are moving very quickly.
27 None of them grows tired.
    None of them falls down.
    None of them sleeps or even takes a nap.
All of them are ready for battle.
    Every belt is pulled tight.
    Not a single sandal strap is broken.
28 The enemies’ arrows are sharp.
    All their bows are ready.
The hooves of their horses are as hard as rock.
    Their chariot wheels turn like a twister.
29 The sound of their army is like the roar of lions.
    It’s like the roar of young lions.
They growl as they capture what they were chasing.
    They carry it off.
    No one can take it away from them.
30 At that time the enemy army will roar over Israel.
    It will sound like the roaring of the ocean.
If someone looks at the land of Israel,
    there is only darkness and trouble.
    The clouds will make even the sun become dark.

Herrens folk är hans vingård

Nu ska jag sjunga en sång om min älskades vingård.Min älskade hade en vingård på en mycket bördig kulle.

Han plöjde upp den, tog bort all sten och planterade vin av allra bästa slag. Han byggde ett vakttorn och ett presskar. Sedan förväntade han sig en rik skörd, men skörden blev inte alls som han väntat sig.

Ni män i Jerusalem och Juda, nu ska ni döma mellan mig och min vingård!

Vad hade jag kunnat göra mer för den? Varför gav den dålig frukt i stället för god?

Jag ska riva ner staketen och låta vingården bli nertrampad av boskap och får.

Jag tänker inte beskära träden eller hacka upp jorden utan låta tistlar och törnen få växa fritt. Jag ska be molnen att inte längre sända regn.

Det här är en berättelse om Guds folk. De är vingården jag talade om. Israel och Juda är den plantering han älskade! Han väntade sig en skörd av rättvisa, men fann i stället blod och död. Han väntade rättfärdighet, men hörde bara ropen från människor i nöd.

Ni köper upp hus efter hus och lägger fält till fält, så att andra inte får någonstans att bo. Ni blir ensamma kvar.

Men Herren, härskarornas Gud, har bestämt ert öde. Med mina egna öron har jag hört honom säga: Många vackra hus ska ligga öde.

10 En stor vingård ska inte ge mer än några liter vin! Av det utsäde som sås ska man bara få en tiondel tillbaka.

11 Det blir synd om er som går upp tidigt på morgonen för att sitta och dricka till långt fram på nätterna!

12 Ni ordnar med vacker musik till era dryckesfester. Men ni har inte något som helst intresse för Herren och hans verk.

13 Därför ska jag skicka bort er alla i fångenskap. Ni bryr er inte om vad jag har gjort för er. Alla era främsta ska dö av hunger, och många ska dö av törst.

14 I dödsriket ser man med förväntan fram mot att ta emot det läckra Jerusalem. Mäktiga män jämsides med enkelt folk, alla kommer att uppslukas av dödens käftar.

15 På den dagen ska den högfärdige trampas ner i smutsen, den stolte ska bli förödmjukad,

16 men Herren, härskarornas Gud, är upphöjd över allt detta. Han ensam är helig, rättfärdig och god.

17 På den tiden ska fårhjordarna finna sin föda bland ruinerna av de rikas egendom.

18 Ve dem som inte kan skilja sig från sitt ogudaktiga liv.

19 De till och med förlöjligar den Helige och utmanar Herren att straffa dem. Skynda dig och straffa oss, Herre! säger de. Vi vill se vad du kan göra!

20 De förväxlar det goda med det onda. De gör svart till vitt och vitt till svart, surt till sött och sött till surt.

21 Ve dem som är visa och kloka i sina egna ögon!

22 Ve dem som är 'hjältar' när det gäller att dricka och skryta med hur mycket de tål.

23 De tar mutor för att förändra rättvisan. De låter den skyldige gå fri och sätter den oskyldige i fängelse.

24 Därför kommer Gud att gå tillrätta med dem och bränna upp dem som hö. Deras rötter ska ruttna ock deras blommor vissna, för de har förkastat Guds lagar och föraktat ordet från Israels Helige.

25 Det är därför Herrens vrede är så stor mot hans folk. Det är därför han har sträckt ut sin hand för att straffa dem. Bergen kommer att darra, och hans folks döda kroppar kommer att kastas ut som avfall på gatorna. Men trots detta upphör inte hans vrede. Fortfarande kommer hans hand att vila tung över dem.

26 Han ska sända en signal till de länder som ligger långt borta. Han ska vissla på dem som finns vid jordens ändar, och de ska genast skynda sig till Jerusalem.

27 De ska inte bli trötta, stappla eller stanna. Deras bälten är spända och deras skoremmar starka. De skyndar framåt utan att vila eller sova.

28 Deras pilar är vassa och deras bågar spända. Gnistor flyger från hästarnas hovar, och vagnshjulen viner som vinden.

29 De ryter som lejon och griper tag i sitt byte. De besegrar mitt folk och för bort det i fångenskap, utan att någon kan rädda det.

30 De ryter åt sina offer som havet ryter. Över hela Israel ligger ett täcke av mörker och sorg, och himlen är svart.

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)

Woes and Judgments

Woe(S) to you who add house to house
    and join field to field(T)
till no space is left
    and you live alone in the land.

The Lord Almighty(U) has declared in my hearing:(V)

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(W)
    the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
    a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”(X)

11 Woe(Y) to those who rise early in the morning
    to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
    till they are inflamed with wine.(Z)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes(AA) and timbrels(AB) and wine,
but they have no regard(AC) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.(AD)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(AE)
    for lack of understanding;(AF)
those of high rank(AG) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.(AH)
14 Therefore Death(AI) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;(AJ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.(AK)
15 So people will be brought low(AL)
    and everyone humbled,(AM)
    the eyes of the arrogant(AN) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(AO) by his justice,(AP)
    and the holy God will be proved holy(AQ) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(AR)
    lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe(AS) to those who draw sin along with cords(AT) of deceit,
    and wickedness(AU) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
    let him hasten(AV) his work
    so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(AW) of Israel—
    let it approach, let it come into view,
    so we may know it.”(AX)

20 Woe(AY) to those who call evil good(AZ)
    and good evil,(BA)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,(BB)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.(BC)

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(BD)
    and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(BE)
    and champions at mixing drinks,(BF)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(BG)
    but deny justice(BH) to the innocent.(BI)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(BJ) lick up straw(BK)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(BL)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;(BM)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word(BN) of the Holy One(BO) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(BP) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(BQ)
    and the dead bodies(BR) are like refuse(BS) in the streets.(BT)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(BU)
    his hand is still upraised.(BV)

26 He lifts up a banner(BW) for the distant nations,
    he whistles(BX) for those at the ends of the earth.(BY)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(BZ) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(CA) is loosened at the waist,(CB)
    not a sandal strap is broken.(CC)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(CD)
    all their bows(CE) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(CF) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(CG)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(CH)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(CI) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.(CJ)
30 In that day(CK) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.(CL)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness(CM) and distress;(CN)
    even the sun will be darkened(CO) by clouds.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
  2. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
  3. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  4. Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat