Matthew 23 Cross References - WNT

¹ Then Jesus addressed the crowds and His disciples. ² "The Scribes," He said, "and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore do and observe everything that they command you; but do not imitate their lives, for though they tell others what to do, they do not do it themselves. ⁴ Heavy and cumbrous burdens they bind together and load men's shoulders with them, while as for themselves, not with one finger do they choose to lift them. ⁵ And everything they do they do with a view to being observed by men; for they widen their phylacteries and make the tassels large, ⁶ and love the best seats at a dinner party or in the synagogues, ⁷ and like to be bowed to in places of public resort, and to be addressed by men as 'Rabbi.' ⁸ "As for you, do not accept the title of 'Rabbi,' for one alone is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And call no one on earth your Father, for One alone is your Father--the Heavenly Father. ¹⁰ And do not accept the name of 'leader,' for your Leader is one alone--the Christ. ¹¹ He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant; ¹² and one who exalts himself shall be abased, while one who abases himself shall be exalted. ¹³ "But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock the door of the Kingdom of the Heavens against men; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those to enter who are seeking to do so. ¹⁴ OMITTED TEXT ¹⁵ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you scour sea and land in order to win one convert--and when he is gained, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves. ¹⁶ "Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, "'Whoever swears by the Sanctuary it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, is bound by the oath.' ¹⁷ "Blind fools! Why, which is greater? --the gold, or the Sanctuary which has made the gold holy? ¹⁸ And you say, "'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering lying on it is bound by the oath.' ¹⁹ "You are blind! Why, which is greater? --the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy? ²⁰ He who swears by the altar swears both by it and by everything on it; ²¹ he who swears by the Sanctuary swears both by it and by Him who dwells in it; ²² and he who swears by Heaven swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. ²³ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law--just judgement, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out the gnat while you gulp down the camel! ²⁵ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you wash clean the outside of the cup or dish, while within they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first wash clean the inside of the cup or dish, and then the outside will be clean also. ²⁷ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are just like whitewashed sepulchres, the outside of which pleases the eye, though inside they are full of dead men's bones and of all that is unclean. ²⁸ The same is true of you: outwardly you seem to the human eye to be good and honest men, but, within, you are full of insincerity and disregard of God's Law. ²⁹ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you repair the sepulchres of the Prophets and keep in order the tombs of the righteous, ³⁰ and your boast is, "'If we had lived in the time of our forefathers, we should not have been implicated with them in the murder of the Prophets.' ³¹ "So that you bear witness against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the Prophets. ³² Fill up the measure of your forefathers' guilt. ³³ O serpents, O vipers' brood, how are you to escape condemnation to Gehenna? ³⁴ "For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town; ³⁵ that all the innocent blood shed upon earth may come on you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you in solemn truth that all these things will come upon the present generation. ³⁷ "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children to me, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not come! ³⁸ See, your house will now be left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I tell you that you will never see me again until you say, 'BLESSED BE HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.'"

¹⁰ Then, when He had called the people to Him, Jesus said, "Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him; but it is what comes out of his mouth-- *that* defiles a man." ¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were greatly shocked when they heard those words?" ¹³ "Every plant," He replied, "which my Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into some pit." ¹⁵ "Explain to us this figurative language," said Peter. ¹⁶ "Are even you," He answered, "still without intellingence? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that whatever enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is afterwards ejected from the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, impiety of speech. ²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile."

¹⁴ Then Jesus called the people to Him again. "Listen to me, all of you," He said, "and understand.

³⁸ Moreover in the course of His teaching He said, "Be on your guard against the Scribes who like to walk about in long robes and to be bowed to in places of public resort, ³⁹ and to occupy the best seats in the synagogues and at dinner parties,

¹ Meanwhile the people had come streaming towards Him by tens of thousands, so that they were trampling one another under foot. And now He proceeded to say to His disciples first, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is to say, beware of hypocrisy.

⁵⁷ "Why, too, do you not of yourselves arrive at just conclusions?

⁴⁵ Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ "Beware of the Scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and love to be bowed to in places of public resort and to occupy the best seats in the synagogues or at a dinner party;

³⁸ Moreover in the course of His teaching He said, "Be on your guard against the Scribes who like to walk about in long robes and to be bowed to in places of public resort,

⁴⁶ "Beware of the Scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and love to be bowed to in places of public resort and to occupy the best seats in the synagogues or at a dinner party;

² "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the Elders by not washing their hands before meals?" ³ "Why do you, too," He retorted, "transgress God's commands for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER'; and 'LET HIM WHO REVILES FATHER OR MOTHER BE CERTAINLY PUT TO DEATH'; ⁵ but you--this is what you say: 'If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me-- ⁶ he shall be absolved from honouring his father'; and so you have abrogated God's Word for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! well did Isaiah prophesy of you, ⁸ "'THIS IS A PEOPLE WHO HONOUR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, WHILE THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME; ⁹ BUT IT IS IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, WHILE THEY LAY DOWN PRECEPTS WHICH ARE MERE HUMAN RULES.'"

³⁰ He came to the second and spoke in the same manner. His answer was, "'I will go, Sir.' "But he did not go.

²⁹ Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than man.

¹⁹ and have persuaded yourself that, as for you, you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ a schoolmaster for the dull and ignorant, a teacher of the young, because in the Law you possess an outline of real knowledge and an outline of the truth: ²¹ you then who teach your fellow man, do you refuse to teach yourself? You who cry out against stealing, are you yourself a thief? ²² You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you plunder their temples? ²³ You who make your boast in the Law, do you offend against its commands and so dishonour God? ²⁴ FOR THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILE NATIONS BECAUSE OF YOU, as Holy Writ declares.

