Matthew 20

New International Version

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like^(A) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.^(B) ²He agreed to pay them a denarius^[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸“When evening came,^(C) the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble^(D) against the landowner. ¹²‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat^(E) of the day.’

¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.^(F) Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^(G)

¹⁶“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^(H)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time^(I)

¹⁷Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸“We are going up to Jerusalem,^(J) and the Son of Man^(K) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.^(L) They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged^(M) and crucified.^(N) On the third day^(O) he will be raised to life!”^(P)

A Mother’s Request^(Q)

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons^(R) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,^(S) asked a favor of him.

²¹“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”^(T)

²²“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup^(U) I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,^(V) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten heard about this, they were indignant^(W) with the two brothers. ²⁵Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,^(X) ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸just as the Son of Man^(Y) did not come to be served, but to serve,^(Z) and to give his life as a ransom^(AA) for many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Sight^(AB)

²⁹As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David,^(AC) have mercy on us!”

³¹The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Footnotes

Matthew 20:2 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.

1 Kings 12

New International Version

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam^(A)

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem,^(B) for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ²When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled^(C) from King Solomon), he returned from^[a] Egypt. ³So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴“Your father put a heavy yoke^(D) on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

⁶Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders^(E) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer,^(F) they will always be your servants.”

⁸But Rehoboam rejected^(G) the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹²Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged^(H) you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord,^(I) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah^(J) the Shilonite.

¹⁶When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share^(K) do we have in David,
what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!^(L)
Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home.^(M) ¹⁷But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,^(N) Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,^[b]^(O) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.^(P) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David^(Q) to this day.

²⁰When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.^(R)

²¹When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war^(S) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²²But this word of God came to Shemaiah^(T) the man of God:^(U) ²³“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

²⁵Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem^(V) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.^[c]^(W)

²⁶Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. ²⁷If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,^(X) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

²⁸After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.^(Y) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^(Z) ²⁹One he set up in Bethel,^(AA) and the other in Dan.^(AB) ³⁰And this thing became a sin;^(AC) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.^[d]

³¹Jeroboam built shrines^(AD) on high places and appointed priests^(AE) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³²He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth^(AF) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,^(AG) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.^(AH) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

Footnotes

1 Kings 12:2 Or he remained in
1 Kings 12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan

Isaiah 51

New International Version

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen^(A) to me, you who pursue righteousness^(B)
    and who seek^(C) the Lord:
Look to the rock^(D) from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
²look to Abraham,^(E) your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.^(F)
³The Lord will surely comfort^(G) Zion^(H)
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;^(I)
he will make her deserts like Eden,^(J)
    her wastelands^(K) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness^(L) will be found in her,
    thanksgiving^(M) and the sound of singing.

⁴“Listen to me, my people;^(N)
    hear me,^(O) my nation:
Instruction^(P) will go out from me;
    my justice^(Q) will become a light to the nations.^(R)
⁵My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation^(S) is on the way,^(T)
    and my arm^(U) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands^(V) will look to me
    and wait in hope^(W) for my arm.
⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,^(X)
    the earth will wear out like a garment^(Y)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation^(Z) will last forever,^(AA)
    my righteousness will never fail.^(AB)

⁷“Hear me, you who know what is right,^(AC)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:^(AD)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.^(AE)
⁸For the moth will eat them up like a garment;^(AF)
    the worm^(AG) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,^(AH)
    my salvation through all generations.”

⁹Awake, awake,^(AI) arm^(AJ) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(AK)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.^(AL)
Was it not you who cut Rahab^(AM) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster^(AN) through?
¹⁰Was it not you who dried up the sea,^(AO)
    the waters of the great deep,^(AP)
who made a road in the depths of the sea^(AQ)
    so that the redeemed^(AR) might cross over?
¹¹Those the Lord has rescued^(AS) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;^(AT)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy^(AU) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(AV)

¹²“I, even I, am he who comforts^(AW) you.
    Who are you that you fear^(AX) mere mortals,^(AY)
    human beings who are but grass,^(AZ)
¹³that you forget^(BA) the Lord your Maker,^(BB)
    who stretches out the heavens^(BC)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror^(BD) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?^(BE)
¹⁴    The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;^(BF)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.^(BG)
¹⁵For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea^(BH) so that its waves roar^(BI)—
    the Lord Almighty^(BJ) is his name.
¹⁶I have put my words in your mouth^(BK)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand^(BL)—
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,^(BM)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.^(BN)’”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

¹⁷Awake, awake!^(BO)
    Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup^(BP) of his wrath,^(BQ)
you who have drained to its dregs^(BR)
    the goblet that makes people stagger.^(BS)
¹⁸Among all the children^(BT) she bore
    there was none to guide her;^(BU)
among all the children she reared
    there was none to take her by the hand.^(BV)
¹⁹These double calamities^(BW) have come upon you—
    who can comfort you?^(BX)—
ruin and destruction,^(BY) famine^(BZ) and sword^(CA)—
    who can^[a] console you?
²⁰Your children have fainted;
    they lie at every street corner,^(CB)
    like antelope caught in a net.^(CC)
They are filled with the wrath^(CD) of the Lord,
    with the rebuke^(CE) of your God.

