Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^(A)his own city. ^2 (B)And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^(C)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^(D)“Take heart, my son; ^(E)your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^(F)“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, ^(G)knowing^[a] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷ And he rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, ^(H)they were afraid, and ^(I)they glorified God, who had ^(J)given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9 (K)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^(L)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus^[b] reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^(M)tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^(N)“Why does your teacher eat with ^(O)tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn ^(P)what this means: ^(Q)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^(R)I came not to call the righteous, ^(S)but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴ Then ^(T)the disciples of John came to him, saying, ^(U)“Why do we and ^(V)the Pharisees fast,^[c] but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(W)“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^(X)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(Y)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old ^(Z)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

^18 (AA)While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^(AB)knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman ^(AC)who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^(AD)the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^(AE)“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” ^(AF)And instantly^[d] the woman was made well. ²³ And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw ^(AG)the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴ he said, “Go away, for ^(AH)the girl is not dead but ^(AI)sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵ But ^(AJ)when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^(AK)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^27 (AL)And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, ^(AM)Son of David.” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ^29 (AN)Then he touched their eyes, saying, ^(AO)“According to your faith be it done to you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ^(AP)“See that no one knows about it.” ^31 (AQ)But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

³² As they were going away, behold, a ^(AR)demon-oppressed man who was mute ^(AS)was brought to him. ³³ And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds ^(AT)marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (AU)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (AV)When he saw the crowds, ^(AW)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(AX)like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (AY)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ^(AZ)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(BA)send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 ^(BB)And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ^2 (BC)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(BD)who is called Peter, and ^(BE)Andrew his brother; ^(BF)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(BG)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{[e] 4} Simon the Zealot,^[f] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5 (BH)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(BI)the Samaritans, ^6 (BJ)but go rather to ^(BK)the lost sheep of ^(BL)the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(BM)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{[g] 8 (BN)}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[h] cast out demons. ^(BO)You received without paying; give without pay. ^9 (BP)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[i] or sandals or a staff, for ^(BQ)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, ^(BR)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(BS)worthy, let ^(BT)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(BU)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(BV)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(BW)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(BX)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (BY)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(BZ)wise as serpents and ^(CA)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(CB)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(CC)in their synagogues, ^18 (CD)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(CE)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (CF)When ^(CG)they deliver you over, ^(CH)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(CI)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (CJ)For it is not you who speak, but ^(CK)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (CL)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (CM)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(CN)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(CO)persecute you in one town, ^(CP)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(CQ)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (CR)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant^[j] above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^(CS)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[k] those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, ^(CT)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^(CU)the housetops. ²⁸ And ^(CV)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^(CW)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[l] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[m] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(CX)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; ^(CY)you are of more value than many sparrows. ^32 (CZ)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but ^(DA)whoever denies me before men, ^(DB)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34 (DC)“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^(DD)I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35 (DE)For I have come ^(DF)to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36 (DG)And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ^37 (DH)Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And ^(DI)whoever does not take his cross and ^(DJ)follow me is not worthy of me. ^39 (DK)Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40 (DL)“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^(DM)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41 (DN)The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And ^(DO)whoever gives one of ^(DP)these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ^2 (A)“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³ You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(B)Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant ⁴ that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, ^(C)from the iron furnace, saying, ^(D)Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. ^(E)So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, ^5 (F)that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, ^(G)to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

⁶ And the Lord said to me, ^(H)“Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ^(I)Hear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁷ For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, ^(J)warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, ^(K)Obey my voice. ^8 (L)Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, ^(M)but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all ^(N)the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

⁹ Again the Lord said to me, ^(O)“A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have turned back to ^(P)the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. ^(Q)They have gone after other gods to serve them. ^(R)The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. ¹¹ Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. ^(S)Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. ¹² Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(T)will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, ^(U)but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. ^13 (V)For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, ^(W)altars to make offerings to Baal.

¹⁴ “Therefore ^(X)do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, ^(Y)for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. ^15 (Z)What right has my beloved in my house, ^(AA)when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? ^(AB)Can you then exult? ¹⁶ The Lord once called you ^(AC)‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But ^(AD)with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and ^(AE)its branches will be consumed. ¹⁷ The Lord of hosts, ^(AF)who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, ^(AG)provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”

²¹ Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of ^(AO)Anathoth, ^(AP)who seek your life, and say, ^(AQ)“Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— ²² therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, ²³ and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of ^(AR)Anathoth, ^(AS)the year of their punishment.”

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6 Then Job answered and said: