3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment
on the leaders of his people and their officials.
He says, 1 “It is you 2 who have ruined 3 the vineyard! 4
You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. 5
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, 6
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. 7
1 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.
3 tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).
4 sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.
5 tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).
6 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.”
7 tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).