But he ¹  left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.

If grape pickers came to pick your grapes, would they not leave a few grapes behind? ¹  If robbers came at night, would they not pillage only what they needed? ² 

No! ¹  It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything?

Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred?

Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it? Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”

Beat your plowshares ¹  into swords, and your pruning hooks ²  into spears! ³  Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ⁴ 

“I will turn Samaria ¹  into a heap of ruins in an open field – vineyards will be planted there! ²  I will tumble ³  the rubble of her stone walls ⁴  down into the valley, and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ⁵ 

Their wealth will be stolen and their houses ruined! They will not live in the houses they have built, nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner ¹  who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’

They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’

When ¹  it was evening ²  the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give the pay ³  starting with the last hired until the first.’

“What ¹  do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’

But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’

What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy ¹  those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ² 

But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’

He will come and destroy ¹  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ²  When the people ³  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁴ 

Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk?

Moreover, ¹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ²  these men? We will not come up.”