# verses

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Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers;


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Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah <n>Tamar was their mother</n>; Perez was the father of Hezron; Hezron was the father of Ram;


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Ram was the father of Amminadab; Amminadab was the father of Nahshon; Nahshon was the father of Salmon;


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Salmon was the father of Boaz <n>Rahab was his mother</n>; Boaz was the father of Obed <n>Ruth was his mother</n>;


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Jesse was the father of David the King. David was the father of Solomon <n>his mother had been Uriah's wife</n>;


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Solomon was the father of Rehoboam; Rehoboam was the father of Abijah; Abijah was the father of Asa;


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Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram; Joram was the father of Uzziah;


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Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh; Manasseh was the father of Amon; Amon was the father of Josiah;


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After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel; Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel;


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Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud; Abiud was the father of Eliakim; Eliakim was the father of Azor;


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Eliud was the father of Eleazar; Eleazar was the father of Matthan; Matthan was the father of Jacob;


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So there were in all fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to the Christ.


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The birth of Jesus was in this way: His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.


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Joseph, her husband, being an upright man, and yet not willing to make her a public example, resolved to dismiss her privately.


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But while he was thinking this over, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.


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She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."


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"Behold the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel" <n>which means, God is with us</n>.


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When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took his wife to his home.


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AFTER Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, in Judaea, in the days of Herod the King, wise men from the East arrived at Jerusalem,


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saying, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East and have come to do homage to him."


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Then he called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.


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'And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah, art by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for from thee will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.' "


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Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and learned from them exactly the time of the star's appearance,


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and as he sent them to Bethlehem he said, "Go and make careful inquiries about the child, and when you have found him bring me word, so that I too may come and do homage to him."


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After hearing the king, they journeyed on, and the star which they had seen in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the child was.


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They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.


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After this they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so went by another mad back to their own country.


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After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, "Rise up, and take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you, for Herod will search for the child in order to kill him."


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and was there until the death of Herod, in order that the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my Son."


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Then Herod, seeing that he had been outwitted by the wise men, became furious, and sent out and killed all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem and all its neighborhood, guided by the date which he had carefully learned from the wise men.


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"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not."


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and said, "Arise, and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the child's life."


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But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being directed in a dream he went away to the region of Galilee


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and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazarene."


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For this is he who was foretold through Isaiah the prophet when he said: 'The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.' "


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This John had his clothing of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.


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When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said, "Brood of vipers, who directed you to flee from the coming wrath?


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and do not think of saying to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I tell you God is able out of these stones to raise up children for Abraham.


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Now the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not yield good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire.


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I baptize you with water for a change of heart, but he who is coming after me is more powerful than I; I am not worthy to carry his shoes; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.


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He has his fan in his hand and will thoroughly clean his threshing-floor. He will gather his grain into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable."


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Jesus replied, <i>"Permit it now, for so it is fitting for us to complete every righteous act."</i> Then he permitted him.


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Jesus, as soon as he was baptized, went up from the water, and the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon him.


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Then the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves of bread."


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But he answered, <i>"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "</i>


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and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'To his angels he will give charge of you, and on their hands they will bear you lest you strike your foot against a stone.' "


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Again the Devil took him with him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Begone, Satan, for it is written, 'To the Lord thy God alone shalt thou do homage, and him alone shalt thou serve.' "</i>


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Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum on the lake shore on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali,


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"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, road to the sea, country beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,


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the people that sat in darkness saw a great light and upon those sitting in the land and shadow of death light dawned."


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From that time Jesus began to proclaim and say, <i>"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."</i>


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As he was walking along the shore of the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen;


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Going on from there, he saw two other brothers \'97 James the son of Zebedee and John his brother \'97 in their boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.


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Jesus went around through the whole of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.


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His fame spread out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and those suffering from acute pain, demoniacs, lunatics, and paralytics, and he healed them.


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Great crowds followed him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan.


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SEEING the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he had seated himself his disciples came to him.


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<i>"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness! For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say every evil thing against you falsely for my sake!</i>


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<i>Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.</i>


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<i>"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt becomes flat, with what can it be salted? It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.</i>


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<i>People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure, but on the stand, and it gives light for all in the house.</i>


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<i>So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.</i>


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<i>"Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to fill them full.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or part of a letter will pass away from the Law, until all is done.</i>


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<i>Whoever breaks one of these commandments, the least of them, and teaches men to do so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever does them and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>For I say to you that, unless your righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'Thou shalt not commit murder. Whoever commits murder shall answer for it to the court.'</i>


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<n>But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall answer for it to the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'Raca' [empty-head], shall answer for it to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool' shall answer for it in the Gehenna of fire.</n>


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<i>So then if you are bringing your gift to lay on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,</i>


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<i>leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.</i>


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<i>Get on good terms with your adversary quickly while you are on the road with him, for fear that he may deliver you to the judge and the judge may deliver you to the officer and you may be cast into prison.</i>


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<i>But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman with lustful thoughts has already committed adultery with her in his heart.</i>


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<i>If your right eye is a snare to you, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should be lost and not your whole body be cast into Gehenna.</i>


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<i>And if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you that one of your members should be lost and not your whole body go into Gehenna.</i>


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<i>But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, unless for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.</i>


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<i>"Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform to the Lord thine oaths.'</i>


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<i>nor by the earth, because it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the Great King;</i>


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<i>But I tell you not to resist a wicked man, but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him also the other;</i>


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<i>that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise upon the bad and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust.</i>


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<i>For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not also the tax collectors do the same thing?</i>


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<i>And if you salute your brothers only, what superiority have you? Do not the Gentiles do the same?</i>


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<i>"BE careful not to do your religious actions before men in order to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.</i>


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<i>When you give gifts of mercy, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be honored by men. I assure you they get their payment in full.</i>


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<i>But you, when you are giving a gift of mercy, must not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,</i>


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<i>"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so as to be seen by men. I assure you they get their payment in full.</i>


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<i>But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.</i>


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<i>"When praying do not keep repeating, as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their multitude of words.</i>


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<i>"When you fast, do not wear gloomy faces as hypocrites do. For they disfigure their faces so as to be seen by men to be fasting. I assure you they get their payment in full.</i>


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<i>so as not to appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.</i>


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<i>"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust corrode and where thieves break in and steal.</i>


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<i>But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrodes and where thieves do not break in nor steal.</i>


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<i>but if your eye is bad your whole body will be darkened. If the light that is in you is darkness, how great the darkness is!</i>


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<i>No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.</i>


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<i>"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your physical life \'97 what you are to eat or what you are to drink; nor about your body \'97 what you are to wear. Is not the life more than the food and the body more than the clothing?</i>


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<i>Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?</i>


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<i>And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, bow they grow. They neither toil nor spin.</i>


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<i>If God so clothes the herbage of the field, to-day growing and to-morrow thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of so little faith?</i>


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<i>So do not be anxious, saying, What are we to eat? or, What are we to drink? or, What are we to wear?</i>


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<i>For all these things the pagans seek after. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.</i>


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<i>But you must seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be supplied to you.</i>


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<i>Do not be anxious about to-morrow, for to-morrow will take care of itself. Enough for the day is its own trouble.</i>


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<i>For with whatever judgment you judge you will be judged, and with whatever measure you measure you will be measured.</i>


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<i>Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, while you do not perceive the beam in your own eye?</i>


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<i>Or how will you say to your brother, 'Let me get out the speck from your eye,' when there is a beam in your own eye?</i>


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<i>You hypocrite, first get the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to get the speck out of your brother's eye.</i>


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<i>"Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor east your pearls before swine, for they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you.</i>


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<i>For every one who asks obtains, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door is opened.</i>


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<i>If you, though evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.</i>


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<i>"All things that you wish men to do for you, do yourselves for them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.</i>


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<i>"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide and spacious is the road that leads away to ruin, and many there are who go through it;</i>


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<i>but narrow is the gate and contracted is the road that leads into life, and few there are who find it.</i>


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<i>"Beware of false prophets, such as come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.</i>


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<i>It is not possible for a good tree to yield had fruit nor for a worthless tree to yield fine fruit.</i>


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<i>"Not every one who says to me, 'Master, Master,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.</i>


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<i>Many will say to me on that day, 'Master, Master, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name east out demons, and in your name do many miracles?'</i>


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<i>And then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work lawlessness.'</i>


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<i>"Every one, therefore, who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock;</i>


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<i>and the rain descended and the rivers rose and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house; but it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock.</i>


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<i>And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.</i>


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<i>And the rain descended and the rivers rose and the winds blew, and they struck upon that house and it fell, and great was the ruin of it."</i>


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And a leper came up and bowed before him, and said, "Sir, if you have the will, you have power to make me clean."


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Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, <i>"I have the will, be cleansed."</i> Instantly his leprosy was cleansed away.


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Be sure and do not say a word to any one, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift which Moses prescribed as evidence for them."</i>


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The Centurion answered, "Sir, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but just speak the word and my servant will be cured.


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For I am a man, \'97 under authority, \'97 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."


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When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said, <i>"Truly I tell you, I have not found so great faith on the part of any one in Israel.</i>


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<i>I tell you many will come from the east and from the west and will recline at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the darkness outside. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."</i>


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Then Jesus said to the Centurion, <i>"Go. As you have believed, so be it to you."</i> His servant was healed that very hour.


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When evening came, they brought to him many demoniacs and he cast out the spirits by a word, and all their sick he healed.


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This was in order to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, "He took our weaknesses and bore away our diseases."


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Jesus said to him, <i>"The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have coverts, but the Son of Man has not where to lay his head."</i>


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Soon a great storm broke on the lake so that the boat was hidden under the waves; but he was sleeping.


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But he said, <i>"Why are you frightened, you men of little faith?"</i> Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm.


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The men were astonished and said, "What sort of a person is this, whom even the winds and the lake obey?"


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When he arrived at the other side, the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two demoniacs coming out of the tombs. They were very fierce, so that no one was able to pass along that road.


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Suddenly they shouted, "Son of God, what have you to do with us? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"


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He said to them, <i>"Go."</i> So they went out and entered into the swine. Then suddenly the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the waves.


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The herdsmen fled and went away to the town and told everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.


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Then at once all the town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to depart from their neighborhood.


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They brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, <i>"Have courage, boy, your sins are forgiven."</i>


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<i>But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"</i> \'97 then he said to the paralytic, <i>"Rise, take up your bed and go to your house."</i>


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As Jesus was passing along from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. Jesus said to him, <i>"Follow me,"</i> and he arose and followed him.


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It happened that, while he was reclining at table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came in and reclined at the table with Jesus and his disciples.


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When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"


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<i>Go and learn what this means: 'I wish for kindness, and not for sacrifice.' I have not come to call righteous people, but sinners."</i>


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Then the disciples of John came to Jesus and said, "Why are we and the Pharisees fasting while your disciples are not fasting?"


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He said, <i>"Can the bridal party fast while the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.</i>


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<i>No one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the filling pulls away from the cloak and the result is a worse tear.</i>


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<i>Nor do they pour new wine into old wine-skins, for if they do the skins burst. So the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wine-skins and both are preserved."</i>


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While Jesus was talking to them, a synagogue Director came and bowed down before him and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand upon her and she will live."


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Suddenly a woman who had been suffering for twelve years from hemorrhage came up behind him and touched the tassel of his cloak.


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But Jesus turned and, seeing her, said, <i>"Courage, daughter, your faith has healed you."</i> The woman was cured from that hour.


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Jesus entered the house of the Director and saw the flute-players and the crowd that was noisily lamenting, and he said,


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As Jesus was going along from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have pity on us, Son of David."


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After he had entered the house, these blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, <i>"Do you believe that I can do this?"</i> They said, "Yes, Sir."


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And their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly commanded them, <i>"Be sure and let no one know of this."</i>


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After the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke. The crowd wondered and said, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."


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Jesus made a circuit through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity.


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Seeing the crowds, he was touched with compassion for them, for they were torn and flung down like sheep that have no shepherd.


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THEN, calling to him his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over impure spirits to cast them out, and power to cure every disease and every infirmity.


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The names of the twelve apostles are these: Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother,


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Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus,


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These twelve Jesus sent out and directed them: <i>"Do not go into any way of the Gentiles. Do not enter into any city of the Samaritans.</i>


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<i>Heal sick men, raise dead men, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without being paid.</i>


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<i>no bag for the road, nor two tunics nor shoes nor stick, for the workman has a right to his food.</i>


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<i>Whatever city or village you go into, inquire who in it is worthy and stay with him until you leave the place.</i>


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<i>If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.</i>


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<i>If any one does not receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city shake off the dust of your feet.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.</i>


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<i>See, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be as wise as serpents and as pure as doves.</i>


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<i>Be on your guard against men. For they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you,</i>


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<i>and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles.</i>


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<i>But when they deliver you up, do not worry how or what you are to speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say.</i>


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<i>Brother will betray brother to death, and father will betray child, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death.</i>


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<i>And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. He who endures to the end, that one will be saved.</i>


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<i>"When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. I tell you truly, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.</i>


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<i>It is sufficient for the scholar to fare like his teacher and for the servant to fare like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.</i>


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<i>Do not be afraid of them; for there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor secret which will not be known.</i>


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<i>What I say to you in darkness speak in the light, and what is whispered into your ear proclaim on the housetops.</i>


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<i>Do not fear before those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.</i>


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<i>Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet one of them will not fall on the ground without your Father.</i>


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<i>For I came to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.</i>


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<i>He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.</i>


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<i>He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will get a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will get a righteous man's reward.</i>


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<i>Whoever gives merely a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple, I tell you truly he will not lose his reward."</i>


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WHEN Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and preach in the towns.


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<i>Blind men recover sight, lame men walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf men hear, dead men are raised, and poor men have the good news proclaimed to them.</i>


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As these men went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: <i>"What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?</i>


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<i>But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in kings' palaces.</i>


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<i>This is the one of whom it was written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who will prepare thy way before thee.'</i>


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<i>I tell you truly there has not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist. But any inferior in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.</i>


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<i>From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence and violent men have been seizing it.</i>


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<i>"To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places who call to the others,</i>


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<i>'We played the flute to you and you did not dance; we mourned and you did not beat your breasts.'</i>


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<i>The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'See a glutton and a wine-drinker; a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' Yet wisdom is proved to be in the right by her works."</i>


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Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his miracles had been done, because they had not repented:


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<i>"Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if in Tyre and Sidon the miracles had been done which were done in you, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.</i>


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<i>But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.</i>


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<i>And you, Capernaum! No, you will not be exalted to heaven. You will be abased to Hades. Because if those miracles which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.</i>


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<i>But I tell you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."</i>


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At that time Jesus said, <i>"I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes.</i>


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<i>"All things have been delivered tome by my Father, and no one knows the Son but the Father, nor does any one know the Father but the Son and he to whom the Son may choose to reveal him.</i>


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<i>Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.</i>


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AT that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grain-fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain to eat.


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When the Pharisees saw it they said, "See, your disciples are doing what is not allowable on the Sabbath."


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<i>how he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread which it was not allowable either for him to eat or for his men, but only for the priests?</i>


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<i>Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless?</i>


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<i>If you had understood this, 'I desire kindness and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.</i>


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A man was there with a withered hand. They asked Jesus, "Is it allowable to heal on the Sabbath?" \'97 so that they might have something to accuse him of.


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He said to them, <i>"What man is there of you who, if he has one sheep, and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold on it and lift it out?</i>


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<i>But how much more is a man worth than a sheep! So it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath."</i>


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Then he said to the man, <i>"Stretch out your hand."</i> He stretched it out and it was restored as sound as the other.


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"Behold my servant whom I have chosen, the Beloved in whom my soul delights. I will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.


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A bruised reed he will not break, and a low-burning wick he will, not quench, until he has carried justice to victory.


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The Pharisees when they heard it said, "This man casts out demons only through Beelzebul the Chief of the demons."


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But he knew their thoughts and said to them, <i>"Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desolation, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.</i>


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<i>If I by Beelzebul am casting out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.</i>


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<i>But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is right upon you.</i>


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<i>How can any one enter the house of a strong man and seize his goods unless he first binds the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.</i>


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<i>Therefore I say to you, every sin and profane word will be forgiven to men, but any profane word against the Spirit will not be forgiven.</i>


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<i>Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come.</i>


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<i>Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For from the fruit the tree is known.</i>


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<i>Brood of vipers, how can you who are evil speak good things? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.</i>


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<i>The good man out of his good treasury pours out good things, and the bad man out of his bad treasury pours out bad things.</i>


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<i>I tell you, for every idle word that men speak they will give full account in the day of judgment,</i>


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He answered them, <i>"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. But no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.</i>


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<i>For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.</i>


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<i>The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and more than Jonah is here.</i>


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<i>The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and more than Solomon is here.</i>


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<i>"When the impure spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest and finds none.</i>


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<i>Then he says, 'I will return into my house that I left.' And he comes and finds it vacant, swept and in order.</i>


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<i>Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and they enter and live there. So the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Just so will it be with this wicked generation."</i>


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While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, trying to speak to him.


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Great crowds gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the crowd stood on the shore.


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<i>Others fell on rocky places where they had not much soil, and at once they sprang up because they had no depth of soil.</i>


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<i>Others fell on good ground and made a yield, some of a hundred fold, some of sixty fold, some of thirty fold.</i>


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He answered, <i>"Because to you it is granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it is not granted.</i>


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<i>For whoever has, to him will be given and he will have abundance. But whoever has not, from him will be taken even what he has.</i>


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<i>For this reason I speak to them in figures, because, though they see, they do not see, and though they hear, they do not hear nor understand,</i>


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<i>and to them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will plainly hear, but you will not understand, and you will clearly look, but you will not see.</i>


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<i>For the heart of these people has grown fat, and with their ears they are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed; so that they may not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and repent and I should heal them.'</i>


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<i>I tell you truly many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things you see, but they did not see them, and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.</i>


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<i>When any one hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the man who receives seed by the roadside.</i>


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<i>He who received seed on stony ground is he who bears the word and receives it at once with joy,</i>


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<i>yet has no root in himself, but is inconstant, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the message he stumbles and falls.</i>


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<i>He who received seed among thorns is he who hears the message, but the care of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the message and it becomes fruitless.</i>


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<i>He who received seed in good ground is he who hears the message and understands it and makes a yield of a hundred, or sixty, or thirty fold."</i>


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Another illustration he put before them. He said, <i>"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.</i>


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<i>But while people were sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds through the wheat, and went away.</i>


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<i>Then the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where do the weeds come from?'</i>


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<i>He replied, 'An enemy did this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?'</i>


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<i>Let both grow together until the harvest. At the time of harvest I will say to the harvesters, Gather up first the weeds and tie them into bundles for burning, but bring the wheat into my granary.' "</i>


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Another illustration he put before them. He said, <i>"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field.</i>


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<i>It is the least of all the seeds, but when it grows up it is greater than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and live in its branches."</i>


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Another illustration he spoke to them. <i>"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened."</i>


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All of these things Jesus spoke to them in illustrations, and without an illustration he spoke nothing to them,


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to fulfill the words of the prophet when he said, "I will open my mouth in illustrations, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world."


