A reading from
the Book of the Prophet Isaiah5:1-7
Let me now sing of my friend,/ my friend’s song concerning his vineyard./ My friend had a vineyard/ on a fertile hillside;/ he spaded it, cleared it of stones,/ and planted the choicest vines;/ within it he built a watchtower,/ and hewed out a wine press./ Then he looked for the crop of grapes,/ but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,/ judge between me and my vineyard:/ What more was there to do for my vineyard/ that I had not done?/ Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,/ did it bring forth wild grapes?/ Now, I will let you know/ what I mean to do with my vineyard:/ take away its hedge, give it to grazing,/ break through its wall, let it be trampled!/ Yes, I will make it a ruin:/ it shall not be pruned or hoed,/ but overgrown with thorns and briers;/ I will command the clouds/ not to send rain upon it./ The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,/ and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;/ he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!/ for justice, but hark, the outcry!
The word of the Lord.
