Jacob 5:1 - 5:5

Jacob 5:1 Behold, my brethren, do ye not remember to have read the words of the prophet Zenos, which he spake unto the house of Israel, saying:

Jacob will show that how this is to be done through the writings of a prophet named Zenos. He wrote these words to the house of Israel illustrating what will happen to them in the future. [Jacob will try to show how the Jews will come to living according to the two simple injunctions of loving God and one’s neighbor rather than the complicated codices of laws. The Lord will scatter them to all parts of the earth so they will see that their system does not work to bring real joy and happiness. They will see the Christian way of life and begin to wonder about their own traditions. It is unfortunate that the so called Christians didn’t treat them very well. However, the Lord will then gather them together so they can see that the Lord has not forgotten them and wants to prepare them for His coming.]

Jacob 5:2 Hearken, O ye house of Israel, and hear the words of me, a prophet of the Lord.

Zenos starts his essay with the commandment that all of the house of Israel should pay close attention to what he is about to say. It applies to everyone who is a descendent of Jacob.

Jacob 5:3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay.

The house of Israel will be compared to an olive orchard or vineyard. It had been planted years ago, had grown old and was starting to perish.

Jacob 5:4 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 prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender branches, and it perish not.

Seeing that his vineyard would perish if he did nothing, he went out and tried to revive the trees by digging around the trees, fertilizing them and removing dead branches. He was hoping that new branches would sprout that would product fruit. [This vineyard is the house of Israel. The reviving the trees is an effort to call the people to repentance. The Lord would do this by reminding them of their roots or heritage. He would stir them up by commanding them to repent of their sins. And finally hoping that the people would begin to live the gospel again and start to work towards their eternal perfection that our Father in Heaven wants us all to become.]

Jacob 5:5 And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

The master then did as he had resolved to do hoping to bring his vineyard back into full production.