The watchmen who go about the city found me and I said, Have you seen him whom my soul loves?

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed.

Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities have been smashed to ruins without inhabitant, and the houses without a man, and the land is left devastated,

The days of visitation have come; the days of retribution have come. Israel shall know. The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and your great hatred.

The watchman of Ephraim is with my God, but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways; hatred is in the house of his God.

For I know this, that after my departure vicious wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as choicest oil; let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the evil.

Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the Words of My mouth; and your judgments are as the light that goes forth.

They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the Law, blameless.

And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon; he leased the vineyard to keepers; everyone was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, who shall never be silent day or night; you who remember Jehovah, do not keep silent.

Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner 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 went into a far country.

And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son.

So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

They said to Him, He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will deliver to him the fruits in their seasons.

saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape the condemnation of Gehenna?

in order that on you may come all the righteous blood poured out upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

And they agreed with him, and when they had summoned the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

We are foolish because of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are dishonored.

And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;

Still others had trial of mockings and floggings, yes, and of bonds and imprisonment.

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tried, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, oppressed;

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. According to them He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this regard.