Matthew 13:4-21:46 And as he sowed, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and devoured them.

WPNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Others fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; so they sprouted quickly because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun came up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and smothered them. ⁸ But others fell on the good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” ¹⁰ And the disciples approached and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ So in answer He said to them: “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, that seeing they not see and hearing they not hear nor understand. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘By hearing you (ye) will hear and not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. ¹⁵ Because the \up6 a\up0 hearts of this people have grown dull, and their \up6 b\up0 ears hard of hearing, and their \up6 c\up0 eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their \up6 c\up0 eyes and hear with their \up6 b\up0 ears and understand with their \up6 a\up0 hearts, and turn around; and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear; ¹⁷ for assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous ones desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. ¹⁸ “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, the malignant one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart—this is the seed sown alongside the road. ²⁰ But the seed sown on stony places—this is he who hears the word and directly receives it with joy, ²¹ but he has no root in himself and is short-lived; for when trial or persecution comes because of the word, directly he is offended. ²² But the seed sown among the thorns—this is he who hears the word, but the care of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the word, and it becomes fruitless. ²³ Now the seed sown on the good ground—this is he who hears the word and understands, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” ²⁴ He put another parable to them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while the people were sleeping his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ But when the stalk sprouted and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy did it’. The servants said to him, ‘So do you want us to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said: ‘No, lest gathering up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn”’.” ³¹ He put another parable to them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; ³² which indeed is smaller than all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than all the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and rest in its branches.” ³³ He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it was all leavened.” ³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ so that what was spoken through the prophet should be fulfilled, namely: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” ³⁶ Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples approached Him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field”. ³⁷ So He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of the Man. ³⁸ The field is the world; as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, while the tares are the sons of the malignant one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore just as the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of the Man will send out His angels, and they will collect out of His kingdom everything that is offensive, and those who perpetrate lawlessness; ⁴² and they will throw them into the furnace of fire. There there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. ⁴⁴ “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and re-hid, and in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who upon finding one very valuable pearl went and sold everything he had and bought it. ⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, they pulled upon the shore; and sitting down they collected the good into vessels, but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and will separate the malignant out from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and they will throw them into the furnace of fire. There there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ⁵¹ Jesus says to them, “Did you understand all these things?” They say to Him, “Yes, Lord”. ⁵² So He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a householder, who brings out of his reservoir things new and old.” ⁵³ Now it happened, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ⁵⁴ And coming into His hometown He began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said: “Where did this man get this wisdom, and the mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joses and Simon and Jude? ⁵⁶ And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they were offended at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house”. ⁵⁸ And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. ¹⁴ ¹ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and therefore the powers are at work in him”. ³ For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴ For John would say to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her”. ⁵ And although he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they counted him as a prophet. ⁶ But while Herod’s birthday was being celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and she pleased Herod. ⁷ So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸ So she, having been prompted by her mother, she says, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist!” ⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and those who were reclining at the table with him, he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰ So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came forward and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. ¹³ Upon hearing it Jesus departed from there by boat to a deserted place privately. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ So when Jesus disembarked He saw a large crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now with evening coming on His disciples approached Him saying: “The place is uninhabited and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them: “They do not need to go away. You give them to eat.” ¹⁷ But they say to Him, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish”. ¹⁸ So He said, “Bring them here to me”. ¹⁹ Then He commanded the crowds to recline on the grass. And taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, He blessed; and breaking the loaves He gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled; and they took up the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full. ²¹ Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ²² Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. ²³ And having dismissed the crowds He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. So when night came He was alone there. ²⁴ But the boat was already in the middle of the sea, being harassed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵ So in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they became agitated saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying: “Courage! It is I; don’t be afraid!” ²⁸ So in answer Peter said, “Since it’s you, command me to come to you on the water”. ²⁹ So He said to him, “Come!” And stepping down from the boat Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the strong wind he became afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out saying, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ And immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him and says to him: “You little-faith! Why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat the wind ceased. ³³ Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!” ³⁴ When they had crossed over they came to the land of Genesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized Him they sent messengers into all that surrounding region and they brought to Him all who were sick. ³⁶ And they would beg Him that if only they might at least touch the hem of His garment; and as many as touched were completely healed. ¹⁵ ¹ Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem approached Jesus saying: ² “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands whenever they eat bread.” ³ So in answer He said to them: “Why do you even transgress the commandment of God through your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’, and ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death’. ⁵ But you say: ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you might be profited by me is a gift to God ”— ⁶ then he must not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have nullified the commandment of God through your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying: ⁸ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. ⁹ But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’.” ¹⁰ Then summoning the crowd He said to them: “Hear and understand. ¹¹ Not what goes into the mouth defiles the man, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles the man.” ¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do you know that upon hearing this saying the Pharisees were offended?” ¹³ But in answer He said: “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind; and if the blind guides the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” ¹⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us”. ¹⁶ So Jesus said: “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is expelled into the sewer? ¹⁸ But the things coming out of the mouth actually come from the heart; those are the things that defile the man. ¹⁹ Because out of the heart proceed malignant thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things that defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” ²¹ Going out from there Jesus withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And then, a Canaanite woman coming from those parts cried out to Him saying: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demonized.” ²³ But He answered her not a word. So His disciples came and urged Him saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us”. ²⁴ But in answer He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. ²⁵ So she came and worshipped Him saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ But in answer He said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs”. ²⁷ So she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”. ²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to her: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. ²⁹ Moving on from there Jesus went alongside the Sea of Galilee, and going up on the mountain He sat down there. ³⁰ And large crowds approached Him, having with them lame, blind, mute, maimed and many others, and they placed them at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowds marveled—seeing mutes speaking, maimed made whole, lame walking, and blind seeing—and they kept glorifying the God of Israel. ³² Then Jesus summoned His disciples and said: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already remained with me three days, and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³ So His disciples say to Him, “Where could we get, in an uninhabited place, enough bread so as to satisfy such a great crowd?” ³⁴ Jesus says to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish”. ³⁵ So He commanded the crowds to recline on the ground. ³⁶ And taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks, broke and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. ³⁷ So they all ate and were filled; and they took up seven hampers full of the fragments that remained. ³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And having dismissed the crowds He got into the boat and went to the region of Magdala. ¹⁶ ¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. ² But in answer He said to them: “When it is evening you say, ‘Fair weather, for the sky is red’; ³ and in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast’. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky but cannot discern the signs of the times. ⁴ A malignant and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And leaving them behind He went away. ⁵ Upon arriving at the other side His disciples had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. ⁷ So they reasoned among themselves saying, “It’s because we didn’t bring any bread”. ⁸ But Jesus, being aware, said to them: “You little-faiths! Why are you reasoning among yourselves because you didn’t bring any bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many hampers you took up? ¹¹ How come you don’t perceive that it wasn’t about bread that I told you to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi He questioned His disciples saying, “Who do people say that I, the Son of the Man, am?” ¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets”. ¹⁵ He says to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ So in answer Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” ¹⁷ And in answer Jesus said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in the heavens. ¹⁸ And I further say to you that you are a stone, but on this bedrock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not withstand her. ¹⁹ And I will give you (sg) the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in the heavens.” ²⁰ Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah. ²¹ From then on Jesus began to show to His disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. ²² So taking Him aside Peter began to rebuke Him saying: “Grace to you, Lord! This shall not happen to you!” ²³ But turning He said to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not mindful of God’s values, but of men’s values.” ²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples: “If anyone desires to come after me, let him really deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will waste it, but whoever ‘wastes’ his life on my account will find it. ²⁶ For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? ²⁷ For the Son of the Man will certainly come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will recompense each according to his performance. ²⁸ Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of the Man coming in His kingdom.” ¹⁷ ¹ Now after six days Jesus takes Peter, James and his brother John and leads them up on a high mountain, in private. ² And He was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun, while His clothes became as white as the light. ³ When wow, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. ⁴ Then Peter reacted and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make three booths: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking a brilliant cloud overshadowed them and, double wow, a Voice came out of the cloud saying: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am always well pleased. Hear Him!” ⁶ As the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. ⁷ Then Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, don’t be afraid”. ⁸ So lifting up their eyes they saw no one but Jesus only. ⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of the Man is risen from the dead”. ¹⁰ So His disciples questioned Him saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ In answer Jesus said to them: “Elijah is indeed coming first, and he will restore all things. ¹² But I say to you that ‘Elijah’ has come already, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. Thus also the Son of the Man is about to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptizer. ¹⁴ As they came to the crowd a man approached Him and kneeling to Him said: ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he is moonstruck and suffers badly! For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ Then in answer Jesus said: “O faithless and perverse generation, how long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that very hour. ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why were we not able to cast it out?” ²⁰ So Jesus said to them: “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed has, you (ye) will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this class does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” ²² While they were staying in Galilee Jesus said to them, “The Son of the Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised”. And they were seriously grieved. ²⁴ When they entered Capernaum those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” ²⁵ He says, “Yes”. So when they entered the house Jesus anticipated him saying: “Simon, what do you think? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ Peter says to Him, “From the strangers”. Jesus said to him: “Well then the sons are free. ²⁷ But, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And opening its mouth you will find a ‘stater’ [a coin]; take that and give it to them for me and you.” ¹⁸ ¹ At that time the disciples approached Jesus saying, “Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens?” ² So Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³ and said: “Assuredly I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of the heavens. ⁴ Therefore whoever will humble himself like this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens. ⁵ “Whoever receives one little child like this in my name, receives me; ⁶ but whoever should cause one of these little ones who believe into me to fall, it would be better for him if a large millstone were hung on his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea! ⁷ Woe to the world because of offenses! Now it is necessary that offenses come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes! ⁸ “If your hand or your foot is causing you to fall, cut them off and throw them away! It is better for you to enter into the life lame or maimed than to be thrown into the everlasting fire, having two hands or two feet. ⁹ And if your eye is causing you to fall, tear it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter into the life one eyed than to be thrown into the fiery Hell, having two eyes. ¹⁰ “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father, who is in the heavens. ¹¹ For the Son of the Man came to save the lost. ¹² What do you think? If some man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains to go and search for the stray? ¹³ And if he happens to find it, assuredly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ Likewise it is not a desire, in the view of your Father in heaven, that one of these little ones should be wasted. ¹⁵ “Now if your brother sins against you, go, confront him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But should he not hear, take along with you one or two more, so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ And should he refuse to hear them, tell it to the congregation. But should he refuse to hear even the congregation, let him be to you just like the heathen and the tax collector. ¹⁸ “Assuredly I say to you, whatever (pl.) you (pl.) may bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you may loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Assuredly again, I say to you that if two of you should agree on earth about any subject whatever that they may ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ Because where there are two or three gathered together into my name, there I am in their midst!” ²¹ Then Peter approached Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him; up to seven times?” ²² Jesus says to him: “Not, I tell you, up to seven, but up to seventy-seven times! ²³ “Therefore the kingdom of the heavens is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And as he began to settle up, one debtor of ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ But since he had nothing with which to repay, his lord commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and everything he had, so as to be repaid. ²⁶ So then the servant fell down and did obeisance to him saying, ‘Lord, be patient with me and I will repay you all’. ²⁷ So the lord of that servant, having compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. ²⁸ “But when that servant went out he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and grabbing him he started choking him saying, ‘Pay me back what you owe!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and kept begging him saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will pay you back’. ³⁰ But he would not; instead he went and threw him into prison until he should pay back what was owed. ³¹ But when his fellow servants saw what had happened they were really grieved, and they went and reported to their lord everything that had happened. ³² Then summoning him the lord says to him: ‘Malignant servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Were you also not obligated to have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ So in anger the lord handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed to him. ³⁵ “My heavenly Father will handle you just like that, if each of you does not forgive his brother his trespasses, from the heart.” ¹⁹ ¹ Now it happened, when Jesus had finished these words, that He departed from Galilee and went to the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And large crowds followed Him and there He healed them. ³ The Pharisees also came to Him to test Him saying to Him, “Is it permissible for a man to divorce his wife for just any cause?” ⁴ So in answer He said to them: “Have you never read that the Creator at the beginning made them a male and a female? ⁵ And He said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be turned into one flesh’. ⁶ So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God joined together let not man separate!” ⁷ They say to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to dismiss her?” ⁸ He says to them: “Because of your hard-heartedness Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. ⁹ And I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries a divorcee commits adultery.” ¹⁰ His disciples say to Him, “If that’s the situation of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry!” ¹¹ So He said to them: “Not all can assimilate this word, but those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way, from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were castrated by men; and there are eunuchs who castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. He who is able to assimilate it, let him assimilate.” ¹³ Then little children were brought to Him, that He might lay hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ So Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens”. ¹⁵ And after laying hands on them He moved on from there. ¹⁶ And then, a certain one came and said to Him, “Good teacher, what good thing must I do so that I may have eternal life?” ¹⁷ But He said to him: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except One, God. But if you want to enter into the life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He says to Him, “Which ones?” So Jesus said: “‘You shall not murder’, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, ‘You shall not steal’, ‘You shall not give false witness’, ¹⁹ ‘Honor your father and your mother’, and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’.” ²⁰ The young man says to Him: “I have kept all these things since my youth. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me”. ²² So upon hearing that word the young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples: “Assuredly I say to you that only with difficulty will a rich person enter into the kingdom of the heavens. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ Upon hearing it His disciples were really flabbergasted saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ So looking at them Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”. ²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him: “See, we have left all and followed you. So what will we have?” ²⁸ So Jesus said to them: “Assuredly I say to you that in the Regeneration, when the Son of the Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And, everyone who left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit life eternal. ³⁰ But many ‘first’ will be last, and ‘last’ first. ²⁰ ¹ “For the kingdom of the heavens is like a certain landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² And agreeing with the workers for a denarius a day he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour [9 a.m.] he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. ⁴ And he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard and I will give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. ⁵ He went out again about the sixth hour, and the ninth, and did the same. ⁶ Now about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and he says to them, ‘Why have you stood here idle all day?’ ⁷ They say to him, ‘Because no one hired us’. He says to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right’. ⁸ So when evening had come the owner of the vineyard says to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning at the last to the first’. ⁹ The eleventh hour ones came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when the first ones came they supposed that they would receive more; yet each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it they began grumbling against the landowner ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden and the heat of the day!’ ¹³ But in answer he said to one of them: ‘Friend, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go. I wish to give to this last one just as to you. ¹⁵ Or isn’t it permissible for me to do what I want with what is mine? Is your eye evil because I am good?’ ¹⁶ Just so the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.” ¹⁷ As Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them privately: ¹⁸ “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of the Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge and to crucify. And on the third day He will rise!” ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached Him, with her sons, and kneeling down she asked something from Him. ²¹ So He said to her, “What do you wish?” She says to Him, “State that these my two sons may sit one on Your right and one on Your left in Your kingdom”. ²² But in answer Jesus said: “You (pl.) do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I am about to drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am being baptized with?” They say to Him, “We are able”. ²³ And He says to them: “You will indeed drink my cup, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am being baptized with, but to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give; rather it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” ²⁴ Now when the ten heard it they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But summoning them Jesus said: “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them; ²⁶ but it must not be so among you. Rather, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸ just like the Son of the Man—He did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” ²⁹ Now as they went on from Jericho a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And then, two blind men sitting alongside the road and hearing, “Jesus is passing by!” cried out saying, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” ³¹ So the crowd threatened them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more saying, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!!” ³² Jesus stopped, called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They say to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened!” ³⁴ So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. ²¹ ¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethsphage, opposite the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them: “Go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose her and bring them to me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, just say, ‘The Lord needs them’, and immediately he will send them.” ⁴ Now all this happened so that what was spoken through the prophet should be fulfilled, namely: ⁵ “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Look, your King is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, in fact, a young donkey, foal of a beast of burden.’” ⁶ So going and doing just as Jesus had commanded them, ⁷ the disciples brought the female donkey and the young donkey. And they placed their clothes on them and He sat down on them [the clothes]. ⁸ And the very large crowd spread their clothes on the road, while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. ⁹ Then the crowds who went in front and those who followed kept crying out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰ So when He came into Jerusalem the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds kept saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Natsareth of Galilee.” ¹² Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹³ And He says to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’, but you have made it ‘a cave of bandits’.” ¹⁴ And the lame and the blind came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But seeing the wonders that He did, and the children calling out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” the chief priests and the scribes became indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” So Jesus says to them: “Yes. Have you never read that ‘Out of the mouth of babies and nursing infants You have prepared praise for Yourself ’?” ¹⁷ Leaving them behind He went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. ¹⁸ Now in the early morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He went up to it and found nothing on it, just leaves. And He says to it, “May you never again produce fruit!” And forthwith the fig tree became withered. ²⁰ And seeing it the disciples marveled saying, “How quickly the fig tree became withered!” ²¹ So in answer Jesus said to them: “Assuredly I say to you, if you (pl.) have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you should say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and be thrown into the sea’, it will happen. ²² And anything whatever you may ask in the believing prayer, you will receive.” ²³ So He came into the temple, and as He was teaching the chief priests and the elders of the people approached Him saying, “By what kind of authority are you doing these things ?” and “Who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ But in answer Jesus said to them: “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things : ²⁵ The baptism of John—where was it from; from heaven or from men?” So they reasoned among themselves saying: “If we say, ‘From heaven’, He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men’, we fear the crowd, for all consider John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So in answer to Jesus they said, “We do not know”. So He said to them: “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things . ²⁸ “But what do you think? A certain man had two sons, and going to the first he said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard’. ²⁹ But in answer he said, ‘I don’t want to’ (but later he changed his mind and went). ³⁰ And going to the other he said likewise. And in answer he said, ‘I go, Sir’; yet he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of the father?” They say to Him, “The first”. Jesus says to them: “Assuredly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will go into the kingdom of God before you do. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, yet when you saw it you did not afterward repent, so as to believe him. ³³ “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to farmers and went on a journey. ³⁴ When vintage-time drew near he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruits. ³⁵ But the farmers took his servants—one they beat, one they killed, one they stoned. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did to them likewise. ³⁷ So finally he sent his son to them saying, ‘They will respect my son’. ³⁸ But when the farmers saw the son they said among themselves: ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take possession of his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And taking him they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” ⁴¹ They say to Him: “He will miserably destroy those miserable men! And he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” ⁴² Jesus says to them: “Did you never read in the Scriptures: ‘A stone which the builders rejected, this one became the cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ⁴³ Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ Also, whoever falls upon this stone will be broken to pieces; but upon whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” ⁴⁵ As the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables they knew that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they wanted to seize Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they considered Him as a prophet.