Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; ³ say, Thus says the Lord God: ^(C)A great eagle ^(D)with great wings and long pinions, ^(E)rich in plumage of many colors, came ^(F)to Lebanon ^(G)and took the top of the cedar. ⁴ He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. ⁵ Then he took of the seed of the land ^(H)and planted it in fertile soil.^[a] He placed it beside abundant waters. ^(I)He set it like a willow twig, ⁶ and it sprouted and became a ^(J)low ^(K)spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

^7 (L)“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, ^(M)and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from ^(N)the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. ^8 (O)It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

⁹ “Say, Thus says the Lord God: ^(P)Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰ Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? ^(Q)Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

¹¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹² “Say now to ^(R)the rebellious house, ^(S)Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ^(T)the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. ^13 (U)And he took one of the royal offspring^{[b] (V)}and made a covenant with him, ^(W)putting him under oath (^(X)the chief men of the land he had taken away), ¹⁴ that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. ^15 (Y)But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ^(Z)to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ^(AA)Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ^(AB)break the covenant and yet escape?

^16 (AC)“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely ^(AD)in the place where the king dwells ^(AE)who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. ^17 (AF)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ^(AG)when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. ¹⁸ He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. ^20 (AH)I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon ^(AI)and enter into judgment with him there ^(AJ)for the treachery he has committed against me. ²¹ And all the pick^[c] of his troops shall fall by the sword, ^(AK)and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that ^(AL)I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

²² Thus says the Lord God: ^(AM)“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. ^(AN)I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and ^(AO)I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ^23 (AP)On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. ^(AQ)And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; ^(AR)I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up ^(AS)the green tree, and make ^(AT)the dry tree flourish. ^(AU)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of ^(A)the temple.

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, ^(A)“Rabbi, ^(B)who sinned, ^(C)this man or ^(D)his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but ^(E)that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must ^(F)work the works of him who sent me ^(G)while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, ^(H)I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, ^(I)he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. ^(J)Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in ^(K)the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and ^(L)came back seeing.

⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ^(M)“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, ^(N)“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ^14 (O)Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ^15 (P)So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not ^(Q)from God, ^(R)for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, ^(S)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And ^(T)there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, ^(U)“He is a prophet.”

^18 (V)The Jews^[a] did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² (His parents said these things ^(W)because they feared the Jews, for ^(X)the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should ^(Y)confess Jesus^[b] to be Christ, ^(Z)he was to be put out of the synagogue. ²³ Therefore his parents said, ^(AA)“He is of age; ask him.”)

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ^(AB)“Give glory to God. We know that ^(AC)this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I ^(AD)was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, ^(AE)“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but ^(AF)we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, ^(AG)we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is ^(AH)an amazing thing! ^(AI)You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that ^(AJ)God does not listen to sinners, but ^(AK)if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ^33 (AL)If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, ^(AM)“You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they ^(AN)cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in ^(AO)the Son of Man?”^{[c] 36} He answered, ^(AP)“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and ^(AQ)it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, ^(AR)“For judgment I came into this world, ^(AS)that those who do not see may see, and ^(AT)those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ^(AU)“Are we also blind?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, ^(AV)you would have no guilt;^[d] but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

I Am the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ^5 (AW)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus ^(AX)used with them, but they ^(AY)did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AZ)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^(BA)he will be saved and will go in and out and ^(BB)find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and ^(BC)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ^11 (BD)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(BE)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(BF)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(BG)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(BH)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(BI)he is a hired hand and ^(BJ)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (BK)I am the good shepherd. ^(BL)I know my own and ^(BM)my own know me, ^15 (BN)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(BO)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(BP)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(BQ)I must bring them also, and ^(BR)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(BS)one flock, ^(BT)one shepherd. ^17 (BU)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(BV)because ^(BW)I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 (BX)No one takes it from me, but ^(BY)I lay it down ^(BZ)of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^(CA)I have authority to take it up again. ^(CB)This charge I have received from my Father.”

^19 (CC)There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, ^(CD)“He has a demon, and ^(CE)is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. ^(CF)Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

I and the Father Are One

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, ^(CG)in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ^(CH)the Christ, ^(CI)tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(CJ)The works that I do ^(CK)in my Father's name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but ^(CL)you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ^27 (CM)My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ^28 (CN)I give them eternal life, and ^(CO)they will never perish, and ^(CP)no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, ^(CQ)who has given them to me,^{[e] (CR)}is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of ^(CS)the Father's hand. ^30 (CT)I and the Father are one.”

^31 (CU)The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” ³³ The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but ^(CV)for blasphemy, because you, being a man, ^(CW)make yourself God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in ^(CX)your Law, ^(CY)‘I said, you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be ^(CZ)broken— ³⁶ do you say of him whom ^(DA)the Father consecrated and ^(DB)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because ^(DC)I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ^37 (DD)If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I do them, ^(DE)even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that ^(DF)the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” ^39 (DG)Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰ He went away again across the Jordan to the place ^(DH)where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. ⁴¹ And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but ^(DI)everything that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And ^(DJ)many believed in him there.