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Then leaving the crowds he came into the house, and his disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the illustration of the weeds of the field."


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<i>The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the Evil One.</i>


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<i>The enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are angels.</i>


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<i>The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather up from his kingdom all stumbling-blocks and those who practice lawlessness,</i>


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<i>Then will the righteous shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.</i>


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<i>"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man finds and hides again, and for joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.</i>


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<i>Having found one very precious pearl he went away and sold everything that he had and bought it.</i>


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<i>But when it was filled they drew it to the beach and sat down and gathered the good into pails, but threw the worthless away.</i>


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<i>So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will come forth and will separate the wicked from among the righteous</i>


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He said to them, <i>"Therefore every scribe educated in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder who brings out from his storehouse new things and old things."</i>


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Then he came to his native place and taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles?


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Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?


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So they fell into mistake about him. But Jesus said to them, <i>"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house."</i>


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and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead and so miraculous powers are working in him."


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For Herod had arrested John and had bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.


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Upon hearing of it, Jesus went away in a boat privately to an uninhabited place. But the people heard of it and followed him by land from the towns.


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As he got out of the boat, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.


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When evening had come on, his disciples came to him and said, "This is an uninhabited place and the time is already late; send away the crowd so that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."


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Then he commanded the crowd to recline on the grass, and he took the five loaves and the two fishes and looked up to heaven and asked a blessing. Then he broke up the loaves and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples distributed to the crowd.


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All ate and had abundance, and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces that remained over.


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After dismissing the crowd, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray, When evening came, he was there alone.


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When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified, saying that it was a ghost, and they cried out with fear.


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Jesus said, <i>"Come."</i> Then Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.


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At once Jesus stretched out his hand and grasped him and said, <i>"O man of little faith, why did you doubt?"</i>


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When the men of that place recognized him, they sent into all that neighborhood and brought to him all the sick


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and begged him that they might touch merely the tassel of his cloak, and all who touched were cured.


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"Why do your disciples violate the tradition of our forefathers? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food."


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<i>For God said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother,' and, 'If any one speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.'</i>


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<i>But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or to his mother, Whatever benefit you get from me is now dedicated to God,</i>


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<i>he shall not honor his father or his mother.' So you have nullified the command of God for the sake of your tradition.</i>


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<i>Not what enters the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth \'97 that defiles a man."</i>


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Then his disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard what you said?"


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<i>Beware of them. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch."</i>


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<i>Do you not know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is cast out into the sewer?</i>


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<i>For from the heart proceed wicked thoughts, murders, adulteries, unchastities, thefts, perjuries, profane words.</i>


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<i>These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."</i>


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Here a Canaanite woman of those parts came out and cried, "Sir, have pity on me, Son of David. My daughter is terribly tormented by a demon."


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But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away; she keeps calling out behind us."


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Then Jesus said to her, <i>"O woman, great is your faith. Be it to you as you will."</i> And her daughter was cured from that hour.


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On leaving there, Jesus came along by the lake of Galilee and went up on the mountain and sat down there.


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Then a great crowd came to him having with them lame men, maimed men, blind men, mutes, and many others, and they laid them at his feet and he healed them.


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The crowd was astonished when they saw mutes talking, maimed men sound, lame men walking about, and blind men seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel.


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Jesus called his disciples to him and said, <i>"I have compassion for the crowd, for they have now been with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting; they might faint on the road."</i>


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The disciples said to him, "Where can we get enough bread in this uninhabited place to feed such a crowd?"


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and he took the seven loaves and the fishes and gave thanks and broke them and gave to his disciples, and the disciples distributed to the crowd.


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THE Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and, in order to put him to a test, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.


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But he answered, <i>"A wicked and adulterous generation is eager for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah";</i> and he left them and went away.


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and Jesus said to them, <i>"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."</i>


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But Jesus, when he knew it, said, <i>"Why are you discussing among yourselves, O men of little faith, because you have no bread?</i>


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<i>Do you not yet know? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many basketfuls you picked up?</i>


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<i>How is it that you do not perceive that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."</i>


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Then they understood that he had told them to beware not of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


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After corning into the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, <i>"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"</i>


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They said, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; others Jeremiah or some one of the prophets."


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Jesus replied, <i>"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father in heaven.</i>


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<n>And I tell you that you are Peter [which means Rock], and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.</n>


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<i>I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."</i>


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From that time Jesus began to make plain to his disciples that he had to go away to Jerusalem, and suffer greatly from the elders and high priests and scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.


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But he, turning, said to Peter, <i>"Get behind me, Satan; you are a snare to me, for you are not thinking God's thoughts, but men's."</i>


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Then Jesus said to his disciples, <i>"If any one chooses to come after me, let him disown self and take up his cross and follow me.</i>


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<i>For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.</i>


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<i>For what profit will a man have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? or what can a man give to buy back his soul?</i>


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<i>For the Son of Man will soon come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each in full according to his actions.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste of death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."</i>


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Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain alone.


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There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as the light.


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Peter said to Jesus, "Sir, it is fine for us to be here. If you like, I will make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."


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While he was speaking, a bright cloud suddenly overspread them and a voice issued from the cloud, "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I delight. Hear him."


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As they were descending the mountain, Jesus charged them, <i>"Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."</i>


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<i>But I tell you Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they chose. Just so the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands."</i>


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"Sir, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and is in a very bad way. For often he falls into the fire and often into the water.


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Jesus answered, <i>"O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long must I be with you? How long must I bear you? Bring him here."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"Because of your lack of faith. I tell you truly, if you have faith like a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, 'Remove from here to there,' and it will remove, and nothing will be impossible for you."</i>


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While they were assembling in Galilee, Jesus said to them, <i>"The Son of Man will soon be betrayed into the hands of men,</i>


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<i>and they will kill him and on the third day he will be raised";</i> and they were deeply distressed.


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After they came to Capernaum, the men who were collecting the Temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the Temple tax?"


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He said, "Yes." But when he went into the house Jesus spoke first to him and said, <i>"How do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect taxes or tribute, from their own sons or from those who are not?"</i>


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<i>But in order that we may not mislead them, go to the lake and throw in a hook and take the first fish that comes up. When you open his mouth you will find a coin. Take that and give it to them for me and yourself.</i>


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and said, <i>"I tell you truly, unless you turn and become like the little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>and whoever causes one of these little ones that believe in me to stumble, it were better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and be cast into the depths of the lake.</i>


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<i>Alas for the world because of the occasions of stumbling! It must be that such occasions come, but alas for the man through whom any one is tripped up!</i>


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<i>If your hand or your foot is a snare to you, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be cast into the fire eternal.</i>


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<i>If your eye is a snare to you, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than with two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.</i>


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<i>See to it that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you, in heaven their angels continually behold the face of my Father in heaven.</i>


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<i>How does it seem to you? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the straying one?</i>


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<i>And if he finds it, I tell you he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that have not strayed.</i>


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<i>Just so it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.</i>


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<i>"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between yourself and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.</i>


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<i>If he does not listen to you, take along with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses, or three, every word may be confirmed.</i>


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<i>If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to hear the church, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.</i>


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<i>"Again I tell you that, if two of you agree on earth regarding any matter, whatever they pray for will come to them from my Father in heaven.</i>


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Then Peter came to him and said, "How often, Sir, if my brother sins against me, shall I forgive him? Up to seven times?"


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<i>"Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a man who was a king, who determined to settle accounts with his servants.</i>


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<i>When he had begun the accounting there was brought to him one who owed him ten thousand talents.</i>


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<i>Since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, as well as his wife and his children and whatever he had, and payment to be made.</i>


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<i>But the servant fell down and did homage and said, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you in full.'</i>


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<i>But that servant, on going out, found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred shillings, and he seized him and choked him, saying, 'Pay in full what you owe.'</i>


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<i>His fellow servant fell down and begged, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you in full.'</i>


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<i>When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and went and informed their master about everything.</i>


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<i>The master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant, all that debt of yours I cancelled when you begged me.</i>


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<i>Then his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay off all that was owing to him.</i>


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<i>Just so will my Father in heaven do to you if you do not forgive each one his brother from your hearts."</i>


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WHEN Jesus had finished these words, he left Galilee and came within that part of Judaea beyond the Jordan.


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Then some Pharisees came to him to test him. They said, "Is it allowable for a man to divorce his wife for any and every cause?"


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He replied, <i>"Have you not read that the Creator in the beginning 'made them male and female,'</i>


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and said, <i>'For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh'?</i>


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<i>So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What, therefore, God has yoked together let not man put asunder."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"Moses, because of your hard-heartedness, permitted you to divorce your wives, but at the beginning it was not so.</i>


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<i>And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."</i>


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<i>For there are eunuchs so born from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs so made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to receive it receive it."</i>


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Then some little children were brought to him to have him lay his hands on them and pray. His disciples rebuked those who brought them.


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But Jesus said, <i>"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."</i>


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He said to him, <i>"Why do you ask me about the good? One only is the Good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."</i>


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He said to him, "Which?" Jesus said to him, <i>"Thou shalt not commit murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"If you wish to be perfect, go sell your property and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and then come, follow me."</i>


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Jesus said to his disciples, <i>"I tell you truly, a rich man will with difficulty enter the kingdom of heaven.</i>


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<i>Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."</i>


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Jesus looked at them and said, <i>"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"I tell you truly, you who have followed me, in the rebirth, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.</i>


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<i>And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name's sake will receive manifold more and will inherit life eternal.</i>


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<i>"THE kingdom of heaven is like a man who was a householder, who went out in the early morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.</i>


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<i>and said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went.</i>


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<i>About five o'clock he went out and found others standing and said to them, 'Why have you been standing the whole day idle?'</i>


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<i>When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and pay their hire, beginning with the last and going on to the first.'</i>


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<i>and when those who were hired first came, they thought that they would get more. But they too received a shilling apiece.</i>


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<i>and said, 'These last worked one hour and you have made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day and the heat.'</i>


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<i>But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a shilling?</i>


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<i>"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the high priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death</i>


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<i>and will deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify, and on the third day he will be raised."</i>


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Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with her sons, bowing down to him and making a request of him.


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He said to her, <i>"What do you wish?"</i> She said to him, "Give the command for these two sons of mine to sit one on your right and one on your left in your kingdom."


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Jesus answered, <i>"You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?"</i> They said to him, 'We can?'


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He said to them, <i>"My cup you will drink, but seats on my right and on my left are not mine to give. They will be given to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."</i>


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But Jesus called them to him and said, <i>"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones wield power over them.</i>


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<i>just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."</i>


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Two blind men were sitting at the side of the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing, they cried out, "Sir, have pity on us, Son of David!"


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The crowd rebuked them and told them to be silent. But all the more they cried, "Sir, have pity on us, Son of David!"


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Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and at once they regained sight and followed him.


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WHEN they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,


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telling them, <i>"Go into the village opposite and at once you will find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose her and lead her to me.</i>


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<i>If any one says anything to you, you will say, 'The Master has need of them,' and at once he will send them."</i>


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"Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king comes to thee, gentle and riding on an ass and on a colt, the foal of a beast of draught."


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A very large crowd spread their cloaks in the road, and others cut off branches from the trees and spread them in the road.


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The crowds that walked before and those that followed shouted, "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God in highest heaven save him!"


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Jesus went into the Temple courts and drove out all those who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling doves,


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and he said, <i>"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of robbers."</i>


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When the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting, "God save the Son of David!" they were angry


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and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said, <i>"Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise'?"</i>


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and seeing a solitary fig tree at the roadside he went to it, but found on it nothing but leaves only. He said to it, <i>"Let there no more be fruit from you forever."</i> The fig tree immediately withered up.


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Jesus said to them, <i>"I tell you truly, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' that will happen,</i>


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When he had gone into the Temple courts, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, "By what authority are you doing this, and who gave you this authority?"


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Jesus replied to them, <i>"I too will ask you one question. If you answer me, then I also will tell you by what authority I am doing this.</i>


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<i>The baptism of John \'97 where did it come from? From heaven or from men?"</i> They debated among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'


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So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He in turn said to them, <i>"Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing this.</i>


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<i>What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go to-day and work in the vineyard.'</i>


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<i>The father went to the second son and said the same. He answered, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went.</i>


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<i>Which of the two did the will of his father?"</i> They said, "The last." Jesus said to them, <i>"I tell you truly the tax collectors and the bad women are going before you into the kingdom of God.</i>


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<i>For John came to you in the path of righteousness and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the bad women believed him. And you when you saw it did not change your minds afterwards and believe him.</i>


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<i>"Listen to another illustration: There was a man, a house-holder, who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine-vat in it and built a watch-tower, and let it out to grape-growers and went abroad.</i>


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<i>When the time of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the grape-growers to get his fruit.</i>


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<i>But the grape-growers seized the servants, and one they beat, one they killed, one they pelted with stones.</i>


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<i>Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first, but they treated them just the same.</i>


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<i>But when the grape-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.'</i>


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They said to him, "He will put those miserable men to a miserable death, and will let out the vineyard to other grape-growers who will render him the fruits in their seasons."


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Jesus said to them, <i>"Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, that one has become the corner stone. This stone came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes'?</i>


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<i>Therefore I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation that produces the fruits.</i>


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<i>Whoever falls on this stone will be shattered, and if it falls on any one, it will crush him to powder."</i>


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The high priests and the Pharisees listening to his illustrations knew that he was speaking about them.


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<i>He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they would not come.</i>


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<i>Again he sent other servants, telling them, 'Say to those who have been invited, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fat things have been killed and everything is ready. Come to the wedding.'</i>


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<i>Then the king grew angry and sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city.</i>


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<i>Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.</i>


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<i>So those servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding-hall was filled with guests.</i>


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<i>When the king came in to look over the guests, he saw there a man who was not dressed in a wedding robe,</i>


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<i>and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding robe?' But he was speechless.</i>


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<i>The king said to the attendants, 'Bind him feet and hands and throw him out into the darkness outside.' There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.</i>


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They sent to him their disciples with the Herodians and they said, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and that you are afraid of no one, for you do not regard the social standing of men.


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They said, "Caesar's." He said to them, <i>"Then pay to Caesar what is Caesar's, and pay to God what is God's."</i>


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"Teacher, Moses said, 'If any man dies childless, his brother shall marry his widow and raise up offspring for his brother.'


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Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died childless and left his wife to his brother.


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Jesus replied to them, <i>"You are all astray because you do not understand either the Scriptures or the power of God.</i>


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<i>For in the resurrection they neither many nor are married, but are like the angels in heaven.</i>


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<i>But in reference to the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God when he said,</i>


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<i>'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of dead men, but of living men."</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>" 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.'</i>


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<i>So whatever they tell you, do and observe, but do not do as they do. For they say and do not.</i>


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<i>They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.</i>


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<i>All their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and make their tassels large.</i>


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<i>"But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut the kingdom of heaven before men. You yourselves do not enter nor do you permit those who are entering to go in.</i>


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<i>Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is won you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.</i>


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<i>Alas for you, blind guides! You say, 'Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple is bound.'</i>


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<i>You say, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound.'</i>


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<i>"Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint, dill, and carraway and have disregarded the weightier matters of the law \'97 justice and kindness and good faith. These you should have practiced, without neglecting those other things.</i>


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<i>Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full through greed and self-indulgence.</i>


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<i>Blind Pharisees, cleanse first the inside of your cup so that the outside of it may become clean also.</i>


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<i>Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs which outside appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of uncleanness.</i>


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<i>So you, too, outwardly appear to men to be righteous, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.</i>


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<i>"Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous</i>


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<i>and say, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'</i>


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<i>Therefore I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and will persecute from city to city,</i>


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<i>so that all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar, may come on you.</i>


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<i>Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you, how often would I fain have gathered your children as a bird gathers her nestlings under her wings, and you would not.</i>


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<i>for I tell you, you will not see me from now on until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "</i>


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JESUS left the Temple courts and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the Temple buildings.


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He answered them, <i>"Do you not see all these things? I tell you truly there will not be left here one stone upon another which will not be thrown down."</i>


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While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, "Tell us when these things will be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?"


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<i>For many will come in my name and will say, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.</i>


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<i>You will soon hear of wars and rumors of wars. Take care and do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the end is not yet.</i>


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<i>For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes here and there.</i>


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<i>Then they will deliver you up to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the Gentiles on account of my name.</i>


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<i>And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the inhabited world for a testimony to all the Gentiles. And then will come the end.</i>


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<i>"So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place</i> <i>Let the reader understand</i>,


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<i>For there will be then great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be again.</i>


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<i>"Unless those days had been shortened none would be saved; but for the sake of the chosen those days will be shortened.</i>


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<i>For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen.</i>


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<i>So, if they say to you, 'He is in the wilderness,' do not go out there. If they say, 'in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.</i>


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<i>For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines across to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.</i>


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<i>"Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will be shaken.</i>


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<i>And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. Then will all the tribes of the earth beat their breasts for grief, and they will see the Son of Man as he comes on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.</i>


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<i>And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet-blast, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.</i>


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<i>"From the fig tree take an illustration. When now its branch becomes soft and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near.</i>


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<i>But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but the Father alone.</i>


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<i>As in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah went into the ark,</i>


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<i>and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.</i>


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<i>There will be two women grinding at the mill. One will be taken with him and one will be left.</i>


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<i>But this you do know, that if the householder had known in which watch the thief was coming he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.</i>


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<i>Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has placed over his household to give them food in due season?</i>


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<i>the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not expecting and at an hour when he is unaware,</i>


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<i>and will cut him asunder and assign his part with the hypocrites. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.</i>


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<i>"THEN the kingdom of heaven will be like ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.</i>


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<i>But the wise answered, 'There may not be enough for us and you. Go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.'</i>


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<i>While they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut.</i>


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<i>"It is just as when a man going abroad called his servants and committed to them his property.</i>


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<i>To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his particular ability. Then he went abroad.</i>


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<i>But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.</i>


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<i>The man who had received the five talents came and brought five talents more, saying, 'Master, you committed to me five talents; see, I have gained five talents more.'</i>


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<i>His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will place you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'</i>


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<i>The man who had received the two talents came and said, 'Master, you committed to me two talents; see, I have gained two talents more.'</i>


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<i>His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will place you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'</i>


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<i>Then the man who had received the one talent came and said, 'Master, I knew that you were a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not thresh,</i>


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<i>and I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. There, you have your own.'</i>


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<i>His master replied, 'You wicked and idle servant. Did you know that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not thresh?</i>


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<i>Then you ought to have turned over my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest.</i>


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<i>For to every one who has will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken.</i>


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<i>And the worthless servant throw out into the darkness outside. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.'</i>


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<i>"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne</i>


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<i>and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will divide them one from another as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.</i>


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<i>Then will the King say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!</i>


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<i>For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in;</i>


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<i>naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you came to me.'</i>


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<i>Then will the righteous answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?</i>


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<i>The King will answer, 'I tell you truly, inasmuch as you did it to one of these my brothers \'97 even the least \'97 you did it to me.'</i>


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<i>Then he will say to those on his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the fire eternal prepared for the Devil and his angels.</i>


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<i>I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison and you did not care for me.'</i>


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<i>Then they too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not serve you?'</i>


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<i>He will answer them, 'I tell you truly inasmuch as you did not do it to one of these least, you did not do it to me.'</i>


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<i>"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man is to be betrayed to be crucified."</i>


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Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled at the house of the High Priest, who was called Caiaphas,


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a woman came up to him, bringing an alabaster jar of costly ointment, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table.


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But Jesus observed it and said, <i>"Why are you troubling the woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly wherever this good news shall be proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of too in memory of her."</i>


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On the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"


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He answered, <i>"Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near. I will keep the Passover with my disciples at your house.'</i>


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<i>The Son of Man is going as it has been written of him, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! For that man it would be good not to have been born."</i>


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While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf and blessed it and broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, <i>"Take this and eat it. This is my body."</i>


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Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks gave it to them, saying, <i>"Drink from it, all of you;</i>


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<i>I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you, new, in the kingdom of my Father."</i>


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Then Jesus said to them, <i>"All of you will stumble and fail me to-night; for it is written, 'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"I tell you truly that to-night, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times."</i>


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Peter said to him, "Even if I have to die with you, I will not disown you." And so said all of the disciples.


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Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, <i>"Sit here while I go and pray yonder."</i>


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Then he went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed, <i>"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as thou wilt."</i>


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Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, <i>"So you could not watch one hour with me!</i>


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<i>Watch and pray so as not to enter into temptation. Your spirit is eager, but your flesh is weak."</i>


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Again a second time he went away and prayed, <i>"My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done."</i>


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Then he came to the disciples and said to them, <i>"You are sleeping on and resting! Now has come the hour when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.</i>


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While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, sent by the high priests and elders of the people.


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Friend, do what you are here for."</i> Then they came and laid their hands on Jesus and arrested him.


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Suddenly one of those with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the High Priest, cutting off his ear.


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.</i>


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<i>Do you think that I cannot call on my Father and have him send to me now more than twelve legions of angels?</i>


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Jesus said to the crowd, <i>"Have you come out to seize me as if against a robber, with swords and clubs? Every day I sat in the Temple teaching and you did not arrest me.</i>


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<i>But all this has happened that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled."</i> Then all the disciples left him and fled.


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The men who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the High Priest, at whose house the scribes and elders had assembled.


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Peter followed him at a distance as far as the court of the High Priest, and went in and sat among the attendants to see the end.


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The high priests and the whole council sought for false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death.


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and said, "This man said, 'I can pull down the Temple of God and in three days build it up again.' "


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The High Priest rose and said to him, "Have you no answer? What is it that these are testifying to against you?"


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But Jesus kept silence. The High Priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."


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Jesus said to him, <i>"I am he. But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven."</i>


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Then the High Priest rent his garments, saying, "Impious words! Why do we any longer need witnesses? See, you have now heard his impious words.


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Peter was sitting outside in the court. A maid came up to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilaean."


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When he had gone out into the gateway, another maid saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene."


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After a little those who were standing there came up and said to Peter, "Truly you are one of them, for your accent proves it."


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Peter remembered what Jesus had said, <i>"Before the cock crows you will disown me three times,"</i> and he went out and wept bitterly.


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WHEN morning came all the high priests and the elders of the people consulted together against Jesus to put him to death.


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Then Judas, who had betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus had been condemned, was sorry and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders,


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saying, "I sinned in betraying innocent blood!" But they said, "What is that to us? You must see to that."


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The high priests took the money and said, "It is not proper to put it in with the consecrated gifts, since it is the price of blood."


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Then was fulfilled what was said through Jeremiah the prophet, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was priced, whom they priced from the sons of Israel,


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Jesus stood before the Governor. The Governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, <i>"I am."</i>


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At every feast the Governor was accustomed to release for the people one prisoner, whomever they chose.


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So, when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?"


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While he was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent to him a message, "Do not have anything to do with that righteous man. For I have suffered much to-day in a dream because of him."


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The Governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" They said, "Barabbas."


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Pilate said to them, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Have him crucified."


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When Pilate saw that he was doing no good, but rather that an uproar was arising, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd and said, "I am innocent of this blood. You will have to see to it."


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Then the soldiers of the Governor took Jesus with them into the castle and gathered about him all the battalion.


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twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, put a reed into his right hand, and, going down on their knees before him, made sport of him, shouting, "Hail, King of the Jews!"


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After they had finished making sport of him, they took off from him the crimson cloak and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucifixion.


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As they were going out, they chanced upon a man from Cyrene by the name of Simon. This man they impressed to carry the cross of Jesus.


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Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: <i>THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS</i>


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At the same time there were crucified along with him two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.


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and saying, "You who can pull down the Temple and in three days build it up, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"


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In the same way the high priests, making sport of him, along with the scribes and elders, kept saying,


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"He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.


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About three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, <i>"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?"</i> that is, <i>"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"</i>


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Immediately one of them took a sponge and filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave him a drink.


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Suddenly the curtain of the Temple was rent in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked. The rocks were split,


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and, coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.


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The Centurion and his men who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that happened, were greatly terrified and said, "Truly this man was a son of God!"


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Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.


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In the late afternoon there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus.


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and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a great stone up to the door of the tomb and went away.


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On the next day, that is, the day after the Preparation, the high priests and the Pharisees gathered about Pilate


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and said, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was alive, <i>'After three days I shall be raised up.'</i>


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So give orders to have the tomb guarded until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last error will be worse than the first."


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LATE on the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was drawing near, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb.


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And suddenly there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came to the stone and rolled it away and sat upon it.


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The angel said to the women, "Do not you be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.


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Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has been raised from the dead. He will precede you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you."


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Suddenly Jesus met them and said, <i>"Hail!"</i> They came up and clasped his feet and bowed down before him.


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Then Jesus said to them, <i>"Do not be afraid. Go and take the message to my disciples to go away to Galilee and there they will see me."</i>


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While they were going, some of the guard came into the city and brought word to the high priests of all that had happened.


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After assembling with the elders and holding a consultation, they gave a good deal of money to the soldiers


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The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this report has been spread among the Jews to this day.


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Jesus came to them and talked with them. He said, <i>"To me has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.</i>


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<i>Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,</i>


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<i>teaching them to keep all the commands that I have given you. And, behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the world."</i>


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It is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way.


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The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord; make his paths straight' ";


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just so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching the baptism of a change of heart for forgiveness of sins.


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All the land of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.


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John's clothes were of camel's hair and he had a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.


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He proclaimed, "One is coming after me who is more powerful than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop and loose.


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Immediately as he was coming up from the water he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him.


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And he was in the wild lands forty days, tempted by Satan. There he was among the wild beasts, but angels waited upon him.


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and saying, <i>"The time has been completed and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news."</i>


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As he passed along by the lake of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.


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Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in their boat, mending their net.


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Immediately he called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him away.


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The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as if he had authority, and not as the scribes.


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There was in their synagogue a man wider the power of an impure spirit, and he immediately cried out,


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"What have you to do with us, Nazarene Jesus? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are \'97 the Holy one of God."


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They were all amazed so that they discussed together, "What is this? A new powerful teaching! He commands even the impure spirits and they obey him!"


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As soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.


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He came to her, and took her by the hand and lifted her up. The fever left her and she waited on them.


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When evening came and the sun had set, they brought to him all the sick and those who were afflicted with demons;


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He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, not allowing the demons to talk, because they knew him.


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Early in the morning, while it was still night, he rose and went out, and went away into a solitary place and there prayed.


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But he said to them, <i>"Let us go somewhere else among the neighboring villages, so that I may preach there too; for it was for this purpose that I came away."</i>


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There came to him a leper, begging him and kneeling to him and saying, "If you will, you can cleanse me."


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He had compassion on him, and stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, <i>"I do will it; be cleansed."</i>


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<i>"Be sure, do not say anything to anybody, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed for evidence."</i>


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But the man went away and began to proclaim freely and to spread the report, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter openly into any city, but stayed out in the wild country, and people came to him from every direction.


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Not being able to bring him near, owing to the crowd, they opened the roof where he was, and when they had broken through it, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.


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Immediately Jesus, perceiving that they were inwardly reasoning in this way, said to them, <i>"Why do you reason so in your minds?</i>


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<i>Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?</i>


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<i>But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,"</i> turning to the paralytic he said,


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Immediately the man rose and took up his pallet and went out before all, so that they were astounded and gave praise to God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"


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As he was passing along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office and said to him, <i>"Follow me."</i> He arose and followed.


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Jesus was reclining at table in Levi's house, and many tax collectors and sinners also reclined at table along with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.


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When the scribes and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Can it be that he eats with tax collectors and sinners?"


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When Jesus heard it, he said to them, <i>"The strong have no need of a physician, but the sick have. I did not come to call righteous men, but sinners."</i>


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The disciples of John as well as the Pharisees were fasting. They came and said to Jesus, "Why is it that the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but your disciples are not fasting?"


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Jesus replied, <i>"Can guests at a wedding fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.</i>


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<i>But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast, in those days.</i>


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<i>No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old coat. For the patch will break away, the new from the old, and a worse tear will be made.</i>


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<i>No one pours new wine into old wine-skins. For the wine will burst the skins, and both wine and skins will be lost."</i>


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It happened on a Sabbath day that he was passing through the grainfields, and his disciples began, as they walked, to pluck the heads of grain.


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The Pharisees said to him, "See what they are doing on the Sabbath \'97 something that is not allowable."


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He said to them, <i>"Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and his companions? \'97 </i>


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<i>how he went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the consecrated loaves, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave them also to his companions?"</i>


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They watched him to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might have something to say against him.


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Then he said to them, <i>"Is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?"</i> But they kept silent.


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He looked round on them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man, <i>"Stretch out your hand."</i> He stretched the hand out and it was completely restored.


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The Pharisees went out immediately and joined with the Herodians in a plot to put him out of the way.


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Then Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake and a great number from Galilee followed him. Also from Judaea


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and from Jerusalem and from Idumaea and from beyond the Jordan and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon, a great number, hearing of all that he was doing, came to him.


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Jesus spoke to his disciples to have a little boat ready for his use on account of the throng, to prevent them from pressing upon him.


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The impure spirits, also, when they saw him, fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God."


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James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder,


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Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot,


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When his family heard of it, they went out to take him by force, for they said, "He is out of his mind."


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The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, "He has Beelzebul in him, and by the Chief of the demons he casts out demons."


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<i>No one can enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, and then he can plunder his house.</i>


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<i>Truly I tell you all sins will be forgiven to the sons of men and all their profane words, whatever they may say,</i>


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<i>but whoever speaks profane words against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness forever, but is guilty of an eternal sin."</i>


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A crowd was sitting around him when some one said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside and want you."


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Looking round at those sitting in the circle about him he said, <i>"Here are my mother and my brothers.</i>


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AGAIN Jesus began to teach beside the lake, and a very great crowd gathered around him, so that he got into a boat on the lake and sat down, and all the crowd was on the shore near the lake.


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<i>and it happened, as he was sowing, that some seed fell beside the road and the birds came and ate it.</i>


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<i>Other seed fell on stony places where it had not much earth, and it sprang up at once because it had no depth of soil,</i>


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<i>Other seed fell into good ground and grew tall and strong and yielded thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold."</i>


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He replied, <i>"To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been confided. But to outsiders all things come in figures of speech</i>


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<i>so that they may look straight and yet not see, and hear plainly, yet not understand, and thus they will never repent and be forgiven."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"Do you not understand this illustration? How, then, will you understand all the illustrations?</i>


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<i>These are those in whom the message is sown by the roadside \'97 such as hear, but immediately Satan comes and takes away the message that was sown in their minds.</i>


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<i>These are they likewise who received seed on stony places \'97 such as hear and immediately and gladly receive the word,</i>


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<i>but, since they have no root, but are fickle, whenever trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fail.</i>


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<i>but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the passions for other things come in and choke the word, and it turns out barren.</i>


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<i>These are those who received seed in good ground \'97 such as hear the message and receive it and yield thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"A light is not brought in to be put under a peck-measure or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be placed on the stand?</i>


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<i>For there is nothing hidden except to be manifested; nor was anything made secret except to come to light.</i>


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He said again to them, <i>"Be careful what you hear. With the measure that you measure with, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you.</i>


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<i>and goes on sleeping by night and rising by day, and the seed sprouts and grows up, he knows not how.</i>


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<i>The ground of itself yields fruit: first the stalk, then the ear, then comes the full grain in the ear.</i>


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Again he said, <i>"With what shall we compare the kingdom of God? or by what figure can we illustrate it?</i>


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<i>It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the ground, although it is the least of all the seeds that are in the ground,</i>


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<i>yet grows up and becomes larger than all the garden herbs, and puts out great branches so that the birds of the air can find shelter under its shadow."</i>


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but except in figures of speech he did not talk to them. Privately to his own disciples he explained all things.


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So they left the crowd and took him along just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with them.


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But he was in the stern asleep on the cushion. They aroused him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are sinking?"


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When he awoke, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, <i>"Hush, be still."</i> The wind ceased and there was a great calm.


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But they were intensely awestruck and said to one another, "Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the lake obey him?"


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When he got out of the boat, immediately there came out of the tombs to meet him a man under the power of an impure spirit.


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because he had often been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart and the fetters broken in pieces by him, and no one was strong enough to tame him.


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All night and all day long he was in the tombs and in the mountains, shrieking and cutting himself with stones.


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and shouted with a loud voice, "What have I and you to do with each other, Jesus, Son of God most high? I adjure you by God, not to torment me."


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He consented. The impure spirits came out of the man and entered into the swine. Then the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned in the lake.


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At this, those who were feeding them fled and told it in the city and in the fields, and people came to see what had happened.


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When they came to Jesus, they saw the demoniac, the man who had had the legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. They were struck with awe.


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He, however, did not consent, but said, <i>"Go to your own house and to your family, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you."</i>


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So he went away and began to make known in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and all were astonished.


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When Jesus had recrossed in the boat to the other side of the lake, a great crowd gathered around him as he stood on the shore.


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Then came one of the directors of the synagogue, by the name of Jairus, and as soon as he saw Jesus he fell at his feet


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and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is near to death. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her so that she may be saved and live."


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and had suffered much under the treatment of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, though without becoming better, but rather worse;


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Jesus was at once conscious that power had gone from him, and turned in the crowd and said, <i>"Who touched my clothes?"</i>


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Then the woman, afraid and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell before him and told him all the truth.


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He said to her, <i>"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be well of your trouble."</i>


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While he was still speaking, people came from the house of the synagogue Director and told him, "Your daughter is dead; why annoy the teacher any longer?"


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But Jesus, overhearing what they were saying, said to the Director, <i>"Never fear; only believe."</i>


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He entered and said, <i>"Why are you making so much noise and weeping so? The child is not dead, but is sleeping."</i>


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But they laughed at him. Then he put them all out and took the child's father and mother and his own companions and went in where the child was.


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Taking hold of the child's hand he said to her, <i>"Talitha koum,"</i> which means, <i>"Little girl, rise up."</i>


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Immediately the little girl rose up and walked around. She was twelve years old. They were utterly amazed.


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When the Sabbath came, he began teaching in the synagogue. Many who heard were astonished and said, "Where did he get this, and what is this wisdom with which he is gifted? How are such deeds of power done by his hands?


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Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" So they fell into mistake regarding him.


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But Jesus said to them, <i>"A prophet is not without honor except in his own native place and among his own kindred and in his own home."</i>


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There he was unable to do any work of power, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.


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Then he called together the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over impure spirits,


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and instructed them not to take anything for their journey but just a stick; no bread, no bag, no coppers in their belts,


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<i>Wherever the people will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them."</i>


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The name of Jesus was so much talked about that King Herod heard of it. Some were saying, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, and therefore these mighty works are done by him."


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Herod himself had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.


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because Herod reverenced John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When Herod heard John, he was much perplexed, and yet he was glad to listen to him.


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But an opportunity came for Herodias when Herod, on his birthday, gave a feast to his high officials and military officers and the leading men of Galilee.


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Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and his guests. The King said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you will and I will give it to you."


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The girl went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptizer."


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The girl immediately hurried in and said to the King, "I choose to have you give me right now the head of John the Baptizer on a platter."


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This made the King very sorry, but on account of his oaths and his guests he was unwilling to refuse her.


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So he immediately sent one of the guardsmen with orders to bring John's head. The soldier went and beheaded him in the prison


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The apostles gathered back to Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and all that they had taught.


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He said to them, <i>"Come away alone into some solitary place and rest a little."</i> For there were many people coming and going, and they had no time even to eat.


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But many saw them going and recognized them, and ran together by land from all the towns and got there before them.


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When Jesus landed, he saw a great crowd, and he was filled with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began and taught them many things.


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By this time it was late in the day, and his disciples came to him and said, "This is an uninhabited place and the hour is already late.


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Send them away so that they can go to the farms and villages around and buy themselves something to eat."


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But Jesus answered, <i>"Give them something to eat yourselves."</i> They said, "Shall we go and buy two hundred shillings worth of bread and feed them?"


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He asked, <i>"How many loaves have you? Go and see."</i> When they had ascertained they said, "Five, and there are two fishes."


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Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven and blessed them, and broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. The two fishes he also divided among all.


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and they picked up twelve basketfuls of the broken pieces of the bread, besides portions of the fishes.


