Bible in 90 Days

5 When Jesus saw the many people, he went up on a hill. He sat down and his disciples came to him.

² He began to teach the people.

³ He said, `God makes happy those who know that they need him. The kingdom of heaven is for them.

⁴ `God makes happy those who are sad. They will have comfort.

⁵ `God makes happy those who quietly trust him and do not try to get their own way. The world will belong to them.

⁶ `God makes happy those who are hungry and thirsty for what is right and good. They will be filled.

⁷ `God makes happy those who are kind. He will be kind to them.

⁸ `God makes happy those who have clean hearts. They will see God.

⁹ `God makes happy those who make peace between people. They will be called God's sons.

¹⁰ `God makes happy those who have trouble for doing what is right. The kingdom of heaven is for them.

¹¹ `God makes you happy when people say wrong things about you, when they trouble you, and when they say all kinds of lies about you. God makes you happy when it is for my sake.

¹² Be happy and glad because God will be good to you in heaven. In the same way people troubled the prophets before your time.'

¹³ `You are like salt in the world. If salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? Salt that has no taste is good for nothing. The only thing to do is to throw it out on the road.

¹⁴ `You are like light in the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵ So also with a lamp. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. But they put it on the place for a lamp. Then all the people in the house can see its light.

¹⁶ So, let your light shine to all people. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father in heaven.'

¹⁷ `Do not think that I have come to take away the law and the writings of the prophets. No, I have not come to take them away. But I have come to do what they say must be done.

¹⁸ I tell you the truth. Until the sky and the earth are taken away, not one small part of the law will be taken away, until everything has been done.

¹⁹ So anyone who does not obey one of the smallest laws, and teaches other people not to obey it, will have the smallest part in the kingdom of heaven. But any one who obeys and teaches the law, will have a big part in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ I tell you, you must do much better than the scribes and Pharisees. If you do not, then you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.'

²¹ `You have heard this said to men long ago, "Do not kill. Anyone who kills will be judged in court."

²² `But I tell you this. Anyone who is angry with his brother without having a good reason, will be judged in court. Anyone who says wrong things to his brother will be judged for it in the big court. Anyone who says "You fool!" will be judged to go into hell fire.

²³ `Perhaps you are bringing your gift to God at his altar. There you remember that your brother has something against you.

²⁴ If so, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go to your brother and make things right with him. Then come and give your gift to God.

²⁵ `If someone wants to take you to court, make an agreement with him quickly on the way. If you do not, he will take you to the judge. The judge will give you to the guard, and the guard will put you in prison.

²⁶ I tell you the truth, you will not get out of prison until you have paid every piece of money.'

²⁷ `You have heard that the law says, "Do not commit adultery [have another man or woman who is not your husband or wife]."

²⁸ But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and he wants her, then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹ `If your right eye makes you do wrong, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose a part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰ If your right hand makes you do wrong, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell fire.

³¹ `The law said, "Any man who does not want to keep his wife must give her a paper to tell others she is no longer his wife."

³² But I tell you, no man may send away his wife unless she has committed adultery. If he does send her away, he is making her commit adultery. And if a man marries a woman who has been sent away from her husband, he commits adultery.'

³³ `Also you have heard this said to men long ago, "You must not make a promise in God's name and break it." And, "You must do for the Lord what you said you would do."

³⁴ `But I tell you, do not make a promise in God's name. Do not use the name of heaven, because that is where God rules.

³⁵ Do not use the name of earth, because that is where God rests his feet. Do not use the name of Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ Do not make a promise by your head, because you cannot make one hair of your head white or black.

³⁷ You must mean "Yes" when you say "Yes". You must mean "No" when you say "No". To say anything more than that is wrong.'

³⁸ `You have heard that the law says, "Take an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

³⁹ But I tell you, do not fight with anyone who does wrong to you. But if someone hits you on one side of your face, turn the other side to him also.

⁴⁰ `If anyone takes you to court to get your shirt, let him have your coat also.

⁴¹ If anyone wants you to help carry a load, go with him twice as far.

⁴² When someone asks you for something, give it to him. When someone wants to borrow something from you, let him have it.'

⁴³ `You have heard that the law says, "Love your neighbour and hate your enemy."

⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies. Ask God to do good to those who trouble you.

⁴⁵ In that way you will be sons of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun shine on both wrong and good people. He lets the rain fall on people who do right and on people who do wrong.

⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward will you get? Even the tax collectors do that.

⁴⁷ Do you speak to your brothers only? If so, you are not doing any better than other people. Even people who do not believe in God do that.

⁴⁸ You must be good in every way, as your Father in heaven is good in every way.'

6 Do not do good things so that people will see you do them. If you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven.

² `So when you give money to poor people, do not send men in front of you to blow trumpets or horns. Some people do this in the meeting houses and on the streets so that people will praise them. They are not true to themselves. I tell you the truth. They have their pay already.

³ But when you give money to poor people, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

⁴ In this way, what you give to the poor will be secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.

⁵ `When you talk to God, do not be like people who are not true to themselves. They like to stand and talk to God in the meeting houses and at the street corners, so that people will see them. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.

⁶ But when you talk to God, go into your room and shut the door. Then talk to your Father in secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.

