Matthew 20
English Standard Version
Laborers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
A Mother's Request
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
1 Kings 12
English Standard Version
Rehoboam's Folly
12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Kingdom Divided
16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam's Golden Calves
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Isaiah 51
English Standard Version
The Lord's Comfort for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord:look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you;for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.3 For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste placesand makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord;joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 “Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation;for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.5 My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples;the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath;for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law;fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool,but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago.Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep,who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing;everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth,and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor,when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.15 I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name.16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand,establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem,you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath,who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne;there is none to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.19 These two things have happened to you— who will console you?—devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?20 Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net;they are full of the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine:22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people:“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”
Jeremiah 49
English Standard Version
Judgment on Ammon
49 Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir?Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities?2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites;it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire;then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!Put on sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his officials.4 Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter,who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’5 Behold, I will bring terror upon you, declares the Lord God of hosts, from all who are around you,and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan!For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him.9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?If thieves came by night, would they not destroy only enough for themselves?10 But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself.His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.11 Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations:“Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations, despised among mankind.16 The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart,you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill.Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there,declares the Lord.
17 “Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus
23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard bad news;they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.24 Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her;anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.25 How is the famous city not forsaken, the city of my joy?26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,declares the Lord of hosts.27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:“Rise up, advance against Kedar! Destroy the people of the east!29 Their tents and their flocks shall be taken, their curtains and all their goods;their camels shall be led away from them, and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’30 Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor!declares the Lord.For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made a plan against you and formed a purpose against you.
31 “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, that dwells securely,declares the Lord,that has no gates or bars, that dwells alone.32 Their camels shall become plunder, their herds of livestock a spoil.I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair,and I will bring their calamity from every side of them,declares the Lord.33 Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste;no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”