¹⁹ I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;^(A) I did not realize that they had plotted^(B) against me, saying,

¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.^(A)

⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(A)

⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!^(A) Why should it use up the soil?’

² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,^(A) while every branch that does bear fruit^(B) he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.

¹² These people are blemishes at your love feasts,^(A) eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.^(B) They are clouds without rain,^(C) blown along by the wind;^(D) autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted^(E)—twice dead.