Ministry of the Twelve

9 ^(A)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 ^(B)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. ³ And He said to them, “^(C)Take nothing for your journey, ^(D)neither a staff, nor a ^[a]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two ^[b]tunics. ⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there ^[c]until you leave that city. ⁵ And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, ^(E)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And as they were leaving, they began going ^[d]throughout the villages, ^(F)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

^7 (G)Now ^(H)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(I)John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that ^(J)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 ^(K)he kept trying to see Him.

^10 (L)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. ^(M)And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called ^(N)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 ^[e]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 ^[f]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 ^(O)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 ^[g]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve ^(P)baskets full.

Peter Says Jesus is The Christ

^18 (Q)And it happened that while He was ^(R)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the ^[h]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, “^(S)The ^[i]Christ of God.” ²¹ But He ^[j](T)warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, ^22 (U)saying, “^(V)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, “^(W)If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(X)whoever wants to save his ^[k]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[l]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 ^(Y)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (Z)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, ^(AA)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (AB)About eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(AC)Peter, John, and James, and ^(AD)went up on the mountain ^(AE)to pray. ²⁹ And while He was ^(AF)praying, the appearance of His face ^(AG)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[m]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[n]glory, were speaking of His ^(AH)departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(AI)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 ^[o]these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(AJ)Master, it is good that we are here; and ^(AK)let’s make three ^[p]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(AL)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But while he was saying this, a cloud ^[q]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And then ^(AM)a voice came from the cloud, saying, “^(AN)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[r]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(AO)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

^37 (AP)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 ^[s](AQ)greatness of God.

^(AR)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: ^(AS)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[t]handed over to men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(AT)they ^[u]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 (AU)Now an argument ^[v]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(AV)knowing ^[w]what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and had him stand by His side, ⁴⁸ and He said to them, “^(AW)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(AX)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (AY)John answered and said, “^(AZ)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; ^(BA)for the one who is not against you is ^[x]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(BB)His ^[y]ascension, He ^[z]was determined ^(BC)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(BD)Samaritans to ^[aa]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(BE)because ^[ab]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(BF)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(BG)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[ac] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (BH)As they were going on the road, ^(BI)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 ^(BJ)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(BK)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 ^(BL)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(BM)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(BN)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 ^(BO)the Lord appointed ^[ad]seventy-two ^(BP)others, and sent them ^(BQ)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(BR)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; ^(BS)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (BT)Carry no money belt, no ^[ae]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 ^[af]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[ag]that house, eating and drinking ^[ah]what they provide; for ^(BU)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(BV)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(BW)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 ‘^(BX)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[ai]be sure of this, that ^(BY)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(BZ)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(CA)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(CB)Woe to you, ^(CC)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(CD)Bethsaida! For if the ^[aj]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(CE)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[ak](CF)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(CG)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(CH)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(CI)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(CJ)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 ^[al]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(CK)the demons are subject to us ^[am]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(CL)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(CM)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[an]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(CN)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (CO)At that very ^[ao]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[ap]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 (CP)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(CQ)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 (CR)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 (CS)And behold, a ^[aq](CT)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? ^[ar]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(CU)You shall love the Lord your God ^[as]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; ^(CV)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(CW)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(CX)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[at]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 ^(CY)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 ^[au]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 ^[av]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 ^[aw]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(CZ)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(DA)Mary, who was also ^(DB)seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(DC)Martha was distracted with ^[ax]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 ^[ay]by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(DD)Martha, Martha, you are ^(DE)worried and distracted by many things; ^42 (DF)but only one thing is necessary; for ^(DG)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Instruction about Prayer

11 It happened that while ^[az]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, “^(DH)When you pray, say:

⁵ And He said to them, “^[be]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 ^[bf]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 ^(DK)because of his ^[bg]shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[bh](DL)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[bi]seek, and you will find; ^[bj]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 ^[bk]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a ^[bl]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 ^(DM)if you, despite being ^[bm]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^[bn]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

^14 (DN)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 ^(DO)by ^(DP)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, ^[bo]to test Him, ^(DQ)were demanding of Him a ^[bp]sign from heaven. ^17 (DR)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ^[bq]itself falls. ¹⁸ And if ^(DS)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^[br]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^(DT)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by ^(DU)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 ^[bs]the ^(DV)finger of God, then ^(DW)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[bt]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[bu]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 (DX)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “^(DY)When the unclean spirit comes out of ^[bv]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 ^[bw]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^(DZ)Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^(EA)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, “^(EB)This generation is a wicked generation; it ^(EC)demands a ^[bx]sign, and so no ^[by]sign will be given to it except the ^[bz]sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as ^(ED)Jonah became a ^[ca]sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The ^(EE)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 ^(EF)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “^(EG)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 (EH)Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ^[cb]clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is ^[cc]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 ^[cd](EI)ceremonially washed before the ^[ce]meal. ³⁹ But ^(EJ)the Lord said to him, “Now ^(EK)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ^40 (EL)You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(EM)give that which is within as a charitable gift, and ^[cf]then all things are ^(EN)clean for you.