⁷ `And when you talk to God, do not say words that mean nothing, over and over again. People who do not believe in God do that. They think their god will hear them because they say many words.

⁸ Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ So talk to your God like this: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

¹⁰ "May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ "Give us our food for today.

¹² "Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, the way we forgive those who have done wrong things to us.

¹³ "Do not test us but help us, so that no one will make us do wrong. Deliver us from the evil one. The kingdom and power and praise belong to you for ever. Amen!"

¹⁴ `If you forgive others for the wrong things they have done, then your Father in heaven will forgive you.

¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you for the wrong things you have done.'

¹⁶ `When you are fasting [not eating food for a time], do not look sad. That is what people do who are not true to themselves. They look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.

¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face as you do at other times.

¹⁸ Then people will not see that you are fasting. But your Father sees secret things, and he will reward you.'

¹⁹ `Do not keep many things for yourself on earth. Insects and rust will spoil them. People will get in and steal them.

²⁰ But keep things for yourself in heaven. Insects and rust will not spoil them there. People will not get in and steal them.

²¹ The place where you keep things is where your heart will be also.'

²² `The body gets its light through the eyes. If you have good eyes, all your body will have light.

²³ But if your eyes are bad, all your body will be in darkness. If the light in you is dark, it will be very dark for you.'

²⁴ `No man can work for two masters. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will obey one and despise the other. You cannot work for both God and money.

²⁵ `So, I tell you this. Do not be troubled about what you will eat or drink to keep alive. Do not be troubled about what you will wear on your body. Life itself is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than clothes.

²⁶ `Look at the birds that fly in the air. They do not plant or cut or keep any food. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Are you not worth more than birds?

²⁷ Can any one of you live any longer by troubling yourself about these things?

²⁸ And why are you troubled about clothes? See how the flowers grow in the fields. They do not work or make cloth.

²⁹ I tell you, King Solomon was a great man. But he was not dressed as fine as one of these flowers.

³⁰ God dresses the grass in the fields so it looks nice. It is in the field one day and the next day it is put on the fire. If God dresses the grass like that, he cares much more that you have clothes to wear. You do not believe in God very much!

³¹ `So then, do not keep asking, "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" and "What shall we wear?"

³² It is the people who do not believe in God who work for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need them all.

³³ `Work first for God's kingdom and what he calls good. Then you will have all these things also.

³⁴ `So do not be troubling yourself about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own trouble. Today's trouble is enough for today.'

7 Do not judge others, then you will not be judged.

² The way you judge others, that is the way you will be judged. How much you give to others is how much will be given to you.

³ `Why do you look at the spot of dust in your brother's eye? But you do not see a big stick in your own eye!

⁴ Why do you say to your brother, "Let me take the dust out of your eye"? And all the time you have that stick in your own eye!

⁵ You are not true to yourselves! First take the stick out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see to take the dust out of your brother's eye.

⁶ `Do not give what is holy to dogs. Do not throw your fine stones to pigs. They will walk all over them, and then turn and hurt you.'

⁷ `Ask, and you will get what you ask for. Look, and you will find what you look for. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

⁸ Everyone who asks will get. The one who looks will find. And the one who knocks will have the door opened for him.

⁹ `If your son asks for bread, will any of you give him a stone?

¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?

¹¹ You are wrong, and yet you know how to give good things to your children. Much more, your Father in heaven will give good things to those who ask him.

¹² `Do to other people what you want them to do to you. That is what the law and the writings of the prophets say.'

¹³ `Go in by the small gate. The gate is big and the road is wide that goes to death. Many people go that way.

¹⁴ The gate is small and the road is not wide that goes to life. Not many people find it.'

¹⁵ `Take care. There are prophets who are not true. They come to you dressed like sheep, but inside they are like wolves, bad animals that kill sheep.

¹⁶ You will know them by the things they do. People do not pick fruit like grapes from thistles. They do not pick fruit like figs from thorn trees.

¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree has good fruit. But a bad tree has bad fruit.

¹⁸ A good tree cannot have bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot have good fruit.

¹⁹ Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire.

²⁰ So you will know them by the things they do, good or bad fruit.'

²¹ `Some people say to me, "Lord, Lord". But not all who say that will go into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do what my Father in heaven wants, will go in.

²² Many people will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not drive bad spirits out of people in your name? Did we not do big works in your name?"

²³ Then I will say to them, "I never knew you. Go away from me! What you do is very wrong!" '

²⁴ `Everyone who hears what I say and obeys me will be like a man who has good sense. He built his house on a rock.

²⁵ It rained hard. The water in the rivers came up high. The winds were strong and beat on the house. But it did not fall down. It was built on a rock.

²⁶ But everyone who hears what I say and does not obey me, will be like a man who has no sense. He built his house on the sand.

²⁷ It rained hard. The water in the rivers came up high. The winds were strong and beat on the house. It fell down with a loud noise!'

²⁸ Jesus finished saying all these things. The people were surprised at his teaching.

²⁹ He taught them as if he had the right to teach them. He did not teach like their scribes.

8 When Jesus came down from the hill, many people followed him.

² A man who had leprosy [a bad skin disease] came and kneeled in front of Jesus and worshipped him. He said to Jesus, `Sir, I know you can heal me if you want to.'

³ Jesus put out his hand and touched him. He said, `I want to. Be healed.' Right away his leprosy was healed.

⁴ Jesus said to him, `Do not tell anyone about this. But go and let the priest look at you. Moses gave a law about the sacrifice you must give when you are healed. Give it, to prove to people you are healed.'

⁵ When Jesus came to the town of Capernaum, a Roman army officer came to ask him for help.

⁶ He said, `Sir, one of my servants is in bed at my house. He cannot move and has much pain.'

⁷ Jesus said, `I will come and heal him.'

⁸ The officer said, `Sir, I am not good enough to have you come into my house. Just say the word and my servant will be healed.

⁹ I myself am a man who takes orders, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I say to one, "Go," and he goes. I say to another one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.'

¹⁰ Jesus was surprised when he heard this. He said to the people who followed him, `I tell you the truth. I have not found any Jew who believes as this man does.

¹¹ I tell you, many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

¹² But those who were born in the kingdom will be put into the darkness outside. There they will cry and make noises with their teeth.'

¹³ Jesus said to the officer, `Go home. What you have believed, will be done.' At that very same time the officer's servant was healed.

¹⁴ Jesus went into Peter's house. There he saw the mother of Peter's wife in bed, sick with fever.

¹⁵ Jesus took hold of her hand and the fever left her. She got up and began to do things for Jesus.

¹⁶ That evening, many people who had bad spirits were brought to Jesus. He spoke to the bad spirits and drove them out. And he healed all the people who were sick.

¹⁷ What the prophet Isaiah said came true. He said, `He took away the things that made us weak. He took away the things that made us sick.'

¹⁸ Jesus saw many people around him. So he said, `Let us cross over to the other side of the sea.'

¹⁹ A scribe came and said to him, `Teacher, I will go anywhere you go.'

²⁰ Jesus said, `Foxes have holes to live in. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lie down to rest.'

²¹ Another man who was a follower of Jesus, said to Jesus, `Lord, let me go first and bury my father.'

²² But Jesus said to him, `Come with me. Let those who are dead bury their own dead people.'

²³ Jesus got in the boat and his disciples got in with him.

²⁴ A bad storm came on the sea. The waves were high. Water came into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

²⁵ The disciples came to Jesus and woke him. `Lord, save us!' they shouted. `We will die!'

²⁶ Jesus said to them, `Why do you fear? You do not believe in God very much!' Then Jesus got up. He said to the winds and the sea, `Stop!' Then all was quiet.

²⁷ The disciples were surprised. They said `What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.'

²⁸ Jesus came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarene people. There were graves in that place. Two men came from among the graves to meet him. They had bad spirits in them. They were so bad and strong that people feared to pass that way.

²⁹ They shouted, `Jesus, Son of God, what do you want to do to us? Have you come here to punish us before it is our time?'

³⁰ Many pigs were eating in a place far from them.

³¹ The bad spirits begged Jesus, `If you drive us out of these men, let us go into the pigs.'

³² Jesus said, `Go!' The spirits came out of the men and went into the pigs. All the pigs ran fast down the steep hill into the sea. They died in the water.

³³ The men who cared for the pigs ran to the town. They told everything and what had happened to the men who had the bad spirits.

³⁴ All the people in the town came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to go away out of their country

9 Jesus got in the boat and crossed the sea. He came to his own town.

² Some men brought a sick man to him. The man could not move his arms or legs. He was lying on a bed. Jesus saw that they believed he would be healed. So he said to the sick man, `My son, be glad! The wrong things you have done are forgiven.'

³ Some of the scribes were thinking, `This man is not giving respect to God.'

⁴ Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, `Why do you think these wrong things in your heart?

⁵ Which is easier, to say, "The wrong things you have done are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"?

⁶ I want you to know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive wrong things people have done.' So he said to the sick man, `Get up. Make up your bed and go home.'

⁷ The man got up and went home.

⁸ Many people saw this and were much surprised. They praised God who had given such power to men.

⁹ Jesus went on from there. He saw a man named Matthew. He was sitting at the place where people came to pay taxes. Jesus said to him, `Come with me.' Matthew stood up and went with him.

¹⁰ Jesus was eating in a house. Many tax collectors and bad people came in. They sat down to eat with Jesus and his disciples.

¹¹ The Pharisees saw this. They said to his disciples, `Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and bad people?'

¹² Jesus heard it. He said to them, `People who are well do not need a doctor. But sick people need him.

¹³ Go and learn what this means: "I want you to be kind. I do not want a sacrifice." I did not come to call good people. I came to call bad people to stop doing wrong things.'

¹⁴ Then John's disciples came to Jesus. They said, `We and the Pharisees fast. Why do your disciples not do the same?'

¹⁵ Jesus answered, `The people at a wedding cannot be sad while the man who is married is with them. But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then they will not eat.

¹⁶ No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will tear the old coat. Then the hole is bigger than it was before.

¹⁷ `People do not put new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the old skins break. The wine is lost and the skins are spoiled. New wine is put into new skins. And so they are both saved.'

