Mark 8-14

New American Standard Bible

Four Thousand Men Fed

8 In those days, ^(A)when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them, ² “^(B)I feel compassion for the ^[a]people because they have remained with Me for three days already and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” ⁴ And His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough ^[b]bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” ⁵ And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” ⁶ And He *directed the ^[c]people to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve, and they served them to the ^[d]people. ⁷ They also had a few small fish; and ^(C)after He had blessed them, He told the disciples to serve these as well. ⁸ And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large ^(D)baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. ⁹ About four thousand ^[e]men were there; and He dismissed them. ¹⁰ And immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and came to the region of ^(E)Dalmanutha.

^11 (F)And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, ^(G)demanding from Him a ^[f]sign from heaven, ^[g]to test Him. ^12 (H)Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation demand a ^[h]sign? Truly I say to you, ^[i](I)no ^[j]sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³ And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

¹⁴ And the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. ¹⁵ And He was giving orders to them, saying, “^(J)Watch out! Beware of the ^[k]leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of ^(K)Herod.” ¹⁶ And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^(L)Do you not yet comprehend or understand? Do you still have your heart ^[l]hardened? ^18 (M)Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, ¹⁹ when I broke ^(N)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many ^(O)baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “When I broke ^(P)the seven for the four thousand, how many large ^(Q)baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” ²¹ And He was saying to them, “^(R)Do you not yet understand?”

²² And they *came to ^(S)Bethsaida. And some people *brought a man who was blind to ^[m]Jesus and *begged Him to ^(T)touch him. ²³ Taking the man who was blind by the hand, He ^(U)brought him out of the village; and after ^(V)spitting in his eyes and ^(W)laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he ^[n]looked up and said, “I see people, for I see them like trees, walking around.” ²⁵ Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. ²⁶ And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter ^(X)the village.”

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^27 (Y)Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of ^(Z)Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” ^28 (AA)They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” ^(AB)Peter answered and *said to Him, “You are the ^[o]Christ.” ³⁰ And ^(AC)He ^[p]warned them to tell no one about Him.

^31 (AD)And He began to teach them that ^(AE)the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead. ³² And He was stating the matter ^(AF)plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ³³ But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, ^(AG)Satan; for you are not setting your mind on ^[q]God’s purposes, but on man’s.”

³⁴ And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, ^(AH)take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For ^(AI)whoever wants to save his ^[r]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[s]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ For ^(AJ)whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, ^(AK)the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He ^(AL)comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

The Transfiguration

9 And Jesus was saying to them, “^(AM)Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God when it has come with power.”

^2 (AN)And six days later Jesus *took with Him ^(AO)Peter, ^[t]James, and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was ^[u]transfigured before them; ³ and ^(AP)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter responded and *said to Jesus, “^(AQ)Rabbi, it is good that we are here; ^(AR)let’s make three ^[v]tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know how to reply; for they became terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud ^[w]formed, overshadowing them, and ^(AS)a voice ^[x]came out of the cloud: “^(AT)This is My beloved Son; ^[y]listen to Him!” ⁸ And suddenly they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

^9 (AU)As they were coming down from the mountain, He ^(AV)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, ^[z]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. ¹⁰ They ^[aa]seized upon ^[ab]that statement, discussing with one another ^[ac]what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹ And they asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that ^(AW)Elijah must come first?” ¹² And He said to them, “Elijah does come first and he restores all things. And yet how is it written of ^(AX)the Son of Man that ^(AY)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah has ^[ad]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written of him.”

All Things Possible

^14 (AZ)And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were ^(BA)amazed and began running up to greet Him. ¹⁶ And He asked them, “What are you disputing with them?” ¹⁷ And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; ¹⁸ and ^[ae]whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.” ¹⁹ And He answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” ²⁰ And they brought ^[af]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” ²³ But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ ^(BB)All things are possible for the one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵ When Jesus saw that ^(BC)a crowd was ^[ag]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I ^[ah]command you, come out of him and do not enter him ^[ai]again!” ²⁶ And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. ²⁸ When He came ^(BD)into the house, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?” ²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”

Death and Resurrection Foretold

^30 (BE)And from there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. ³¹ For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “^(BF)The Son of Man is to be ^[aj]handed over to men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” ³² But ^(BG)they ^[ak]did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

^33 (BH)They came to Capernaum; and when He was in ^(BI)the house, He began to question them: “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way ^(BJ)they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. ³⁵ And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “^(BK)If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And He took a child and placed him among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “^(BL)Whoever ^[al]receives ^[am]one child like this in My name ^[an]receives Me; and whoever ^[ao]receives Me does not ^[ap]receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Dire Warnings

^38 (BM)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and ^(BN)we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ^40 (BO)For the one who is not against us is ^[aq]for us. ⁴¹ For ^(BP)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink ^[ar]because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.

