Matthew 19-20

Complete Jewish Bible

19 When Yeshua had finished talking about these things, he left the Galil and traveled down the east side of the Yarden River until he passed the border of Y’hudah. ² Great crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some P’rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?” ⁴ He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,^{[a] 5} and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’?^{[b] 6} Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷ They said to him, “Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?”^{[c] 8} He answered, “Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. ⁹ Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!”

¹⁰ The talmidim said to him, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!” ¹¹ He said to them, “Not everyone grasps this teaching, only those for whom it is meant. ¹² For there are different reasons why men do not marry — some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so.”

¹³ Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them. ¹⁴ However, Yeshua said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ Then, after laying his hands on them, he went on his way.

¹⁶ A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, ¹⁷ “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” ¹⁸ The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony ^{[d] 19} honor father and mother ^[e] and love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[f] 20} The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” ²¹ Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.

²³ Then Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the talmidim heard this they were utterly amazed. “Then who,” they asked, “can be saved?” ²⁶ Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, this is impossible; but with God everything is possible.” ²⁷ Kefa replied, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?” ²⁸ Yeshua said to them, “Yes. I tell you that in the regenerated world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Isra’el. ²⁹ Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

20 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. ³ Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You go to the vineyard too — I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So they went. ⁵ At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. ⁶ About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ ‘You too,’ he told them, ‘go to the vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.’ ⁹ The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, ¹⁰ so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius. ¹¹ On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, ¹² ‘These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!’ ¹³ But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? ¹⁴ Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. ¹⁵ Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.”

¹⁷ As Yeshua was going up to Yerushalayim, he took the twelve talmidim aside by themselves and said to them, as they went on their way, ¹⁸ “We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head cohanim and Torah-teachers. They will sentence him to death ¹⁹ and turn him over to the Goyim, who will jeer at him, beat him and execute him on a stake as a criminal. But on the third day, he will be raised.”

²⁰ Then Zavdai’s sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She bowed down, begging a favor from him. ²¹ He said to her, “What do you want?” She replied, “Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left.” ²² But Yeshua answered, “You people don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” ²³ He said to them, “Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it.”

²⁴ Now when the other ten heard about this, they were outraged at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Yeshua called them and said, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. ²⁶ Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! ²⁸ For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹ As they were leaving Yericho, a large crowd followed Yeshua. ³⁰ Two blind men sitting by the side of the road heard that he was passing by and shouted, “Son of David! Have pity on us!” ³¹ The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have pity on us!” ³² Yeshua stopped, called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, open our eyes.” ³⁴ Filled with tenderness, Yeshua touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed him.