¹⁸ While Jesus was telling them these things, a ruler came to him. He bowed down in front of Jesus to worship him and said, `My daughter has just died. But if you will come and put your hand on her, she will live.'

¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with the ruler. His disciples went too.

²⁰ A woman had a sickness for twelve years. She was bleeding all the time. She came behind Jesus and touched his clothes.

²¹ She said to herself, `If only I touch his clothes, I will be well.'

²² Jesus turned around. He saw her and said, `Daughter, be glad. You were healed because you believed.' And right away the woman was healed.

²³ When Jesus came to the ruler's house, he saw the music players and people making a noise.

²⁴ He said to them, `Go away. The girl is not dead, but sleeping.' They laughed at him.

²⁵ The people were told to go outside. When they were out, he went in and took the girl's hand. The girl got up.

²⁶ People in all that part of the country heard about it.

²⁷ When Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him. They called out, `Son of David, help us!'

²⁸ When Jesus came into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus asked them, `Do you believe that I can do this?' They said, `Yes, sir.'

²⁹ Then Jesus touched their eyes. He said, `As you believed, so will it happen to you.'

³⁰ Then they were able to see. Jesus said to them, `Take care, do not tell anyone about this.'

³¹ But they went away and told everybody in that part of the country about him.

³² As they were leaving, people brought a man to Jesus. This man could not talk He had a bad spirit in him.

³³ Jesus drove the bad spirit out of the man. Then he could talk. The people were very much surprised. They said, `Nothing like this has ever been seen in the country of Israel.'

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, `He drives bad spirits out of people by the power of the chief of bad spirits.'

³⁵ Jesus went around to all the cities and towns. He taught people in their meeting houses and told them the good news of the kingdom of heaven. He healed all the sick and weak people.

³⁶ He saw the many people and was sorry for them. They were troubled and they could not help themselves. They were like sheep with no one to care for them.

³⁷ Then Jesus said to his disciples, `The harvest is much. But there are not many people to gather it.

³⁸ Talk to the Lord of this harvest, and ask him to send out people to his harvest.'

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him. He gave them power over bad spirits so they could drive them out of people. He gave them power to heal people who were sick or weak in any way.

^2-4 he names of the twelve apostles are: Simon, whose other name was Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose other name was Thaddaeus, Simon, the freedom fighter, and Judas Iscariot, the one who gave Jesus over to people who hated him.

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve. He said to them, `Do not go to the people who are not Jews. Do not go to any town of the Samaritan people.

⁶ But go to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.

⁷ As you go, tell people that the kingdom of heaven is here.

⁸ Heal sick people. Bring dead people to life. Heal people who have leprosy. Drive bad spirits out of people You got it free, so give it free to others

⁹ Do not take gold, silver, or brass money with you.

¹⁰ Do not take a bag with you, and do not take two shirts, shoes, or a walking stick. The one who does the work should be given his food.

¹¹ When you come to any city or town, ask who there is able to have you. Then live there until you leave the town.

¹² When you go into the house, greet the family with a blessing.

¹³ If the family is all right, let your blessing stay on it. If it is not all right, take your blessing away.

¹⁴ In some places people will not take you in, or listen to what you say. So when you leave that house or town, shake the dust off your feet.

¹⁵ I tell you the truth. On the day when people are judged, the people from that city will be punished harder than the people from the country of Sodom and Gomorrah.'

¹⁶ `I am sending you out amongst people. You will be like sheep amongst bad animals like wolves. So be wise like snakes, and harmless like doves.

¹⁷ But take care. Men will take you to their courts. They will beat you in their meeting houses.

¹⁸ They will bring you to rulers and kings for my sake. Then you will talk about me to them and to those who are not Jews.

¹⁹ When men take you to court, do not be troubled about what you will say. What you are to say will come to your mind at the right time.

²⁰ It is not you who speak. But it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking through you.

²¹ A brother will take his brother to be killed. A father will take his child. The children will talk against their father and mother, and have them killed.

²² Everyone will hate you because you are true to me. But the person who keeps on being true to me until the end, will be saved.

²³ When they trouble you in one town, go to another. I tell you the truth. You will not go to all the towns in Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ `The one who learns is not better than his teacher. And the servant is not better than his master.

²⁵ The one who learns should want to be like his teacher. And the servant should want to be like his master. If they say the master belongs to the devil, they will say it all the more about those who work for him.'

²⁶ `So do not be afraid of people. Everything that is hidden will be seen. Everything that is hidden will be known.

²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell it in the light. What you hear in secret, shout to others from the tops of the houses.

²⁸ Do not fear people who can kill the body. They cannot kill the spirit. But fear the one who can destroy both spirit and body in hell.

²⁹ Are not two sparrows worth only a small amount of money? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing about it.

³⁰ Even the number of hairs on your head is known.

³¹ So do not fear. You are worth more than many sparrows.'

³² `If anyone tells people that he knows me, I will also tell the Father in heaven that I know him.

³³ But anyone who tells people he does not know me, I will also tell my Father in heaven that I do not know him.'

³⁴ `Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but war.

³⁵ I came to take away peace between a man and his father. I came to take away peace between a daughter and her mother. I came to take away peace between a man's wife and his mother.

