Parable of the Vineyard

1Let me sing now for my well-beloved

A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.

My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

2He dug it all around, removed its stones,

And planted it with the choicest vine.

And He built a tower in the middle of it

And also hewed out a wine vat in it;

Then He expected it to produce good grapes,

But it produced only worthless ones.

3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Judge between Me and My vineyard.

4What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

5So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;

I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

6I will lay it waste;

It will not be pruned or hoed,

But briars and thorns will come up.

I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel

And the men of Judah His delightful plant.

Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;

For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

The Peril of Falling Away

1Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3And this we will do, if God permits. 4For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

9But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 10For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. 11And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, 12so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

1) How does Moses’ warning about Israel’s bitter vine connect to the author of Hebrews’ call to bear good fruit?

2) What does it mean to move from foundational faith toward maturity in obedience and endurance?

3) How does יהוה’s patience, even in warning, reveal His desire for His people to remain fruitful and steadfast?

Jerusalem Is Warned

1Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped!

Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule.

2I will bring distress to Ariel,

And she will be a city of lamenting and mourning;

And she will be like an Ariel to me.

3I will camp against you encircling you,

And I will set siegeworks against you,

And I will raise up battle towers against you.

4Then you will be brought low;

From the earth you will speak,

And from the dust where you are prostrate

Your words will come.

Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground,

And your speech will whisper from the dust.

5But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust,

And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;

And it will happen instantly, suddenly.

6From the Lord of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,

With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

7And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,

Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,

Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

8It will be as when a hungry man dreams—

And behold, he is eating;

But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,

Or as when a thirsty man dreams—

And behold, he is drinking,

But when he awakens, behold, he is faint

And his thirst is not quenched.

Thus the multitude of all the nations will be

Who wage war against Mount Zion.

9Be delayed and wait,

Blind yourselves and be blind;

They become drunk, but not with wine,

They stagger, but not with strong drink.

10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,

He has shut your eyes, the prophets;

And He has covered your heads, the seers.

11The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

13Then the Lord said,

“Because this people draw near with their words

And honor Me with their lip service,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

14Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;

And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,

And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

15Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,

And whose deeds are done in a dark place,

And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

16You turn things around!

Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,

That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;

Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Blessing after Discipline

17Is it not yet just a little while

Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,

And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

18On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,

And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

19The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,

And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

20For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,

Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off;

21Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,

And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,

And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

22Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;

23But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,

They will sanctify My name;

Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob

And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

24Those who err in mind will know the truth,

And those who criticize will accept instruction.

Haman’s Plot against the Jews

1After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. 2All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. 3Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” 4Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. 6But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. 8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. 9If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” 10Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.”

12Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder. 14A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they should be ready for this day. 15The couriers went out impelled by the king’s command while the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa; and while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion.