Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^(A)He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And ^(B)he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^(C)a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^(D)I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and ^(E)received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all ^(F)grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ^(G)I give to the poor. And if I have ^(H)defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^(I)fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^(J)he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For ^(K)the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ^(L)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, ^(M)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ^(N)ten of his servants,^[a] he gave them ten minas,^[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^(O)until I come.’ ¹⁴ But ^(P)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!^[c] Because you have been ^(Q)faithful in a very little, ^(R)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^(S)a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are ^(T)a severe man. You take ^(U)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ^(V)‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^(W)you wicked servant! You knew that I was ^(X)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you that ^(Y)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But ^(Z)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(AA)slaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, ^(AB)he went on ahead, ^(AC)going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (AD)When he drew near to Bethphage and ^(AE)Bethany, at ^(AF)the mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^(AG)two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^(AH)on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it ^(AI)just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they ^(AJ)spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^(AK)the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^(AL)for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, ^(AM)“Blessed is ^(AN)the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^(AO)glory in the highest!” ^39 (AP)And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^(AQ)the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

^41 (AR)And when he drew near and saw the city, ^(AS)he wept over it, ⁴² saying, ^(AT)“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^(AU)they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For ^(AV)the days will come upon you, when your enemies ^(AW)will set up a barricade around you and ^(AX)surround you and hem you in on every side ^44 (AY)and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^(AZ)they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^(BA)the time of your ^(BB)visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^45 (BC)And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ^(BD)‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^(BE)you have made it a den of robbers.”

^47 (BF)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(BG)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ^2 (A)Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and ^(B)he sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now ^(C)in the Law, Moses commanded us ^(D)to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶ This they said ^(E)to test him, ^(F)that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ^(G)“Let him who is without sin among you ^(H)be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ^(I)“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ^(J)sin no more.”]]

I Am the Light of the World

^12 (K)Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(L)“I am the light of the world. Whoever ^(M)follows me will not ^(N)walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, ^(O)“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, ^(P)my testimony is true, for I know ^(Q)where I came from and ^(R)where I am going, but ^(S)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ^15 (T)You judge according to the flesh; ^(U)I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, ^(V)my judgment is true, for ^(W)it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father^[a] who sent me. ^17 (X)In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am the one who bears witness about myself, and ^(Y)the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” ¹⁹ They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, ^(Z)“You know neither me nor my Father. ^(AA)If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ These words he spoke in ^(AB)the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but ^(AC)no one arrested him, because ^(AD)his hour had not yet come.

²¹ So he said to them again, ^(AE)“I am going away, and ^(AF)you will seek me, and ^(AG)you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, ^(AH)“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, ^(AI)“You are from below; I am from above. ^(AJ)You are of this world; ^(AK)I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you ^(AL)would die in your sins, for ^(AM)unless you believe that ^(AN)I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, ^(AO)“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^(AP)he who sent me is true, and I declare ^(AQ)to the world ^(AR)what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that ^(AS)he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^(AT)lifted up the Son of Man, ^(AU)then you will know that ^(AV)I am he, and that ^(AW)I do nothing on my own authority, but ^(AX)speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And ^(AY)he who sent me is with me. ^(AZ)He has not left me alone, for ^(BA)I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, ^(BB)many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^(BC)“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will ^(BD)know the truth, and the truth ^(BE)will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, ^(BF)“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BG)everyone who practices sin is a slave^[b] to sin. ^35 (BH)The slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(BI)the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^(BJ)you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ^38 (BK)I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^(BL)from your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

³⁹ They answered him, ^(BM)“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^(BN)“If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰ but now ^(BO)you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^(BP)that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^(BQ)“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^(BR)one Father—even God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(BS)“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^(BT)I came from God and ^(BU)I am here. ^(BV)I came not of my own accord, but ^(BW)he sent me. ^43 (BX)Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^(BY)bear to hear my word. ^44 (BZ)You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. ^(CA)He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(CB)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^(CC)When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ^47 (CD)Whoever is of God hears the words of God. ^(CE)The reason why you do not hear them is that ^(CF)you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^(CG)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^(CH)I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet ^(CI)I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, ^(CJ)I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(CK)see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^(CL)Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^(CM)you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(CN)taste death.’ ^53 (CO)Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(CP)“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^(CQ)It is my Father who glorifies me, ^(CR)of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’^{[c] 55} But ^(CS)you have not known him. ^(CT)I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^(CU)a liar ^(CV)like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ^56 (CW)Your father Abraham ^(CX)rejoiced ^(CY)that he would see my day. ^(CZ)He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^{[d] 58} Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^(DA)I am.” ⁵⁹ So ^(DB)they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.