Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And ^(A)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And ^(B)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^(C)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^(D)the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ^(E)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take ^(F)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ^15 (G)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^(H)do you begrudge my generosity?’^{[b] 16} So ^(I)the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^17 (J)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, ^(K)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^(L)condemn him to death ¹⁹ and ^(M)deliver him over to the Gentiles ^(N)to be mocked and flogged and ^(O)crucified, and he will be raised on ^(P)the third day.”

A Mother's Request

^20 (Q)Then ^(R)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^(S)kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^(T)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^(U)in your kingdom.” ²² Jesus answered, ^(V)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(W)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, ^(X)“You will drink ^(Y)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^(Z)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(AA)prepared by my Father.” ²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, ^(AB)“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ^(AC)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ^26 (AD)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^{[c] 27} and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^{[d] 28} even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^(AE)to serve, and ^(AF)to give his life as a ransom for ^(AG)many.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^29 (AH)And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,^[e] have mercy on us, ^(AI)Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd ^(AJ)rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus ^(A)said to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 (B)“The scribes and the Pharisees ^(C)sit on Moses' seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, ^(D)but not the works they do. ^(E)For they preach, but do not practice. ^4 (F)They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,^[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ^5 (G)They do all their deeds ^(H)to be seen by others. For they make ^(I)their phylacteries broad and ^(J)their fringes long, ⁶ and they ^(K)love the place of honor at feasts and ^(L)the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and ^(M)greetings in ^(N)the marketplaces and being called ^(O)rabbi^[b] by others. ^8 (P)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ^(Q)all brothers.^{[c] 9 (R)}And call no man your father on earth, for ^(S)you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, ^(T)the Christ. ^11 (U)The greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (V)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe ^(W)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^(X)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you ^(Y)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.^{[d] 15} Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^(Z)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^(AA)child of ^(AB)hell^[e] as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to ^(AC)you, ^(AD)blind guides, who say, ^(AE)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^(AF)the temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^(AG)the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^(AH)the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^(AI)him who dwells in it. ²² And whoever swears by ^(AJ)heaven swears by ^(AK)the throne of God and by ^(AL)him who sits upon it.

^23 (AM)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AN)you tithe mint and dill and ^(AO)cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^(AP)justice and mercy and faithfulness. ^(AQ)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ^(AR)a camel!

^25 (AS)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AT)you clean the outside of ^(AU)the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^(AV)greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of ^(AW)the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

^27 (AX)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^(AY)whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and ^(AZ)all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also ^(BA)outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of ^(BB)hypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29 (BC)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are ^(BD)sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 (BE)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(BF)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^(BG)hell? ^34 (BH)Therefore ^(BI)I send you ^(BJ)prophets and wise men and ^(BK)scribes, ^(BL)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^(BM)some you will ^(BN)flog in your synagogues and ^(BO)persecute from town to town, ³⁵ so that on you may come all ^(BP)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(BQ)Abel to the blood of ^(BR)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,^[f] whom you murdered between ^(BS)the sanctuary and ^(BT)the altar. ³⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(BU)all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

^37 (BV)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(BW)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^(BX)gathered ^(BY)your children together ^(BZ)as a hen gathers her brood ^(CA)under her wings, and ^(CB)you were not willing! ³⁸ See, ^(CC)your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^(CD)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”