Luke 5-15

New American Standard Bible

The First Disciples

5 ^(A)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by ^(B)the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ And ^(C)He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and ^(D)let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon responded and said, “^(E)Master, ^(F)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but ^[a]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(G)they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and likewise also were ^[b]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “^(H)Do not fear; from now on you will be ^(I)catching people.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, ^(J)they left everything and followed Him.

A Man with Leprosy Healed

^12 (K)While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man ^[c]covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ¹³ And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And He ordered him to tell no one, saying, “But go and ^(L)show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ But ^(M)the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away ^[d]to the ^[e]wilderness and ^(N)pray.

A Man Lowered Through a Roof

^17 [f]One day He was teaching, and ^(O)there were some Pharisees and ^(P)teachers of the Law sitting there who had ^(Q)come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and ^(R)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. ^18 (S)And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. ¹⁹ But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on ^(T)the roof and let him down ^(U)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ And seeing their faith, He said, “^[g]Friend, ^(V)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees ^(W)began thinking of the implications, saying, “^(X)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? ^(Y)Who can forgive sins, except God alone?” ²² But Jesus, ^[h]aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the ^(Z)man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.” ²⁵ And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home ^(AA)glorifying God. ²⁶ And ^[i]they were all struck with astonishment and began ^(AB)glorifying God. They were also filled ^(AC)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

Call of Levi (Matthew)

^27 (AD)After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named ^[j](AE)Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ And he ^(AF)left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

²⁹ And ^(AG)Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of ^(AH)tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. ^30 (AI)The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and ^[k]sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(AJ)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

³³ And they said to Him, “^(AK)The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do ^[l]the same, but Yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the ^[m]attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you? ^35 (AL)But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(AM)Now it happened that ^[n]Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples ^(AN)were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what ^(AO)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read ^(AP)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the ^[o]consecrated bread, which ^(AQ)is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” ⁵ And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^6 (AR)On another Sabbath He entered ^(AS)the synagogue and taught; and a man was there ^[p]whose right hand was withered. ⁷ Now the scribes and the Pharisees ^(AT)were watching Him ^[q]closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He ^(AU)knew ^[r]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ^[s]come forward!” And he got up and ^[t]came forward. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after ^(AV)looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they themselves were filled with senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

¹² Now it was ^[u]at this time that He went off to ^(AW)the mountain to ^(AX)pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(AY)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^(AZ)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and ^[v]James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and ^(BA)Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ And then Jesus ^(BB)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^(BC)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of ^(BD)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹ And all the ^[w]people were trying to ^(BE)touch Him, because ^(BF)power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “^(BG)Blessed are ^[x]you who are poor, for ^(BH)yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are ^[y]you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are ^[z]you who weep now, for you will laugh. ^22 (BI)Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they ^[aa](BJ)exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and ^(BK)jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to ^[ab]treat the prophets ^(BL)the same way. ²⁴ But woe to ^(BM)you who are rich, for ^(BN)you are receiving your comfort in full. ²⁵ Woe to you who ^[ac]are well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to ^[ad]treat the ^(BO)false prophets the same way.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(BP)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, ^(BQ)pray for those who are abusive to you. ^29 (BR)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your ^[ae]cloak, do not withhold your ^[af]tunic from him either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ^31 [ag](BS)Treat people the same way you want them to ^[ah]treat you. ^32 (BT)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (BU)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But ^(BV)love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(BW)sons of ^(BX)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ^36 [ai]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ “^(BY)Do not ^[aj]judge, and you will not be judged; and do not ^[ak]condemn, and you will not be condemned; ^[al](BZ)pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. They will ^[am]pour ^(CA)into your lap a ^(CB)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ Now He also spoke a parable to them: “^(CC)A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (CD)A ^[an]student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the ^[ao]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the ^[ap]speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the ^[aq]speck that is in your brother’s eye. ^43 (CE)For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, ^[ar]on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ^44 (CF)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ^45 (CG)The good person out of the good ^[as]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ^(CH)for his mouth speaks from ^[at]that which fills his heart.

The Parable of the Builders

⁴⁶ “Now ^(CI)why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ^47 (CJ)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and ^[au]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who ^[av]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Slave

7 ^(CK)When He had completed all His ^[aw]teaching in the hearing of the people, ^(CL)He went to Capernaum.

² Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. ³ When he heard about Jesus, ^(CM)he sent some ^[ax]Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵ for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” ⁶ Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “^[ay]Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof; ⁷ for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just ^[az]say the word, and my servant ^[ba]shall be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, ^(CN)not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, ^[bb]accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, ^[bc]a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When ^(CO)the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ^16 (CP)Fear gripped them all, and they began ^(CQ)glorifying God, saying, “A great ^(CR)prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has ^[bd]visited His people!” ^17 (CS)And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.

The Messengers from John

^18 (CT)The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things. ¹⁹ And after summoning ^[be]two of his disciples, John sent them to ^(CU)the Lord, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^[bf]look for another?” ²⁰ When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, ^[bg]to ask, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^[bh]look for another?’” ²¹ At that very ^[bi]time He ^(CV)cured many people of diseases and ^(CW)afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. ²² And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were ^(CX)blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and ^(CY)people who are poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is ^[bj]anyone who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴ When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the ^[bk]wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^25 [bl]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is ^[bn]least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged ^(DA)God’s justice, ^(DB)having been baptized with ^(DC)the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the ^[bo](DD)lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by ^[bp]John.

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’ ³³ For John the Baptist has come neither ^(DE)eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[bq]heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and ^[br]sinners!’ ³⁵ And yet wisdom ^(DF)is vindicated by all her children.”

The Anointing in Galilee

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ^37 (DG)And there was a woman in the city who was a ^[bs]sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, ³⁸ and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were ^(DH)a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a ^[bt]sinner!”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ^[bu]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred ^[bv](DI)denarii, and the other, fifty. ⁴² When they ^(DJ)were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you ^(DK)gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You ^[bw](DL)gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. ^46 (DM)You did not ^[bx]anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “^(DN)Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying ^[by]to themselves, “^(DO)Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, “^(DP)Your faith has saved you; ^(DQ)go in peace.”

Women Support Jesus

8 Soon afterward, ^[bz]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, ^(DR)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also ^(DS)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^(DT)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^(DU)Herod’s ^(DV)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Parable of the Sower

^4 (DW)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^(DX)The one who has ears to hear, ^[ca]let him hear.”

^9 (DY)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable ^[cb]meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(DZ)To you it has been granted to know the ^[cc]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that ^[cd](EA)while seeing they may not see, and ^[ce]while hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now this is the parable: ^(EB)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; ^[cf]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they ^[cg]fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word ^[ch]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with ^[ci]perseverance.

Parable of the Lamp

¹⁶ “Now ^(EC)no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light. ^17 (ED)For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; ^(EE)for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[cj]thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

^19 (EF)Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these ^(EG)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Stills the Sea

^22 (EH)Now on one of those days ^[ck]Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of ^(EI)the lake.” So they launched out. ²³ But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on ^(EJ)the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. ²⁴ They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “^(EK)Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and ^(EL)rebuked the wind and the surging ^[cl]waves, and they stopped, and ^[cm]it became calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (EM)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[cn](EN)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(EO)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(EP)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(EQ)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[co]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(ER)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(ES)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been ^(ET)demon-possessed had been ^[cp]made well. ³⁷ And all the ^[cq]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (EU)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[cr]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

^40 (EV)And as Jesus was returning, the ^[cs]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (EW)And a man named Jairus came, and he was an ^[ct](EX)official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[cu]cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(EY)Master, the ^[cv]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that ^(EZ)power had left Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(FA)your faith has ^[cw]made you well; ^(FB)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(FC)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “^(FD)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[cx]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and ^(FE)mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but ^(FF)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and spoke ^[cy]forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He ^(FG)instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Ministry of the Twelve

9 ^(FH)Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. ² And He sent them out to ^(FI)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. ³ And He said to them, “^(FJ)Take nothing for your journey, ^(FK)neither a staff, nor a ^[cz]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two ^[da]tunics. ⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there ^[db]until you leave that city. ⁵ And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, ^(FL)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And as they were leaving, they began going ^[dc]throughout the villages, ^(FM)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

^7 (FN)Now ^(FO)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(FP)John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that ^(FQ)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And ^(FR)he kept trying to see Him.

^10 (FS)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. ^(FT)And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called ^(FU)Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.

