אָשִׁירָה נָּא לִידִידִי שִׁירַת דּוֹדִי לְכַרְמוֹ כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִידִידִי בְּקֶרֶן בֶּן שָׁמֶן

Let me sing now about, or in honor of, my love, a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. The beloved one is God, an expression of His closeness to man. My love had a vineyard in a fertile corner. Alternatively, this means a fertile mountaintop. Either way, the earth was high quality, although it seems that the vineyard was not particularly large.

וַיְעַזְּקֵהוּ וַיְסַקְּלֵהוּ וַיִּטָּעֵהוּ שֹׂרֵק וַיִּבֶן מִגְדָּל בְּתוֹכוֹ וְגַם יֶקֶב חָצֵב בּוֹ וַיְקַו לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲנָבִים וַיַּעַשׂ בְּאֻשִׁים

The beloved performed all the necessary labors for his vineyard: He dug and tilled it, to rid it of large stones, he cleared it of those stones, and he planted it with a choice vine. Generally, a vineyard is not started by sowing grape seeds, but by planting a branch of a vine. And he built a tower in its midst, a guard post to guard the vineyard from looters, and he also hewed a winepress in it, for the production of wine. When all the work was completed and the preparations of the vineyard finished, he hoped to produce good grapes in the vineyard, but instead it produced debased ones.

וְעַתָּה יוֹשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאִישׁ יְהוּדָה שִׁפְטוּ נָא בֵּינִי וּבֵין כַּרְמִי

The beloved, God, addresses the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, who are represented in the parable by the vineyard itself: And now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, adjudicate, please, between Me and My disappointing vineyard.

מַה לַּעֲשׂוֹת עוֹד לְכַרְמִי וְלֹא עָשִׂיתִי בּוֹ מַדּוּעַ קִוֵּיתִי לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲנָבִים וַיַּעַשׂ בְּאֻשִׁים

What more is there to do for My vineyard, that I did not yet do in it? After all, I planted it in a choice location and I took care of it properly. It should have produced excellent fruit. Why, when I hoped to produce grapes, did it produce inedible ones?

וְעַתָּה אוֹדִיעָה נָּא אֶתְכֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה לְכַרְמִי הָסֵר מְשׂוּכָּתוֹ — וְהָיָה לְבָעֵר פָּרֹץ גְּדֵרוֹ — וְהָיָה לְמִרְמָס

And now, let Me please tell you what I am doing to My vineyard. You will witness My actions. Since the vineyard does not respond to good treatment, I will neglect it. I will remove its barrier and it will be for pasture, as beasts will enter the vineyard, and damage the vines and eat the fruit. I will breach its fence and it will be for trampling, by the feet of people or animals.

וַאֲשִׁיתֵהוּ בָתָה לֹא יִזָּמֵר וְלֹא יֵעָדֵר וְעָלָה שָׁמִיר וָשָׁיִת וְעַל הֶעָבִים אֲצַוֶּה מֵהַמְטִיר עָלָיו מָטָר

I will render it waste, an area of wild growth: It will not be pruned, a vineyard requires pruning every year for it to grow properly and produce fruit, and it will not be hoed. I will stop taking care of it, and consequently thorn and thistle will rise in it, and I will command the clouds not to pour rain upon it. The beloved, the owner of the vineyard, is not depicted as human in all regards. Rather, He has the power to ensure that no rain will fall on His vineyard.

כִּי כֶרֶם ה' צְבָאוֹת בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִישׁ יְהוּדָה נְטַע שַׁעֲשׁוּעָיו וַיְקַו לְמִשְׁפָּט — וְהִנֵּה מִשְׂפָּח לִצְדָקָה — וְהִנֵּה צְעָקָה

The verses do not delve into all the details of the parable of the vineyard, but they do enough to illustrate the great disappointment of the beloved in the work of His hands. The prophet now clarifies the basic meaning of the parable. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are the plant of His delight; He hoped for justice [mishpat] from it, but behold, corruption [mispah·] and falsification; likewise, He hoped for righteousness [tzedaka], but behold, He hears only outcry [tze’aka]. Note the strong alliteration in these inverse parallels.

