Read the Gospels in 40 Days
21 And when Jesus came nigh to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the mount of Olives, then sent he his two disciples, [And when Jesus came nigh to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent his two disciples,]
2 and said to them [saying to them], Go ye into the castle that is against you, and at once [and anon] ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie ye, and bring to me.
3 And if any man say to you any thing, say ye, that the Lord hath need to them; and at once he shall let them go [and anon he shall leave them].
4 All this was done, that that thing should be fulfilled, that was said by the prophet, saying,
5 Say ye to the daughter of Sion, Lo! thy king cometh to thee, meek, sitting on an ass, and a foal of an ass under yoke [and a colt of a beast under yoke].
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them.
7 And they brought an ass, and the foal, and laid their clothes on them[a], and made him sit above.
8 And full much people spreaded their clothes in the way; others cutted branches of trees, and strewed in the way. [Forsooth full much company spreaded their clothes in the way; soothly others cut branches of trees, and strowed in the way.]
9 And the people that went before, and that followed, cried, and said [Forsooth the companies that went before, and that followed, cried, saying], Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in high things [Hosanna in the highest things].
10 And when he was entered into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, and said, Who is this? [And when he had entered into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?]
11 But [Forsooth] the people said, This is Jesus, the prophet, of Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out of the temple all that bought and sold [and cast out of the temple all men selling and buying]; and he turned upside-down the boards of changers, and the chairs of men that sold culvers.
13 And he said to them, It is written, Mine house shall be called an house of prayer [My house shall be called an house of prayer]; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
14 And blind and crooked came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
15 But the princes of priests and the scribes, seeing the marvelous things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they had indignation,[b]
16 and said to him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus said to them [Soothly Jesus saith to them], Yea; whether ye have never read, That of the mouth of young children, and of suckling children, thou hast made perfect praising?
17 And when he had left them, he went forth out of the city, into Bethany; and there he dwelt, and taught them of the kingdom of God.
18 But on the morrow, he, turning again into the city, hungered.
19 And he saw a fig tree beside the way, and came to it, and found nothing therein [and found nothing thereon] but leaves only. And he said to it, Never fruit come forth of thee [Never be fruit born of thee], into without end. And at once [And anon] the fig tree was dried up.
20 And the disciples saw, and wondered, saying, How at once it dried.[c]
21 And Jesus answered, and said to them, Truly I say to you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, not only ye shall do of the fig tree, but also if ye say to this hill, Take [away thee], and cast thee into the sea, it shall be done so [it shall be done].
22 And all things whatever ye believing shall ask in prayer, ye shall take. [And all things whatever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall take.]
23 And when he came into the temple, the princes of priests and elder men of the people came to him that taught, and said [And when he came into the temple, the princes of priests and the elder men of the people came nigh to him teaching, and said], In what power doest thou these things? and who gave thee this power?
24 Jesus answered, and said to them, And I shall ask you one word, the which if ye tell me [which if ye shall say to me], I shall say to you, in what power I do these things.
25 Of whence was the baptism of John; of heaven, or of men? And they thought within themselves, saying, If we [shall] say of heaven, he shall say to us, Why then believe ye not to him?
26 [Soothly] If we [shall] say of men, we dread the people, for all had John as a prophet.
27 And they answered to Jesus, and said, We know not. And he said to them, Neither I say to you, in what power I do these things.
28 But what seemeth to you? A man had two sons [Some man had two sons]; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work this day [to day] in my vineyard.
29 And he answered, and said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went forth [but afterward he stirred by penance, or repenting, went].
30 But he came to the other, and said in like manner. And he answered, and said, Lord, I go; and he went not.
31 Who of the twain did the father's will? They say to him, The first. Jesus saith to them, Truly I say to you, for publicans and whores shall go before you into the kingdom of God.
32 For John came to you in the way of rightwiseness, and ye believed not to him; but publicans and whores believed to him. But ye saw, and had no repenting after, that ye believed to him [But ye seeing, had not penance afterward, that ye should believe to him].
33 Hear ye another parable. There was an husbandman, that planted a vineyard, and hedged it about, and delved a presser therein, and builded a tower [and built a tower], and hired it to earth-tillers, and went far in pilgrimage.
34 And when the time of fruits approached, he sent his servants to the earth-tillers, to take fruits of it.[d]
35 And the earth-tillers took his servants, and they beat one, they slew another, and stoned another. [And, his servants taken, the earth-tillers beat one, they killed another, forsooth they stoned another.]
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and in like manner they did to them [and they did to them in like manner].
37 And at the last he sent his son to them, and said [saying], They shall dread my son.
38 But the earth-tillers, seeing the son, said within themselves, This is the heir; come ye, slay we him, and we shall have his heritage.
39 And they took him, and casted [cast] him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40 Therefore when the lord of the vineyard shall come, what shall he do to those earth-tillers?
41 They say to him, He shall destroy evil the evil men, and he shall set to hire his vineyard to other earth-tillers, which shall yield to him fruit in their times.[e]
42 Jesus saith to them, Read ye never in scriptures, The stone which the builders reproved, this is made into the head of the corner? Of the Lord this thing is done, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
43 Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a folk doing [the] fruits of it.[f]
44 And he that shall fall on this stone, shall be broken; but on whom it shall fall, it shall bruise him all to pieces [it shall pound him all to pieces].
