American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt:Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.
Thou preparedst room before it,And it took deep root, and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with the shadow of it,And {Or, the cedars of God with the boughs thereof}the boughs thereof were like {Or, goodly cedars}cedars of God.
It sent out its branches unto the sea,And its shoots unto the River.
Why hast thou broken down its walls,So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it?
The boar out of the wood doth ravage it,And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.
Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts:Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine,
And {Or, protect (or, maintain) that which &c.}the stock which thy right hand planted,And the {Hebrew: son.}branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down:They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand,Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
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.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which {Or, was}is among the trees of the forest?
Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned: is it profitable for any work?
Behold, when it was whole, it was {Hebrew: made into}meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be {Hebrew: made into}meet for any work!
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so {Or, have I given}will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will set my face against them; they {Or, have gone forth}shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Thou preparedst room before it,And it took deep root, and filled the land.