Psalms 48:12-13

48:12 Walk around ¹  Zion! Encircle it!

Count its towers!

48:13 Consider its defenses! ² 

Walk through ³  its fortresses,

so you can tell the next generation about it! ⁴ 

Isaiah 5:2

5:2 He built a hedge around it, ⁵  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. ⁶ 

Matthew 21:33

The Parable of the Tenants

21:33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner ⁷  who planted a vineyard. ⁸  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ⁹  he leased it to tenant farmers ¹⁰  and went on a journey.

Mark 12:1

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ¹¹  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ¹²  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ¹³  he leased it to tenant farmers ¹⁴  and went on a journey.

[48:12]  ¹ tn The verb forms in vv. 12-13 are plural; the entire Judahite community is addressed.

[48:13]  ² tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”

[48:13]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”

[48:13]  ⁴ sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.

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

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).

[21:33]  ⁷ tn The term here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[21:33]  ⁸ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[21:33]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[21:33]  ¹⁰ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹² sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹⁴ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.