Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts Is the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.
and I have appointed a place for My people, for Israel, and have planted it, and it hath tabernacled in its place, and it is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness do not add to afflict it any more, as in the beginning,
And Jehovah saith, `I have certainly seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and their cry I have heard, because of its exactors, for I have known its pains;
And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors is power, and they have no comforter.
From the sole of the foot--unto the head, There is no soundness in it, Wound, and bruise, and fresh smiting! They have not been closed nor bound, Nor have they softened with ointment.
Jehovah into judgment doth enter With elders of His people, and its heads: `And ye, ye have consumed the vineyard, Plunder of the poor is in your houses.
And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it with a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
Transgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.
And removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
The people of the land have used oppression, And have taken plunder violently away, And humble and needy have oppressed, And the sojourner oppressed--without judgment.
`An empty vine is Israel, Fruit he maketh like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He hath multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made goodly standing-pillars.
He hath declared to thee, O man, what is good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except--to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?
Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence are before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift itself up,
`Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye give tithe of the mint, and the dill, and the cumin, and did neglect the weightier things of the Law--the judgment, and the kindness, and the faith; these it behoved you to do, and those not to neglect.
`Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart--worthless, saying, Near is the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;
lo, the reward of the workmen, of those who in-gathered your fields, which hath been fraudulently kept back by you--doth cry out, and the exclamations of those who did reap into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth have entered;