Matthew 12:1-24:32

New American Standard Bible 1995

Sabbath Questions

12 ^(A)At that ^[a]time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(B)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^(C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(D)they ate the ^[b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[c]break the Sabbath and are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(E)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[d]means, ‘^(F)I desire ^[e]compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[f]Jesus, asking, “^(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. ¹¹ And He said to them, “^(J)What man ^[g]is there among you who ^[h]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (K)How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[i]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[j]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[k](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[l]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(N)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(O)warned them not to ^[m]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (W)Then a ^(X)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to ^[v]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. ²³ All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(Y)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(Z)casts out demons only by ^[w]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (AA)And ^(AB)knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “^[x]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and ^[y]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If ^(AC)Satan casts out Satan, he ^[z]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ If I ^(AD)by ^[aa]Beelzebul cast out demons, ^(AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(AF)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (AG)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(AH)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (AI)Whoever ^[ab]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever ^[ac]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(AJ)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for ^(AK)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (AL)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak ^[ad]what is good? ^(AM)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. ^35 (AN)The good man brings out of his good treasure ^[ae]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure ^[af]what is evil. ³⁶ But I tell you that every ^[ag]careless word that people ^[ah]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in ^(AO)the day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[ai]by your words you will be justified, and ^[aj]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(AP)we want to see a ^[ak]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation craves for a ^[al]sign; and yet no ^[am]sign will be given to it but the ^[an]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(AR)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will ^(AS)the Son of Man be ^(AT)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, ^(AW)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AX)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, ^(AY)something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and ^(BA)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

^46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^(BC)mother and ^(BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”^{[ao] 48} But ^[ap]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 That day Jesus went out of ^(BE)the house and was sitting ^(BF)by the sea. ² And ^[aq]large crowds gathered to Him, so ^(BG)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He spoke many things to them in ^(BH)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[ar]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a ^(BI)hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ^9 (BJ)He who has ears, ^[as]let him hear.”

An Explanation

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ^11 [at]Jesus answered them, “^(BK)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ^12 (BL)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(BM)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ^14 [au]In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (BP)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(BQ)many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

¹⁸ “^(BR)Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(BS)the ^[ay]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(BT)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰ The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the ^[az]word, immediately he ^[ba](BU)falls away. ²² And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of ^(BV)the ^[bb]world and the ^(BW)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some ^(BX)a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tares among Wheat

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(BY)The kingdom of heaven ^[bc]may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[bd]tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ But when the ^[be]wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. ²⁷ The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[bf]How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An ^[bg]enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but ^(BZ)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(CA)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(CB)a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(CC)the birds of the ^[bh]air come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them, “^(CD)The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(CE)three ^[bi]pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them ^(CF)without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

The Tares Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into ^(CH)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(CI)Explain to us the parable of the ^[bj]tares of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(CJ)the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(CK)the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are ^(CL)the sons of ^(CM)the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(CN)the ^[bk]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(CO)the ^[bl]end of the age. ^41 (CP)The Son of Man ^(CQ)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[bm]all ^(CR)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and ^(CS)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(CT)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (CU)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(CV)He who has ears, ^[bn]let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “^(CW)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and ^(CX)sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, ^(CY)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, ^(CZ)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(DA)the ^[bo]end of the age; the angels will come forth and ^[bp]take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and ^(DB)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(DC)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And ^[bq]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

^53 (DD)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ^54 (DE)He came to ^[br]His hometown and ^(DF)began teaching them in their synagogue, so that ^(DG)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these ^[bs]miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not ^(DH)His mother called Mary, and His ^(DI)brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And ^(DJ)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took ^(DK)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “^(DL)A prophet is not without honor except in his ^[bt]hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many ^[bu]miracles there because of their unbelief.

