35 Bible Verses about Agriculture

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all her cities together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to wailing.

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.

Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense upon it; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley-harvest.

Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries they brought to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk. And he said, Give to the people, that they may eat.

And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fullness of the wine-press.

And they ate of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the same day.

Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.

There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit of it shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley-harvest.

While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.

Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call to the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

Else, if thou shalt refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy border:

Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the beetle after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, and shalt gather but little: for the locust shall consume it.

If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be;

The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to thee its strength: A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

And then the LORD'S wrath shall be kindled against you, and he shall shut up the heaven, that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

Yes, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if it shall yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.

And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundred-fold: and the LORD blessed him:

Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundred-fold: and the LORD blessed him:

And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfulls.

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit:

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast to the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase, and in all the works of thy hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the beetle after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

For they came up with their cattle, and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew shall be on the fleece only, and it shall be dry upon all the earth besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

And when they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: for the oxen shook it.

And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thy hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing-place of Araunah the Jebusite.

If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be;

That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.

He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.

He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number,

Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars.

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites.

And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

For the vetches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the vetches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

Seven weeks shalt thou number to thee: begin to number the seven weeks from the time when thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, go down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

And there came a messenger to Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

And Jesus said to him, No man having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

But which of you having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say to him immediately, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to eat?

Or saith he this altogether for our sakes? for our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Is the seed yet in the barn? yes, as yet the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I deposit all my fruits and my goods.

Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap: which neither have store-house, nor barn; and God feedeth them: How much more are ye better than the fowls?

And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them to the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.

Then said Boaz to Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean to the end of barley-harvest and of wheat-harvest; and dwelt with her mother-in-law.

While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: (for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:) But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his colter, and his ax, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the colters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.

Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made even the face of it, doth he not cast abroad the vetches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. read more.
For the vetches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the vetches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread-corn is bruised; because he will not always be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: read more.
And when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.

But this I say, He who soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he who soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully.

I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be;

The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew: and they shall pursue thee until thou dost perish.

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees increased, the palmer-worm devoured them: yet have ye not returned to me, saith the LORD.

For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and water it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:

And the LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye shall have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest:

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest, thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest to the land.

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Yes, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand pieces of silver, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit; and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted; the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field hath perished.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

With which the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom.

Thus hath the Lord GOD shown to me; and behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees increased, the palmer-worm devoured them: yet have ye not returned to me, saith the LORD.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

He heweth down cedars for himself, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.

For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood around and made obeisance to my sheaf.

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: read more.
And when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and immediately with joy receiveth it; Yet he hath not root in himself, but endureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, forthwith he is offended. read more.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. read more.
And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundred-fold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What doth this parable mean? And he said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side, are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, who, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and gather his wheat into the granary; but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

And thou shalt have goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for maintenance for thy maidens.

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had many cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:

Another parable he proposed to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and departed. But when the blade had sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. read more.
So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said to them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said to him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them? But he said, No; lest while ye gather the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said to them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; read more.
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them who do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season: he reserveth to us the appointed weeks of harvest.

For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou shalt return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return.

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite: And over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash: read more.
And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David's.

While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit; and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had many cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had many cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water with them the wood that bringeth forth trees:

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return to his house, lest he should die in the battle, and another man should eat of it.

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

Be patient, therefore, brethren, to the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receiveth the early and the latter rain.

The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.

Then saith he to his disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that behold, the place was a place for cattle;

And eastward he inhabited to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.

Then said Boaz to Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept.