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MAT

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Aram, 4 Aram the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jessai, 6 and Jessai the father of king David.

David was the father of Solomon by Uriah's wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the period of the Babylonian captivity.

12 After the Babylonian captivity, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 Jacob the father of Joseph, and Joseph (to whom the virgin Mary was betrothed) the father of Jesus, who is called "Christ." 17 Thus all the generations from Abraham to David number fourteen, from David to the Babylonian captivity fourteen, and from the Babylonian captivity to Christ fourteen.

18 The birth of [Jesus] Christ came about thus. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was discovered to be pregnant by the holy Spirit. 19 As Joseph her husband was a just man but unwilling to disgrace her, he resolved to divorce her secretly; 20 but after he had planned this, there appeared an angel of the Lord to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her comes from the holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you will call him 'Jesus,' for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this happened for the fulfilment of what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

The maiden will conceive and bear a son,"

and his name will be called Immanuel" (which may be translated, God is with us"). 24 So on waking from sleep Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him; he took his wife home, 25 but he did not live with her as a husband till she bore a son, whom he called Jesus.

2 Now when Jesus was born at Bethlehem, belonging to Judaea, in the days of king Herod, magicians from the East arrived at Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him." 3 The news of this troubled king Herod and all Jerusalem as well; 4 so he gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people and made inquiries of them about where the messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem belonging to Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet:

And you Bethlehem, in Judah's land,

You are not least among the rulers of Judah:

For a ruler will come from you,"

Who will shepherd Israel my people.

7 Then Herod summoned the magicians in secret and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. 8 He also sent them to Bethlehem, telling them, "Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you have found him report to me, so that I may go and worship him too." 9 The magicians listened to the king and then went their way. And the star they had seen rise went in front of them till it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they caught sight of the star, they were intensely glad; 11 on reaching the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down to worship him, and opening their caskets they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 Then, as they had been divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by a different road.

13 After they had gone, there appeared an angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt; stay there till I tell you. For Herod is going to search for the child and destroy him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went off to Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had said by the prophet: I called my Son from Egypt.

16 Then Herod saw the magicians had trifled with him, and he was furiously angry; he sent and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the neighbourhood who were two years old or under, calculating by the time he had ascertained from the magicians. 17 Then the saying was fulfilled which had been uttered by the prophet Jeremiah:

A cry was heard in Rama,

weeping and sore lamentation--

Rachel weeping for her children,

and inconsolable because they are no more.

19 But when Herod died, there appeared an angel of the Lord in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." 21 So he rose, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel; 22 but on hearing that Archelaus reigned over Judaea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and, by a divine injunction in a dream, withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 He went and settled in a town called Nazaret, so that what had been said by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

3 In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea, 2 "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near." 3 (This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah:

The voice of one who cries in the desert,

"Make the way ready for the Lord,

level the paths for him.") 4 This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him 6 and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? 8 Now, produce fruit that answers to your repentance, 9 instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I baptize you with water for repentance,

but he who is coming after me is mightier,

and I am not fit even to carry his sandals;

he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing-fan is in his hand,

he will clean out his threshing-floor,

his wheat he will gather into the granary,

but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable."

13 Then Jesus came on the scene from Galilee, to get baptized by John at the Jordan. 14 John tried to prevent him; "I need to get baptized by you," he said, "and you come to me!" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him. 16 Now when Jesus had been baptized, the moment he rose out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove upon him. 17 And a voice from heaven said,

"This is my Son, the Beloved,

in him is my delight."

4 Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights and afterwards felt hungry. 3 So the tempter came up and said to him, "If you are God's son, tell these stones to become loaves." 4 He answered, "It is written,

Man is not to live on bread alone,

but on every word that issues from the mouth of God." 5 Then the devil conveyed him to the holy city and, placing him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down; for it is written,

He will give his angels charge of you;

they will bear you on their hands,

lest you strike your foot against a stone." 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God." 8 Once more the devil conveyed him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the realms of the world and their grandeur; 9 he said, "I will give you all that if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus told him, "Begone, Satan! it is written, You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone." 11 At this the devil left him, and angels came up and ministered to him.

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee; 13 he left Nazaret and settled at Capharnahum beside the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali-- 14 for the fulfilment of what had been said by the prophet Isaiah:

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali

lying to the sea, across the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles!

The people who sat in darkness saw a great light,

yea light dawned on those who sat in the land and the shadow of death. 17 From that day Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near."

18 As he was walking along the sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew, casting a net in the sea--for they were fishermen; 19 so he said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for men." 20 And they dropped their nets at once and followed him. 21 Then going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedaeus and his brother John, mending their nets in the boat beside their father Zebedaeus. He called them, 22 and they left the boat and their father at once, and went after him.

23 Then he made a tour through the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Reign, and healing all the sickness and disease of the people. 24 The fame of him spread all through the surrounding country, and people brought him all their sick, those who suffered from all manner of disease and pain, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics; he healed them all.

25 And he was followed by great crowds from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from across the Jordan.

5 So when he saw the crowds, he went up the hill and sat down; his disciples came up to him 2 and he opened his lips and began to teach them. He said:

"Blessed are those who feel poor in spirit!

the Realm of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are the mourners!

they will be consoled.

Blessed are the humble!

they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for goodness!

they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful!

they will find mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart!

they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers!

they will be ranked sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of goodness!

the Realm of heaven is theirs.

11 Blessed are you when men denounce you and persecute you and utter all manner of evil against you for my sake; 12 rejoice and exult in it, for your reward is rich in heaven; that is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

13 You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes insipid, what can make it salt again? After that it is fit for nothing, fit only to be thrown outside and trodden by the feet of men.

14 You are the light of the world. A town on the top of a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do men light a lamp to put it under a bowl; they put it on a stand and it shines for all in the house. 16 So your light is to shine before men, that they may see the good you do and glorify your Father in heaven.

17 Never imagine I have come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy but to fulfil. 18 (I tell you truly, till heaven and earth pass away not an iota, not a comma, will pass from the Law until it is all in force. 19 Therefore

whoever relaxes a single one of these commands, were it even one of the least, and teaches men so,

he will be ranked least in the Realm of heaven;

but whoever obeys them and teaches them,

he will be ranked great in the Realm of heaven.) 20 For I tell you, unless your goodness excels that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the Realm of heaven.

21 You have heard how the men of old were told, ''Murder not:

whoever murders must come up for sentence,

whoever maligns his brother must come before the Sanhedrin,

whoever curses his brother must go to the fire of Gehenna.' But I tell you, whoever is angry with his brother [without cause] will be sentenced by God. 23 So if you remember, even when offering your gift at the altar, that your brother has any grievance against you, 24 leave your gift at the very altar and go away; first be reconciled to your brother, then come back and offer your gift.

25 Be quick and make terms with your opponent, so long as you and he are on the way to court, in case he hands you over to the judge, and the judge to the jailer, and you are thrown into prison; 26 truly I tell you, you will never get out till you pay the last halfpenny of your debt.

27 You have heard how it used to be said, Do not commit adultery. 28 But I tell you, any one who even looks with lust at a woman has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

If your right eye is a hindrance to you,

pluck it out and throw it away:

better for you to lose one of your members

than to have all your body thrown into Gehenna.

And if your right hand is a hindrance to you,

cut it off and throw it away:

better for you to lose one of your members

than to have all your body thrown into Gehenna.

31 It used to be said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a divorce-certificate. 32 But I tell you, anyone who divorces his wife for any reason except unchastity makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 Once again, you have heard how the men of old were told, 'You must not forswear yourself but discharge your vows to the Lord.' 34 But I tell you, you must not swear any oath,

neither by heaven,

for it is the throne of God,

nor by earth,

for it is the footstool of his feet,

nor by Jerusalem,

for it is the city of the great King;

nor shall you swear by your head,

for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

Let what you say be simply 'yes' or 'no';

whatever exceeds that springs from evil.

38 You have heard the saying, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, you are not to resist an injury:

whoever strikes you on the right cheek,

turn the other to him as well;

whoever wants to sue you for your shirt,

let him have your coat as well;

whoever forces you to go one mile,

go two miles with him;

give to the man who begs from you,

and turn not away from him who wants to borrow. 43 You have heard the saying, 'You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven:

he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good,

and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you get for that?

do not the very taxgatherers do as much?

and if you only salute your friends, what is special about that?

do not the very pagans do as much?

You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

6 Take care not to practise your charity before men in order to be noticed; otherwise you get no reward from your Father in heaven. No, 2 When you give alms,

make no flourish of trumpets like the hypocrites in the synagogues and the streets,

so as to win applause from men;

I tell you truly, they do get their reward. 3 When you give alms,

do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so as to keep your alms secret; then your Father who sees what is secret will reward you openly. 5 Also, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites,

for they like to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street-corners,

so as to be seen by men; I tell you truly, they do get their reward. 6 When you pray,

go into your room and shut the door,

pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

Do not pray by idle rote like pagans,

for they suppose they will be heard the more they say;

you must not copy them;

your Father knows your needs before you ask him.

