The Parable of the Wedding Feast^(A)

22 And Jesus answered ^(B)and spoke to them again by parables and said: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, ³ and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. ⁴ Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; ^(C)my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ ⁵ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ And the rest seized his servants, treated them ^[a]spitefully, and killed them. ⁷ But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out ^(D)his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not ^(E)worthy. ⁹ Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways and ^(F)gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there ^(G)who did not have on a wedding garment. ¹² So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was ^(H)speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, ^[b]take him away, and cast him ^(I)into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

^14 (J)“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

God’s Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you are ^(A)inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, ^(B)for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you despise ^(C)the riches of His goodness, ^(D)forbearance, and ^(E)longsuffering, ^(F)not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But in accordance with your hardness and your ^[a]impenitent heart ^(G)you are ^[b]treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶ who ^(H)“will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and ^(I)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^(J)first and also of the ^[c]Greek; ^10 (K)but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(L)there is no partiality with God.

¹² For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³ (for ^(M)not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; ¹⁴ for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the ^(N)work of the law written in their hearts, their ^(O)conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) ^16 (P)in the day when God will judge the secrets of men ^(Q)by Jesus Christ, ^(R)according to my gospel.

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

^17 [d]Indeed ^(S)you are called a Jew, and ^(T)rest^[e] on the law, ^(U)and make your boast in God, ¹⁸ and ^(V)know His will, and ^(W)approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and ^(X)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, ^(Y)having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ^21 (Z)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, ^(AA)do you rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AB)make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴ For ^(AC)“the name of God is ^(AD)blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

Circumcision of No Avail

^25 (AE)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ Therefore, ^(AF)if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷ And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, ^(AG)judge you who, even with your ^[f]written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? ²⁸ For ^(AH)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew ^(AI)who is one inwardly; and ^(AJ)circumcision is that of the heart, ^(AK)in the Spirit, not in the letter; ^(AL)whose ^[g]praise is not from men but from God.

God the Righteous Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.