³⁶ A man will have people in his own family who make trouble for him.

³⁷ Anyone who loves his father or his mother more than he loves me, is not good enough for me. Anyone who loves his son or his daughter more than he loves me, is not good enough for me.

³⁸ Anyone who is not willing to carry his cross and suffer with me, is not good enough for me.

³⁹ Anyone who tries to keep his life, will lose it. Anyone who gives up his life for my sake, will find it.'

⁴⁰ `Anyone who takes you in, takes me in. And anyone who takes me in, takes in the one who sent me.

⁴¹ Anyone who takes in a prophet because he is a prophet of God will get a prophet's reward.

⁴² And if any one as a disciple gives a drink of cold water to one of my children, he will not lose his reward. I tell you the truth.'

11 When Jesus finished telling his twelve disciples what to do, he left that place. He went to teach and tell God's word to people in the towns around there.

² John was in prison. He heard what Christ was doing. So he sent two of his disciples to him.

³ He asked, `Are you the one who will come? Or shall we wait for another person?'

⁴ Jesus answered them, `Go and tell John what you hear and see.

⁵ Blind people see. Lame people walk. People with leprosy are healed. People who could not hear, can hear. Dead people are made alive. Poor people hear the good news.

⁶ Anyone who is not troubled in his heart about me, will be happy.'

⁷ When John's disciples went away, Jesus began to talk to people about John. He said, `What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Did you go out to see a tall grass moved by the wind?

⁸ What did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in kings' houses.

⁹ Why did you go out? To see a prophet of God? Yes, I tell you, and he is much more than a prophet.

¹⁰ He is the man the holy writings tell about. "See, I send my messenger ahead of you. He will make the way ready for you."

¹¹ `I tell you the truth. No one has ever been born who is greater than John the Baptizer. And yet the smallest one in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹² From the time of John until now, people try hard to break into the kingdom of heaven. And strong people take hold of it.

¹³ All the prophets and the books of the law gave God's word until John came.

¹⁴ If you will believe it, this man is the Elijah who would come.

¹⁵ Everyone who has ears, listen.

¹⁶ `What shall I say that the people of today are like? They are like children who sit in the market. They call to the other children.

¹⁷ They say, "We played music for you, but you did not dance. We cried, but you did not cry."

¹⁸ John came. He does not eat or drink much. People say, "He has a bad spirit in him!"

¹⁹ The Son of Man came. He eats and drinks. People say, "This man eats and drinks too much! He is a friend with tax collectors and bad people!" But a man is proved to be wise by what he has done.'

²⁰ Then Jesus began to talk about the towns where he had done most of his big works. He said hard things about the people, because they did not stop their wrong ways and turn back to God.

²¹ He said, `Chorazin! You will have trouble! Bethsaida! You will have trouble! If the big works I did in you had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have stopped their wrong ways long ago. They would wear the clothes people wear to show they are sad. They would sit in ashes.

²² But I tell you, on the day when people are judged, you will be punished harder than the people from the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

²³ Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the sky? No, you will go down to death. If the big things I did in you had been done in the city of Sodom, it would be standing now.

²⁴ But I tell you, on the day when people are judged you will be punished harder than the people from Sodom.'

²⁵ Then Jesus said, `Father, you are Lord of heaven and earth. I thank you because you have hidden these things from people who are wise and know many things. But you have shown them to people who are like children.

²⁶ Yes, Father, that was the way you wanted it.'

²⁷ He said, `My Father has given everything to me. No one knows who the Son is but the Father. No one knows who the Father is but the Son and those to whom the Son wants to show him.

²⁸ All you who work hard! All you who carry heavy loads! Come to me! I will give you rest.

²⁹ Do what I tell you. Learn what I teach you. I am gentle. I am not proud. Then your hearts will rest.

³⁰ What I tell you to do is easy. What I give you to carry is not heavy.'

12 About that time, Jesus was walking through the grain fields on a Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry. They began to pick some of the grain and to eat it.

² The Pharisees saw them. They said to Jesus, `Look! Your disciples are doing what is not right on the Sabbath day.'

³ But Jesus said to them, `Have you not read what David did? He and his men who were with him were hungry.

⁴ He went into God's house. Some bread was there for God. David's men ate it. David did not have the right to eat it, nor the men who were with him. Only the priests have the right to eat it. But David took the bread and ate it. He also gave some of it to the men who were with him.

⁵ `Have you never read in the books of the law that the priests in the temple break the Sabbath law on the Sabbath day? They are not punished for it.

⁶ I tell you, there is someone here who is greater than the temple.

⁷ `You do not know what this means, "I want you to be kind; I do not want a sacrifice." If you knew, then you would not have said what they did was wrong. What they did was not wrong.

⁸ The Son of Man rules over the Sabbath day.'

⁹ Jesus left that place and went into the meeting house.

¹⁰ There was a man whose hand was thin and weak. The people asked Jesus, `Is it right to heal a man on the Sabbath day?' They wanted to find something wrong about Jesus.

¹¹ Jesus said to them, `If one of you had a sheep and it fell into a hole on the Sabbath day, would you not take hold of it and pull it out?

