Bible in 90 Days

16 Then some P’rushim and Tz’dukim came to trap Yeshua by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from Heaven. ² But his response was, “When it is evening, you say, ‘Fair weather ahead,’ because the sky is red; ³ and in the morning you say, ‘Storm today!’ because the sky is red and overcast. You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times! ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation is asking for a sign? It will certainly not be given a sign — except the sign of Yonah!” With that he left them and went off.

⁵ The talmidim, in crossing to the other side of the lake, had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against the hametz of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim,” ⁷ they thought he said it because they hadn’t brought bread. ⁸ But Yeshua, aware of this, said, “Such little trust you have! Why are you talking with each other about not having bread? ⁹ Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you filled? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you filled? ¹¹ How can you possibly think I was talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim!” ¹² Then they understood — they were to guard themselves not from yeast for bread but from the teaching of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim.

¹³ When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They said, “Well, some say Yochanan the Immerser, others Eliyahu, still others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Shim‘on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he warned the talmidim not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹ From that time on, Yeshua began making it clear to his talmidim that he had to go to Yerushalayim and endure much suffering at the hands of the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that on the third day, he had to be raised to life. ²² Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him, “Heaven be merciful, Lord! By no means will this happen to you!” ²³ But Yeshua turned his back on Kefa, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”

²⁴ Then Yeshua told his talmidim, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ What good will it do someone if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or, what can a person give in exchange for his life? ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ²⁸ Yes! I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom!”

17 Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya‘akov and his brother Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. ² As they watched, he began to change form — his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became as white as light. ³ Then they looked and saw Moshe and Eliyahu speaking with him. ⁴ Kefa said to Yeshua, “It’s good that we’re here, Lord. I’ll put up three shelters if you want — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them; and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ⁶ When the talmidim heard this, they were so frightened that they fell face down on the ground. ⁷ But Yeshua came and touched them. “Get up!” he said, “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ So they opened their eyes, looked up and saw only Yeshua by himself.

⁹ As they came down the mountain, Yeshua ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ The talmidim asked him, “Then why do the Torah-teachers say that Eliyahu must come first?” ¹¹ He answered, “On the one hand, Eliyahu is coming and will restore all things; ¹² on the other hand, I tell you that Eliyahu has come already, and people did not recognize him but did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way, the Son of Man too is about to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the talmidim understood that he was talking to them about Yochanan the Immerser.

¹⁴ As they came up to the crowd, a man approached Yeshua, kneeled down in front of him, ¹⁵ and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and has such terrible fits that he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your talmidim, but they couldn’t heal him.” ¹⁷ Yeshua answered, “Perverted people, without any trust! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!” ¹⁸ Yeshua rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, so that from that moment he was healed.

¹⁹ Then the talmidim went to him privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, “Because you have such little trust! Yes! I tell you that if you have trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there!’ and it will move; indeed, nothing will be impossible for you!” ^21 [a]

²² As they were going about together in the Galil, Yeshua said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of people ²³ who will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were filled with sadness.

²⁴ When they came to K’far-Nachum, the collectors of the half-shekel came to Kefa and said, “Doesn’t your rabbi pay the Temple tax?” ²⁵ “Of course he does,” said Kefa. When he arrived home, Yeshua spoke first. “Shim‘on, what’s your opinion? The kings of the earth — from whom do they collect duties and taxes? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ “From others,” he answered. “Then,” said Yeshua, “The sons are exempt. ²⁷ But to avoid offending them — go to the lake, throw out a line, and take the first fish you catch. Open its mouth, and you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them for me and for you.”

18 At that moment the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” ² He called a child to him, stood him among them, ³ and said, “Yes! I tell you that unless you change and become like little children, you won’t even enter the Kingdom of Heaven! ⁴ So the greatest in the Kingdom is whoever makes himself as humble as this child. ⁵ Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me; ⁶ and whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the open sea! ⁷ Woe to the world because of snares! For there must be snares, but woe to the person who sets the snare!

⁸ “So if your hand or foot becomes a snare for you, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should be maimed or crippled and obtain eternal life than keep both hands or both feet and be thrown into everlasting fire! ⁹ And if your eye is a snare for you, gouge it out and fling it away! Better that you should be one-eyed and obtain eternal life than keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of Gei-Hinnom. ¹⁰ See that you never despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually seeing the face of my Father in heaven. ^11 [b]

¹² “What’s your opinion? What will somebody do who has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go off to find the stray? ¹³ And if he happens to find it? Yes! I tell you he is happier over it than over the ninety-nine that never strayed! ¹⁴ Thus your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to be lost.

