Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a ^(A)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [a]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[b]God says: “A great ^[c](B)eagle with ^(C)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[d](D)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[e]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[f]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[g]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[h]from the seed of the land and planted ^[i]it in ^[j](E)fertile soil, a ^[k]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(F)willow. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

⁷ “But there was ^[l]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^(G)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[m]soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ ⁹ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great ^[n]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^(H)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to the ^(I)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(J)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(K)king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal ^[o](L)family and made a covenant with him, ^[p]putting him under ^(M)oath. He also took away the ^(N)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(O)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[q]he ^(P)revolted against ^[r]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[s]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(Q)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[t]country of the king who ^[u]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(R)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[v](S)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (T)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[w]help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. ¹⁸ Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^[x](U)pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly ^[y]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(V)net over him, and he will be ^(W)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(X)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[z](Y)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

²² This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and ^[aa]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(Z)high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately ^(AA)cedar. And ^[ab]birds of every ^[ac]kind will ^[ad]nest under it; they will ^[ae]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(AB)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^(AC)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

Giving Thanks for These Believers

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)Silvanus, and ^(C)Timothy,

To the ^(D)church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ^(E)Grace to you and peace.

^2 (F)We always give thanks to God for all of you, ^(G)making mention of you in our prayers; ³ constantly keeping in mind your ^(H)work of faith and labor of ^(I)love and ^[a](J)perseverance of hope ^[b]in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of ^(K)our God and Father, ⁴ knowing, ^(L)brothers and sisters, beloved by God, ^(M)His choice of you; ⁵ for our ^(N)gospel did not come to you in word only, but also ^(O)in power and in the Holy Spirit and with ^(P)full conviction; just as you know ^(Q)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes. ⁶ You also became ^(R)imitators of us and of the Lord, ^(S)having received ^(T)the word during great affliction with the ^(U)joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in ^(V)Macedonia and ^(W)Achaia. ⁸ For ^(X)the word of the Lord has ^(Y)sounded forth from you, not only in ^(Z)Macedonia and ^(AA)Achaia, but ^(AB)in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report about us ^[c]as to the kind of ^(AC)reception we had with you, and how you ^(AD)turned to God ^(AE)from ^[d]idols to serve ^[e](AF)a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to ^(AG)wait for His Son from ^[f]heaven, whom He ^(AH)raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who ^(AI)rescues us from ^(AJ)the wrath to come.

God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

20 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the ^(A)elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. ² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “^(B)I certainly will not be inquired of by you.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(C)Make known to them the abominations of their fathers; ⁵ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when I ^(D)chose Israel and ^[b]swore to the ^[c]descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^[d]swore to them, saying, ^(E)I am the Lord your God, ⁶ on that day I swore to them, ^(F)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^[e]selected for them, ^(G)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(H)the glory of all the lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘^(I)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(J)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(K)I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they ^(L)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the ^(M)idols of Egypt.

“Then I ^[f]resolved to ^(N)pour out My wrath on them, to ^[g]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted ^(O)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(P)not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(Q)wilderness. ¹¹ I gave them My ^(R)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(S)which, if ^[h]a person ^[i]follows them, then he will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(T)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel ^(U)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(V)which, if ^[j]a person ^[k]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(W)Sabbaths. Then I ^[l]resolved to ^(X)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Also ^(Y)I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their ^(Z)heart continually followed their idols. ¹⁷ Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(AA)annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “Instead, I said to their ^[m](AB)children in the wilderness, ‘^(AC)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (AD)I am the Lord your God; ^(AE)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^[n]follow them. ^20 (AF)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ²¹ But the ^(AG)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to ^[o]follow My ordinances which, if ^[p]a person ^[q]follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I ^[r]resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to ^[s]use up My anger against them in the wilderness. ²² But I ^(AH)withdrew My hand and acted ^(AI)for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^(AJ)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, ²⁴ because they had not ^[t]complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(AK)their eyes were ^[u]on the idols of their fathers. ²⁵ I also gave them statutes that were ^(AL)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them ^(AM)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(AN)made all ^[v]their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(AO)know that I am the Lord.”’

The Crown of Thorns

19 So Pilate then took Jesus and ^[a](A)had Him flogged. ^2 (B)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple ^[b]cloak on Him; ³ and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “^(C)Hail, King of the Jews!” and ^(D)slapped Him in the face again and again. ⁴ And then Pilate ^(E)came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that ^(F)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^[c]His case.” ⁵ Jesus then came out, ^(G)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” ⁶ So when the chief priests and the ^(H)officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for ^(I)I find no grounds for charges in ^[d]His case!” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “^(J)We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He ^(K)made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

⁸ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; ⁹ and he ^(L)entered the ^[e]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^(M)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate *said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, “^(N)You would have no authority ^[f]over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason ^(O)the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” ¹² As a result of this, Pilate ^[g]made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “^(P)If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^[h]opposes Caesar!”

¹³ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and ^(Q)sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[i]The Pavement—but ^(R)in ^[j]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(S)the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[k](T)sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Look, ^(U)your King!” ¹⁵ So they shouted, “^(V)Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶ So he then ^(W)handed Him over to them to be crucified.

^17 (X)They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ^[l](Y)carrying His own cross, to the place called ^(Z)the Place of a Skull, which ^(AA)in ^[m]Hebrew is called, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(AB)two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “^(AC)JESUS THE NAZARENE, ^(AD)THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(AE)in ^[n]Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘^(AF)The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am ^(AG)King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “^(AH)What I have written, I have written.”

²³ Then ^(AI)the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made ^(AJ)four parts: a part to each soldier, and the ^[o]tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven ^[p]in one piece. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “^(AK)Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” ^(AL)This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They ^(AM)divided My garments among themselves, and they cast ^[q]lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

^25 (AN)Now beside the cross of Jesus stood ^(AO)His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^(AP)Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ So when Jesus saw His mother, and ^(AQ)the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “^(AR)Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into ^(AS)his own household.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^(AT)knowing that all things had already been accomplished, ^(AU)in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, *said, “^(AV)I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so ^(AW)they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “^(AX)It is finished!” And He bowed His head and ^(AY)gave up His spirit.