John the Baptist Beheaded

14 ^(DM)At that ^[bv]time ^(DN)Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ² and said to his servants, “^(DO)This is John the Baptist; ^[bw]he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ For when ^(DP)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him ^(DQ)in prison because of ^(DR)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴ For John had been saying to him, “^(DS)It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded ^[bx]John as ^(DT)a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of ^(DU)Herodias danced ^[by]before them and pleased ^(DV)Herod, ⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of ^[bz]his dinner guests. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the body and buried ^[ca]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Five Thousand Fed

^13 (DW)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the ^[cb]people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When He went ^[cc]ashore, He ^(DX)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and ^(DY)healed their sick.

¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already ^[cd]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” ¹⁷ They *said to Him, “We have here only ^(DZ)five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Ordering the ^[ce]people to ^[cf]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ^(EA)blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, ²⁰ and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full ^(EB)baskets. ²¹ There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^22 (EC)Immediately He ^[cg]made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, ^(ED)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already ^[ch]a long distance from the land, ^[ci]battered by the waves; for the wind was ^[cj](EE)contrary. ²⁵ And in ^(EF)the ^[ck]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is ^(EG)a ghost!” And they cried out ^[cl]in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “^(EH)Take courage, it is I; ^(EI)do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “^(EJ)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly ^(EK)God’s Son!”

^34 (EL)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(EM)Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place ^[cm]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; ³⁶ and they implored Him that they might just touch ^(EN)the fringe of His cloak; and as many as ^(EO)touched it were cured.

Tradition and Commandment

15 ^(EP)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus ^(EQ)from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^(ER)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” ³ And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘^(ES)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘^(ET)He who speaks evil of father or mother is to ^[cn]be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^[co]given to God,” ⁶ he is not to honor his father or his mother^[cp].’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. ^11 (EW)It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹² Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[cq]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “^(EX)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(EY)they are blind guides ^[cr]of the blind. And ^(EZ)if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter ^[cs]said to Him, “^(FA)Explain the parable to us.” ^16 [ct]Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[cu]eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(FB)the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. ^19 (FC)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, ^[cv]fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. ²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

^21 (FD)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of ^(FE)Tyre and ^(FF)Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(FG)Son of David; my daughter is cruelly ^(FH)demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[cw]at us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(FI)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(FJ)began ^[cx]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He answered and said, “It is not ^[cy]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord; ^[cz]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(FK)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed ^[da]at once.

Healing Crowds

^29 (FL)Departing from there, Jesus went along by ^(FM)the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰ And ^[db]large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and ^(FN)He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled ^[dc]restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they ^(FO)glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

^32 (FP)And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “^(FQ)I feel compassion for the ^[dd]people, because they ^[de]have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³ The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And He directed the ^[df]people to ^[dg]sit down on the ground; ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and ^(FR)giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^(FS)baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹ And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into ^(FT)the boat and came to the region of ^(FU)Magadan.

Pharisees Test Jesus

16 ^(FV)The ^(FW)Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they ^(FX)asked Him to show them a ^[dh]sign from heaven. ² But He replied to them, “^[di](FY)When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(FZ)Do you know how to discern the ^[dj]appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? ^4 (GA)An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a ^[dk]sign; and a ^[dl]sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵ And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and ^(GB)beware of the ^[dm]leaven of the ^(GC)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “^(GD)You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand or remember ^(GE)the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? ¹⁰ Or ^(GF)the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? ¹¹ How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But ^(GG)beware of the ^[dn]leaven of the ^(GH)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the ^(GI)Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^13 (GJ)Now when Jesus came into the district of ^(GK)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that ^(GL)the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(GM)John the Baptist; and others, ^[do](GN)Elijah; but still others, ^[dp]Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are ^[dq](GO)the Christ, ^(GP)the Son of ^(GQ)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, ^(GR)Simon ^[dr]Barjona, because ^(GS)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are ^[ds](GT)Peter, and upon this ^[dt]rock I will build My church; and the gates of ^(GU)Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(GV)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and ^(GW)whatever you bind on earth ^[du]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth ^[dv]shall have been loosed in heaven.” ^20 (GX)Then He ^[dw]warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was ^[dx](GY)the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (GZ)From that time ^[dy]Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and ^(HA)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “^[dz]God forbid it, Lord! This shall never ^[ea]happen to You.” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(HB)Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on ^[eb]God’s interests, but man’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ^(HC)take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(HD)whoever wishes to save his ^[ec]life will lose it; but whoever loses his ^[ed]life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the ^(HE)Son of Man ^(HF)is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ^(HG)will then ^[ee]repay every man according to his ^[ef]deeds.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the ^(HH)Son of Man ^(HI)coming in His kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

