Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
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]
7 You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors;
our enemies deride us.(A)
8 O God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
III
9 You brought a vine[a] out of Egypt;
you drove out nations and planted it.
10 You cleared out what was before it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the cedars of God by its branches.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the sea,[b]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(B)
14 The boar from the forest strips the vine;
the beast of the field feeds upon it.(C)
15 Turn back again, God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
4 although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.(A)
Paul’s Autobiography. If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. 5 Circumcised on the eighth day,[a] of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee,(B) 6 in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.(C)
Righteousness from God. 7 [But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss[b] because of Christ.(D) 8 More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ,(E) the righteousness from God, depending on faith 10 to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,(F) 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.(G)
Forward in Christ.[c] 12 (H)It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,[d] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. 13 Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.(I)
33 (A)“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,[a] put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.(B) 34 When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants[b] to the tenants to obtain his produce. 35 But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. 36 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 [c]But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ 39 [d](C)They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” 41 They answered[e] him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” 42 [f](D)Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes’?
43 [g]Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. 44 [[h] The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees[i] heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
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.