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Jesus immediately had his disciples get into the boat and cross before him to Bethsaida while he was dismissing the crowd.


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He saw them distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the lake and he seemed to be going past them.


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For they all saw him and were frightened. But he immediately spoke to them and said, <i>"Courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."</i>


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and hurried over all that region and brought in the sick on pallets wherever they heard that he was.


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Whenever he went into villages or towns or among the farms they would lay the sick in the streets and beg him to let them touch at least the tassel of his cloak. And all who touched were healed.


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For the Pharisees and all the Jews never eat without first washing their hands up to the wrist, holding faithfully to the tradition of their forefathers,


text:
and when they return from market they do not eat until they have washed. There are also many other traditions which they have been taught to hold tenaciously, such as washing cups and pitchers and copper vessels.


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The Pharisees and scribes asked him, "Why do not your disciples live according to the tradition of our fore-fathers? Why do they eat their bread with common hands?"


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He replied, <i>"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites when he wrote: 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;</i>


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He said further to them, <i>"How thoroughly you set aside the command of God so that you may keep your tradition!</i>


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<i>For Moses said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'</i>


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But you say, <i>'If a man says to his father or his mother, Whatever benefit you enjoy from me is now Korban, that is, a gift to God,' \'97 </i>


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<i>thus nullifying the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and many similar things you do."</i>


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<i>There is nothing from outside a man that can go into him and defile him, but the things that come out of the man are the things that defile the man."</i>


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He said, <i>"Are you too so lacking in insight? Do you not know that everything from outside that goes into a man is unable to defile him,</i>


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<i>for it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach and passes out into the sewer?"</i> Thus he pronounced all foods clean.


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<i>for from within, out of the hearts of men, come evil thoughts, unchastities, thefts, murders,</i>


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<i>adulteries, lusts, wickednesses, deceit, sensuality, an evil eye, slander, arrogance, recklessness \'97 </i>


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Leaving that place, Jesus went into the borders of Tyre. He entered a house and did not wish any one to know it, but he could not escape notice.


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At once a woman whose daughter was afflicted by an impure spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet.


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The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.


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But he said, <i>"Let the children be well fed first. For it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."</i>


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Again leaving the region of Tyre, he came through Sidon to the lake of Galilee into the midst of the region of Decapolis.


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Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell any one. But the more he forbade them the more widely they spread it,


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for they were astonished beyond all bounds and said, "He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."


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IN those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called together his disciples and said to them,


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<i>"I have compassion on the crowd because they have already spent three days with me and they have nothing to eat.</i>


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<i>If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way. Some of them are from a long way off."</i>


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His disciples answered, "Where will any one be able to get bread to supply these people here in the uninhabited country?"


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He told the people to recline on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and, after giving thanks, broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed to the people.


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All ate and were satisfied, and they picked up of the fragments that were left over seven basketfuls.


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The Pharisees came out and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, in order to test him.


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He sighed deeply and said, <i>"Why does this generation ask for a sign? In truth I tell you no sign will be given to this generation."</i>


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Jesus warned them, <i>"Beware, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."</i>


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He perceived it, and said to them, <i>"Why are you talking about your lack of bread? Do you not yet know or understand? Have you dull minds?</i>


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<i>when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of fragments you picked up?"</i> They said, "Twelve."


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<i>"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand how many basketfuls of fragments you picked up?"</i> They said, "Seven."


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Taking hold of the blind man's hand, he led him out of the village. Then, after spitting in his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, <i>"Do you see anything?"</i>


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Jesus went away with his disciples to the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the road he asked them, <i>"Who do the people say that I am?"</i>


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Then he began and taught them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders and the high priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again.


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He turned and looked at his disciples and reproved Peter with the words, <i>"Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God's thoughts, but men's thoughts."</i>


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Then he called the crowd along with his disciples and said to them, <i>"If any one wishes to come after me, let him disown himself and take up his cross and follow me.</i>


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<i>Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the good news will save it.</i>


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<i>Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels."</i>


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HE said further to them, <i>"I tell you truly that there are some of those who are standing here, who will not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God already here in power."</i>


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Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. There in their presence he became transfigured.


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Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is fine for us to be here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."


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Then a cloud overshadowed them and there came a voice out of the cloud, "This is my beloved son, hear him."


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When they were descending the mountain, he told them not to tell any one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.


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He said, <i>"Elijah does come first and reforms everything. How is it written also of the Son of Man that he suffers many things and is treated with contempt?</i>


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<i>I tell you Elijah has already come, and they have done to him what they chose, just as it was written of him."</i>


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and whenever it attacks him it convulses him and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth. He is wasting away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they had not the power."


text:
Jesus answered, <i>"O faithless generation! how long must I be with you? How long must I bear with you? Bring him to me."</i>


text:
They brought him to him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, he convulsed the boy so that he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.


text:
Jesus asked the father, <i>"How long is it since this came on him?"</i> He said, "From early childhood.


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Often it has thrown him into the fire or into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us."


text:
Jesus saw that the crowd was rapidly increasing, so he rebuked the impure spirit with the words, <i>"Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you to come out and never to enter him again."</i>


text:
He screamed and convulsed the boy and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead."


text:
After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why were we not able to cast it out?"


text:
For he was teaching his disciples and telling them that the Son of Man would be betrayed into the hands of men and that they would kill him, and that three days after being killed he would rise.


text:
They came to Capernaum. After entering the house, Jesus asked them, <i>"What were you discussing on the road?"</i>


text:
Taking a seat he called the twelve, and said, <i>"If any one wishes to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all."</i>


text:
Then he took a little child and placed him in the midst of them, and, putting his arms around him, said,


text:
<i>"Whoever receives one of such little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me."</i>


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John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name \'97 a man who does not follow us \'97 and we told him not to do it, because he does not follow us."


text:
Jesus said, <i>"Do not tell him not to do it. For no one who does a miracle in my name can quickly speak evil of me.</i>


text:
<i>For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, I tell you truly that he will not miss his reward.</i>


text:
<i>And whoever causes the fall of one of these little ones that believe, it would be better for him if, with a great millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the lake.</i>


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<i>If your hand is a snare to you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go away into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.</i>


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<i>If your foot is a snare to you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame than with two feet to be cast into Gehenna.</i>


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<i>If your eye is a snare to you, tear it out. It is better to enter into the kingdom of God one-eyed than with two eyes to be cast into Gehenna,</i>


text:
<i>Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltness, with what can you flavor it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."</i>


text:
STARTING from there, he came into the land of Judaea and beyond the Jordan. Again the people crowded to him, and again as usual he was teaching them.


text:
Some Pharisees came up and asked him, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?" They meant to catch him.


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He said to them, <i>"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.</i>


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When Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said, <i>"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them; for of such is the kingdom of God.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it."</i>


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While he was going out into the road, a man came running and knelt before him and asked, "Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit life eternal?"


text:
<i>You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and thy mother.'</i>


text:
Jesus looking at him loved him and said to him, <i>"One thing you lack. Go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me."</i>


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Then Jesus, looking around on his disciples, said, <i>"With what difficulty will those who have wealth enter the kingdom of God!"</i>


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The disciples were astonished at his words. Jesus spoke again and said, <i>"Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!</i>


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<i>It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."</i>


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Jesus looked at them and said, <i>"With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."</i>


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Jesus said, <i>"I tell you truly there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the good news,</i>


text:
<i>who will not receive a hundred fold more now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come life eternal.</i>


text:
They were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking in advance. Astonishment fell on them, and those who were following were fearful. Then again he took aside the twelve and began and told them what was going to happen to him.


text:
He said, <i>"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the high priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,</i>


text:
<i>and they will make sport of him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him. But after three days he will rise."</i>


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James and John the sons of Zebedee came to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you."


text:
They said, "Grant that one of us may sit on your right hand and the other on your left hand in your glory."


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Jesus said to them, <i>"You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"</i>


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They said to him, "We can." Jesus said, <i>"The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with;</i>


text:
<i>but to sit on my right or my left is not mine to give, but it will be for those for whom it has been prepared."</i>


text:
Jesus called them to him and said, <i>"You know that those who are thought to rule the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.</i>


text:
<i>For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many."</i>


text:
They came to Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus <n>the son of Timaeus</n>, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.


text:
When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Son of David, Jesus, pity me!"


text:
Jesus stopped and said, <i>"Call him."</i> They called the blind man, saying, "Courage; rise up; he is calling you."


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Jesus said to him, <i>"What do you want me to do for you?"</i> The blind man said, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight."


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Jesus said, <i>"Go. Your faith has healed you."</i> At once he could see and followed Jesus along the road.


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WHEN they were approaching Jerusalem, near Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples


text:
and told them, <i>"Go into the village across there, and immediately, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, upon which no man has ever yet sat. Untie him and bring him.</i>


text:
<i>If anybody asks, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Master has need of him,' and at once he will send him."</i>


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Then many spread their cloaks in the road and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.


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Some went in front and some followed, shouting, "God save him! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!


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He entered Jerusalem and came into the Temple courts. After inspecting everything, because it was already late he went out to Bethany with the twelve.


text:
and seeing a fig tree at a distance in full leaf he went to it on the chance of finding something on it. But when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.


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They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the Temple courts and began to cast out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers,


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for he taught and said to them, <i>"Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."</i>


text:
When the high priests and the scribes heard of this they tried to contrive to put him out of the way, for they were afraid of him because the people were deeply impressed by his teaching.


text:
<i>I tell you truly whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his mind, but believes that what he says will be, will have it.</i>


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<i>For this reason I say to you, all things whatever that you pray and ask for, believe that you have obtained them and you will have them.</i>


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<i>And when you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against any one, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your failings."</i>


text:
They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking about in the Temple courts, the high priests and the scribes came to him


text:
Jesus replied, <i>"I will ask you one question; answer me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.</i>


text:
But they discussed among themselves, "If we say 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?'


text:
So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he replied, <i>"Neither will I tell you by what power I am doing these things."</i>


text:
THEN he began to speak to them in figures: <i>"There was a man who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug for a wine-vat, and built a tower and let it out to grape-growers, and then went abroad.</i>


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<i>At the proper season he sent a servant to the grape-growers to receive from them some of the fruits of the vineyard.</i>


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<i>He sent another, and him they killed. He sent many others, some of whom were beaten and some killed.</i>


text:
<i>He had still one, a beloved son. He sent him last to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'</i>


text:
<i>But those grape-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours.'</i>


text:
<i>What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the grape-growers and will give the vineyard to others.</i>


text:
<i>Have you never read this Scripture, 'The stone which the builders despised has become the chief stone of the corner;</i>


text:
They kept trying to seize him, but were afraid of the crowd. For they knew that he had meant the illustration for them. So they left him and went away.


text:
When they came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and are not afraid of any one; for you do not look at the social standing of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not?


text:
Shall we pay or shall we not pay?" But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, <i>"Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin and let me see it."</i>


text:
They brought one. Then he said, <i>"Whose head is this and whose inscription?"</i> They said to him, "Caesar's."


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Pay what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God."</i> They were astonished at him.


text:
"Teacher, Moses wrote a law for us that if any man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but no child, the brother shall take the wife and raise up off-spring for his brother.


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Do you not err for the reason that you do not know either the Scriptures or the power of God?</i>


text:
<i>For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.</i>


text:
<i>And concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses in the passage about the Bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'?</i>


text:
Then came one of the scribes, and, after listening to their discussion and knowing that he had answered them well, asked, "Which is the first commandment of all?"


text:
<i>and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength.'</i>


text:
<i>This is the second, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."</i>


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The scribe said to him, "Right, teacher; you have said truly that he is one and there is no other beside him,


text:
and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as one's self is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."


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Jesus, seeing that he had answered with intelligence, said to him, <i>"You are not far from the kingdom of God."</i> After that no one dared question him further.


text:
Then Jesus asked, while teaching in the Temple courts, <i>"How do the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?</i>


text:
<i>David himself, guided by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I put your enemies under your feet.'</i>


text:
<i>David himself called him 'Lord'; how is he then his son?"</i> A great crowd listened to him with delight.


text:
In his teaching he said, <i>"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes and to have greetings in the market-places</i>


text:
<i>They eat up widows' houses and hypocritically make long prayers. These men will receive a severer condemnation."</i>


text:
Having seated himself across from the contribution box, he was watching how the crowd dropped money into the box. Many rich people were dropping in large gifts.


text:
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, <i>"I tell you truly, this widow, poor as she is, has dropped in more than all the others who are dropping money into the contribution box.</i>


text:
<i>For they all contributed out of their superfluity, but she out of her poverty dropped in all that she had \'97 the whole of what she had to live on."</i>


text:
AS he was going out of the Temple courts, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, see what great stones and what great buildings!"


text:
Jesus said to him, <i>"Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left one stone upon another which will not be thrown down."</i>


text:
Then, when he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the Temple buildings, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,


text:
"Tell us when these things will be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to come to pass?"


text:
<i>And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must come, but the end is not yet.</i>


text:
<i>For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famines. These things are the beginning of birth-pangs.</i>


text:
<i>But you, be on your guard. They will hand you over to councils and you will be beaten in synagogues and you will have to stand before governors and kings for my sake for a testimony to them.</i>


text:
<i>When they are taking you along to deliver you up, feel no anxiety what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour. For it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.</i>


text:
<i>Brother will betray brother to death and father will betray child, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death.</i>


text:
<i>"When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not</i> <i>Let the reader consider</i>, <i>then let those in Judea flee to the mountains,</i>


text:
<i>and let him who is on top of the house not descend and enter to take anything from his house,</i>


text:
<i>For those will be days of misery such as has not been since the beginning of God's creation until now, and never will be again.</i>


text:
<i>Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of those whom he has chosen he has shortened the days.</i>


text:
<i>False Christs and false prophets will do signs and wonders to mislead if possible the chosen.</i>


text:
<i>"But in those days, after that misery, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light</i>


text:
<i>and the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.</i>


text:
<i>Then he will send out his angels and will gather together his chosen from the four winds, from the farthest bound of earth to the farthest bound of heaven.</i>


text:
<i>"From the fig tree learn a comparison. When once her branch becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near.</i>


text:
<i>I tell you truly that this generation will not pass away until all these things come to pass.</i>


text:
<i>"But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son, but the Father only.</i>


text:
<i>It is just as when a man going abroad leaves his house and gives to his servants authority and to each his work and commands the porter to watch.</i>


text:
<i>Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the Master of the house will come, whether at evening or at midnight or at cock-crowing or in the morning.</i>


text:
THE Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were to come after two days. The high priests and the scribes were contriving how they might seize him by some stratagem and kill him.


text:
During his stay in Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper, while he was reclining at table there came a woman with an alabaster jar of pure nard perfume, very costly. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.


text:
This perfume could have been sold for more than three hundred shillings and the money given to the poor." So they were indignant at her.


text:
But Jesus said, <i>"Let her alone. Why are you annoying her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.</i>


text:
<i>The poor you have always with you, and whenever you will you can do them good, but me you have not always.</i>


text:
<i>I tell you truly wherever the good news shall be proclaimed over the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."</i>


text:
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the high priests to betray him to them.


text:
They were glad to hear it and promised to give him money. He meanwhile was contriving how he could betray him at some favorable time.


text:
On the first day of unleavened bread \'97 when they sacrificed the Passover lamb \'97 his disciples said to him, "Where do you wish us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"


text:
So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, <i>"Go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him,</i>


text:
<i>and wherever he goes in, say to the householder, 'The Teacher says, Where is the guest room for me where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?'</i>


text:
The disciples went and entered the city and found everything as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.


text:
As they were reclining and eating, he said, <i>"I tell you truly one of you will betray me, one who is now eating with me."</i>


text:
<i>The Son of Man is going just as it has been written concerning him, but alas for that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Well were it for that man if he had not been born!"</i>


text:
While they were eating, he took a loaf and blessed it and broke it and gave to them, saying, <i>"Take it; this is my body."</i>


text:
<i>I tell you truly I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God."</i>


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"You will all fail, because it has been written, 'I will smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered abroad.'</i>


text:
Jesus said to him, <i>"I tell you truly that to-day, this very night, before the cock crows, you will three times disown me."</i>


text:
But he kept saying more earnestly, "Though I have to die with you, I will not disown you." Just so they all said.


text:
They came to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, <i>"Sit here while I pray."</i>


text:
Then he went forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him.


text:
He said, <i>"Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee. Take away this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what thou wilt."</i>


text:
Then he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, <i>"Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?</i>


text:
<i>Watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation. The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak."</i>


text:
Again he returned and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to answer him.


text:
He came back the third time and said to them, <i>"Are you sleeping on? Are you resting? That is enough. The hour has come. Now the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of the sinners.</i>


text:
Immediately, even while he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, was there and with him a crowd with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the high priests and the scribes and the elders.


text:
The traitor had given them a sign, "The man I kiss, that is he. Seize him and take him safely away."


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But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck a servant of the High Priest, cutting off his ear.


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Have you come out to arrest me with swords and clubs as you would a robber?</i>


text:
<i>Every day I was with you in the Temple courts teaching and you did not lay hands on me. But this is so that the Scriptures may be fulfilled."</i>


text:
There was a young man following him who had thrown a linen cloth around his naked body. They seized him,


text:
Peter followed him at a distance and came inside the court of the High Priest and sat with the attendants, and warmed himself in the light of the fire.


text:
The high priests and all the council tried to get testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they could not find any.


text:
"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple made by hands and in three days I will build another not made by hands.'


text:
Then the High Priest rose and came forward into the midst and questioned Jesus, "Have you no answer? What about this evidence against you?"


text:
But he was silent and did not answer a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"


text:
Jesus said, <i>"I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven."</i>


text:
You have heard his impious words. How does it appear to you?" They all condemned him as deserving of death.


text:
Then some began to spit on him and to blindfold him and to strike him with their fists and say, "Prophesy," and the attendants slapped him as they took him in charge.


text:
and when she saw Peter warming himself she looked at him and said, "You too were with the Nazarene, this Jesus."


text:
But he denied it and said, "I do not know nor understand what you are saying." Then he went out into the outer courtyard.


text:
But he again denied. Again after a little the men who were standing by said to Peter, "Truly you are one of them, for you are a Galilaean."


text:
Immediately, for the second time, the cock crew and Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him, <i>"Before the cock crows twice you will disown me three times,"</i> and when he thought of it he wept aloud.


text:
PROMPTLY at dawn the high priests, after holding a consultation with the elders and the scribes and the whole council, bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.


text:
There was a man called Barabbas in chains among those insurrectionaries who in the insurrection had committed murder.


text:
But Pilate said to them, "What has he done that was wrong?" But they shouted violently, "Crucify him!"


text:
Then Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set free Barabbas for them and after scourging Jesus handed him over to be crucified.


text:
The soldiers led him away inside the courtyard of the castle and called together the whole battalion.


text:
They kept striking him on the head with a reed and spitting on him, and bending their knees they did homage to him.


text:
After making sport of him, they took off the purple and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.


text:
They impressed a man who was passing by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country <n>the father of Alexander and Rufus</n>, to carry his cross.


text:
The people who passed by scoffed at him, shaking their heads and saying, "Ha, you who can pull down the Temple and build it up in three days,


text:
In the same way the high priests, jesting with one another, and the scribes said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save.


text:
Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross so that we may see and believe." Even the men who were crucified along with him reviled him.


text:
At three Jesus cried with a loud voice, <i>"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"</i> \'97 which means, <i>"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"</i>


text:
One ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave him a drink, saying, "Let him be. Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down."


text:
When the Centurion who was standing facing him saw that he expired in this way, he exclaimed, "Truly this man was a son of God!"


text:
There were also some women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the Little and Joses, and Salome,


text:
who when he was in Galilee used to follow him and wait on him, and there were many others who had come up with him to Jerusalem.


text:
It was now late in the afternoon and, since it was Preparation Day, that is the day before the Sabbath,


text:
Joseph of Arimathaea, a councilor of high standing, who himself was looking for the kingdom of God, took courage to go in to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus.


text:
Pilate wondered whether he was already dead, but he called in the Centurion and asked him whether Jesus had been long dead.


text:
Joseph bought a linen sheet and took him down and swathed him in it and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.


text:
WHEN the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought perfumes to go and anoint him.


text:
Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe, and they were frightened.


text:
But he said to them, "Do not be frightened. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. This is the place where they laid him.


text:
But go tell his disciples and Peter, He has gone before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he told you."


text:
The women came out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and amazement seized them. They told nothing to any one, they were so frightened.


text:
After Jesus rose early on the morning of the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.


text:
Later he appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at table, and reproached them for their lack of faith and dullness of mind because they had not believed those who had seen him since his resurrection.


text:
<i>He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.</i>


text:
<i>These signs will follow those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak strange languages;</i>


text:
<i>they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will not harm them. They will lay hands on sick people and the sick will be well."</i>


text:
Then the Lord Jesus, after talking with them, was taken up into heaven and sat down on the right hand of God.


text:
They went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their message by the signs which accompanied it.


text:
INASMUCH as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative of those facts which are firmly believed among us,


text:
just as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and who became bearers of the message handed them down to us;


text:
it has seemed good to me also \'97 since I have followed everything from the beginning accurately \'97 to write a consecutive account for you, most excellent Theophilus,


text:
so that you may know the exact truth in regard to the matters which you have been taught by word of mouth.


text:
There was in the days of Herod, King of Judaea, a certain priest by the name of Zacharias, of the course of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.


text:
They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord blameless.


text:
It happened that as Zacharias was performing his priestly duties before God in the order of his course,


text:
according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him to enter the Temple of the Lord and offer the incense.


text:
But the angel said to him, "Do not fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and you will call his name John.


text:
For he will be great before the Lord. He will not drink wine or strong drink. He will be full of the Holy Spirit even from his birth,


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He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."


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Zacharias said to the angel, "By what proof shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."


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The angel answered, "I am Gabriel, who stands before the face of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to give you this good news.


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And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that this comes to pass, because you have not believed my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."


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But when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the Temple. He kept making signs to them and remained dumb.


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"So has the Lord done for me in the days in which he has looked upon me to take away my reproach among men."


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to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The name of the virgin was Mary.


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He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.


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The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. For that reason the child that is begotten will be called holy, Son of God.


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And, indeed, Elizabeth your relative, even she, has conceived a son, in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.


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Mary said, "Here I am, the Lord's handmaid. Let it be to me according to your word." Then the angel left her.


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When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit


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and spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!


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Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a complete fulfillment of the things spoken to her from the Lord!"


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Because he has looked upon the low estate of his handmaid. Indeed, from this time all generations will call me blessed.


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Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great kindness to her, and they rejoiced with her.


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On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by the name of his father Zacharias.


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Awe fell on all their neighbors, and in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these matters were talked about.


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All who heard them laid them up in their minds, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.


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"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! For he has looked upon his people, and made deliverance for them.


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And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High. You will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,


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To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the path of peace."


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The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilds until the day of his appearance before Israel.


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Joseph went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,


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and she gave birth to her son, her first-born, and she wrapped him up and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


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There were shepherds in the same country staying in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night.


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Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were much afraid,


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but the angel said to them, "Have no fear! Indeed, I am bringing you good news of a great joy which is to be for all the people;


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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude from the army of heaven, praising God, and saying,


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When the angels went away into heaven, the shepherds spoke to one another: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."


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Then the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.


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When eight days had passed and the time to circumcise him had come, his name was called Jesus \'97 the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.


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When the days of their purification were completed, according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,


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and to give an offering according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."


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There was in Jerusalem a man named Simeon, and this man was upright and God-fearing, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.


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It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he was not to see death before he saw the Lord's Christ.


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Led by the Spirit he came into the Temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus in order to do for him according to the custom of the law,


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Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother, "This child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign much spoken against


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<n>yes a sword will pierce your own soul</n> in order that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."


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And there was Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was far advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from her maidenhood


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and having been a widow for now eighty-four years. She never left the Temple courts, but worshiped by fastings and prayers, night and day.


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She too came up at that time and praised God and spoke about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.


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When they had completed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own city Nazareth.


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When he had reached the age of twelve years, and they had gone up according to the custom of the feast


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and had completed the days and were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But his parents did not know it.


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Thinking that he was in the company, they went a day's journey. But when they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances


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On the third day they found him in the Temple courts, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.


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When his parents saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us so? See, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."


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He said to them, <i>"Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be at my Father's?"</i>


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Then he went down with them, and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.


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IN the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was Governor of Judaea and Herod Prince of Galilee, and Philip his brother Prince of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias Prince of Abilene,


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during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wild lands.


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Then he came into all the neighborhood of the Jordan proclaiming baptism for a change of heart in order to forgiveness of sins,


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as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!'


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Every ravine shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be graded down, and the crooked places shall become straight and the rough roads shall become smooth,


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He said to the crowds that went out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


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Produce then fruits suitable for a change of heart, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father.' For I tell you, God is able out of these stones to raise up children for Abraham.


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Already the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not yield good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire."


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He answered, "Let him who has two tunics give to him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."


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Soldiers asked him, "And what shall we do?" He said to them, "Do violence to no man; bring no false accusations; be content with your rations."


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As the people were in expectation and all were debating in their minds about John, whether he was the Christ,


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John said to them all, "I am baptizing you with water, but there is coming the One mightier than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.


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He has his fan in his hand to cleanse his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his granary. But the chaff he will burn up with fire unquenchable."


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But Herod, the prince, because John reproved him regarding Herodias, his brother's wife, and regarding all the wicked things which Herod had done,


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When all the people were being baptized, and when Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened,


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and the Holy Spirit in bodily form like a dove descended upon him, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my Son, the Beloved. In thee I delight."


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Jesus, when he began, was about thirty years old, being the son <n>as was thought</n> of Joseph, the son of Heli,


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the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,


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JESUS, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan and was led about in the Spirit in the wilderness


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forty days while being tempted by the Devil. During those days he ate nothing, and when they were ended he was hungry.


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and said to him, "To you I will give all this power and glory, for it has been handed over to me and I give it to whomever I will.


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Jesus answered him, <i>"It is written, 'Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God and him alone shalt thou worship.' "</i>


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The Devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on the roof of the Temple, and said to him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down,


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and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you shall not strike your foot against a stone.' "


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Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and reports about him went out through all the region.


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He came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and, according to his custom, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.


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The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book and found the place where it is written,


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<i>"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and sight to the blind, to set at liberty the crushed,</i>


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Then he rolled up the book and handed it over to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon him.


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All bore witness to him, and wondered at the gracious words that came from his mouth, and said, "Is not he a son of Joseph?"


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He said to them, <i>"Of course, you will quote to me the saying, 'Physician, heal yourself.' 'Whatever we have heard of as done in Capernaum, do here in your native place.'</i>


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<i>In truth I tell you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah the prophet, when heaven was shut up three years and six months so that a great famine came on all the land,</i>


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<i>And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and no leper was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."</i>


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and they rose up and expelled him from the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, intending to throw him down.


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In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an impure demon, and he shouted with a loud voice,


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"Ha, what have you to do with us, Nazarene Jesus? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are \'97 The Holy One of God."


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Jesus rebuked him, saying, <i>"Be silent, and come out of him."</i> The demon flung him prostrate in the midst, but came out of him without injuring him at all.


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Astonishment fell upon all, and they talked to one another, saying, "What is this word? With authority and power he commands the impure spirits and they come out!"


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Jesus arose and left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon. Simon's wife's mother was suffering from a severe fever, and they asked him to help her.


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He came and stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her. At once she rose up and waited upon them.


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As the sun was setting, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he put his hands on each of them and healed them.


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Demons came out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and did not permit them to speak, for they knew that he was the Christ.


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When morning came, he went out and departed to a solitary place. The crowds were looking for him and came to where he was and tried to hinder his going away from them.


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But he said to them, <i>"I must tell the good news about the kingdom of God in the other cities also, because for this I have been sent."</i>


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IT happened that, as the crowd was pressing upon him and listening to the word of God, he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,


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and he saw two boats by the shore. The fishermen had gone away from them and were washing their nets.


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He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then, sitting down, he taught the people from the boat.


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When he ceased speaking, he said to Simon, <i>"Push out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch."</i>


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Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets."


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They beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. They came, and both the boats were filled so that they began to sink.


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When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down on his knees before Jesus and said, "Leave my boat and me, Sir, for I am a sinful man."


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It was just the same with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. But Jesus said to Simon, <i>"Never fear; from now on you will be catching men."</i>


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It happened that, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man present full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Sir, if you will, you can cleanse me."


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Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, <i>"I will it; be cleansed."</i> Immediately the leprosy left him.


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Jesus commanded him to tell no one. <i>"But go,"</i> he said, <i>"and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as Moses commanded, for evidence to them."</i>


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But all the more the reports about him spread, and great crowds came together to hear and to be healed of their infirmities.


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It happened on one of those days that he was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting who had come from every village of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal.


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Then came some men bearing on a bed a man who was paralytic, and they tried to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.


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When they could not contrive to bring him in on account of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his pallet into the midst in front of Jesus.


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The scribes and Pharisees began to argue, saying, "Who is this man who speaks profane words? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"


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<i>But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on the earth to forgive sins"</i> \'97 he said to the paralytic \'97 <i>"I tell you, Rise and take up your pallet and go to your house."</i>


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Immediately he stood up before them and took up what he had been lying on and went away to his house, glorifying God.


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Amazement seized them all and they gave glory to God, yet they were also filled with awe, and said, "We have seen astonishing things today!"


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After this he went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, <i>"Follow me."</i>


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Levi held a great reception for him at his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.


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The Pharisees and their scribes grumbled to his disciples, and said, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"


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They said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do those of the Pharisees, but your followers eat and drink."


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<i>But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast \'97 in those days."</i>


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He gave them also some illustrations. <i>"No one tears a piece from a new cloak and sews it on an old cloak. If he did, he would make a tear in his new cloak, and even in the old cloak the patch taken from the new would not match.</i>


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<i>And no one puts new wine into old wine-skins. If he did, the new wine would burst the skins and it would be spilled, and the skins would be ruined.</i>


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IT happened that he was passing one Sabbath through some grainfields, and his disciples were plucking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.


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Jesus answered them, <i>"Have you never read what David did when he was hungry, he and the men with him \'97 </i>


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<i>how he went into the house of God and took the consecrated loaves and ate them and gave them to his men, loaves that it is unlawful for any but the priests alone to eat?"</i>


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It happened on another Sabbath that he went into the synagogue and was teaching. There was a man there whose right hand was withered.


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The scribes and Pharisees watched to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, wishing to find something to accuse him of.


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But he knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, <i>"Rise, and stand in the center."</i> He rose and stood.


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Jesus said to them, <i>"I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"</i>


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He looked around at all of them, then said to the man, <i>"Stretch out your hand."</i> He did so and his hand was restored.


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It happened during those days that he went out to the mountain and prayed and was all night in prayer to God.


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When day came, he called to him his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom also he named "Apostles":


text:
Simon, whom he named Peter <n>Rock</n>, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew,


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He went down with them and stood on a level spot where were gathered a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judaea and Jerusalem and the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.


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He raised his eyes to his disciples and said: <i>"Blessed are you poor! For yours is the kingdom of God.</i>


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<i>"Blessed are you who are hungry now! For you will be abundantly fed. "Blessed are you who are weeping now! For you will laugh.</i>


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<i>"Blessed are you when men hate you and when they shut you out and reproach you and cast out your name as evil because of the Son of Man!</i>


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<i>Rejoice on that day and leap for joy. For, indeed, your reward will be great in heaven. Just so their fathers treated the prophets.</i>


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<i>"Alas for you who are filled now! For you will hunger. "Alas for you who are laughing now! For you will mourn and wail.</i>


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<i>"Alas for you, when all men speak well of you! Just so their fathers treated the false prophets.</i>


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<i>To him who strikes you on one cheek, offer also the other. To him who takes your cloak, do not refuse your tunic.</i>


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<i>If you love those who love you, what grace have you? For sinners also love those who love them.</i>


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<i>If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what grace have you? Sinners also lend to sinners in order to get back as much.</i>


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<i>But love your enemies and do good and lend without hope of return, and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is generous to the ungrateful and wicked.</i>


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<i>Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.</i>


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<i>Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed in, shaken down, and running over they will pour into your lap. For with the measure that you measure with will the return to you be measured."</i>


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He gave them an illustration: <i>"The blind cannot lead the blind, can he? Will not both fall into the ditch?</i>


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<i>A scholar is not superior to his teacher. Every scholar when finished will be like his teacher.</i>


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<i>Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye while you do not perceive the beam in your own eye?</i>


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<i>How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me get out the speck that is in your eye,' while you yourself never notice the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite, take out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to get out the speck in your brother's eye.</i>


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<i>"There is no good tree that yields worthless fruit, nor is there a worthless tree that yields fine fruit.</i>


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<i>Every tree will be known by its own fruit. They do not gather figs from thorns, nor from a bramble-bush do they harvest grapes.</i>


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<i>A good man from the good treasury of his heart brings forth what is good, and the evil man from his evil treasury brings forth what is evil. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.</i>


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<i>He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood came, the river dashed against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.</i>


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<i>But he who hears and does not do is like a man building a house on the earth without foundation, against which the river dashed, and at once it fell, and the wreck of that house was great."</i>


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who hearing about Jesus sent to him some elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his servant.


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Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the Centurion sent friends to say to him, "Do not trouble yourself, Sir, for I am not fit to have you come under my roof.


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On that account I did not think myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and have my servant cured.


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For I am a man \'97 under authority \'97 with soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to that one, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."


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When Jesus heard this, he wondered, and, turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, <i>"I tell you, in Israel I have not found such faith."</i>


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It happened soon afterwards that he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd were going along with him.


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As he approached the gate of the city, they were carrying out a dead man, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A great crowd from the city was with her.


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and he went up and touched the bier. The bearers stopped. He said, <i>"Young man, I say, arise!"</i>


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All were awe-struck, and they gave praise to God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us and God has visited his people."


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So he called to him two of his disciples and sent them to the Master to ask, "Are you 'the Coming One' or are we to expect some other person?"


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When they came to him, the men said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, Are you 'the Coming One' or are we to expect some other person?"


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At that very time he was curing many of diseases and pains and wicked spirits, and to many blind people he was giving sight.


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He answered them, <i>"Go and relate to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men see, lame men walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf men hear, dead men are raised, poor men hear good news.</i>


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After John's messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: <i>"What did you go out into the wild country to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?</i>


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<i>But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Indeed, the people in splendid clothing and living in luxury are in kings' palaces.</i>


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<i>For this is he about whom it was written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will make ready your way before you.'</i>


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<i>I tell you there is not among those born of women a greater than John. But an inferior in the kingdom of God is greater than he."</i>


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(All the people, even the tax collectors when they heard him, had confessed that God was right by being baptized with the baptism of John.


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But the Pharisees and the lawyers had thwarted the purpose of God in reference to themselves by not being baptized by him.)


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<i>They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you but you did not dance. We mourned but you did not wail!'</i>


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<i>For John the Baptist has come, not eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'</i>


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<i>The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'See there a man who is a glutton and wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'</i>


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One of the Pharisees kept asking him to dine with him. Entering the house of this Pharisee, he reclined at the table.


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Now there was a certain woman in the city, a sinner, and when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of ointment


text:
and took her place behind, beside his feet, weeping. Her tears began to rain down on his feet, and with the hair of her head she wiped them off, and she passionately kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.


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When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said within himself, "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what this woman who is touching him is, for she is a sinner."


text:
Jesus, answering his thought, said to him, <i>"Simon, I have something to say to you."</i> "Teacher," he said, "say it."


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<i>"A certain money-lender had two debtors; one owed him five hundred shillings; the other fifty.</i>


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<i>Because they had nothing to pay with, he graciously forgave both. Which of them will love him most?"</i>


text:
Simon answered, "I suppose the one to whom he forgave most." He said to him, <i>"You have answered correctly."</i>


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Then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon, <i>"Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet. But she has rained tears upon my feet and has wiped them with her hair.</i>


text:
<i>For this reason I tell you her sins, many as they are, have been forgiven, for she loved much. For he to whom little is forgiven loves little."</i>


text:
SHORTLY afterwards he was making his way through cities and villages preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,


text:
and certain women who had been relieved of evil spirits and infirmities \'97 Mary, who was called Magdalene, out of whom seven demons had gone,


text:
and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod's manager, and Susanna, and many others. These women provided for Jesus and his apostles out of their means.


text:
When a great multitude was coming together and some from every city were crowding upon him, he spoke to them with an illustration:


text:
<i>"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the roadside and was trodden on, and the birds of heaven ate it up.</i>


text:
<i>Other seed fell on the rock, and when it sprang up it withered away because it had no moisture.</i>


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<i>Other seed fell into the good ground, and grew up and yielded a harvest a hundred fold."</i> When he said this, he called out, <i>"Let him who has ears to hear, hear."</i>


text:
He said: <i>"To you it is granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to the rest the message comes in figures of speech, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.</i>


text:
<i>Those by the roadside are those who hear, and then the Devil comes and takes away the message from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved.</i>


text:
<i>Those on the rock are those who, though they receive the message with joy, yet have no root, who for a while believe, but in the time of trial desert.</i>


text:
<i>That which fell among thorns means those who hear, and as they go on are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and bring nothing to completion.</i>


text:
<i>That in the good ground means those who with a noble and good heart hear the message and hold it fast and bear fruit in patience.</i>


text:
<i>"No one lights a lamp and hides it with a bowl or puts it under a bed. No, he puts it on a stand so that all who come in may see the light.</i>


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<i>For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest, nor secret which will not be known and come to light.</i>


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<i>Be careful, then, how you hear; for whoever has, to him will be given, and whoever has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him."</i>


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He answered, <i>"My mother and my brothers are these who are hearing the word of God and doing it."</i>


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It happened one day that he got into a boat, and his disciples went with him. He said to them, <i>"Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."</i> They put out.


