Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^12 (A)And Jesus entered the temple^[a] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^(B)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^(C)pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ^(D)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^(E)you make it a den of robbers.”

^14 (F)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (G)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(H)“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶ and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^(I)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(L)leaving them, he ^(M)went out of the city to ^(N)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (O)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(P)he became hungry. ^19 (Q)And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them, ^(R)“Truly, I say to you, ^(S)if you have faith and ^(T)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(U)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(V)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(W)if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (X)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(Y)as he was teaching, and said, ^(Z)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(AA)from where did it come? ^(AB)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(AC)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(AD)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(AE)a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (AF)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(AG)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(AH)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AI)the tax collectors and ^(AJ)the prostitutes go into ^(AK)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(AL)in the way of righteousness, and ^(AM)you did not believe him, but ^(AN)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(AO)change your minds and believe him.

The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem

9 Now ^(A)it is superfluous for me to write to you about ^(B)the ministry for the saints, ² for I know your readiness, ^(C)of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready ^(D)since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. ³ But ^(E)I am sending^[a] the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, ^(F)as I said you would be. ⁴ Otherwise, if some Macedonians ^(G)come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. ⁵ So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the ^(H)gift^[b] you have promised, so that it may be ready ^(I)as a willing gift, ^(J)not as an exaction.^[c]

The Cheerful Giver

⁶ The point is this: ^(K)whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully^[d] will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, ^(L)not reluctantly or under compulsion, for ^(M)God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And ^(N)God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency^[e] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written,

¹⁰ He who supplies ^(P)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and ^(Q)increase the harvest of your righteousness. ^11 (R)You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which ^(S)through us will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the ministry of this service is not only supplying ^(T)the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ By their approval of this service, ^(U)they^[f] will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your ^(V)confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, ¹⁴ while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. ^15 (W)Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!