But the captain of the bodyguard left some of the unimportant and poorest people of the land to be vineyard workers and farmers.

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.

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

But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

Be ashamed, O farmers;
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and for the barley,
Because the harvest of the field has perished.