Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

Yet I planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true seed: how then art thou turned unto me into that which is good for nothing, O strange vineyard?

And I, I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine unto me?

And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?

But when you were planted by me, you were a noble vine, in every way a true seed: how then have you been changed into the branching plant of a strange vine?

Yet I planted you as an elect vineyard, with only true seed. Then how have you been turned away from me, toward that which is depraved, O strange vineyard?

Et ego plantavi to vineam electam (vineam nobilem, vel, exquisitam, hoc enim significat nomen, svrq,) totam fidele semen (hoc est, semen probum); et quomodo conversa es mihi degenerationes vitis alienae?

God here confirms what is said in the last verse; for he condemned the Israelites for having perversely run here and there after their superstitions, when yet they had been redeemed for this end, -- that they might be ruled by the hand of God. Hence he says, I planted thee as a choice vine; that is, "When I redeemed thee from thine enemies, I did not give thee permission thus to prostitute thyself without any restraint, without any shame; for I planted thee as a choice vine." The metaphor is well known, and often occurs; for God frequently compares his Church to a vine. He calls it generally his heritage, or his land; but as vines excel other possessions, (for they are usually preferred to pasture lands, or to cultivated fields,) as then vines are the most valuable property, God hereby testifies how highly he values his Church; for he calls it his vine rather than his pasture or his field, when he speaks of it. So he does in this place, "I did not deliver thee from Egypt, that I might afterwards throw aside every care of thee; but my purpose was, that thou shouldest strike roots, and become an heritage precious to me, as an exquisite and a noble vine. I, therefore, planted thee a generous vine, svrq shurek, that thou mightest bring me forth fruit." Then he says, a wholly right seed; [1] that is, "I planted thee for this end, -- that thou mightest produce fruit acceptable and pleasant to me." God regards here his own grace, and not the character of the people; for that people, as it is well known, was never a true seed: but God here shews the purpose for which he had redeemed the people, which was, that they might be like a choice vine. How then? he adds. God speaks here of their corruptions with wonder, for the indignity was such as was enough to astonish all men: how then art thou turned to me into degenerations! So I render svrvm surim, though the word is not in common use in Latin: but it is enough for me if we understand the meaning of the Prophet. The word is derived from svr sur, to turn aside, or back. We ought to say then correctly, "into turnings aside." But as this would be obscure, when the vine is spoken of, I have not hesitated to fix on another word: How then art thou turned to me into the degenerations of a strange vine! Some give this version, "into useless branches of grapes:" but I know not whence they have taken the words. I wish to keep to what is more genuine, -- that the vine, which ought to have been fruitful, had so degenerated that it produced nothing, as we shall find in another place, but wild grapes. [2] And he calls them the turnings aside of a strange vine, which ceases to be the choice vine, svrq, shurek, and is turned to a wild vine, which produces nothing but sour or bitter fruit: and in the last place, as it brought forth nothing useful, God justly calls it a strange vine. It follows --

Footnotes

1 - The word means not only the seed of vegetables, but whatever forms that from which anything grows. It is applied as a verb to the planting of shoots or cuttings in Isaiah 17:10. The proper rendering here would be, -- The whole of it a genuine plant (or shoot). What is rendered "choice vine," svrq is the yellow vine; the best was so called, because it produced wine of that color. -- Ed

2 - Much difference exists as to the literal meaning of this clause, though the general meaning is quite evident. None of the early versions are the same. The word svry is rendered, "into bitterness -- eis pikrian," by the Septuagint; "thou hast rebelled," by the Syriac; "into what is corrupt -- in pravurn," by the Vulgate; "thou hast declined from my fear," by the Targum Blarney takes it as a verb in the imperative mood, and renders the two lines thus, -- Yet how I find thee changed! Depart, O vine of spurious growth. But there is a harshness and incongruity in this version that renders it inadmissible. Besides "vine of spurious growth" is not the meaning of the words used, for it is "a foreign vine," that is, a heathen vine; which contains an allusion to the idolatry which had been imported from heathen nations. It is most probable that svry, or in full, svrym, means degenerate shoots or branches, as Parkhurst thinks. To turn aside, to decline, to degenerate, seems to be the most common meaning of the verb. There would in this case be a congruity in the whole verse, -- And I myself had planted thee a choice vine, The whole of it a genuine plant; How then art thou become to me The degenerate shoots of a foreign vine? The plant was of the best kind, but the shoots or the branches had become degenerated, such as a foreign or heathen vine produced. -- Ed.