⁴² “^(EO)But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(EP)pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ^[cg]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 ^(EQ)love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (ER)Woe to you! For you are like ^[ch]unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the ^[ci](ES)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you ^(ET)lawyers as well! For ^(EU)you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, ^[cj]while you yourselves will not even ^[ck]touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (EV)Woe to you! For you build the ^[cl]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 ^[cm]tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, ^(EW)the wisdom of God said, ‘^(EX)I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will ^[cn]persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(EY)since the foundation of the world, may be charged ^[co]against this generation, ⁵¹ from ^(EZ)the blood of Abel to ^(FA)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged ^[cp]against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you ^[cq](FB)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^(FC)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 (FD)plotting against Him ^(FE)to catch ^[cr]Him in something He might say.

God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after ^[cs]so many thousands of ^[ct]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^(FF)Beware of the ^[cu]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (FG)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 ^[cv]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^(FH)the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, ^(FI)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: ^(FJ)fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^[cw](FK)hell; yes, I tell you, fear ^[cx]Him! ⁶ Are ^(FL)five sparrows not sold for two ^[cy]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ^7 (FM)But even the hairs of your head are all counted. ^[cz]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

⁸ “Now I say to you, everyone who ^(FN)confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; ⁹ but ^(FO)the one who denies Me before people will be denied ^(FP)before the angels of God. ^10 (FQ)And everyone who ^[da]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 ^(FR)the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^(FS)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for ^(FT)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

¹³ Now someone ^[db]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^[dc](FU)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “^(FV)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 ^[dd]myself, “^(FW)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(FX)You fool! This very night ^[de](FY)your soul is demanded of you; and ^(FZ)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who ^(GA)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(GB)For this reason I tell you, ^[df]do not worry about your ^[dg]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 ^(GC)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(GD)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 ^[dh](GE)day to his ^[di]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 ^[dj]spin; but I tell you, not even ^(GF)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? ^(GG)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not ^[dk]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^(GH)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[dl]all these things are what the nations of the world ^[dm]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But ^[dn]seek His kingdom, and ^(GI)these things will be ^[do]provided to you. ^32 [dp](GJ)Do not be afraid, ^(GK)little flock, because ^(GL)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

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

Be in Readiness

³⁵ “^[dq](GP)Be prepared, and keep your ^(GQ)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 ^(GR)on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^(GS)he will ^[dr]prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. ^38 (GT)Whether he comes in the ^[ds]second watch, or even in the ^[dt]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “^(GU)But ^[du]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 ^(GV)broken into. ^40 (GW)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 ^(GX)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(GY)the Lord said, “^(GZ)Who then is the faithful and sensible ^(HA)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(HB)slave whom his ^[dv]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 ^[dw]cut him in two, and assign ^[dx]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 ^(HC)receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(HD)know it, and committed acts deserving of ^[dy]a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^(HE)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 ^[dz]have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ^[ea]how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a ^(HF)baptism ^[eb]to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! ^51 (HG)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, ^(HH)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, “^(HI)Whenever you see a cloud rising ^[ec]in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁵ And whenever you feel a ^[ed]south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^(HJ)hot day,’ and it turns out that way. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(HK)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 ^(HL)why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For ^(HM)when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ^[ee]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 ^[ef]the very last ^[eg](HN)lepton.”

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which ^(A)I am teaching you to perform, so that ^(B)you will live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ^2 (C)You shall not add to the word which ^(D)I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you. ^3 (E)Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed ^[a]them from among you. ⁴ But you who clung to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.

⁵ “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments ^(F)just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. ⁶ So keep and do them, ^(G)for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷ For ^(H)what great nation is there that has a god ^(I)so near to it as is the Lord our God ^(J)whenever we call on Him? ⁸ Or what great nation is there that has ^(K)statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today?

⁹ “Only ^(L)be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart ^(M)all the days of your life; but ^(N)make them known to your sons and your grandsons. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may have them hear My words ^(O)so that they may learn to ^[b]fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may ^(P)teach their children.’ ¹¹ You came forward and stood at the foot of the mountain, ^(Q)and the mountain was burning with fire to the heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud, and thick gloom. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—there was only a voice. ¹³ So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, ^(R)the Ten ^[c]Commandments; and ^(S)He wrote them on two tablets of stone. ¹⁴ The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, so that you would perform them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it.

¹⁵ “So ^(T)be very careful ^[d]yourselves, since you did not see any ^(U)form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ so that you do not ^(V)act corruptly and ^(W)make a carved image for yourselves in the form of any figure, a representation of male or female, ¹⁷ a representation of any animal that is on the earth, a representation of ^(X)any winged bird that flies in the sky, ¹⁸ a representation of anything that crawls on the ground, or a representation of any fish that is in the water below the earth. ¹⁹ And be careful not to raise your eyes to heaven and look at the sun, the moon, and the stars, ^(Y)all the heavenly ^[e]lights, ^(Z)and allow yourself to be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. ²⁰ But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of ^(AA)the iron furnace, from Egypt, to ^(AB)be a people of His own possession, as today.

