Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not ^[a]judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the ^[c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the ^[e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the ^[f]speck out of your brother’s eye!

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[g](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[h]seek, and you will find; ^[i]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what person is there among you ^[j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[k]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[n]treat people the same way you want ^[o]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(M)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[p](N)know them by their fruits. ^[q]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(O)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ^19 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[r]know them ^(Q)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (S)Many will say to Me on ^(T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[s]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(U)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(V)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[t]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[u]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[v]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[w]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

^28 [x](W)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy

8 When ^[y]Jesus came down from the mountain, ^[z]large crowds followed Him. ² And ^(Y)a man with ^[aa]leprosy came to Him and ^[ab](Z)bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ^3 [ac]Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his ^(AA)leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus *said to him, “^(AB)See that you tell no one; but ^(AC)go, ^(AD)show yourself to the priest and present the ^[ad]offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Centurion’s Faith

⁵ And ^(AE)when ^[ae]Jesus entered Capernaum, a ^[af]centurion came to Him, begging Him, ⁶ and saying, “^[ag]Lord, my ^[ah]servant is lying ^(AF)paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” ⁷ Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “^[ai]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just ^[aj]say the word, and my ^[ak]servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under ^(AG)authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith ^[al]with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ And I say to you that many ^(AH)will come from east and west, and ^[am]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but ^(AI)the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into ^(AJ)the outer darkness; in that place ^(AK)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; ^[an]it shall be done for you ^(AL)as you have believed.” And the ^[ao]servant was healed at that very ^[ap]moment.

Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed

^14 (AM)When Jesus came into Peter’s ^[aq]home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and ^[ar]waited on Him. ¹⁶ Now when evening came, they brought to Him many ^(AN)who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and ^(AO)healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “^(AP)He Himself took our illnesses and ^[as]carried away our diseases.”

Discipleship Tested

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, ^(AQ)He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. ^19 (AR)Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(AS)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ²¹ And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus *said to him, “^(AT)Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

^23 (AU)When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, a ^[at]violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “^(AV)Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He *said to them, “Why are you ^[au]afraid, ^(AW)you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^[av]it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Sends Demons into Pigs

^28 (AX)And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two ^(AY)demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “^[aw](AZ)What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before ^[ax]the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and ^[ay]drowned in the waters. ³³ And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, ^[az]including what had happened to the ^(BA)demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, ^(BB)they pleaded with Him to leave their region.

Cornelius’ Vision

10 Now there was a man in ^(A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^(B)called the Italian ^[a]cohort, ² a devout man and ^(C)one who feared God with all his household, and ^(D)made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. ³ About ^(E)the ^[b]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^(F)in a vision ^(G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And he ^(H)looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts ^(I)have ascended ^(J)as a memorial offering before God. ⁵ Now dispatch some men to ^(K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is staying with a tanner named ^(L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his ^[c]servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants, ⁸ and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to ^(M)Joppa.

⁹ On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^(N)Peter went up on ^(O)the ^[d]housetop about ^[e](P)the sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he ^(Q)fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he *saw ^(R)the sky opened up, and an ^[f]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹² and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and ^[g]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, ^[h]kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, ^(S)Lord, for ^(T)I have never eaten anything ^[i]unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “^(U)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[j]consider unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the ^[k]object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^[l]mind as to what ^(V)the vision which he had seen might ^[m]mean, behold, ^(W)the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate; ¹⁸ and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was reflecting on ^(X)the vision, ^(Y)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^[n]three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and ^(Z)accompany them ^[o]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” ²² They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^(AA)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^(AB)was divinely directed by a ^(AC)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear ^[p](AD)a message from you.” ²³ So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

Peter in Caesarea

Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and ^(AE)some of ^(AF)the brothers from ^(AG)Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ On the following day he entered ^(AH)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ^[q](AI)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter helped him up, saying, “^(AJ)Stand up; I, too, am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^(AK)many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is ^(AL)forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a ^[r]foreigner; and yet ^(AM)God has shown me that I am not to call any person ^[s]unholy or unclean. ²⁹ That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “^(AN)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^(AO)the ^[t]ninth hour; and behold, ^(AP)a man stood before me in shining clothing, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send some men to ^(AQ)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent men to you immediately, and you have ^[u]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear Good News

