Old/New Testament
A Love Song Gone Sour
5 I[a] will sing to my love—
a song to my lover about his vineyard.[b]
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill.[c]
2 He built a hedge around it,[d] removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead.[e]
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,
people[f] of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,[g]
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.[h]
6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,[i]
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
7 Indeed,[j] Israel[k] is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the people[l] of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got—disobedience![m]
He waited for fairness, but look what he got—cries for help![n]
Disaster is Coming
8 Beware, those who accumulate houses,[o]
who also accumulate field after field[p]
until there is no land left,[q]
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.[r]
9 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this:[s]
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.[t]
10 Indeed, a large vineyard[u] will produce just a few gallons,[v]
and enough seed to yield several bushels[w] will produce less than a bushel.”[x]
11 Beware, those who get up early to drink beer,[y]
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.[z]
12 They have stringed instruments,[aa] tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.[ab]
13 Therefore my[ac] people will be deported[ad]
because of their lack of understanding.
Their[ae] leaders will have nothing to eat,[af]
their[ag] masses will have nothing to drink.[ah]
14 So Death[ai] will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth;[aj]
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.[ak]
15 Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.[al]
16 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted[am] when he punishes,[an]
the holy God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.[ao]
17 Lambs[ap] will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.[aq]
18 Beware, those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,[ar]
who pull sin as with cart ropes.[as]
19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,[at]
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel[au] take shape[av] and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
20 Beware, those who call evil good and good evil,[aw]
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.[ax]
21 Beware, those who think they are wise,[ay]
those who think they possess understanding.[az]
22 Beware, those who are champions[ba] at drinking,
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent.[bb]
24 Therefore, as flaming fire[bc] devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust.[bd]
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
they have spurned the commands[be] of the Holy One of Israel.[bf]
25 So the Lord is furious[bg] with his people;
he lifts[bh] his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure[bi] in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[bj]
26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,[bk]
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they[bl] come quickly and swiftly.
27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest.[bm]
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared.[bn]
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,[bo]
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.[bp]
29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
30 At that time[bq] they will growl over their prey,[br]
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.[bs]
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness.[bt]
Isaiah’s Commission
6 In the year of King Uzziah’s death,[bu] I saw the Lord[bv] seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs[bw] stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,[bx] and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy[by] is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies![bz] His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames,[ca] and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed,[cb] for my lips are contaminated by sin,[cc] and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.[cd] My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[ce] 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”[cf] 8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”[cg] I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell these people:
“‘Listen continually, but don’t understand.
Look continually, but don’t perceive.’
10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”[ch]
11 I replied, “How long, Lord?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,
12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,
and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.[ci]
13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land,
it will again be destroyed,[cj]
like one of the large sacred trees[ck] or an Asherah pole,[cl]
when a sacred pillar[cm] on a high place[cn] is thrown down.[co]
That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”[cp]
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus],[b] the faithful[c] in Christ Jesus. 2 Grace and peace to you[d] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed[e] is[f] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed[g] us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 4 For[h] he chose us in Christ[i] before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless[j] before him[k] in love.[l] 5 He did this by predestining[m] us to adoption as his[n] legal heirs[o] through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure[p] of his will— 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace[q] that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.[r] 7 In him[s] we have redemption through his blood,[t] the forgiveness of our offenses,[u] according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. 9 He did this when he revealed[v] to us the mystery[w] of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth[x] in Christ,[y] 10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up[z] all things in Christ—the things in heaven[aa] and the things on earth.[ab] 11 In Christ[ac] we too have been claimed as God’s own possession,[ad] since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope[ae] on Christ,[af] would be to the praise of his glory. 13 And when[ag] you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ[ah]—you were marked with the seal[ai] of the promised Holy Spirit,[aj] 14 who is the down payment[ak] of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession,[al] to the praise of his glory.
Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation
15 For this reason,[am] because I[an] have heard[ao] of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[ap] for all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you[aq] in my prayers. 17 I pray that[ar] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,[as] will give you spiritual wisdom and revelation[at] in your growing knowledge of him,[au] 18 —since the eyes of your[av] heart have been enlightened[aw]—so that you can know what is the hope of his calling,[ax] what is the wealth of his glorious[ay] inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the incomparable[az] greatness of his power toward[ba] us who believe, as displayed in[bb] the exercise of his immense strength.[bc] 20 This power[bd] he exercised[be] in Christ when he raised him[bf] from the dead and seated him[bg] at his right hand in the heavenly realms[bh] 21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And God[bi] put[bj] all things under Christ’s[bk] feet,[bl] and gave him to the church as head over all things.[bm] 23 Now the church is[bn] his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.[bo]
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