10 And [Jesus] left there [Capernaum] and went to the region of Judea and beyond [east of] the Jordan; and crowds [constantly] gathered around Him again, and as was His custom, He began to teach them again.

² And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to ^[a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?

³ He answered them, What did Moses command you?

⁴ They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.^(A)

⁵ But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [^[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this ^[c]precept in your Law.

⁶ But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.^(B)

⁷ For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother ^[d]and be ^[e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,

⁸ And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.^(C)

⁹ What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.

¹⁰ And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.

¹¹ And He said to them, Whoever ^[f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;

¹² And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

¹³ And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it].

¹⁴ But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and ^[g]pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me—do not forbid or prevent or hinder them—for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all.

¹⁶ And He took them [the children up ^[h]one by one] in His arms and [^[i]fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them.

¹⁷ And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, Teacher, [You are ^[j]essentially and perfectly ^[k]morally] good, what must I do to inherit eternal life [that is, ^[l]to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?

¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me [^[m]essentially and perfectly ^[n]morally] good? There is no one [^[o]essentially and perfectly ^[p]morally] good—except God alone.

¹⁹ You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.^(D)

²⁰ And he replied to Him, Teacher, I have carefully guarded and observed all these and taken care not to violate them from my boyhood.

²¹ And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [^[q]walking the same road that I walk].

²² At that saying the man’s countenance fell and was gloomy, and he went away grieved and sorrowing, for he was holding great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth and ^[r]keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God!

²⁴ And the disciples were amazed and bewildered and perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is ^[s]for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

²⁶ And they were shocked and exceedingly astonished, and said to Him and ^[t]to one another, Then who can be saved?

²⁷ Jesus glanced around at them and said, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.

²⁸ Peter started to say to Him, Behold, we have ^[u]yielded up and abandoned everything [once and for all and ^[v]joined You as Your disciples, siding with Your party] and accompanied You [^[w]walking the same road that You walk].

²⁹ Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s

³⁰ Who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹ But many [who are now] first will be last [then], and many [who are now] last will be first [then].

³² They were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid. And He took the Twelve [apostles] again and began to tell them what was about to happen to Him,

³³ [Saying], Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn and sentence Him to death and turn Him over to the Gentiles.

³⁴ And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again [^[x]from death].

³⁵ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said to Him, Teacher, we desire You to do for us whatever we ask of You.

³⁶ And He replied to them, What do you desire Me to do for you?

³⁷ And they said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one at Your right hand and one at [Your] left hand, in Your glory (Your majesty and splendor).

³⁸ But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism [of affliction] with which I am baptized?

³⁹ And they replied to Him, We are able. And Jesus told them, The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized,

⁴⁰ But to sit at My right hand or at My left hand is not Mine to give; but [it will be given to those] for whom it is ordained and prepared.

⁴¹ And when the other ten [apostles] heard it, they began to be indignant with James and John.

⁴² But Jesus called them to [Him] and said to them, You know that those who are recognized as governing and are supposed to rule the Gentiles (the nations) lord it over them [ruling with absolute power, holding them in subjection], and their great men exercise authority and dominion over them.

⁴³ But this is not to be so among you; instead, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴ And whoever wishes to be most important and first in rank among you must be slave of all.

⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for (^[y]instead of) many.

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [^[z]now]!

⁴⁸ And many ^[aa]severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!

⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.

⁵⁰ And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.

⁵² And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.^(E)

³⁸ Now while they were on their way, it occurred that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house.

³⁹ And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching.

⁴⁰ But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]!

⁴¹ But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;

⁴² There is need of only one or but ^[a]a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [^[b]that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her.

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²⁰ His parents answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.

²¹ But as to how he can now see, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age. Ask him; let him speak for himself and give his own account of it.

²² His parents said this because they feared [the leaders of] the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, he should be expelled and excluded from the synagogue.

²³ On that account his parents said, He is of age; ask him.

²⁴ So the second time they summoned the man who had been born blind, and said to him, Now give God the glory (praise). This ^[a]Fellow we know is only a sinner (a wicked person).

²⁵ Then he answered, I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see.

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Psalm 27

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

³ Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, [even then] in this will I be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.^(A)

⁵ For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!

⁸ You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

⁹ Hide not Your face from me; turn not Your servant away in anger, You Who have been my help! Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!

¹⁰ Although my father and my mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].^(B)

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain and even path because of my enemies [those who lie in wait for me].

¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me; they breathe out cruelty and violence.

¹³ [What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!

¹⁴ Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

¹³ I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

¹⁵ So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.

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