¹ Let every individual be obedient to those who rule over him; for no one is a ruler except by God's permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him.

⁵ and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

¹⁶ They profess to know God; but in their actions they disown Him, and are detestable and disobedient men, and for any good work are utterly useless.

²⁸ "Come to me, all you toiling and burdened ones, and *I* will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For it is good to bear my yoke, and my burden is light."

²³ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law--just judgement, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone.

⁴⁶ "Alas too for you expounders of the Law!" replied Jesus, "for you load men with cumbrous burdens which you yourselves will not touch with one of your fingers.

¹⁰ Now, therefore, why try an experiment upon God, by laying on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

²⁸ For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no burden heavier than these necessary requirements--

¹³ For these very men do not really keep the Law of Moses, but they would have you receive circumcision in order that they may glory in *your* bodies.

²⁴ But to you, the rest of you in Thyateira, all who do not hold this teaching and are not the people who have learnt the "deep things," as they call them (the deep things of Satan!) --to you I say that I lay no other burden on you.

¹ "But beware of doing your good actions in the sight of men, in order to attract their gaze; if you do, there is no reward for you with your Father who is in Heaven. ² 'When you give in charity, never blow a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets in order that their praises may be sung by men. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward. ³ But when you are giving in charity, let not your left hand perceive what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charities may be in secret; and then your Father--He who sees in secret--will recompense you. ⁵ "And when praying, you must not be like the hypocrites. They are fond of standing and praying in the synagogues or at the corners of the wider streets, in order that men may see them. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward. ⁶ But you, whenever you pray, go into your own room and shut the door: then pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father--He who sees in secret--will recompense you. ⁷ "And when praying, do not use needless repetitions as the Gentiles do, for they expect to be listened to because of their multitude of words. ⁸ Do not, however, imitate them; for your Father knows what things you need before ever you ask Him. ⁹ "In this manner therefore pray: 'Our Father who art in Heaven, may Thy name be kept holy; ¹⁰ let Thy kingdom come; let Thy will be done, as in Heaven so on earth; ¹¹ give us to-day our bread for the day; ¹² and forgive us our shortcomings, as we also have forgiven those who have failed in their duty towards us; ¹³ and bring us not into temptation, but rescue us from the Evil one.' ¹⁴ "For if you forgive others their offences, your Heavenly Father will forgive you also; ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive others their offences, neither will your Father forgive yours. ¹⁶ "When any of you fast, never assume gloomy looks as the hypocrites do; for they disfigure their faces in order that it may be evident to men that they are fasting. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward.

²⁰ But a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with haemorrhage came behind Him and touched the tassel of His cloak;

¹⁵ "You are they," He said to them, "who boast of their own goodness before men, but God sees your hearts; for that which holds a proud position among men is detestable in God's sight.

⁴⁷ who swallow up the property of widows and mask their wickedness by making long prayers. They will be punished far more severely than others."

⁴⁴ How is it possible for you to believe, while you receive glory from one another and have no desire for the glory that comes from the only God?

¹⁸ The man whose teaching originates with himself aims at his own glory. He who aims at the glory of Him who sent him teaches the truth, and there is no deception in him.

⁴³ For they loved the glory that comes from men rather than the glory that comes from God.

¹⁵ Some indeed actually preach Christ out of envy and contentiousness but there are also others who do it from good will.

³ Do nothing in a spirit of factiousness or of vainglory, but, with true humility, let every one regard the rest as being of more account than himself; ⁴ and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God.

²¹ "What is it you desire?" He asked. "Command," she replied, "that these my two sons may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your Kingdom."

⁴³ Alas for you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogues, and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort. ⁴⁴ Alas for you! for you are like the tombs which lie hidden, and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence." ⁴⁵ Hereupon one of the expounders of the Law exclaimed, "Rabbi, in saying such things you reproach us also." ⁴⁶ "Alas too for you expounders of the Law!" replied Jesus, "for you load men with cumbrous burdens which you yourselves will not touch with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Alas for you! for you repair the tombs of the Prophets, whom your forefathers killed. ⁴⁸ It follows that you bear testimony to the actions of your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof. They slew, you build. ⁴⁹ "For this reason also the Wisdom of God has said, 'I will send Prophets and Apostles to them, of whom they will kill some and persecute others,' ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the Prophets, that is being shed from the creation of the world onwards, may be required from the present generation. ⁵¹ Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House, it shall all be required from the present generation. ⁵² "Alas for you expounders of the Law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered, and those who wanted to enter you have hindered." ⁵³ After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand answers on numerous points, ⁵⁴ lying in wait to catch some unguarded expression from His lips.

⁷ Then, when He noticed that the invited guests chose the best seats, He used this as an illustration and said to them, ⁸ "When any one invites you to a wedding banquet, do not take the best seat, lest perhaps some more honoured guest than you may have been asked, ⁹ and the man who invited you both will come and will say to you, 'Make room for this guest,' and then you, ashamed, will move to the lowest place. ¹⁰ On the contrary, when you are invited go and take the lowest place, that when your host comes round he may say to you, 'My friend, come up higher.' This will be doing you honour in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For whoever uplifts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be uplifted.

⁴⁶ "Beware of the Scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and love to be bowed to in places of public resort and to occupy the best seats in the synagogues or at a dinner party; ⁴⁷ who swallow up the property of widows and mask their wickedness by making long prayers. They will be punished far more severely than others."

¹⁰ As for brotherly love, be affectionate to one another; in matters of worldly honour, yield to one another.

