Read the Gospels in 40 Days
10 ¶ After these things the Lord appointed another seventy also and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself would come.
2 Therefore he said unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go; behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse nor provision bag nor shoes, and greet no one on the way.
5 And into whatever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if indeed there is a son of peace there, your peace shall rest upon it; if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8 And into whatever city ye enter and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you
9 and heal the sick that are therein and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come near unto you.
10 But into whatever city ye enter and they receive you not, go out into the streets of the same and say,
11 Even the very dust of your city which cleaves on us we do wipe off against you; notwithstanding be ye sure of this that the kingdom of God is come near unto you.
12 But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they would have repented a long while ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 Therefore it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto the heavens, shalt be thrust down to Hades.
16 He that hears you hears me, and he that despises you despises me, and he that despises me despises him that sent me.
17 ¶ And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding, rejoice not in this, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in the heavens.
21 In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
22 All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no one knows who the Son is, but the Father, and who the Father is, but the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
23 And he turned him unto his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see,
24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see those things which ye see and did not see them and to hear those things which ye hear and did not hear them.
25 ¶ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy understanding, and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; do this, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And it so happened that a certain priest came down that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he came near the place and looked on him, he passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion
34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two denarius and gave them to the host and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go and do thou likewise.
38 ¶ Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about in much serving and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things;
42 but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
11 ¶ And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father who art in the heavens, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also in the earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend and shall go unto him at midnight and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him?
14 ¶ And he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, the one who had been dumb spoke; and the people marvelled.
15 But some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every house or city divided against itself will not remain.
18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out demons through Beelzebub.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out the demons, certainly the kingdom of God is come upon you.
21 When an armed strong man keeps his palace, his goods are in peace;
22 but when another stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes from him all his arms in which he trusted and divides his spoils.
23 He that is not with me is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return unto my house from which I came out.
25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished.
26 Then he goes, and takes unto him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
27 ¶ And it came to pass as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the crowd lifted up her voice and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the breasts which thou hast sucked.
28 But he said, Rather, blessed are those that hear the word of God and keep it.
29 ¶ And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
33 No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a lampstand that those who come in may see the light.
34 The lamp of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is sincere, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
35 Take heed therefore if the light which is in thee is darkness.
36 If thy whole body therefore is full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light as when the bright shining of a lamp doth give thee light.
37 ¶ And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him, and he went in and sat down to food.
38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
41 But rather give alms {lit. do acts of mercy} of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.
42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass over the judgment and the charity of God; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the first seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets.
44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which are not seen, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said unto him, Master, saying these things, thou dost reproach us also.
46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye burden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and others they shall persecute:
50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple; verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and those that were entering in, ye hindered.
53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently and to provoke him to speak of many things,
54 laying wait for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth that they might accuse him.
12 ¶ In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known.
3 Therefore whatever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of those that kill the body and, after that, have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who, after being killed, has power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows.
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God;
9 but he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, there is forgiveness for him; but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven.
11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues and unto magistrates and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer or what ye shall say;
12 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
13 ¶ And one of the crowd said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.
16 And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully;
17 and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my storehouses and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast stored up?
21 So is he that lays up treasure for himself and is not rich in God.
22 ¶ And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than food, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then are not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothes the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, neither be ye high minded.
30 For all these things do the Gentiles of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what ye have and give alms; {lit. do acts of mercy} provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches neither moth corrupts.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 Let your loins be girded about and your lamps burning,
36 and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him immediately.
37 Blessed are those slaves, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching; verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to food and will come forth and serve them.
38 And if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 And know this: that if the husband of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of man comes at an hour when ye think not.
41 ¶ Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his lord shall make ruler over his household to give them their portion of food in due season?
43 Blessed is that slave whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
45 But and if that slave shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming, and shall begin to beat the menslaves and maids and to eat and drink and to be drunken,
46 the lord of that slave will come in a day when he does not look for him and at an hour when he is not aware and will cut him off and will appoint him his portion with the unfaithful.
47 And that slave who knew his lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom much was committed, more will be asked of him.
49 I am come to cast fire into the earth; and what do I desire, except that it be kindled?
50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am anguished until it is accomplished!
51 Think ye that I am come to the earth to give peace? No, I tell you, but rather division;
52 for from now on there shall be five in one house divided: three against two and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter- in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
54 ¶ And he said also to the people, When ye see the cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say, A shower comes, and so it is.
55 And when the south wind blows, ye say, There will be heat, and it comes to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?
58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou may be delivered from him, lest he drag thee away to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.
59 I tell thee, in no wise shalt thou come out of there until thou hast paid the very last mite.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International