17 ^(HJ)Six days later Jesus *took with Him ^(HK)Peter and ^[eg]James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, ^(HL)I will make three ^[eh]tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, ^(HM)a voice out of the cloud said, “^(HN)This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell ^[ei]face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and ^(HO)do not be afraid.” ⁸ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

^9 (HP)As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “^(HQ)Tell the vision to no one until ^(HR)the Son of Man has ^(HS)risen from the dead.” ¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that ^(HT)Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ^[ej]to him whatever they wished. So also ^(HU)the Son of Man is going to suffer ^[ek]at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demoniac

^14 (HV)When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵ “^[el]Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a ^[em](HW)lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured ^[en]at once.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, ^(HX)if you have faith ^[eo]the size of ^(HY)a mustard seed, you will say to ^(HZ)this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and ^(IA)nothing will be impossible to you. ²¹ [^[ep](IB)But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

^22 (IC)And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be ^[eq]delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and ^(ID)they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Tribute Money

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, those who collected ^(IE)the ^[er]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay ^(IF)the ^[es]two-drachma tax?” ²⁵ He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect ^(IG)customs or ^(IH)poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are ^[et]exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we do not ^[eu](II)offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find ^[ev]a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Rank in the Kingdom

18 ^(IJ)At that ^[ew]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “^(IK)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And He called a child to Himself and set him ^[ex]before them, ³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ^[ey]are converted and ^(IL)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶ but ^(IM)whoever ^(IN)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it ^[ez]would be better for him to have a ^[fa]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

⁷ “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For ^(IO)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ “^(IP)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than ^[fb]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ^9 (IQ)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than ^[fc]to have two eyes and be cast into the ^[fd](IR)fiery hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^(IS)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ [^[fe](IT)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

¹² “What do you think? ^(IU)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will ^[ff]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵ “^(IV)If your brother sins^[fg], go and ^[fh]show him his fault ^[fi]in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^(IW)by the mouth of two or three witnesses every ^[fj]fact may be confirmed. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(IX)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(IY)let him be to you as ^[fk]a Gentile and ^[fl]a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, ^(IZ)whatever you ^[fm]bind on earth ^[fn]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^[fo]loose on earth ^[fp]shall have been loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, ^(JA)it shall be done for them ^[fq]by My Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three have gathered together in My name, ^(JB)I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

²¹ Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, ^(JC)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to ^(JD)seven times?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^(JE)seventy times seven.

²³ “For this reason ^(JF)the kingdom of heaven ^[fr]may be compared to a king who wished to ^(JG)settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^[fs]ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ But since he ^[ft](JH)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him ^(JI)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. ²⁶ So the slave fell to the ground and ^(JJ)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ ²⁷ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and ^(JK)forgave him the ^[fu]debt. ²⁸ But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred ^[fv]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ ³⁰ But he was unwilling ^[fw]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. ³¹ So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. ³² Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 (JL)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. ^35 (JM)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from ^[fx]your heart.”

Concerning Divorce

19 ^(JN)When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and ^(JO)came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; ² and ^[fy]large crowds followed Him, and ^(JP)He healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to ^[fz]Jesus, testing Him and asking, “^(JQ)Is it lawful for a man to ^[ga]divorce his wife for any reason at all?” ⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^(JR)that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘^(JS)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(JT)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” ⁷ They *said to Him, “^(JU)Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ^[gb]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(JV)whoever ^[gc]divorces his wife, except for ^[gd]immorality, and marries another woman ^[ge]commits adultery^[gf].”

¹⁰ The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(JW)Not all men can accept this statement, but ^(JX)only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (JY)Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “^[gg](JZ)Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for ^(KA)the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

^16 (KB)And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain ^(KC)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but ^(KD)if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “^(KE)You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; ^19 (KF)Honor your father and mother; and ^(KG)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be ^[gh]complete, go and ^(KH)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have ^(KI)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, ^(KJ)it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I say to you, ^(KK)it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them Jesus said to them, “^(KL)With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Disciples’ Reward

²⁷ Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” ²⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when ^(KM)the Son of Man will sit on ^[gi]His glorious throne, ^(KN)you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And ^(KO)everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ^[gj]or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive ^[gk]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ^30 (KP)But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For ^(KQ)the kingdom of heaven is like ^[gl]a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his ^(KR)vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a ^[gm]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the ^[gn]third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the ^[go]sixth and the ninth hour, and did ^[gp]the same thing. ⁶ And about the ^[gq]eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “When ^(KS)evening came, the ^[gr]owner of the vineyard *said to his ^(KT)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a ^[gs]denarius. ¹⁰ When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; ^[gt]but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the ^(KU)scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘^(KV)Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your ^(KW)eye ^[gu]envious because I am ^[gv]generous?’ ¹⁶ So ^(KX)the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

^17 (KY)As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man ^(KZ)will be ^[gw]delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and ^(LA)will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on ^(LB)the third day He will be raised up.”

Preferment Asked

^20 (LC)Then the mother of ^(LD)the sons of Zebedee came to ^[gx]Jesus with her sons, ^(LE)bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine ^(LF)may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” ²² But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(LG)to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He *said to them, “^(LH)My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, ^(LI)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(LJ)prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. ^25 (LK)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, ^(LL)but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as ^(LM)the Son of Man ^(LN)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[gy]life a ransom for many.”

Sight for the Blind

^29 (LO)As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, ^(LP)have mercy on us, ^(LQ)Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, ^(LR)Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

The Triumphal Entry

21 ^(LS)When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at ^(LT)the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” ^4 (LU)This ^[gz]took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁶ The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on ^[ha]the coats. ⁸ Most of the crowd ^(LW)spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. ⁹ The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

¹⁰ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is ^(MA)the prophet Jesus, from ^(MB)Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

^12 (MC)And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the ^(MD)money changers and the seats of those who were selling ^(ME)doves. ¹³ And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘^(MF)My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a ^(MG)robbers’ ^[hb]den.”

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and ^(MH)He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the ^(MI)Son of David,” they became indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘^(MJ)Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” ¹⁷ And He left them and went out of the city to ^(MK)Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Barren Fig Tree

^18 (ML)Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a lone ^(MM)fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(MN)if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(MO)all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Authority Challenged

^23 (MP)When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him ^(MQ)while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one ^[hc]thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the ^[hd]people; for they all regard John as ^(MR)a prophet.” ²⁷ And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two ^[he]sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘^[hf]Son, go work today in the ^(MS)vineyard.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that ^(MT)the tax collectors and prostitutes ^[hg]will get into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^(MU)the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Parable of the Landowner

³³ “Listen to another parable. ^(MV)There was a ^[hh]landowner who ^(MW)planted a ^(MX)vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[hi]vine-growers and ^(MY)went on a journey. ³⁴ When the ^[hj]harvest time approached, he ^(MZ)sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. ³⁵ The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he ^(NA)sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the ^[hk]owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ^(NB)will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

⁴² Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a ^[hl]people, producing the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And ^(ND)he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ When they sought to seize Him, they ^(NE)feared the ^[hm]people, because they considered Him to be a ^(NF)prophet.

Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “^(NG)The kingdom of heaven ^[hn]may be compared to ^[ho]a king who ^[hp]gave a ^(NH)wedding feast for his son. ³ And he ^(NI)sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. ⁴ Again he ^(NJ)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own ^[hq]farm, another to his business, ⁶ and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. ⁸ Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to ^(NK)the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with ^[hr]dinner guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw ^(NL)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, ¹² and he *said to him, ‘^(NM)Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into ^(NN)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^[hs](NO)called, but few are ^(NP)chosen.”

