The Song of the Vineyard
1 Listen while I sing you this song,
a song of my friend and his vineyard:
My friend had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;
he planted the finest vines.
He built a tower to guard them,
dug a pit for treading the grapes.
He waited for the grapes to ripen,
but every grape was sour.
3 So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me. 4 Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?
5 “Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down. 6 I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
7 Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty;
the people of Judah are the vines he planted.
He expected them to do what was good,
but instead they committed murder.
He expected them to do what was right,
but their victims cried out for justice.
The Evil That People Do
8 You are doomed! You buy more houses and fields to add to those you already have. Soon there will be no place for anyone else to live, and you alone will live in the land. 9 I have heard the Lord Almighty say, “All these big, fine houses will be empty ruins. 10 The grapevines growing on five acres of land will yield only five gallons of wine. Ten bushels of seed will produce only one bushel of grain.”
11 You are doomed! You get up early in the morning to start drinking, and you spend long evenings getting drunk. 12 At your feasts you have harps and tambourines and flutes—and wine. But you don't understand what the Lord is doing, 13 and so you will be carried away as prisoners. Your leaders will starve to death, and the common people will die of thirst. 14 The world of the dead is hungry for them, and it opens its mouth wide. It gulps down the nobles of Jerusalem along with the noisy crowd of common people.
15 Everyone will be disgraced, and all who are proud will be humbled. 16 But the Lord Almighty shows his greatness by doing what is right, and he reveals his holiness by judging his people. 17 In the ruins of the cities lambs will eat grass and young goats will find pasture.
18 You are doomed! You are unable to break free from your sins. 19 You say, “Let the Lord hurry up and do what he says he will, so that we can see it. Let Israel's holy God carry out his plans; let's see what he has in mind.”
20 You are doomed! You call evil good and call good evil. You turn darkness into light and light into darkness. You make what is bitter sweet, and what is sweet you make bitter.
21 You are doomed! You think you are wise, so very clever.
22 You are doomed! Heroes of the wine bottle! Brave and fearless when it comes to mixing drinks! 23 But for just a bribe you let the guilty go free, and you keep the innocent from getting justice. 24 So now, just as straw and dry grass shrivel and burn in the fire, your roots will rot and your blossoms will dry up and blow away, because you have rejected what the Lord Almighty, Israel's holy God, has taught us. 25 The Lord is angry with his people and has stretched out his hand to punish them. The mountains will shake, and the bodies of those who die will be left in the streets like rubbish. Yet even then the Lord's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.
26 The Lord gives a signal to call for a distant nation. He whistles for them to come from the ends of the earth. And here they come, swiftly, quickly! 27 None of them grow tired; none of them stumble. They never doze or sleep. Not a belt is loose; not a sandal strap is broken. 28 Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready to shoot. Their horses' hoofs are as hard as flint, and their chariot wheels turn like a whirlwind. 29 The soldiers roar like lions that have killed an animal and are carrying it off where no one can take it away from them.
30 When that day comes, they will roar over Israel as loudly as the sea. Look at this country! Darkness and distress! The light is swallowed by darkness.
Eimburiro rotjikunino tjomivite
1 Puratena, ami me ku imburire eimburiro ndi,
eimburiro repanga randje,
indi rotjikunino tjaro tjomivite:
Epanga randje ra ri notjikunino tjomivite
kondunda ohapise tjinene.
2 Eye wa twera ehi ratjo na isa mo omawe,
nu a kunu mo omivite omiwamiwa.
Wa tunga oruhungu rwovatjevere mokati katjo;
nu wina wa sa otjikameno.
Eye wa undja omandjembere okuhora,
nungwari otjikunino tja eta
omandjembere omayake porwe.
3 Nambano epanga randje otji mari tja nai: “Vature va Jerusalem nOvajuda me mu ningire kutja mu pangure pokati kotjikunino tjandje tjomivite na ami. 4 Pe notjiṋa tji mba kaera okutjita ku tjo are? Okutjavi otjo tji tja twako omandjembere omayake, nu tji tji ha twire ko omandjembere omawa ngaamu undjireko?
5 “Ihi tji me tjiti kotjikunino tjandje tjomivite otjo hi: Me isa ko orumbo rwatjo rwomakuiya, nu me haṋa orumbo rwomawe kutja tji riwe nu tji tombwe i ovipuka vyokuti. 6 Ami me tji esa ongaango, nokuhinokukondwa, nokuhinokutwerwa kutja mu hape ozondombora nozohongwe. Me rakiza kutja ovikamba avi ha roko mu tjo.”
7 Otjiwaṋa tja Israel otjikunino tjomivite
tja Muhona Omunamasaaehe;
notjiwaṋa tja Juda otjo omivite omihuze
eye mbya kuna.
Eye aa undjireko kutja ve tjite ouwa,
nungwari owo va tjita omatirahiro wombinḓu.
