Psalm 22-24

New International Version

Psalm 22^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?^(A)
    Why are you so far^(B) from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?^(C)
²My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,^(D)
    by night,^(E) but I find no rest.^[b]

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;^(F)
    you are the one Israel praises.^[c]^(G)
⁴In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.^(H)
⁵To you they cried out^(I) and were saved;
    in you they trusted^(J) and were not put to shame.^(K)

⁶But I am a worm^(L) and not a man,
    scorned by everyone,^(M) despised^(N) by the people.
⁷All who see me mock me;^(O)
    they hurl insults,^(P) shaking their heads.^(Q)
⁸“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.^(R)
Let him deliver him,^(S)
    since he delights^(T) in him.”

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb;^(U)
you made me trust^(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰From birth^(W) I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me,^(X)
for trouble is near^(Y)
and there is no one to help.^(Z)

¹²Many bulls^(AA) surround me;^(AB)
    strong bulls of Bashan^(AC) encircle me.
¹³Roaring lions^(AD) that tear their prey^(AE)
    open their mouths wide^(AF) against me.
¹⁴I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.^(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;^(AH)
    it has melted^(AI) within me.
¹⁵My mouth^[d] is dried up like a potsherd,^(AJ)
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;^(AK)
    you lay me in the dust^(AL) of death.

¹⁶Dogs^(AM) surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce^[e]^(AN) my hands and my feet.
¹⁷All my bones are on display;
    people stare^(AO) and gloat over me.^(AP)
¹⁸They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots^(AQ) for my garment.^(AR)

¹⁹But you, Lord, do not be far from me.^(AS)
    You are my strength;^(AT) come quickly^(AU) to help me.^(AV)
²⁰Deliver me from the sword,^(AW)
    my precious life^(AX) from the power of the dogs.^(AY)
²¹Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;^(AZ)
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.^(BA)

²²I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly^(BB) I will praise you.^(BC)
²³You who fear the Lord, praise him!^(BD)
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!^(BE)
    Revere him,^(BF) all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴For he has not despised^(BG) or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;^(BH)
he has not hidden his face^(BI) from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.^(BJ)

²⁵From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;^(BK)
    before those who fear you^[f] I will fulfill my vows.^(BL)
²⁶The poor will eat^(BM) and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—^(BN)
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth^(BO)
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,^(BP)
²⁸for dominion belongs to the Lord^(BQ)
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich^(BR) of the earth will feast and worship;^(BS)
    all who go down to the dust^(BT) will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.^(BU)
³⁰Posterity^(BV) will serve him;
    future generations^(BW) will be told about the Lord.
³¹They will proclaim his righteousness,^(BX)
    declaring to a people yet unborn:^(BY)
    He has done it!^(BZ)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd,^(CA) I lack nothing.^(CB)
²    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,^(CC)
³    he refreshes my soul.^(CD)
He guides me^(CE) along the right paths^(CF)
    for his name’s sake.^(CG)
⁴Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[g]^(CH)
I will fear no evil,^(CI)
    for you are with me;^(CJ)
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table^(CK) before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;^(CL)
    my cup^(CM) overflows.
⁶Surely your goodness and love^(CN) will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

¹The earth is the Lord’s,^(CO) and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;^(CP)
²for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.^(CQ)

³Who may ascend the mountain^(CR) of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?^(CS)
⁴The one who has clean hands^(CT) and a pure heart,^(CU)
    who does not trust in an idol^(CV)
    or swear by a false god.^[h]

⁵They will receive blessing^(CW) from the Lord
and vindication^(CX) from God their Savior.
⁶Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face,^(CY) God of Jacob.^[i]^[j]

⁷Lift up your heads, you gates;^(CZ)
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King^(DA) of glory^(DB) may come in.^(DC)
⁸Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,^(DD)
    the Lord mighty in battle.^(DE)
⁹Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty^(DF)—
    he is the King of glory.

Footnotes

Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him
Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death
Psalm 24:4 Or swear falsely
Psalm 24:6 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts face, Jacob
Psalm 24:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.

Matthew 21:28-46

New International Version

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’^(A)

²⁹“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors^(B) and the prostitutes^(C) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(D) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(E) and the prostitutes^(F) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(G) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants^(H)

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

³⁵“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^(M) ³⁶Then he sent other servants^(N) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷Last 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.^(O) Come, let’s kill him^(P) and take his inheritance.’^(Q) ³⁹So 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,”^(R) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(S) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’^[a]?^(T)

⁴³“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(U) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[b]^(V)

⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.^(W)

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