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While they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale of wind came down on the lake and the boat was filling and in peril.


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Coming to him, they awoke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are going down!" He awoke and rebuked the wind and the waves. They grew quiet and there was a calm.


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He said to the disciples, <i>"Where is your faith?"</i> They were awed and amazed, and said to one another, "Who then is this man who commands the winds and the water and they obey him?"


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When he got out on to the land, there met him a certain man from that city who had demons. For a long time he had not worn clothes and had not lived in a house, but in the tombs.


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When he saw Jesus, he screamed and fell down before him, and in a loud voice said, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of God Most High? I pray you, do not torment me."


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For he had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and, though he was bound with chains and fetters and kept under guard, yet bursting his chains he would be driven by the demon off into the wilds.


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Jesus asked him, <i>"What is your name?"</i> He said, "Legion," for many demons had entered into him.


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There was near by a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain. The demons begged him to permit them to go into the swine. He gave them leave.


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The demons left the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.


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The people came out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were struck with awe.


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Whereupon all the crowd from the region of the Gerasenes asked him to go away from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into a boat and returned.


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The man from whom the demons had gone out begged him to let him be with him. But he sent him away, saying,


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<i>"Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you."</i> He went through the whole city proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him.


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There came a man by the name of Jairus \'97 he was a synagogue director. Falling at the feet of Jesus, he begged him to come to his house


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because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As he was going the crowds pressed around him.


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Jesus said, <i>"Who is it that touched me?"</i> All denied, and Peter said, "Master, the crowd is pressing upon you on every side."


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The woman, seeing that she had not escaped notice, came trembling and fell before him, and told before all the people why she had touched him and how she was instantly cured.


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While he was still speaking some one came from the Director's house, saying, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher any longer."


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When he came to the house, he did not permit any one to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father of the child and her mother.


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JESUS called together the twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.


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He said to them, <i>"Take nothing for your journey, no stick, no bag, no bread, no money, nor have so much as two tunics.</i>


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<i>Whoever do not receive you \'97 as you go out from that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them."</i>


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Going forth, they began telling the good news from village to village and performing cures everywhere.


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Herod the Prince heard of all that was going on, and he was at a loss because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,


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Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he made efforts to see him.


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The apostles returned and told Jesus all that they had done. Taking them with him, he went away privately to a city called Bethsaida.


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The crowds found it out and followed him. He welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing.


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When the day began to decline, the twelve came and said to him, "Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go to the villages and farms around and put up for the night and find food, for here we are in the wild lands."


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He said to them, <i>"Give them something to eat yourselves."</i> They replied, "We have not more than five loaves and two fishes. We cannot go and buy food for all this crowd, can we?"


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There were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, <i>"Have them recline in rows of fifty."</i>


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Taking the five loaves and the fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed them and broke them and gave to the disciples to distribute to the crowd.


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They all ate and had abundance, and what was left over was picked up \'97 twelve baskets of fragments.


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Once when he was praying alone, his disciples joined him, and he asked them, <i>"Who do the crowds say that I am?"</i>


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They answered, "John the Baptist; others say Elijah; others that some one of the old prophets has arisen."


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telling them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and high priests and be killed, and on the third day be raised.


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He said to all: <i>"If any one chooses to come after me, let him disown himself and take up his cross every day and follow me.</i>


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<i>He who chooses to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.</i>


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<i>Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and that of his Father and of the holy angels.</i>


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<i>I tell you truly there are some of those standing here who will not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God."</i>


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About eight days after this conversation, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray.


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Peter and his companions had been weighed down with sleep, but becoming fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.


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As they were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is fine for us to be here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," not knowing what he was saying.


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While he was saying it there came a cloud and over-shadowed them. They were frightened as they entered the cloud.


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When the voice came, Jesus was there alone. They kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.


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and suddenly a man from the crowd cried out, "Teacher, I pray you look at my son, for he is my only one,


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and see, a spirit seizes him and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him till he foams and it hardly leaves off tormenting him.


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Jesus answered, <i>"O faithless and perverted generation, how long must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here."</i>


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Even while he was coming, the demon dashed him down and convulsed him. Jesus rebuked the impure spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.


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They were amazed at the greatness of God. While they were all wondering at all the things that he did, he said to his disciples,


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<i>"Receive these words into your ears. The Son of Man will soon be betrayed into the hands of men."</i>


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But they did not understand this remark, and it was hidden from them so that they did not take it in, and they were afraid to ask him about it.


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Jesus knew the question that was in their minds, and he took a little child and stood him beside himself.


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Then he said to them, <i>"Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. For he who is least among you all, he is great."</i>


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John answered, "Master, we saw one casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because he is not following along with us."


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and sent on messengers in advance. In journeying they came to a village of Samaritans to make arrangements for him.


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On seeing this, his disciples James and John said, "Sir, do you want us to bid fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and announce far and wide the kingdom of God."</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"No one who has put his hand to the plow and is looking backward is fit for the kingdom of God."</i>


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AFTER this, the Master appointed seventy others and sent them out two and two before him into every city and place where he was soon to come.


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He said to them, <i>"The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Pray, therefore, to the Owner of the harvest to hurry out laborers into his harvest.</i>


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<i>And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon it; but if not, it will return upon you.</i>


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<i>In the same house remain, eating and drinking what they have, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not change about from house to house.</i>


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<i>'Even the dust of your city that clings to our feet we wipe off for you; but know this, that the kingdom of God is near.'</i>


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<i>Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.</i>


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<i>"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me. He who rejects me rejects him who sent me."</i>


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<i>See, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.</i>


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<i>However, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."</i>


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At that hour in exultant joy through the Holy Sprit he said, <i>"I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and hast revealed them to babes. Yea, Father, I thank thee that such became thy good pleasure.</i>


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<i>"All things have been committed to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, or who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son may will to reveal him."</i>


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<i>I tell you, many prophets and kings wished to see the things that you see and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear and did not hear them."</i>


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Then a certain lawyer stood up to test him, and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit life eternal?"


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He answered, " '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 mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.'


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Jesus rejoined, <i>"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and went away leaving him half dead.</i>


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<i>By chance a certain priest was going down that road. When he saw him, he went by on the other side.</i>


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<i>and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine. Then placing him on his own beast he took him to the inn and cared for him.</i>


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<i>The next morning he took out two shillings and gave them to the inn-keeper and said, 'Care for him, and what evermore you spend, I will pay in full when I come back.'</i>


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<i>Which of these three seems to you to have become neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"</i>


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He said, "He who did kindness to him." Jesus said to him, <i>"Go and act in the same way yourself."</i>


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As they journeyed, he entered a certain village. There a woman named Martha welcomed him to her house.


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She had a sister called Mary who seated herself at the feet of the Master and was listening to his words.


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But Martha was busy and worried over a great deal of service. Coming to him she said, "Master, do you not care that my sister has left me to do the work alone? Tell her to take hold with me."


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<i>but there is need only of a few, or one. Mary has chosen the good part and it shall not be taken from her."</i>


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ONCE he was in a certain place praying. When he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Master, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."


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<i>And forgive us our sins; For we ourselves forgive every one who fails toward us. And bring us not into trial."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,</i>


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<i>for a friend of mine has come to my house after a journey and I have nothing to set before him';</i>


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<i>and he from within answers, 'Do not trouble me; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'</i>


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<i>I tell you, even if he will not rise and give them to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him all that he needs.</i>


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<i>So I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.</i>


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<i>For every one who asks obtains, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.</i>


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<i>What father is there among you who if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead?</i>


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<i>If then you, evil though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give a holy spirit to those who ask him."</i>


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He was casting out a demon and it was dumb. After the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke and the crowds wondered.


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But he, knowing their reasonings, said to them, <i>"Every kingdom divided against itself comes to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls.</i>


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<i>If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? You say that I am casting out demons by Beelzebul;</i>


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<i>but if I am casting out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore let them be your judges.</i>


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<i>But if I am casting out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already reached you.</i>


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<i>But when a stronger than he comes upon him and conquers him, he takes all the armor in which he trusted and divides the spoils.</i>


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<i>"When the impure spirit comes out from a man, he goes through waterless places, seeking rest. Not finding it, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came out.'</i>


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<i>Then he goes and takes along seven spirits worse than himself, and they enter and settle down there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."</i>


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While he was saying this a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, "Blessed was the womb that carried you and the breasts that you sucked!"


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As the crowds were thronging about him, he began and said, <i>"This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.</i>


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<i>For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites so the Son of Man will be to this generation.</i>


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<i>The queen of the South will rise in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and more than a Solomon is here.</i>


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<i>The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it. For they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and indeed more than a Jonah is here.</i>


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<i>"No one lights a lamp and places it in a cellar or under the peck-measure, but on the stand, so that those who come in may see the light.</i>


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<i>The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eye is clear the whole body is lighted. But when it is bad, your body is dark.</i>


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<i>If your body is all lighted up, not having any part dark, it will be all lighted as when the lamp lights you by its brilliance."</i>


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The Master said to him, <i>"Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, but the inside of you is full of rapacity and wickedness.</i>


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<i>But alas for you, Pharisees! Because you tithe mint, and rue, and every herb, and pass by justice and the love of God. These things you ought to have practiced, without omitting the others.</i>


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<i>Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the first seats in the synagogues and greetings in the market-places.</i>


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He said, <i>"Alas for you lawyers also! for you burden men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.</i>


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<i>So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them and you build their tombs.</i>


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<i>Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute.'</i>


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<i>So the blood of all the prophets which has been shed from the foundation of the world will be required of this generation \'97 </i>


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<i>from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah who perished between the altar and the House. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.</i>


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<i>Alas for you lawyers! because you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered and you have prevented those who were entering."</i>


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After he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press upon him angrily and cross-question him on many points,


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MEANWHILE, as the myriads of the crowd were thronging together so that they trod down one another, he began and said to his disciples first, <i>"Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.</i>


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<i>Whatever you have said in darkness will, on the contrary, be heard in the light, and what you have spoken into the ear in inner moms will be proclaimed on the housetops.</i>


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<i>I tell you, my friends, never fear those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do.</i>


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<i>But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I say, fear him.</i>


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<i>But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Never fear; you are worth more than many sparrows.</i>


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<i>But I tell you every one who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man confess before the angels of God.</i>


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<i>Every one who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who says profane words against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.</i>


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<i>When they bring you in before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not be anxious about how to defend yourselves or what to say.</i>


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He said to them, <i>"See to it and be on your guard against every form of covetousness, for not even when one has a superabundance is his life from the things he owns."</i>


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<i>Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and will build larger ones, and there I will store all my wheat and my goods;</i>


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<i>and I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, be merry!'</i>


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<i>But God said to him, 'Foolish man, this night your soul will be required of you; and the things that you have prepared \'97 whose will they be?'</i>


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He said to his disciples, <i>"Therefore I tell you, never worry about your life, what you are to eat, nor about your body, what you are to put on.</i>


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<i>Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have neither granary nor barn; yet God feeds them. How much more you are worth than the birds!</i>


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<i>Consider the lilies, how they neither spin nor weave. Yet I tell you even Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like one of these.</i>


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<i>But if God so clothes the herbage which to-day is in the field and to-morrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith!</i>


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<i>Sell what you have and give gifts of mercy. Make for yourselves purses that never grow old, an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief approaches nor moth consumes;</i>


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<i>and be like men expecting their Master when he returns from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.</i>


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<i>Blessed are those servants whom the Master, when he comes, will find watching! Truly I tell you he will gird himself and make them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.</i>


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<i>But know this, if the householder had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.</i>


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The Master said, <i>"Who then is the faithful, the wise, manager whom the master will appoint over his establishment to give out rations at the proper time?</i>


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<i>But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master will be long in coming,' and begins to strike the men servants and the maids and to eat and drink and get drunk,</i>


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<i>the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not expecting and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.</i>


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<i>That servant who knew his master's will and is not ready, and has not done according to his will, will be beaten with many lashes.</i>


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<i>But he who did not know and yet has done things worthy of lashes will be beaten with few. From every one to whom much was given, much will be required, and from him to whom they have committed much, men will ask the more.</i>


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<i>There will be from now on five in one house split into parties, three against two and two against three,</i>


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<i>father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."</i>


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He said also to the crowds, <i>"When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, 'A shower is coming,' and so it happens.</i>


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<i>And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be burning heat,' and so it happens.</i>


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<i>Hypocrites, you know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky, why do you not interpret this crisis?</i>


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<i>As you are going with your opponent to the magistrate, take pains on the road to get free from him, so that he may not drag you before the judge and the judge deliver you to the officer and the officer cast you into prison.</i>


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AT that time some were present telling him about the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.


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He answered them, <i>"Do you think that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans because they suffered this?</i>


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<i>Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were deserving of punishment beyond all the people that dwell at Jerusalem?</i>


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He gave this illustration: <i>"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and came looking for fruit on it and found none.</i>


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<i>He said to the gardener, 'See, three years I have been coming, looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I do not find any. Gut it down. Why should we waste land for it?'</i>


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<i>But he answered him, 'Leave it this year too, Sir, until I dig around it and throw on manure.</i>


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And a woman was there who had had a spirit of weakness eighteen years, and was bent together and could not stand up straight.


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When Jesus saw her he called to her and said, <i>"Woman, you have been freed from your weakness,"</i>


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But the synagogue Director, angry because Jesus was healing on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days in which work should be done. On those days come and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day."


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The Master answered him, <i>"Hypocrite, does not each of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the manger and lead him away and water him?</i>


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<i>And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, to have been freed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"</i>


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As he said this, all his opposers were ashamed, and all the crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things that he did.


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<i>It is like a mustard seed which a man took and cast into his garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds of heaven lodged in its branches."</i>


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<i>It is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until the whole was leavened."</i>


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<i>"Try hard to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.</i>


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<i>After the house-holder has arisen and has shut the door, then you will begin to stand outside and knock at the door, and say, 'Master, open to us.' And he will answer you, 'I do not know you or where you come from.'</i>


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<i>Then you will begin and say, 'We have eaten and drunk before you and you have taught in our streets.'</i>


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<i>And he will say to you, 'I do not know where you come from. Go away from me, all you workers of wickedness.'</i>


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<i>There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust outside.</i>


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<i>People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and recline at the table in the kingdom of God.</i>


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At that time there came to him some Pharisees, saying, "Go out and leave this place, for Herod purposes to kill you."


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He said to them, <i>"Go tell that fox, 'See, I am casting out demons and performing cures to-day and to-morrow, and on the third day I will finish.'</i>


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<i>But I must journey to-day, and to-morrow and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.</i>


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<i>Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children as a bird gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!</i>


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<i>See, your house is left to you! I tell you, you will not see me until the day when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "</i>


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ONCE, when he went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him closely.


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Jesus said to the lawyers and Pharisees, <i>"Is it allowable to heal on the Sabbath or is it not?"</i>


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He said to them, <i>"If the son or the ox of any one of you falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will he not at once draw him out?"</i>


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<i>"When you are invited by any one to a wedding, do not recline on the best couch, for some one more honored than you may have been invited,</i>


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<i>and when he who invited you and him comes he may say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will with shame begin and take the humblest place.</i>


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<i>But when you are invited, go and recline in the humblest place, so that when he who has invited you comes he may say, 'Friend, come up higher.' Then you will have honor before all your fellow guests.</i>


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<i>For every one who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted."</i>


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He said, too, to the man who had invited him, <i>"When you make a breakfast or a dinner, do not call your friends or your brothers or your relatives, or your rich neighbors, for they may invite you in return and you may be repaid.</i>


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<i>And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, and you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."</i>


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On hearing this, one of his fellow guests said to him, "Blessed will he be who eats bread in the kingdom of God!"


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<i>and sent his servant at the hour of the dinner to tell the guests, 'Come, for things are now ready.'</i>


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<i>But they all began with one mind to make excuse. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field and must go and see it. I beg of you to have me excused.'</i>


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<i>Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to try them. I beg of you, have me excused.'</i>


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<i>The servant came back and told his master these things. Then the householder, becoming angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and lead in here the poor and maimed and blind and lame.'</i>


text:
<i>The master said to the servant, 'Go out into the roads and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.</i>


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<i>"If any one comes to me and does not hate his father and his mother and his wife and his children and his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.</i>


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<i>For which of you wishing to build a tower does not first sit down and compute the cost, whether he has enough to complete it,</i>


text:
<i>for fear that, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers may begin to ridicule him,</i>


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<i>Or what king going to meet another king in war does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand?</i>


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<i>If not, while the other is still far off he sends an embassy and asks for conditions of peace.</i>


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<i>It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap. They throw it away. Let him who has ears to hear, hear."</i>


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The Pharisees and the scribes grumbled to one another, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."


