1 I will sing a song for the Lord. He is the one I love. It's a song about his vineyard Israel. The one I love had a vineyard. It was on a hillside that had rich soil.
2 He dug up the soil and removed its stones. He planted the very best vines in it. He built a lookout tower there. He also cut out a winepress for it. Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes. But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.
3 So the Lord said, "People of Jerusalem and Judah, you be the judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard? I did everything I could. I kept looking for a crop of good grapes. So why did it produce only bad ones?
5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence. And it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall. And people will walk all over it.
6 I will turn my vineyard into a dry and empty desert. It will not be pruned or taken care of. Thorns and bushes will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."