Let this be how you pray:

'our Father in heaven,

thy name be revered,

thy Reign begin,

thy will be done

on earth as in heaven!

give us to-day our bread for the morrow,

and forgive us our debts

as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors,

and lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.'

For if you forgive men their trespasses,

then your heavenly Father will forgive you;

but if you do not forgive men,

your Father will not forgive your trespasses either.

When you fast,

do not look gloomy like the hypocrites,

for they look woebegone to let men see they are fasting;

I tell you truly, they do get their reward.

No, when you are fasting,

anoint your head and wash your face,

so that your fast may be seen not by men but by your Father who is in secret,

and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

Store up no treasures for yourselves on earth,

where moth and rust corrode,

where thieves break in and steal:

store up treasures for yourselves in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust corrode,

where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure lies,

your heart will lie there too.

The eye is the lamp of the body:

so, if your Eye is generous,

the whole of your body will be illumined,

but if your Eye is selfish,

the whole of your body will be darkened.

And if your very light turns dark,

then--what a darkness it is!

No one can serve two masters:

either he will hate one and love the other,

or else he will stand by the one and despise the other--

you cannot serve both God and Mammon.

Therefore I tell you,

never trouble about what you are to eat or drink in life,

nor about what you are to put on your body;

surely life means more than food,

surely the body means more than clothes!

Look at the wild birds;

they sow not, they reap not, they gather nothing in granaries,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth more than birds?

Which of you can add an ell to his height by troubling about it?

And why should you trouble over clothing?

Look how the lilies of the field grow;

they neither toil nor spin,

and yet, I tell you, even Solomon in all his grandeur was never robed like one of them. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field which blooms to-day and is thrown to-morrow into the furnace, will not he much more clothe you? O men, how little you trust him! 31 Do not be troubled, then, and cry, 'What are we to eat?' or 'what are we to drink?' or 'how are we to be clothed?' 32 (pagans make all that their aim in life) for your heavenly Father knows quite well you need all that. 33 Seek God's Realm and his goodness, and all that will be yours over and above.

So never be troubled about to-morrow;

to-morrow will take care of itself.

The day's own trouble is quite enough for the day.

Judge not, that you may not be judged yourselves;

for as you judge so you will be judged,

and the measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to yourselves.

3 Why do you note the splinter in your brother's eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take out the splinter from your eye,' when there lies the plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see properly how to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

6 Never give dogs what is sacred and do not throw pearls before swine, in case they trample them under foot and turn to gore you.

Ask and the gift will be yours,

seek and you will find,

knock and the door will open to you;

for every one who asks receives,

the seeker finds,

the door is opened to anyone who knocks.

Why, which of you, when asked by his son for a loaf, will hand him a stone?

Or, if he asks a fish, will you hand him a serpent?

Well, if for all your evil you know to give your children what is good,

how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?

12 Well then, whatever you would like men to do to you, do just the same to them; that is the meaning of the Law and the prophets.

Enter by the narrow gate:

for [the gate] is broad and the road is wide that leads to destruction,

and many enter that way.

But the road that leads to life is both narrow and close,

and there are few who find it.

15 Beware of false prophets; they come to you with the garb of sheep but at heart they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruit; do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? No,

every good tree bears sound fruit,

but a rotten tree bears bad fruit;

a good tree cannot bear bad fruit,

and a rotten tree cannot bear sound fruit. 20 So you will know them by their fruit. 19 Any tree that does not produce sound fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

21 It is not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord!', who will get into the Realm of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me at that Day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? did we not cast out daemons in your name? did we not perform many miracles in your name?' 23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from my presence, you workers of iniquity.'

24 Now, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts upon them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. 25 Down came the rain, floods rose, winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on rock. 26 And everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act upon them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, and down it fell--with a mighty crash."

28 When Jesus finished his speech, the crowds were astounded at his teaching; 29 for he taught them like an authority, not like their own scribes.

8 When he came down from the hill, he was followed by large crowds. 2 A leper came up and knelt before him, saying, "If you only choose, sir, you can cleanse me"; 3 so he stretched his hand out and touched him, with the words, "I do choose, be cleansed." And his leprosy was cleansed at once. 4 Then Jesus told him, "See, you are not to say a word to anybody; away and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, to notify men."

5 When he entered Capharnahum an army-captain came up to him and appealed to him, 6 saying, "Sir, my servant is lying ill at home with paralysis, in terrible agony." 7 He replied, "I will come and heal him." 8 The captain answered, "Sir, I am not fit to have you under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be cured. 9 For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard that, he marvelled; "I tell you truly," he said to his followers, "I have never met faith like this anywhere in Israel. 11 Many, I tell you, will come from east and west and take their places beside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Realm of heaven, 12 while the sons of the Realm will pass outside, into the darkness; there men will wail and gnash their teeth." 13 Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go; as you have had faith, your prayer is granted." And the servant was cured at that very hour.

14 On entering the house of Peter, Jesus noticed his mother-in-law was down with fever, 15 so he touched her hand; the fever left her and she rose and ministered to him. 16 Now when evening came they brought him many demoniacs, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all the invalids — 17 that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, He took away our sicknesses and he removed our diseases.

18 When Jesus saw crowds round him he gave orders for crossing to the other side. 19 A scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you anywhere"; 20 Jesus said to him,

"Foxes have their holes,

wild birds have their nests,

but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first of all"; 22 Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." 23 Then he embarked in the boat, followed by his disciples. 24 Now a heavy storm came on at sea, so that the boat was buried under the waves. He was sleeping. 25 So the disciples went and woke him up, saying, "Help, Lord, we are drowning!" 26 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? How little you trust God!" Then he got up and checked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 Men marvelled at this; they said, "What sort of man is this? the very winds and sea obey him!"

28 When he reached the opposite side, the country of the Gadarenes, he was met by two demoniacs who ran out of the tombs; they were so violent that nobody could pass along the road there. 29 They shrieked, "Son of God, what business have you with us? Have you come here to torture us before it is time?" 30 Now, some distance away, there was a large drove of swine grazing; 31 so the daemons begged him saying, "If you are going to cast us out, send us into that drove of swine." 32 He said to them, "Begone!" So out they came and went to the swine, and the entire drove rushed down the steep slope into the sea and perished in the water. 33 The herdsmen fled; they went off to the town and reported the whole affair of the demoniacs. 34 Then all the town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to move out of their district.

9 So he embarked in the boat and crossed over to his own town. 2 There a paralytic was brought to him, lying on a pallet; and when Jesus saw the faith of the bearers he said to the paralytic, "Courage, my son! your sins are forgiven." 3 Some scribes said to themselves, "The man is talking blasphemy!" 4 Jesus saw what they were thinking and said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 Which is the easier thing, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? 6 But to let you see the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins" — he then said to the paralytic, "Get up, lift your pallet, and go home." 7 And he got up and went home. 8 The crowds who saw it were awed and glorified God for giving such power to men.

9 As Jesus passed along from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me"; and he rose and followed him.

10 Jesus was at table indoors, and many taxgatherers and sinners had come to be guests with him and his disciples. 11 So when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with taxgatherers and sinners?" 12 When Jesus heard it he said, "Those who are strong have no need of a doctor, but those who are ill. 13 Go and learn the meaning of this word, I care for mercy not for sacrifice. For I have not come to call just men but sinners."

14 Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast a great deal, and your disciples do not fast?" 15 Jesus said to them,

"Can friends at a wedding mourn so long as the bride groom is beside them?

A time will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will fast.

No one sews a piece of undressed cloth on an old coat,

for the patch breaks away from it,

and the tear is made worse:

nor do men pour fresh wine into old wineskins,

otherwise the wineskins burst,

and the wine is spilt, the wineskins are ruined.

Fresh wine they pour into fresh wineskins,

and so both are preserved."

18 As he said this, an official came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter is just dead; do come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 19 So Jesus rose and went after him, accompanied by his disciples. 20 Now a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his robe; 21 what she said to herself was this, "If I can only touch his robe, I will recover." 22 Then Jesus turned round, and when he saw her he said, "Courage, my daughter, your faith has made you well." And the woman was well from that hour. 23 Now when Jesus reached the official's house and saw the flute-players and the din the crowd were making, 24 he said, "Be off with you; the girl is not dead but asleep." They laughed at him. 25 But after the crowd had been put out, he went in and took her hand, and the girl rose up. 26 The report of this went all over that country.

27 As Jesus passed along from there, he was followed by two blind men who shrieked, "Son of David, have pity on us!" 28 When he went indoors the blind men came up to him, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can do this?" They said, "Yes, sir." 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "As you believe, so your prayer is granted," 30 and their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly charged them, "See, nobody is to know of this." 31 But they went out and spread the news of him all over that country. 32 As they went out, a dumb man was brought to him, who was possessed by a daemon, 33 and when the daemon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke. Then the crowd marvelled; they said, "Such a thing has never been seen in Israel!"

35 Then Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Reign, and healing every disease and complaint. 36 As he saw the crowds he was moved with pity for them; they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few; 38 so pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to gather his harvest."

10 And summoning his twelve disciples he gave them power over unclean spirits, power to cast them out and also to heal every disease and every ailment. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedaeus and John his brother, 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the taxgatherer, James the son of Alphaeus and Lebbaeus whose surname is Thaddaeus, 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. 5 These twelve men Jesus despatched with the following instructions, "Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, 6 rather make your way to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, tell men, 'The Reign of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out daemons; give without paying, as you have got without paying; 9 you are not to take gold or silver or coppers in your girdle, 10 nor a wallet for the road, nor two shirts, nor sandals, nor stick — the workman deserves his rations. 11 Whatever town or village you go into, find out a deserving inhabitant and stay with him till you leave.

When you enter the house, salute it;

if the household is deserving,

let your peace rest on it;

but if the household is undeserving,

let your peace return to you. 14 Whoever will not receive you or listen to your message, leave that house or town and shake off the very dust from your feet. 15 I tell you truly, on the day of judgment it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorra than for that town.

16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents and guileless like doves. 17 Beware of men, they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be haled before governors and kings for my sake--it will be a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 Now, when they bring you up for trial, do not trouble yourselves about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will come to you at the moment, 20 for you are not the speakers, it is the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, the father will betray his child, children will rise against their parents and put them to death, 22 and you will be hated by all men on account of my name; but he will be saved who holds out to the very end.

23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; truly I tell you, you will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of man arrives.

A scholar is not above his teacher,

nor a servant above his lord;

enough for the scholar to fare like his teacher,

and the servant like his lord.

If men have called the master of the house Beelzebul,

how much more will they miscall his servants!

Fear them not:--

nothing is veiled that shall not be revealed,

or hidden that shall not be known;

what I tell you in the dark, you must utter in the open,

what you hear in a whisper you must proclaim on the housetop.

Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul:

rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unless your Father wills it.

The very hairs on your head are all numbered;

fear not, then, you are worth far more than sparrows!

Everyone who will acknowledge me before men,

I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven;

and whoever will disown me before men,

I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Never imagine I have come to bring peace on earth;

I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

I have come to set a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

yes, a man's own household will be his enemies.

He who loves father or mother more than me

is not worthy of me; he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me:

he who will not take his cross and follow after me

is not worthy of me.

He who has found his life will lose it,

and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

He who receives you receives me,

and he who receives me receives Him who sent me.

He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet,

will receive a prophet's reward;

he who receives a good man because he is good,

will receive a good man's reward.

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple,

I tell you, he shall not lose his reward."

11 After finishing these instructions to his twelve disciples, Jesus removed from there to teach and preach among their towns.

2 Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the Coming One? Or are we to look out for someone else?" 4 Jesus answered them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. 6 And blessed is he who is repelled by nothing in me!"

7 As the disciples of John went away, Jesus proceeded to speak to the crowds about John:

"What did you go out to the desert to see?

A reed swayed by the wind?

Come, what did you go out to see?

A man arrayed in soft raiment?

The wearers of soft raiment are in royal palaces.

Come, why did you go out?

To see a prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.

This is he of whom it is written,

Here I send my messenger before your face

to prepare the way for you. 11 I tell you truly, no one has arisen among the sons of women who is greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the Realm of heaven is greater than he is. 12 From the days of John the Baptist till now the Realm of heaven suffers violence, and the violent press into it. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied of it until John: — 14 if you care to believe it, he is the Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace, who call to their playmates,

'We piped to you and you would not dance,

we lamented and you would not beat your breasts.'

For John has come neither eating nor drinking,

and men say, 'He has a devil';

the Son of man has come eating and drinking,

and men say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of taxgatherers and sinners!'

Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindicated by all that she does."

20 Then he proceeded to upbraid the towns where his many miracles had been performed, because they would not repent. 21 "Woe to you, Khorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! Had the miracles performed in you been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 I tell you this, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, O Capharnahum! Exalted to heaven? No, you will sink to Hades!-- for if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Sodom, Sodom would have lasted to this day. 24 I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

25 At that time Jesus spoke and said, "I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the wise and learned and revealing it to the simpleminded; 26 yes, Father, I praise thee that such was thy chosen purpose.

All has been handed over to me by my Father:

and no one knows the Son except the Father--

nor does anyone know the Father except the Son,

and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Come to me, all who are labouring and burdened,

and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find your souls refreshed;

my yoke is kindly and my burden light."

12 At that time Jesus walked one sabbath through the cornfields, and as his disciples were hungry they started to pull some ears of corn and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees noticed it, they said to him, "Look at your disciples, they are doing what is not allowed on the sabbath." 3 He replied, "Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry, 4 how he went into the house of God, and there they ate the loaves of the Presence which neither he nor his men were allowed to eat, but only the priests? 5 Have you not read in the Law that the priests in the temple are not guilty when they desecrate the sabbath? 6 I tell you, One is here who is greater than the temple. 7 Besides, if you had known what this meant, I care for mercy not for sacrifice, you would not have condemned men who are not guilty. 8 For the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath."

9 Then he moved on from there and went into their synagogue. 10 Now a man with a withered hand was there; so in order to get a charge against him they asked him, "Is it right to heal on the sabbath?" 11 He said to them, "Is there a man of you with one sheep, who will not catch hold of it and lift it out of a pit on the sabbath, if it falls in? 12 And how much more is a man worth than a sheep? Thus it is right to do a kindness on the sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was quite restored, as sound as the other. 14 So the Pharisees withdrew and plotted against him, to destroy him; 15 but as Jesus knew of it he retired from the spot. Many followed him, and he healed them all, 16 charging them strictly not to make him known — 17 it was for the fulfilment of what had been said by the prophet Isaiah,

Here is my servant whom I have selected,

my Beloved in whom my soul delights;

I will invest him with my Spirit,

and he will proclaim religion to the Gentiles.

He will not wrangle or shout,

no one will hear his voice in the streets.

He will not break the bruised reed,

he will not put out the smouldering flax,

till he carries religion to victory:

and the Gentiles will hope in his name.

22 Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. 23 And all the crowds were amazed; they said, "Can this be the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This fellow only casts out daemons by Beelzebul the prince of daemons." 25 As Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them,

"Any realm divided against itself comes to ruin,

any city or house divided against itself will never stand;

and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself;

how then can his realm stand?

Besides, if I cast out daemons by Beelzebul,

by whom do your sons cast them out?

Thus they will be your judges.

But if I cast out daemons by the Spirit of God,

then the Reign of God has reached you already.

29 Why, how can anyone enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first of all binds the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

He who is not with me is against me,

and he who does not gather with me scatters.

I tell you therefore, men will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy,

but they will not be forgiven for blaspheming the Spirit.

Whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven,

but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will never be forgiven,

neither in this world nor in the world to come.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good,

or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten;

for the tree is known by its fruit.

You brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil?

For the mouth utters what the heart is full of.

The good man brings good out of his good store,

and the evil man brings evil out of his store of evil.

36 I tell you, men will have to account on the day of judgment for every light word they utter;

for by your words you will be acquitted,

and by your words you will be condemned."

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we would like to have some Sign from you." 39 He replied to them,

"It is an evil and disloyal generation that craves a Sign,

but no Sign will be given to it except the Sign of the prophet Jonah;

for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale,

so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Ninive will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it;

for when Jonah preached they did repent, and here is One greater than Jonah.

The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it;

for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here is One greater than Solomon.

43 When an unclean spirit leaves a man, it roams through dry places in search of refreshment and finds none. 44 Then it says, 'I will go back to the house I left,' and when it comes it finds the house vacant, clean, and all in order. 45 Then it goes off to fetch seven other spirits worse than itself; they go in and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. This is how it will be with the present evil generation."

46 He was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and brothers came and stood outside; they wanted to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him this, "Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?" 49 Stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, that is my brother and sister and mother."

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and seated himself by the seaside; 2 but, as great crowds gathered to him, he entered a boat and sat down, while all the crowd stood on the beach. 3 He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow,

4 and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; 6 but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. 7 Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. 9 He who has an ear, let him listen to this."

10 Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" 11 He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people.

For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given,

but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has.

13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand. 14 In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will hear and hear but never understand,

you will see and see but never perceive.

For the heart of this people is obtuse,

their ears are heavy of hearing,

their eyes they have closed,

lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them.

But blessed are your eyes for they see,

and your ears, for they hear!

I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see,

but they have not seen it;

and to hear what you hear,

but they have not heard it.

18 Now, listen to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' 20 As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; 21 he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. 22 As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. 23 As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

24 He put another parable before them. "The Realm of heaven," he said, "is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while men slept his enemy came and resowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. 26 When the blade sprouted and formed the kernel, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 So the servants of the owner went to him and said, 'Did you not sow good seed in your field, sir? How then does it contain weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then would you like us to go and gather them?' 29 'No,' he said, 'for you might root up the wheat when you were gathering the weeds. 30 Let them both grow side by side till harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burnt, but to collect the wheat in my granary.'"

31 He put another parable before them. "The Realm of heaven," he said, "is like a grain of mustard-seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32 It is less than any seed on earth, but when it grows up it is larger than any plant, it becomes a tree, so large that the wild birds come and roost in its branches." 33 He told them another parable. "The Realm of heaven," he said, "is like dough which a woman took and buried in three pecks of flour, till all of it was leavened."

34 Jesus said all this to the crowds in parables; he never spoke to them except in a parable-- 35 to fulfil what had been said by the prophet,

I will open my mouth in parables,

I will speak out what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

36 Then he left the crowds and went indoors. And his disciples came up to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." 37 So he replied, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world; the good seed means the sons of the Realm; the weeds are the sons of the evil one; 39 the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels. 40 Well then, just as the weeds are gathered and burnt in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world; 41 the Son of man will despatch his angels, and they will gather out of his Realm all who are hindrances and who practise iniquity, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will wail and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the just will shine like the sun in the Realm of their Father. He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

44 The Realm of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; the man who finds it hides it and in his delight goes and sells all he possesses and buys that field.

45 Again, the Realm of heaven is like a trader in search of fine pearls; 46 when he finds a single pearl of high price, he is off to sell all he possesses and buy it. 47 Again, the Realm of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and collected fish of every sort. 48 When it was full, they dragged it to the beach and sitting down they gathered the good fish into vessels but flung away the bad. 49 So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the just 50 and fling them into the furnace of fire; there men will wail and gnash their teeth.

51 Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 So he said to them, "Well then, every scribe who has become a disciple of the Realm of heaven is like a householder who produces what is new and what is old from his stores."

53 Now when Jesus had finished these parables he set out from there, 54 and went to his native place, where he taught the people in the synagogue till they were astounded. They said, "Where did he get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is this not the son of the joiner? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 Are not his sisters settled here among us? Then where has he got all this?" 57 So they were repelled by him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet never goes without honour except in his native place and in his home." 58 There he could not do many miracles owing to their lack of faith.

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus. 2 And he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."

3 For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip, 4 since John had told him, "You have no right to her." 5 He was anxious to kill him but he was afraid of the people, for they held John to be a prophet. 6 However, on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced in public to the delight of Herod; 7 whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she wanted. 8 And she, at the instigation of her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head this moment on a dish." 9 The king was sorry, but for the sake of his oath and his guests he ordered it to be given her; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 his head was brought on a dish and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and removed the corpse and buried him; then they went and reported it to Jesus.

13 When Jesus heard it he withdrew by boat to a desert place in private; but the crowds heard of it and followed him on foot from the towns. 14 So when he disembarked he saw a large crowd, and out of pity for them he healed their sick folk. 15 When evening fell, the disciples came up to him and said, "It is a desert place and the day is now gone; send off the crowds to buy food for themselves in the villages." 16 Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; give them some food yourselves." 17 They said, "We have only five loaves with us and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he ordered the crowds to recline on the grass, and after taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, blessed them, and after breaking the loaves handed them to the disciples, and the disciples handed them to the crowds. 20 They all ate and had enough; besides, they picked up the fragments left over and filled twelve baskets with them. 21 The men who ate numbered about five thousand, apart from the women and children.

22 Then he made the disciples embark in the boat and cross before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds; 23 after he had dismissed the crowds he went up the hill by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone, 24 but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, buffeted by the waves (for the wind was against them). 25 In the fourth watch of the night he went to them, walking on the sea, 26 but when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified; "It is a ghost," they said and shrieked for fear. 27 Then Jesus spoke to them at once; "Courage," he said, "it is I, have no fear." 28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is really you, order me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." Then Peter got out of the boat and walked over the water on his way to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the strength of the wind he was afraid and began to sink. "Lord," he shouted, "save me." 31 Jesus at once stretched his hand out and caught him, saying, "How little you trust me! Why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat the wind dropped, 33 and the men in the boat worshipped him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son."

34 On crossing over they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 The men of that place recognized him and sent all over the surrounding country, bringing him all who were ill 36 and begging him to let them touch the mere tassel of his robe--and all who touched it got perfectly well.

15 Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they take their food." 3 He replied, "And why do you transgress the command of God with your traditions? 4 God enjoined, Honour your father and mother, and, He who curses his father or mother is to suffer death. 5 But you say, whoever tells his father or mother, 'This money might have been at your service but it is dedicated to God,' 6 need not honour his father or mother. So you have repealed the law of God to suit your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah made a grand prophecy about you when he said,

This people honours me with their lips,

but their heart is far away from me:

vain is their worship of me,

for the doctrines they teach are but human precepts." 10 Then he called the crowd and said to them, "Listen, understand this:

it is not what enters a man's mouth that defiles him,

what defiles a man is what comes out of his mouth."

12 Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees have taken offence at what they hear you say?" 13 He replied, "Any plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind, and if one blind man leads another, both of them will fall into a pit." 15 Peter answered, "Explain this parable to us at anyrate." 16 He said, "And are you totally ignorant? 17 Do you not see how all that enters the mouth passes into the belly and is then thrown out into the drain, 18 while what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart--and that is what defiles a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil designs, murder, adultery, sexual vice, stealing, false witness, and slander. 20 That is what defiles a man; a man is not defiled by eating with hands unwashed!"

21 Going away from there Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a woman of Canaan came out of these parts and wailed, "Have pity on me, Lord, O Son of David! My daughter is cruelly possessed by a daemon." 23 But he made no answer to her. Then his disciples came up and pressed him, saying, "Send her away, she is wailing behind us." 24 He replied, "It was only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel that I was sent." 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, do help me." 26 He replied, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27 "No, sir," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." 28 At that Jesus replied, "O woman, you have great faith; your prayer is granted as you wish." And from that hour her daughter was cured.

29 Then Jesus removed from that country and went along the sea of Galilee; he went up the hillside and sat there. 30 And large crowds came to him bringing the lame, and the blind, the dumb, the maimed, and many others; they laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 This made the crowd wonder, to see dumb people speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples and said, "I am sorry for the crowd; they have been three days with me now, and they have nothing to eat. I will not send them away starving, in case they faint on the road." 33 The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get loaves enough in a desert to satisfy such a crowd?" 34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you got?" They said, "Seven, and some little fish." 35 So he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. 37 So the people all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over and filled seven large baskets with them. 38 The men who ate numbered four thousand, apart from the children and the women. 39 Then he sent the crowd away, got into the boat and went to the territory of Magadan.

16 Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up and, in order to tempt him, asked him to show them a Sign from heaven. 2 He replied,

"It is an evil and disloyal generation that craves a Sign,

and no Sign shall be given to it except the Sign of Jonah."

Then he left them and went away.

5 When the disciples reached the opposite side, they found they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, "See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 They argued among themselves, "But we have not brought any bread!" 8 When Jesus noted this he said, "How little trust you have in me! Why all this talk, because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not understand even yet? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 And the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 Why do you not see that I was not speaking to you about bread? No, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they realized that what he told them to beware of was not leaven but the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 Now when Jesus came to the district of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of man is?" 14 They told him, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "And who do you say I am?" 16 So Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered him, "You are a blessed man, Simon Bar-jona, for it was my Father in heaven, not flesh and blood, that revealed this to you. 18 Now I tell you, Peter is your name and on this rock I will build my church; the powers of Hades shall not succeed against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the Realm of heaven;

whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven,

and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven." 20 He then forbade the disciples to tell anyone he was the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to leave for Jerusalem and endure great suffering at the hands of the elders and high priests and scribes, and be killed and raised on the third day. 22 Peter took him and began to reprove him for it; "God forbid, Lord," he said, "This must not be." 23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, you Satan! You are a hindrance to me! Your outlook is not God's but man's." 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me;

for whoever wants to save his life will lose it,

and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 What profit will it be if a man gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul? What will a man offer as an equivalent for his soul? 27 For the Son of man is coming in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward everyone for what he has done. 28 I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death till they see the Son of man coming himself to reign."

17 Six days afterwards Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high hill by themselves; 2 in their presence he was transfigured, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes turned white as light. 3 There appeared to them Moses and Elijah, who conversed with Jesus. 4 So Peter addressed Jesus and said, "Lord, it is a good thing we are here; pray let me put up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said,

"This is my Son, the Beloved,

in him is my delight:

listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard the voice they fell on their faces in terror; 7 but Jesus came forward and touched them, saying, "Rise, have no fear." 8 And on raising their eyes they saw no one except Jesus all alone. 9 As they went down the hill Jesus ordered them, "Tell this vision to nobody until the Son of man is raised from the dead." 10 The disciples inquired of him, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?" 11 He replied, "Elijah to come and restore all things? 12 Nay, I tell you Elijah has already come, but they have not recognized him — they have worked their will on him. And the Son of man will suffer at their hands in the same way." 13 Then the disciples realized he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

14 When they reached the crowd, a man came up and knelt to him. 15 "Ah, sir," he said, "have pity on my son; he is an epileptic and he suffers cruelly, he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." 17 Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long must I still be with you? How long have I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." 18 So Jesus checked the daemon and it came out of him, and from that hour the boy was healed. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 He said to them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you truly, if you had faith the size of a grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this hill, 'Move from here to there,' and remove it would; nothing would be impossible for you."