הוֹי מַגִּיעֵי בַיִת בְּבַיִת שָׂדֶה בְשָׂדֶה יַקְרִיבוּ עַד אֶפֶס מָקוֹם וְהוּשַׁבְתֶּם לְבַדְּכֶם בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ

The prophet continues to reprove the inhabitants of Judah for their greed and lust: Woe! Those who join house to house, who would draw field close to field until there is no room. You build grand neighborhoods and fill them with houses, so that you all live in close quarters. Likewise, your fields are adjacent to one another in the best areas, you who are settled by yourselves in the midst of the land. You feel that you alone are worthy of living in the land, as though there is no room for anyone else among your fields and houses, and you act accordingly.

בְּאָזְנָי ה' צְבָאוֹת אִם לֹא בָּתִּים רַבִּים לְשַׁמָּה יִהְיוּ גְּדֹלִים וְטוֹבִים מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב

In my ears, I have heard, as it were, the Lord of hosts say: If many houses will not be for desolation. This is an oath, meaning that the houses will be desolate. And the great and excellent houses will be without inhabitant. The prophet describes an avaricious society, steeped in the pursuit of property and status. People are crowded because each one tries to snatch the best place for himself. He informs them that regardless of all their efforts, their end will be desolation and emptiness.

כִּי עֲשֶׂרֶת צִמְדֵּי כֶרֶם יַעֲשׂוּ בַּת אֶחָת וְזֶרַע חֹמֶר יַעֲשֶׂה אֵיפָה

For ten sections of vineyard will yield one flask, a measurement of liquid volume. In other words, a large area of land will produce a relatively minuscule amount of wine. And an area of land fit for sowing a homer of wheat seed will only yield an ephah.

הוֹי מַשְׁכִּימֵי בַבֹּקֶר שֵׁכָר יִרְדֹּפוּ מְאַחֲרֵי בַנֶּשֶׁף יַיִן יַדְלִיקֵם

The prophet’s criticism of the people becomes even more scathing: Woe! Those who rise early in the morning, not for any positive pursuit or to study Torah, but rather, to pursue intoxicating drink. They awake from their sleep in order to start drinking early and to seek alcoholic beverages. They are also those who tarry late; wine inflames them. They are only interested in wine, both when they go to bed and when they arise.

וְהָיָה כִנּוֹר וָנֶבֶל תֹּף וְחָלִיל וָיַיִן מִשְׁתֵּיהֶם וְאֵת פֹּעַל ה' לֹא יַבִּיטוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו לֹא רָאוּ

Harp and lyre, drum and flute and wine are their banquets. They hold drinking parties with musical accompaniment, but they will not regard the work of the Lord and they did not see the work of His hands, as they care for nothing apart from their revelries, which are at the center of their lives.

לָכֵן גָּלָה עַמִּי מִבְּלִי דָעַת וּכְבוֹדוֹ מְתֵי רָעָב וַהֲמוֹנוֹ צִחֵה צָמָא

Therefore, My people is exiled for lack of knowledge. Eventually, this lustful, covetous people will go into exile, because they are not occupied with the knowledge of God or any useful intellectual pursuit. And its honorable, wealthy men are to be victims of famine, and its multitude is to be parched with thirst.

לָכֵן הִרְחִיבָה שְּׁאוֹל נַפְשָׁהּ וּפָעֲרָה פִיהָ לִבְלִי חֹק וְיָרַד הֲדָרָהּ וַהֲמוֹנָהּ וּשְׁאוֹנָהּ וְעָלֵז בָּהּ

Therefore, the netherworld has broadened itself. Hell and all forces of darkness and ruin no longer remain confined within their normal boundaries; rather, they are growing and widening. And the netherworld has opened its mouth without measure. In ordinary times, a certain number of people descend to the netherworld, whereas now the extent of the destruction keeps expanding until it swallows everything. This is an unusually forceful image. And down to the netherworld will go its magnificence, of the land or the city, its multitudes of inhabitants and its commotion, and those who rejoice in it, those who once made merry there.

