5:2 He built a hedge around it, 1 removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead. 2
5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, 3
people 4 of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
2:21 I planted you in the land
like a special vine of the very best stock.
Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine
that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? 5
12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad 9 and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
6:43 “For 10 no good tree bears bad 11 fruit, nor again 12 does a bad tree bear good fruit, 6:44 for each tree is known 13 by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered 14 from thorns, nor are grapes picked 15 from brambles. 16
11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in 19 the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
1 tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.
2 tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
5 tc Heb “I planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you turned into a putrid thing to me, a strange [or wild] vine.” The question expresses surprise and consternation. The translation is based on a redivision of the Hebrew words סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן (sure haggefen) into סוֹרִיָּה גֶּפֶן (soriyyah gefen) and the recognition of a hapax legomenon סוֹרִיָּה (soriyyah) meaning “putrid, stinking thing.” See HALOT 707 s.v. סוֹרִי.
7 tn Grk “They do not gather.” This has been simplified to the passive voice in the translation since the subject “they” is not specified further in the context.
8 sn The statement illustrates the principle: That which cannot produce fruit does not produce fruit.
9 tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying “tree” in both v. 17 and 18, can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).
11 tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “tree” and “fruit,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).
13 tn The explanatory connective γάρ (gar) is often dropped from translations, but the point of the passage is that one should be self-corrective and be careful who one follows (vv. 41-42), because such choices also reflect what the nature of the tree is and its product.
14 tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “fruit” and “tree,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).
15 tc Most
15 sn The principle of the passage is that one produces what one is.
16 tn Grk “they do not gather”; this has been simplified to the passive voice in the translation since the subject “they” is not specified further in the context.
17 tn This is a different verb (τρυγῶσιν, trugwsin) for gathering from the previous one (συλλέγουσιν, sullegousin).
18 tn This is a different term (βάτος, batos) for a thorn or bramble bush than the previous one (ἄκανθα, akanqa).
17 tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.
18 sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.
19 tn Grk “became a participant of.”