“Now I will tell you

What I will do

To my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge.

It shall be devoured.

I will break down its wall.

It shall be trampled down.

I will make it a waste.

It shall not be pruned.

It shall not be hoed.

It shall be overgrown

With briers.

It shall be overgrown

With thorns.

I will also command the clouds

That they rain no rain upon it.”

Now Isaiah carries this metaphor forward. What should he do with this wild grape vineyard? He decided to remove the hedges and walls that protected this vineyard from other animals and wild growth. He wanted this vineyard to be devoured and trampled on, so that it would go to waste. He was not going to prune or hoe it. He wanted it to be overgrown with wild briers and thorns. He even was going so far as to command the clouds not to rain on this vineyard. That was a stretch.