¹ My brethren, you must not make distinctions between one man and another while you are striving to maintain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our glory. ² For suppose a man comes into one of your meetings wearing gold rings and fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man wearing shabby clothes, ³ and you pay court to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say, "Sit here; this is a good place;" while to the poor man you say, "Stand there, or sit on the floor at my feet;" ⁴ is it not plain that in your hearts you have little faith, seeing that you have become judges full of wrong thoughts?

⁹ I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the first place among them, refuses to listen to us.

⁸ "As for you, do not accept the title of 'Rabbi,' for one alone is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

⁵ when Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we are thankful to you that we are here. Let us put up three tents--one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

⁵¹ "What shall I do for you?" said Jesus. "Rabboni," replied the blind man, "let me recover my sight."

³⁸ Then Jesus turned round, and seeing them following He asked them, "What is your wish?" "Rabbi," they replied-- 'Rabbi' means 'Teacher'-- "where are you staying?"

⁴⁹ "Rabbi," cried Nathanael, "you are the Son of God, you are Israel's King!"

² He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him.

²⁶ they came to John and reported to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan and to whom you bore testimony is now baptizing, and great numbers of people are resorting to him."

²⁵ So when they had crossed the Lake and had found Him, they asked Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"

¹⁶ "Mary!" said Jesus. She turned to Him. "Rabboni!" she cried in Hebrew: the word means 'Teacher!'

²⁵ Enough for the learner to be on a level with his teacher, and for the servant to be on a level with his master. If they have called the master of the house Baal-zebul, how much more will they slander his servants?

⁵ He was still speaking when a luminous cloud spread over them; and a voice was heard from within the cloud, which said, "This is My Son dearly beloved, in whom is My delight. Listen to Him."

¹⁰ And do not accept the name of 'leader,' for your Leader is one alone--the Christ.

⁴⁹ So he went straight to Jesus and said, "Peace to you, Rabbi!" And he kissed Him eagerly.

³² But *I* have prayed for *you* that your faith may not fail, and you, when at last you have come back to your true self, must strengthen your brethren."

¹³ You call me 'The Rabbi' and 'The Master,' and rightly so, for such I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Master and Rabbi, have washed your feet, it is also your duty to wash one another's feet.

⁹ For this was the purpose of Christ's dying and coming to life--namely that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But you, why do you find fault with your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon your brother? We shall all stand before God to be judged;

¹² What I mean is that each of you is a partisan. One man says "I belong to Paul;" another "I belong to Apollos;" a third "I belong to Peter;" a fourth "I belong to Christ." ¹³ Is the Christ in fragments? Is it Paul who was crucified on your behalf? Or were you baptized to be Paul's adherents?

³ you are still unspiritual. For so long as jealousy and strife continue among you, can it be denied that you are unspiritual and are living and acting like mere men of the world? ⁴ For when some one says, "I belong to Paul," and another says, "I belong to Apollos," is not this the way men of the world speak? ⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are just God's servants, through whose efforts, and as the Lord granted power to each, you accepted the faith.

²⁴ Not that we want to lord it over you in respect of your faith--we do, however, desire to help your joy--for in the matter of your faith you are standing firm.

⁵ (For we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for the sake of Jesus.)

¹⁵ from whom the whole family in Heaven and on earth derives its name,

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God--and Timothy our brother: ² To the people of God and the believing brethren at Colossae who are in Christ. May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father.

¹ Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement.

³ not lording it over your Churches but proving yourselves patterns for the flock to imitate.

⁹ I John, your brother, and a sharer with you in the sorrows and Kingship and patient endurance of Jesus, found myself in the island of Patmos, on account of the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus.

¹⁰ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he exclaimed, "Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours and a fellow bondservant of your brethren who have borne testimony to Jesus. Worship God." Testimony to Jesus is the spirit which underlies Prophecy.

⁹ But he said to me, "Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours, and a fellow bondservant of your brethren the Prophets and of those who are mindful of the teachings of this book. Worship God."

⁸ Do not, however, imitate them; for your Father knows what things you need before ever you ask Him. ⁹ "In this manner therefore pray: 'Our Father who art in Heaven, may Thy name be kept holy;

³² For all these are questions that Gentiles are always asking; but your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things--all of them.

¹¹ If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹ "Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make before you."

¹⁴ For those who are led by God's Spirit are, all of them, God's sons. ¹⁵ You have not for the second time acquired the consciousness of being--a consciousness which fills you with terror. But you have acquired a deep inward conviction of having been adopted as sons--a conviction which prompts us to cry aloud, "Abba! our Father!" ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness, along with our own spirits, to the fact that we are children of God; ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs too--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ; if indeed we are sharers in Christ's sufferings, in order that we may also be sharers in His glory.

¹⁵ For even if you were to have ten thousand spiritual instructors--for all that you could not have several fathers. It is I who in Christ Jesus became your father through the Good News.

¹⁸ AND YOU SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS,' SAYS THE LORD THE RULER OF ALL."

¹ Never administer a sharp reprimand to a man older than yourself; but entreat him as if he were your father, and the younger men as brothers; ² the elder women too as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with perfect modesty.

⁹ Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

¹ See what marvellous love the Father has bestowed upon us--that we should be called God's children: and that is what we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us--because it has not known Him.

²⁶ Not so shall it be among you; but whoever desires to be great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant;

⁴³ but it is not to be so among you. No, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever desires to be first among you must be the bondservant of all.

²⁶ With you it is not so; but let the greatest among you be as the younger, and the leader be like him who serves. ²⁷ For which is the greater--he who sits at table, or he who waits on him? Is it not he who sits at table? But my position among you is that of one who waits on others.

¹⁴ If I then, your Master and Rabbi, have washed your feet, it is also your duty to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example in order that you may do what I have done to you.