¹² A man is worth much more than a sheep. So it is right to do good things on the Sabbath day.'

¹³ Then he said to the man, `Hold out your hand.' The man held out his hand and it was made well like the other hand.

¹⁴ Then the Pharisees went out and planned together how to kill Jesus.

¹⁵ Jesus knew about their plan, so he went away from there. Many people followed him and he healed them all.

¹⁶ He told them not to tell where he was.

¹⁷ So what Isaiah the prophet of God said, came true.

¹⁸ He said, `This is my servant. I have chosen him. I love him. I am very pleased with him. I will put my Spirit on him. He will judge the people who are not Jews.

¹⁹ He will not fight or shout. No one will hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰ He will not break a stick that is already bent. He will not put out a light that burns only a little. What is right will win, because he will make it win.

²¹ Those who are not Jews will believe in him.'

²² Then the people brought a man to Jesus. The man had a bad spirit in him. He was blind and could not talk. Jesus healed him. Then the man could talk and see.

²³ All the people were surprised. They said, `Is he David's son?'

²⁴ The Pharisees heard about it. They said, `This man drives out bad spirits by the help of Beelzebub, the chief of bad spirits.'

²⁵ Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to them, `If one part of any country fights against the other part of the country, that country is broken down. If one part of any city or family fights against the other part of it, it cannot stand.

²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he fights against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

²⁷ If I drive out bad spirits by Beelzebub, how do your own people drive them out? Let them judge you.

²⁸ But if I drive out bad spirits by God's Spirit, then God's kingdom is here with you now.

²⁹ `If anyone wants to go into a strong man's house and steal his things, he must first tie the strong man. Then he can steal his things.

³⁰ `Anyone who is not with me, is against me. Anyone who does not work with me is working against me.

³¹ `That is why I tell you this. All wrong things that people do or say, will be forgiven. But people who say wrong things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.

³² Anyone who says anything against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who says anything against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. He will not be forgiven in this world or in the next world.'

³³ `Either make a tree good and its fruit good, or make a tree bad and its fruit bad. People know what kind of tree it is by the fruit on it.

³⁴ You family of snakes! How can you say good things? You are wrong! The mouth will say what is in the heart.

³⁵ A good man has stored up good things in his heart, so he will say good things. A bad man has stored up wrong things in his heart, so he will say wrong things.

³⁶ I tell you this. On the day when people are judged, they will pay for every empty word they have said.

³⁷ Because of your words, you will be called good. Or because of your words, you will be punished.'

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, `Teacher, we want you to show us a sign.'

³⁹ But Jesus answered them, `The people today are bad. They have gone away from God. They want a sign. No sign will be given them but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰ Jonah was inside the big sea animal for three days and three nights. So the Son of Man will be in the ground for three days and three nights.

⁴¹ When people are judged, the men of the city of Nineveh will stand up and speak against the people of today. The people of Nineveh stopped their wrong ways when Jonah told them God's word. And the one who is here is greater than Jonah.

⁴² When people are judged, the Queen of the South will stand up and speak against the people of today. She came a long way to hear the wise talk of Solomon. And the one who is here is greater than Solomon.'

⁴³ `When a bad spirit has gone out of a man, he goes through dry places. He looks for a place to rest, but he does not find any.

⁴⁴ Then he says, "I will go back to my house from where I came." When he comes back, he finds it is empty, clean, and all fixed up.

⁴⁵ Then he goes and brings seven other spirits with him. They are worse than he is. They go in and live there. Now the man is worse than he was at first. That is how it will be for the wrong people of today.'

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to talk to him.

⁴⁷ Someone told him, `Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to talk to you.'

⁴⁸ But to the man who told him, he said, `Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?'

⁴⁹ He pointed to his disciples and said, `These people are my mother and my brothers!

⁵⁰ Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister, and my mother.'

13 That day Jesus left the house and sat down by the sea side.

² Many people came to where he was. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stood on the land by the water.

³ He taught the people many things by telling them stories. He said, `Listen, a man went out to sow some seed.

⁴ As he sowed it, some of the seed fell on the road. Birds came and ate the seed.

⁵ Some seed fell on the stony ground. Not much earth covered the stones. The seed started to grow right away because it was not deep in the ground.

⁶ When the sun began to shine, it was too hot for the new plants. They died because they had no roots.

⁷ Some seed fell among the weeds. The weeds grew up and made the new plants die.

⁸ But some seed fell on good ground. The seed grew and the plants gave more seed. Some plants gave thirty seeds. Some gave sixty. And some gave a hundred.

⁹ Everyone who has ears, listen!'

¹⁰ The disciples came to Jesus and asked him, `Why do you tell the people these stories?'

¹¹ Jesus answered them, `You can learn the secret things about the kingdom of heaven. But they cannot learn them.

¹² Anyone who already has something will get more, and he will have plenty. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.

¹³ That is why I tell them stories. They look, but they do not see. They listen, but they do not hear or understand.

¹⁴ They make what Isaiah the prophet said long ago, come true. `Isaiah said: "You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not see.

¹⁵ The hearts of these people have no feeling. They do not hear well with their ears. And they have shut their eyes. They do not want to see with their eyes. They do not want to hear with their ears. They do not want to understand in their hearts. They do not want to turn to me. If they did turn, I would heal them."