¹⁵ “Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault — but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶ If he doesn’t listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation can be supported by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^{[c] 17} If he refuses to hear them, tell the congregation; and if he refuses to listen even to the congregation, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax-collector. ¹⁸ Yes! I tell you people that whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. ¹⁹ To repeat, I tell you that if two of you here on earth agree about anything people ask, it will be for them from my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For wherever two or three are assembled in my name, I am there with them.”

²¹ Then Kefa came up and said to him, “Rabbi, how often can my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² “No, not seven times,” answered Yeshua, “but seventy times seven! ²³ Because of this, the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared with a king who decided to settle accounts with his deputies. ²⁴ Right away they brought forward a man who owed him many millions; ²⁵ and since he couldn’t pay, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold to pay the debt. ²⁶ But the servant fell down before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ So out of pity for him, the master let him go and forgave the debt.

²⁸ “But as that servant was leaving, he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him some tiny sum. He grabbed him and began to choke him, crying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ²⁹ His fellow servant fell before him and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he refused; instead, he had him thrown in jail until he should repay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed; and they went and told their master everything that had taken place. ³² Then the master summoned his servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt just because you begged me to do it. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master turned him over to the jailers for punishment until he paid back everything he owed. ³⁵ This is how my heavenly Father will treat you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts.”

19 When Yeshua had finished talking about these things, he left the Galil and traveled down the east side of the Yarden River until he passed the border of Y’hudah. ² Great crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some P’rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?” ⁴ He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,^{[d] 5} and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’?^{[e] 6} Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷ They said to him, “Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?”^{[f] 8} He answered, “Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. ⁹ Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!”

¹⁰ The talmidim said to him, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!” ¹¹ He said to them, “Not everyone grasps this teaching, only those for whom it is meant. ¹² For there are different reasons why men do not marry — some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so.”

¹³ Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them. ¹⁴ However, Yeshua said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ Then, after laying his hands on them, he went on his way.

¹⁶ A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, ¹⁷ “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” ¹⁸ The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony ^{[g] 19} honor father and mother ^[h] and love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[i] 20} The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” ²¹ Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.

²³ Then Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the talmidim heard this they were utterly amazed. “Then who,” they asked, “can be saved?” ²⁶ Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, this is impossible; but with God everything is possible.” ²⁷ Kefa replied, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?” ²⁸ Yeshua said to them, “Yes. I tell you that in the regenerated world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Isra’el. ²⁹ Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

20 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. ³ Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You go to the vineyard too — I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So they went. ⁵ At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. ⁶ About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ ‘You too,’ he told them, ‘go to the vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.’ ⁹ The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, ¹⁰ so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius. ¹¹ On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, ¹² ‘These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!’ ¹³ But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? ¹⁴ Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. ¹⁵ Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.”

¹⁷ As Yeshua was going up to Yerushalayim, he took the twelve talmidim aside by themselves and said to them, as they went on their way, ¹⁸ “We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head cohanim and Torah-teachers. They will sentence him to death ¹⁹ and turn him over to the Goyim, who will jeer at him, beat him and execute him on a stake as a criminal. But on the third day, he will be raised.”

²⁰ Then Zavdai’s sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She bowed down, begging a favor from him. ²¹ He said to her, “What do you want?” She replied, “Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left.” ²² But Yeshua answered, “You people don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” ²³ He said to them, “Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it.”

²⁴ Now when the other ten heard about this, they were outraged at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Yeshua called them and said, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. ²⁶ Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! ²⁸ For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹ As they were leaving Yericho, a large crowd followed Yeshua. ³⁰ Two blind men sitting by the side of the road heard that he was passing by and shouted, “Son of David! Have pity on us!” ³¹ The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have pity on us!” ³² Yeshua stopped, called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, open our eyes.” ³⁴ Filled with tenderness, Yeshua touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed him.

21 As they were approaching Yerushalayim, they came to Beit-Pagei on the Mount of Olives. Yeshua sent two talmidim ² with these instructions: “Go into the village ahead of you, and you will immediately find a donkey tethered there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them’; and he will let them go at once.” ⁴ This happened in order to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,

⁶ So the talmidim went and did as Yeshua had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put their robes on them, and Yeshua sat on them. ⁸ Crowds of people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds ahead of him and behind shouted,

to the Son of David;

¹⁰ When he entered Yerushalayim, the whole city was stirred. “Who is this?” they asked. ¹¹ And the crowds answered, “This is Yeshua, the prophet from Natzeret in the Galil.”

