Matthew 11:1-21:46 When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

Goodspeed⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns. ² Now when John heard in prison of what the Christ was doing, he sent by his disciples ³ and said to him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for someone else?" ⁴ Jesus answered, "Go and report to John what you hear and see. ⁵ The blind are regaining their sight and the lame can walk, the lepers are being cured and the deaf can hear, the dead are being raised and good news is being preached to the poor. ⁶ And blessed is the man who finds nothing that repels him in me." ⁷ But as they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What was it that you went out into the desert to look at? A reed swaying in the wind? ⁸ Then what did you go out there to see? A man luxuriously dressed? Men who dress in that way you find in the palaces of kings. ⁹ Then why did you go out there? Was it to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet! ¹⁰ This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you; He will prepare the road ahead of you.' ¹¹ "I tell you, among men born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has ever appeared. And yet those who are of little importance in the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than he. ¹² But from the time of John the Baptist until now men have been taking the Kingdom of Heaven by storm and impetuously crowding into it. ¹³ For up to the time of John all the Prophets and the Law itself prophesied about it, ¹⁴ and, if you are ready to accept the idea, he is himself Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ Let him who has ears listen! ¹⁶ But to what can I compare this present age? It is like children sitting about in the bazaars and calling out to their playmates, ¹⁷ " 'We have played the flute for you, and you would not dance! We have wailed and you would not beat your breasts!' ¹⁸ For when John came, he neither ate nor drank, and people said, 'He has a demon!' ¹⁹ Now that the Son of Man has come, he does eat and drink, and people say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drinker, the companion of tax-collectors and irreligious people!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions!" ²⁰ Then he began to reproach the towns in which his numerous wonders had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹ "Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago! ²² But I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will fare better on the Day of Judgment than you will! ²³ And you, Capernaum! Are you to be exalted to the skies? You will go down among the dead! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have stood until today. ²⁴ But I tell you that the land of Sodom will fare better on the Day of Judgment than you will!" ²⁵ At that same time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the learned and intelligent and revealing it to children. ²⁶ Yes, I thank you, Father, for choosing to have it so. ²⁷ Everything has been handed over to me by my Father, and no one understands the Son but the Father, nor does anyone understand the Father but the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸ Come to me, all of you who toil and are burdened, and I will let you rest. ²⁹ Let my yoke be put upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-minded, and your hearts will find rest, ³⁰ for the yoke I offer you is a kindly one, and the load I ask you to bear is light." ¹² ¹ At that same time Jesus walked one Sabbath through the wheat fields, and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of wheat and eat them. ² But the Pharisees saw it and said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing something which it is against the Law to do on the Sabbath!" ³ But he said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ How is it that he went into the House of God and that they ate the Presentation Loaves which it was against the Law for him and his companions to eat, or for anyone except the priests? ⁵ Or did you never read in the Law how the priests in the Temple are not guilty when they break the Sabbath? ⁶ But I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple here! ⁷ But if you knew what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty. ⁸ For the Son of Man is master of the Sabbath." ⁹ And he left the place and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ There was a man there with one hand withered. And in order to get a charge to bring against him, they asked him, "Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath?" ¹¹ But he said to them, "Who among you if he has even a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² And how much more a man is worth than a sheep! Therefore, it is right to do people good on the Sabbath." ¹³ Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand!" And he held it out, and it was restored and became as well as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees left the synagogue and consulted about him, with a view to putting him to death. ¹⁵ But Jesus knew of this, and he left that place. And numbers of people followed him about, and he cured them all, ¹⁶ and warned them not to say anything about him ¹⁷ —in fulfilment of what was said by the prophet Isaiah, ¹⁸ "Here is my servant whom I have selected, My beloved, who delights my heart! I will endow him with my Spirit, And he will announce a judgment to the heathen. ¹⁹ He will not wrangle or make an outcry, And no one will hear his voice in the streets; ²⁰ He will not break off a bent reed, And he will not put out a smoldering wick, Until he carries his judgment to success. ²¹ The heathen will rest their hopes on his name!" ²² At that time some people brought to him a man blind and dumb, who was possessed by a demon, and he cured him, so that the dumb man could speak and see. ²³ And all the crowds of people were astounded, and said, "Can this be the Son of David?" ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This man cannot drive out demons except by the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons." ²⁵ But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, "Any kingdom that is disunited is on the way to destruction, and any city or household that is disunited cannot last. ²⁶ If Satan is driving Satan out, he is disunited, and so how can his kingdom last? ²⁷ And if I am driving the demons out by Beelzebub's aid, by whose aid do your sons drive them out? Therefore let them be your judges. ²⁸ But if I am driving the demons out by the aid of God's Spirit, then the Kingdom of God has overtaken you. ²⁹ How can anyone get into a strong man's house and carry off his property unless he first binds the strong man? After that he can plunder his house. ³⁰ Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters. ³¹ Therefore, I tell you, men will be forgiven for any sin or abusive speech, but abusive speech about the Spirit cannot be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven for it, but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit cannot be forgiven for it, either in this world or in the world to come. ³³ "You must either make the tree sound and its fruit sound, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; a tree is judged by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of snakes! how can you, bad as you are, utter anything good? For the mouth says only what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man, out of the good he has accumulated, brings out things that are good, and a bad man, out of what he has accumulated that is bad, brings out things that are bad. ³⁶ But I tell you, for every careless word that men utter they will have to answer on the Day of Judgment. ³⁷ For it is by your words that you will be acquitted, or by your words that you will be condemned." ³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees addressed him, saying, "Master, we would like to have you show us some sign." ³⁹ But he answered, "Only a wicked and faithless age insists upon a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was in the maw of the whale for three days and nights, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ Men of Nineveh will rise with this age at the judgment and condemn it, for when Jonah preached they repented, and there is more than Jonah here! ⁴² The queen of the south will rise with this age at the judgment and condemn it, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and there is more than Solomon here! ⁴³ "When a foul spirit goes out of a man, it roams through deserts in search of rest and can find none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, 'I will go back to my house that I left,' and it goes and finds it unoccupied, cleaned, and all in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and in the end the man is worse off than he was before. That is the way it will be with this present wicked age." ⁴⁶ While he was still speaking, his mother and his brothers came up and stood outside the crowd, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ OMITTED TEXT ⁴⁸ But he said to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" ⁴⁹ And he pointed to his disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!" ¹³ ¹ That same day Jesus went out of his house and was sitting on the seashore. ² And such great crowds gathered about him that he got into a boat and sat down in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ And he told them many things in figures, and said to them, "A sower went out to sow, ⁴ and as he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the path and the birds came and ate it up, ⁵ and some fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and it sprang up at once, because the soil was not deep, ⁶ but when the sun came up it was scorched and withered up, because it had no root. ⁷ And some of it fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it out. ⁸ And some fell on good soil, and yielded some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty-fold. ⁹ Let him who has ears listen!" ¹⁰ His disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in figures?" ¹¹ He answered, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but they are not. ¹² For people who have will have more given to them, and will be plentifully supplied, and from people who have nothing even what they have will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in figures, because though they look they do not see, and though they listen they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴ They are a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, " 'You will listen and listen, and never understand, And you will look and look, and never see! ¹⁵ For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!' ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they do see, and your ears, for they do hear. ¹⁷ For I tell you, many prophets and upright men have longed to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it. ¹⁸ "You must listen closely then to the figure of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the teaching of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and robs him of the seed that has been sown in his mind. That is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ And what was sown upon the rocky soil means the man who hears the message and at once accepts it joyfully, ²¹ but it takes no real root in him, and lasts only a little while, and when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, he gives it up at once. ²² And what was sown among the thorns means the man who listens to the message, and then the worries of the time and the pleasure of being rich choke the message out, and it yields nothing. ²³ And what was sown in good ground means the man who listens to the message and understands it, and yields one a hundred, and another sixty, and another thirty-fold." ²⁴ Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while people were asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ And when the wheat came up and ripened, the weeds appeared too. ²⁷ And the owner's slaves came to him and said, 'Was not the seed good that you sowed in your field, sir? So where did these weeds come from?' ²⁸ He said to them, 'This is some enemy's doing.' And they said to him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' ²⁹ But he said, 'No, for in gathering up the weeds you may uproot the wheat. ³⁰ Let them both grow together until harvest time, and when we harvest I will direct the reapers to gather up the weeds first and tie them up in bundles to burn, but get the wheat into my barn.' " ³¹ Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the largest of plants and grows into a tree, so that the wild birds come and roost in its branches." ³³ Another figure which he used with them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and buried in a bushel of flour until it had all risen." ³⁴ Jesus said all this to the crowds in figures, and told them nothing except in figures, ³⁵ to fulfil what was said by the prophet, "I will open my mouth in figures, I will utter things that have been hidden since the creation." ³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into his house. And his disciples came up to him and said, "Explain to us the figure of the weeds in the field." ³⁷ He answered, "The sower who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world. The good seed is the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the wicked. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned, this is what will happen at the close of the age; ⁴¹ the Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather up out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and the wrongdoers ⁴² and throw them into the blazing furnace; there they will wail and grind their teeth. ⁴³ Then the upright will shine out like the sun, in their Father's kingdom. Let him who has ears listen! ⁴⁴ "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a hoard of money, buried in a field, which a man found, and buried again. And he was overjoyed, and went and sold everything he had and bought the field. ⁴⁵ "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dealer in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶ He found one costly pearl, and went and sold everything he had, and bought it. ⁴⁷ "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the sea, and inclosed fish of all kinds. ⁴⁸ When it was full, they dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets and threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ That is what will happen at the close of the age. The angels will go out and remove the wicked from among the upright, ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace. There they will wail and grind their teeth. ⁵¹ "Do you understand all this?" They said to him, "Yes." ⁵² He said to them, "Then remember that every scribe who has become a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven must be like a householder who can supply from his storeroom new things as well as old." ⁵³ When Jesus had finished these figures, he left that place, ⁵⁴ and went to his own part of the country. And he taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished, and said, "Where did he get this wisdom, and the power to do these wonders? ⁵⁵ Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary, and are not his brothers named James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And do not all his sisters live here among us? Then where did he get all this?" ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his native place and at his home." ⁵⁸ And he did not do many wonders there, because of their want of faith. ¹⁴ ¹ At that time, Herod the governor heard the reports about Jesus, ² and he said to his attendants, "This man must be John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why wonderful powers are working through him." ³ For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, ⁴ for John said to him, "It is not right for you to be living with her." ⁵ And while he wanted him killed, he was afraid of the people; for they considered him a prophet. ⁶ But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the company. And Herod was delighted with her, ⁷ and swore that he would give her anything she asked for. ⁸ But she, at her mother's instigation, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter!" ⁹ And the king was sorry, but because he had sworn to do it, and because of the guests who were present, he ordered it to be given to her. ¹⁰ And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought back on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. ¹² John's disciples came and took his body away, and buried him, and then they went and reported it to Jesus. ¹³ When Jesus heard it, he quietly retired by boat to a secluded place. And the crowds heard of it and followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ So when he got out of the boat he found a great crowd gathered, and his heart was touched at the sight of them, and he cured those of them that were sick. ¹⁵ And when it was evening, the disciples came up to him and said, "This is a lonely place and the day is over. Send the crowds off to the villages to buy themselves food." ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. Give them food yourselves." ¹⁷ They said to him, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." ¹⁸ He said, "Bring them here to me." ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and he took the five loaves and the two fish and looked up to heaven and blessed them, and he broke the loaves in pieces and gave them to the disciples and they gave them to the people. ²⁰ And they all ate and had enough. And the pieces left over that they gathered up filled twelve baskets. ²¹ There were about five thousand men who were fed, besides women and children. ²² And he immediately made his disciples get into the boat and cross before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ After he had dismissed them he went up the hill by himself to pray. And when evening came on he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat was by this time a long way from shore, struggling with the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ Toward morning he went out to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And the disciples saw him walking on the sea, and they were terrified and said, "It is a ghost!" And they screamed with fear. ²⁷ But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." ²⁸ Peter answered, "If it is you, Master, order me to come to you on the water." ²⁹ And he said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and went to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he felt the wind he was frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Master, save me!" ³¹ Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and caught hold of him, and said to him, "Why did you waver? You have so little faith!" ³² When they got into the boat, the wind went down. ³³ And the men in the boat fell down before him and said, "You are certainly God's Son!" ³⁴ And they crossed over to the other side and came to Gennesaret. ³⁵ And the men of the place recognized him, and sent all over that district and brought to him all who were sick, ³⁶ and they begged him to let them touch just the tassel of his cloak, and all who touched it were cured. ¹⁵ ¹ Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, and said to him, ² "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our ancestors? For they eat their bread without first washing their hands." ³ But he answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of what has been handed down to you? ⁴ For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'He who abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' ⁵ But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is given to God," ⁶ does not have to provide for his father.' So you have nullified what God has said, for the sake of what has been handed down to you. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied finely about you when he said, ⁸ " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. ⁹ But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' " ¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ¹¹ "Listen to this, and grasp it! It is not what goes into a man's mouth that pollutes him; it is what comes out of his mouth that pollutes a man." ¹² Then his disciples came up to him and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked to hear you say that?" ¹³ But he answered, "Any plant that my heavenly Father did not plant must be uprooted! ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides! But if one blind man leads another, they will both fall into the ditch!" ¹⁵ Peter said to him, "Explain the figure for us." ¹⁶ He said, "Have even you no understanding yet? ¹⁷ Can you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is disposed of? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they pollute a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come wicked designs, murder, adultery, immorality, stealing, false witness, impious speech. ²⁰ It is these things that pollute a man, but not eating with unwashed hands!" ²¹ And Jesus left that place and retired to the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman of that district came out and screamed, "Son of David, take pity on me, sir! My daughter is dreadfully possessed by a demon!" ²³ But he would not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps screaming after us." ²⁴ But he answered, "I am sent only to the lost sheep of Israel's house." ²⁵ And she came and fell down before him, and said, "Help me, sir!" ²⁶ He said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs!" ²⁷ But she said, "O yes, sir! For even dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table!" ²⁸ Then Jesus answered, "You have great faith! You shall have what you want." And her daughter was cured from that time. ²⁹ Jesus left that place and went along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the hillside and sat down there. ³⁰ Then great crowds came to him bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, or dumb, and many others. And they laid them down at his feet, and he cured them, ³¹ so that the people were astonished to see the dumb speak, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they praised the God of Israel. ³² Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, "I pity these people for they have been staying with me three days now and they have nothing left to eat, and I do not mean to send them away hungry, for they may give out on the way." ³³ The disciples said to him, "Where can we get bread enough in this solitude to feed such a crowd?" ³⁴ Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." ³⁵ Then he ordered the people to take their places on the ground, ³⁶ and he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks and he broke them in pieces and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ³⁷ And they all ate and satisfied their hunger. And the pieces that they left that were picked up filled seven baskets. ³⁸ There were four thousand men who were fed, besides women and children. ³⁹ And he dismissed the people and got into the boat and went to the district of Magadan. ¹⁶ ¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and to test him asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered, ³ OMITTED TEXT ⁴ "It is a wicked and faithless age that insists on a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah." And he left them and went away. ⁵ When the disciples went across the lake, they forgot to take any bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, "Look out, and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" ⁷ But they were discussing something with one another, and saying, "We have not brought any bread!" ⁸ Jesus noticed it and said, "Why are you discussing with one another your being without bread? You have so little faith! ⁹ Do you not understand yet? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets full you gathered up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets full you gathered up? ¹¹ Why do you not see that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" ¹² Then they understood that he was warning them not against yeast but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ When Jesus reached the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" ¹⁴ They said, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." ¹⁵ He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" ¹⁷ Jesus answered, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for human nature has not disclosed this to you, but my Father in heaven! ¹⁸ But I tell you, your name is Peter, a rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not subdue it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you forbid on earth will be held in heaven to be forbidden, and whatever you permit on earth will be held in heaven to be permitted." ²⁰ Then he warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. ²¹ It was then that Jesus Christ for the first time explained to his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and endure great suffering there at the hands of the elders, high priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised to life on the third day. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to reprove him for it, saying, "God bless you, Master! that can never happen to you!" ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, "Get out of my sight, you Satan! You hinder me, for you do not side with God, but with men!" ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself and take his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to preserve his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ For what good will it do a man if he gains the whole world but parts with his life? What can a man give to buy back his life? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone for what he has done. ²⁸ I tell you, some of you who stand here will certainly live to see the Son of Man come to reign!" ¹⁷ ¹ Six days after this, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain, by themselves. ² And his appearance underwent a change in their presence and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. ³ And Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter spoke, and said to Jesus, "Master, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make three huts here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁵ As he spoke a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, my Beloved. He is my Chosen. Listen to him!" ⁶ When the disciples heard it, they were dreadfully frightened and fell upon their faces. ⁷ And Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Get up and do not be afraid." ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus himself. ⁹ And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus cautioned them, saying, "Do not tell anyone of the vision you have seen until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." ¹⁰ The disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?" ¹¹ He answered, "Elijah does come and is to reform everything, ¹² but I tell you, Elijah has come already, and they would not recognize him, but treated him just as they pleased. It is in just that way that the Son of Man is going to be treated by them!" ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. ¹⁴ When they came to the people again, a man came up to him and fell on his knees, saying, ¹⁵ "Master, take pity on my son, for he has epilepsy, and is very wretched; he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to your disciples and they have not been able to cure him." ¹⁷ Jesus answered, "O you unbelieving, obstinate people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!" ¹⁸ And Jesus reproved the demon and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was cured. ¹⁹ Afterward, when he was alone, the disciples went to Jesus and said to him, "Why could we not drive it out?" ²⁰ He said to them, "Because you have so little faith. For I tell you, if you have faith the size of a grain of mustard, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here over to there!' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." ²¹ OMITTED TEXT ²² As they were going about in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men, ²³ and they will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised to life again." And they were greatly distressed. ²⁴ When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple-tax came and said to Peter, "Does not your Master pay the temple-tax?" ²⁵ He said, "Yes." But when he went home, Jesus spoke of it first and said, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect duties and taxes? From their own people, or from aliens?" ²⁶ He said, "From aliens." Jesus said to him, "Then their own people are exempt. ²⁷ But rather than give offense to them, go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, open its mouth and you will find in it a dollar. Take that and pay the tax for us both." ¹⁸ ¹ Just at that time the disciples came up and asked Jesus, "Who is really greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" ² He called a child to him and had him stand among them, ³ and he said, "I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven at all. ⁴ Anyone, therefore, who is as unassuming as this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, ⁵ and anyone who welcomes one child like this on my account welcomes me. ⁶ But whoever hinders one of these children who believe in me might better have a great millstone hung around his neck and be sunk in the open sea. ⁷ Alas for the world for such hindrances! They have to come, but alas for the man who causes them! ⁸ "But if your own hand or your own foot makes you fall, cut it off and throw it away. You might better enter upon life maimed or crippled than keep both hands and feet but be thrown into the everlasting fire. ⁹ And if your own eye makes you fall, dig it out and throw it away. You might better enter upon life with only one eye than be thrown with both eyes into the fiery pit. ¹⁰ "Beware of feeling scornful of one single little child, for I tell you that in heaven their angels have continual access to my Father in heaven. ¹¹ OMITTED TEXT ¹² What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills, and go in search of the one that is astray? ¹³ And if he happens to find it, I tell you he rejoices more over it than he does over the ninety-nine that did not stray. ¹⁴ In just that way, it is the will of my Father in heaven that not a single one of these children be lost. ¹⁵ "But if your brother wrongs you go to him and show him his fault while you are alone with him. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not listen, take one or two others with you, so that everything may be supported by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the congregation. And if he refuses to listen to it, treat him as a heathen or a tax-collector. ¹⁸ "I tell you, whatever you forbid on earth will be held in heaven to be forbidden, and whatever you permit on earth will be held in heaven to be permitted. ¹⁹ Again, I tell you, if even two of you here on earth agree about what they shall pray for, it will be given them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For wherever two or three are gathered as my followers, I am there among them." ²¹ Then Peter came to him and said, "Master, how many times am I to forgive my brother when he wrongs me? Seven times over?" ²² Jesus said to him, "Not seven times over, I tell you, but seventy-seven times over! ²³ For this reason the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king, who resolved to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ And when he set about doing so, a man was brought in who owed him ten million dollars. ²⁵ And as he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all he had, in payment of the debt. ²⁶ So the slave threw himself down before him and implored him, 'Give me time, and I will pay you all of it.' ²⁷ And his master's heart was touched, and he let the slave go and canceled the debt. ²⁸ But when the slave went out he met a fellow-slave of his who owed him twenty dollars, and he caught him by the throat