American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Let me sing {Or, of}for my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved had a vineyard in {Hebrew: a horn, the son of oil.}a very fruitful hill:
and he digged it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a {Or, wine-vat}winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be {Or, burnt}eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah {Hebrew: the plant of his delight.}his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, {Or, shedding of blood}oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry.
Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
In mine ears saith Jehovah of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!
And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge; and {Hebrew: their glory are men of famine.}their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.
Therefore Sheol hath enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their {Or, tumult}pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, descend into it.
And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled:
but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall {Or, sorjourners}wanderers eat.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;
that justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the {Or, teaching}law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them; and the mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss for {Hebrew: him.}them from the end of the earth; and, behold, {Hebrew: he (and in the following verses).}they shall come with speed swiftly.
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs shall be accounted as flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind:
their roaring shall be like a lioness, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.
And they shall roar {Or, over}against them in that day like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, {According to the Massorette text, behold, darkness; distress and light; it is dark &c.}behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.
{[Chapter 8:23 in Hebrew]} {Or, For}But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, {Or, the district}Galilee of the nations. {[Chapter 9:1 in Hebrew]}
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the {Or, deep darkness}shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Thou hast multiplied the nation, {Another reading is, thou didst not increase the joy}thou hast increased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as in the day of Midian.
For {Or, every boot of the booted warrior}all the armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for fuel of fire.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called {Or, Wonderful counsellor}Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, {Hebrew: Father of Eternity.}Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness of heart,
The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone; the sycomores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.
Therefore Jehovah {Or, hath set}will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and {Or, hath stirred}will {Or, join together Or, arm}stir up his enemies,
the Syrians {Or, on the east}before, and the Philistines {Or, on the west}behind; and they {Or, have devoured}shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts.
Therefore Jehovah {Or, hath cut}will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are {Hebrew: swallowed up.}destroyed.
Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land {Or, darkened}burnt up; and the people are as the fuel of fire: no man spareth his brother.
And one shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;
to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
{Or, Without me they shall bow down &c.}They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
{Or, Woe to Asshur}Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!
I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and {Hebrew: to make them a treading down.}to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down {Or, the inhabitants}them that sit on thrones:
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and {Or, instead of}under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be {Or, as when a sick man pineth away}as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
{Hebrew: shear jashub. See chapter 7:3.}A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant {Hebrew: in it.}of them shall return: a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the {Or, land}earth.
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of {Hebrew: Asshur.}the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction.
And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and {Or, as his rod was over the sea, so shall he &c.}his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of {Hebrew: oil.}fatness.
He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage;
they are gone over the pass; {Or, Geba is our lodging, they cry}they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! hearken, O Laishah! O thou poor Anathoth!
Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim {Or, make their households flee}flee for safety.
This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shaketh his hand at the mount of the {Another reading is, house.}daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low.
And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction.
Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;
to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
{Or, Without me they shall bow down &c.}They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
{Or, Woe to Asshur}Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!
I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and {Hebrew: to make them a treading down.}to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down {Or, the inhabitants}them that sit on thrones:
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and {Or, instead of}under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be {Or, as when a sick man pineth away}as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
{Hebrew: shear jashub. See chapter 7:3.}A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant {Hebrew: in it.}of them shall return: a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the {Or, land}earth.
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of {Hebrew: Asshur.}the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction.
And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and {Or, as his rod was over the sea, so shall he &c.}his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of {Hebrew: oil.}fatness.
He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage;
they are gone over the pass; {Or, Geba is our lodging, they cry}they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! hearken, O Laishah! O thou poor Anathoth!
Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim {Or, make their households flee}flee for safety.
This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shaketh his hand at the mount of the {Another reading is, house.}daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low.
And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.