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1I will sing to my love –[#tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.]
a song to my lover about his vineyard.
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill.
2He built a hedge around it, removed its stones,[#tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.]
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead.
3So now, residents of Jerusalem,[#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.]
people of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
4What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
5Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.
6I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
7Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,[#tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).; #tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).]
the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience!
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!
8Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead,[#tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.]
those who also accumulate landed property
until there is no land left,
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.
9The Lord who commands armies told me this:[#tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”]
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.
10Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons,[#tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown.; #tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons.]
and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel.”
11Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead,[#tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.”]
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.
12They have stringed instruments, tambourines, flutes,[#tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).]
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.
13Therefore my people will be deported[#sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.; #tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.]
because of their lack of understanding.
Their leaders will have nothing to eat,
their masses will have nothing to drink.
14So Death will open up its throat,[#tn Heb “Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); the underworld, the land of the dead, according to the OT world view. Cf. NAB “the nether world”; TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NLT “the grave.”]
and open wide its mouth;
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.
15Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.
16The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes,[#tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”; #tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.]
the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.
17Lambs will graze as if in their pastures,[#tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.”]
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.
18Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,[#sn See the note at v. 8.]
who pull sin as with cart ropes.
19They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,[#tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.]
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
20Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead,[#tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.]
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.
21Those who think they are wise are as good as dead,[#tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.]
those who think they possess understanding.
22Those who are champions at drinking wine are as good as dead,[#tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.; #tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8.]
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
23They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent.
24Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw,[#tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.]
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.
25So the Lord is furious with his people;[#tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”]
he lifts his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.
26He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,[#tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.]
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they come quickly and swiftly.
27None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest.
28Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared.
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.
29Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
30At that time they will growl over their prey,[#tn Or “in that day” (KJV).; #tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.]
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness.