Instruction about Prayer

11 It happened that while ^[a]Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ² And He said to them, “^(A)When you pray, say:

⁵ And He said to them, “^[f]Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ^[g]and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet ^(D)because of his ^[h]shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[i](E)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[j]seek, and you will find; ^[k]knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ Now ^[l]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a ^[m]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? ¹² Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So ^(F)if you, despite being ^[n]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^[o]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

^14 (G)And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out the demons ^(H)by ^(I)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, ^[p]to test Him, ^(J)were demanding of Him a ^[q]sign from heaven. ^17 (K)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ^[r]itself falls. ¹⁸ And if ^(L)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^[s]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^(M)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by ^(N)Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by ^[t]the ^(O)finger of God, then ^(P)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[u]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[v]secure. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ^23 (Q)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “^(R)When the unclean spirit comes out of ^[w]a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ While ^[x]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^(S)Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^(T)those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹ Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “^(U)This generation is a wicked generation; it ^(V)demands a ^[y]sign, and so no ^[z]sign will be given to it except the ^[aa]sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as ^(W)Jonah became a ^[ab]sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The ^(X)Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because ^(Y)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “^(Z)No one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^34 (AA)Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ^[ac]clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is ^[ad]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

Woes upon the Pharisees

³⁷ Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ^[ae](AB)ceremonially washed before the ^[af]meal. ³⁹ But ^(AC)the Lord said to him, “Now ^(AD)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ^40 (AE)You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(AF)give that which is within as a charitable gift, and ^[ag]then all things are ^(AG)clean for you.

⁴² “^(AH)But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(AI)pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ^[ah]ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(AJ)love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (AK)Woe to you! For you are like ^[ai]unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the ^[aj](AL)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you ^(AM)lawyers as well! For ^(AN)you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, ^[ak]while you yourselves will not even ^[al]touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (AO)Woe to you! For you build the ^[am]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their ^[an]tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, ^(AP)the wisdom of God said, ‘^(AQ)I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will ^[ao]persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(AR)since the foundation of the world, may be charged ^[ap]against this generation, ⁵¹ from ^(AS)the blood of Abel to ^(AT)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged ^[aq]against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you ^[ar](AU)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^(AV)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, ^54 (AW)plotting against Him ^(AX)to catch ^[as]Him in something He might say.

God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after ^[at]so many thousands of ^[au]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^(AY)Beware of the ^[av]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (AZ)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ^[aw]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^(BA)the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, ^(BB)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: ^(BC)fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^[ax](BD)hell; yes, I tell you, fear ^[ay]Him! ⁶ Are ^(BE)five sparrows not sold for two ^[az]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ^7 (BF)But even the hairs of your head are all counted. ^[ba]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

⁸ “Now I say to you, everyone who ^(BG)confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; ⁹ but ^(BH)the one who denies Me before people will be denied ^(BI)before the angels of God. ^10 (BJ)And everyone who ^[bb]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ Now when they bring you before ^(BK)the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^(BL)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for ^(BM)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

¹³ Now someone ^[bc]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^[bd](BN)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “^(BO)Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ And I will say to ^[be]myself, “^(BP)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(BQ)You fool! This very night ^[bf](BR)your soul is demanded of you; and ^(BS)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who ^(BT)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(BU)For this reason I tell you, ^[bg]do not worry about your ^[bh]life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ^(BV)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(BW)barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a ^[bi](BX)day to his ^[bj]life’s span? ²⁶ Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ^[bk]spin; but I tell you, not even ^(BY)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^(BZ)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not ^[bl]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^(CA)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[bm]all these things are what the nations of the world ^[bn]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But ^[bo]seek His kingdom, and ^(CB)these things will be ^[bp]provided to you. ^32 [bq](CC)Do not be afraid, ^(CD)little flock, because ^(CE)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

³³ “^(CF)Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, ^(CG)an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. ³⁴ For ^(CH)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be in Readiness

³⁵ “^[br](CI)Be prepared, and keep your ^(CJ)lamps lit. ³⁶ You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^(CK)on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^(CL)he will ^[bs]prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. ^38 (CM)Whether he comes in the ^[bt]second watch, or even in the ^[bu]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “^(CN)But ^[bv]be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ^(CO)broken into. ^40 (CP)You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^(CQ)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(CR)the Lord said, “^(CS)Who then is the faithful and sensible ^(CT)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(CU)slave whom his ^[bw]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ^[bx]cut him in two, and assign ^[by]him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^(CV)receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(CW)know it, and committed acts deserving of ^[bz]a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^(CX)From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Christ Divides People

⁴⁹ “I ^[ca]have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ^[cb]how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a ^(CY)baptism ^[cc]to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! ^51 (CZ)Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; ⁵² for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, ^(DA)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ And He was also saying to the crowds, “^(DB)Whenever you see a cloud rising ^[cd]in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁵ And whenever you feel a ^[ce]south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^(DC)hot day,’ and it turns out that way. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(DD)You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

⁵⁷ “And ^(DE)why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For ^(DF)when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ^[cf]settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ^[cg]the very last ^[ch](DG)lepton.”

Call to Repent

13 Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood ^(DH)Pilate had ^[ci]mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus responded and said to them, “^(DI)Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? ³ No, I tell you, but unless you ^[cj]repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(DJ)Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^[ck](DK)offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶ And He began telling this parable: “A man had ^(DL)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree ^[cl]without finding any. ^(DM)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

Healing on the Sabbath

¹⁰ Now Jesus was ^(DN)teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And ^[cm]there was a woman who for eighteen years had had ^(DO)a ^[cn]sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” ¹³ And He ^(DP)laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began ^(DQ)glorifying God. ¹⁴ But ^(DR)the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus ^(DS)had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “^(DT)There are six days during which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ But ^(DU)the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, ^(DV)does each of you on the Sabbath not untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And this woman, ^(DW)a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom ^(DX)Satan has bound for ^[co]eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this restraint on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ And as He said this, all His opponents were being ^[cp]humiliated; and ^(DY)the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

¹⁸ So ^(DZ)He was saying, “^(EA)What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and ^(EB)the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

²⁰ And again He said, “^(EC)To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ^21 (ED)It is like ^[cq]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(EE)three ^[cr]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

Teaching in the Villages

²² And He was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and ^(EF)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, ²⁴ “^(EG)Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ Once the head of the house gets up and ^(EH)shuts the door, and you begin standing outside and knocking on the door, saying, ‘^(EI)Lord, open up to us!’ and He then will answer and say to you, ‘^(EJ)I do not know where you are from.’ ²⁶ Then you will ^(EK)begin saying, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ ²⁷ And yet He will ^[cs]say, ‘^(EL)I do not know where you are from; ^(EM)leave Me, all you ^[ct]evildoers.’ ^28 (EN)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. ²⁹ And they ^(EO)will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, ^(EP)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

³¹ At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away and leave this place, because ^(EQ)Herod wants to kill You.” ³² And He said to them, “Go and tell that ^[cu]fox, ‘Behold, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I ^[cv](ER)reach My goal.’ ³³ Nevertheless ^(ES)I must go on My journey today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a ^(ET)prophet would perish outside Jerusalem. ^34 (EU)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(EV)just as a hen gathers her ^[cw]young under her wings, and you were unwilling! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(EW)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the ^[cx]leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, ^(EX)they were watching Him ^[cy]closely. ² And ^[cz]there in front of Him was a man suffering from ^[da]edema. ³ And Jesus responded and said to the ^[db](EY)lawyers and ^[dc]Pharisees, “^(EZ)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And He said to them, “^[dd](FA)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” ^6 (FB)And they could offer no reply to this.

Parable of the Guests

⁷ Now He began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how ^(FC)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, ⁸ “Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ^(FD)do not ^[de]take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, ⁹ and the one who invited you ^[df]both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then ^(FE)in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place. ¹⁰ But whenever you are invited, go and ^[dg]take the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, ^(FF)move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are ^[dh]dining at the table with you. ^11 (FG)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your ^[di]repayment. ¹³ But whenever you give a ^[dj]banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, since they ^[dk]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at ^(FH)the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “^(FI)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Parable of the Dinner

¹⁶ But He said to him, “^(FJ)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; ¹⁷ and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸ And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; ^[dl]please consider me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; ^[dm]please consider me excused.’ ²⁰ And another one said, ‘^(FK)I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ ²¹ And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ ²² And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’”

Discipleship Tested

²⁵ Now ^[dn]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “^(FL)If anyone comes to Me and does not ^[do]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not ^(FM)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ ³¹ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and ^(FN)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. ³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who ^(FO)does not ^[dp]give up all his own possessions.

³⁴ “Therefore, salt is good; but ^(FP)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be ^[dq]seasoned? ³⁵ It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. ^(FQ)The one who has ears to hear, ^[dr]let him hear.”

The Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(FR)tax collectors and ^[ds]sinners were coming near ^[dt]Jesus to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(FS)eats with them.”

³ And so He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(FT)What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the ^[du]open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[dv]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ^(FU)in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(FV)the share of the estate that ^[dw]is coming to me.’ And so he divided his ^[dx](FW)wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in ^[dy]wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had ^[dz]spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. ¹⁵ So he went and ^[ea]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to ^[eb]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here ^[ec]from hunger! ¹⁸ I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and ^[ed]in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’ ²⁰ So he set out and came to ^[ee]his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and ^[ef](FX)embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and ^[eg]in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out ^(FY)the best robe and put it on him, and ^[eh](FZ)put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was ^(GA)dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[ei]neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your ^[ej](GB)wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you ^[ek]have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was ^(GC)dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

The Unrighteous Manager

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was ^[el]reported to him as ^(GD)squandering his possessions. ² And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my ^[em]master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to ^[en]dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ And he summoned each one of his ^[eo]master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[ep]jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[eq]kors of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ And his ^[er]master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of ^(GE)this age are more shrewd in relation to their own ^[es]kind than the ^(GF)sons of light. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(GG)make friends for yourselves by means of the ^[et](GH)wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it ^[eu]is all gone, ^(GI)they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “^(GJ)The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not ^[ev]been faithful in the use of unrighteous ^[ew](GK)wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? ¹² And if you have not ^[ex]been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ^13 (GL)No ^[ey]servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^[ez](GM)wealth.”

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were ^(GN)lovers of money, were listening to all these things and ^(GO)were ^[fa]ridiculing Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “You are the ones who ^(GP)justify yourselves in the sight of people, but ^(GQ)God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶ “^(GR)The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time ^(GS)the gospel of the kingdom of God ^[fb]has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ^17 (GT)But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one ^[fc]stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

¹⁸ “^(GU)Everyone who ^[fd]divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is ^[fe]divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. ²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus ^(GV)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹ and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to ^[ff](GW)Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in ^(GX)Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his ^[fg]arms. ²⁴ And he cried out and said, ‘^(GY)Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in ^(GZ)this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(HA)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶ And ^[fh]besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may ^(HB)warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ ²⁹ But Abraham *said, ‘They have ^[fi](HC)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ But he said, ‘No, ^(HD)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Instructions

17 Now He said to His disciples, “^(HE)It is inevitable that ^[fj]stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! ^2 (HF)It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he ^[fk]is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to ^[fl]sin. ^3 [fm]Be on your guard! ^(HG)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you ^(HH)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

^5 (HI)The apostles said to ^(HJ)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ But ^(HK)the Lord said, “If you ^[fn]had faith ^[fo]the size of ^(HL)a mustard seed, you could say to this ^(HM)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would ^[fp]obey you.

