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20 He has not done this for any other nation;
    they do not know his regulations.

Praise the Lord!

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20 He has done this for no other nation;(A)
    they do not know(B) his laws.[a]

Praise the Lord.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 147:20 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint nation; / he has not made his laws known to them

God Remains Faithful

Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:2 Greek the oracles of God.

God’s Faithfulness

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way!(A) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.(B)

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There Is Only One God

32 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God[a] speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:33 Or voice of a god.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(A) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(B) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(C) Has anything so great(D) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?(E) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(F) by testings,(G) by signs(H) and wonders,(I) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(J) or by great and awesome deeds,(K) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
    now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
    now you have received God’s mercy.”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:9 Greek a royal priesthood.
  2. 2:10 Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.

But you are a chosen people,(A) a royal priesthood,(B) a holy nation,(C) God’s special possession,(D) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.(E) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;(F) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

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For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

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What other nation is so great(A) as to have their gods near(B) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws(C) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

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For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

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For you were once(A) darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light(B)

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12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

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12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners(A) to the covenants of the promise,(B) without hope(C) and without God in the world.

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27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”

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27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

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16 In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,

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16 In the past, he let(A) all nations go their own way.(B)

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A Song about the Lord’s Vineyard

Now I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
    on a rich and fertile hill.
He plowed the land, cleared its stones,
    and planted it with the best vines.
In the middle he built a watchtower
    and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.
Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes,
    but the grapes that grew were bitter.

Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
    you judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could I have done for my vineyard
    that I have not already done?
When I expected sweet grapes,
    why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

Now let me tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard:
I will tear down its hedges
    and let it be destroyed.
I will break down its walls
    and let the animals trample it.
I will make it a wild place
    where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed,
    a place overgrown with briers and thorns.
I will command the clouds
    to drop no rain on it.

The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
    The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
He expected a crop of justice,
    but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find righteousness,
    but instead he heard cries of violence.

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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(H)
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
    and it will be trampled.(K)
I will make it a wasteland,(L)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(N) on it.”

The vineyard(O) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(P) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)

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18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

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18 to open their eyes(A) and turn them from darkness to light,(B) and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins(C) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’(D)

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Parable of the Evil Farmers

33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

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The Parable of the Tenants(A)

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(B) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(C) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(D) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(E) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(F) 36 Then he sent other servants(G) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.(H) Come, let’s kill him(I) and take his inheritance.’(J) 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”(K) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(L) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

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18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.
    But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

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18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
    but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.(A)

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