²¹ “^(AC)Now the Lord was angry with me on your account, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. ²² For ^(AD)I am going to die in this land; I am not crossing the Jordan, but you are going to cross, and you will take possession of this ^(AE)good land. ²³ So be careful ^[f]yourselves, ^(AF)that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and ^(AG)make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. ²⁴ For the Lord your God is a ^(AH)consuming fire, a ^(AI)jealous God.

²⁵ “When you father children and have ^[g]grandchildren, and you grow old in the land, and you ^(AJ)act corruptly, and ^(AK)make ^[h]an idol in the form of anything, and ^(AL)do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, ²⁶ I ^(AM)call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will ^(AN)certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not ^[i]live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will ^(AO)scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. ^28 (AP)There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, ^(AQ)wood and stone, ^(AR)which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything. ^29 (AS)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him ^(AT)with all your heart and all your soul. ³⁰ When you ^(AU)are in distress and all these things happen to you, ^(AV)in the latter days ^(AW)you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a ^(AX)compassionate God; ^(AY)He will not abandon you nor ^(AZ)destroy you, nor ^(BA)forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

³² “Indeed, ^(BB)ask now about the earlier days that were ^[j]before your time, since the ^(BC)day that God created ^[k]mankind on the earth, and inquire ^(BD)from one end of the heavens to the other. ^(BE)Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? ^33 (BF)Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? ^34 (BG)Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation ^(BH)by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, ^(BI)by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, ^[l]just as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵ You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord, He is God; ^(BJ)there is no other besides Him. ^36 (BK)Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice ^(BL)to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. ^37 (BM)Because He loved your fathers, He chose ^[m]their descendants after them. And He ^[n](BN)personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, ³⁸ driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and ^(BO)to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today. ³⁹ Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that ^(BP)the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. ^40 (BQ)So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am ^[o]giving you today, so that ^(BR)it may go well for you and for your children after you, and ^(BS)that you may ^[p]live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

^41 (BT)Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the ^[q]east, ⁴² for ^[r]one to flee there who unintentionally killed his neighbor, without having hatred for him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: ^43 (BU)Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

⁴⁴ Now this is the Law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; ⁴⁵ these are the testimonies and the statutes, and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt, ⁴⁶ across the Jordan, in the valley ^(BV)opposite Beth-peor, in the land of ^(BW)Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel ^[s]defeated when they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ And they took possession of his land and the land of ^(BX)Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the ^[t]east, ⁴⁸ from ^(BY)Aroer, which is on the edge of the ^[u]Valley of Arnon, even as far as ^(BZ)Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), ⁴⁹ with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, ^[v]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments Repeated

5 Now Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:

“Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances which I am speaking today ^[w]for you to hear, so that you may learn them and be careful to do them. ² The Lord our God made ^(CA)a covenant with us at Horeb. ^3 (CB)The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, all ^[x]of us who are alive here today. ⁴ The Lord spoke with you ^(CC)face to face at the mountain ^(CD)from the midst of the fire, ⁵ while ^(CE)I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; ^(CF)for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up on the mountain. ^[y]He said,

⁶ ‘^(CG)I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of ^[z]slavery.

⁷ ‘^(CH)You shall have no other gods besides Me.

⁸ ‘^(CI)You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any ^[aa]likeness of what is in heaven above ^[ab]or on the earth beneath ^[ac]or in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ^(CJ)inflicting the ^[ad]punishment of the fathers on the children, ^[ae]even on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ¹⁰ but ^(CK)showing ^[af]favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

¹¹ ‘^(CL)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God ^[ag]in vain, for the Lord will not ^[ah]leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain.

¹² ‘^(CM)Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ For six days you ^[ai]shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but ^(CN)the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work that day, you or your son or your daughter, or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox, your donkey, or any of your cattle, or your ^[aj]resident who ^[ak]stays with you, so that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. ^15 (CO)And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to ^[al]celebrate the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ ‘^(CP)Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, ^(CQ)so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

¹⁷ ‘^(CR)You shall not murder.

¹⁸ ‘^(CS)You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ ‘^(CT)You shall not steal.

²⁰ ‘^(CU)You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

²¹ ‘^(CV)You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male slave or his female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

Moses Interceded

²² “These words the Lord spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, from the cloud, and from the thick darkness, with a great voice, and He added nothing more. ^(CW)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. ²⁴ You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with mankind, yet he lives. ^25 (CX)Now then, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die! ²⁶ For ^(CY)who is there of ^[am]humanity who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ^27 [an]Go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.’

²⁸ “Now the Lord heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, ^(CZ)and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. ^29 (DA)If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and ^(DB)keep all My commandments always, so that ^(DC)it would go well with them and with their sons forever! ³⁰ Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” ^31 (DD)But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, so that they may ^[ao]follow them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ ³² So you shall be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; ^(DE)you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. ^33 (DF)You shall walk ^[ap]entirely in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, ^(DG)so that you may live and that it may be well for you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.