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘^(HN)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly ^[fq]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and ^[fr]afterward you ^[fs]may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are ^[ft]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Ten Men with Leprosy Healed

¹¹ While He was ^(HO)on the way to Jerusalem, ^(HP)He was passing ^[fu]between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who ^(HQ)stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, ^(HR)Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “^(HS)Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, ^(HT)glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a ^(HU)Samaritan. ¹⁷ But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ^18 [fv]Was no one found who returned to ^(HV)give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; ^(HW)your faith has ^[fw]made you well.”

Second Coming Foretold

²⁰ Now He was questioned by the Pharisees ^(HX)as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with ^[fx](HY)signs that can be observed; ²¹ nor will ^(HZ)they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is ^[fy]in your midst.”

²² And He said to the disciples, “^(IA)The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (IB)And they will say to you, ‘Look there,’ or, ‘Look here!’ Do not leave, and do not run after them. ^24 (IC)For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part ^[fz]of the sky, shines to the other part ^[ga]of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. ^25 (ID)But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ^26 (IE)And just as it happened ^(IF)in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ^28 [gb]It was the same as happened in ^(IG)the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and ^[gc]brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ It will be ^[gd]just the same on the day that the Son of Man ^(IH)is revealed. ³¹ On that day, the one who will be ^(II)on the ^[ge]housetop, ^[gf]with his goods in the house, must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one in the field must not turn back. ^32 (IJ)Remember Lot’s wife. ^33 (IK)Whoever strives to ^[gg]save his ^[gh]life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ^35 (IL)There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁶ [^[gi](IM)Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] ³⁷ And responding, they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “^(IN)Where the body is, there also the ^[gj]vultures will be gathered.”

Parables on Prayer

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(IO)ought to pray and not ^(IP)become discouraged, ² saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ^(IQ)respect any person. ³ Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my ^[gk]opponent.’ ⁴ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor ^(IR)respect any person, ⁵ yet ^(IS)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise ^[gl]by continually coming she will ^(IT)wear me out.’” ⁶ And ^(IU)the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; ⁷ now, will God not ^(IV)bring about justice for His ^(IW)elect who cry out to Him day ^[gm]and night, and will He ^(IX)delay long for them? ⁸ I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(IY)will He find ^[gn]faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Now He also told this parable to some people who ^(IZ)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^(JA)viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men ^(JB)went up into the ^[go]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee ^(JC)stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I ^(JD)fast twice a week; I ^(JE)pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, ^(JF)standing some distance away, ^(JG)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but ^(JH)was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be ^[gp]merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; ^(JI)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

^15 (JJ)Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called for ^[gq]the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not ^[gr]forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you, ^(JK)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18 (JL)A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me ^[gs]good? No one is ^[gt]good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘^(JM)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” ²² Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; ^(JN)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ^(JO)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²³ But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. ²⁴ And Jesus looked at him and said, “^(JP)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For ^(JQ)it is easier for a camel to ^[gu]go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁶ Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “^(JR)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Behold, ^(JS)we have left ^[gv]our own homes and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(JT)there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much at this time, and in ^(JU)the age to come, eternal life.”

^31 (JV)Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, ^(JW)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(JX)all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ^32 (JY)For He will be ^[gw]handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, ³³ and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” ^34 [gx](JZ)The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

^35 (KA)Now as ^[gy](KB)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. ³⁶ But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he called out, saying, “Jesus, ^(KC)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “^(KD)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; ^(KE)your faith has ^[gz]made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(KF)glorifying God; and when ^(KG)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Zaccheus Converted

19 Jesus ^(KH)entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And ^[ha]there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up a ^[hb](KI)sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ And he hurried and came down, and received Him ^[hc]joyfully. ⁷ When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in ^[hd]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” ⁸ But Zaccheus stopped and said to ^(KJ)the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have ^(KK)extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back ^(KL)four times as much.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is ^(KM)a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because ^(KN)He was near Jerusalem and they thought that ^(KO)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹² So He said, “^(KP)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return. ¹³ And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten ^[he]minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money ^[hf]until I come back.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done. ¹⁶ The first slave appeared, saying, ‘^[hg]Master, your ^[hh]mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been ^(KQ)faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ The second one came, saying, ‘Your ^[hi]mina, ^[hj]master, has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He *said to him, ‘^[hk]From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’ ²⁶ ‘^(KR)I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ²⁷ But as for ^(KS)these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(KT)slaughter them in my presence.’”

