Israel Restored at Last

The Seven Bowls

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying ^(A)to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the ^[a]bowls ^(B)of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores

² So the first went and poured out his bowl ^(C)upon the earth, and a ^[b]foul and ^(D)loathsome sore came upon the men ^(E)who had the mark of the beast and those ^(F)who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood

³ Then the second angel poured out his bowl ^(G)on the sea, and ^(H)it became blood as of a dead man; ^(I)and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl ^(J)on the rivers and springs of water, ^(K)and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

⁷ And I heard ^[f]another from the altar saying, “Even so, ^(Q)Lord God Almighty, ^(R)true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched

⁸ Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl ^(S)on the sun, ^(T)and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. ⁹ And men were scorched with great heat, and they ^(U)blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; ^(V)and they did not repent ^(W)and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain

¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl ^(X)on the throne of the beast, ^(Y)and his kingdom became full of darkness; ^(Z)and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. ¹¹ They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up

¹² Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl ^(AA)on the great river Euphrates, ^(AB)and its water was dried up, ^(AC)so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. ¹³ And I saw three unclean ^(AD)spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of ^(AE)the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of ^(AF)the false prophet. ¹⁴ For they are spirits of demons, ^(AG)performing signs, which go out to the kings ^[g]of the earth and of ^(AH)the whole world, to gather them to ^(AI)the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

^15 (AJ)“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, ^(AK)lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

^16 (AL)And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, ^[h]Armageddon.

Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ^(AM)“It is done!” ¹⁸ And ^(AN)there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; ^(AO)and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake ^(AP)as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

Oppression and Luxury Condemned

¹⁶ Moreover the Lord says:

²⁴ And so it shall be:

The Triumphal Entry^(A)

21 Now ^(B)when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to ^[a]Bethphage, at ^(C)the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

^4 [b]All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

^6 (E)So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, ^(F)laid their clothes on them, ^[c]and set Him on them. ⁸ And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; ^(G)others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

^10 (I)And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹ So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, ^(J)the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple^(K)

^12 (L)Then Jesus went into the temple ^[d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the ^(M)money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ^(N)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ^(O)‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁴ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the ^(P)Son of David!” they were ^[e]indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

¹⁷ Then He left them and ^(R)went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

The Fig Tree Withered^(S)

^18 (T)Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ^19 (U)And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree^(V)

^20 (W)And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^(X)if you have faith and ^(Y)do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, ^(Z)but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And ^(AA)whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(AB)

^23 (AC)Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and ^(AD)said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: ²⁵ The ^(AE)baptism of ^(AF)John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned 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 men,’ we ^(AG)fear the multitude, ^(AH)for all count John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus and said, “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 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my ^(AI)vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, ^(AJ)“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³² For ^(AK)John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; ^(AL)but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward ^[f]relent and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^(AM)

³³ “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner ^(AN)who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and ^(AO)went into a far country. ³⁴ Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ^35 (AP)And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷ Then last of all he sent his ^(AQ)son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ^(AR)‘This is the heir. ^(AS)Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ^39 (AT)So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

^41 (AU)They said to Him, ^(AV)“He will destroy those wicked men miserably, ^(AW)and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will ^[g]render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “Therefore I say to you, ^(AY)the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ And ^(AZ)whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, ^(BA)it will grind him to powder.”

⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they ^[h]perceived that He was speaking of them. ⁴⁶ But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they ^(BB)feared the multitudes, because ^(BC)they took Him for a prophet.

Jesus Warns of Offenses^(A)

17 Then He said to the disciples, ^(B)“It is impossible that no ^[a]offenses should come, but ^(C)woe to him through whom they do come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should ^[b]offend one of these little ones. ³ Take heed to yourselves. ^(D)If your brother sins ^[c]against you, ^(E)rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns ^[d]to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Faith and Duty^(F)

⁵ And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

^6 (G)So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. ⁷ And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? ⁸ But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself ^(H)and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹ Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded ^[e]him? I think not. ¹⁰ So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are ^(I)unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

Ten Lepers Cleansed

¹¹ Now it happened ^(J)as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, ^(K)who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, ^(L)“Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice ^(M)glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a ^(N)Samaritan.

¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ^19 (O)And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

The Coming of the Kingdom^(P)

²⁰ Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ^21 (Q)nor will they say, ^[f]‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, ^(R)the kingdom of God is ^[g]within you.”

²² Then He said to the disciples, ^(S)“The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (T)And they will say to you, ^[h]‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. ^24 (U)For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. ^25 (V)But first He must suffer many things and be ^(W)rejected by this generation. ^26 (X)And as it ^(Y)was in the ^(Z)days of ^(AA)Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the ^(AB)day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and ^(AC)destroyed them all. ^28 (AD)Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ²⁹ but on ^(AE)the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man ^(AF)is revealed.

³¹ “In that day, he ^(AG)who is on the housetop, and his ^[i]goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ^32 (AH)Remember Lot’s wife. ^33 (AI)Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ^34 (AJ)I tell you, in that night there will be two ^[j]men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. ^35 (AK)Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. ^36 [k]Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ And they answered and said to Him, ^(AL)“Where, Lord?”

So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People^(A)

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, ^(B)rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who ^[a]are disobedient,

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(A)

^37 (B)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets ^(C)and stones those who are sent to her! How often ^(D)I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks ^(E)under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ^(F)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”