Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Song of the Vineyard
5 Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a (A)vineyard on [a]a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with [b]the (B)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a [c]wine vat in it;
Then He (C)hoped for it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.
3 “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
(D)Please judge between Me and My vineyard.
4 (E)What more was there to do for My vineyard [e]that I have not done in it?
Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce [f]worthless ones?
5 So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will (F)remove its hedge, and it will be consumed;
I will (G)break down its wall, and it will become (H)trampled ground.
6 I will (I)lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds to (J)rain no rain on it.”
8 You removed a (A)vine from Egypt;
You (B)drove out the [a]nations and then You (C)planted it.
9 You (D)cleared the ground before it,
And it (E)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [b]the cedars of God with its (F)boughs.
11 It sent out its branches (G)to the sea
And its shoots to the River.
12 Why have You (H)broken down its [c]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (I)devours it
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 O God of hosts, (J)return now, we beseech You;
(K)Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine,
15 Even the [d](L)sapling which Your right hand has planted,
And on the [e]son whom You have [f]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (M)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the (N)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (O)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (P)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we shall not (Q)turn back from You;
(R)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 O Yahweh God of hosts, (S)restore us;
Cause Your face to shine upon us, that we might be saved.
29 By faith they (A)passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were [a]drowned.
30 By faith (B)the walls of Jericho fell down (C)after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith (D)Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after welcoming the spies [b]in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I recount (E)Gideon, (F)Barak, (G)Samson, (H)Jephthah, as well as (I)David and (J)Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith (K)conquered kingdoms, (L)performed righteousness, (M)obtained promises, (N)shut the mouths of lions, 34 (O)quenched the power of fire, (P)escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, (Q)became mighty in war, (R)put foreign armies to flight. 35 (S)Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their [c]release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others [d]experienced mockings and floggings, yes, also (T)chains and imprisonment. 37 They were (U)stoned, they were (V)sawn in two, [e]they were tempted, they were (W)put to death with the sword. They went about (X)in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, (Y)mistreated 38 (of whom the world was not worthy), (Z)wandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes [f]in the ground.
39 And all these, having [g](AA)gained approval through their faith, (AB)did not receive [h]what was promised, 40 because God had [i]provided (AC)something better for us, so that (AD)apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of Faith
12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, (AE)laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us (AF)run with (AG)endurance the race that is set before us, 2 [j]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [k](AH)author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him (AI)endured the cross, (AJ)despising the shame, and has (AK)sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Not Peace, but Division
49 “I [a]have come to cast fire upon the earth, and [b]how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a (A)baptism to [c]undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! 51 (B)Do you think that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, (C)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “(D)When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a (E)hot day,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! (F)You know how to examine the appearance of the earth and the sky, but [d]why do you not examine this present time?
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