Triumphal Entry

²⁸ After Jesus said these things, He ^(KU)was going on ahead, ^(KV)going up to Jerusalem.

^29 (KW)When He approached Bethphage and ^(KX)Bethany, near the ^[hl]mountain that is called ^(KY)Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village ^[hm]ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. ³¹ And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘^[hn]The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its ^[ho]owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ They said, “^[hp]The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, ^(KZ)and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of ^(LA)the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to ^(LB)praise God ^[hq]joyfully with a loud voice for all the ^[hr]miracles which they had seen, ^38 [hs]shouting:

^39 (LF)And yet some of the Pharisees ^[ht]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” ⁴⁰ Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, ^(LG)the stones will cry out!”

⁴¹ When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and ^(LH)wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you ^[hu]when your enemies will ^(LI)put up a ^[hv]barricade against you, and ^(LJ)surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and ^(LK)they will not leave in you one stone upon ^[hw]another, because you did not recognize ^(LL)the time of your visitation.”

Traders Driven from the Temple

^45 (LM)And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written: ‘^(LN)And My house will be a house of prayer,’ ^(LO)but you have made it a den of robbers.”

⁴⁷ And ^(LP)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people ^(LQ)were trying to put Him to death, ⁴⁸ and yet they could not find ^[hx]anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to ^[hy]every word He said.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

20 ^(LR)On one of the days while ^(LS)He was teaching the people in the temple and ^(LT)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^(LU)confronted Him, ² and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” ³ But He replied to them, “I will also ask you a ^[hz]question, and you tell Me: ⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” ⁵ They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a ^(LV)prophet.” ⁷ And so they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-growers

^9 (LW)But He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to ^[ia]vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. ¹⁰ At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out. ¹³ Now the ^[ib]owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^(LX)respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ^[ic]owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and ^(LY)put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “^(LZ)May it never happen!” ¹⁷ But ^[id]Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written:

^18 (MC)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests ^(MD)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them. ^20 (ME)And so they watched Him ^[if]closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order ^(MF)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of ^(MG)the governor. ²¹ And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ^[ig]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. ²² Is it ^[ih]permissible for us ^(MH)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ²³ But He saw through their trickery and said to them, ²⁴ “Show Me a ^[ii]denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “Then ^(MI)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²⁶ And they were unable to ^(MJ)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

Is There a Resurrection?

^27 (MK)Now some of the ^(ML)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him, ²⁸ and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(MM)if ^[ij]a man’s brother dies, ^[ik]leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to ^[il]marry the wife and raise up children ^[im]for his brother. ²⁹ So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; ³⁰ and the second ³¹ and the third ^[in]married her; and in the same way ^[io]all seven ^[ip]died, leaving no children. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ Therefore, in the resurrection, ^[iq]which one’s wife does the woman become? For ^[ir]all seven ^[is]married her.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “The sons of ^(MN)this age marry and the women are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^(MO)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; ³⁶ for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are ^(MP)sons of God, being ^[it]sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in ^(MQ)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^(MR)the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ^38 (MS)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for ^(MT)all live to Him.” ³⁹ Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For ^(MU)they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

^41 (MV)But He said to them, “How is it that they say the ^[iu]Christ is ^(MW)David’s son? ⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”

^45 (MZ)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, ^(NA)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who ^[iv]devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Gift

21 ^(NB)Now He looked up and saw the wealthy putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² And He saw a poor widow putting ^[iw]in ^(NC)two ^[ix]lepta coins. ³ And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; ⁴ for they all ^[iy]contributed to the ^[iz]offering from their ^[ja]surplus; but she, from her poverty, put in all ^[jb]that she had ^(ND)to live on.”

