The Song of Songs 7:12

7:12 Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,

to see if the vines have budded,

to see if their blossoms have opened,

if the pomegranates are in bloom –

there I will give you my love.

Ecclesiastes 2:4

Futility of Materialism

2:4 I increased my possessions: ¹ 

I built houses for myself; ² 

I planted vineyards for myself.

Isaiah 5:1-7

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I ³  will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard. ⁴ 

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill. ⁵ 

5:2 He built a hedge around it, ⁶  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. ⁷ 

5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, ⁸ 

people ⁹  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?

5:5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, ¹⁰ 

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. ¹¹ 

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ¹² 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

5:7 Indeed ¹³  Israel ¹⁴  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ¹⁵  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ¹⁶ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ¹⁷ 

Matthew 21:33-43

The Parable of the Tenants

21:33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner ¹⁸  who planted a vineyard. ¹⁹  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ²⁰  he leased it to tenant farmers ²¹  and went on a journey. 21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ²²  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. ²³  21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ²⁴  killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ²⁵  saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ²⁶  they seized him, ²⁷  threw him out of the vineyard, ²⁸  and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 21:41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”

21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ²⁹ 

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ³⁰ 

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people ³¹  who will produce its fruit.

Mark 12:1

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ³²  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ³³  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ³⁴  he leased it to tenant farmers ³⁵  and went on a journey.

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “my works”; or “my accomplishments.” The term מַעֲשָׂי (ma’asay, “my works”) has been handled in two basic ways: (1) great works or projects, and (2) possessions. The latter assumes a metonymy, one’s effort standing for the possessions it produces. Both interpretations are reflected in the major English translations: “works” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, RSV, Douay, Moffatt), “projects” (NIV), and “possessions” (NJPS).

[2:4]  ² sn The expression for myself is repeated eight times in 2:4-8 to emphasize that Qoheleth did not deny himself any acquisition. He indulged himself in acquiring everything he desired. His vast resources as king allowed him the unlimited opportunity to indulge himself. He could have anything his heart desired, and he did.

[5:1]  ³ tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.

[5:1]  ⁴ sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.

[5:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).

[5:3]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

[5:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

[5:6]  ¹² tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[21:33]  ¹⁸ tn The term here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[21:33]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

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

[21:34]  ²² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[21:34]  ²³ tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

[21:35]  ²⁴ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[21:37]  ²⁵ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

[21:39]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

[21:39]  ²⁷ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39]  ²⁸ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[21:42]  ²⁹ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[21:42]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

[21:43]  ³¹ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

[12:1]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ³⁵ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.