¹⁶ `God is blessing your eyes because they see. God is blessing your ears because they hear.

¹⁷ I tell you the truth. Many prophets and good men wanted to see what you see, but they did not see them. They wanted to hear what you hear, but they did not hear them.

¹⁸ `So listen to hear what the story means, about the man who sowed the seed.'

¹⁹ `People listen to the message about the kingdom of heaven. If anyone does not understand it, the devil comes along and takes the message out of his heart. That person is like the seed which fell on the road.

²⁰ Some seed fell on the stony ground. That is like a person who hears the message and right away he is glad to hear it.

²¹ But it does not go down deep in his heart. He believes it for a short time. When trouble or a hard time comes because of the message, he stops believing.

²² Some seed fell among the weeds. That is like the person who hears the message. But he thinks about the things of this world. He wants to get money to be happy. These things push the message out of his heart. No good comes from it.

²³ Some seed fell on good ground. That is like a person who hears the message and understands it. Much good comes from it. Some people are like the seed that gave a hundred more seeds. Some people are like the seed that gave sixty. Some people are like the seed that gave thirty.'

²⁴ Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ While people were sleeping, a bad man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away.

²⁶ The good seed grew and the plants gave more seeds. Then the weeds grew too.

²⁷ The servants came and said to the man who owned the field, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?"

²⁸ `He answered them, "A bad man has done this." They asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?"

²⁹ ` "No," said the man. "If you pull up the weeds, then the good plants will come up with them.

³⁰ Let them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the men who cut it, `Cut the weeds first. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the grain into my storehouse.' " '

³¹ Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man took a mustard seed and planted it in his field.

³² A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. But the plant that grows from it is bigger than other plants. It is like a tree. It is so big that birds come and live in the branches.'

³³ Jesus told them another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman took yeast and mixed it with many cups of flour. The yeast went all through the flour.'

³⁴ Jesus told the people all these things in stories. He did not tell them anything without a story.

³⁵ What the prophet of God said long ago, came true. He said, `I will use stories. I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made.'

³⁶ Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, `Tell us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.'

³⁷ Jesus answered, `The person who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸ The field is the world. The good seed means the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds mean those who belong to the bad one.

³⁹ The bad man who planted the weeds is the devil. The harvest time is the end of this world. The men who cut the harvest are angels.

⁴⁰ The weeds are gathered and burned in a fire. That is the way it will be at the end of the world.

⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels. They will gather everything that is bad and the people who do bad things. They will take them out of his kingdom.

⁴² They will put them into the big fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.

⁴³ Then the people who are right with God will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Everyone who has ears, listen.'

⁴⁴ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. Something worth a lot of money is buried in a field. A man found it and covered it again. He was so glad that he went and sold everything he had. Then he bought that field.'

⁴⁵ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A trader was looking for fine stones called pearls.

⁴⁶ He found a pearl that was worth a lot of money. Then he went and sold everything he had and bought it.'

⁴⁷ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A fish net was thrown into the sea. It caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸ When it was full, the men pulled it to the land. They sat down and picked out the good fish into baskets. But they threw the bad fish away.

⁴⁹ That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and take the bad people away from the good people.

⁵⁰ They will put the bad people into the never-ending hell fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.'

⁵¹ Jesus asked, `Have you understood all these stories?' The disciples said, `Yes.'

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, `So anyone who knows the law and has learned about the kingdom of heaven, is like the headman of a house. He can bring both new things and old things out of what he has stored up.'

⁵³ When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he went away from there.

⁵⁴ He went back to his home town and he taught people in their meeting house. They were very much surprised and said, `Where did he learn all this? Where did he get the power to do these big works?

⁵⁵ Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not Mary his mother? Are not James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?

⁵⁶ Are not his sisters all here with us? Where did he get all this?'

⁵⁷ They did not understand Jesus. Jesus said to them, `Other people honour a man who is a prophet. But the people in his own country and home do not honour him.'

⁵⁸ Jesus could not do many big works in that place because the people did not believe in him.

14 At this time Herod the ruler heard of Jesus.

² He said to his servants, `This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from death. That is why he is able to do such great work.'

³ Herod had taken John and tied him up. He put him in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of his brother Philip.

⁴ John had said to Herod, `It is not right for you to have her for your wife.'

⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They thought John was a prophet, a man of God.

⁶ On Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for the people who were there. She pleased Herod.

⁷ He was so pleased that he promised to give her anything she asked for.

⁸ The girl's mother told her what to ask for. So she said, `Give me here, on a plate, the head of John the Baptizer.'

⁹ The king was very sorry to do this. But he had made a promise. And all the people who were there had heard him promise. So he gave orders to do it.

¹⁰ He sent someone to the prison to cut off John's head.

¹¹ John's head was brought on a plate. It was given to the girl. And she took it to her mother.

¹² Then John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. They went and told Jesus.

¹³ When Jesus heard this, he went away from there in a boat. He went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard that he went away and they followed him. They walked from the towns around there.

¹⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw many people. He was sorry for them and he healed those who were sick.

¹⁵ In the evening the disciples came to him. They said, `This is a lonely place. And the time is late. Send these people away so they can go to the farms and villages to buy food for themselves.'

