The Transfiguration

17 ^(A)And after six days Jesus took with him ^(B)Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was ^(C)transfigured before them, and ^(D)his face shone like the sun, and ^(E)his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^(F)Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, ^(G)a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^(H)a voice from the cloud said, ^(I)“This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased; ^(J)listen to him.” ⁶ When ^(K)the disciples heard this, ^(L)they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and ^(M)touched them, saying, “Rise, and ^(N)have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

^9 (O)And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^(P)“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^(Q)that first Elijah must come?” ¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^(R)he will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^(S)did to him whatever they pleased. ^(T)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ^13 (U)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

^14 (V)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵ said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^(W)seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to your disciples, and ^(X)they could not heal him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^(Y)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^(Z)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus ^(AA)rebuked the demon,^[b] and it^[c] came out of him, and ^(AB)the boy was healed instantly.^{[d] 19} Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, ^(AC)“Because of your little faith. For ^(AD)truly, I say to you, ^(AE)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^(AF)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^(AG)nothing will be impossible for you.”^[e]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22 (AH)As they were gathering^[f] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(AI)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24 (AJ)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(AK)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(AL)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(AM)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[g] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(AN)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^(AO)turn and ^(AP)become like children, you ^(AQ)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4 (AR)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the ^(AS)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5 (AT)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶ but ^(AU)whoever causes one of these ^(AV)little ones who believe in me to sin,^[h] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷ “Woe to the world for ^(AW)temptations to sin!^{[i] (AX)}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^(AY)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8 (AZ)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^(BA)the eternal fire. ^9 (BB)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^(BC)hell^[j] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise ^(BD)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^(BE)their angels always ^(BF)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{[k] 12 (BG)}What do you think? ^(BH)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So ^(BI)it is not the will of my^[l] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15 (BJ)“If your brother sins against you, ^(BK)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^(BL)gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^(BM)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(BN)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(BO)let him be to you as ^(BP)a Gentile and ^(BQ)a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, ^(BR)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[m] in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you ^(BS)agree on earth about anything they ask, ^(BT)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are ^(BU)gathered in my name, ^(BV)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^(BW)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(BX)As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^(BY)to settle accounts with his servants.^{[n] 24} When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^(BZ)ten thousand ^(CA)talents.^{[o] 25 (CB)}And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^(CC)to be sold, with his wife and ^(CD)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant^{[p] (CE)}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^(CF)forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^(CG)denarii,^[q] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 (CH)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ^34 (CI)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{[r] (CJ)}until he should pay all his debt. ^35 (CK)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^(CL)from your heart.”

The Altar of Incense

30 ^(A)“You shall make ^(B)an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² A cubit^[a] shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. ^(C)Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You shall ^(D)overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴ And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be ^(E)holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^(F)mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron shall ^(G)burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^(H)dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer ^(I)unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ^10 (J)Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the ^(K)sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Census Tax

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ^12 (L)“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give ^(M)a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel^[b] according to the ^(N)shekel of the sanctuary (the ^(O)shekel is twenty gerahs),^{[c] (P)}half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than ^(Q)the half shekel, when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶ You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall ^(R)give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to ^(S)remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a ^(T)basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. ^(U)You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ with which Aaron and his sons ^(V)shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering^[d] to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹ They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall ^(W)be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the ^(X)finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of ^(Y)aromatic cane, ²⁴ and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^(Z)hin^[e] of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the ^(AA)perfumer; it shall be a ^(AB)holy anointing oil. ^26 (AC)With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the ^(AD)basin and its stand. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. ^(AE)Whatever touches them will become holy. ^30 (AF)You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹ And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. ^(AG)It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33 (AH)Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ^(AI)“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), ³⁵ and make an ^(AJ)incense blended as by the ^(AK)perfumer, ^(AL)seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(AM)where I shall meet with you. ^(AN)It shall be most holy for you. ³⁷ And the incense that you shall make ^(AO)according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. ^38 (AP)Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.^[b] A Psalm of David.