A noble vine - Properly, a Sorek vine (see Isaiah 5:2), which produced a red wine Proverbs 23:31, and had a lasting reputation Genesis 49:11.
A right seed - literally, "a seed of truth," i. e., true, genuine seed, not mixed with weeds, nor with seed of an inferior quality. Compare Matthew 13:24.
How then art thou turned - Or, "How then" hast thou changed thyself "unto me" (i. e., to my hurt or vexation) "into the degenerate" branches "of a strange vine?" The stock, which was God's planting, was genuine, and of the noblest sort: the wonder was how such a stock could produce shoots of a totally different kind Deuteronomy 32:32.

I had planted thee a noble vine - I gave thee the fullest instruction, the purest ordinances, the highest privileges; and reason would that I should expect thee to live suitably to such advantages; but instead of this thou art become degenerate; the tree is deteriorated, and the fruit is bad. Instead of being true worshippers, and of a holy life and conversation, ye are become idolaters of the most corrupt and profligate kind. See Isaiah 5:1, etc., where the same image is used.

Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed,.... It is usual to compare the people of the Jews to a vineyard, and to vines; and their settlement in the land of Canaan to the planting of vines in a vineyard; see Isaiah 5:1. Kimchi says this is spoken concerning Abraham; no doubt respect is had to the Jewish fathers, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, and the like; who, having the true and right seed of grace in them, became like choice and noble vines, and brought forth much fruit, and were deserving of imitation by their posterity:
how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? like a vine that grows in the woods, and brings forth wild grapes; so these, their sons, degenerating in practice from their fathers, became corrupt in themselves, and unprofitable to God. The Targum of the whole is,
"I set you before me as the plant of a choice vine, all of you doing truth; but how are you changed before me in your corrupt works? ye have declined from my worship, ye are become as a vine in which there is no profit.''

The same image as in Deuteronomy 32:32; Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1, &c.
unto me--with respect to Me.

In this whoring with the false gods, Israel shows its utter corruption. I have planted thee a noble vine; not, with noble vines, as we translate in Isaiah 5:2, where Israel is compared to a vineyard. Here Israel is compared to the vine itself, a vine which Jahveh has planted; cf. Psalm 80:9; Hosea 10:1. This vine was all (כּלּה, in its entirety, referred to שׂורק, as collect.) genuine seed; a proper shoot which could bear good grapes (cf. Ezekiel 17:5); children of Abraham, as they are described in Genesis 18:19. But how has this Israel changed itself to me (לי, dativ. incommodi) into bastards! סוּרי is accus., dependent on נהפכתּ; for this constr. cf. Leviticus 13:25; Psalm 114:8. סוּרים sig. not shoots or twigs, but degenerate sprouts or suckers. The article in הגּפן is generic: wild shoots of the species of the wild vine; but this is not the first determining word; cf. for this exposition of the article Jeremiah 13:4; 2-Samuel 12:30, etc., Ew. 290, a3); and for the omission of the article with נכריּה, cf. Ew. 293, a. Thus are removed the grammatical difficulties that led Hitz. to take ' סוּרי וגוquite unnaturally as vocative, and Graf to alter the text. "A strange vine" is an interloping vine, not of the true, genuine stock planted by Jahveh (Jeremiah 2:10), and which bears poisonous berries of gall. Deuteronomy 32:32.

A right seed - A right seed of true believers.