(A)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as (B)a spiritual house, to be (C)a holy priesthood, (D)to offer spiritual sacrifices (E)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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20 (A)built on the foundation of the (B)apostles and prophets, (C)Christ Jesus himself being (D)the cornerstone, 21 (E)in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into (F)a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him (G)you also are being built together (H)into a dwelling place for God by[a] the Spirit.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:22 Or in

(A)Working together with him, then, (B)we appeal to you (C)not to receive the grace of God in vain.

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16 (A)Do you not know that you[a] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:16 The Greek for you is plural in verses 16 and 17

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while (A)the Lord worked with them and confirmed (B)the message (C)by accompanying signs.]]

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37 (A)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

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(A)rooted and (B)built up in him and (C)established in the faith, just (D)as you were taught, abounding (E)in thanksgiving.

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19 Or (A)do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? (B)You are not your own,

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I Am the True Vine

15 “I am the (A)true vine, and my Father is (B)the vinedresser. (C)Every branch in me that does not bear fruit (D)he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, (E)that it may bear more fruit. Already (F)you are clean (G)because of the word that I have spoken to you. (H)Abide (I)in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; (J)you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that (K)bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me (L)he is thrown away like a branch and withers; (M)and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If (N)you abide in me, and my words abide in you, (O)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (P)By this my Father is glorified, that you (Q)bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

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35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that (A)the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that (B)sower and (C)reaper (D)may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, (E)‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap (F)that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, (G)and you have entered into their labor.”

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10 For (A)we are his workmanship, (B)created in Christ Jesus (C)for good works, (D)which God prepared beforehand, (E)that we should walk in them.

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11 (A)This Jesus[a] is the stone that was (B)rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 4:11 Greek This one
  2. Acts 4:11 Greek the head of the corner

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause (A)righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

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Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

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15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

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The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, (A)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; (B)he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once (C)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

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The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 (A)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him (B)as he was teaching, and said, (C)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, (D)from where did it come? (E)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, (F)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ (G)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was (H)a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 (I)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in (J)the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he (K)changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (L)the tax collectors and (M)the prostitutes go into (N)the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you (O)in the way of righteousness, and (P)you did not believe him, but (Q)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward (R)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 (S)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted (T)a vineyard (U)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and (V)leased it to tenants, and (W)went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[a] to the tenants (X)to get his fruit. 35 (Y)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and (Z)stoned another. 36 (AA)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, (AB)‘This is the heir. Come, (AC)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and (AD)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 (AE)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, (AF)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and (AG)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, (AH)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

(AI)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;[b]
this was the Lord's doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God (AJ)will be taken away from you and given to a people (AK)producing its fruits. 44 And (AL)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and (AM)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:34 Or bondservants; also verses 35, 36
  2. Matthew 21:42 Greek the head of the corner
  3. Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts omit verse 44

12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is (A)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and (B)he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 (C)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord (D)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there[a] shall be a (E)priest on his throne, (F)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:13 Or he

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    (A)to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
(B)the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
(C)that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, (D)that he may be glorified.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty

You brought (A)a vine out of Egypt;
    you (B)drove out the nations and planted it.
You (C)cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (D)the sea
    and its shoots to (E)the River.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates

The Restoration of Israel

11 “In that day (A)I will raise up
    the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
    and raise up its ruins
    and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 (B)that they may possess the remnant of Edom
    and (C)all the nations who are called by my name,”[a]
    declares the Lord who does this.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17) that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

Let me sing for my beloved
    my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had (A)a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
    and planted it with (B)choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and (C)he looked for it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
(D)What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
(E)When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove (F)its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;[a]
(G)I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and (H)briers and thorns shall grow up;
(I)I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.

(J)For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
    is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
    are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
    but behold, bloodshed;[b]
for righteousness,
    but behold, an outcry![c]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
  2. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike
  3. Isaiah 5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike

16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people (A)blossom in the cities
    like the (B)grass of the field!

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