The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ^2 (A)“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb ^(B)according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be ^(C)without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the ^(D)fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.^[a]

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the ^(E)two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with ^(F)unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but ^(G)roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ¹⁰ And ^(H)you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with ^(I)your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. ^(J)It is the Lord's Passover. ¹² For ^(K)I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on ^(L)all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: ^(M)I am the Lord. ^13 (N)The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day shall be ^(O)for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a ^(P)statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. ^15 (Q)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, ^(R)that person shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you shall hold a ^(S)holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. ¹⁷ And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for ^(T)on this very day I brought your ^(U)hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. ^18 (V)In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ^19 (W)For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, ^(X)that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, ^(Y)whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. ²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves ^(Z)according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. ²² Take a bunch of ^(AA)hyssop and ^(AB)dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch ^(AC)the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. ^(AD)None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. ^23 (AE)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on ^(AF)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^(AG)will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. ²⁴ You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. ²⁵ And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, ^(AH)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. ²⁶ And ^(AI)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ^(AJ)‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people ^(AK)bowed their heads and worshiped.

²⁸ Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David ^(A)inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To ^(B)Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(C)his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ And David brought up ^(D)his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David ^(E)king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, ^(F)“It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” ⁵ David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, ^(G)“May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. ⁶ Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and ^(H)the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ But ^(I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(J)Mahanaim, ⁹ and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. ¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ^11 (K)And the time that David was king in Hebron over ^(L)the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

The Sin of Judah

17 “The sin of Judah is written with ^(A)a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on ^(B)the tablet of their heart, and on ^(C)the horns of their altars, ² while ^(D)their children remember their altars and their ^(E)Asherim, ^(F)beside every green tree and on the high hills, ^3 (G)on the mountains in the open country. ^(H)Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. ⁴ You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, ^(I)and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, ^(J)for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ And ^(A)when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, ^(B)“To you has been given ^(C)the secret of the kingdom of God, but for ^(D)those outside everything is in parables, ^12 (E)so that

^13 (H)And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ^14 (I)The sower sows ^(J)the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it ^(K)with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but ^(L)endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(M)they fall away.^{[a] 18} And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but ^(N)the cares of ^(O)the world and ^(P)the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and ^(Q)bear fruit, ^(R)thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

^21 (S)And he said to them, ^(T)“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? ^22 (U)For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. ^23 (V)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: ^(W)with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ^25 (X)For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

²⁶ And he said, ^(Y)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ^(Z)he knows not how. ²⁸ The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once ^(AA)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (AB)And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like ^(AC)a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

^33 (AD)With many such parables he spoke ^(AE)the word to them, ^(AF)as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ He did not speak to them ^(AG)without a parable, but ^(AH)privately to his own disciples he ^(AI)explained everything.

Jesus Calms a Storm

^35 (AJ)On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves ^(AK)were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and ^(AL)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and ^(AM)there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you ^(AN)so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ^(AO)“Who then is this, that even ^(AP)the wind and the sea obey him?”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

5 ^(AQ)They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.^{[b] 2} And when Jesus^[c] had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. ^3 (AR)He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, ⁴ for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. ⁶ And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and ^(AS)fell down before him. ⁷ And ^(AT)crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^(AU)Son of ^(AV)the Most High God? ^(AW)I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸ For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is ^(AX)Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ¹² and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” ¹³ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed^[d] man, the one who had had ^(AY)the legion, sitting there, ^(AZ)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ¹⁶ And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. ¹⁷ And ^(BA)they began to beg Jesus^[e] to depart from their region. ¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹ And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and ^(BB)tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in ^(BC)the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

²¹ And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. ^22 (BD)Then came one of ^(BE)the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet ²³ and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and ^(BF)lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” ²⁴ And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and ^(BG)thronged about him. ²⁵ And there was a woman ^(BH)who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, ²⁶ and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. ²⁸ For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” ^29 (BI)And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her ^(BJ)disease. ³⁰ And Jesus, perceiving in himself that ^(BK)power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” ³¹ And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² And he looked around to see who had done it. ³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, ^(BL)your faith has made you well; ^(BM)go in peace, and be healed of your ^(BN)disease.”

