Luke 3:1-13:7

Legacy Standard Bible

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of ^(C)Annas and ^(D)Caiaphas, ^(E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(F)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(K)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^(L)do not begin to say ^[d]to yourselves, ‘^(M)We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(O)Then what should we do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two ^[e]tunics is to ^(P)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² And ^(Q)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[f]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^(R)extort anyone, and ^(S)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, ^(T)as to whether he was the ^[g]Christ, ^16 (U)John answered, saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with ^(W)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(X)Herod the tetrarch was reproved by him because of ^(Y)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^(Z)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(AA)he locked John up in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

^21 (AB)Now it happened that when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^(AC)praying, heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “^(AD)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

^23 (AE)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ^[h]as was supposed,

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(AK)Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, ^(AL)returned from the Jordan and was being led around ^[t]by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for ^(AM)forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had finished, He was hungry. ³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘^(AN)Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

^5 (AO)And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of ^[u](AP)the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this ^[v](AQ)dominion and ^[w]its glory, ^(AR)for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore if You ^[x]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘^(AS)You shall worship the ^[y]Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

^9 (AT)And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

¹¹ and,

¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘^(AW)You shall not put the ^[z]Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³ And when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹⁴ And ^(AX)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and ^(AY)news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. ¹⁵ And He was ^(AZ)teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁶ And He came to ^(BA)Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, ^(BB)He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and ^(BC)stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ And He ^(BF)closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and ^(BG)sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ^[ac]hearing.” ²² And all were ^[ad]speaking well of Him and marveling at the ^[ae]gracious words which were coming forth from His lips, and they were saying, “^(BH)Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard took place ^(BI)at Capernaum, do also here in ^(BJ)your hometown.’” ²⁴ And He said, “Truly I say to you, ^(BK)no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel ^(BL)in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but ^(BM)only to ^[af]Zarephath, in the land of ^(BN)Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, but ^(BO)only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things, ²⁹ and they stood up and ^(BP)drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the edge of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. ³⁰ But ^(BQ)passing through their midst, He went on His way.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Demon

³¹ And ^(BR)He came down to ^(BS)Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; ³² and ^(BT)they were amazed at His teaching, for ^(BU)His ^[ag]message was with authority. ³³ And in the synagogue there was a man ^[ah]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “^[ai]Let us alone! ^[aj](BV)What do we have to do with You, Jesus the ^(BW)Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(BX)the Holy One of God!” ³⁵ But Jesus ^(BY)rebuked it, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. ³⁶ And amazement came upon them all, and they were talking with one another saying, “What is ^[ak]this message? For ^(BZ)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” ³⁷ And ^(CA)the report about Him was spreading into every place in the surrounding district.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others Healed

^38 (CB)Then He stood up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ^(CC)suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him ^[al]to help her. ³⁹ And standing over her, He ^(CD)rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she stood up and ^[am]began waiting on them.

^40 (CE)And while ^(CF)the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and ^(CG)laying His hands on each one of them, He was ^(CH)healing them. ⁴¹ And demons also were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are ^(CI)the Son of God!” But ^(CJ)rebuking them, He was ^(CK)not allowing them to speak, because they knew Him to be the ^[an]Christ.

^42 (CL)When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were eagerly seeking for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, ^(CM)for I was sent for this purpose.”

⁴⁴ So He kept on preaching in the synagogues ^(CN)of ^[ao]Judea.

The First Disciples

5 ^(CO)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing at the edge of ^(CP)the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, and the fishermen, having gotten out of them, were washing their nets. ^3 (CQ)And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and ^(CR)let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon answered and said, “^(CS)Master, ^(CT)we labored all night and caught nothing, but at Your word, I will let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(CU)they enclosed a great quantity of fish. And their nets began to break; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken, ¹⁰ and ^[ap]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon, were also likewise amazed. And Jesus said to Simon, “^(CV)Do not fear, from now on you will be ^(CW)catching men.” ¹¹ And when they had brought their boats to land, ^(CX)they left everything and followed Him.

