Isaiah 5:1-6, 24-25

Now I will sing for my friend a song about his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a hill with very rich soil. He dug and cleared the field of stones and planted the best grapevines there. He built a tower in the middle of it and cut out a winepress as well. He hoped good grapes would grow there, but only bad ones grew. My friend says, “You people living in Jerusalem, and you people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard than I have already done? Although I expected good grapes to grow, why were there only bad ones? Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will remove the hedge, and it will be burned. I will break down the stone wall, and it will be walked on. I will ruin my field. It will not be trimmed or hoed, and weeds and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”

They will be destroyed just as fire burns straw or dry grass. They will be destroyed like a plant whose roots rot and whose flower dies and blows away like dust. They have refused to obey the teachings of the LORD All-Powerful and have hated the message from the Holy God of Israel. So the LORD has become very angry with his people, and he has raised his hand to punish them. Even the mountains are frightened. Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage. But the LORD is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.