60 Bible Verses about Vineyard

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country].

Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.

But the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a [stone] wall on this side and a [stone] wall on that side.

“No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old man who does not finish his days;
For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought of as accursed.

“They will build houses and live in them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit.

“They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.

And Noah began to farm and cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard.

“Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore (solemnly promised) to [give] your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give you, [a land with] great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn (excavated) cisterns (wells) which you did not dig out, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are full and satisfied,

Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: “Surrender to me and come out to [meet] me, and every man may eat from his own vine and fig tree, and every man may drink the waters of his own well, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, so that you may live and not die.” Do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads and incites you, saying, “The Lord will rescue us!”

Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me and come out to me, and each one of you will eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree and each [one of you] drink from the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

‘Then this shall be the sign [of these things] to you [Hezekiah]: this year you will eat what grows of itself, in the second year what springs up voluntarily, and in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

“This shall be the sign [of these things] to you [Hezekiah]: you are to eat this year what grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from the same, and in the third year you are to sow and harvest, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had a great deal of livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plain. He also had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.

“They captured fortified cities and a fertile land.
They took possession of houses full of all good things,
Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
And fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and became fat,
And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.

And sow fields and plant vineyards,
And produce an abundant harvest.

Also He blesses them so that they multiply greatly,
And He does not let [the number of] their cattle decrease.

The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O Virgin Israel!
You will again be adorned with your tambourines and timbrels
And go out to the dances of those who celebrate.

“Again you will plant vineyards
On the mountains of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And enjoy the [abundant] fruit [in peace].

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land.”’

But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us: ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, forever. Nor shall you build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard or own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners (temporary residents).’ We have obeyed the words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, in all our days we have never drunk wine, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters, read more.
nor have we built ourselves houses to live in; nor do we have vineyards or fields or seed. We have lived only in tents, and have obeyed and done [everything] according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”

“Also I shall bring back the exiles of My people Israel,
And they will rebuild the deserted and ruined cities and inhabit them:
They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard deported [into exile] the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had joined the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. But the captain of the bodyguard left some of the unimportant and poorest people of the land to be vineyard workers and farmers.

Then Nebuzaradan the [chief executioner and] captain of the bodyguard took the rest of the people who remained in the city, along with those who had deserted and surrendered to him, and the rest of the [so-called better class of] people who were left and carried them into exile in Babylon. But Nebuzaradan the [Babylonian] captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile some of the poorest of the people, those who were left in the city [at the time it was captured], along with those who deserted to join the king of Babylon [during the siege] and the rest of the artisans. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through a field or through a vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning [off-course] to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’”

“Let me pass through your land; we will not turn away [from the road] into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway until we have crossed your border.”

What man has planted a vineyard and has not put it to use [harvesting its fruit]? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would begin to use its fruit.

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother [to arrange the marriage], and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and suddenly, a young lion came roaring toward him.

So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches and turning the foxes tail to tail, he put a torch between each pair of tails. When he had set the torches ablaze, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and he burned up the heap of sheaves and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves.

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself to his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots. read more.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards; Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars.

Now there was a great outcry of the [poorer] people and their wives against their Jewish brothers [to whom they were deeply in debt]. For there were some who were saying, “We, along with our sons and our daughters, are many; therefore allow us to get grain, so that we may eat and survive.” There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to buy grain because of the famine.” read more.
There were also others who were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards for the [Persian] king’s [heavy] tax. Now our flesh (skin) is the same as that of our brothers (relatives), and our children are like their children, yet here we are forcing (selling) our sons and our daughters to be slaves; and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are powerless [to redeem them] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Listen now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and hundreds?

Elisha said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a [proper] time to accept money and clothing and olive orchards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants?

She considers a field before she buys or accepts it [expanding her business prudently];
With her profits she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed bare or lets his livestock loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [what the land grows naturally]; whatever they leave the animals of the field may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard.

“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or everything produced by the seed which you have sown and the yield of the vineyard will become defiled [and banned for use].

“When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you please, but you shall not put any in your basket [to take with you].

“When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.

You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because the worm will eat them.

You will be pledged to marry a wife, but another man will be intimate with her [before you]; you will build a house, but you will not live in it; you will plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit.

Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor
And demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them,
Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone,
You will not live in them;
You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.

“Furthermore, their wealth will become plunder
And their houses a desolation.
Yes, they will build houses but not live in them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, close beside the [winter] palace of Ahab king of Samaria; Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a garden of vegetables and herbs, because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it, or, if you prefer, I will give you what it is worth in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.” read more.
So Ahab [already upset by the Lord’s message] came into his house [feeling more] resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face, and would not eat any food. Then Jezebel his wife came to him and asked him, “Why is your spirit so troubled that you have not eaten?” And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ But he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Get up, eat food, and let your heart rejoice; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. Now in the letters she wrote, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; and seat two worthless and unprincipled men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived there, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. Two worthless and unprincipled men came in and sat down opposite him; and they testified against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king.” Then they brought him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Have you murdered and also taken possession [of the victim’s property]?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick up your blood as well.”’”

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. read more.
Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you].

“For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place; read more.
and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right (an appropriate wage).’ And they went. He went out about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They answered him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard also.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [to be hired] and ending with the first [to be hired].’ Those who had been hired at the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) came and received a denarius each [a day’s wage]. Now when the first [to be hired] came, they thought they would get more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they protested and grumbled at the owner of the estate, saying, ‘These men who came last worked [only] one hour, and yet you have made them equal [in wages] to us who have carried [most of] the burden and [worked in] the scorching heat of the day.’ But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go, but I choose to give to this last man [hired] the same as I give to you. Am I not lawfully permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So those who are last [in this world] shall be first [in the world to come], and those who are first, last.”

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country]. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. read more.
Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected and threw away,
Has become the chief Cornerstone;
This is the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country. When the harvest season came he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. read more.
Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’ So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected,
This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone

This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?”

Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time [to another country]. At harvest time he sent a servant [as his representative] to the tenants, so that they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. So he again sent another servant; they also beat him and dishonored and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed. read more.
And he sent yet a third; and this one too they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard]. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will have respect for him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘This [man] is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and put these tenants to death and will give the vineyard to others.” When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this, they said, “May it never be!” But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is [the meaning of] this that is written:

‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected,
this became the chief Cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any; so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’ But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; read more.
and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

[Consider this:] Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?

‘Your mother [Jerusalem] was like a vine in your vineyard,
Planted by the waters;
It was fruitful and full of branches
Because of abundant water.

“They harvest their fodder in a field [that is not their own],
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

The Lord enters into judgment with the elders of His people and their princes,
“For it is you who have devoured the vineyard [with your oppression, you have robbed the people and ruined the country];
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

Now let me sing for my greatly Beloved [Lord]
A song of my Beloved about His vineyard (His chosen people).
My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile slope (the promised land, Canaan).

He dug it all around and cleared away its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine (the people of Judah).
And He built a tower in the center of it;
And also hewed out a wine vat in it.
Then He expected it to produce [the choicest] grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.
“And now, says the Lord, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard (My people).
read more.

“What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield worthless ones?

“So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up;
I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].

“I will turn it into a wasteland;
It will not be pruned or cultivated,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of Israel
And the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].
So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;
[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.

“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah),
They have trampled My field underfoot;
They have made My pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.