Jesus Heals a Leper

^12 (CY)And it happened that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man ^[aq]covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ¹³ And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And He directed him to tell no one, “But go and ^(CZ)show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ But ^(DA)the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But He Himself would often slip away ^[ar]to the desolate regions and ^(DB)pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ And it happened that ^[as]one day He was teaching; and ^(DC)there were some Pharisees and ^(DD)teachers of the law sitting there, who had ^(DE)come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and ^(DF)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. ^18 (DG)And behold, some men were carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down before Him. ¹⁹ But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on ^(DH)the roof and let him down ^(DI)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ And seeing their faith, He said, “^[at]Friend, ^(DJ)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees ^(DK)began to reason, saying, “^(DL)Who is this who speaks blasphemies? ^(DM)Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” ²² But Jesus, ^[au]knowing their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the ^(DN)paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and, picking up your stretcher, go home.” ²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home ^(DO)glorifying God. ²⁶ And astonishment seized them all and they began ^(DP)glorifying God; and they were filled ^(DQ)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Levi and Sinners Called

^27 (DR)And after that He went out and noticed a tax collector named ^[av](DS)Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ And he ^(DT)left everything behind, and rose up and began to follow Him.

²⁹ And ^(DU)Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of ^(DV)tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. ^30 (DW)And the Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and ^[aw]sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(DX)It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

³³ And they said to Him, “^(DY)The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do likewise, but Yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “Can you make the ^[ax]attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ^35 (DZ)But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new and the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(EA)Now it happened that on a Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields, and His disciples ^(EB)were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what ^(EC)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you never read ^(ED)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the ^[ay]consecrated bread which ^(EE)is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” ⁵ And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath

^6 (EF)Now it happened that on another Sabbath He entered ^(EG)the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there ^[az]whose right hand was withered. ⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees ^(EH)were watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He ^(EI)knew ^[ba]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ^[bb]come forward!” And he stood up and ^[bc]came forward. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after ^(EJ)looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they themselves were filled with ^[bd]rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

¹² Now it happened that ^[be]at this time He went off to ^(EK)the mountain to ^(EL)pray, and He was spending the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(EM)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^(EN)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and ^(EO)Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ And Jesus ^(EP)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^(EQ)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of ^(ER)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹ And all the crowd was trying to ^(ES)touch Him, for ^(ET)power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say,

²³ Be glad in that day and ^(EY)leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For ^(EZ)their fathers were doing the same things to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

Love Your Enemies

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(FD)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, ^(FE)pray for those who disparage you. ^29 (FF)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your garment, do not withhold your ^[bg]tunic from him either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ³¹ And ^[bh](FG)treat others the same way you want ^[bi]them to treat you. ^32 (FH)And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (FI)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But ^(FJ)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, ^[bj]expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(FK)sons of ^(FL)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. ^36 [bk]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do Not Judge

³⁷ “^(FM)And do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; ^[bl](FN)pardon, and you will be ^[bm]pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. They will ^[bn]pour ^(FO)into your lap a ^(FP)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ And He also spoke a parable to them: “^(FQ)Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (FR)A ^[bo]student is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will ^[bp]be like his teacher. ⁴¹ And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. ^43 (FS)For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, ^[bq]on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. ^44 (FT)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. ^45 (FU)The good man out of the good ^[br]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil. ^(FV)For his mouth speaks from the abundance of his heart.

Build Your House on the Rock

⁴⁶ “^(FW)Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ^47 (FX)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The Centurion’s Faith

7 ^(FY)When He had completed all His words in the hearing of the people, ^(FZ)He went to Capernaum.

² And a centurion’s slave, ^[bs]who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. ³ Now when he heard about Jesus, ^(GA)he sent some ^[bt]Jewish elders asking Him to come and ^[bu]save the life of his slave. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they were earnestly pleading with Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵ for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” ⁶ Now Jesus was going on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “^[bv]Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not good enough for You to come under my roof. ⁷ For this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just ^[bw]say the word, and my ^[bx]servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him. And He turned to the crowd that was following Him and said, “I say to you, ^(GB)not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹ And it happened that soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain, and His disciples were going along with Him, ^[by]accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, behold, ^[bz]a dead man was being carried out, the ^[ca]only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ And when ^(GC)the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not cry.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin, and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the ^[cb]dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ^16 (GD)And fear gripped them all, and they began ^(GE)glorifying God, saying, “A great ^(GF)prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has ^[cc]visited His people!” ^17 (GG)And this report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

Questions from John the Baptist

^18 (GH)And the disciples of John reported to him about all these things. ¹⁹ Summoning ^[cd]two of his disciples, John sent them to ^(GI)the Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” ²⁰ When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’” ²¹ At that ^[ce]very time He ^(GJ)cured many people of diseases and ^(GK)afflictions and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many who were blind. ²² And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the ^(GL)blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the ^(GM)poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ Blessed is he ^[cf]who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴ And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? ^25 [cg]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft garments? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written,

²⁸ I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is ^[ci]least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they ^[cj]acknowledged ^(GO)God’s justice, ^(GP)having been baptized with ^(GQ)the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the ^(GR)scholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by ^[ck]John.