⁴² “^(BQ)Whoever causes one of these ^[as]little ones who believe in Me to ^[at]sin, it is better for him if a heavy millstone is hung around his neck and he ^[au]is thrown into the sea. ⁴³ And ^(BR)if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed, than, having your two hands, to go into ^[av](BS)hell, into the ^(BT)unquenchable fire.^{[aw] 45} And if your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life without a foot, than, having your two feet, to be thrown into ^[ax](BU)hell.^{[ay] 47} And ^(BV)if your eye is causing you to sin, throw it away; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be thrown into ^[az](BW)hell, ^48 (BX)where their worm does not die, and ^(BY)the fire is not extinguished. ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but ^(BZ)if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you ^[ba]make it salty again? ^(CA)Have salt in yourselves, and ^(CB)be at peace with one another.”

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

10 ^(CC)Setting out from there, Jesus *went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered to Him again, and, ^(CD)as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

² And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to ^[bb]divorce his wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “^(CE)Moses permitted a man to write a ^[bc]certificate of divorce and ^[bd]send his wife away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “^[be](CF)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But ^(CG)from the beginning of creation, God ^(CH)created them male and female. ^7 (CI)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother^[bf], ^8 (CJ)and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this. ¹¹ And He *said to them, “^(CK)Whoever ^[bg]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and ^(CL)if she herself ^[bh]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (CM)And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not ^[bi]forbid them, ^(CN)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(CO)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He ^(CP)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

^17 (CQ)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and ^(CR)knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may ^(CS)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘^(CT)Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept ^(CU)all these things from my youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(CV)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But he ^[bj]was deeply dismayed by ^[bk]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “^(CW)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples ^(CX)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ^25 (CY)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “^[bl]Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus *said, “^(CZ)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

^28 (DA)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, ^(DB)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ^30 [bm]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in ^[bn]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in ^(DC)the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ But ^(DD)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

^32 (DE)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they ^(DF)were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(DG)the Son of Man will be ^[bo]handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will ^[bp]hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock Him and ^(DH)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

^35 [bq](DI)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to ^[br]Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “^[bs]Grant that we ^(DJ)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(DK)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(DL)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ^(DM)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; ^(DN)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

^41 (DO)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with ^[bt]James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their ^[bu]people in high position exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you; ^(DP)rather, whoever wants to become ^[bv]prominent among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man ^(DQ)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[bw]life as a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

^46 (DR)Then they *came to Jericho. And later, ^(DS)as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus the ^(DT)Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, ^(DU)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “^(DV)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “^(DW)Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “^[bx](DX)Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; ^(DY)your faith has ^[by]made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

The Triumphal Entry

11 ^(DZ)And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and ^(EA)Bethany, near ^(EB)the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, ² and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. ³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he ^[bz]will send it back here.” ⁴ They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. ⁵ And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. ^7 (EC)They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. ⁸ And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. ⁹ And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

^11 (EF)And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, ^(EG)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

^12 (EH)On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. ¹³ Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Drives Money Changers from the Temple

^15 (EI)Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling ^[cc]doves; ¹⁶ and He would not allow anyone to carry ^[cd]merchandise through the temple grounds. ¹⁷ And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘^(EJ)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? ^(EK)But you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they ^(EL)began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all ^(EM)the crowd was astonished at His teaching.

¹⁹ And ^(EN)whenever evening came, ^[ce]they would leave the city.

^20 (EO)As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. ²¹ And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “^(EP)Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” ²² And Jesus answered and *said to them, “^(EQ)Have faith in God. ^23 (ER)Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. ²⁴ Therefore, I say to you, ^(ES)all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. ²⁵ And whenever you ^(ET)stand praying, ^(EU)forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your ^[cf]offenses. ²⁶ [^[cg](EV)But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your ^[ch]offenses.”]

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²⁷ And they *came again to Jerusalem. ^(EW)And as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders *came to Him, ²⁸ and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ But Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the ^[ci]people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³ Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-growers

12 ^(EX)And He began to speak to them in parables: “^(EY)A man ^(EZ)planted a vineyard and put a ^[cj]fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to ^[ck]vine-growers and went on a journey. ² And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. ³ And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. ⁶ He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the ^[cl]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

^12 (FC)And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the ^[cn]people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so ^(FD)they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes

^13 (FE)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and ^(FF)Herodians to Him in order to ^(FG)trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴ They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and ^[co]do not care what anyone thinks; for You ^[cp]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it ^[cq]permissible to pay a ^[cr]poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[cs]denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “^(FH)Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

^18 (FI)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to ^[ct]Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(FJ)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to ^[cu]marry the wife and raise up ^[cv]children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹ The second one ^[cw]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; ²² and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[cx]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But ^[cy]regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^(FK)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^(FL)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ^27 (FM)He is not the God ^[cz]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

^28 (FN)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and ^(FO)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[da]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The ^[db]foremost is, ‘^(FP)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; ^30 (FQ)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘^(FR)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(FS)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; ^33 (FT)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(FU)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(FV)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

^35 (FW)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He ^(FX)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[dc]Christ is the ^(FY)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[dd]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^(GA)the large crowd ^[de]enjoyed listening to Him.

^38 (GB)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^(GC)personal greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (GD)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Coins

^41 (GE)And Jesus sat down opposite ^(GF)the treasury, and began watching how the ^[df]people were ^(GG)putting ^[dg]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[dh]lepta coins, which amount to a ^[di]quadrans. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all ^[dj]the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[dk]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[dl]all she had ^(GH)to live on.”

