Isaiah 5:1-7

Contemporary English Version

A Song about a Vineyard

The Lord said:

5 ^(A) I will sing a song
    about my friend's vineyard
that was on the side
    of a fertile hill.
²My friend dug the ground,
removed the stones,
    and planted the best vines.
He built a watchtower
and dug a pit in rocky ground
    for pressing the grapes.
He hoped they would be sweet,
but bitter grapes
    were all it produced.

³Listen, people of Jerusalem
    and of Judah!
You be the judge of me
    and my vineyard.
⁴What more could I have done
    for my vineyard?
I hoped for sweet grapes,
but bitter grapes
    were all that grew.

⁵Now I will let you know
    what I am going to do.
I will cut down the hedge
    and tear down the wall.
My vineyard will be trampled
    and left in ruins.
⁶It will turn into a desert,
    neither pruned nor hoed;
it will be covered
    with thorns and briars.
I will command the clouds
    not to send rain.

⁷I am the Lord All-Powerful!
    Israel is the vineyard,
and Judah is the garden
    I tended with care.
I had hoped for honesty
    and for justice,
but dishonesty
and cries for mercy
    were all I found.