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ ³³ For John the Baptist has come ^(GS)eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[cl]drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ^[cm]sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom ^(GT)is vindicated ^[cn]by all her children.”

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was asking Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ^37 (GU)And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a ^[co]sinner. And when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ And standing behind Him at His feet, crying, she began to wet His feet with her tears. And she kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were ^(GV)a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ^[cp]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred ^[cq](GW)denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they ^(GX)were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you ^(GY)gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You ^(GZ)gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. ^46 (HA)You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “^(HB)Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say ^[cr]to themselves, “^(HC)Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, “^(HD)Your faith has saved you; ^(HE)go in peace.”

Many Women Contribute to Jesus’ Ministry

8 And it happened that soon afterward He was going around from one city and village to another, ^(HF)preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also ^(HG)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^(HH)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^(HI)Herod’s ^(HJ)manager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions.

The Parable of the Sower

^4 (HK)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the ^[cs]air ate it up. ⁶ And other seed fell on rock and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And other seed fell among the thorns, and when the thorns grew up with it, they choked it out. ⁸ And other seed fell into the good soil; and growing up, it produced a crop one hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^(HL)He who has ears to hear, ^[ct]let him hear.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^9 (HM)And His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(HN)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that ^(HO)seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: ^(HP)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root; ^[cu]they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear ripe fruit. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with ^[cv]perseverance.

A Lampstand and the Light

¹⁶ “Now ^(HQ)no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ^17 (HR)For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So beware how you listen, ^(HS)for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[cw]thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

^19 (HT)And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these ^(HU)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^22 (HV)Now it happened that on one of those days He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of ^(HW)the lake.” So they set sail. ²³ But as they were sailing along, He fell asleep, and a windstorm descended on ^(HX)the lake, and they began to be swamped and in danger. ²⁴ And they came to Him and woke Him up, saying, “^(HY)Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He woke up and ^(HZ)rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and ^[cx]it became calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

Jesus Saves a Man from Many Demons

^26 (IA)Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He came out onto the land, a man from the city met Him, one who was possessed with demons and had not put on any garment for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. ²⁸ Now seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “^[cy](IB)What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of ^(IC)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles, being kept under guard. And yet breaking his bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desolate regions. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(ID)Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were pleading with Him not to command them to go away into ^(IE)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain, and the demons pleaded with Him to permit them to enter ^[cz]the swine. And He gave them permission. ³³ And when the demons came out of the man, they entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(IF)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. ³⁵ And the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(IG)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was ^(IH)demon-possessed had been ^[da]saved. ³⁷ And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear. And He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (II)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[db]accompany Him. But He sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’ Daughter

^40 (IJ)And as Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (IK)And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was ^[dc](IL)an official of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he began to plead with Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an ^[dd]only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(IM)Master, the crowds are surrounding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I knew that ^(IN)power had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling. And falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(IO)your faith has ^[de]saved you; ^(IP)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(IQ)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “^(IR)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[df]saved.” ⁵¹ So when He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all crying and ^(IS)lamenting for her, but He said, “Stop crying, for she has not died, but ^(IT)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she stood up immediately. And He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astounded, but He ^(IU)directed them to tell no one what had happened.

The Twelve Disciples Sent Out

9 ^(IV)And calling the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. ² And He sent them out to ^(IW)preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ And He said to them, “^(IX)Take nothing for your journey, ^(IY)neither a staff, nor a ^[dg]bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two ^[dh]tunics apiece. ⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there ^[di]until you leave that city. ⁵ And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, ^(IZ)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And departing, they were going ^[dj]throughout the villages, ^(JA)proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere.

^7 (JB)Now ^(JC)Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(JD)John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that ^(JE)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. ⁹ And Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And ^(JF)he kept trying to see Him.

^10 (JG)And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. ^(JH)Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called ^(JI)Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

¹² Now the day ^[dk]was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and obtain lodging and find provisions, for here we are in a desolate place.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them ^[dl]sit down ^(JJ)in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all ^[dm]sit down. ¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. And He broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied; and ^[dn]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve ^(JK)baskets full.