^34 (AR)Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that ^(AS)God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but ^(AT)in every nation the one who ^[v](AU)fears Him and ^[w]does what is right is acceptable to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^(AV)preaching ^[x](AW)peace through Jesus Christ (He is ^(AX)Lord of all)— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ^38 [y]You know of ^(AY)Jesus of Nazareth, how God ^(AZ)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^[z](BA)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^(BB)God was with Him. ³⁹ We are ^(BC)witnesses of all the things that He did both in the ^[aa]country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on ^[ab](BD)a cross. ^40 (BE)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He ^[ac]be revealed, ^41 (BF)not to all the people, but to ^(BG)witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^(BH)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ^(BI)ordered us to ^[ad]preach to the people, and to ^(BJ)testify solemnly that this is the One who has been ^(BK)appointed by God as ^(BL)Judge of the living and the dead. ^43 (BM)All the prophets testify of Him, that through ^(BN)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, ^(BO)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the ^[ae]message. ^45 (BP)All the ^[af]Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been ^(BQ)poured out on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them ^(BR)speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded, ⁴⁷ “^(BS)Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who ^(BT)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” ⁴⁸ And he ^(BU)ordered them to be baptized ^(BV)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Peter Reports in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and ^(BW)the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^[ag](BX)the Jewish believers took issue with him, ³ saying, “^(BY)You ^[ah]went to ^[ai]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained at length to them ^(BZ)in an orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “^(CA)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^(CB)a vision, an ^[aj]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, ⁶ and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the ^[ak]crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ^[al]kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ^[am]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^(CC)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[an]consider unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. ¹¹ And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from ^(CD)Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. ^12 (CE)And the Spirit told me to go with them ^(CF)without ^[ao]misgivings. ^(CG)These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ^[ap]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ and he will speak ^(CH)words to you by which you will be saved, you and ^(CI)all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, ^(CJ)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^(CK)as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^(CL)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^[aq]with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if ^(CM)God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(CN)who was I that I could ^[ar]stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they ^[as]quieted down and ^(CO)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the ^(CP)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

^19 (CQ)So then those who were scattered because of the ^[at]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^[au]to ^(CR)Phoenicia, ^(CS)Cyprus, and ^(CT)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of ^(CU)Cyprus and ^(CV)Cyrene, who came to ^(CW)Antioch and began speaking to the ^[av](CX)Greeks as well, ^(CY)preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(CZ)the hand of the Lord was with them, and ^(DA)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The ^[aw]news about them ^[ax]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent ^(DB)Barnabas off ^[ay]to ^(DC)Antioch. ²³ Then when he arrived and ^[az]witnessed ^(DD)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ^[ba]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴ for he was a good man, and ^(DE)full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And ^[bb](DF)considerable numbers were added to the Lord. ²⁵ And he left for ^(DG)Tarsus to look for Saul; ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to ^(DH)Antioch. And for an entire year they ^[bc]met with the church and taught ^[bd]considerable numbers of people; and ^(DI)the disciples were first called ^(DJ)Christians in ^(DK)Antioch.

²⁷ Now ^[be]at this time some ^(DL)prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^(DM)Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named ^(DN)Agabus, stood up and ^[bf]indicated ^[bg]by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine ^(DO)all over the ^[bh]world. ^[bi]And this took place in the reign of ^(DP)Claudius. ²⁹ And to the extent that any of ^(DQ)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ^[bj]relief of ^(DR)the brothers and sisters living in Judea. ^30 (DS)And they did this, sending it ^[bk]with ^(DT)Barnabas and Saul to the ^(DU)elders.

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

12 Now about that time ^[bl]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. ² And he ^(DV)had James the brother of John ^(DW)executed with a sword. ³ When he saw that it ^(DX)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were ^[bm](DY)the days of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴ When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^[bn](DZ)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after ^(EA)the Passover to bring him before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God ^[bo]intensely by the church.

⁶ On ^[bp]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(EB)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(EC)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(ED)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(EE)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^[bq]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(EF)a vision. ¹⁰ Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(EG)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(EH)came ^[br]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(EI)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[bs]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(EJ)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(EK)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(EL)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(EM)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^(EN)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(EO)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[bt](EP)James and ^(EQ)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^[bu]what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(ER)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(ES)Caesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(ET)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(EU)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. ²¹ On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the ^[bv]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(EV)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^[bw]died.

²⁴ But ^(EW)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(EX)Barnabas and ^(EY)Saul returned ^(EZ)when they had fulfilled their ^[bx]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^(FA)John, who was also called Mark.