¹⁶ Jesus said to them, `They need not go away. You give them food to eat.'

¹⁷ They said, `We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.'

¹⁸ Jesus said, `Bring them here to me.'

¹⁹ Then Jesus told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.

²⁰ They all ate and had enough. They gathered twelve baskets full of pieces that were left.

²¹ The number of men who ate was about five thousand, besides some women and children.

²² Then Jesus told the disciples, `You get into the boat right away and go ahead of me to the other side of the sea. And I will send these people away.'

²³ After he had sent them away, he went up on the hill by himself to talk with God. Evening came and he was there alone.

²⁴ The boat was far out on the water by this time. The water was beating against the boat and the wind was blowing the wrong way.

²⁵ When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water.

²⁶ His disciples saw him walking on the water. They were afraid, and said, `It is a spirit!' Then they shouted loudly because they were afraid.

²⁷ Then Jesus spoke to them right away. He said, `Be glad! It is I. Do not fear.'

²⁸ Peter said, `Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.'

²⁹ Jesus said, `Come.' So Peter got out of the boat. He walked on the water and went toward Jesus.

³⁰ He saw what the wind did. Then he was afraid and began to go down in the water. He called out, `Lord, save me!'

³¹ Right away Jesus put out his hand and took hold of him. He said, `You do not believe very much in me! Why did you not believe?'

³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing.

³³ Then the men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus. They said, `You really are the Son of God.'

³⁴ They crossed over the sea and came to the land at Gennesaret.

³⁵ The men there knew him and sent word to the people in all the country around. They brought all the sick people to him.

³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them touch his clothes. And all the people who touched him were healed.

15 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus.

² They asked him, `Why do your disciples break the law our fathers made? They do not wash their hands before they eat.'

³ Jesus asked them, `Why do you break God's law so that you can keep your own law?

⁴ God said, "Respect your father and your mother." And God said, "Anyone who says wrong things to his father or his mother will surely die."

⁵ `But you say, "Tell your father or your mother that you have given to God what you were going to give to them." You say, "If anyone says that, then he does not need to help his father or mother."

⁶ You make God's law to mean nothing so you can keep your own laws!

⁷ You are not true to yourselves! What Isaiah said about you was true. He said,

⁸ "These people respect me with their mouth but their heart is far from me.

⁹ They do not mean it in their hearts when they worship me. Their teachings are only the words of men." '

¹⁰ Jesus called the people to him. He said to them, `Listen to me and understand what I say.

¹¹ What goes into a person's mouth does not make him dirty. But what comes out of a person's mouth makes him dirty.'

¹² Then the disciples came to Jesus. They said, `The Pharisees were angry when they heard what you said. Did you know that?'

¹³ Jesus answered, `Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled out by the roots.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind men who are trying to lead blind men. If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a hole.'

¹⁵ Peter said to Jesus, `Tell us the meaning of that story.'

¹⁶ Jesus said, `Do you still not understand?

¹⁷ Do you not know this? What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach, and then it goes out of the body.

¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart. This is what makes a person dirty.

¹⁹ Here is what comes from the heart: wrong thoughts, killing people, all kinds of adultery, stealing, lying, and saying wrong things about people.

²⁰ These things make a person dirty. To eat with hands that are not washed does not make him dirty.'

²¹ Jesus left that place and went to the country of Tyre and Sidon. 22A woman of the people of Canaan was in that country. She called out, `Sir, you are the Son of David. Help me! My daughter is being troubled very much by a bad spirit.'

²² Jesus did not answer her. His disciples came to him and said, `Send her away. She keeps calling after us.'

²³ He said, `I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.'

²⁴ But the woman came and bowed down in front of Jesus and worshipped him. She said, `Sir, help me.'

²⁵ He said, `It is not right to take the children's food and give it to the little dogs.'

²⁶ She answered, `Yes, sir. But even the little dogs eat the food that falls from the tables of their masters.'

²⁷ Then Jesus answered, `Woman, you believe very much. The thing you want me to do will be done.' And her daughter was healed at that very time.

²⁸ Jesus went on from there along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down there.

²⁹ Many people came to him. They brought sick people with them. Some were lame. Some were hurt. Some were blind. Some could not talk. And there were many others. They laid them down in front of Jesus. And he healed them.

³⁰ The people were surprised. They saw that people who had not been able to talk were talking. They saw that people who were hurt were made well. They saw that lame people were walking. They saw that blind people could see. And they praised the God of Israel.

³¹ Jesus called his disciples to him. He said, `I share the suffering of the people. They have been with me for three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry. If they go away hungry, they will get weak and fall on the way.'

³² The disciples said to him, `Where can we get enough food in this lonely place to feed so many people?'

³³ Jesus said to them, `How many loaves of bread have you?' They said, `We have seven, and a few small fish.'

³⁴ He told the people to sit down on the ground.

³⁵ Then he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. He thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.

³⁶ They all ate and had enough. They gathered seven baskets full of pieces that were left.

³⁷ The number of people who ate was about four thousand men, besides some women and children.

³⁸ Jesus sent the people away. Then he got in the boat and went to the country around Magadan.