| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1I will sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: "The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. | 1I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one's vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. |
| 2He plowed its land and cleared it of stones. Then he planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and dug a wine vat in it; He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only wild ones." | 2He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes. |
| 3"So now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, won't you please, between me and my vineyard. | 3So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. |
| 4What more could I do in my vineyard, that I haven't already done? When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield wild ones? | 4What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes? |
| 5"Now, let me tell you, won't you please, what I'm going to do to my vineyard. "I'm going to take away its protective hedge, and it will be devoured; I'll break down its wall, and it will be trampled. | 5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. |
| 6I'll make it a wasteland, and it won't be pruned or cultivated. Instead, briers and thorns will grow up. I'll also issue commands to the clouds, that they drop no rain upon it." | 6I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. |
| 7For the vineyard of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden in which he delights. He looked for justice, but saw only bloodshed; he searched for righteousness, but heard only an outcry! | 7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness. |
| 8"How terrible it will be for you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you have settled yourselves alone in the middle of the land!" | 8Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land. |
| 9The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has declared this so I could hear it: "Surely many houses will become desolate, great and beautiful houses, without occupants. | 9I heard the LORD of Hosts say: Indeed, many houses will become desolate, grand and lovely ones without inhabitants. |
| 10For ten acres of vineyard will produce only one bath, and one omer of seed will produce only one ephah." | 10For a ten-acre vineyard will yield only six gallons, and 10 bushels of seed will yield only one bushel. |
| 11"How terrible it will be for those who rise at dawn in order to grab a stiff drink, for those who stay up late at night as wine inflames them! | 11Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine. |
| 12They have the lyre and harp, the tambourine and flute, as well as wine at their festivals, but they don't respect what the LORD is doing, nor do they consider his actions. | 12At their feasts they have lyre, harp, tambourine, flute, and wine. They do not perceive the LORD's actions, and they do not see the work of His hands. |
| 13Therefore my people go into exile because they lack understanding; my honored men go hungry, and the crowd is parched with thirst. | 13Therefore My people will go into exile because they lack knowledge; her dignitaries are starving, and her masses are parched with thirst. |
| 14Therefore Sheol's appetite has grown; it has opened its mouth beyond limit. Jerusalem's nobility and her multitudes will go there, along with her brawlers and whoever is reveling within her. | 14Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion's dignitaries, her masses, her crowds, and those who carouse in her! |
| 15Humanity is brought low, and each one is humbled, while the eyes of the self-exalting are brought low. | 15Humanity is brought low, man is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled. |
| 16But the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is exalted in justice, and the Holy God proves himself to be righteously holy. | 16But the LORD of Hosts is exalted by His justice, and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness. |
| 17Then the lambs will graze in their pasture; fatlings and foreigners will eat among the waste places of the rich." | 17Lambs will graze as if in their own pastures, and strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich. |
| 18"How terrible it will be for those who parade iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin along as with a cart rope; | 18Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, |
| 19who say: 'Let God be quick, let him speed up his work so we may see it! Let it happen! let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near, so we may recognize it!'" | 19to those who say:" Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly so that we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place so that we can know it!" |
| 20"How terrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet and what is sweet for what is bitter!" | 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. |
| 21"How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion, and clever in their own reckoning! | 21Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight. |
| 22"How terrible it will be for those who are heroes at drinking wine, and champions in mixing strong drink, | 22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, who are fearless at mixing beer, |
| 23who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of justice!" | 23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice. |
| 24Therefore, as flames of fire devour straw, as dry grass collapses in flames, so their root will be rotten, and their blossom will blow away like dust, because they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. | 24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will become like something rotten and their blossoms will blow away like dust, for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts, and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. |
| 25Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against his people, so he stretched out his hands against them and afflicted them. The mountains quaked, and their corpses were like refuse in the middle of the streets. Throughout all of this, his anger has not turned away, and his hands are still stretched out to attack. | 25Therefore the LORD's anger burns against His people. He raised His hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike. |
| 26The LORD will signal for nations far away, whistling for them to come from the ends of the earth. Look how quickly and how swiftly they come! | 26He raises a signal flag for the distant nations and whistles for them from the ends of the earth. Look--how quickly and swiftly they come! |
| 27No one is weary, no one stumbles, and no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt around their waists will come undone, nor will their sandal straps be broken. | 27None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap broken. |
| 28Their arrows are sharp, all their bows ready for action. Their horses' hooves seem like flint, and their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind. | 28Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows strung. Their horses' hooves are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. |
| 29With a roar like a lion, they snarl, and like young lions, they growl; they seize their prey and then carry it off, with no one to rescue. | 29Their roaring is like a lion's; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and no one can rescue it. |
| 30They will roar over it at that time, like the sea waves roar. If one surveys the land, watch out! There's darkness and distress; even the daylight is darkened by its clouds. | 30On that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. When one looks at the land, there will be darkness and distress; light will be obscured by clouds. |
|