45 And when the princes of priests and [the] Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he [had] said of them.
46 And they sought to hold him, but they dreaded the people [And they, seeking to hold him, dreaded the companies], for they had him as a prophet.
22 And Jesus answered, and spake again in parables to them, and said,
2 The kingdom of heavens is made like to a king that made weddings to his son. [The kingdom of heavens is like to a man king that made weddings to his son.]
3 And he sent his servants to call men that were bidden to the weddings, and they would not come.
4 Again he sent other servants, and said [saying], Say to the men that be bidden to the feast, Lo! I have made ready my meat, my bulls and my volatiles be slain [my bulls and my volatiles, or my fat beasts, be slain], and all things be ready; come ye to the weddings.
5 But they despised, and went forth, one into his town, another to his merchandise. [Soothly they despised, or reckoned not, and they went away, one into his vineyard, forsooth another to his merchandise.]
6 But [the] others held his servants, and tormented them, and slew [them].
7 But the king, when he had heard, was wroth; and he sent his hosts, and destroyed those man-quellers, and burnt their city.
8 Then he said to his servants [Then he saith to his servants], The weddings be ready, but they that were called to the feast, were not worthy.
9 Therefore go ye into the ends of ways, and whomever ye find, call ye to the weddings. [Therefore go ye to the outgoings, or ends, of ways, and whomever ye shall find, call to the weddings.]
10 And his servants went out into the ways, and gathered together all that they found, good and evil; and the bridal [and the weddings] was full-filled with men sitting at the meat.
11 And the king entered, to see men sitting at the meat; and he saw there a man not clothed with bride clothes [and he saw there a man not clothed with bridal clothes].
12 And he said to him, Friend, how enteredest thou hither without bride clothes [And he saith to him, Friend, how enteredest thou hither, not having bride clothes]? And he was dumb.
13 Then the king bade his ministers, Bind him both hands and feet, and send ye him into outer-more darknesses; there shall be weeping and grinding of teeth. [Then the king said to the ministers, His hands and feet bound, send ye him into utter-more darknesses; there shall be weeping and beating together of teeth.]
14 For many be called, but few be chosen.
15 Then Pharisees went away, and took a counsel to take Jesus in word. [Then Pharisees, going away, took a counsel, that they should take him in word.]
16 And they send to him their disciples, with Herodians, and said [saying], Master, we know, that thou art soothfast, and thou teachest in truth the way of God, and thou carest not of any man [and there is no care, or charge, to thee of any man], for thou beholdest not the person of men.
17 Therefore say to us, what seemeth to thee. Is it leaveful that tribute be given to the emperor, either nay[g]?
18 And when Jesus had known the wickedness of them, he said, Hypocrites, what tempt ye me?
19 Show ye to me the print of the money. And they brought to him a penny.
20 And Jesus said to them [And Jesus saith to them], Whose is this image, and the writing above?
21 They say to him, The emperor's. Then he said to them, Therefore yield ye to the emperor those things that be the emperor's, and to God those things that be of God.[h]
22 And they heard, and wondered; and they left him, and went away. [And they hearing wondered; and, him left, they went away.]
23 In that day Sadducees, that say there is no rising again to life [that say there is no rising again], came to him, and asked him,
24 and said, Master, Moses said, if any man is dead [saying, Master, Moses said, if any man be dead], not having a son, that his brother wed his wife, and raise seed to his brother.
25 And there were seven brethren to us; and the first wedded a wife, and is dead. And he had no seed, and left his wife to his brother; [Forsooth seven brethren were with us; and the first, a wife wedded, is dead. And he not having seed, left his wife to his brother;]
26 also the second, and the third, till to the seventh.
27 But the last of all, [also] the woman is dead.
28 Also in the rising again to life [Therefore in the rising again], whose wife of the seven shall she be? for all had her.
29 Jesus answered, and said to them, Ye err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the virtue of God.
30 For in the rising again to life, neither they shall wed, neither shall be wedded [For in the rising again, neither they wed, neither be wedded]; but they be as the angels of God in heaven.
31 And of the rising again of dead men, have ye not read, that [it] is said of the Lord, that saith to you [that it is said of the Lord, saying to you],
32 I am God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob? he is not God of dead men, but of living men.
33 And the people hearing [And the companies hearing], wondered on his teaching.
34 And the Pharisees heard that he had put silence to Sadducees, and came together.
35 And one of them, a teacher of the law, asked Jesus, and tempted him, [And one of them, a teacher of the law, asked Jesus, tempting him,]
36 Master, which is a great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said to him, Thou shalt love thy Lord God, of all thine heart, and in all thy soul, and in all thy mind [Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, of all thine heart, and of all thy soul, and in all thy mind].
38 This is the first and the most commandment.
39 And the second is like to this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 In these two commandments hangeth all the law and the prophets.
41 And when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 and said [saying], What seemeth to you of Christ, whose son is he? They say to him, Of David.
43 He saith to them, How then David in spirit calleth him Lord, and saith [saying],
44 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit [thou] on my right half, till I put thine enemies a stool of thy feet?
45 Then if David calleth him Lord, how is he his son?
46 And no man might answer a word to him, neither any man was hardy from that day, to ask him more.
2001 by Terence P. Noble