The Outcast Vine

15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? ³ Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? ⁴ Instead, ^(A)it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? ⁵ Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ⁷ and ^(B)I will set My face against them. ^(C)They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. ^(D)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. ⁸ Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”

God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your ^[a]birth ^(B)and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; ^(C)your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ As for your nativity, ^(D)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were ^[b]loathed on the day you were born.

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ ^7 (E)I made you ^[c]thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

⁸ “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; ^(F)so I spread ^[d]My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I ^(G)swore an oath to you and entered into a ^(H)covenant with you, and ^(I)you became Mine,” says the Lord God.

⁹ “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of ^[e]badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with ornaments, ^(J)put bracelets on your wrists, ^(K)and a chain on your neck. ¹² And I put a ^[f]jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. ^(L)You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly ^(M)beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. ^14 (N)Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord God.

Jerusalem’s Harlotry

^15 (O)“But you trusted in your own beauty, ^(P)played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. ^16 (Q)You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored ^[g]high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. ¹⁷ You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. ¹⁸ You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. ¹⁹ Also ^(R)My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as ^[h]sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

^20 (S)“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, ²¹ that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the ^(T)fire? ²² And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your ^(U)youth, ^(V)when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

²³ “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God— ²⁴ that ^(W)you also built for yourself a shrine, and ^(X)made a ^[i]high place for yourself in every street. ²⁵ You built your high places ^(Y)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. ²⁶ You also committed harlotry with ^(Z)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to ^(AA)provoke Me to anger.

²⁷ “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your ^[j]allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, ^(AB)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ²⁸ You also played the harlot with the ^(AC)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, ^(AD)Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

³⁰ “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples

16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you ^(A)should not be made to stumble. ^2 (B)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming ^(C)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And ^(D)these things they will do ^[a]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when ^[b]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

⁵ “But now I ^(E)go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, ^(F)sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but ^(G)if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has ^(H)come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ^9 (I)of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ^10 (J)of righteousness, ^(K)because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ^11 (L)of judgment, because ^(M)the ruler of this world is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, ^(N)but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, ^(O)the Spirit of truth, has come, ^(P)He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ^14 (Q)He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ^15 (R)All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He ^[c]will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

¹⁶ “A ^(S)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, ^(T)because I go to the Father.”

¹⁷ Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not ^[d]know what He is saying.”

¹⁹ Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰ Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and ^(U)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into ^(V)joy. ^21 (W)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and ^(X)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

²³ “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. ^(Y)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, ^(Z)that your joy may be ^(AA)full.

Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you ^(AB)plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; ^27 (AC)for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and ^(AD)have believed that I came forth from God. ^28 (AE)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”

²⁹ His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! ³⁰ Now we are sure that ^(AF)You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this ^(AG)we believe that You came forth from God.”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ^32 (AH)Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, ^(AI)each to his ^[e]own, and will leave Me alone. And ^(AJ)yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ These things I have spoken to you, that ^(AK)in Me you may have peace. ^(AL)In the world you ^[f]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, ^(AM)I have overcome the world.”

Jesus Prays for Himself

17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, ^(A)the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ^2 (B)as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He ^[a]should give eternal life to as many ^(C)as You have given Him. ³ And ^(D)this is eternal life, that they may know You, ^(E)the only true God, and Jesus Christ ^(F)whom You have sent. ^4 (G)I have glorified You on the earth. ^(H)I have finished the work ^(I)which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together ^[b]with Yourself, with the glory ^(J)which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

^6 (K)“I have ^[c]manifested Your name to the men ^(L)whom You have given Me out of the world. ^(M)They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸ For I have given to them the words ^(N)which You have given Me; and they have received them, ^(O)and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that ^(P)You sent Me.

⁹ “I pray for them. ^(Q)I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and ^(R)Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ^11 (S)Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, ^(T)keep^[d] through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one ^(U)as We are. ¹² While I was with them ^[e]in the world, ^(V)I kept them in ^[f]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and ^(W)none of them is ^[g]lost ^(X)except the son of ^[h]perdition, ^(Y)that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; ^(Z)and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, ^(AA)just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but ^(AB)that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ^17 (AC)Sanctify^[i] them by Your truth. ^(AD)Your word is truth. ^18 (AE)As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And ^(AF)for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who ^[j]will believe in Me through their word; ^21 (AG)that they all may be one, as ^(AH)You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the ^(AI)glory which You gave Me I have given them, ^(AJ)that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; ^(AK)that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

^24 (AL)“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; ^(AM)for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father! ^(AN)The world has not known You, but ^(AO)I have known You; and ^(AP)these have known that You sent Me. ^26 (AQ)And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love ^(AR)with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”