Judgment on Judah’s Enemies
1 Gather together, yes, gather,
O sshameless nation,
2 tbefore the decree takes effect1
—before the day passes away ulike chaff—
vbefore there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 wSeek the Lord, xall you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;2
yseek righteousness; seek humility;
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 aFor Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to byou inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of cthe Cherethites!
dThe word of the Lord is against you,
eO Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you funtil no inhabitant is left.
6 gAnd you, O seacoast, hshall be pastures,
with meadows3 for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 iThe seacoast shall become the possession
of jthe remnant of the house of Judah,
hon which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God kwill be mindful of them
and lrestore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard mthe taunts of Moab
and nthe revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts oagainst their territory.
9 Therefore, pas I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become qlike Sodom,
and the Ammonites qlike Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return rfor their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
sfor he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and tto him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all uthe lands of the nations.
12 vYou also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
wand destroy Assyria,
and he xwill make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 yHerds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;4
zeven the owl and the hedgehog5
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for aher cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
bthat lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
ca lair for wild beasts!
dEveryone who passes by her
hisses and eshakes his fist.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds1 among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants2 of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, z“The kingdom of heaven is like aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in cthree measures of flour, till it was dall leavened.”
Prophecy and Parables
34 eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:3
f“I will open my mouth in parables;
gI will utter what has been hidden hsince the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into ithe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are lthe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. mThe harvest is nthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at nthe end of the age. 41 pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all qcauses of sin and rall law-breakers, 42 sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then uthe righteous will shine like the sun vin the kingdom of their Father. wHe who has ears, let him hear.