¹⁹ Though free from all human control, I have made myself the slave of all in the hope of winning as many converts as possible.

²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) Much more am I His servant; serving Him more thoroughly than they by my labours, and more thoroughly also by my imprisonments, by excessively cruel floggings, and with risk of life many a time.

¹³ You however, brethren, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an excuse for giving way to your lower natures; but become bondservants to one another in a spirit of love.

⁵ Let the same disposition be in you which was in Christ Jesus. ⁶ Although from the beginning He had the nature of God He did not reckon His equality with God a treasure to be tightly grasped. ⁷ Nay, He stripped Himself of His glory, and took on Him the nature of a bondservant by becoming a man like other men. ⁸ And being recognized as truly human, He humbled Himself and even stooped to die; yes, to die on a cross.

³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens.

⁴ Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this young child, he it is who is superior to others in the Kingdom of the Heavens.

⁵¹ He has manifested His supreme strength. He has scattered those who were haughty in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵² He has cast monarchs down from their thrones, And exalted men of low estate.

¹¹ For whoever uplifts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be uplifted.

¹⁴ "I tell you that this man went home more thoroughly absolved from guilt than the other; for every one who uplifts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be uplifted."

⁶ But He gives more abundant grace, as is implied in His saying, "GOD SETS HIMSELF AGAINST THE HAUGHTY, BUT TO THE LOWLY HE GIVES GRACE."

⁵ In the same way you younger men must submit to your elders; and all of you must gird yourselves with humility towards one another, for God sets Himself against the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

³¹ Which of the two did as his father desired?" "The first," they said. "I solemnly tell you,' replied Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners are entering the Kingdom of God in front of you. ³² For John came to you observing all sorts of ritual, and you put no faith in him: the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners did put faith in him, and you, though you saw this example set you, were not even afterwards sorry so as to believe him.

¹³ "But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock the door of the Kingdom of the Heavens against men; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those to enter who are seeking to do so. ¹⁴ OMITTED TEXT ¹⁵ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you scour sea and land in order to win one convert--and when he is gained, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.

²⁵ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you wash clean the outside of the cup or dish, while within they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

²⁷ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are just like whitewashed sepulchres, the outside of which pleases the eye, though inside they are full of dead men's bones and of all that is unclean.

²⁹ "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you repair the sepulchres of the Prophets and keep in order the tombs of the righteous,

⁴³ Alas for you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogues, and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort. ⁴⁴ Alas for you! for you are like the tombs which lie hidden, and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence."

⁵² "Alas for you expounders of the Law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered, and those who wanted to enter you have hindered."

⁴⁶ "No mere man has ever spoken as this man speaks," said the officers. ⁴⁷ "Are *you* deluded too?" replied the Pharisees; ⁴⁸ "has any one of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this rabble who understand nothing about the Law are accursed!" ⁵⁰ Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them. ⁵¹ "Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" ⁵² "Do you also come from Galilee?" they asked in reply. "Search and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin."

²² Such was their answer, because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already settled among themselves that if any one should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, he should be excluded from the synagogue.

²⁴ A second time therefore they called the man who had been blind, and said, "Give God the praise: we know that that man is a sinner."

³⁴ "You," they replied, "were wholly begotten and born in sin, and do *you* teach *us*?" And they put him out of the synagogue.

¹⁷ But to prevent the matter spreading any further among the people, let us stop them by threats from speaking in the future in this name to any one whatever." ¹⁸ So they recalled the Apostles, and ordered them altogether to give up speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ "We strictly forbad you to teach in that name--did we not?" he said. "And see, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and are trying to make us responsible for that man's death!"

⁴⁰ His advice carried conviction. So they called the Apostles in, and--after flogging them--ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then let them go.

¹ And Saul fully approved of his murder. At this time a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria.

⁸ But Elymas (or 'the Magician,' for such is the meaning of the name) opposed them, and tried to prevent the Proconsul from accepting the faith.

¹⁵ Those Jewish persecutors killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets, and drove us out of their midst. They are displeasing to God, and are the enemies of all mankind; ¹⁶ for they still try to prevent our preaching to the Gentiles so that they may find salvation. They thus continually fill up the measure of their own sins, and God's anger in its severest form has overtaken them.

⁸ And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also these false teachers withstand the truth--being, as they are, men of debased intellects, and of no real worth so far as faith is concerned.

¹⁵ You also should beware of him; for he has violently opposed our preaching.

²⁴ Only I tell you all, that it will be more endurable for the land of Sodom on the day of Judgement than for thee."

³³ O serpents, O vipers' brood, how are you to escape condemnation to Gehenna? ³⁴ "For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town; ³⁵ that all the innocent blood shed upon earth may come on you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you in solemn truth that all these things will come upon the present generation.

⁴⁰ and who swallow up the property of widows and then mask their wickedness by making long prayers: these men will receive far heavier punishment."

⁴⁸ But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.

⁴⁷ who swallow up the property of widows and mask their wickedness by making long prayers. They will be punished far more severely than others."

⁶ Among them are included the men who make their way into private houses and carry off weak women as their prisoners--women who, weighed down by the burden of their sins, are led by ever-changing caprice,

¹⁰ For there are many that spurn authority--idle, talkative and deceitful persons, who, for the most part, are adherents of the Circumcision. ¹¹ You must stop the mouths of such men, for they overthrow the faith of whole families, teaching what they ought not, just for the sake of making money.

³ Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. From of old their judgement has been working itself out, and their destruction has not been slumbering.

¹⁴ Their very eyes are full of adultery--being eyes which never cease from sin. These men set traps to catch unstedfast souls, their own hearts being well trained in greed. They are fore-doomed to God's curse! ¹⁵ Forsaking the straight road, they have gone astray, having eagerly followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was bent on securing the wages of unrighteousness.