22 When his adherents mustered in Galilee Jesus told them, "The Son of man is to be betrayed into the hands of men; 23 they will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised." They were greatly distressed at this.

24 When they reached Capharnahum, the collectors of the temple-tax came and asked Peter, "Does your teacher not pay the temple-tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." But when he went indoors Jesus spoke first; "Tell me, Simon," he said, "from whom do earthly kings collect customs or taxes? Is it from their own people or from aliens?" 26 "From aliens," he said. Then Jesus said to him, "So their own people are exempt. 27 However, not to give any offence to them, go to the sea, throw a hook in, and take the first fish you bring up. Open its mouth and you will find a five-shilling piece; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

18 At that hour the disciples came and asked Jesus, "Who is greatest in the Realm of heaven?" 2 So he called a child, set it among them, 3 and said, "I tell you truly, unless you turn and become like children, you will never get into the Realm of heaven at all. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Realm of heaven; 5 and whoever receives a little child like this for my sake, receives me. 6 But whoever is a hindrance to one of these little ones who believe in me, better for him to have a great mill-stone hung round his neck and be sunk in the deep sea. 7 Woe to the world for hindrances! Hindrances have to come, but — woe to the man by whom the hindrance does come!

If your hand or your foot is a hindrance to you, cut it off and throw it away;

better be maimed or crippled and get into Life, than keep both feet or hands and be thrown into the everlasting fire.

If your eye is a hindrance to you, tear it out and throw it away;

better get into Life with one eye

than keep your two eyes and be thrown into the fire of Gehenna.

10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven always look on the face of my Father in heaven.

12 Tell me, if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine sheep on the hills and go in search of the one that has strayed? 13 And if he happens to find it, I tell you he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that a single one of these little ones should be lost.

15 If your brother sins [against you], go and reprove him, as between you and him alone. If he listens to you, then you have won your brother over; 16 but if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every case may be decided on the evidence of two or of three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church; and if he refuses to listen to the church, treat him as a pagan or a taxgatherer. 18 I tell you truly,

Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven,

and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

19 I tell you another thing: if two of you agree on earth about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered in my name, I am there among them." 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often is my brother to sin against me and be forgiven? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "Seven times? I say, seventy times seven! 23 That is why the Realm of heaven may be compared to a king who resolved to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the settlement, a debtor was brought in who owed him three million pounds; 25 as he was unable to pay, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he had, in payment of the sum. 26 So the servant fell down and prayed him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you it all.' 27 And out of pity for that servant his master released him and discharged his debt. 28 But as that servant went away, he met one of his fellow-servants who owed him twenty pounds, and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay your debt!' 29 So his fellow-servant fell down and implored him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 But he refused; he went and had him thrown into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 Now when his fellow-servants saw what had happened they were greatly distressed, and they went and explained to their master all that had happened. 32 Then his master summoned him and said, 'You scoundrel of a servant! I discharged all that debt for you, because you implored me. 33 Ought you not to have had mercy on your fellow-servant, as I had on you?' 34 And in hot anger his master handed him over to the torturers, till he should pay him all the debt. 35 My heavenly Father will do the same to you unless you each forgive your brother from the heart."

19 When Jesus finished saying this he moved from Galilee and went to the territory of Judaea that lies across the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. 3 Then the Pharisees came up to tempt him. They asked, "Is it right to divorce one's wife for any reason?" 4 He replied, "Have you never read that He who created them male and female from the beginning 5 said,

Hence a man shall leave his father and mother,

and cleave to his wife,

and the pair shall be one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined, then, man must not separate." 7 They said to him, "Then why did Moses lay it down that we were to divorce by giving a separation-notice?" 8 He said to them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, on account of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not so from the beginning. 9 I tell you, whoever divorces his wife except for unchastity and marries another woman, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." 10 The disciples said to him, "If that is a man's position with his wife, there is no good in marrying." 11 He said to them, "True, but this truth is not practicable for everyone, it is only for those who have the gift.

There are eunuchs who have been eunuchs from their birth,

there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men,

and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Realm of heaven. Let anyone practice it for whom it is practicable."

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray over them. The disciples checked the people, 14 but Jesus said to them, "Let the children alone, do not stop them from coming to me: the Realm of heaven belongs to such as these." 15 Then he laid his hands on them and went upon his way. 16 Up came a man and said to him, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to gain life eternal?" 17 He said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One alone is good. But if you want to get into Life, keep the commands." 18 "Which?" he said. Jesus answered, "The commands, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, 19 honour your father and mother, and you must love your neighbour as yourself." 20 The young man said, "I have observed all these. What more is wanting?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell your property, give the money to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me." 22 When the young man heard that, he went sadly away, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you truly, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the Realm of heaven. 24 I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the Realm of God." 25 When the disciples heard this they were utterly astounded; they said, "Who then can possibly be saved?" 26 Jesus looked at them and said, "This is impossible for men, but anything is possible for God." 27 Then Peter replied, "Well, we have left our all and followed you. Now what are we to get?" 28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me shall also sit on twelve thrones to govern the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 Everyone who has left brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands or houses for my name's sake will get a hundred times as much and inherit life eternal. 30 Many who are first shall be last, and many who are last shall be first.

20 For the Realm of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard; 2 and after agreeing with the labourers to pay them a shilling a day he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Then, on going out at nine o'clock he noticed some other labourers standing in the marketplace doing nothing; 4 to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever wage is fair.' So they went in. 5 Going out again at twelve o'clock and at three o'clock, he did the same thing. 6 And when he went out at five o'clock he came upon some others who were standing; he said to them, 'Why have you stood doing nothing all the day?' 7 'Because nobody hired us,' they said. He told them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' 8 Now when evening came the master of the vineyard said to his bailiff, 'Summon the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and going on to the first.' 9 When those who had been hired about five o'clock came, they got a shilling each. 10 So when the first labourers came up, they supposed they would get more; but they too got each their shilling. 11 And on getting it they grumbled at the householder. 12 'These last,' they said, 'have only worked a single hour, and yet you have ranked them equal to us who have borne the brunt of the day's work and the heat!' 13 Then he replied to one of them, 'My man, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a shilling? 14 Take what belongs to you and be off. I choose to give this last man the same as you. 15 Can I not do as I please with what belongs to me? Have you a grudge because I am generous?' 16 So shall the last be first and the first last."

17 Now as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem he took the twelve aside by themselves and said to them as they were on the road, 18 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed to the high priests and scribes; they will sentence him to death 19 and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified; then on the third day he will be raised."

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedaeus came up to him with her sons, praying him for a favour. 21 He said to her, "What do you want?" She said, "Give orders that my two sons are to sit at your right hand and at your left in your Realm." 22 Jesus replied, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." 23 "You shall drink my cup," said Jesus, "but it is not for me to grant seats at my right hand and at my left; these belong to the men for whom they have been destined by my Father."

24 When the ten heard of this, they were angry at the two brothers, 25 but Jesus called them and said,

"You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

and their great men overbear them:

not so with you.

Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;

just as the Son of man has not come to be served but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many."

29 As they were leaving Jericho a crowd followed him, 30 and when two blind men who were sitting beside the road heard Jesus was passing, they shouted, "O Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!" 31 The crowd checked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "O Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!" 32 So Jesus stopped and called them. He said, "What do you want me to do for you?" 33 "Lord," they said, "we want our eyes opened." 34 Then Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and they regained their sight at once and followed him.

21 When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage at the Hill of Olives, then Jesus despatched two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village in front of you and you will at once find an ass tethered with a colt alongside of her; untether them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you will say that the Lord needs them; then he will at once let them go." 4 This took place for the fulfilment of what had been spoken by the prophet,

Tell the daughter of Sion,

"Here is your king coming to you,

He is gentle and mounted on an ass,

And on a colt the foal of a beast of burden."

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus told them; 7 they brought the ass and the colt and put their clothes on them. Jesus seated himself on them, 8 and the greater part of the crowd spread their clothes on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. 9 And the crowds who went in front of him and who followed behind shouted,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name!

Hosanna in high heaven!"

10 When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was in excitement over him. "Who is this?" they said, 11 and the crowds replied, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazaret in Galilee!" 12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all who were buying and selling inside the temple; he upset the tables of the money-changers and the stalls of those who sold doves, 13 and told them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers."