²¹Therefore hear this, you afflicted^(CF) one,
    made drunk,^(CG) but not with wine.
²²This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends^(CH) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup^(CI) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.
²³I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,^(CJ)
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate^(CK) that we may walk^(CL) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”^(CM)

Footnotes

Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I

Jeremiah 49

New International Version

A Message About Ammon

49 Concerning the Ammonites:^(A)

This is what the Lord says:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has Israel no heir?
Why then has Molek^[a]^(B) taken possession of Gad?^(C)
    Why do his people live in its towns?
²But the days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when I will sound the battle cry^(D)
    against Rabbah^(E) of the Ammonites;
it will become a mound of ruins,^(F)
    and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out
    those who drove her out,^(G)”
says the Lord.
³“Wail, Heshbon,^(H) for Ai^(I) is destroyed!
    Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth^(J) and mourn;
    rush here and there inside the walls,
for Molek^(K) will go into exile,^(L)
    together with his priests and officials.
⁴Why do you boast of your valleys,
    boast of your valleys so fruitful?
Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,^(M)
    you trust in your riches^(N) and say,
    ‘Who will attack me?’^(O)
⁵I will bring terror on you
    from all those around you,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
“Every one of you will be driven away,
    and no one will gather the fugitives.^(P)

⁶“Yet afterward, I will restore^(Q) the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.

A Message About Edom^(R)^(S)

⁷Concerning Edom:^(T)

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?^(U)
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom decayed?
⁸Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,^(V)
    you who live in Dedan,^(W)
for I will bring disaster on Esau
    at the time when I punish him.
⁹If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?
If thieves came during the night,
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
¹⁰But I will strip Esau bare;
    I will uncover his hiding places,^(X)
    so that he cannot conceal himself.
His armed men are destroyed,
    also his allies and neighbors,
    so there is no one^(Y) to say,
¹¹‘Leave your fatherless children;^(Z) I will keep them alive.
    Your widows^(AA) too can depend on me.’”

¹²This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup^(AB) must drink it, why should you go unpunished?^(AC) You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. ¹³I swear^(AD) by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah^(AE) will become a ruin and a curse,^[b] an object of horror^(AF) and reproach;^(AG) and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”^(AH)

¹⁴I have heard a message from the Lord;
an envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Assemble yourselves to attack it!
Rise up for battle!”

¹⁵“Now I will make you small among the nations,
    despised by mankind.
¹⁶The terror you inspire
    and the pride^(AI) of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks,^(AJ)
    who occupy the heights of the hill.
Though you build your nest^(AK) as high as the eagle’s,
    from there I will bring you down,”
declares the Lord.
¹⁷“Edom will become an object of horror;^(AL)
    all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff
    because of all its wounds.^(AM)
¹⁸As Sodom^(AN) and Gomorrah^(AO) were overthrown,
    along with their neighboring towns,”
says the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell^(AP) in it.

¹⁹“Like a lion^(AQ) coming up from Jordan’s thickets^(AR)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like^(AS) me and who can challenge me?^(AT)
    And what shepherd^(AU) can stand against me?”

²⁰Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,^(AV)
    what he has purposed^(AW) against those who live in Teman:^(AX)
The young of the flock^(AY) will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.^(AZ)
²¹At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;^(BA)
    their cry^(BB) will resound to the Red Sea.^[c]
²²Look! An eagle will soar and swoop^(BC) down,
    spreading its wings over Bozrah.^(BD)
In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors^(BE)
    will be like the heart of a woman in labor.^(BF)

A Message About Damascus

²³Concerning Damascus:^(BG)

“Hamath^(BH) and Arpad^(BI) are dismayed,
    for they have heard bad news.
They are disheartened,
    troubled like^[d] the restless sea.^(BJ)
²⁴Damascus has become feeble,
    she has turned to flee
    and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(BK)
²⁵Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
    the town in which I delight?
²⁶Surely, her young men^(BL) will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced^(BM) in that day,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
²⁷“I will set fire^(BN) to the walls of Damascus;^(BO)
    it will consume^(BP) the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.^(BQ)”

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

²⁸Concerning Kedar^(BR) and the kingdoms of Hazor,^(BS) which Nebuchadnezzar^(BT) king of Babylon attacked:

This is what the Lord says:

“Arise, and attack Kedar
    and destroy the people of the East.^(BU)
²⁹Their tents and their flocks^(BV) will be taken;
    their shelters will be carried off
    with all their goods and camels.
People will shout to them,
    ‘Terror^(BW) on every side!’

³⁰“Flee quickly away!
Stay in deep caves,^(BX) you who live in Hazor,^(BY)”
declares the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar^(BZ) king of Babylon has plotted against you;
he has devised a plan against you.

³¹“Arise and attack a nation at ease,
    which lives in confidence,”
declares the Lord,
“a nation that has neither gates nor bars;^(CA)
    its people live far from danger.
³²Their camels^(CB) will become plunder,
    and their large herds^(CC) will be spoils of war.
I will scatter to the winds^(CD) those who are in distant places^[e]^(CE)
    and will bring disaster on them from every side,”
declares the Lord.
³³“Hazor^(CF) will become a haunt of jackals,^(CG)
    a desolate^(CH) place forever.
No one will live there;
    no people will dwell^(CI) in it.”

A Message About Elam

³⁴This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,^(CJ) early in the reign of Zedekiah^(CK) king of Judah:

³⁵This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow^(CL) of Elam,
    the mainstay of their might.
³⁶I will bring against Elam the four winds^(CM)
    from the four quarters of heaven;^(CN)
I will scatter them to the four winds,
    and there will not be a nation
    where Elam’s exiles do not go.
³⁷I will shatter Elam before their foes,
    before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
    even my fierce anger,”^(CO)
declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword^(CP)
    until I have made an end of them.
³⁸I will set my throne in Elam
    and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the Lord.

³⁹“Yet I will restore^(CQ) the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also in verse 3
Jeremiah 49:13 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed.
Jeremiah 49:21 Or the Sea of Reeds
Jeremiah 49:23 Hebrew on or by
Jeremiah 49:32 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 20

New International Version

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard