The LORD’s Vineyard
(John 15:1–8)

1In that day the LORD {YHWH} will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent {nachash}a—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea. 2In that day:

“Sing about a fruitful vineyard.

3I, the LORD {YHWH}, am its keeper;

I water it continually.

I guard it night and day

so no one can disturb it;

4I am not angry.

If only thorns and briers confronted Me,

I would march and trample them,

I would burn them to the ground.

5Or let them lay claim to My protection;

let them make peace with Me—

yes, let them make peace with Me.”

6In the days to come, Jacob (he grasps the heel) will take root.

Israel (he wrestles with God) will bud and blossom

and fill the whole world with fruit.

7Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors?

Was she killed like those who slayed her?

8By warfare and exile (By driving her away into exile)b You contended with her

and removed her with a fierce wind {ruach},

as on the day the east wind blows.

9Therefore Jacob’s (he grasps the heel) guilt will be atoned for,

and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this:c

When he makes all the altar stones

like crushed bits of chalk,

no Asherah poles (goddess) or incense altars

will remain standing.

10For the fortified city lies deserted—

a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken.

There the calves graze, and there they lie down;

they strip its branches bare.

11When its limbs are dry,

they are broken off.

Women come and use them for kindling;

for this is a people without understanding.

Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them,

and their Creator shows them no favor.

12In that day the LORD {YHWH} will thresh from the flowing Euphrates \River/d to the Wadi of Egypt (land of bondage), and you⁺, O Israelites (God prevails), will be gathered one by one. 13And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria (a step) will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt (land of bondage). And they will worship the LORD {YHWH} on the holy mountain in Jerusalem (city of peace).