Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(A)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(B)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(C) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(D)
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard
than I did?(E)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,(F)
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,(G)
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.(H)
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.(I)
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies
is the house of Israel,(J)
and the men[a] of Judah,
the plant he delighted in.
He expected justice
but saw injustice;
he expected righteousness
but heard cries of despair.
8 You dug up a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.(A)
9 You cleared a place for it;
it took root and filled the land.(B)
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars[a] with its branches.(C)
11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea[b]
and shoots toward the River.[c](D)
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?(E)
13 Boars from the forest tear at it
and creatures of the field feed on it.(F)
14 Return, God of Armies.(G)
Look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
15 the root[d] your right hand planted,
the son[e] that you made strong for yourself.(H)
16 It was cut down and burned;
they[f] perish at the rebuke of your countenance.(I)
17 Let your hand be with the man at your right hand,
with the son of man
you have made strong for yourself.(J)
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.(K)
19 Restore us, Lord, God of Armies;(L)
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.(M)
29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.(A)
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.(B)
32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,(C) David, Samuel, and the prophets,(D) 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms,(E) administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,(F) 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.(G) 35 Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.(H) 37 They were stoned,[a](I) they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins,(J) destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.(K)
The Call to Endurance
12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses(L) surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance(M) the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus,[b] the pioneer and perfecter[c] of our faith. For the joy that lay before him,[d] he endured the cross, despising the shame,(N) and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Not Peace but Division
49 “I came(A) to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo,(B) and how it consumes(C) me until it is finished!(D) 51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth?(E) No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son,
son against father,
mother against daughter,
daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”[a](F)
Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds,(G) “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.(H) 55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites!(I) You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?(J)
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