Parable of the Vineyard

Let me sing now for my beloved
A song of my beloved about His vineyard.
My beloved had a (A)vineyard on [a]a fertile hill.
He dug it all around, cleared it of stones,
And planted it with [b]the (B)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it,
And also carved out a [c]wine vat in it;
Then He (C)expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.

“And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
(D)Judge between Me and My vineyard.
(E)What more was there to do for My vineyard [e]that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce [f]worthless ones?
So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will (F)remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will (G)break down its wall and it will become (H)trampled ground.
I will (I)lay it waste;
It will not be pruned nor hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to (J)rain on it.”

For the (K)vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel,
And the people of Judah are His delightful plant.
So He waited for justice, but behold, there was (L)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Woes for the Wicked

Woe to those who (M)attach house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
In my ears the Lord of armies has sworn, “(N)Many houses shall certainly become (O)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 For (P)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one [g]bath of wine,
And a [h](Q)homer of seed will yield only an [i]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue (R)intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!
12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (S)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (T)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (U)lack of knowledge;
And their [j](V)nobles are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (W)Sheol has enlarged its [k]throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And [l]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,
(X)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
16 But the (Y)Lord of armies will be (Z)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself (AA)holy in righteousness.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:1 Lit horn, a son of fatness
  2. Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape
  3. Isaiah 5:2 Or wine press
  4. Isaiah 5:2 Or unripe
  5. Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done
  6. Isaiah 5:4 Or unripe
  7. Isaiah 5:10 About 6 gallons or 23 liters
  8. Isaiah 5:10 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubit meters or more
  9. Isaiah 5:10 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  10. Isaiah 5:13 Lit glory is men of famine
  11. Isaiah 5:14 Or appetite
  12. Isaiah 5:14 Lit her

Righteous Reign of the Branch

11 Then a (A)shoot will spring from the (B)stem of Jesse,
And a (C)Branch from (D)his roots will bear fruit.
The (E)Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of (F)wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and (G)strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes (H)see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
But with (I)righteousness He will judge the (J)poor,
And decide with fairness for the (K)humble of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the (L)rod of His mouth,
And with the (M)breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Also (N)righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
And (O)faithfulness the belt around His waist.

And the (P)wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion [a]and the fattened steer will be together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the (Q)lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
They will (R)not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the (S)earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

10 Then on that day
The (T)nations will resort to the (U)root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a (V)signal flag for the peoples;
And His (W)resting place will be [b]glorious.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:6 Some ancient versions will feed together
  2. Isaiah 11:10 Lit glory

The Glorious Return

29 “But immediately after the (A)tribulation of those days (B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (C)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (D)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (E)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (F)He will send forth His angels with (G)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [a](H)elect from (I)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, [b]recognize that [c]He is near, right (J)at the [d]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (K)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (L)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 “But (M)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For [e]the (N)coming of the Son of Man will be (O)just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (P)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (Q)Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [f]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (R)coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one [g]will be taken and one [h]will be left. 41 (S)Two women will be grinding at the [i](T)mill; one [j]will be taken and one [k]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “Therefore (U)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But [l]be sure of this, that (V)if the head of the house had known (W)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason (X)you must be ready as well; for (Y)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 (Z)Who then is the (AA)faithful and (AB)sensible slave whom his [m]master (AC)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his [n]master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that (AD)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My [o]master [p]is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; 50 then the [q]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and he will [r]cut him in two and assign [s]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (AE)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:31 Or chosen ones
  2. Matthew 24:33 Or know
  3. Matthew 24:33 Or it
  4. Matthew 24:33 Lit doors
  5. Matthew 24:37 Lit just like the days...so will be
  6. Matthew 24:39 Lit know
  7. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
  8. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
  9. Matthew 24:41 I.e., handmill
  10. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
  11. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
  12. Matthew 24:43 Lit know that
  13. Matthew 24:45 Or lord
  14. Matthew 24:46 Or lord
  15. Matthew 24:48 Or lord
  16. Matthew 24:48 Lit lingers
  17. Matthew 24:50 Or lord
  18. Matthew 24:51 Possibly referring to other extreme punishment
  19. Matthew 24:51 Lit his portion with

Message to Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in (A)Thyatira write:

(B)The Son of God, (C)who has [a]eyes like a flame of fire, and [b]feet like burnished bronze, says this:

19 (D)I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and [c]perseverance, and that your [d]deeds of late are greater than [e]at first. 20 But (E)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman (F)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they (G)commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 (H)I gave her time to repent, and she (I)does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who (J)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of [f]her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with [g]plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who (K)searches the [h]minds and hearts; and (L)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But I say to you, the rest who are in (M)Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the (N)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I (O)place no other burden on you. 25 Nevertheless (P)what you have, hold firmly (Q)until I come. 26 (R)The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds (S)until the end, (T)I will give him authority over the [i]nations; 27 and he shall [j](U)rule them with a rod of iron, (V)as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him (W)the morning star. 29 (X)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Message to Sardis

“To the angel of the church in (Y)Sardis write:

He who has [k](Z)the seven spirits of God and (AA)the seven stars, says this: ‘(AB)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are (AC)dead. Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So (AD)remember [l]what you have received and heard; and [m]keep it, and (AE)repent. Then if you are not alert, (AF)I will come (AG)like a thief, and you will not know at (AH)what hour I will come to you. But you have a few [n](AI)people in (AJ)Sardis who have not (AK)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me (AL)in white, for they are worthy. (AM)The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in (AN)white garments; and I will not (AO)erase his name from the book of life, and (AP)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (AQ)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 2:18 Lit His eyes
  2. Revelation 2:18 Lit His feet
  3. Revelation 2:19 Or steadfastness
  4. Revelation 2:19 Lit last deeds
  5. Revelation 2:19 Lit the first
  6. Revelation 2:22 One early ms their
  7. Revelation 2:23 Lit death; i.e., a particular kind of death
  8. Revelation 2:23 Lit kidneys; i.e., inner man
  9. Revelation 2:26 Or Gentiles
  10. Revelation 2:27 Lit shepherd
  11. Revelation 3:1 Possibly a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit in His fullness, or to seven key angels
  12. Revelation 3:3 Lit how
  13. Revelation 3:3 Or follow
  14. Revelation 3:4 Lit names

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