The Song of the Vineyard
1I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5Now 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 will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7The vineyard 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, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Woes and Judgments
8Woe to you who add house to house
and join field to field
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters of wine;
a homer5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms of seed will yield only an ephah5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of grain.”
11Woe 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.
12They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes and timbrels and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.
13Therefore my people will go into exile
for lack of understanding;
those of high rank will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.
14Therefore Death expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.
15So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled,
the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
16But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,
and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.
17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;
lambs will feed5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich.
18Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
and wickedness as with cart ropes,
19to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”
20Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
24Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,
and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
26He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,
he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt is loosened at the waist,
not a sandal strap is broken.
28Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29Their roar is like that of the lion,
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.
30In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness and distress;
even the sun will be darkened by clouds.
En sang om Herrens vinmark
1Jeg vil synge en sang om min elskede ven og hans vinmark:
Min ven havde en vinmark
på en skøn og frugtbar skråning.
2Han pløjede dybt i jorden
og fjernede alle sten.
Han plantede den til
med udsøgte vinstokke.
Han byggede et vagttårn,
huggede en vinperse i klippen.
Han forventede en høst
af de sødeste druer.
Men da druerne kom,
var de vilde og sure!
3Hvad råder I mig til, Jerusalems og Judas folk? 4Hvad mere kunne jeg have gjort for min vinmark? Hvorfor blev druerne sure i stedet for søde?
5Hør, hvad jeg vil gøre ved min vinmark: Jeg vil fjerne stengærdet omkring den, så får og geder kan æde dens planter. 6Jeg lader marken gå i forfald. Jeg hverken beskærer eller renser vinstokkene, men lader marken gro til med tjørne og tidsler og forbyder skyerne at give den væde.
7Genkender I jer selv i min sang?
Den Almægtiges vinmark er Israel,
Judas folk hans udsøgte vinstokke.
Han ventede retfærdighed,
men høstede lovløshed.
Han ønskede et retsindigt folk,
men det blev et letsindigt folk.
Et seksfoldigt veråb
8Ve jer, I, der opkøber huse og marker i mængde, så andre ingen steder har at bo. 9Jeg hørte Herrens ord i mine ører:
„Flotte huse bliver forladt,
store bygninger vil stå tomme.
10En vinmark på ti tønder land giver kun ét anker vin.
Ti sække såsæd giver kun én sæk korn.”
11Ve jer, I, som fylder jer med øl fra tidlig morgen og fester med vin til langt ud på natten. 12Til musik fra citar og harpe, pauke og fløjte skænker I op til jer selv, men Herren skænker I ikke en tanke. I ænser ikke hans hænders værk. 13Han sender sit folk i eksil, for de er uden forstand. De fornemme iblandt jer vil dø af sult, og menigmand vil gå til af tørst. 14Graven åbner sit grådige gab, dødsrigets dyb er rede til at opsluge rige som fattige, ja hele den lystige, larmende hob. 15Mennesker ydmyges og bøjes i støvet. De stolte slår blikket ned. 16Kun Herren, den Almægtige, står oprejst, ophøjet i sin retfærdighed og hellighed. 17Fårene græsser mellem ruinerne, gederne gør sig til gode i de riges forladte huse.
18Ve jer, I, som ikke vil opgive jeres synd, men holder fast ved løgn og bedrag, 19som håner Herren og siger: „Skynd dig at gøre noget, så vi kan se, hvad du kan! Lad os se, om Israels Hellige gør alvor af sine trusler!”
20Ve jer, I, der påstår, at det rigtige er forkert, og det onde godt, at sort er hvidt, og rent er beskidt, at det sure smager sødt, og det søde surt.
21Ve jer, I, der tror, at I er så kloge og skarpsindige.
22Ve jer, I, der praler af jeres drikkeri og kappes om, hvem der kan drikke mest. 23I tager imod bestikkelse, frikender den skyldige og berøver den uskyldige sin ret.
Dommen kommer
24Som halm fortæres af flammer, som strå synker sammen i ilden, sådan skal det gå med jer. Jeres livsgrundlag skal rådne som rødder i jorden, jeres velstand visne som blomster, for I har forkastet Herrens befalinger, foragtet Israels Guds tale. 25Derfor kommer Guds vredes ild imod hans folk. Derfor løfter han sin hånd og slår jer, så bjergene skælver, og ligene hober sig op i gaden som snavs. Men hans vrede er ikke dermed forbi, hans hånd er stadig løftet til slag.
26Han giver signal til fjerne nationer, han fløjter ad folkeslag fra jordens ende. Straks kommer fjendehære styrtende. 27De farer frem uden at snuble eller blive trætte. De marcherer uden hvil eller søvn undervejs, ingen løsner sit bælte eller tager skoene af. 28Deres pile er spidse, deres buer spændte. Gnisterne flyver fra hestenes hove, vognene er hurtige som en hvirvelvind. 29Som løvinder på jagt kaster de sig over byttet. De griber mit folk og fører dem i fangenskab. Der er ingen redning. 30Krigslarmen over byen brager som havets brænding. Trængslens mørke ruger tungt ud over landet, himlen forsvinder bag sorte skyer.