³⁵ While he was still speaking, there came from ^(BO)the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why ^(BP)trouble ^(BQ)the Teacher any further?” ³⁶ But overhearing^[f] what they said, Jesus said to ^(BR)the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷ And he allowed no one to follow him except ^(BS)Peter and James and ^(BT)John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus^[g] saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹ And when he had entered, he said to them, ^(BU)“Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but ^(BV)sleeping.” ⁴⁰ And they laughed at him. But he ^(BW)put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. ^41 (BX)Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, ^(BY)arise.” ⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. ⁴³ And ^(BZ)he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(CA)He went away from there and came to ^(CB)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(CC)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(CD)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (CE)Is not this ^(CF)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(CG)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(CH)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(CI)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(CJ)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(CK)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(CL)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(CM)And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^7 (CN)And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to ^(CO)wear sandals and not put on two tunics.^{[h] 10} And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^(CP)shake off the dust that is on your feet ^(CQ)as a testimony against them.” ^12 (CR)So they went out and ^(CS)proclaimed ^(CT)that people should repent. ^13 (CU)And they cast out many demons and ^(CV)anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

^14 (CW)King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'^[i] name had become known. Some^[j] said, ^(CX)“John the Baptist^[k] has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^15 (CY)But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^(CZ)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ^17 (DA)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^(DB)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ^18 (DC)For John had been saying to Herod, ^(DD)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod ^(DE)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(DF)heard him gladly.

²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod ^(DG)on his birthday ^(DH)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^(DI)up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's^[l] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his ^(DJ)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

^30 (DK)(DL)The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^(DM)they had no leisure even to eat. ^32 (DN)And they went away in ^(DO)the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and ^(DP)recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he ^(DQ)saw a great crowd, and ^(DR)he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ^36 (DS)Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, ^(DT)“You give them something to eat.” And ^(DU)they said to him, ^(DV)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii^[m] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^(DW)“Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^(DX)looked up to heaven and ^(DY)said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (DZ)Immediately he ^(EA)made his disciples get into ^(EB)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(EC)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(ED)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(EE)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(EF)the fourth watch of the night^[n] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(EG)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(EH)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(EI)“Take heart; it is I. ^(EJ)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(EK)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(EL)were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^53 (EM)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(EN)Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^(EO)recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^(EP)the sick people ^(EQ)on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^(ER)they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^(ES)the fringe of his garment. And ^(ET)as many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(EU)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(EV)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(EW)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[o] holding to ^(EX)the tradition of ^(EY)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[p] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(EZ)the washing of ^(FA)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[q]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(FB)the tradition of ^(FC)the elders, ^(FD)but eat with ^(FE)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(FF)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(FI)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(FJ)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(FK)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[r]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(FL)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(FM)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (FN)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[s] 17} And when he had entered ^(FO)the house and left the people, ^(FP)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(FQ)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(FR)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[t] (^(FS)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(FT)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(FU)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(FV)sensuality, ^(FW)envy, ^(FX)slander, ^(FY)pride, ^(FZ)foolishness. ^23 (GA)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[u] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (GB)Now the woman was a ^(GC)Gentile, ^(GD)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(GE)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(GF)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(GG)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(GH)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (GI)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(GJ)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(GK)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(GL)a man who was deaf and ^(GM)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(GN)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(GO)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(GP)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(GQ)looking up to heaven, ^(GR)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (GS)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(GT)Jesus^[v] charged them to tell no one. But ^(GU)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(GV)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(GW)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (GX)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(GY)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(GZ)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(HA)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(HB)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(HC)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(HD)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(HE)Dalmanutha.^[w]

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

^11 (HF)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, ^(HG)seeking from him ^(HH)a sign from heaven ^(HI)to test him. ¹² And ^(HJ)he sighed deeply ^(HK)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ And ^(HL)he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴ Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ^(HM)beware of ^(HN)the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of ^(HO)Herod.”^{[x] 16} And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ And ^(HP)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^(HQ)Do you not yet perceive ^(HR)or understand? ^(HS)Are your hearts hardened? ^18 (HT)Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?