Five Thousand Men Fed

¹² Now the day ^[dd]was ending, and the twelve came up and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get ^[de]something to eat; because here, we are in a secluded place.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) But He said to His disciples, “Have them recline to eat ^(FV)in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and had them all recline. ¹⁶ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied; and ^[df]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve ^(FW)baskets full.

Peter Says Jesus is The Christ

^18 (FX)And it happened that while He was ^(FY)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the ^[dg]people say that I am?” ¹⁹ They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “^(FZ)The ^[dh]Christ of God.” ²¹ But He ^[di](GA)warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, ^22 (GB)saying, “^(GC)The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.”

²³ And He was saying to them all, “^(GD)If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(GE)whoever wants to save his ^[dj]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[dk]life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but ^(GF)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (GG)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, ^(GH)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (GI)About eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(GJ)Peter, John, and James, and ^(GK)went up on the mountain ^(GL)to pray. ²⁹ And while He was ^(GM)praying, the appearance of His face ^(GN)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[dl]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[dm]glory, were speaking of His ^(GO)departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(GP)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. ³³ And as ^[dn]these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(GQ)Master, it is good that we are here; and ^(GR)let’s make three ^[do]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(GS)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But while he was saying this, a cloud ^[dp]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And then ^(GT)a voice came from the cloud, saying, “^(GU)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[dq]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(GV)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

^37 (GW)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only son, ³⁹ and a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. ⁴⁰ And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Now while he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the ^[dr](GX)greatness of God.

^(GY)But while everyone was astonished at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “As for you, let these words sink into your ears: ^(GZ)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[ds]handed over to men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(HA)they ^[dt]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not comprehend it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

The Test of Greatness

^46 (HB)Now an argument ^[du]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(HC)knowing ^[dv]what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and had him stand by His side, ⁴⁸ and He said to them, “^(HD)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(HE)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (HF)John answered and said, “^(HG)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him, because he does not follow along with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; ^(HH)for the one who is not against you is ^[dw]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(HI)His ^[dx]ascension, He ^[dy]was determined ^(HJ)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(HK)Samaritans to ^[dz]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(HL)because ^[ea]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(HM)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(HN)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[eb] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (HO)As they were going on the road, ^(HP)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(HQ)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(HR)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(HS)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(HT)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(HU)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Seventy-two Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(HV)the Lord appointed ^[ec]seventy-two ^(HW)others, and sent them ^(HX)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(HY)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; ^(HZ)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (IA)Carry no money belt, no ^[ed]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[ee]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[ef]that house, eating and drinking ^[eg]what they provide; for ^(IB)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(IC)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(ID)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(IE)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[eh]be sure of this, that ^(IF)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(IG)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(IH)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(II)Woe to you, ^(IJ)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(IK)Bethsaida! For if the ^[ei]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(IL)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[ej](IM)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(IN)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(IO)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(IP)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(IQ)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[ek]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(IR)the demons are subject to us ^[el]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(IS)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(IT)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[em]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(IU)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (IV)At that very ^[en]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[eo]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (IW)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(IX)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (IY)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (IZ)And behold, a ^[ep](JA)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[eq]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(JB)You shall love the Lord your God ^[er]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(JC)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(JD)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(JE)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[es]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(JF)Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, ³⁴ and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day he took out two ^[et]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think ^[eu]proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do ^[ev]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(JG)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(JH)Mary, who was also ^(JI)seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(JJ)Martha was distracted with ^[ew]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving ^[ex]by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(JK)Martha, Martha, you are ^(JL)worried and distracted by many things; ^42 (JM)but only one thing is necessary; for ^(JN)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Instruction about Prayer

11 It happened that while ^[ey]Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ² And He said to them, “^(JO)When you pray, say:

⁵ And He said to them, “^[fd]Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ^[fe]and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet ^(JR)because of his ^[ff]shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[fg](JS)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[fh]seek, and you will find; ^[fi]knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ Now ^[fj]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a ^[fk]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? ¹² Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So ^(JT)if you, despite being ^[fl]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^[fm]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

^14 (JU)And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out the demons ^(JV)by ^(JW)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, ^[fn]to test Him, ^(JX)were demanding of Him a ^[fo]sign from heaven. ^17 (JY)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ^[fp]itself falls. ¹⁸ And if ^(JZ)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^[fq]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^(KA)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by ^(KB)Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by ^[fr]the ^(KC)finger of God, then ^(KD)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[fs]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[ft]secure. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ^23 (KE)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “^(KF)When the unclean spirit comes out of ^[fu]a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ While ^[fv]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^(KG)Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^(KH)those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹ Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “^(KI)This generation is a wicked generation; it ^(KJ)demands a ^[fw]sign, and so no ^[fx]sign will be given to it except the ^[fy]sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as ^(KK)Jonah became a ^[fz]sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The ^(KL)Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because ^(KM)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “^(KN)No one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^34 (KO)Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ^[ga]clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is ^[gb]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

Woes upon the Pharisees

³⁷ Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ^[gc](KP)ceremonially washed before the ^[gd]meal. ³⁹ But ^(KQ)the Lord said to him, “Now ^(KR)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ^40 (KS)You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(KT)give that which is within as a charitable gift, and ^[ge]then all things are ^(KU)clean for you.

⁴² “^(KV)But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(KW)pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ^[gf]ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(KX)love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (KY)Woe to you! For you are like ^[gg]unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the ^[gh](KZ)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you ^(LA)lawyers as well! For ^(LB)you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, ^[gi]while you yourselves will not even ^[gj]touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (LC)Woe to you! For you build the ^[gk]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their ^[gl]tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, ^(LD)the wisdom of God said, ‘^(LE)I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will ^[gm]persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(LF)since the foundation of the world, may be charged ^[gn]against this generation, ⁵¹ from ^(LG)the blood of Abel to ^(LH)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged ^[go]against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you ^[gp](LI)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^(LJ)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, ^54 (LK)plotting against Him ^(LL)to catch ^[gq]Him in something He might say.

God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after ^[gr]so many thousands of ^[gs]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^(LM)Beware of the ^[gt]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (LN)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ^[gu]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^(LO)the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, ^(LP)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: ^(LQ)fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^[gv](LR)hell; yes, I tell you, fear ^[gw]Him! ⁶ Are ^(LS)five sparrows not sold for two ^[gx]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ^7 (LT)But even the hairs of your head are all counted. ^[gy]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

⁸ “Now I say to you, everyone who ^(LU)confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; ⁹ but ^(LV)the one who denies Me before people will be denied ^(LW)before the angels of God. ^10 (LX)And everyone who ^[gz]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ Now when they bring you before ^(LY)the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^(LZ)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for ^(MA)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

¹³ Now someone ^[ha]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^[hb](MB)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “^(MC)Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ And I will say to ^[hc]myself, “^(MD)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(ME)You fool! This very night ^[hd](MF)your soul is demanded of you; and ^(MG)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who ^(MH)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(MI)For this reason I tell you, ^[he]do not worry about your ^[hf]life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ^(MJ)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(MK)barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a ^[hg](ML)day to his ^[hh]life’s span? ²⁶ Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ^[hi]spin; but I tell you, not even ^(MM)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^(MN)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not ^[hj]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^(MO)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[hk]all these things are what the nations of the world ^[hl]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But ^[hm]seek His kingdom, and ^(MP)these things will be ^[hn]provided to you. ^32 [ho](MQ)Do not be afraid, ^(MR)little flock, because ^(MS)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

³³ “^(MT)Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, ^(MU)an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. ³⁴ For ^(MV)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be in Readiness

³⁵ “^[hp](MW)Be prepared, and keep your ^(MX)lamps lit. ³⁶ You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^(MY)on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^(MZ)he will ^[hq]prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. ^38 (NA)Whether he comes in the ^[hr]second watch, or even in the ^[hs]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “^(NB)But ^[ht]be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ^(NC)broken into. ^40 (ND)You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^(NE)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(NF)the Lord said, “^(NG)Who then is the faithful and sensible ^(NH)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(NI)slave whom his ^[hu]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ^[hv]cut him in two, and assign ^[hw]him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^(NJ)receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(NK)know it, and committed acts deserving of ^[hx]a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^(NL)From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Christ Divides People

⁴⁹ “I ^[hy]have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ^[hz]how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a ^(NM)baptism ^[ia]to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! ^51 (NN)Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; ⁵² for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, ^(NO)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ And He was also saying to the crowds, “^(NP)Whenever you see a cloud rising ^[ib]in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁵ And whenever you feel a ^[ic]south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^(NQ)hot day,’ and it turns out that way. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(NR)You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

⁵⁷ “And ^(NS)why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For ^(NT)when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ^[id]settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ^[ie]the very last ^[if](NU)lepton.”

