The Eagles and the Vine

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a ^(A)parable to the house of Israel, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁹ “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to ^(J)the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed ^(K)the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. ^13 (L)And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, ^(M)and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, ¹⁴ that the kingdom might be ^(N)brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. ¹⁵ But ^(O)he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, ^(P)that they might give him horses and many people. ^(Q)Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

¹⁶ ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely ^(R)in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. ^17 (S)Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, ^(T)when they heap up a siege mound and build a ^[c]wall to cut off many persons. ¹⁸ Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact ^(U)gave^[d] his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. ²⁰ I will ^(V)spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and ^(W)try him there for the ^[e]treason which he committed against Me. ^21 (X)All his ^[f]fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be ^(Y)scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Israel Exalted at Last^(Z)

²² Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest ^(AA)branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs ^(AB)a tender one, and will ^(AC)plant it on a high and prominent mountain. ^23 (AD)On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. ^(AE)Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, ^(AF)have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; ^(AG)I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^(B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace ^[a]from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Good Example

^2 (C)We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, ³ remembering without ceasing ^(D)your work of faith, ^(E)labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, ⁴ knowing, beloved brethren, ^(F)your election by God. ⁵ For ^(G)our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, ^(H)and in the Holy Spirit ^(I)and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶ And ^(J)you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, ^(K)with joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. ⁸ For from you the word of the Lord ^(L)has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also ^(M)in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. ⁹ For they themselves declare concerning us ^(N)what manner of entry we had to you, ^(O)and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and ^(P)to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us ^(Q)from the wrath to come.

The Rebellions of Israel

20 It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that ^(A)certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and 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, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” says the Lord God, ^(B)“I will not be inquired of by you.” ’ ⁴ Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then ^(C)make known to them the abominations of their fathers.

⁵ “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when ^(D)I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself ^(E)known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, ^(F)‘I am the Lord your God.’ ⁶ On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, ^(G)to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ^(H)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ ^(I)the glory of all lands. ⁷ Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, ^(J)throw away ^(K)the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with ^(L)the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they rebelled against Me and would not ^[a]obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will ^(M)pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ ^9 (N)But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself ^(O)known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “Therefore I ^(P)made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^11 (Q)And I gave them My statutes and ^[b]showed them My judgments, ^(R)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ ¹² Moreover I also gave them My ^(S)Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ Yet the house of Israel ^(T)rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they ^(U)despised My judgments, ^(V)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly ^(W)defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the ^(X)wilderness, to consume them. ^14 (Y)But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ So ^(Z)I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, ^(AA)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ ^(AB)the glory of all lands, ^16 (AC)because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for ^(AD)their heart went after their idols. ^17 (AE)Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ I am the Lord your God: ^(AF)Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; ^20 (AG)hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

²¹ “Notwithstanding, ^(AH)the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ^(AI)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. ²² Nevertheless I ^[c]withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that ^(AJ)I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, ^24 (AK)because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(AL)their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

²⁵ “Therefore ^(AM)I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all ^[d]their firstborn to pass ^(AN)through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they ^(AO)might know that I am the Lord.” ’

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(A)

19 So then ^(B)Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. ² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. ^3 [a]Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they ^(C)struck Him with their hands.

⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, ^(D)that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

^6 (E)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

⁷ The Jews answered him, ^(F)“We have a law, and according to ^[b]our law He ought to die, because ^(G)He made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” ^(H)But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have ^[c]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, ^(I)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(J)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^(K)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

^13 (L)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now ^(M)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, ^(N)“We have no king but Caesar!”

^16 (O)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus ^[d]and led Him away.

The King on a Cross^(P)

^17 (Q)And He, bearing His cross, ^(R)went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and ^(S)two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ^19 (T)Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰ Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹ Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

^23 (U)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴ They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Behold Your Mother

^25 (W)Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of ^(X)Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and ^(Y)the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ^(Z)“Woman, behold your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her ^(AA)to his own home.

It Is Finished

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^[e]knowing that all things were now accomplished, ^(AB)that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” ²⁹ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and ^(AC)they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ^(AD)“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.