²² But I say to you that every one who becomes angry with his brother shall be answerable to the magistrate; that whoever says to his brother 'Raca,' shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and that whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the Gehenna of Fire.

²⁹ If therefore your eye, even the right eye, is a snare to you, tear it out and away with it; it is better for you that one member should be destroyed rather than that your whole body should be thrown into Gehenna.

⁴⁴ The father whose sons you are is the Devil; and you desire to do what gives him pleasure. *He* was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth--for there is no truth in him. Whenever he utters his lie, he utters it out of his own store; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

¹⁰ of Egypt or of the parts of Africa towards Cyrene. Others are visitors from Rome--being either Jews or converts from heathenism--and others are Cretans or Arabians.

⁵ The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

¹⁰ said, "You who are full of every kind of craftiness and unscrupulous cunning--you son of the Devil and foe to all that is right--will you never cease to misrepresent the straight paths of the Lord?

⁴³ And, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and of the devout converts from heathenism continued with Paul and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to hold fast to the grace of God.

² But the Jews who had refused obedience stirred up the Gentiles and embittered their minds against the brethren.

¹⁹ But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and, having won over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, believing him to be dead.

⁵ But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people. ⁶ But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also.

¹³ As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot.

¹⁷ These men pay court to you, but not with honourable motives. They want to exclude you, so that you may pay court to them.

¹² All who desire to display their zeal for external observances try to compel you to receive circumcision, but their real object is simply to escape being persecuted for the Cross of Christ.

³ Among them all of us also formerly passed our lives, governed by the inclinations of our lower natures, indulging the cravings of those natures and of our own thoughts, and were in our original state deserving of anger like all others.

³³ "Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'THOU SHALT NOT SWEAR FALSELY, BUT SHALT PERFORM THY VOWS TO THE LORD.' ³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all; neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the footstool under His feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the City of the Great King.

⁵ but you--this is what you say: 'If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me-- ⁶ he shall be absolved from honouring his father'; and so you have abrogated God's Word for the sake of your tradition.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into some pit."

¹⁷ "Blind fools! Why, which is greater? --the gold, or the Sanctuary which has made the gold holy?

¹⁹ "You are blind! Why, which is greater? --the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy?

²⁴ You blind guides, straining out the gnat while you gulp down the camel!

²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first wash clean the inside of the cup or dish, and then the outside will be clean also.

¹⁰ For Moses said, 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER' and again, 'HE WHO CURSES FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM DIE THE DEATH.' ¹¹ But *you* say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, It is a Korban (that is, a thing devoted to God), whatever it is, which otherwise you would have received from me--' ¹² And so you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus nullifying God's precept by your tradition which you have handed down. And many things of that kind you do."

³⁹ "I came into this world," said Jesus, "to judge men, that those who do not see may see, and that those who do see may become blind." ⁴⁰ These words were heard by those of the Pharisees who were present, and they asked Him, "Are *we* also blind?" ⁴¹ "If you were blind," answered Jesus, "you would have no sin; but as a matter of fact you boast that you see. So your sin remains!"

³ I once more protest to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to obey the whole Law of Moses.

¹² But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, either by Heaven or by the earth, or with any other oath. Let your 'yes' be simply 'yes,' and your 'no' be simply 'no;' that you may not come under condemnation.

²² in whom you also are being built up together to become a fixed abode for God through the Spirit.

⁹ For it is in Christ that the fulness of God's nature dwells embodied, and in Him you are made complete,

³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all; neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne;

⁴⁹ "'THE SKY IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL FOR MY FEET. WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME, SAYS THE LORD, OR WHAT RESTING PLACE SHALL I HAVE?

² Immediately I found myself in the Spirit, and saw a throne in Heaven, and some One sitting on the throne. ³ The appearance of Him who sat there was like jasper or sard; and encircling the throne was a rainbow, in appearance like an emerald.

¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of these least commandments and teaches others to break them, will be called the least in the Kingdom of the Heavens; but whoever practises them and teaches them, he will be acknowledged as great in the Kingdom of the Heavens. ²⁰ For I assure you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will certainly not find entrance into the Kingdom of the Heavens.

¹³ But go and learn what this means, 'IT IS MERCY THAT I DESIRE, NOT SACRIFICE'; for I did not come to appeal to the righteous, but to sinners."

⁷ And if you knew what this means, 'IT IS MERCY I DESIRE, NOT SACRIFICE', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt.

³⁷ "'THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD,'" He answered, "'WITH THY WHOLE HEART, THY WHOLE SOUL, THY WHOLE MIND.' ³⁸ This is the greatest and foremost Commandment. ³⁹ And the second is similar to it: 'THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THYSELF.' ⁴⁰ The whole of the Law and the Prophets is summed up in these two Commandments."

⁴² "But alas for you Pharisees! for you pay tithes on your mint and rue and every kind of garden vegetable, and are indifferent to justice and the love of God. These are the things you ought to have attended to, while not neglecting the others.

¹² I fast twice a week. I pay the tithe on all my gains.'

²² The Spirit, on the other hand, brings a harvest of love, joy, peace; patience towards others, kindness, benevolence; ²³ good faith, meekness, self-restraint.

⁴ Or how say to your brother, 'Allow me to take the splinter out of your eye,' while the beam is in your own eye?

² "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the Elders by not washing their hands before meals?" ³ "Why do you, too," He retorted, "transgress God's commands for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER'; and 'LET HIM WHO REVILES FATHER OR MOTHER BE CERTAINLY PUT TO DEATH';

²⁴ Yes, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."