וַיִּשַּׁח אָדָם וַיִּשְׁפַּל אִישׁ וְעֵינֵי גְבֹהִים תִּשְׁפַּלְנָה

People will bow, a man will be humbled, people will be bent over and humiliated, and the eyes of the haughty will be humbled when they see the surrounding ruin.

וַיִּגְבַּהּ ה' צְבָאוֹת בַּמִּשְׁפָּט וְהָאֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ נִקְדָּשׁ בִּצְדָקָה

But the Lord of hosts will be elevated over all through His imposition of justice, and the Holy God will be sanctified through His righteousness [tzedaka] and strength. The term tzedaka, righteousness, does not refer to charitable giving, as it often does in rabbinic Hebrew. Rather, it is a quality of God, to whom righteousness and power belong. This is the common meaning of the term in Isaiah and elsewhere in the Bible.

וְרָעוּ כְבָשִׂים כְּדָבְרָם וְחָרְבוֹת מֵחִים — גָּרִים יֹאכֵלוּ

When the netherworld rises and destroys the country, its houses and commotion will disappear, and the sheep will graze in the formerly bustling, merry city, as though they are in their pasture, and strangers will eat that which they find in the ruins of the houses of the rich and succulent.

הוֹי מֹשְׁכֵי הֶעָוֹן בְּחַבְלֵי הַשָּׁוְא וְכַעֲבוֹת הָעֲגָלָה חַטָּאָה

Woe! Those who pull iniquity with cords of the pointlessness of pursuing fleeting pleasures. Such people do not sin unwittingly. They are greedy and lack conscience and a sense of responsibility. The prophet metaphorically depicts them as tying their iniquity with cords, with which they drag it along so that they can continue transgressing. And they draw their sin as with the thick rope of a wagon. Alternatively, their sin thickens and drags them like strong ropes pulling a wagon.

הָאֹמְרִים יְמַהֵר יָחִישָׁה מַעֲשֵׂהוּ לְמַעַן נִרְאֶה וְתִקְרַב וְתָבוֹאָה עֲצַת קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל — וְנֵדָעָה

Who say, in cynical mockery: Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His action, so that we will see it. We are waiting to see when this prophecy will finally happen, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel approach and be realized, and then we will know it. They are apathetic and do not believe that the prophecy will come to pass.

הוֹי הָאֹמְרִים לָרַע טוֹב וְלַטּוֹב — רָע שָׂמִים חֹשֶׁךְ לְאוֹר וְאוֹר — לְחֹשֶׁךְ שָׂמִים מַר לְמָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק — לְמָר

Woe! Those who say of evil that it is good, and of good that it is evil; they render darkness into light and light into darkness; they render bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. They construct a society and culture based on an ideology of reversal of values, of corruption and evil, in which deeds are performed improperly and unnaturally. Instead of good-quality grapes, a society that holds firm to fundamental values, the grapes are sour; society cannot rightly distinguish between good and evil, light and darkness, and bitter and sweet.

הוֹי חֲכָמִים בְּעֵינֵיהֶם וְנֶגֶד פְּנֵיהֶם נְבֹנִים

Woe! Those who are wise in their own eyes, and who are immensely clever in their own view; in their own opinions, they consider themselves to be illustrious intellectuals.

הוֹי גִּבּוֹרִים לִשְׁתּוֹת יָיִן וְאַנְשֵׁי חַיִל לִמְסֹךְ שֵׁכָר

Woe! The valiant to drink wine, their might is expressed in their ability to imbibe wine, and through being capable men to mix intoxicating drink properly.

