God poses these questions to force Israel to acknowledge His exhaustive care and their own inexcusable failure, compelling them to pronounce judgment upon themselves before He declares it explicitly.

No verbal response is recorded. The following verses contain God’s pronouncement of judgment: He will remove the vineyard’s hedge and wall, allowing it to be trampled and devoured, withholding rain and letting it become a wasteland (verses 5-6).

God’s double question confronts Israel with undeniable logic. The rhetorical force demands Israel acknowledge both God’s perfect faithfulness and their own inexcusable failure. The Hebrew construction ma’od la’asot emphasizes exhaustive action, what more to do?, leaving no room for excusing their barrenness. Barnes notes that God had done everything a skillful farmer could do: chosen the best location, cleared the land, planted choice vines, protected them, and provided all necessities for fruitfulness. The second question shifts from God’s actions to Israel’s failure. When God expected mishpat (justice), He found mispach (bloodshed); when He looked for tsedaqah (righteousness), He heard tse’aqah (a cry of distress), a devastating wordplay in Hebrew. The question form accomplishes what direct accusation cannot: it forces the audience to render verdict against themselves before God pronounces judgment. This rhetorical strategy makes the coming judgment both inevitable and self-inflicted.