Atonement for Unsolved Murders

21 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, ² then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. ³ And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer ^(A)that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. ⁴ And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. ⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen ^(B)them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and ^(C)by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. ⁶ And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man ^(D)shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, ⁷ and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. ⁸ Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and ^(E)do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ ⁹ So ^(F)you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Marrying Female Captives

¹⁰ “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, ¹¹ and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, ¹² and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. ¹³ And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and ^(G)lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. ¹⁴ But if you no longer delight in her, you shall ^(H)let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you ^(I)treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

¹⁵ “If a man has two wives, ^(J)the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,^{[a] 16} then on the day when ^(K)he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, ¹⁷ but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is ^(L)the firstfruits of his strength. ^(M)The right of the firstborn is his.

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸ “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, ¹⁹ then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, ²⁰ and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ ^21 (N)Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. ^(O)So you shall purge the evil from your midst, ^(P)and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

²² “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, ^23 (Q)his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for ^(R)a hanged man is cursed by God. ^(S)You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A ^(A)Prayer of David.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^(A)He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And ^(B)he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^(C)a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^(D)I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and ^(E)received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all ^(F)grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ^(G)I give to the poor. And if I have ^(H)defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^(I)fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^(J)he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For ^(K)the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ^(L)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, ^(M)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ^(N)ten of his servants,^[a] he gave them ten minas,^[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^(O)until I come.’ ¹⁴ But ^(P)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!^[c] Because you have been ^(Q)faithful in a very little, ^(R)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^(S)a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are ^(T)a severe man. You take ^(U)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ^(V)‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^(W)you wicked servant! You knew that I was ^(X)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you that ^(Y)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But ^(Z)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(AA)slaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, ^(AB)he went on ahead, ^(AC)going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (AD)When he drew near to Bethphage and ^(AE)Bethany, at ^(AF)the mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^(AG)two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^(AH)on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it ^(AI)just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they ^(AJ)spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^(AK)the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^(AL)for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, ^(AM)“Blessed is ^(AN)the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^(AO)glory in the highest!” ^39 (AP)And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^(AQ)the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

^41 (AR)And when he drew near and saw the city, ^(AS)he wept over it, ⁴² saying, ^(AT)“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^(AU)they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For ^(AV)the days will come upon you, when your enemies ^(AW)will set up a barricade around you and ^(AX)surround you and hem you in on every side ^44 (AY)and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^(AZ)they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^(BA)the time of your ^(BB)visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^45 (BC)And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ^(BD)‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^(BE)you have made it a den of robbers.”

^47 (BF)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(BG)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(BH)One day, ^(BI)as Jesus^[d] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^(BJ)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ² and said to him, “Tell us ^(BK)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴ was the baptism of John ^(BL)from heaven or from man?” ⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(BM)‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ^(BN)a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

^9 (BO)And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^(BP)a vineyard and ^(BQ)let it out to tenants and ^(BR)went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant^[e] to the tenants, so that ^(BS)they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^(BT)But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^11 (BU)And ^(BV)he sent another servant. But they also beat and ^(BW)treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ^12 (BX)And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^(BY)beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^(BZ)‘This is the heir. ^(CA)Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ And they ^(CB)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ^16 (CC)He will ^(CD)come and destroy those tenants and ^(CE)give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷ But he ^(CF)looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^18 (CH)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^(CI)on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^19 (CJ)The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. ^20 (CK)So they ^(CL)watched him and sent spies, who ^(CM)pretended to be sincere, that they might ^(CN)catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^(CO)the governor. ²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^(CP)show no partiality,^[g] but truly teach ^(CQ)the way of God. ²² Is it lawful for us to give ^(CR)tribute to ^(CS)Caesar, or not?” ²³ But he perceived their ^(CT)craftiness, and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me ^(CU)a denarius.^[h] Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then ^(CV)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people ^(CW)to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

²⁷ There came to him ^(CX)some Sadducees, ^(CY)those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ^(CZ)that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man^[i] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Afterward the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(DA)“The sons of this age ^(DB)marry and ^(DC)are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are ^(DD)considered worthy to attain to ^(DE)that age and to the resurrection from the dead ^(DF)neither marry ^(DG)nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for ^(DH)they cannot die anymore, because they are ^(DI)equal to angels and ^(DJ)are ^(DK)sons of God, being ^(DL)sons^[j] of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, ^(DM)even Moses showed, in ^(DN)the passage about the bush, where he calls ^(DO)the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all ^(DP)live to him.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes ^(DQ)answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For ^(DR)they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (DS)But he said to them, “How can they say that ^(DT)the Christ is ^(DU)David's son? ⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so ^(DX)how is he his son?”

Beware of the Scribes

^45 (DY)And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and ^(DZ)the places of honor at feasts, ^47 (EA)who devour widows' houses and ^(EB)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow's Offering

21 ^(EC)Jesus^[k] looked up and saw the rich ^(ED)putting their gifts into ^(EE)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two ^(EF)small copper coins.^{[l] 3} And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(EG)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(EH)poverty put in all ^(EI)she had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

^5 (EJ)And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, ^(EK)the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, ^(EL)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, ^(EM)“See that you are not led astray. For ^(EN)many will come in my name, saying, ^(EO)‘I am he!’ and, ^(EP)‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^(EQ)terrified, for these things ^(ER)must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ^(ES)“Nation will rise against nation, and ^(ET)kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great ^(EU)earthquakes, and in various places ^(EV)famines and pestilences. And there will be ^(EW)terrors and great ^(EX)signs from heaven. ¹² But before all this ^(EY)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to ^(EZ)the synagogues and ^(FA)prisons, and you ^(FB)will be brought before ^(FC)kings and ^(FD)governors for my name's sake. ^13 (FE)This will be your opportunity to bear witness. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds ^(FF)not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for ^(FG)I will give you a mouth and ^(FH)wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or ^(FI)contradict. ¹⁶ You will be delivered up ^(FJ)even by parents and brothers^[m] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. ^17 (FK)You will be hated by all for my name's sake. ¹⁸ But ^(FL)not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your ^(FM)endurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

²⁰ “But ^(FN)when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that ^(FO)its desolation has come near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²² for these are ^(FP)days of ^(FQ)vengeance, to fulfill ^(FR)all that is written. ^23 (FS)Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and ^(FT)wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and ^(FU)be led captive among all nations, and ^(FV)Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, ^(FW)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “And ^(FX)there will be signs in sun and moon ^(FY)and stars, and on the earth ^(FZ)distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For ^(GA)the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And then they will see ^(GB)the Son of Man coming in a cloud ^(GC)with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and ^(GD)raise your heads, because ^(GE)your redemption is drawing near.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹ And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰ As soon as they come out in leaf, you see ^(GF)for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ^32 (GG)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. ^33 (GH)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(GI)my words will not pass away.

Watch Yourselves

³⁴ “But watch yourselves ^(GJ)lest ^(GK)your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and ^(GL)cares of this life, and ^(GM)that day come upon you suddenly ^(GN)like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ But ^(GO)stay awake at all times, ^(GP)praying that you may ^(GQ)have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and ^(GR)to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ And ^(GS)every day he was teaching in the temple, but ^(GT)at night he went out and lodged on ^(GU)the mount called Olivet. ³⁸ And early in the morning ^(GV)all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.