14 Blind and lame people came up to him in the temple and he healed them. 15 But when the high priests and scribes saw his wonderful deeds and saw the children who shouted in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; 16 they said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" "Yes," said Jesus, "have you never read Thou hast brought praise to perfection from the mouth of babes and sucklings?" 17 Then he left them and went outside the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

18 In the morning as he came back to the city he felt hungry, 19 and noticing a fig tree by the roadside he went up to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you after this!" And instantly the fig tree withered up. 20 When the disciples saw this they marvelled. "How did the fig tree wither up in an instant?" they said. 21 Jesus answered, "I tell you truly, if you have faith, if you have no doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even if you say to this hill, 'Take and throw yourself into the sea,' it will be done. 22 All that ever you ask in prayer you shall have, if you believe."

23 When he entered the temple, the high priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "What authority have you for acting in this way? Who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus replied, "Well, I will ask you a question, and if you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have for acting as I do. 25 Where did the baptism of John come from? From heaven or from men?" Now they argued to themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' 26 And if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet." 27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He said to them, "No more will I tell you what authority I have for acting as I do. 28 Tell me what you think. A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard to-day'; 29 he replied, 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go. 30 The man went to the second and said the same to him; he replied, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and did go. 31 Which of the two did the will of the father?" They said, "The last." Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly, the taxgatherers and harlots are going into the Realm of God before you. 32 For John showed you the way to be good and you would not believe him; the taxgatherers and harlots believed him, and even though you saw that, you would not change your mind afterwards and believe him.

33 Listen to another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, put a fence round it, dug a wine-vat inside it, and built a watchtower: then he leased it to vinedressers and went abroad. 34 When the fruit-season was near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to collect his fruit; 35 but the vinedressers took his servants and flogged one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Once more he sent some other servants, more than he had sent at first, and they did the same to them. 37 Afterwards he sent them his son; 'They will respect my son,' he said. 38 But when the vinedressers saw his son they said to themselves, 'Here is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance!' 39 So they took and threw him outside the vineyard and killed him. 40 Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these vinedressers?" 41 They replied, "He will utterly destroy the wretches and lease the vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their season." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures,

The stone that the builders rejected

is the chief stone now of the corner:

this is the doing of the Lord,

and a wonder to our eyes? 43 I tell you therefore that the Realm of God will be taken from you and given to a nation that bears the fruits of the Realm.

[Everyone who falls on this stone will be shattered,

and whoever it falls upon will be crushed.]"

45 When the high priests and Pharisees heard these parables they knew he was speaking about them; 46 they tried to get hold of him, but they were afraid of the crowds, as the crowds held him to be a prophet. 22 Then Jesus again addressed them in parables. 2 "The Realm of heaven," he said, "may be compared to a king who gave a marriage-banquet in honour of his son. 3 He sent his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they would not come. 4 Once more he sent some other servants, saying, 'Tell the invited guests, here is my supper all prepared, my oxen and fat cattle are killed, everything is ready; come to the marriage-banquet.' 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his estate, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants and ill-treated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged; he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, 'The marriage-banquet is all ready, but the invited guests did not deserve it. 9 So go to the byeways and invite anyone you meet to the marriage-banquet.' 10 And those servants went out on the roads and gathered all they met, bad and good alike. Thus the marriage-banquet was supplied with guests. 11 Now when the king came in to view his guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in a wedding-robe. 12 So he said to him, 'My man, how did you get in here without a wedding-robe?' The man was speech less. 13 Then said the king to his servants, 'Take him hand and foot, and throw him outside, out into the darkness; there men will wail and gnash their teeth. 14 For many are invited but few are chosen.'"

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to trap him in talk. 16 They sent him their disciples with the Herodians, who said, "Teacher, we know you are sincere and that you teach the Way of God honestly and fearlessly; you do not court human favour. 17 Tell us, then, what you think about this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 18 But Jesus detected their malice. He said, "Why do you tempt me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for taxes." So they brought him a shilling. 20 Then Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness, whose inscription is this?" 21 "Caesar's," they said. Then he told them, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God." 22 When they heard that they marvelled; then they left him and went away. 23 That same day some Sadducees came up to him, men who hold there is no resurrection. They put this question to him: 24 "Teacher, Moses said that if anyone dies without children, his brother is to espouse his wife and raise offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were seven brothers in our number. The first married and died; as he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same happened with the second and the third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 Now at the resurrection whose wife will she be? They all had her." 29 Jesus answered them, "You go wrong because you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people neither marry nor are married, they are like the angels of God in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 32 I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not a God of dead people but of living." 33 And when the crowds heard it, they were astounded at his teaching. 34 When the Pharisees heard he had silenced the Sadducees, they mustered their forces, 35 and one of them, a jurist, put a question in order to tempt him. 36 "Teacher," he said, "what is the greatest command in the Law?" 37 He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with your whole mind. 38 This is the greatest and chief command. 39 There is a second like it: you must love your neighbour as yourself. 40 The whole Law and the prophets hang upon these two commands."

41 As the Pharisees had mustered, Jesus put a question to them. 42 "Tell me," he said, "what you think about the Christ. Whose son is he?" They said to him, "David's." 43 He said to them, "How is it then that David in the Spirit calls him Lord? 44 The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, till I put your enemies under your feet.' 45 If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" 46 No one could make any answer to him, and from that day no one ventured to put another question to him.

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2 "The scribes and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses; 3 so do whatever they tell you, obey them, but do not do as they do. They talk but they do not act. 4 They make up heavy loads and lay them on men's shoulders, but they will not stir a finger to remove them. 5 Besides, all they do is done to catch the notice of men; they make their phylacteries broad, they wear large tassels, 6 they are fond of the best places at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues; 7 they like to be saluted in the marketplaces and to be called 'rabbi' by men.

But you are not to be called 'rabbi,'

for One is your teacher, and you are all brothers;

you are not to call anyone 'father' on earth,

for One is your heavenly Father;

nor must you be called 'leaders,'

for One is your leader, even the Christ.

He who is greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever uplifts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be uplifted.

Woe to you, you impious scribes and Pharisees!

you shut the Realm of heaven in men's faces;

you neither enter yourselves,

nor will you let those enter who are on the point of entering.

Woe to you, you impious scribes and Pharisees!

you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte,

and when you succeed you make him a son of Gehenna twice as bad as yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides that you are!

you say, 'Swear by the sanctuary, and it means nothing;

but swear by the gold of the sanctuary, and the oath is binding.'

You are senseless and blind! for which is the greater,

the gold or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred?

You say again, 'Swear by the altar, and it means nothing;

but swear by the gift upon it, and the oath is binding.'

You are blind! for which is the greater,

the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

He who swears by the altar

swears by it and by all that lies on it;

he who swears by the sanctuary

swears by it and by Him who inhabits it;

he who swears by heaven

swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

Woe to you, you impious scribes and Pharisees!

you tithe mint and dill and cummin,

and omit the weightier matters of the law,

justice and mercy and faithfulness;

these latter you ought to have practised--without omit ting the former.

Blind guides that you are,

filtering away the gnat and swallowing the camel!

Woe to you, you irreligious scribes and Pharisees!

you clean the outside of the cup and the plate,

but inside they are filled with your rapacity and self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee! first clean the inside of the cup,

so that the outside may be clean as well.

Woe to you, you irreligious scribes and Pharisees!

you are like tombs white-washed;

they look comely on the outside,

but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all manner of impurity.

So to men you seem just,

but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 Woe to you, you irreligious scribes and Pharisees! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the tombs of the just, 30 and you say 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 So you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are sons of those who killed the prophets! 32 And you will fill up the measure that your fathers filled. 33 You serpents! you brood of vipers! how can you escape being sentenced to Gehenna? 34 This is why I will send you prophets, wise men, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, some of whom you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town; 35 it is that on you may fall the punishment for all the just blood shed on earth from the blood of Abel the just down to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you truly, it will all come upon this generation.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! slaying the prophets and stoning those who have been sent to you! How often I would fain have gathered your children as a fowl gathers her brood under her wings! But you would not have it! 38 See, your House is left to you, desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will never see me again till you say, Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name."

24 So Jesus left the temple and went on his way. His disciples came forward to point out to him the temple-buildings, 2 but he replied to them, "You see all this? I tell you truly, not a stone here will be left upon another, without being torn down."

3 So as he sat on the Hill of Olives the disciples came up to him in private and said, "Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign of your arrival and of the end of the world?" 4 Jesus replied, "Take care that no one misleads you; 5 for many will come in my name, saying 'I am the Christ,' and they will mislead many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see and do not be alarmed. These have to come, but it is not the end yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and realm against realm; there will be famines and earthquakes here and there. 8 All that is but the beginning of the trouble. 9 Then men will hand you over to suffer affliction, and they will kill you; you will be hated by all the Gentiles on account of my name. 10 And many will be repelled then, they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will rise and mislead many. 12 And in most of you love will grow cold by the increase of iniquity; 13 but he will be saved who holds out to the very end. 14 This gospel of the Reign shall be preached all over the wide world as a testimony to all the Gentiles, and then the end will come.

