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Isaiah - ch 5 v 1 - 20
- Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill:
- And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.
- And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden.
- Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?
- And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it;
- And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it.
- For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.
- Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land!
- The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them.
- For ten fields of vines will only give one measure of wine, and a great amount of seed will only give a small measure of grain.
- Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!
- And corded instruments and wind-instruments and wine are in their feasts: but they give no thought to the work of the Lord, and they are not interested in what his hands are doing.
- For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water.
- For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it.
- And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face, and the eyes of pride are put to shame:
- But the Lord of armies is lifted up as judge, and the Holy God is seen to be holy in righteousness.
- Then the lambs will get food as in their grass-lands, and the fat cattle will be feasting in the waste places.
- Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!
- Who say, Let him do his work quickly, let him make it sudden, so that we may see it: let the design of the Holy One of Israel come near, so that it may be clear to us.
- Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!
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