מַצְדִּיקֵי רָשָׁע עֵקֶב שֹׁחַד וְצִדְקַת צַדִּיקִים יָסִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ

Alongside their material ambitions and enthusiasm for cuisine, in the social realm these are people who vindicate the wicked following a bribe they have received, and remove the innocence of the righteous from him. The upright suffer from the obtuseness of such authority figures.

לָכֵן כֶּאֱכֹל קַשׁ לְשׁוֹן אֵשׁ וַחֲשַׁשׁ לֶהָבָה יִרְפֶּה שָׁרְשָׁם כַּמָּק יִהְיֶה וּפִרְחָם כָּאָבָק יַעֲלֶה כִּי מָאֲסוּ אֵת תּוֹרַת ה' צְבָאוֹת וְאֵת אִמְרַת קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל נִאֵצוּ

Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as a flame destroys chaff and the husks of produce, so will their root will be as rot, and their blossom, that which should have blossomed and grown, will rise and vanish as dust, for they spurned the Torah of the Lord of hosts and scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

עַל כֵּן חָרָה אַף ה' בְּעַמּוֹ וַיֵּט יָדוֹ עָלָיו וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיִּרְגְּזוּ הֶהָרִים וַתְּהִי נִבְלָתָם כַּסּוּחָה בְּקֶרֶב חוּצוֹת בְכָל זֹאת לֹא שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה

Therefore this entire country will be punished, as the wrath of the Lord was enflamed against His people, and He outstretched His hand against it and smote it, and the mountains quaked from that strike. Their corpses were thrown like refuse in the middle of the streets of the city. Nevertheless, His wrath is not withdrawn and His hand remains outstretched to punish them further.

וְנָשָׂא נֵס לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק וְשָׁרַק לוֹ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ — וְהִנֵּה מְהֵרָה קַל יָבוֹא

The next punishment will come from a distant place: He will raise a standard, a banner, to the nations to gather from afar, and will whistle to him, the enemy, from the ends of the earth, and behold, he will come quickly and speedily, with ease and alacrity.

אֵין עָיֵף וְאֵין כּוֹשֵׁל בּוֹ לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן וְלֹא נִפְתַּח אֵזוֹר חֲלָצָיו וְלֹא נִתַּק שְׂרוֹךְ נְעָלָיו

None are weary or stumbling among him; he does not slumber or sleep, and the belt on his waist is not opened and the lace of his shoes is not severed. The enemy army will be organized and professional.

אֲשֶׁר חִצָּיו שְׁנוּנִים וְכָל קַשְּׁתֹתָיו דְּרֻכוֹת פַּרְסוֹת סוּסָיו כַּצַּר נֶחְשָׁבוּ וְגַלְגִּלָּיו כַּסּוּפָה

Furthermore, it will be an active army, whose arrows are sharpened and all his bows drawn and ready. Even the hooves of his horses are accounted an enemy, as the horses are trained to kick and crush people. This ability renders their hooves an enemy in their own right. And his wheels of his war chariots will be fast and strong, capable of trampling, and inflicting harm like a storm.

שְׁאָגָה לוֹ כַּלָּבִיא יִשְׁאַג כַּכְּפִירִים וְיִנְהֹם וְיֹאחֵז טֶרֶף; וְיַפְלִיט וְאֵין מַצִּיל

He has a roar like a lion; he roars like young lions; he will roar and seize prey and let it escape [yaflit]. Alternatively, yaflit means that he will eject. Even if something or someone is ejected from the lion’s mouth, that is a chance occurrence, but generally there is no rescuer, nothing will escape its clutches.

וְיִנְהֹם עָלָיו בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כְּנַהֲמַת יָם וְנִבַּט לָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה חֹשֶׁךְ צַר וָאוֹר חָשַׁךְ בַּעֲרִיפֶיהָ

He will roar against it on that day like the roar of the sea. The enemy will wash away everything like the waves of the sea. One will look to the land and behold, darkness, distress, and the light darkened in its skies [arifeha]. Arifeha is similar to aravot, which is a name for heaven. Alternatively, arifeha means “its clouds,” like arafel, “fog.”