15 So when you see the appalling Horror spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing erect in the holy place (let the reader note this), 16 then let those who are in Judaea fly to the hills; 17 a man on the housetop must not go down to fetch what is inside his house, 18 and a man in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 19 Woe to women with child and to women who give suck in those days! 20 Pray that you may not have to fly in winter or on the sabbath, 21 for there will be sore misery then, such as never has been from the beginning of the world till now — no and never shall be. 22 Had not those days been cut short, not a soul would be saved alive; however, for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

23 If anyone tells you at that time, 'Here is the Christ!' or, 'there he is!' do not believe it; 24 for false Christs and false prophets will rise and bring forward great signs and wonders, so as to mislead the very elect, — if that were possible. 25 (I am telling you this beforehand.)

If they tell you, 'Here he is in the desert,'

do not go out;

'here he is in the chamber,'

do not believe it.

For like lightning that shoots from east to west,

so will be the arrival of the Son of man.

Wherever the body lies,

there will the vultures gather. 29 Immediately after the misery of those days

the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not yield her light,

the stars will drop from heaven

and the orbs of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the Sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven; then all tribes on earth will wail, they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. 31 He will despatch his angels with a loud trumpet call to muster his elect from the four winds, from the verge of heaven to the verge of earth.

32 Let the fig tree teach you a parable. As soon as its branches turn soft and put out leaves, you know summer is at hand; 33 so, whenever you see all this happen, you may be sure He is at hand, at the very door.

34 I tell you truly, the present generation will not pass away till all this happens. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

36 Now no one knows anything about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, but only my Father.

37 As were the days of Noah, so will the arrival of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days before the deluge people ate and drank, married and were married, till the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and as they knew nothing till the deluge came and swept them all away; so will the arrival of the Son of man be.

Then there will be two men in the field,

one will be taken and one will be left;

two women will be grinding at the millstone,

one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep on the watch then, for you never know what day your Lord will come. 43 But be sure of this, that if the householder had known at what watch in the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the watch, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 So be ready yourselves, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 Now where is the trusty and thoughtful servant, whom his lord and master has set over his household to assign them their supplies at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant if his lord and master finds him so doing when he arrives! 47 I tell you truly, he will set him over all his property. 48 But if the bad servant says to himself, 'My lord and master is long of coming,' 49 and if he starts to beat his fellow-servants and to eat and drink with drunkards, 50 that servant's lord and master will arrive on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know; 51 he will cut him in two and assign him the fate of the impious. There men will wail and gnash their teeth.

25 Then shall the Realm of heaven be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. 2 Five of them were stupid and five were sensible. 3 For although the stupid took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 whereas the sensible took oil in their vessels as well as their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was long of coming, they all grew drowsy and went to sleep. 6 But at midnight the cry arose, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 7 Then all the maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The stupid said to the sensible, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the sensible replied, 'No, there may not be enough for us and for you. Better go to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 Now while they were away buying oil, the bridegroom arrived; those maidens who were ready accompanied him to the marriage-banquet, and the door was shut. 11 Afterwards the rest of the maidens came and said, 'Oh sir, oh sir, open the door for us!' 12 but he replied, 'I tell you frankly, I do not know you.' 13 Keep on the watch then, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

14 For the case is that of a man going abroad, who summoned his servants and handed over his property to them; 15 to one he gave twelve hundred pounds, to another five hundred, and to another two hundred and fifty; each got according to his capacity. Then the man went abroad. 16 The servant who had got the twelve hundred pounds went at once and traded with them, making another twelve hundred. 17 Similarly the servant who had got the five hundred pounds made another five hundred. 18 But the servant who had got the two hundred and fifty pounds went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now a long time afterwards the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the servant who had got the twelve hundred pounds came forward, bringing twelve hundred more; he said, 'You handed me twelve hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another twelve hundred.' 21 His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.' 22 Then the servant with the five hundred pounds came forward. He said, 'You handed me five hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another five hundred.' 23 His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.' 24 Then the servant who had got the two hundred and fifty pounds came forward. He said, 'I knew you were a hard man, sir, reaping where you never sowed and gathering where you never winnowed. 25 So I was afraid; I went and hid your two hundred and fifty pounds in the earth. There's your money!' 26 His master said to him in reply, 'You rascal, you idle servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I have never sowed and gather where I have never winnowed! 27 Well then, you should have handed my money to the bankers and I would have got my capital with interest when I came back. 28 Take therefore the two hundred and fifty pounds away from him, give it to the servant who had the twelve hundred.

For to everyone who has shall more be given and richly given;

but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken. 30 Throw the good-for-nothing servant into the darkness outside; there men will wail and gnash their teeth.

31 When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory, 32 and all nations will be gathered in front of him; he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 setting the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. 34 Then shall the King say to those on his right, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, come into your inheritance in the realm prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

I was a stranger and you entertained me,

I was unclothed and you clothed me,

I was ill and you looked after me,

I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the just will answer,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed you? or thirsty and gave you drink?

when did we see you a stranger and entertain you? or unclothed and clothed you?

when did we see you ill or in prison and visit you?' 40 The King will answer them, 'I tell you truly, in so far as you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even to the least of them, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those on the left, 'Begone from me, you accursed ones, to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

For I was hungry but you never fed me,

I was thirsty but you never gave me drink,

I was a stranger but you never entertained me,

I was unclothed but you never clothed me,

I was ill and in prison but you never looked after me.' 44 Then they will answer too, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or unclothed or ill or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'I tell you truly, in so far as you did not do it to one of these, even the least of them, you did not do it to me.'

So they shall depart to eternal punishment,

and the just to eternal life.'

26 When Jesus finished saying all this he said to his disciples, 2 'You know the passover is to be held two days after this; and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified.'

3 Then the high priests and the elders of the people met in the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas 4 and took counsel together to get hold of Jesus by craft and have him put to death. 5 'Only,' they said, 'it must not be during the festival, in case of a riot among the people.'

6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of expensive perfume which she poured over his head as he lay at table. 8 When the disciples saw this they were angry. 'What is the use of this waste?' they said; 9 'the perfume might have been sold for a good sum, and the poor might have got that.' 10 But Jesus was aware of what they said, and he replied, 'Why are you annoying the woman? It is a beautiful thing she has done to me. 11 The poor you always have beside you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this perfume on my body she has acted in view of my burial. 13 I tell you truly, wherever this gospel is preached through all the world, men will speak of what she has done in memory of her.'

14 Then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went and said to the high priests, 15 'What will you give me for betraying him to you?' And they weighed out for him thirty silver pieces. 16 From that moment he sought a good opportunity to betray him.

17 On the first day of unleavened bread the disciples of Jesus came up and said to him, 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the passover?' 18 He said, 'Go into the city to so-and-so; tell him that the Teacher says, 'My time is near, I will celebrate the passover at your house with my disciples.' ' 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had told them, and prepared the passover. 20 When evening came he lay at table with the disciples, 21 and as they were eating he said, 'One of you is going to betray me.' 22 They were greatly distressed at this, and each of them said to him, 'Lord, surely it is not me.' 23 He answered, 'One who has dipped his hand into the same dish as myself is going to betray me. 24 The Son of man goes the road that the scripture has described for him, but woe to the man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Better that man had never been born!' 25 Then Judas his betrayer said, 'Surely it is not me, rabbi?' He said to him, 'Is it not?'

26 As they were eating he took a loaf and after the blessing he broke it; then he gave it to the disciples saying, 'Take and eat this, it means my body.' 27 He also took a cup and after thanking God he gave it to them saying, 'Drink of it, all of you; 28 this means my blood, the new covenant-blood, shed for many, to win the remission of their sins. 29 I tell you, after this I will never drink this produce of the vine till the day I drink it new with you in the Realm of my Father.'

30 After the hymn of praise they went out to the Hill of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, 'You will all be disconcerted over me to-night, for it is written, I will strike at the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 32 But after my rising I will precede you to Galilee.' 33 Peter answered, 'Supposing they are all disconcerted over you, I will not be disconcerted.' 34 Jesus said to him, 'I tell you truly, you will disown me three times this very night, before the cock crows.' 35 Peter said to him, 'Even though I have to die with you, I will never disown you.' And all the disciples said the same thing.

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, 'Sit here till I go over there and pray.' 37 But he took Peter and the two sons of Zebedaeus along with him; and when he began to feel distressed and agitated, 38 he said to them, 'My heart is sad, sad even to death; stay here and watch with me.' 39 Then he went forward a little and fell on his face praying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me. Yet, not what I will but what thou wilt.' 40 Then he went to the disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, 'So the three of you could not watch with me for a single hour? 41 Watch and pray, all of you, so that you may not slip into temptation. The spirit is eager but the flesh is weak.' 42 Again he went away for the second time and prayed, 'My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.' 43 And when he returned he found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went back for the third time, praying in the same words as before. 45 Then he went to the disciples and said to them, 'Still asleep? still resting? The hour is near, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Come, get up and let us go. Here is my betrayer close at hand!' 47 While he was still speaking, up came Judas, one of the twelve, accompanied by a large mob with swords and cudgels who had come from the high priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now his betrayer had given them a signal; he said, ' Whoever I kiss, that is the man.' 49 So he went up at once to Jesus; 'Hail, rabbi!' he said, and kissed him. 50 Jesus said, 'My man, do your errand.' Then they laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 One of his companions put out his hand, drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword back into its place; all who draw the sword shall die by the sword. 53 What! do you think I cannot appeal to my Father to furnish me at this moment with over twelve legions of angels? 54 Only, how could the scriptures be fulfilled then — the scriptures that say this must be so?' 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, 'Have you sallied out to arrest me like a robber, with swords and cudgels? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you never seized me. 56 However, this has all happened for the fulfilment of the prophetic scriptures!'

