Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed
5 Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had (A)a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with (B)choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and (C)he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 (D)What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
(E)When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove (F)its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;[a]
(G)I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and (H)briers and thorns shall grow up;
(I)I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7 (J)For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;[b]
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry![c]
7 (A)Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought (B)a vine out of Egypt;
you (C)drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You (D)cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (E)the sea
and its shoots to (F)the River.[a]
12 Why then have you (G)broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 (H)The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
(I)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
4 (A)though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 (B)circumcised on the eighth day, (C)of the people of Israel, (D)of the tribe of Benjamin, (E)a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, (F)a Pharisee; 6 (G)as to zeal, (H)a persecutor of the church; (I)as to righteousness under the law,[a] blameless. 7 But (J)whatever gain I had, (K)I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of (L)the surpassing worth of (M)knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I (N)have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having (O)a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but (P)that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 (Q)that I may know him and (R)the power of his resurrection, and (S)may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may (T)attain the resurrection from the dead.
Straining Towards the Goal
12 Not that I have already (U)obtained this or (V)am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: (W)forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal for (X)the prize of the upward (Y)call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 (A)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted (B)a vineyard (C)and put a fence round it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and (D)leased it to tenants, and (E)went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[a] to the tenants (F)to get his fruit. 35 (G)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and (H)stoned another. 36 (I)Again he sent other servants, more than at first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, (J)‘This is the heir. Come, (K)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and (L)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 (M)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, (N)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and (O)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, (P)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
(Q)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[b]
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvellous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God (R)will be taken away from you and given to a people (S)producing its fruits. 44 And (T)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and (U)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”[c]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And (V)although they were seeking to arrest him, (W)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be (X)a prophet.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.