and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' ²⁹ So his fellow-slave threw himself down before him, and begged him, 'Give me time, and I will pay you.' ³⁰ But he refused and went and had him put in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went to their master and reported the whole matter to him. ³² Then his master called him in and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I canceled all that debt of yours when you entreated me. ³³ Ought you not to have taken pity on your fellow-slave, as I did on you?' ³⁴ So his master in his anger handed him over to the jailers, until he should pay all he owed him. ³⁵ That is what my heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not each forgive your brothers from your hearts!" ¹⁹ ¹ When Jesus had finished this discourse, he left Galilee and went to the part of Judea that is on the other side of the Jordan. ² Great crowds followed him about and he cured them there. ³ And some Pharisees came up to him to test him, and they said, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?" ⁴ But he answered, "Did you never read that the Creator at the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two of them shall become one'? So they are no longer two but one. ⁶ Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not try to separate." ⁷ They said to him, "Then why did Moses command us to draw up a written divorce-notice and give it to her?" ⁸ He said to them, "It was on account of your perversity that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not so at the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that whoever divorces his wife on any ground but her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery." ¹⁰ The disciples said to him, "If that is a man's relation to his wife, it is better not to marry!" ¹¹ He said to them, "It is not everyone who can accept that, but only those who have a special gift. ¹² For some are incapable of marriage from their birth, and some have been made so by men, and some have made themselves so for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him accept it who can." ¹³ Then some children were brought up to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray, but his disciples reproved the people for it. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not try to keep them from coming to me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as they are." ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went on. ¹⁶ A man came up to him and said, "Master, what good deed must I do to obtain eternal life?" ¹⁷ But he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter that life, keep the commandments." ¹⁸ He said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "These: 'You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as you do yourself.' " ²⁰ The young man said to him, "I have obeyed all these commandments. What do I still lack?" ²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go! Sell your property and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come back and be a follower of mine." ²² But when the young man heard that, he went away much cast down, for he had a great deal of property. ²³ Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, it will be hard for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven! ²⁴ And again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of God!" ²⁵ But when the disciples heard this, they were completely astounded and said, "Then who can be saved?" ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said, "For men it is impossible, but anything is possible for God!" ²⁷ Then Peter spoke and said to him, "Here we have left all we had and followed you. What are we to have?" ²⁸ Jesus said to them, "In the new world, I tell you, when the Son of Man takes his seat on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel! ²⁹ And anyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or land for my sake will receive many times as much, and share eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first now will be last then, and many who are now last will be first. ²⁰ ¹ For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an employer who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² He agreed with the laborers to pay them a dollar a day, and sent them to his vineyard. ³ He went out about nine o'clock and saw others standing in the bazaar with nothing to do. ⁴ And he said to them, 'You go to my vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. ⁵ He went out again about twelve and about three, and did the same. ⁶ About five he went out and found others standing about and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing about here all day doing nothing?' ⁷ They said to him, 'Because nobody has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go to my vineyard, too.' ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' ⁹ When those who were hired about five o'clock came they received a dollar apiece. ¹⁰ And when those who were hired first came they expected to get more, but they too got a dollar apiece. ¹¹ And when they received it they grumbled at their employer, ¹² and said, 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have put them on the same footing with us who have done the heavy work of the day and have stood the midday heat.' ¹³ But he answered one of them, 'My friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me on a dollar? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I wish to give the last man hired as much as I give you. ¹⁵ Have I no right to do what I please with what is mine? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' ¹⁶ So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last." ¹⁷ When Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve off by themselves, and said to them as they were on the way, ¹⁸ "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹ and hand him over to the heathen to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life." ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came up to him with her sons, bowing low, to ask a favor of him. ²¹ He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give orders that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and one at your left, when you are king!" ²² But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking for! Can you drink what I am going to drink?" They answered, "Yes, we can." ²³ He said to them, "Then what I drink you shall drink, but as for sitting at my right or my left, that is not mine to give, but belongs to those for whom it is destined by my Father." ²⁴ When the other ten heard of this, they were very indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the heathen lord it over them, and their great men tyrannize over them. ²⁶ It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to hold the first place among you must be your slave, ²⁸ just as the Son of Man has come not to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to ransom many others." ²⁹ As they were going out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And two blind men sitting by the roadside, hearing that it was Jesus who was passing, called out, "You Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!" ³¹ The crowd told them to be still, but they called all the louder, "You Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!" ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" ³³ They said to him, "Sir, have our eyes opened!" ³⁴ And Jesus took pity on them and touched their eyes, and they immediately regained their sight, and followed him. ²¹ ¹ When they were near Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead, ² saying to them, "Go to the village that lies in front of you, and you will at once find an ass tied there, and a colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, 'The Master needs them'; then he will send them at once." ⁴ Now this happened in fulfilment of what was said by the prophet, ⁵ "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Here is your king coming to you, Gentle, and riding on an ass, And on the foal of a beast of burden.' " ⁶ So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷ they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their coats upon them, and Jesus seated himself upon them. ⁸ And most of the crowd spread their coats in his way, and others cut branches from the trees and scattered them before him. ⁹ And the crowds that went in front of him and that followed him shouted, "God bless the Son of David! Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name. God bless him from on high!" ¹⁰ When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and everyone asked, "Who is he?" ¹¹ The crowd answered, "It is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee!" ¹² And Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all who were buying or selling things in it, and he upset the money-changers' tables and the pigeon-dealers' seats, ¹³ and he said to them, "The Scripture says, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a robbers' cave." ¹⁴ And blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he cured them. ¹⁵ But when the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and saw the boys shouting in the Temple, "God bless the Son of David!" they were indignant, ¹⁶ and said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes. Did you never read, 'You have drawn praise from the mouths of children and infants'?" ¹⁷ And he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. ¹⁸ In the morning as he went back to the city, he grew hungry, ¹⁹ and seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. And he said to it, "No more fruit shall ever grow on you!" And the fig tree withered up at once. ²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, "How did the fig tree come to wither up immediately?" ²¹ Jesus answered, "I tell you, if you have faith and have no doubt, you will not only do what I have done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Get up and throw yourself into the sea,' it will be done. ²² And everything that you pray for with faith, you will obtain." ²³ When he had entered the Temple, and was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came up to him, and said, "What authority have you for doing as you do, and who gave you this authority?" ²⁴ Jesus answered, "Let me ask you one question, and if you answer it, I will tell you what authority I have for doing as I do. ²⁵ Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'It was from heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' ²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we have the people to fear, for they all consider John a prophet." ²⁷ And they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He said to them, "Nor will I tell you what authority I have for doing as I do. ²⁸ But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go and work in the vineyard today.' ²⁹ And he answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. ³⁰ Then the man went to the second son, and told him the same thing. And he answered, 'I will not!' But afterward he changed his mind and went. ³¹ Which of the two did what his father wanted?" They said, "The second one." Jesus said to them, "I tell you, the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you with a way of uprightness, and you would not believe him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes believed him, but even after seeing that, you would not change your minds and believe him! ³³ "Listen to another figure. There was a land owner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a watch-tower, and leased it to tenants, and left the neighborhood. ³⁴ When the time for the vintage approached he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share. ³⁵ But the tenants took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves and more of them than he had sent at first, and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' ³⁸ But when the tenants saw his son, they said to one another. 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and get his inheritance!' ³⁹ So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When the owner of the vineyard comes back, therefore, what will he do to these tenants?" ⁴¹ They said to him, "He will put the wretches to a miserable death, and let the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the vintage when it is due." ⁴² Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone; This came from the Lord, And seems marvelous to us'? ⁴³ "That, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its proper fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on that stone will be shattered, but whoever it falls upon will be pulverized." ⁴⁵ When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his figures, they knew that he was speaking about them, ⁴⁶ and they wanted to have him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for the people considered him a prophet.