Behold, my brethren, do ye not remember to have read the words of the prophet ^aZenos, which he spake unto the house of Israel, saying:

 2 Hearken, O ye house of Israel, and hear the words of me, a prophet of the Lord.

 3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of ^aIsrael, like unto a tame ^bolive tree, which a man took and nourished in his ^cvineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to ^ddecay.

 4 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard went forth, and he saw that his olive tree began to decay; and he said: I will ^aprune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender branches, and it perish not.

 5 And it came to pass that he ^apruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

 6 And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main ^atop thereof began to perish.

 7 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he said unto his ^aservant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a ^bwild olive tree, and bring them hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that they may be burned.

 8 And behold, saith the Lord of the vineyard, I take ^aaway many of these young and tender branches, and I will graft them ^bwhithersoever I will; and it mattereth not that if it so be that the root of this tree will perish, I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself; wherefore, I will take these young and tender branches, and I will graft them whithersoever I will.

 9 Take thou the branches of the wild olive tree, and graft them in, in the ^astead thereof; and these which I have plucked off I will cast into the fire and burn them, that they may not cumber the ground of my vineyard.

 10 And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did according to the word of the Lord of the vineyard, and grafted in the branches of the ^awild olive tree.