¹⁶ "Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, "'Whoever swears by the Sanctuary it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, is bound by the oath.'

⁶ When the High Priests had gathered up the money they said, "It is illegal to put it into the Treasury, because it is the price of blood." ⁷ So after consulting together they spent the money in the purchase of the Potter's Field as a burial place for people not belonging to the city; ⁸ for which reason that piece of ground received the name, which it still bears, of 'the Field of Blood.'

⁷ The Scribes and the Pharisees were on the watch to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath that they might be able to bring an accusation against Him. ⁸ He knew their thoughts, and said to the man with the withered arm, "Rise, and stand there in the middle." And he rose and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, "I put it to you all whether we are allowed to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil; to save a life, or to destroy it." ¹⁰ And looking round upon them all He said to the man, "Stretch out your arm." He did so, and the arm was restored.

²⁸ So they brought Jesus from Caiaphas's house to the Praetorium. It was the early morning, and they would not enter the Praetorium themselves for fear of defilement, and in order that they might be able to eat the Passover.

⁴⁰ With a roar of voices they again cried out, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.

⁴ and when they come from market they will not eat without bathing first; and they have a good many other customs which they have received traditionally and cling to, such as the rinsing of cups and pots and of bronze utensils, and the washing of beds.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and Scribes put the question to Him: "Why do your disciples transgress the traditions of the Elders, and eat their food with unclean hands?" ⁶ "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites," He replied; "as it is written, "'THIS PEOPLE HONOUR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, WHILE THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR AWAY FROM ME: ⁷ BUT IDLE IS THEIR DEVOTION WHILE THEY LAY DOWN PRECEPTS WHICH ARE MERE HUMAN RULES.' ⁸ "You neglect God's Commandment: you hold fast to men's traditions." ⁹ "Praiseworthy indeed!" He added, "to set at nought God's Commandment in order to observe your own traditions!

³⁹ The Master however said to him, "Here we see how you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup or plate, while your secret hearts are full of greed and selfishness. ⁴⁰ Foolish men! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

³³ "Either grant the tree to be wholesome and its fruit wholesome, or the tree poisonous and its fruit poisonous; for the tree is known by its fruit.

⁴⁵ A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good; and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil; for from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

¹ Having therefore these promises, beloved friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and of spirit, and secure perfect holiness through the fear of God.

²² let us draw near with sincerity and unfaltering faith, having had our hearts sprinkled, once for all, from consciences oppressed with sin, and our bodies bathed in pure water.

⁸ Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you who are half-hearted towards God.

⁴⁴ Alas for you! for you are like the tombs which lie hidden, and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence."

³ "Before long," exclaimed Paul, "God will strike you, you white-washed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me in accordance with the Law, and do you yourself actually break the Law by ordering me to be struck?"

³⁴ O vipers' brood, how can you speak what is good when you are evil? For it is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man from his good store produces good things, and a bad man from his bad store produces bad things.

⁵ And everything they do they do with a view to being observed by men; for they widen their phylacteries and make the tassels large,

²¹ For from within, out of men's hearts, their evil purposes proceed--fornication, theft, murder, adultery, ²² covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, reviling, pride, reckless folly: ²³ all these wicked things come out from within and make a man unclean."

¹² For God's Message is full of life and power, and is keener than the sharpest two-edged sword. It pierces even to the severance of soul from spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart. ¹³ And no created thing is able to escape its scrutiny; but everything lies bare and completely exposed before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

⁴⁷ Alas for you! for you repair the tombs of the Prophets, whom your forefathers killed. ⁴⁸ It follows that you bear testimony to the actions of your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof. They slew, you build.

²⁹ "As to the patriarch David, I need hardly remind you, brethren, that he died and was buried, and that we still have his tomb among us.

³⁵ but the vine-dressers seized the servants, and one they cruelly beat, one they killed, one they pelted with stones. ³⁶ Again he sent another party of servants more numerous than the first; and these they treated in the same manner.

³⁴ "For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town; ³⁵ that all the innocent blood shed upon earth may come on you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar.

²² "'By your own words,' he replied, 'I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow:

⁵¹ "O stiff-necked men, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you also are continually at strife with the Holy Spirit--just as your forefathers were. ⁵² Which of the Prophets did not your forefathers persecute? Yes, they killed those who announced beforehand the advent of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become--

¹⁶ for they still try to prevent our preaching to the Gentiles so that they may find salvation. They thus continually fill up the measure of their own sins, and God's anger in its severest form has overtaken them.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he exclaimed, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

³⁴ O vipers' brood, how can you speak what is good when you are evil? For it is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks.

³⁴ When vintage-time approached, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his share of the grapes; ³⁵ but the vine-dressers seized the servants, and one they cruelly beat, one they killed, one they pelted with stones.

⁷ Accordingly John used to say to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

³ But I am afraid that, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may be led astray from their single-heartedness and their fidelity to Christ.

³ how shall *we* escape if we are indifferent to a salvation as great as that now offered to us? This, after having first of all been announced by the Lord Himself, had its truth made sure to us by those who heard Him,

²⁹ How much severer punishment, think you, will he be held to deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, has not regarded as holy that Covenant-blood with which he was set free from sin, and has insulted the Spirit from whom comes grace?

²⁵ Be careful not to refuse to listen to Him who is speaking to you. For if they of old did not escape unpunished when they refused to listen to him who spoke on earth, much less shall we escape who turn a deaf ear to Him who now speaks from Heaven.