¹² Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both the merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money-changers and knocked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It has been written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’^[n] But you are making it into a den of robbers!”^[o]

¹⁴ Blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the head cohanim and Torah-teachers saw the wonderful things he was doing, and the children crying out in the Temple, “Please deliver us!”^[p] to the Son of David, they were furious. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Do you hear what they’re saying?” Yeshua replied, “Of course! Haven’t you ever read,

¹⁷ With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night.

¹⁸ The next morning, on his way back to the city, he felt hungry. ¹⁹ Spotting a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to it, “May you never again bear fruit!” and immediately the fig tree dried up. ²⁰ The talmidim saw this and were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked. ²¹ Yeshua answered them, “Yes! I tell you, if you have trust and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree; but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ it will be done. ²² In other words, you will receive everything you ask for in prayer, no matter what it is, provided you have trust.”

²³ He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head cohanim and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who gave you this s’mikhah?” ²⁴ Yeshua answered, “I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. ²⁵ The immersion of Yochanan — where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?” They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From a human source,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” And he replied, “Then I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.

²⁸ “But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I don’t want to’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they replied. “That’s right!” Yeshua said to them. “I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you! ³² For Yochanan came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn’t trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn’t change your minds later and trust him.

³³ “Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower; then he rented it to tenants and left. ³⁴ When harvest-time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his servants — this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned. ³⁶ So he sent some other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally, he sent them his son, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They answered him, “He will viciously destroy those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when it’s due.” ⁴² Yeshua said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Tanakh,

⁴³ Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!” ^44 [s]

⁴⁵ As the head cohanim and the P’rushim listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.

22 Yeshua again used parables in speaking to them: ² “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son, ³ but when he sent his slaves to summon the invited guests to the wedding, they refused to come. ⁴ So he sent some more slaves, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, I’ve prepared my banquet, I’ve slaughtered my bulls and my fattened cattle, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding!’ ⁵ But they weren’t interested and went off, one to his farm, another to his business; ⁶ and the rest grabbed his slaves, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was furious and sent his soldiers, who killed those murderers and burned down their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his slaves, ‘Well, the wedding feast is ready; but the ones who were invited didn’t deserve it. ⁹ So go out to the street-corners and invite to the banquet as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ The slaves went out into the streets, gathered all the people they could find, the bad along with the good; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “Now when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn’t dressed for a wedding; so he asked him, ¹² ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark!’ In that place people will wail and grind their teeth, ¹⁴ for many are invited, but few are chosen.”

¹⁵ Then the P’rushim went away and put together a plan to trap Yeshua with his own words. ¹⁶ They sent him some of their talmidim and some members of Herod’s party. They said, “Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and really teach what God’s way is. You aren’t concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status. ¹⁷ So tell us your opinion: does Torah permit paying taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?” ¹⁸ Yeshua, however, knowing their malicious intent, said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used to pay the tax!” They brought him a denarius; ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose name and picture are these?” ²¹ “The Emperor’s,” they replied. Yeshua said to them, “Nu, give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!” ²² On hearing this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

²³ That same day, some Tz’dukim came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a sh’eilah: ²⁴ “Rabbi, Moshe said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother must marry his widow and have children to preserve the man’s family line.’^{[t] 25} There were seven brothers. The first one married and then died; and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second brother, and the third, and finally to all seven. ²⁷ After them all, the woman died. ²⁸ Now in the Resurrection — of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all married her.”

²⁹ Yeshua answered them, “The reason you go astray is that you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God. ³⁰ For in the Resurrection, neither men nor women will marry; rather, they will be like angels in heaven. ³¹ And as for whether the dead are resurrected, haven’t you read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov’?^[u] He is God not of the dead but of the living!”

³³ When the crowds heard how he taught, they were astounded; ³⁴ but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, ³⁵ and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: ³⁶ “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” ³⁷ He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’^{[v] 38} This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. ³⁹ And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[w] 40} All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”

⁴¹ Then, turning to the assembled P’rushim, Yeshua put a sh’eilah to them: ⁴² “Tell me your view concerning the Messiah: whose son is he?” They said to him, “David’s.” ⁴³ “Then how is it,” he asked them, “that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord,’ when he says,

⁴⁵ If David thus calls him ‘Lord,’ how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ No one could think of anything to say in reply; and from that day on, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah.

