Isaiah 5:2-4

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?

Jeremiah 2:21

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 

Matthew 7:16-20

7:16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered ⁶  from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? ⁷  7:17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad ⁸  tree bears bad fruit. 7:18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7:20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.

Matthew 12:33

Trees and Their Fruit

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.

Luke 6:43-44

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 

Romans 11:16-18

11:16 If the first portion ¹⁷  of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. ¹⁸ 

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.

[5:2]  ¹ tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.

[5:2]  ² tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).

[5:3]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[2:21]  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.

[7:16]  ⁶ 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.

[7:16]  ⁷ sn The statement illustrates the principle: That which cannot produce fruit does not produce fruit.

[7:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying “tree” in both v. 17 and 18, can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

[12:33]  ⁹ tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “tree” and “fruit,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

[6:43]  ¹⁰ 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.

[6:43]  ¹¹ tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “fruit” and “tree,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

[6:43]  ¹² tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ 33 Ï lat sy sa), lack the adverb πάλιν (palin, “again”) here. Its presence is attested, however, by several good witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B L W Ξ Ë^1,13 579 892 1241 2542).

[6:44]  ¹³ sn The principle of the passage is that one produces what one is.

[6:44]  ¹⁴ 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.

[6:44]  ¹⁵ tn This is a different verb (τρυγῶσιν, trugwsin) for gathering from the previous one (συλλέγουσιν, sullegousin).

[6:44]  ¹⁶ tn This is a different term (βάτος, batos) for a thorn or bramble bush than the previous one (ἄκανθα, akanqa).

[11:16]  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.

[11:16]  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.

[11:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “became a participant of.”