⁹ The great Dragon, the ancient serpent, he who is called 'the Devil' and 'the Adversary' and leads the whole earth astray, was hurled down: he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

¹⁶ "Remember it is I who am sending you out, as sheep into the midst of wolves; prove yourselves as sagacious as serpents, and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to appear before Sanhedrins, and will flog you in their synagogues;

²³ Whenever they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for I solemnly tell you that you will not have gone the round of all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

⁵² "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations; baptize them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; ²⁰ and teach them to obey every command which I have given you. And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the Close of the Age."

⁴⁹ "For this reason also the Wisdom of God has said, 'I will send Prophets and Apostles to them, of whom they will kill some and persecute others,' ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the Prophets, that is being shed from the creation of the world onwards, may be required from the present generation. ⁵¹ Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House, it shall all be required from the present generation.

⁴⁷ and that proclamation would be made, in His name, of repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

² You will be excluded from the synagogues; nay more, the time is coming when any one who has murdered one of you will suppose he is offering service to God.

²¹ A second time, therefore, He said to them, "Peace be to you! As the Father sent me, I also now send you."

⁸ and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth."

⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city, and stoned him, the witnesses throwing off their outer garments and giving them into the care of a young man called Saul. ⁵⁹ So they stoned Stephen, while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

¹ Now Saul, whose every breath was a threat of destruction for the disciples of the Lord, ² went to the High Priest and begged from him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, in order that if he found any believers there, either men or women, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

²⁷ At that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

² and James, John's brother, he beheaded.

¹ Now there were in Antioch, in the Church there--as Prophets and teachers--barnabas, Symeon surnamed 'the black,' Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen (who was Herod the Tetrarch's foster-brother), and Saul.

³² And Judas and Silas, being themselves also Prophets, gave them a long and encouraging talk, and strengthened them in the faith.

¹⁹ "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; ²⁰ and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.'

⁶ Yet when we are among mature believers we do speak words of wisdom; a wisdom not belonging, however, to the present age nor to the leaders of the present age who are soon to pass away.

¹⁰ In discharge of the task which God graciously entrusted to me, I--like a competent master-builder--have laid a foundation, and others are building upon it. But let every one be careful how and what he builds.

³ For this reason I would have you understand that no one speaking under the influence of The Spirit of God ever says, "Jesus is accursed," and that no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except under the influence of the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are various kinds of gifts, but there is one and the same Spirit; ⁵ various forms of official service, and yet one and the same Lord; ⁶ diversities in work, and yet one and the same God--He who in each person brings about the whole result. ⁷ But to each of us a manifestation of the Spirit has been granted for the common good. ⁸ To one the utterance of wisdom has been granted through the Spirit; to another the utterance of knowledge in accordance with the will of the same Spirit; ⁹ to a third man, by means of the same Spirit, special faith; to another various gifts of healing, by means of the one Spirit; ¹⁰ to another the exercise of miraculous powers; to another the gift of prophecy; to another the power of discriminating between prophetic utterances; to another varieties of the gift of 'tongues;' to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But these results are all brought about by one and the same Spirit, who bestows His gifts upon each of us in accordance with His own will.

²⁴ From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one. ²⁵ Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea.

⁸ For this reason Scripture says: "HE RE-ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." ⁹ (Now this "re-ascended" --what does it mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the same as He who ascended again far above all the Heavens in order to fill the universe.) ¹¹ And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body--

²⁸ Him we preach, admonishing every one and instructing every one, with all possible wisdom, so that we may bring every one into God's presence, made perfect through Christ.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tried by temptation, they were killed with the sword. They went from place to place in sheepskins or goatskins, enduring want, oppression and cruelty.

¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth rejoice over them and are glad and will send gifts to one another; for these two Prophets had greatly troubled the inhabitants of the earth."

⁵¹ Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House, it shall all be required from the present generation.

⁴ Through faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain did, and through this faith he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God giving the testimony by accepting his gifts; and through it, though he is dead, he still speaks.

²⁴ and to Jesus the negotiator of a new Covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks in more gracious tones than that of Abel.

¹¹ For this is the Message you have heard from the beginning--that we are to love one another. ¹² We are not to resemble Cain, who was a child of the Evil one and killed his own brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's actions righteous.

²⁴ And in her was found the blood of Prophets and of God's people and of all who had been put to death on the earth."

³⁴ I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place.

³⁰ I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place. ³¹ Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

³² I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place. ³³ Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

¹² Be joyful and triumphant, because your reward is great in the Heavens; for so were the Prophets before you persecuted.

³ and sent his servants to call the invited guests to the wedding, but they were unwilling to come.

⁶ and the rest seized the king's servants, maltreated them, and murdered them.

³⁰ and your boast is, "'If we had lived in the time of our forefathers, we should not have been implicated with them in the murder of the Prophets.'

³ But they seized him, beat him cruelly and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent to them another servant: and as for him, they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ Yet a third he sent, and him they killed. And he sent many besides, and them also they ill-treated, beating some and killing others. ⁶ He had still one left whom he could send, a dearly-loved son: him last of all he sent, saying, "'They will treat my son with respect.'

³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee, how often have I desired to gather thy children just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not come! ³⁵ See, your house is left to you. But I tell you that you will never see me again until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"

¹⁷ At dinner-time he sent his servant to announce to those who had been invited, "'Come, for things are now ready.' ¹⁸ "But they all without exception began to excuse themselves. The first told him, "'I have purchased a piece of land, and must of necessity go and look at it. Pray hold me excused.' ¹⁹ "A second pleaded, "'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am on my way to try them. Pray hold me excused.' ²⁰ "Another said, "'I am just married. It is impossible for me to come.'

²⁸ "Then he was angry and would not go in. But his father came out and entreated him.