Tribute to Caesar

^15 (NQ)Then the Pharisees went and ^[ht]plotted together how they might trap Him ^[hu]in what He said. ¹⁶ And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^(NR)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and ^[hv]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do You think? Is it ^[hw]lawful to give a ^(NS)poll-tax to ^(NT)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus perceived their ^[hx]malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the ^(NU)coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a ^[hy]denarius. ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “^(NV)Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² And hearing this, they were amazed, and ^(NW)leaving Him, they went away.

Jesus Answers the Sadducees

^23 (NX)On that day some ^(NY)Sadducees (who say ^(NZ)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, ²⁴ asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘^(OA)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; ²⁶ so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, ^(OB)not ^[hz]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither ^(OC)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ³² ‘^(OD)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, ^(OE)they were astonished at His teaching.

^34 (OF)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced ^(OG)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. ³⁵ One of them, ^[ia](OH)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘^(OI)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and ^[ib]foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘^(OJ)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (OK)On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

^41 (OL)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: ⁴² “What do you think about ^[ic]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “^(OM)The son of David.” ⁴³ He *said to them, “Then how does David ^[id](ON)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” ^46 (OP)No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him ^[ie]another question.

Pharisaism Exposed

23 ^(OQ)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(OR)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ^4 (OS)They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds ^(OT)to be noticed by men; for they ^(OU)broaden their ^[if]phylacteries and lengthen ^(OV)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They ^(OW)love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called ^(OX)Rabbi by men. ⁸ But ^(OY)do not be called ^(OZ)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^(PA)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called ^[ig]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (PB)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (PC)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(PD)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(PE)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[ih]from ^[ii]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [^[ij]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^(PF)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[ik](PG)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[il](PH)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(PI)blind guides, who say, ‘^(PJ)Whoever swears by the ^[im]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[in]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(PK)Which is ^[io]more important, the gold or the ^[ip]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[iq]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(PL)which is ^[ir]more important, the ^[is]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[it]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[iu]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[iv]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[iw]whoever swears by the ^[ix]temple, swears both by ^[iy]the temple and by Him who ^(PM)dwells within it. ²² And ^[iz]whoever swears by heaven, ^(PN)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(PO)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[ja]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(PP)blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(PQ)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[jb]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(PR)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “^(PS)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(PT)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(PU)are ^[jc]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(PV)you brood of vipers, how ^[jd]will you escape the ^[je]sentence of ^[jf](PW)hell?

³⁴ “^(PX)Therefore, behold, ^(PY)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(PZ)scourge in your synagogues, and ^(QA)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(QB)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(QC)son of Berechiah, whom ^(QD)you murdered between the ^[jg]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(QE)this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(QF)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(QG)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(QH)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(QI)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(QJ)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(QK)Jesus ^(QL)came out from the temple and was going away ^[jh]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(QM)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(QN)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(QO)Your coming, and of the ^[ji]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(QP)See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For ^(QQ)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[jj]Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of ^(QR)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(QS)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^(QT)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (QU)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹ “^(QV)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^(QW)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will ^[jk](QX)fall away and will ^[jl]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(QY)false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, ^[jm]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (QZ)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(RA)gospel of the kingdom ^(RB)shall be preached in the whole ^[jn](RC)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(RD)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(RE)the holy place (^(RF)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [jo]Whoever is on ^(RG)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ^18 [jp]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(RH)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(RI)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no ^[jq]life would have been saved; but for ^(RJ)the sake of the ^[jr]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (RK)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[js]Christ,’ or ‘^[jt]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and ^(RL)false prophets will arise and will ^[ju]show great ^[jv](RM)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(RN)the ^[jw]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (RO)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the ^(RP)coming of the ^(RQ)Son of Man be. ^28 (RR)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[jx]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(RS)tribulation of those days ^(RT)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(RU)the stars will fall from ^[jy]the sky, and the powers of ^[jz]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(RV)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(RW)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(RX)He will send forth His angels with ^(RY)a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[ka](RZ)elect from ^(SA)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near;