Things to Come

13 ^(GI)As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, look! ^[dm]What wonderful stones and ^[dn]what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(GJ)Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(GK)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(GL)Peter, ^[do]James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things come about, and what will be the ^[dp]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(GM)I am He!’ and they will mislead many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But ^[dq]be on your guard; for they will ^(GN)hand you over to the ^[dr]courts, and you will be flogged ^(GO)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. ^10 (GP)And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ^11 (GQ)And when they ^[ds]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[dt]have them put to death. ¹³ And ^(GR)you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

¹⁴ “Now ^(GS)when you see the ^(GT)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—^[du]let the ^[dv]reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 [dw](GU)Whoever is on the ^[dx]housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And ^[dy]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁷ But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred ^(GV)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no ^[dz]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[ea]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the ^[eb]Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; ²² for false christs and ^(GW)false prophets will arise, and will provide ^(GX)signs and ^(GY)wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But beware; I have told you everything in advance.

The Return of Christ

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, ^(GZ)the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ^25 (HA)and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(HB)the Son of Man ^(HC)coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and ^(HD)will gather together His ^[ec]elect from the four winds, ^(HE)from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[ed]recognize that ^[ee]He is near, right at the ^[ef]door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ^32 (HF)But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “Watch out, ^(HG)stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. ^34 (HH)It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and ^[eg]putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵ Therefore, ^(HI)stay alert—for you do not know when the ^[eh]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^(HJ)when the rooster crows, or ^(HK)in the morning— ³⁶ so that he does not come suddenly and find you ^(HL)asleep. ³⁷ What I say to you I say to all: ‘^(HM)Stay alert!’”

Death Plot and Anointing

14 ^(HN)Now ^(HO)the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^(HP)were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

^3 (HQ)While He was in ^(HR)Bethany at the home of Simon ^[ei]the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very ^(HS)expensive perfume of pure ^[ej]nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head. ⁴ But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred ^[ek]denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me. ⁷ For you always have ^(HT)the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸ She has done what she could; ^(HU)she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ Truly I say to you, ^(HV)wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

^10 (HW)Then Judas Iscariot, ^(HX)who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to ^[el]betray Him to them. ¹¹ They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Last Passover

^12 (HY)On the first day of ^[em](HZ)Unleavened Bread, when ^[en]the Passover lamb was being ^(IA)sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him; ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My ^(IB)guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ The disciples left and came to the city, and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (IC)When it was evening He *came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ^[eo]betray Me—^[ep]one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man ^[eq]by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^[er]for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

^22 (ID)While they were eating, He took some bread, and ^[es]after a ^(IE)blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My ^(IF)blood of the ^(IG)covenant, which is being poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

^26 (IH)And after singing a ^[et]hymn, they went out to ^(II)the Mount of Olives.

^27 (IJ)And Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[eu]fall away, because it is written: ‘^(IK)I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised, ^(IL)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all ^[ev]fall away, yet I will not!” ³⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that ^[ew](IM)this very night, before ^(IN)a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But ^[ex]Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

Jesus in Gethsemane

^32 (IO)They *came to a place named ^[ey]Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³ And He *took with Him Peter, ^[ez]James, and John, and began to be very ^(IP)distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And He *said to them, “^(IQ)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^[fa]keep watch.” ³⁵ And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, ^(IR)the hour might ^[fb]pass Him by. ³⁶ And He was saying, “^(IS)Abba! ^[fc]Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^(IT)yet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷ And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not ^[fd]keep watch for one hour? ^38 [fe](IU)Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again He went away and prayed, saying the same ^[ff]words. ⁴⁰ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him. ⁴¹ And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. ^(IV)The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^[fg]betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

Betrayal and Arrest

^43 (IW)And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, ^[fh]accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away ^[fi]under guard.” ⁴⁵ And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and *said, “^(IX)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and ^[fj]cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you ^(IY)within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And ^[fk]His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹ A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. ⁵² But he ^[fl]pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus before His Accusers

^53 (IZ)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴ And Peter had followed Him at a distance, ^(JA)right into ^(JB)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^[fm]officers and ^(JC)warming himself at the ^[fn]fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire ^[fo](JD)Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. ⁵⁷ And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘^(JE)I will destroy this ^[fp]temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰ And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” ^61 (JF)But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. ^(JG)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the ^[fq]Christ, the Son of ^[fr]the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^(JH)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^(JI)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ^63 (JJ)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(JK)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. ⁶⁵ And some began to ^(JL)spit on Him, and ^[fs](JM)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “^(JN)Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him ^[ft]and slapped Him in the face.

Peter’s Denials

^66 (JO)And while Peter was below in ^(JP)the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(JQ)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the ^(JR)Nazarene as well.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^(JS)went out onto the ^[fu]porch.^{[fv] 69} The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” ⁷⁰ But again ^(JT)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, ^(JU)for you are a Galilean as well.” ⁷¹ But he began to ^[fw]curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” ⁷² And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before ^(JV)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And ^[fx]he hurried on and began to weep.