¹⁴ "Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, 'We are not willing that he should become our king.' ¹⁵ And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading. ¹⁶ "So the first came and said, "'Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.' ¹⁷ "'Well done, good servant,' he replied; 'because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.' ¹⁸ "The second came, and said, "'Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.' ¹⁹ "So he said to this one also, "'And you, be the governor of five towns.' ²⁰ "The next came. "'Sir,' he said, 'here is your pound, which I have kept wrapt up in a cloth. ²¹ For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.' ²² "'By your own words,' he replied, 'I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow: ²³ why then did you not put my money into a bank, that when I came I might have received it back with interest? ²⁴ "And he said to those who stood by, "'Take the pound from him and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' ²⁵ ("They said to him, "'Sir, he already has ten pounds.') ²⁶ "'I tell you that to every one who has anything, more shall be given; and from him who has not anything, even what he has shall be taken away. ²⁷ But as for those enemies of mine who were unwilling that I should become their king, bring them here, and cut them to pieces in my presence.'" ²⁸ After thus speaking, He journeyed onward, proceeding up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ And when he was come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount called the Oliveyard, He sent two of the disciples on in front, ³⁰ saying to them, "Go into the village facing you. On entering it you will find an ass's foal tied up which no one has ever yet ridden: untie it, and bring it here. ³¹ And if any one asks you, 'Why are you untying the colt?' simply say, 'The Master needs it.'" ³² So those who were sent went and found things as He had told them. ³³ And while they were untying the colt the owners called out, "Why are you untying the colt?" ³⁴ and they replied, "The Master needs it." ³⁵ Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their outer garments on the colt they placed Jesus on it. ³⁶ So He rode on, while they carpeted the road with their garments. ³⁷ And when He was now getting near Jerusalem, and descending the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began in their joy to praise God in loud voices for all the mighty deeds they had witnessed. ³⁸ "BLESSED IS the King," they cried, "WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD: in Heaven peace, and glory in the highest realms." ³⁹ Thereupon some of the Pharisees in the crowd appealed to Him, saying, "Rabbi, reprove your disciples." ⁴⁰ "I tell you," He replied, "that if *they* became silent, the very stones would cry out." ⁴¹ When He came into full view of the city, He wept aloud over it, and exclaimed, ⁴² "O that at this time thou hadst known--yes even thou--what makes peace possible! But now it is hid from thine eyes. ⁴³ For the time is coming upon thee when thy foes will throw up around thee earthworks and a wall, investing thee and hemming thee in on every side. ⁴⁴ And they will dash thee to the ground and thy children within thee, and will not leave one stone upon another within thee; because thou hast not recognized the time of thy visitation."

¹¹ Then he sent a second servant; and him too they beat and ill treated and sent away empty-handed. ¹² Then again he sent a third; and this one also they wounded and drove away. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, "'What am I to do? I will send my son--my dearly-loved son: they will probably respect him.' ¹⁴ "But when the vine-dressers saw him, they discussed the matter with one another, and said, "'This is the heir: let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'

¹⁵ Those Jewish persecutors killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets, and drove us out of their midst. They are displeasing to God, and are the enemies of all mankind;

⁷ "And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified.

⁶ And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment.

² "You see all these?" He replied; "in solemn truth I tell you that there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be pulled down."

¹⁴ "As soon, however, as you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where he ought not" --let the reader observe these words-- "then let those in Judaea escape to the hills;

³⁵ See, your house is left to you. But I tell you that you will never see me again until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"

⁶ "As to these things which you now admire, the time is coming when there will not be one stone left here upon another which will not be pulled down."

²⁰ "But when you see Jerusalem with armies encamping round her on every side, then be certain that her overthrow is close at hand.

²⁴ They will fall by the sword, or be carried off into slavery among all the Gentiles. And Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles, till the appointed times of the Gentiles have expired.

¹³ Here they brought forward false witnesses who declared, "This fellow is incessantly speaking against the Holy Place and the Law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that Jesus, the Nazarene, will pull this place down to the ground and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us."

⁹ and the multitudes--some of the people preceding Him and some following--sang aloud, "GOD SAVE THE SON OF DAVID! BLESSINGS ON HIM WHO COMES IN THE LORD'S NAME! GOD IN THE HIGHEST HEAVENS SAVE HIM!"

²⁶ To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Anointed One. ²⁷ Led by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do with regard to Him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹ "Now, O Sovereign Lord, Thou dost send Thy servant away in peace, in fulfilment of Thy word, ³⁰ Because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,

²² All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, nor who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son may choose to reveal Him." ²³ And He turned towards His disciples and said to them apart, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!

²² Then, turning to His disciples, He said, "There will come a time when you will wish you could see a single one of the days of the Son of Man, but will not see one.

²¹ Again He said to them, "I am going away. Then you will try to find me, but you will die in your sins. Where I am going, it is impossible for you to come."

²⁴ That is why I told you that you will die in your sins; for, unless you believe that I am He, that is what will happen."

⁵⁶ Abraham your forefather exulted in the hope of seeing my day: and he saw it, and was glad."

⁹ "Have I been so long among you," Jesus answered, "and yet you, Philip, do not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can *you* ask me, 'Cause us to see the Father'?

¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me: because I live, you also shall live.

²⁵ For there is a truth, brethren, not revealed hitherto, of which I do not wish to leave you in ignorance, for fear you should attribute superior wisdom to yourselves--the truth, I mean, that partial blindness has fallen upon Israel until the great mass of the Gentiles have come in;

¹⁴ Nay, their minds were made dull; for to this very day during the reading of the book of the ancient Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is only in Christ that it is to be abolished. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever the heart of the nation shall have returned to the Lord, the veil will be withdrawn. ¹⁷ Now by "the Lord" is meant the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, freedom is enjoyed. ¹⁸ And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.