⁴³ And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.^(A)

The Second Prediction of His Death

While everyone was amazed at all the things he was doing,^(B) he told his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink in:^[a] The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”^(C)

⁴⁵ But they did not understand this statement;^(D) it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it,^(E) and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Who Is the Greatest?

⁴⁶ An argument started among them about who was the greatest of them.^{(F) 47} But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts,^[b](G) took a little child and had him stand next to him. ⁴⁸ He told them, “Whoever welcomes^[c] this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.^(H) For whoever is least among you—this one is great.”^(I)

In His Name

⁴⁹ John responded,^(J) “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,^(K) and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.”^(L)

⁵⁰ “Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”^[d](M)

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,”^(A) and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”^{(B) 7} So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.^(C) And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse “sky.”^[a] Evening came and then morning: the second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,^(D) and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”^(E) And it was so. ¹² The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ Evening came and then morning: the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs^(F) for seasons^[b] and for days and years.^{(G) 15} They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night—as well as the stars.^{(H) 17} God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.^(I) And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the water swarm with^[c] living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water,^(J) according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”^{(K) 23} Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

The Whole World Guilty before God

⁹ What then? Are we any better off?^[a] Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews^(A) and Greeks^(B) are all under sin,^{[b](C) 10} as it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says,^(J) it speaks to those who are subject to the law,^[i](K) so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.^{[j](L) 20} For no one will be justified^[k] in his sight by the works of the law,^(M) because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.^(N)