Then all the disciples left him and fled; 57 but those who had seized Jesus took him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. 58 Peter followed him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and when he got inside he sat down beside the attendants to see the end.

59 Now the high priests and the whole of the Sanhedrin tried to secure false evidence against Jesus, in order to have him put to death; 60 but they could find none, although a number of false witnesses came forward. However, two men came forward at last 61 and said, 'This fellow declared, 'I can destroy the temple of God and build it in three days.'' 62 So the high priest rose and said to him, 'Have you no reply to make? What of this evidence against you?' 63 Jesus said nothing. Then the high priest addressed him, 'I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!' 64 Jesus said to him, 'Even so! But I tell you, in future you will all see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.' 65 Then the high priest tore his dress and cried, 'He has blasphemed! What more evidence do we want? Look, you have heard his blasphemy for yourselves! 66 What is your view?' They replied, 'He is doomed to death.' 67 Then they spat in his face and buffeted him, some of them cuffing him 68 and crying, 'Prophesy to us, you Christ! tell us who struck you!'

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A maidservant came up and said to him, 'You were with Jesus the Galilean too.' 70 But he denied it before them all; 'I do not know what you mean,' he said. 71 When he went out to the gateway another maidservant noticed him and said to those who were there, 'This fellow was with Jesus the Nazarene.' 72 Again he denied it; he swore, 'I do not know the man.' 73 After a little the bystanders came up and said to Peter, 'To be sure, you are one of them too. Why, your accent betrays you!' 74 At this he broke out cursing and swearing, 'I do not know the man.' At that moment a cock crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said, that before the cock crows you will disown me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.

27 When morning came, all the high priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, so as to have him put to death. 2 After binding him, they led him off and handed him over to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3 Then Judas his betrayer saw he was condemned, and repented; he brought back the thirty silver pieces to the high priests and elders, 4 saying, 'I did wrong in betraying innocent blood.' 'What does that matter to us?' they said, 'it is your affair, not ours!' 5 Then he flung down the silver pieces in the temple and went off and hung himself. 6 The high priests took the money and said, 'It would be wrong to put this into the treasury, for it is the price of blood.' 7 So after consulting they bought with it the Potter's Field, to serve as a burying-place for strangers. 8 That is why the field is called to this day 'The Field of Blood.' 9 Then the word spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: and I took the thirty silver pieces, the price of him who had been priced, whom they had priced and expelled from the sons of Israel; 10 and I gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord had bidden me.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' Jesus replied, 'Certainly.' 12 But while he was being accused by the high priests and elders, he made no reply. 13 Then Pilate said to him, 'Do you not hear all their evidence against you?' 14 But, to Pilate's great astonishment, he would not answer him a single word.

15 At festival time the governor was in the habit of releasing any one prisoner whom the crowd chose. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Jesus Bar-Abbas; 17 so, when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, 'Who do you want released? Jesus Bar-Abbas or Jesus the so-called 'Christ'?' 18 (He knew quite well that Jesus had been delivered up out of envy. 19 Besides, when he was seated on the tribunal, his wife had sent to tell him, 'Do nothing with that innocent man, for I have suffered greatly to-day in a dream about him.') 20 But the high priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask Bar-Abbas and to have Jesus killed. 21 The governor said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release for you?' 'Bar-Abbas,' they said. 22 Pilate said, 'Then what am I to do with Jesus the so-called 'Christ'?' They all said, 'Have him crucified!' 23 'Why,' said the governor, 'what has he done wrong?' But they shouted on more fiercely than ever, 'Have him crucified!' 24 Now when Pilate saw that instead of him doing any good a riot was rising, he took some water and washed his hands in presence of the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this good man's blood. It is your affair!' 25 To this all the people replied, 'His blood be on us and on our children!' 26 Then he released Bar-Abbas for them; Jesus he scourged and handed over to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and got all the regiment round him; 28 they stripped him and threw a scarlet mantle round him, 29 plaited a crown of thorns and set it on his head, put a stick in his hand, and knelt before him in mockery, crying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' 30 They spat on him, they took the stick and struck him on the head, 31 and after making fun of him they stripped him of the mantle, put on his own clothes, and took him off to be crucified. 32 As they went out they met a Cyrenian called Simon, whom they forced to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (meaning the place of a skull), 34 they gave him a drink of wine mixed with bitters; but when he tasted it he would not drink it. 35 Then they crucified him, distributed his clothes among them by drawing lots, 36 and sat down there to keep watch over him. 37 They also put over his head his charge in writing, THIS IS JESUS // THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 Two robbers were also crucified with him at that time, one on the right hand and one on the left. 39 Those who passed by scoffed at him, nodding at him in derision 40 and calling, 'You were to destroy the temple and build it in three days! Save yourself, if you are God's Son! Come down from the cross!' 41 So, too, the high priests made fun of him with the scribes and the elders of the people. 42 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he cannot save himself! He the 'king of Israel'! Let him come down now from the cross; then we will believe in him! 43 His trust is in God? Let God deliver him now if he cares for him! He said he was the Son of God!' 44 The robbers who were crucified with him also denounced him in the same way.

45 Now from twelve o'clock to three o'clock darkness covered all the land, 46 and about three o'clock Jesus gave a loud cry, 'Eli, eli, lema sabachthani' (that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?) 47 On hearing this some of the bystanders said, 'He is calling for Elijah.' 48 One of them ran off at once and took a sponge, which he soaked in vinegar and put on the end of a stick to give him a drink. 49 But the others said, 'Stop, let us see if Elijah does come to save him!' [Seizing a lance, another pricked his side, and out came water and blood.] 50 Jesus again uttered a loud scream and gave up his spirit. 51 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were split, 52 the tombs were opened, and a number of bodies of the saints who slept the sleep of death rose up — 53 they left the tombs after his resurrection and entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people. 54 Now when the army-captain and his men who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were dreadfully afraid; they said, 'This man was certainly a son of God!' 55 There were also a number of women there looking on from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and waited on him, 56 including Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedaeus.

57 Now when evening came, a rich man from Arimathaea, called Joseph, who had become a disciple of Jesus, 58 went to Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus. Pilate then ordered the body to be handed over to him. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean linen, 60 and put it in his new tomb, which he had cut in the rock; then, after rolling a large boulder to the opening of the tomb, he went away. 61 Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

62 Next day (that is, on the day after the Preparation) the high priests and Pharisees gathered round Pilate 63 and said, 'We remember, sir, that when this impostor was alive he said, 'I will rise after three days.' 64 Now then, give orders for the tomb to be kept secure till the third day, in case his disciples go and steal him and then tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' The end of the fraud will then be worse than the beginning of it.' 65 Pilate said to them, 'Take a guard of soldiers, go and make it as secure as you can.' 66 So off they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the boulder and setting the guard.

28 At the close of the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 But a great earthquake took place; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and went and rolled away the boulder and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. 4 For fear of him the sentries shook and became like dead men; 5 but the angel addressed the women, saying, 'Have no fear; I know you are looking for the crucified Jesus. 6 He is not here, he has risen, as he told you he would. See, here is the place where he [the Lord] lay. 7 Now be quick and go to his disciples, tell them he has risen from the dead and that 'he precedes you to Galilee; you shall see him there.' That is my message for you.' 8 Then they ran quickly from the tomb in fear and great joy, to announce the news to his disciples. 9 And Jesus himself met them, saying, 'Hail!' So they went up to him and caught hold of his feet and worshipped him; 10 then Jesus said to them, 'Have no fear! Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee; they shall see me there.'

11 While they were on their way, some of the sentries went into the city and reported all that had taken place to the high priests, 12 who, after meeting and conferring with the elders, gave a considerable sum of money to the soldiers 13 and told them to say that 'his disciples came at night and stole him when we were asleep.' 14 'If this comes to the ears of the governor,' they added, 'we will satisfy him and see that you have no trouble about the matter.' 15 So the soldiers took the money and followed their instructions; and this story has been disseminated among the Jews down to the present day.

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the hill where Jesus had arranged to meet them. 17 When they saw him they worshipped him, though some were in doubt. 18 Then Jesus came forward to them and said, 'Full authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth; 19 go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to obey all the commands I have laid on you. And I will be with you all the time, to the very end of the world.'