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

^18 (JL)And it happened that while He was ^(JM)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “^(JN)The ^[do]Christ of God.” ²¹ But He ^[dp](JO)warned them and directed them not to tell this to anyone, ^22 (JP)saying, “^(JQ)The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Take Up Your Cross

²³ And He was saying to them all, “^(JR)If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(JS)whoever wishes to save his ^[dq]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[dr]life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and ^(JT)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (JU)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, ^(JV)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (JW)Now it happened some eight days after these words, that taking along ^(JX)Peter and John and James, He ^(JY)went up on the mountain ^(JZ)to pray. ²⁹ And it happened that while He was ^(KA)praying, the appearance of His face ^(KB)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[ds]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him, and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[dt]glory, were speaking of His ^[du](KC)departure which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(KD)had been overcome with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. ³³ And it happened that as they were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(KE)Master, it is good for us to be here; ^(KF)let us make three ^[dv]booths: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(KG)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud ^[dw]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then ^(KH)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “^(KI)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[dx]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(KJ)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

^37 (KK)Now it happened on the next day, that when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my ^[dy]only one, ³⁹ and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth, and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. ⁴⁰ And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Now while he was still approaching, the demon ^[dz]slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all astonished at the ^(KL)majesty of God.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^(KM)But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “Put these words into your ears; ^(KN)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[ea]delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(KO)they ^[eb]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (KP)Now an argument ^[ec]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(KQ)knowing ^[ed]what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “^(KR)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(KS)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (KT)And John answered and said, “^(KU)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him, ^(KV)for he who is not against you is ^[ee]for you.”

⁵¹ Now it happened that when the days for ^(KW)Him to be taken up were soon to be fulfilled, He set His face ^(KX)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(KY)Samaritans to ^[ef]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, ^(KZ)because ^[eg]He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples ^(LA)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(LB)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, ^[eh][and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, ⁵⁶ for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

^57 (LC)And as they were going along the road, ^(LD)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the ^[ei]air have ^[ej]nests, but ^(LE)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(LF)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(LG)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but ^(LH)first permit me to say farewell to those at home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(LI)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Seventy Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(LJ)the Lord appointed ^[ek]seventy ^(LK)others, and sent them ^(LL)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(LM)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go! ^(LN)Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (LO)Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[el]man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him, but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[em]that house, eating and drinking ^[en]what they give you; for ^(LP)the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. ⁸ And whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(LQ)eat what is set before you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(LR)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But in whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(LS)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off against you; yet know this, that ^(LT)the kingdom of God is at hand.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(LU)it will be more tolerable in that day for ^(LV)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(LW)Woe to you, ^(LX)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(LY)Bethsaida! For if the ^[eo]miracles had been performed in ^(LZ)Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[ep](MA)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(MB)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(MC)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(MD)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(ME)the one who rejects you rejects Me. And he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[eq]seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(MF)the demons are subject to us in Your name.” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I was watching ^(MG)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(MH)tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(MI)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (MJ)At that very ^[er]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[es]praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (MK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(ML)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

^23 (MM)And turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, ²⁴ for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”

The Good Samaritan

^25 (MN)And behold, a ^(MO)scholar of the Law stood up and was putting Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered and said, “^(MP)You shall love the ^[et]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(MQ)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wishing ^(MR)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(MS)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and ^[eu]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And a priest happened to be going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(MT)Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion. ³⁴ And he came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And on the next day he took out two ^[ev]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do ^[ew]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(MU)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(MV)Mary, who was also ^(MW)seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(MX)Martha was distracted with ^[ex]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the ^[ey]preparations alone? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(MY)Martha, Martha, you are ^(MZ)worried and bothered about so many things, ^42 (NA)but only one thing is necessary, for ^(NB)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

The Lord’s Prayer

11 And it happened that while ^[ez]Jesus was praying in a certain place, after 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, “^(NC)When you pray, say:

⁵ Then He said to them, “Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ^[fc]and I are in bed; I cannot rise up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not arise and give him anything because he is his friend, yet ^(NF)because of his ^[fd]persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[fe](NG)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[ff]seek, and you will find; ^[fg]knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ But what father among you, if his son asks for a ^[fh]fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? ¹² Or, if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ^13 (NH)If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your ^[fi]heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

A Kingdom Divided

^14 (NI)And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. Now it happened that when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(NJ)by ^(NK)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ And others, testing Him, ^(NL)were seeking from Him ^[fj]a sign from heaven. ^17 (NM)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “^[fk]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house divided against ^[fl]itself falls. ¹⁸ But if ^(NN)Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by ^(NO)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I by ^(NP)Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out demons by the ^(NQ)finger of God, then ^(NR)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[fm]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[fn]undisturbed. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ^23 (NS)He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

²⁴ “^(NT)When the unclean spirit goes out of ^[fo]a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it 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 takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ Now it happened that while ^[fp]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^(NU)Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^(NV)those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹ Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “^(NW)This generation is a wicked generation; it ^(NX)seeks ^[fq]a sign, and yet no ^[fr]sign will be given to it but the ^[fs]sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as ^(NY)Jonah became ^[ft]a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The ^(NZ)Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because ^(OA)they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “^(OB)No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^34 (OC)The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ^[fu]clear, your whole body also is full of light, but when it is ^[fv]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore watch out that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have a meal with him. And He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first ^[fw](OD)ceremonially washed before the ^[fx]meal. ³⁹ But ^(OE)the Lord said to him, “Now ^(OF)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but ^[fy]inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. ^40 (OG)You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(OH)give that which is within as charity, and ^[fz]then all things are ^(OI)clean for you.

⁴² “^(OJ)But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(OK)pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard 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 ^(OL)love the best seat in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (OM)Woe to you! For you are like ^[ga]concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ Now one of the ^(ON)scholars of the Law answered and said to Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you ^(OO)scholars of the Law as well! For ^(OP)you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (OQ)Woe to you! For you build the ^[gb]tombs of the prophets, but your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also ^(OR)the wisdom of God said, ‘^(OS)I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will ^[gc]persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(OT)since the foundation of the world, may be ^[gd]charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from ^(OU)the blood of Abel to ^(OV)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be ^[ge]charged against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you, ^(OW)scholars of the Law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^(OX)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ And when He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, ^54 (OY)plotting ^(OZ)to catch ^[gf]Him in something He might say.

Fear Only God

12 At this time, after ^[gg]so many thousands of the crowd had gathered together that they were trampling on one another, He began saying to His disciples first, “^(PA)Be on your guard for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (PB)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 ^[gh]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon ^(PC)the housetops.

⁴ “But I say to you, ^(PD)My friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom to fear: ^(PE)fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into ^[gi](PF)hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶ Are not ^(PG)five sparrows sold for two ^[gj]assaria? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. ^7 (PH)Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

⁸ “And I say to you, everyone who ^(PI)confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God, ⁹ but ^(PJ)he who denies Me before men will be denied ^(PK)before the angels of God. ^10 (PL)And everyone who ^[gk]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ Now when they bring you before ^(PM)the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not ^(PN)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say, ¹² for ^(PO)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ And someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^(PP)Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “^(PQ)Watch out and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance 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 reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, ^(PR)you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(PS)You fool! This very night ^[gl](PT)your soul is required of you; and ^(PU)now who will own what you prepared?’ ²¹ So is the one who ^(PV)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(PW)For this reason I say to you, ^[gm]do not worry about your ^[gn]life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ^(PX)ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(PY)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 single ^[go](PZ)cubit to his ^[gp]life span? ²⁶ Therefore, if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, but I tell you, not even ^(QA)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But 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? ^(QB)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not ^(QC)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[gq]all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and ^(QD)these things will be added to you. ^32 (QE)Do not fear, ^(QF)little flock, for ^(QG)your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.

³³ “^(QH)Sell your possessions and give it as charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, ^(QI)an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For ^(QJ)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be Ready for His Coming

³⁵ “^(QK)Gird up ^(QL)your loins, and keep your lamps lit. ³⁶ And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^(QM)awake when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^(QN)he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. ^38 (QO)Whether he comes in the ^[gr]second watch, or even in the ^[gs]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “^(QP)But ^[gt]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 ^[gu](QQ)broken into. ^40 (QR)You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not ^[gv]expect.”

⁴¹ Now Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or ^(QS)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(QT)the Lord said, “^(QU)Who then is the faithful and prudent ^(QV)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his ^[gw]servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(QW)slave whom his ^[gx]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 ^[gy]will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will ^(QX)receive many beatings, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(QY)know it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few. ^(QZ)From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Not Peace, but Division

⁴⁹ “I ^[gz]have come to cast fire upon the earth, and ^[ha]how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a ^(RA)baptism to ^[hb]undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! ^51 (RB)Do you think that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, 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, ^(RC)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ And He was also saying to the crowds, “^(RD)When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. ⁵⁵ And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^(RE)hot day,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(RF)You know how to examine the appearance of the earth and the sky, but ^[hc]why do you not examine this present time?

⁵⁷ “And ^(RG)why do you not even judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For ^(RH)while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to ^[hd]settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last ^[he](RI)lepton.”

Repent or Perish

13 Now at that same time there were some present who were reporting to Him about the Galileans whose blood ^(RJ)Pilate had ^[hf]mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(RK)Do you think that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered these things? ³ I tell you, no, but unless you ^[hg]repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(RL)Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^[hh](RM)offenders than all the men who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ And He was telling this parable: “A man had ^(RN)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree ^[hi]without finding any. ^(RO)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’