Call to Repent

13 Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood ^(NV)Pilate had ^[ig]mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus responded and said to them, “^(NW)Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? ³ No, I tell you, but unless you ^[ih]repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(NX)Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^[ii](NY)offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶ And He began telling this parable: “A man had ^(NZ)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree ^[ij]without finding any. ^(OA)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

Healing on the Sabbath

¹⁰ Now Jesus was ^(OB)teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And ^[ik]there was a woman who for eighteen years had had ^(OC)a ^[il]sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” ¹³ And He ^(OD)laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began ^(OE)glorifying God. ¹⁴ But ^(OF)the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus ^(OG)had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “^(OH)There are six days during which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ But ^(OI)the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, ^(OJ)does each of you on the Sabbath not untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And this woman, ^(OK)a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom ^(OL)Satan has bound for ^[im]eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this restraint on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ And as He said this, all His opponents were being ^[in]humiliated; and ^(OM)the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

¹⁸ So ^(ON)He was saying, “^(OO)What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and ^(OP)the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

²⁰ And again He said, “^(OQ)To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ^21 (OR)It is like ^[io]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(OS)three ^[ip]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

Teaching in the Villages

²² And He was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and ^(OT)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, ²⁴ “^(OU)Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ Once the head of the house gets up and ^(OV)shuts the door, and you begin standing outside and knocking on the door, saying, ‘^(OW)Lord, open up to us!’ and He then will answer and say to you, ‘^(OX)I do not know where you are from.’ ²⁶ Then you will ^(OY)begin saying, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ ²⁷ And yet He will ^[iq]say, ‘^(OZ)I do not know where you are from; ^(PA)leave Me, all you ^[ir]evildoers.’ ^28 (PB)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. ²⁹ And they ^(PC)will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, ^(PD)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

³¹ At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away and leave this place, because ^(PE)Herod wants to kill You.” ³² And He said to them, “Go and tell that ^[is]fox, ‘Behold, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I ^[it](PF)reach My goal.’ ³³ Nevertheless ^(PG)I must go on My journey today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a ^(PH)prophet would perish outside Jerusalem. ^34 (PI)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(PJ)just as a hen gathers her ^[iu]young under her wings, and you were unwilling! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(PK)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the ^[iv]leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, ^(PL)they were watching Him ^[iw]closely. ² And ^[ix]there in front of Him was a man suffering from ^[iy]edema. ³ And Jesus responded and said to the ^[iz](PM)lawyers and ^[ja]Pharisees, “^(PN)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And He said to them, “^[jb](PO)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” ^6 (PP)And they could offer no reply to this.

Parable of the Guests

⁷ Now He began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how ^(PQ)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, ⁸ “Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ^(PR)do not ^[jc]take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, ⁹ and the one who invited you ^[jd]both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then ^(PS)in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place. ¹⁰ But whenever you are invited, go and ^[je]take the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, ^(PT)move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are ^[jf]dining at the table with you. ^11 (PU)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your ^[jg]repayment. ¹³ But whenever you give a ^[jh]banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, since they ^[ji]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at ^(PV)the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “^(PW)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Parable of the Dinner

¹⁶ But He said to him, “^(PX)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; ¹⁷ and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸ And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; ^[jj]please consider me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; ^[jk]please consider me excused.’ ²⁰ And another one said, ‘^(PY)I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ ²¹ And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ ²² And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’”

Discipleship Tested

²⁵ Now ^[jl]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “^(PZ)If anyone comes to Me and does not ^[jm]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not ^(QA)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ ³¹ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and ^(QB)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. ³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who ^(QC)does not ^[jn]give up all his own possessions.

³⁴ “Therefore, salt is good; but ^(QD)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be ^[jo]seasoned? ³⁵ It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. ^(QE)The one who has ears to hear, ^[jp]let him hear.”

The Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(QF)tax collectors and ^[jq]sinners were coming near ^[jr]Jesus to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(QG)eats with them.”

³ And so He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(QH)What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the ^[js]open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[jt]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ^(QI)in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(QJ)the share of the estate that ^[ju]is coming to me.’ And so he divided his ^[jv](QK)wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in ^[jw]wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had ^[jx]spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. ¹⁵ So he went and ^[jy]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to ^[jz]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here ^[ka]from hunger! ¹⁸ I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and ^[kb]in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’