^5 (NE)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and ^[jc]vowed gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when ^(NF)there will not be left one stone upon ^[jd]another, which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^[je]sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(NG)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ ^(NH)Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be ^[jf]massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great ^[jg]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(NI)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, ^[jh]bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. ^13 (NJ)It will lead to ^[ji]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (NK)So ^[jj]make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(NL)I will provide you ^[jk]eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all people because of My name. ¹⁸ And yet ^(NM)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (NN)By your endurance you will gain your ^[jl]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(NO)surrounded by armies, then ^[jm]recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside ^[jn]the city must leave, and ^(NP)those who are in the country must not enter ^[jo]the city; ²² because these are ^(NQ)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(NR)there will be great distress upon the ^[jp]land, and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by ^(NS)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and ^(NT)Jerusalem will be ^(NU)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until ^(NV)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

²⁵ “There will be ^[jq]signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the ^[jr]world; for the powers of ^[js]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And ^(NW)then they will see ^(NX)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ^(NY)your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹ And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: ³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and ^(NZ)know that summer is now near. ³¹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[jt]recognize that ^(OA)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. ^33 (OB)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴ “But ^(OC)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that ^[ju]this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But ^(OD)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to ^(OE)stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ Now ^[jv]during the day He was ^(OF)teaching in the temple, but ^[jw](OG)at evening He would go out and spend the night on ^(OH)the ^[jx]mountain that is called ^[jy]Olivet. ³⁸ And all the people would get up ^(OI)very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

Preparing the Passover

22 ^(OJ)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the ^(OK)Passover, was approaching. ² And the chief priests and the scribes ^(OL)were trying to find ^[jz]a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people.

^3 (OM)And ^(ON)Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, ^[ka]who belonged to the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he left and discussed with the chief priests and ^(OO)officers how he was to betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. ⁶ And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them ^[kb]away from the crowd.

^7 (OP)Now the first day of Unleavened Bread came, on which ^(OQ)the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ And so Jesus sent ^(OR)Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” ⁹ They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰ And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house that he enters. ¹¹ And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹² And he will show you a large, furnished upstairs room; prepare it there.” ¹³ And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Lord’s Supper

^14 (OS)When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and ^(OT)the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall not eat it again ^(OU)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ^17 (OV)And when He had taken a cup and ^(OW)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(OX)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and ^(OY)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is ^(OZ)poured out for you, is the ^(PA)new covenant in My blood. ^21 (PB)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with ^[kc]Mine on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going ^(PC)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.

Who Is Greatest

²⁴ And ^(PD)a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. ^25 (PE)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But it is not this way for you; ^(PF)rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like ^(PG)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For ^(PH)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But ^(PI)I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My ^(PJ)trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a ^(PK)kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may ^(PL)eat and drink at My table in My ^(PM)kingdom, and ^(PN)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, ^(PO)Satan has ^[kd]demanded to ^(PP)sift you men like wheat; ³² but I ^(PQ)have prayed for ^[ke]you, that ^[kf]your faith will not fail; and ^[kg]you, when you have ^[kh]turned back, ^(PR)strengthen your brothers.” ^33 (PS)But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵ And He said to them, “^(PT)When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “But now, ^[ki]whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and ^[kj]whoever has no sword is to sell his ^[kk]cloak and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘^(PU)And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for ^(PV)that which refers to Me has its ^[kl]fulfillment.” ³⁸ They said, “Lord, look, here are two ^(PW)swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Garden of Gethsemane

^39 (PX)And He came out and went, ^(PY)as was His habit, to ^(PZ)the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ^40 (QA)Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “^(QB)Pray that you do not come into temptation.” ⁴¹ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He ^(QC)knelt down and began to pray,