Eye aa undjireko kutja ve tjite ousemba,
nungwari ovaṋiṋikiziwa aave ririre ousemba.
Ouvi ovandu mbu ve tjita
8 Owee ku eṋe mbu mu randa ondjuwo notjikunino ngunda amu navyo rukuru. Korusenina ka pena okukara oruveze omundu warwe puma tura, ove erike oove ngu mo tura mehi. 9 Ami mba zuva Muhona Omunamasaaehe ama tja: “Tjiri, ozondjuwo ozonene nozombwa nḓa maze rire omatundu. 10 Ozohektara omurongo zotjikunino tjomivite maze eta omavinu womandjembere ozorita hambondatu uriri. Ozondwi nḓe ṱa pozorita esere nomirongo hambondatu maze eta ovikokotwa ozorita omurongo na hambondatu uriri.”
11 Owee ku eṋe mbu mu penduka omuhuka omunene okunwa omanuwa omazeu nu mbu mu tokerwa katumba nga mouṱuku, amamu ripurukisa nomavinu. 12 Nu pomikandi vyeṋu pe nyandwa oviharpe nozonḓukwa nozohiva, nu pe nuwa omavinu; nungwari ovitjitwa vya Muhona kamu na ko na tja, noviungura vyomake we kamu vi munu. 13 Punao, mamu twarewa kouhuura. Ovanane veṋu mave ṱondjara nga tjiva koka, novengi veṋu mave ṱonyota nga tjimwa koka. 14 Otjovakoke tja mwahurura otjinyo tjatjo ama tji munika oruyewo orunene. Nu matji ṋiṋa ovaingona va Jerusalem, otjingi tjatjo ngunda ama tji ravaere nondjoroka.
15 Ovandu mave ṱisiwa ohoṋi, navehe mbu mave ritongamisa mave susuparisiwa. 16 Nungwari Muhona Omunamasaaehe u raisa ounene we mombanguriro ye, nouyapuke we mokutjita ousemba. 17 Nu momatundu wovihuro ozondjona maze ri mo omahozu, nozongombona maze munu mo omaryo.
18 Owee ku imba mbe ha sora okupoka kourunde wawo, 19 na ku imba mbe tja nai? “Muhona nga hakahane a tjite oviungura vye tjimanga kutja tu vi mune; Omuyapuke wa Israel, nga yenenise omeripura we, eṱe tu tjiwe kutja eye we ripura tjike.”
20 Owee ku imba mbe tja ouvi owo ouwa, nouwa owo ouvi; nu mbe tja onḓorera oyo ondjerera, nondjerera oyo onḓorera; nu wina mbe tja oururu owo omuzeze, nomuzeze owo oururu.
21 Owee ku imba mbe rivara oveni otja ozonongo, nu mbe kambura kutja owo oveni ovanazondunge.
22 Owee ku imba omapenda mokunwa omavinu, na ku imba omapatje mokuhanga omanuwa omazeu. 23 Owee ku imba mbe isira omunandjo mena rotjisuta tjombopero, nu mbe tjaera omuhinandjo kutja a ha munu ousemba. 24 Otja orururumo rwomuriro tjinga aru seseta ovihozu, notja ehozu nda kukuta tjinga ari zenga momuriro, omize vyawo otjinga amavi woro, nomanyomokero wawo otjinga amaye sana koruuma, orondu owo va imbirahi Omatwako wa Muhona Omunamasaaehe, nu va nyengura embo rOmuyapuke wa Israel. 25 Omazenge wa Muhona opu ye era kotjiwaṋa tje, neye a yere eke re okutjivera. Ozondundu maze zezera, noturova twaimba mbu mave ṱu, matu saravara momivanda tjimuna ovikengerera. Omazenge wa Muhona kayeya wa pehi, nungwari eye eke re inga wa ropororera okuvera.
26 Muhona ma yere erapi rotjihako okuisana otjiwaṋa tjokokure. Eye ma tono orukwi ku tjo e tji isane okuza komaandero wehi, nu tara, otjo matji ya tjimanga ohakahana! 27 Kape na ngu ma urwa na ngu ma putara mokati kawo; kape na ngu ma koṱura na ngu ma rara; kape nekwamo ndi mari kutuka kovindeera vyawo, nu kape norukute rworukaku ndu maru poka. 28 Oviku vyatjo vya upikwa, nouta watjo wa petwa, ovikoti vyoukambe watjo ovyo ovikukutu otja ombawe, nomarama womatemba watjo wovita ye tanauka otja orukumbambura. 29 Okutona ombimbi kwovarwe wovita kwa sana nokutya ovimboro kwozongeyama nḓa zepa otjipuka naze tji kokozorere koṋa ku ku hi na ngu me ze yeka tjo.
30 Neyuva ndo tji re ya, owo mave rokohere Israel tjimuna ondokohero yokuvare. Tara kehi ndi! Oro onḓorera nombamisiro porwayo! Ondjerera ya ṋiṋiwa i onḓorera.
