Jacob 5:46-49

46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self.  But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard?  Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it?  Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh.  And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned.  Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good?  And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves.  Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?

49 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all.  What could I have done more for my vineyard?

 Jacob 5:46-49

The Lord of the vineyard continued his lament.  In spite of all the care he had given the vineyard, “the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit.” Remember, as we read this, we are reading about the house of Israel, represented by the tree bringing forth corrupted fruit.  John the Baptist preached, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:9).

He had hoped to preserve this tree, but it has become like the wild olive trees.  They are of no worth and should be cast into the fire, though “it grieveth [the Lord] that I should lose them.”

When preaching to the Nephites, the Savior told them, “But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return” (3 Nephi 27:11).

Alma² would also use this analogy, no doubt referring back to Jacob’s writings.  “And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire.  Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it” (Alma 5:52).

Paul Hoskisson looks at how this relates to the Apostasy. 

The allegory leaves no doubt that God attempted everything in his power to prevent the Apostasy. When God came to inspect the world after the Apostasy had taken place and "all creeds [of the Apostasy had become] an abomination in [God's] sight" (Joseph Smith–History 1:19), God asked the servant in the allegory, "What could I have done more for my vineyard" to have prevented the Apostasy (Jacob 5:41)? The answer to this rhetorical question was that there was nothing he could have done more. He did not slacken his hand in creating the right environment and the necessary conditions for the gospel to flourish and produce fruit (Jacob 5:47). As explained in Jacob 5:28, "The Lord of the vineyard and the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all the fruit of the vineyard." But, as Jacob 5:46 explains, "Notwithstanding all the care which we [for example, the Lord and his servant] have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit." In short, it was not lack of effort on God's part that allowed the Apostasy to occur.[1]

The Lord rhetorically asks, “[C]ould I have done more in my vineyard?  Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it?”  He then answers his own question.  No, he says.  I have done all I could.  I have nourished it, pruned it, fertilized it, and dug around it.  He is grieved to had to cut down all the trees in the vineyard and burn them. 

He asks, “Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?”

M. Catherine Thomas explains verse 47 means that God will never give up on us.  It is we who gives up on him.

If God is seeking access to his children continually, what is the meaning of the periods of divine absence in the allegory? The Lord declares, "I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long" (Jacob 5:47). Jacob drops the word almost when he reiterates: "He stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long. . . . Come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. . . . For why will ye die? . . . For behold, . . . ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long" (Jacob 6:4–7). Cleave is atonement language. It is not God who has ceased to cleave, but man who has rejected God's love. These periods in which we do not see divine activity signify not so much the Master's absence, but rather Israel's voluntary withdrawal from the true olive tree.[2]

The servant replied to his master.  “Is it not the loftiness of the vineyard-have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good?”  Here we see that it was pride that plagued the house of Israel.  Paul Hoskisson explains:

What then caused the Apostasy? The Lord of the vineyard himself asked that question at the end of Jacob 5:47, "Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard," that is, who has caused the Apostasy? In Jacob 5:48 the servant answered his Lord, "Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard," pride, that caused the Apostasy? The servant further noted, in explaining the process of the Apostasy, "Have not the branches overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves." The Israelite and Gentile branches on the tame olive trees, through pride and haughtiness, took strength unto themselves. That is, rather than relying on their scriptural heritage for strength and nourishment, they relied on their own strength and abilities, thus nullifying the influence of the scriptural heritage from which they could have received direction and guidance. And by acting on their own in their pride they deemed themselves strong and grew in directions that were not appropriate, ending in apostasy.[3]

The Lord warned Joseph Smith, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (D&C 121:39). 

The branches had overcome the roots, but the roots were good.  Might this be the reason the vineyard had become corrupted. 

Matthew Roper writes:

So the Lehite "tree" of the allegory consists of a population geographically "transplanted" from the original Israelite promised land and "grafted" onto a wild root—or joined with non-Israelite people. Note that the Lord considers the new root to be "good" despite its being wild (Jacob 5:48). This allegorical description requires that a non-Israelite root—other peoples, in terms of this discussion—already be present on the scene where the "young and tender branch," Lehi's group, would be merged with them.[4]

The Lord told the servant to cut down the trees and burn.  He had done all he could have done.  “What could I have done more for my vineyard?”

This begs the question, why would the Lord burn down his vineyard? 

It has been known since ancient times that olive groves destroyed by fire sprout vigorously. The Lord appears ready to burn his entire vineyard and start over in verse 49, but the servant persuades him to work with the existing trees a little longer (Jacob 5:50).

Groves are sometimes burned deliberately to reconstitute them.¹⁸⁰ When reconstituting an olive tree by burning, the tree is taken up, leaving only the large roots. The bases are either burned or ripped up with a tractor. The new shoots are vigorous, but they do not grow in the same spot as the original tree, which complicates cultivation. Three of the main shoots are selected about a meter from each other. They are trimmed leaving three small-rooted bases, which are covered with soil…

Thus, burning an olive grove is a symbol of rebirth. The Lord's efforts throughout the allegory represent the last effort, leading to the "last time" that he will graft and plant as he does to rejuvenate the old tree in his vineyard (Jacob 5:62–64, 71, 75–77), but the image of burning in the end is not one of destruction. It conveys botanically the idea of starting over. It reminds us that the Lord had preserved the roots of the young shoots planted in the nethermost parts for an unstated future purpose (Jacob 5:54). After the vineyard is burned, the old stump will be removed and the young roots will shoot forth new growth carrying forth the favorable genetic [material].[5]

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[1] The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 18, 2014.

[2] Jacob's Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 18, 2014.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Nephi's Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations, Matthew Roper, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 18, 2014.

[5] Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2014.