23 Then Yeshua addressed the crowds and his talmidim: ² “The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim,” he said, “sit in the seat of Moshe. ³ So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don’t do what they do, because they talk but don’t act! ⁴ They tie heavy loads onto people’s shoulders but won’t lift a finger to help carry them. ⁵ Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their t’fillin broad and their tzitziyot long, ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and they love being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces and being called ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “But you are not to let yourselves be called ‘Rabbi’; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other’s brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘Father.’ because you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to let yourselves be called ‘leaders,’ because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah! ¹¹ The greatest among you must be your servant, ¹² for whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.

¹³ “But woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! For you are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor allowing those who wish to enter to do so. ^14 [y]

¹⁵ “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You go about over land and sea to make one proselyte; and when you succeed, you make him twice as fit for Gei-Hinnom as you are!

¹⁶ “Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is more important? the gold? or the Temple which makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the offering on the altar, he is bound.’ ¹⁹ Blind men! Which is more important? the sacrifice? or the altar which makes the sacrifice holy? ²⁰ So someone who swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. ²¹ And someone who swears by the Temple swears by it and the One who lives in it. ²² And someone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and the One who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah — justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to — without neglecting the others! ²⁴ Blind guides! — straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Parush! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may be clean too.

²⁷ “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of rottenness. ²⁸ Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and far from Torah.

²⁹ “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the tzaddikim, ³⁰ and you say, ‘Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.’ ³¹ In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead then, finish what your fathers started!

³³ “You snakes! Sons of snakes! How can you escape being condemned to Gei-Hinnom? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and Torah-teachers — some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on stakes as criminals; some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵ And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Hevel to the blood of Z’kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶ Yes! I tell you that all this will fall on this generation!

³⁷ “Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! ³⁸ Look! God is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate.^{[z] 39} For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.’”^[aa]

24 As Yeshua left the Temple and was going away, his talmidim came and called his attention to its buildings. ² But he answered them, “You see all these? Yes! I tell you, they will be totally destroyed — not a single stone will be left standing!”

³ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the talmidim came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that you are coming, and that the ‘olam hazeh is ending?”

⁴ Yeshua replied: “Watch out! Don’t let anyone fool you! ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don’t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. ⁷ For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world; ⁸ all this is but the beginning of the ‘birth-pains.’ ⁹ At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, ¹¹ many false prophets will appear and fool many people; ¹² and many people’s love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. ¹³ But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered. ¹⁴ And this Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the whole world as a witness to all the Goyim. It is then that the end will come.

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination that causes devastation spoken about through the prophet Dani’el standing in the Holy Place”^[ab] (let the reader understand the allusion), ¹⁶ “that will be the time for those in Y’hudah to escape to the hills. ¹⁷ If someone is on the roof, he must not go down to gather his belongings from his house; ¹⁸ if someone is in the field, he must not turn back to get his coat. ¹⁹ What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on Shabbat. ²¹ For there will be trouble then worse than there has ever been from the beginning of the world until now, and there will be nothing like it again!^{[ac] 22} Indeed, if the length of this time had not been limited, no one would survive; but for the sake of those who have been chosen, its length will be limited.

²³ “At that time, if someone says to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ don’t believe him. ²⁴ For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing great miracles — amazing things! — so as to fool even the chosen, if possible. ²⁵ There! I have told you in advance! ²⁶ So if people say to you, ‘Listen! He’s out in the desert!’ don’t go; or, ‘Look! He’s hidden away in a secret room!’ don’t believe it. ²⁷ For when the Son of Man does come, it will be like lightning that flashes out of the east and fills the sky to the western horizon. ²⁸ Wherever there’s a dead body, that’s where you find the vultures.

²⁹ “But immediately following the trouble of those times,

³⁰ “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn,^[af] and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory.^{[ag] 31} He will send out his angels with a great shofar;^[ah] and they will gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³² “Now let the fig tree teach you its lesson: when its branches begin to sprout and leaves appear, you know that summer is approaching. ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before all these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁶ “But when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father. ³⁷ For the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach. ³⁸ Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark; ³⁹ and they didn’t know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in a field — one will be taken and the other left behind. ⁴¹ There will be two women grinding flour at the mill — one will be taken and the other left behind. ⁴² So stay alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him.

