Di Song of Di Vineyard

One crowd gather for one street for Jerusalem. One man begin sing, and first e sound like sweet love song. People dey smile and dey bend come near. But by di last verse, nobody dey smile again.

We dey Jerusalem, more than seven hundred years before Jesus. Di prophet Isaiah dey live here, for di days of di kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Dis na time of plenty for some people. Di rich dey build big houses and dey add farm to farm. But dem dey push di poor people aside, and di courts no dey always fair. Everybody for Judah know about vineyard. Dem cover di hillsides. So when Isaiah want make di people hear one hard message, e no start with warning. E start with song.

Make I sing for my dear friend, one song about my friend and im vineyard, Isaiah talk. My friend get one vineyard for one hill wey di soil rich well well. And listen how e work hard for am. E dig di ground. E pick all di stones comot, one by one, and heap dem. E plant di very best vines. E build one watchtower for di middle, so dat person fit guard am from thief and animals. E even cut one winepress inside di rock, ready for harvest. E do everything wey vineyard owner fit do. And then e wait, dey look for good, sweet grapes.

But when harvest come, di vines bring only wild grapes. Small, sour grapes wey no get value. Now di song change. E be like say di friend imself dey talk. And now, una wey dey live for Jerusalem, and men of Judah, abeg una judge between me and my vineyard. Una decide, people of Jerusalem. Wetin I for still do for my vineyard wey I never do? Why, when I dey look for good grapes, e bring sour ones? Di people wey dey listen go dey nod head. See waste. Dat owner patient well well. And di owner announce wetin e go do. I go remove im hedge and allow animals chop am. I go break im wall and allow people match am. I no go prune am or dig am, and thorns and briers go grow. And then one strange line: I go command di clouds make dem no rain on top am. Who fit command di clouds? Only God.

Then Isaiah tell dem straight. Because di vineyard of Di Lord of hosts na di house of Israel, and di men of Judah na di plant wey e love. Di vineyard na una. God na di one wey love am, plant am, and take care of am. E rescue im people from Egypt, give dem land and teach dem im ways. And wetin e dey look for? E look for justice, but see wickedness; e look for righteousness, but see cry. God want make fairness and goodness grow among im people. Instead e find di powerful dey crush di weak, and di cry of people wey dem don treat unjustly. Di love song turn to song about God heart wey don break.

For Hebrew, di last line of di song na play on words. God look for mishpat, justice, and find mispach, blood wey dem shed or wickedness. E look for tsedaqah, righteousness, and hear tse'aqah, cry. Di words sound almost di same but dem mean di opposite. Hundreds of years later, Jesus tell one parable about one man wey plant vineyard, put hedge round am, dig winepress and build tower. Di people wey dey listen go recognise Isaiah song.

You go find dis song for Isaiah chapter five, verse one reach seven. One vineyard wey dem love and take care of, and one God wey dey long to see justice and goodness grow. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which kind fruit God go find dey grow for di way wey you dey treat other people?