Old/New Testament
Chapter 5
The Song of the Vineyard[a]
1 Now let me sing of my friend,
my beloved’s song about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
2 He spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
Within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he waited for the crop of grapes,
but it yielded rotten grapes.(A)
3 Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem, people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
4 What more could be done for my vineyard
that I did not do?(B)
Why, when I waited for the crop of grapes,
did it yield rotten grapes?
5 Now, I will let you know
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled![b]
6 Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but will be overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to rain upon it.
7 The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
the people of Judah, his cherished plant;
He waited for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry![c]
Oracles of Reproach[d]
8 [e]Ah! Those who join house to house,
who connect field with field,
Until no space remains, and you alone dwell
in the midst of the land!(C)
9 In my hearing the Lord of hosts has sworn:(D)
Many houses shall be in ruins,
houses large and fine, with nobody living there.(E)
10 Ten acres of vineyard
shall yield but one bath,[f]
And a homer of seed
shall yield but an ephah.
11 [g]Ah! Those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of strong drink,
lingering late
inflamed by wine,
12 Banqueting on wine with harp and lyre,
timbrel and flute,(F)
But the deed of the Lord they do not regard,
the work of his hands they do not see!(G)
13 Therefore my people go into exile
for lack of understanding,(H)
Its nobles starving,
its masses parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens its mouth beyond measure;(I)
Down into it go nobility and masses,
tumult and revelry.
15 All shall be abased, each one brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty lowered,(J)
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted by judgment,
by justice the Holy God shown holy.(K)
17 Lambs shall graze as at pasture,
young goats shall eat in the ruins of the rich.
18 Ah! Those who tug at guilt with cords of perversity,
and at sin as if with cart ropes!
19 [h]Who say, “Let him make haste,
let him speed his work, that we may see it;
On with the plan of the Holy One of Israel!
let it come to pass, that we may know it!”(L)
20 Ah! Those who call evil good, and good evil,
who change darkness to light, and light into darkness,
who change bitter to sweet, and sweet into bitter!(M)
21 Ah! Those who are wise in their own eyes,
prudent in their own view!(N)
22 Ah! Those who are champions at drinking wine,
masters at mixing drink!
23 Those who acquit the guilty for bribes,
and deprive the innocent of justice!(O)
24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire licks up stubble,
as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
Their root shall rot
and their blossom scatter like dust;
For they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of hosts,
and scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 [i]Therefore the wrath of the Lord blazes against his people,
he stretches out his hand to strike them;
The mountains quake,(P)
their corpses shall be like refuse in the streets.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched.
Invasion[j]
26 He will raise a signal to a far-off nation,
and whistle for it from the ends of the earth.(Q)
Then speedily and promptly they will come.
27 None among them is weary, none stumbles,
none will slumber, none will sleep.
None with waist belt loose,
none with sandal thong broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp,
and all their bows are bent,
The hooves of their horses like flint,
and their chariot wheels like the whirlwind.
29 They roar like the lion,
like young lions, they roar;
They growl and seize the prey,
they carry it off and none can rescue.
30 They will growl over it, on that day,
like the growling of the sea,
Look to the land—
darkness closing in,
the light dark with clouds!(R)
B. The Book of Emmanuel
Chapter 6
The Sending of Isaiah. 1 In the year King Uzziah died,[k] I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,(S) with the train of his garment filling the temple. 2 Seraphim[l] were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered.(T) 3 One cried out to the other:
“Holy, holy, holy[m] is the Lord of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
4 At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.[n](U)
5 Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed![o] For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips,(V) and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips,[p] your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”(W)
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 9 [q]And he replied: Go and say to this people:
Listen carefully, but do not understand!
Look intently, but do not perceive!(X)
10 Make the heart of this people sluggish,
dull their ears and close their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and their heart understand,
and they turn and be healed.(Y)
11 “How long, O Lord?” I asked. And he replied:
[r] Until the cities are desolate,
without inhabitants,
Houses, without people,
and the land is a desolate waste.
12 Until the Lord sends the people far away,
and great is the desolation in the midst of the land.
13 If there remain a tenth part in it,
then this in turn shall be laid waste;
As with a terebinth or an oak
whose trunk remains when its leaves have fallen.[s](Z)
Holy offspring is the trunk.
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the holy ones who are [in Ephesus][b] faithful in Christ Jesus:(A) 2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(B)
The Father’s Plan of Salvation. 3 [c]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,(C) who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,[d] 4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.(D) In love 5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,(E) 6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.(F)
Fulfillment Through Christ. 7 In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace(G) 8 that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight,(H) 9 he has made known to us the mystery[e] of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him(I) 10 as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.(J)
Inheritance Through the Spirit. 11 In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,(K) 12 so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped[f] in Christ. 13 In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed[g] with the promised holy Spirit,(L) 14 which is the first installment[h] of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.(M)
II. Unity of the Church in Christ
The Church as Christ’s Body.[i] 15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love[j] for all the holy ones,(N) 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,(O) 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.(P) 18 May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,(Q) 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might,(R) 20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,(S) 21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.(T) 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,(U) 23 which is his body,[k] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.(V)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.