⁴⁵ “Who is the faithful and sensible servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes. ⁴⁷ Yes, I tell you that he will put him in charge of all he owns. ⁴⁸ But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time’; ⁴⁹ and he starts beating up his fellow servants and spends his time eating and drinking with drunkards; ⁵⁰ then his master will come on a day the servant does not expect, at a time he doesn’t know; ⁵¹ and he will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites, where people will wail and grind their teeth!

25 “The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. ³ The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil, ⁴ whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep. ⁶ It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!’ ⁷ The girls all woke up and prepared their lamps for lighting. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later, the other bridesmaids came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ ¹³ So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour.

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. ¹⁶ The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. ¹⁷ Similarly, the one given two earned another two. ¹⁸ But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ ²² Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. ²⁵ I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ ²⁶ ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? ²⁷ Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! ²⁸ Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. ²⁹ For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. ³⁰ As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. ³³ The ‘sheep’ he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats’ at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷ Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’

⁴¹ “Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, ‘Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels! ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?’ ⁴⁵ And he will answer them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!’ ⁴⁶ They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life.”

26 When Yeshua had finished speaking, he said to his talmidim, ² “As you know, Pesach is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-stake.”

³ Then the head cohanim and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of Kayafa the cohen hagadol. ⁴ They made plans to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death; ⁵ but they said, “Not during the festival, or the people will riot.”

⁶ Yeshua was in Beit-Anyah, at the home of Shim‘on, the man who had had tzara’at. ⁷ A woman who had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume approached Yeshua while he was eating and began pouring it on his head. ⁸ When the talmidim saw it, they became very angry. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹ “This could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Yeshua, aware of what was going on, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² She poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. ¹³ Yes! I tell you that throughout the whole world, wherever this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory.”

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the one called Y’hudah from K’riot, went to the head cohanim ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y’hudah.^{[ai] 16} From then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷ On the first day for matzah, the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare your Seder?” ¹⁸ “Go into the city, to so-and-so,” he replied, “and tell him that the Rabbi says, ‘My time is near, my talmidim and I are celebrating Pesach at your house.’” ¹⁹ The talmidim did as Yeshua directed and prepared the Seder.

²⁰ When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim; ²¹ and as they were eating, he said, “Yes, I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.” ²² They became terribly upset and began asking him, one after the other, “Lord, you don’t mean me, do you?” ²³ He answered, “The one who dips his matzah in the dish with me is the one who will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will die just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!” ²⁵ Y’hudah, the one who was betraying him, then asked, “Surely, Rabbi, you don’t mean me?” He answered, “The words are yours.”

²⁶ While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, “Take! Eat! This is my body!” ²⁷ Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! ²⁸ For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

³⁰ After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Yeshua then said to them, “Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the Tanakh says, ‘I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’^{[aj] 32} But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” ³³ “I will never lose faith in you,” Kefa answered, “even if everyone else does.” ³⁴ Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I tell you that tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” ³⁵ “Even if I must die with you,” Kefa replied, “I will never disown you!” And all the talmidim said the same thing.

³⁶ Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh’manim and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took with him Kefa and Zavdai’s two sons. Grief and anguish came over him, ³⁸ and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake with me.” ³⁹ Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet — not what I want, but what you want!” ⁴⁰ He returned to the talmidim and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, “Were you so weak that you couldn’t stay awake with me for even an hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”

⁴² A second time he went off and prayed. “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, let what you want be done.” ⁴³ Again he returned and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy.

⁴⁴ Leaving them again, he went off and prayed a third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the talmidim and said, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . . Look! The time has come for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”

⁴⁷ While Yeshua was still speaking, Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a large crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head cohanim and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want — grab him!” ⁴⁹ He went straight up to Yeshua, said, “Shalom, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰ Yeshua said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they moved forward, laid hold of Yeshua and arrested him.

⁵¹ At that, one of the men with Yeshua reached for his sword, drew it out and struck at the servant of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his ear. ⁵² Yeshua said to him, “Put your sword back where it belongs, for everyone who uses the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you know that I can ask my Father, and he will instantly provide more than a dozen armies of angels to help me? ⁵⁴ But if I did that, how could the passages in the Tanakh be fulfilled that say it has to happen this way?”

⁵⁵ Then Yeshua addressed the crowd: “So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion? Every day I sat in the Temple court, teaching; and you didn’t seize me then. ⁵⁶ But all this has happened so that what the prophets wrote may be fulfilled.” Then the talmidim all deserted him and ran away.