Isaiah 5

¹Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill:

²And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.

³And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden.

⁴Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?

⁵And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it;

⁶And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it.

⁷For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.

⁸Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land!

⁹The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them.