Matthew 21
English Standard Version
The Triumphal Entry
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the 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, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Zechariah 9
English Standard Version
Judgment on Israel's Enemies
9 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place.For the Lord has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel,2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.3 Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets.4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.7 I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth;it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro;no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he,humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem;and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations;his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.13 For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow.I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning;the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.15 The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people;for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.
Psalm 80
English Standard Version
Restore Us, O God
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,stir up your might and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?5 You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.9 You 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 the sea and its shoots to the River.12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts! 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.16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face!17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Isaiah 62
English Standard Version
Zion's Coming Salvation
62 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory,and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married;for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you,and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen;all the day and all the night they shall never be silent.You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest,7 and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm:“I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies,and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored;9 but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord,and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people;build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples.11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth:Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes;behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”12 And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord;and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.