The Triumphal Entry^(A)

11 Now ^(B)when they drew near Jerusalem, to ^[a]Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; ² and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. ³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”

⁴ So they went their way, and found ^[b]the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. ⁵ But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”

⁶ And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. ^8 (C)And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

^11 (F)And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

The Fig Tree Withered^(G)

^12 (H)Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. ^13 (I)And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple^(J)

^15 (K)So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold ^(L)doves. ¹⁶ And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. ¹⁷ Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ^(M)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ^(N)‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁸ And ^(O)the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because ^(P)all the people were astonished at His teaching. ¹⁹ When evening had come, He went out of the city.

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree^(Q)

^20 (R)Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For ^(S)assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, ^(T)whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Forgiveness and Prayer^(U)

²⁵ “And whenever you stand praying, ^(V)if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. ^26 [d]But ^(W)if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(X)

²⁷ Then they came again to Jerusalem. ^(Y)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. ²⁸ And they said to Him, “By what ^(Z)authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: ³⁰ The ^(AA)baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

³¹ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for ^(AB)all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. ³³ So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^(A)

12 Then ^(B)He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to ^[a]vinedressers and went into a far country. ² Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant, ^[b]and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ⁵ And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, ^(C)beating some and killing some. ⁶ Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those ^[c]vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and ^(D)killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

^12 (F)And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(G)

^13 (H)Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and ^[d]care about no one; for You do not ^[e]regard the person of men, but teach the ^(I)way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their ^(J)hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶ So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, ^[f]“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to ^(K)God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: ^(A)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(B)bear the ^[a]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. ² Also bring with you your brethren of the ^(C)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(D)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[b]witness. ³ They shall attend to your ^[c]needs and ^(E)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(F)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(G)lest they die—they and you also. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; ^(H)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall attend to ^(I)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(J)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have ^(K)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(L)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷ Therefore ^(M)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(N)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(O)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(P)I Myself have also given you ^[d]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(Q)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. ⁹ This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every ^(R)grain offering and every ^(S)sin offering and every ^(T)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. ^10 (U)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹ “This also is yours: ^(V)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. ^(W)Everyone who is ^[e]clean in your house may eat it.

^12 (X)“All the ^[f]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ^(Y)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. ¹³ Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, ^(Z)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

^14 (AA)“Every ^[g]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵ “Everything that first opens ^(AB)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless ^(AC)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, ^(AD)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is ^(AE)twenty gerahs. ^17 (AF)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(AG)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ And their flesh shall be yours, just as the ^(AH)wave^[h] breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹ “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ^(AI)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have ^(AJ)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; ^(AK)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Tithes for Support of the Levites

²¹ “Behold, ^(AL)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as ^[i]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, ^(AM)the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ^22 (AN)Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, ^(AO)lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites ^[j]as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”

The Tithe of the Levites

²⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, ^(AP)a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷ And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the ^(AQ)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the ^[k]best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ ³⁰ Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. ³¹ You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is ^(AR)your ^[l]reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. ³² And you shall ^(AS)bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not ^(AT)profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

Laws of Purification

19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the ^[m]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without ^[n]blemish, in which there is no ^(AU)defect ^(AV)and on which a yoke has never come. ³ You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it ^(AW)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; ⁴ and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and ^(AX)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: ^(AY)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. ⁶ And the priest shall take ^(AZ)cedar wood and ^(BA)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. ^7 (BB)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Then a man who is clean shall gather up ^(BC)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel ^(BD)for the water of ^[o]purification; it is for purifying from sin. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

^11 (BE)‘He who touches the dead ^[p]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ^12 (BF)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and ^(BG)does not purify himself, ^(BH)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because ^(BI)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; ^(BJ)his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; ¹⁵ and every ^(BK)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. ^16 (BL)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷ ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ^(BM)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and ^[q]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take ^(BN)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. ¹⁹ The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; ^(BO)and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has ^(BP)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹ It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. ^22 (BQ)Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and ^(BR)the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”