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<i>"What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he has found it?</i>


text:
<i>and when he comes home he calls together his friends and neighbors and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost!'</i>


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<i>I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner whose heart is changed than over ninety-nine righteous men who have no need to change.</i>


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<i>"Or what woman who has ten shillings, if she loses one shilling, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and look for it carefully until she finds it?</i>


text:
<i>And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the shilling that I lost.'</i>


text:
<i>So I tell you there springs joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner whose heart is changed."</i>


text:
<i>And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of the property that is coming to me.' So he divided his wealth between them.</i>


text:
<i>Not many days later, the younger son got everything together and went away to a far country and there squandered his property in a dissolute life.</i>


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<i>When he had spent everything, there came a terrible famine in that land and he began to be in want.</i>


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<i>So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed swine.</i>


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<i>And he would fain have filled his stomach with the pods the swine were eating, but no one gave him anything.</i>


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<i>Then, coming to himself, he said, 'How many hired men of my father have bread more than enough, and here I am perishing with famine.</i>


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<i>I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.</i>


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<i>And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and pitied him, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him tenderly.</i>


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<i>The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son' \'97 </i>


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<i>But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet;</i>


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<i>For this, my son, was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to be merry.</i>


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<i>Now his older son was in the field, and when on returning he drew near the house he heard music and dancing.</i>


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<i>'Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back in health.'</i>


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<i>But he answered his father, 'See, all these years I have been serving you, and I never broke a command of yours, yet you have never given me a kid to make merry with my friends.</i>


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<i>But when this son of yours, who has wasted your property with bad women, came, you have killed for him the fattened calf.'</i>


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<i>We could not but make merry and rejoice, for your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.'</i>


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HE said to his disciples, <i>"A certain rich man had a manager who was accused to him of wasting his property.</i>


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<i>Calling him to him, he said, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management; for you cannot longer be manager.'</i>


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<i>The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do? for my master is going to take the management away from me. I have not strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.</i>


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<i>I know what I will do, so that when I am dismissed from the management they may welcome me into their houses.'</i>


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<i>So, calling to him all of the debtors of his master, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe to my master?'</i>


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<i>He replied, 'A hundred measures of oil.' He said, 'Take your account and sit down quickly and write fifty.'</i>


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<i>Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your account and write eighty.'</i>


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<i>The master praised the wicked manager because he had done prudently. For the sons of this world are with reference to their own generation wiser than the sons of light.</i>


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<i>I tell you, make for yourselves friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails they may welcome you into the eternal tents.</i>


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<i>He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest in the least is also dishonest in much.</i>


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<i>If, then, you have not been faithful in the dishonest Mammon, who will entrust to you the true?</i>


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<i>No house servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination before God.</i>


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<i>"The Law and the Prophets were until John. From that time the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed and every one is forcing his way into it.</i>


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<i>"It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.</i>


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<i>"Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.</i>


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<i>"A certain man was rich and was clothed in purple and fine linen and lived merrily every day in splendor.</i>


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<i>and longing to be fed from what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.</i>


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<i>It happened that the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.</i>


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<i>And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom.</i>


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<i>He called and said, 'Father Abraham, have compassion on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.'</i>


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<i>But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you had your good things in full in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise had his evil things. Now he is here receiving comfort and you are in anguish.</i>


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<i>Moreover, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who wish to cross from here to you cannot, nor can any cross from there to us.'</i>


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<i>for I have five brothers, in order to testify to them, so that they may not come also to this place of torment.'</i>


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<i>But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will have a change of heart.'</i>


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<i>Abraham replied, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rises from the dead.'</i>


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HE said to his disciples, <i>"It cannot be but that occasions of stumbling will arise, but alas for him through whom they come!</i>


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<i>It would be better for him if, with a millstone hung around his neck, he had been flung into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.</i>


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<i>"Be on your guard. If your brother sins against you, reprove him, and if he changes his mind, forgive him.</i>


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<i>Even if seven times in the day he sins against you and seven times turns to you, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."</i>


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The Master said, <i>"If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.</i>


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<i>"Who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come quickly and recline at table'?</i>


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<i>On the contrary, will he not say to him, 'Make ready something for my dinner and gird yourself and wait on me while I eat and drink, and after that you may eat and drink yourself'?</i>


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<i>Just so you, when you have done all that has been commanded you, say, 'We are useless servants; we have done merely what we ought to have done.' "</i>


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When Jesus saw them, he said, <i>"Go and show yourselves to the priests."</i> While they were going, they became clean.


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On being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, Jesus answered them, <i>"The kingdom of God will not come in a way that can be observed,</i>


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<i>nor will they say, 'Here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For indeed the kingdom of God is among you."</i>


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He said to the disciples, <i>"There will come days when you will wish to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it.</i>


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<i>For as the lightning when it flashes shines from one part of the heavens to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.</i>


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<i>They were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day that Noah went into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.</i>


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<i>Just so it was in the days of Lot; they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.</i>


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<i>But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.</i>


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<i>On that day, if a man is on the housetop and his things in the house, he must not come down to get them, and for the same reason if he is in the field he must not turn back.</i>


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<i>I tell you that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken with him and the other will be left.</i>


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<i>There will be two women grinding at the same mill, one will be taken with him and the other will be left."</i>


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They said to him, "Where, Master?" He said to them, <i>"Where the carcass is, there will the vultures come flocking together."</i>


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<i>And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.'</i>


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<i>For a time he would not. Later he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor regard man,</i>


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<i>yet because this widow is annoying me I will do her justice so that she may not keep coming and mauling me forever.'</i>


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<i>and will not God do justice for his elect, who are calling to him day and night, even though he is long-suffering with their adversaries?</i>


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<i>I tell you, he will do justice for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"</i>


text:
He gave also this illustration to some who trusted in themselves as being righteous and despised others:


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<i>"Two men went up to the Temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.</i>


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<i>The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, cheats, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.</i>


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<i>But the tax collector stood far off and would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me, the sinner!'</i>


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<i>I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."</i>


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But Jesus called the children to him, saying, <i>"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for of such is the kingdom of God.</i>


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<i>Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it."</i>


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<i>You know the commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not commit murder, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother."</i>


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On hearing that, Jesus said to him, <i>"You lack still one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and then come and follow me."</i>


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Jesus looked at him and said, <i>"With how much difficulty do those who have riches enter the kingdom of God!</i>


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<i>It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!"</i>


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He said to them, <i>"I tell you truly there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God</i>


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Taking the twelve aside, he said to them, <i>"We are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things written through the prophets will be fully done to the Son of Man.</i>


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<i>For he will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be made sport of and insulted and spit upon,</i>


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But they understood none of these things, and what he said was hidden from them. They did not grasp the meaning of his words.


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Those who were in front rebuked him and told him to be still. But he kept crying out much louder, "Son of David, have pity on me!"


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Immediately he received sight and followed him, giving glory to God. All the people upon seeing this gave praise to God.


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He was trying to see Jesus \'97 what he was like; but he could not on account of the crowd, for he was short in stature.


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When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, <i>"Zaccheus, make haste and come down; to-day I must stay at your house."</i>


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Zacchaeus stood and said to the Master, "See, the half of my property, Sir, I give to the poor, and if I have unjustly taken anything from any one, I will give him back four-fold."


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Jesus said to him, <i>"To-day salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.</i>


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While they were listening to this, he added an illustration, because he was near to Jerusalem and they were thinking that the kingdom of heaven was going to appear immediately.


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He said, <i>"A certain nobleman went into a far country to get for himself a kingdom and return.</i>


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<i>Calling his ten servants, he gave them each an equal sum of money and said to them, 'Do business until I come.'</i>


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<i>But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him to say, 'We do not want this man to be king over us.'</i>


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<i>When he returned, having secured the royal power, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the silver to be called to him that he might know what each had gained in trading.</i>


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<i>He said, 'Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in the least you shall be ruler over ten cities.'</i>


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<i>For I feared you, because you are an austere man; you take up what you did not lay down and you reap where you did not sow.'</i>


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<i>He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. Did you know that I was an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping where I did not sow?</i>


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<i>Then why did you not put my silver into the bank, so that when I came I could have exacted it with interest?'</i>


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<i>Then to those who stood by he said, 'Take from him the silver and give it to him who has tenfold.'</i>


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<i>'I tell you,' he said, 'that to every one who has, shall be given, and from him who has not, even what he has shall be taken.</i>


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<i>But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to be king over them, bring here and slaughter them before me.'</i>


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When they approached Bethphage and Bethany at the mount called the Olive Orchard, he sent two of his disciples,


text:
telling them, <i>"Go into the village across there, and as you enter it you will find a colt tied upon which no man has ever sat. Loose it and lead it here.</i>


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and as he approached the descent of the Mount of Olives all the multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen,


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saying: "Blessed be he who comes as king, in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the heights above!"


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saying, <i>"If this day you also knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes!</i>


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<i>For days will come when your enemies will throw up a palisade against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side</i>


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<i>and level you to the ground, and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time when you were visited."</i>


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saying to them, <i>"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers."</i>


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He was teaching every day in the Temple courts. But the high priests and the scribes were bent on destroying him, and so were the first citizens.


text:
ON one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the Temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the high priests and the scribes came up with the elders


text:
and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things or who it is that gave you this authority."


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They conferred among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'


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and if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us; for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."


text:
He began and gave the people this illustration: <i>"A man planted a vineyard and let it out to grape-growers and went abroad for a long time.</i>


text:
<i>At the proper season he sent to the grape-growers a servant for them to give him a part of the fruit of the vineyard. But the grape-growers beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.</i>


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<i>He afterwards sent another servant. That one, too, they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed.</i>


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<i>The owner of the vineyard said, 'I will send my son, my beloved. Perhaps they will reverence him.'</i>


text:
<i>But when the grape-growers saw him, they conferred with one another and said, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.'</i>


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<i>So they threw him outside of the vineyard and killed him. What now will the owner of the vineyard do?</i>


text:
<i>He will come and destroy those grape-growers and will give the vineyard to others."</i> When they heard this, they exclaimed, "May it never be!"


text:
He turned his eyes upon them and said, <i>"What does this Scripture mean, 'The stone which the builders rejected \'97 that one has become the corner stone'?</i>


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<i>Every one who falls upon that stone will be shattered, but whomever it falls on it will crush to pieces."</i>


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The scribes and the high priests were eager to lay hands on him at that very time, for they knew that he had aimed the illustration at them; but they were afraid of the people.


text:
So watching insidiously for an opportunity they sent spies, who pretended to be honest men, to seize upon anything he might say, so as to hand him over to the authorities and to the power of the Governor.


text:
They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly and that you do not regard personal influences, but you teach the way of God according to truth.


text:
He said to them, <i>"Then pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and pay to God what belongs to God."</i>


text:
They could not seize upon his words before the people, and in astonishment at his answer they were silent.


text:
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If any one's married brother dies childless, that man must marry his brother's widow and raise up offspring for his brother.'


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<i>but those who are judged worthy to reach that world and the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are married,</i>


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<i>neither can they die, for they are like angels and are children of God, since they are children of the resurrection.</i>


text:
<i>But that the dead rise Moses has made known in the passage regarding the Bush where he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.'</i>


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<i>"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes and love salutations in the market-places and front seats in the synagogues and the best couches at dinners,</i>


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<i>who devour widows' houses and in pretense make long prayers. These will receive unusual condemnation."</i>


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<i>For they all out of their abundance contributed to the gifts, but she out of her lack put in all that she had to live on."</i>


text:
As some were speaking about the Temple buildings, how they were decorated with beautiful stones and votive gifts,


text:
<i>he said, "As to these things that you are looking at, there will come days in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be thrown down."</i>


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They asked him, "Teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when they are about to happen?"


text:
He said, <i>"Be on your guard against being misled. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is at hand.' Do not follow them.</i>


text:
<i>And when you hear of wars and disorders, do not be terrified. For these things must take place first, but the end will not come immediately."</i>


text:
<i>and there will be great earthquakes in various places, and pestilences and famines and terrors and great portents from heaven.</i>


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<i>Before all these things they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors because of my name.</i>


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<i>For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your opponents will be unable to resist or reply to.</i>


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<i>You will be betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death</i>


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<i>Then those who are in Judaea are to flee to the mountains, and those in the midst of it are to depart, and those in the country places must not come into the city;</i>


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<i>Alas for the women with child and the nursing mothers in those days! For there will be great distress on earth and wrath upon this people,</i>


text:
<i>and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be taken as captives into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles have gone by.</i>


text:
<i>"There will be portents in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and on earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roar of the sea and its surges,</i>


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<i>men fainting from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon mankind. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.</i>


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<i>When these things are beginning to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your liberation is drawing near."</i>


text:
<i>Take care that your hearts are not dull through overeating and drinking and the cares of life, so that that day may come on you unexpectedly like a trap.</i>


text:
<i>Be watchful at every season in prayer that you may be able to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man."</i>


text:
During the days he continued to teach in the Temple courts, but every night he went out and stayed on the mount called Olive Orchard.


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The high priests and the scribes were intent upon finding some way to destroy Jesus; for they were afraid of the people.


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He promised, and was on the lookout for an opportunity to betray him to them when the crowd was not with him.


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and Jesus sent Peter and John, telling them, <i>"Go and make ready the Passover for us so that we may eat it."</i>


text:
He said, <i>"As you are entering the city a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house that he enters</i>


text:
<i>and say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the dining room where I am to eat the Passover with my disciples?'</i>


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<i>For, I say to you, I shall not again drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."</i>


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Then he took a loaf and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them, saying, <i>"This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."</i>


text:
He took the cup in the same manner after supper, saying, <i>"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.</i>


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He said to them, <i>"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those of them who exercise authority are called benefactors.</i>


text:
<i>But you are not to be so. The greatest among you is to be like the youngest and the leader like him who serves.</i>


text:
<i>For which is superior, he who reclines at table or he who serves? Is not he who reclines? But I am in the midst of you as the one who serves.</i>


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<i>that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.</i>


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<i>But I have prayed for thee that thy faith may not fail. And when you come back to yourself, strengthen your brothers."</i>


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Jesus said, <i>"I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow to-day before you three times deny that you know me."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"When I sent you out without purse or bag or shoes, did you lack for anything?"</i> They said, "We lacked for nothing."


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He said to them, <i>"But now whoever has a purse must take it, and so with a bag, and he who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.</i>


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<i>For I tell you that the prophecy must be fulfilled in me \'97 the prophecy, 'He was numbered among the lawless.' For what concerns me is coming to an end."</i>


text:
He went out and made his way, according to his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.


text:
Being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood failing upon the ground.


text:
He said to them, <i>"Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."</i>


text:
While he was still speaking there came a crowd, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He came up to Jesus to kiss him.


text:
Jesus said to the high priests and officers of the Temple and elders who had come out against him, <i>"You come out with swords and clubs, just as if after a robber.</i>


text:
<i>In the daytime while I was with you in the Temple courts you did not stretch out your hands to take me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness."</i>


text:
After arresting him they led him away and brought him into the house of the High Priest. Peter followed at a distance.


text:
They lighted a fire in the center of the court and seated themselves around it, and Peter seated himself in the midst of them.


text:
After a short space another \'97 a man \'97 saw him, and said, "You too are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."


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About an hour later, another man asserted positively, "Truly this man was with him too, for he is a Galilaean."


text:
But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." Immediately while he was speaking the cock crew,


text:
and the Master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Master, how he had said to him, <i>"Before the cock crows to-day you will disown me three times."</i>


text:
When daylight came, the eldership of the people assembled, both high priests and scribes, and they led him to their council, saying,


text:
They began accusing him, saying, "We have found this man corrupting our nation and opposing the payment of tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ a king."


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But they were violent in saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching through the whole of Judaea. Starting in Galilee, he is now here."


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and when he learned that he was of Herod's jurisdiction he sent him to Herod, who was himself also in Jerusalem during those days.


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Herod on seeing Jesus was much pleased because for a long time he had been anxious to see him on account of hearing about him, and he was hoping to see some miracle done by him.


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Herod along with his soldiers treated him with contempt and after making sport of him and putting a gorgeous robe on him, sent him back to Pilate.


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and said to them, "You have brought before me this man as one who misguides the people, and yet I, in examining him before you, have found in this man not one criminal thing of all that you charge against him.


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No more has Herod; for he has sent him back to us. See, nothing deserving of death has been done by him.


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<n>Barabbas, on account of a riot that had occurred in the city and for murder, had been thrown into prison.</n>


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For the third time he said to them, "What wrong has he done? I have found nothing criminal in him. I will therefore scourge him and let him go."


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He freed the man who for riot and murder had been thrown into prison \'97 the man they asked for; but Jesus he handed over to their will.


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As they led him away, they took hold of Simon, a Cyrenian coming from the country, and laid on him the cross to bear behind Jesus.


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There followed him a great crowd of people and of women who were beating their breasts and bewailing him.


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Jesus turned and said to them, <i>"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; but weep for yourselves and for your children.</i>


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<i>For days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed a babe!'</i>


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When they came to the place called Skull, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.


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Jesus said, <i>"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."</i> They divided his clothes by casting lots.


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The people stood looking on. The rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen."


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One of the criminals who were crucified insulted him, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us."


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But the other rebuked him and said, "Have you no fear of God, since you are under the same sentence?


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And we are here justly, for we are receiving our due for our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong."


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Then Jesus said in a loud voice, <i>"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."</i> After saying this, he breathed his last.


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When the Centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, "Certainly this was an upright man!"


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And all the crowds that had stood by looking on the scene, after seeing what happened, turned away beating their breasts.


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All his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee were standing at a distance looking on.


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who had not participated in their plan and action. He was of Arimathaea, a city of the Judaeans, and was looking for the kingdom of God.


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He took it down and wrapped it in fine linen and laid him in a tomb cut in the rock where no one was yet lying.


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The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed along and saw the tomb and how his body was laid,


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and they went back and prepared perfumes and ointments. On the Sabbath they abstained from work according to the commandment.


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BUT on the first day of the week at early dawn they came to the tomb, bringing the perfumes which they had prepared.


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They were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?


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that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and rise on the third day."


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It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told these things to the apostles.


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But Peter rose and ran to the tomb and stooping down he saw nothing but the linen cloths, and he went away to his place wondering at what had happened.


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He said to them, <i>"What are these matters that you are debating with each other as you walk?"</i> They stood still with sad faces.


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One of them, named Cleopas, said to him, "Are you a stranger living alone in Jerusalem and do you not know the things that have happened there in recent days?"


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He said to them, <i>"What things?"</i> They said to him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet powerful in deed and word before God and all the people \'97


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But we were hoping that he was the one who was to redeem Israel. But now, however, the third day is passing since these things took place.


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and did not find his body, but came back saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.


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Some of our company went out to the tomb and found things as the women had said, but they did not see him."


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Jesus said to them, <i>"O men lacking insight and slow in heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!</i>


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Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things about himself.


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But they urged him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the sun is already low." So he went in to stay with them.


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As he reclined at table with them, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them.


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They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us when he was talking to us on the road and was explaining the Scriptures to us?"


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Then, rising that very hour, they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and their associates assembled


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While they were talking of these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, <i>"Peace be with you!"</i>


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<i>See my hands and my feet \'97 that it is I myself. Feel me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me having."</i>


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While they still were doubting for joy and wondering, he said to them, <i>"Have you anything here to eat?"</i>


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He said to them, <i>"This is what I said to you while I was still with you, that all the things written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms about me must be fulfilled."</i>


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and he said to them, <i>"Thus it is written that the Christ is to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,</i>


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<i>and in his name change of heart for forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.</i>


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<i>And, see, I am sending upon you the promise of my Father. But you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."</i>


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All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being.


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All who received him \'97 to them he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,


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The Word became flesh and tented among us, and we looked upon his glory, glory as of an only son from a father, full of grace and truth.


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John bore witness to him and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has become before me, for he was before me.' "


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No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has interpreted him.


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This is the testimony of John when the Jews of Jerusalem sent to him priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?"


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They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."


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They said then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer to give to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"


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He said, "I am 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said."


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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!


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I did not know him, but I knew that he was to be shown to Israel. For that reason I came baptizing with water."


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I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water \'97 he said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, that is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'


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Jesus turned and looked at them as they followed, and said to them, <i>"What do you wish?"</i> They said to him, "Rabbi <n>which means, when translated, Teacher</n>, where are you staying?"


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He said to them, <i>"Come and see."</i> So they came and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him that day. It was then about four in the afternoon.


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Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two that heard about Jesus from John and followed him.


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He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah <n>which means, when translated, the Christ</n>!"


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He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, <i>"You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas"</i><n>which is in Greek, Peter, that is, Rock</n>.


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On the next day Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, <i>"Follow me."</i>


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Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the Law and of whom the prophets wrote \'97 Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth."


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Nathanael said to him, "From Nazareth can there be anything good?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."


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Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said, <i>"See, here is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit."</i>


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Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, <i>"Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."</i>


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Jesus answered him, <i>"Because I said to you, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than this."</i>


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He added, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."</i>


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There were standing there six stone water jars in accordance with the Jewish custom of purification, holding about twenty or thirty gallons apiece.


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Then he said to them, <i>"Dip out now and carry it to the Master of the feast."</i> They carried it,


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and when the Master of the feast tasted the water that had become wine, not knowing where it came from \'97 though the servants who had dipped out the water knew \'97 he called to the bridegroom


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and said to him, "Every man sets on first the fine wine, and when they have drunk freely he sets on the poorer. You have kept the fine wine till now."


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This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana in Galilee and displayed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.


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After this Jesus went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and there they stayed a few days.


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Finding in the Temple courts the sellers of cattle and sheep and doves and the money-changers sitting there,


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he made a whip of cords and drove them all from the courts \'97 all the sheep and the cattle, \'97 and he poured out the small coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.


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He said to those who were selling doves, <i>"Take these things out. Do not make my Father's house a house of trade."</i>


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So when he arose from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.


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When he was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many believed in his name, seeing his signs that he did,


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This man came to Jesus one night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."


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Jesus answered, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a man is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God."</i>


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Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter into his mother's womb a second time and be born?"


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Jesus answered, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.</i>


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<i>The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes. So is every one who is born of the Spirit."</i>


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<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, we are speaking of what we know, and we are witnessing to what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.</i>


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<i>If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?</i>


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<i>For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that every one who believes in him may not perish, but have life eternal.</i>


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<i>For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.</i>


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<i>He who believes in him is not condemned. He who does not believe has been already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.</i>


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<i>This is the condemnation, that Light has come into the world and men have loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were wicked.</i>


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<i>Every one who is doing base things hates the Light and does not come to the Light, that his deeds may not be reproved.</i>


text:
<i>But he who is doing the truth comes to the Light, that it may be plainly shown that his deeds have been done in union with God.</i>


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After this Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judaea and there he spent some time with them and baptized.


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John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was abundant water there. People were constantly coming and being baptized.


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They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the man who was with you across the Jordan to whom you bore testimony \'97 see, he is baptizing and all are coming to him."


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He who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine is complete.


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He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is of the earth and he speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.


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He who believes in the Son has life eternal. He who disbelieves in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him.


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WHEN the Master knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John \'97


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He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.


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Jacob's well was there. Jesus, weary from his journey, sat just as he was on the well. It was about noon.


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The Samaritan woman said to him, "How do you, a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.


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Jesus answered her, <i>"If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."</i>


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She said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where do you get the living water from?


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Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank of it, himself and his sons and his flocks?"


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<i>But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water, flowing out into life eternal."</i>


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The woman said to him, "Give me this water, so that I may not thirst nor come all the way here to draw."


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The woman answered, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, <i>"You say rightly that you have no husband.</i>


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<i>Five husbands you have had, and now the man you have is not your husband. You have told the truth about that."</i>


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Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the proper place to worship."


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Jesus said to her, <i>"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.</i>


text:
<i>But the hour is coming \'97 yes, is now here \'97 when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeks for such worshipers.</i>


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The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes he will tell us all things."


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Upon this came his disciples, and they wondered that he was talking with a woman. But no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you talking with her?"


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<i>Do you not say that there are still four months and then comes harvest? Why, lift up your eyes, I tell you, and look on the fields, for they are white for harvest!</i>


text:
<i>Already the reaper is gaining wages and is gathering a harvest for life eternal, that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.</i>


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<i>I have sent you to reap what you have not labored for. Others have labored and you have entered into their labor."</i>


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From that city many of the Samaritans believed in him on account of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."


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When the Samaritans came out to him, they begged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.


text:
and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him and we know that this is truly the Savior of the World."


text:
So when he came into Galilee, the Galilaeans welcomed him because they had seen what he did in Jerusalem at the feast. For they, too, had gone to the feast.


text:
He came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. A certain royal officer was there whose son was sick in Capernaum.


text:
This man heard that Jesus had come from Judaea to Galilee, and he came to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death,


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Go. Your son is living."</i> The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went.


text:
He inquired of them the hour when he was better. They said to him, "Yesterday at one o'clock the fever left him."


text:
So the father knew that it was at that hour at which Jesus had said to him, <i>"Your son is living,"</i> and he believed, himself and his whole household.


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There is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool which is called in Hebrew Bethesda. Around it are five colonnades.


text:
Jesus saw this man lying there and perceiving that he had been there a long time, he said to him, <i>"Do you want to get well?"</i>


text:
The sick man answered him, "I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled. While I am coming, some other man gets down before me."


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The Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not proper for you to carry your pallet."


text:
The cured man did not know who it was. For Jesus had taken himself away, a crowd being in that place.


text:
Afterwards Jesus found him in the Temple court and said to him, <i>"See, you have become well. Sin no more, for something worse might happen to you."</i>


text:
On this account the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only kept breaking the Sabbath, but even spoke of God as his own Father, making himself equal with God.


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself; he does only what he sees the Father doing; whatever things he does, those the Son does likewise.</i>


text:
<i>For the Father loves the Son and shows him what he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these that you may wonder.</i>


text:
<i>For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.</i>


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<i>that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.</i>


text:
<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has life eternal and does not come into condemnation, but has passed over from death into life.</i>


text:
<i>Truly, truly, I tell you that the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.</i>


text:
<i>For as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself.</i>


text:
<i>Do not wonder at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice</i>


text:
<i>and will come forth \'97 those who have done good to a resurrection of life and those who have done evil to a resurrection of condemnation.</i>


text:
<i>"I cannot of myself do anything. As I hear I judge and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.</i>


text:
<i>There is another who testifies regarding me and I know that the testimony that he bears regarding me is true.</i>


text:
<i>He was the burning and shining light and you were willing to rejoice for an hour in his light.</i>


text:
<i>But I have testimony greater than John's. For the works which the Father has granted to me to accomplish \'97 the very works that I do \'97 witness for me that the Father has sent me.</i>


text:
<i>The Father who sent me \'97 he has witnessed regarding me. You have neither heard his voice nor seen his form,</i>


text:
<i>You search the Scriptures because you think that you have in them life eternal, and it is they that testify of me,</i>


text:
<i>I have come in the name of my Father and you do not accept me. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him.</i>


text:
<i>How can you believe, you who accept honor from one another and do not seek honor from the only God?</i>


text:
<i>Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. You have an accuser, Moses in whom you trust.</i>


text:
A great crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing upon those who had infirmities.


text:
He lifted up his eyes and saw that a great crowd was coming to him, and he said to Philip, <i>"Where shall we buy bread for these to eat?"</i>


text:
Philip answered him, "Two hundred shillings worth of bread would not be enough for them each to have a little piece."


text:
Jesus said, <i>"Make the people recline on the ground."</i> There was much grass in the place. So the men, about five thousand in number, reclined on the ground.


text:
Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks and divided them to those who were reclining, and in the same way the fishes, as much as they wanted.


text:
When they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, <i>"Gather up the broken pieces that have been left over, so that nothing may be wasted."</i>


text:
They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.


text:
Then the people, seeing the sign that he had done, said, "This is truly the prophet who was to come into the world!"


text:
Jesus, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.


text:
and got into a boat and started across toward Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.


text:
When they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and getting near the boat, and they were frightened.


text:
Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and at once the boat came to the land they were making for.


text:
On the next day the crowd that was standing on the other side of the lake saw that there had been no boat there but the one, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away by themselves


text:
<n>yet boats did come from Tiberias near to the place where they had eaten bread after the Master had given thanks</n>


text:
when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples either, they got into those boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.


text:
Jesus answered them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and had your fill.</i>


text:
<i>Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to life eternal, which the Son of Man will give you. For him God the Father has sealed."</i>


text:
Our fathers ate the manna in the desert as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven.</i>


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.</i>


text:
<i>and this is the will of him who sent me, that of the whole that he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise all up on the last day.</i>


text:
<i>For this is the will of my Father, that every one who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day."</i>


text:
The Jews were muttering to each other about him because he said, <i>"I am the bread that came down from heaven,"</i>


text:
and they were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he say now, <i>'I have come down from heaven'?"</i>


text:
<i>No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.</i>


text:
<i>It is written in the prophets, 'They will all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to me.</i>


text:
<i>I am the living bread that comes down from heaven. If any one eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh: I will give it for the life of the world."</i>


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you.</i>


text:
<i>He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day.</i>


text:
<i>As the living Father sent me and I am living because of the Father, so he who eats me \'97 he will live because of me.</i>


text:
<i>This is the bread that came down from heaven, not such as your fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever."</i>


text:
Jesus, knowing in his own mind that his disciples were muttering about this, said to them, <i>"Does this make you stumble?</i>


text:
<i>The spirit is what gives life; the flesh is of no account. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.</i>


text:
<i>But there are some of you who do not believe."</i> For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.


text:
He said, <i>"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him from the Father."</i>


text:
He was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For he was going to betray him, though he was one of the twelve.


text:
AFTER this Jesus went about in Galilee; for he would not go about in Judaea because the Jews were trying to kill him.


text:
His brothers said to him, "Leave this region and go into Judaea so that your disciples may see the works that you are doing.


text:
For no one does anything in secret while desiring to be known publicly. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."


text:
<i>The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it that its ways are wicked.</i>


text:
<i>Go on up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up yet to this feast, for my time has not fully come."</i>


text:
After his brothers had gone up to the feast, Jesus himself went up, not openly, but somewhat privately.


text:
A low murmur of debate about him ran through the crowds. Some were saying, "He is good." Others were saying, "No, he misleads the crowd."


text:
<i>Jesus answered them, "If any one wills to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God or I am speaking out of my own mind.</i>


text:
<i>One who speaks out of his own mind is seeking his own glory. He who seeks the glory of him who sent him \'97 he is true, and wickedness is not in him.</i>


text:
<i>Did not Moses give you the Law? Yet no one of you keeps the Law. Why are you trying to kill me?"</i>


text:
<i>Moses gave you circumcision \'97 not that it is from Moses, but from our fathers \'97 and on the Sabbath you circumcise a person.</i>


text:
<i>If a person receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you bitter against me because I have made a man well on the Sabbath?</i>


text:
See, he is talking freely and they say nothing to him. It cannot be that the rulers know for truth that this is the Christ?


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But we know where this man comes from. The Christ, when he comes \'97 no one will know where he comes from."


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Jesus, while teaching in the Temple courts, cried out loudly, <i>"You know me and you know where I come from. I have not come of myself, but he is true who sent me. You do not know him,</i>


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From the crowd many believed in him and said, "The Christ, when he comes, will not do more signs than this man does, will he?"


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The Pharisees heard the murmur of debate about him in the crowd, and the high priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.


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The Jews said to one another, "Where is this man going that we shall not find him? Will he go to the Jews who are scattered among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?


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What does this assertion mean, <i>'You will look for me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come'?"</i>


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On the last day, the great day, of the feast Jesus stood and cried out, <i>"If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink.</i>


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<i>He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him."</i>


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This he said referring to the Spirit which those who had believed in him were soon to receive. For as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.


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Does not the Scripture say that the Christ comes of the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"


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The officers came to the high priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why did you not bring him?"


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They answered him, "Can it be that you too are from Galilee? Examine and see that from Galilee no prophet arises."


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EARLY in the morning he came again to the Temple courts and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them.


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This they said, testing him, to have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped over and wrote with his finger on the ground.


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As they kept on questioning him, he lifted himself up and said to them, <i>"Let the sinless one among you be the first to throw a stone at her,"</i>


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After hearing that, they passed out one by one, beginning with the older men, and he was left alone and the woman there in the center.


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She said, "No one, Sir." Jesus said, <i>"Neither do I sentence you. Go. From now on sin no more."</i>]


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Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, <i>"I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."</i>


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Jesus answered them, <i>"Even if I witness to myself, my witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going.</i>


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<i>Even if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but when I judge he who sent me is with me.</i>


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They said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, <i>"You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."</i>


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These words he spoke in the Treasury, while teaching in the Temple courts, and no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come.


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He said again to them, <i>"I am going away and you will search for me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come."</i>


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He said to them, <i>"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.</i>


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<i>Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."</i>


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<i>I have many things to say about you and to judge. But he who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him I speak in the world."</i>


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Jesus said, <i>"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that of myself I do nothing, but as the Father taught me, so I speak.</i>


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<i>He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him."</i>


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Jesus said to the Jews that had believed him, <i>"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,</i>


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They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been in slavery to any man. How do you say, <i>'You will become free'?"</i>


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Jesus answered them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, every one who practices sin is the slave of sin.</i>


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<i>I know that you are descendants of Abraham; but you are trying to kill me, because my word has no place within you.</i>


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<i>I am speaking what I have seen with my Father and you are doing what you have heard with your father."</i>


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They answered him, "Abraham is our father." He said to them, <i>"If you were children of Abraham you would do the works of Abraham.</i>


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<i>But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do this.</i>


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<i>You do the works of your father."</i> They said to him, "We were not born of unchastity. We have one father \'97 God."


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Jesus said to them, <i>"If God were your father you would love me; for I came forth from God and am now here. For I have not come of myself, but he sent me.</i>


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<i>Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message.</i>


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<i>You are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not stand in the truth; for truth is not in him. When he speaks falsehood, he speaks out of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it.</i>


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<i>He who is of God listens to God's words. For this reason you do not listen \'97 because you are not of God."</i>


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The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets died, and you say, <i>'If any one keeps my word he will never taste of death.'</i>


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Are you greater than our father Abraham? And yet he died and the prophets died. Whom do you make yourself out to be?"


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Jesus answered, <i>"If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God.</i>


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<i>Yet you do not know him, but I know him, and if I should say that I did not know him I should be a liar like you. But I know him and I keep his word.</i>


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Jesus answered, <i>"Neither this man sinned nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be manifested in him.</i>


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<i>We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.</i>


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After saying this, he spit on the ground and made clay with the spittle and put the clay on the man's eyes


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and said to him, <i>"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam</i><n>which means Sent</n>." He went away and washed and came back seeing.


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His neighbors and those accustomed to see him before, when he was begging, said, "Is not this the man that sat and begged?"


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He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and spread it on my eyes and said to me, <i>'Go to Siloam and wash.'</i> I went and washed and received my sight."


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The Pharisees in their turn asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes and I washed and I saw."


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Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man, if he is a sinner, do such signs?" So there was a division among them.


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They said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, now that he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."


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The Jews did not believe the story that he was blind and recovered his sight, until they had called the parents of the man who had recovered his sight


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But how he sees now we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. Ask him; he is of age; he shall speak for himself."


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His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if any one confessed Jesus as the Christ, he should be cast out of the synagogue.


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They called a second time the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."


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The man answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I know, I was blind and now I see."


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He answered them, "I have told you already and you did not listen, why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples?"


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The man answered them, "There is something wonderful in this. You do not know where he comes from, yet he has opened my eyes!


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We know that God does not listen to a sinner, but if any one is God-fearing and does his will, God hears him.


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They answered him, "You were born in sin \'97 wholly; and are you teaching us?" and they cast him out.


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Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and found him and said, <i>"Do you believe in the Son of Man?"</i>


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Jesus said, <i>"For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."</i>


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Jesus said to them, <i>"If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains with you."</i>


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<i>"TRULY, truly, I tell you, he who does not enter through the gate into the sheepfold, but climbs over somewhere else, that man is a thief and a robber.</i>


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<i>The gate-keeper opens to him and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.</i>


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<i>When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.</i>


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<i>They will not follow a stranger, but will run away from him, for they do not know the voices of strangers."</i>


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<i>I am the gate: if any one enters through me he will be saved, and will go in and go out and find pasture.</i>


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<i>The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.</i>


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<i>The hireling, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, looks on as the wolf comes and leaves the sheep and runs away \'97 and the wolf seizes them and scatters them \'97 </i>


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<i>But I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.</i>


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<i>No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and have power to take it again. This command I received from my Father."</i>


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The Jews came in a circle around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us frankly."


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Jesus answered them, <i>"I have told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name \'97 these witness for me.</i>


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<i>and I give to them life eternal, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.</i>


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<i>My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.</i>


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Jesus answered them, <i>"Many good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?"</i>


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The Jews answered him, "For a good work we are not stoning you, but for profane words, because you, a man, are making yourself God."


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<i>If he called those to whom the word of God came Gods \'97 and the authority of Scripture cannot be denied \'97 </i>


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<i>do you say to him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, 'You speak profane words,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?</i>


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<i>But if I do, even though you do not believe me, believe the works; that you may perceive and know that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father."</i>


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and went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was at first when he was baptizing, and he stayed there.


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It was that Mary who anointed the Master with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick.


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When Jesus heard it he said, <i>"This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it."</i>


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The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, just now the Jews were trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"


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Jesus answered, <i>"Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.</i>


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He said this, and then he said to them, <i>"Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him."</i>


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<i>and I am glad on your account that I was not there \'97 so that you may believe. But let us go to him."</i>


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Thomas, who is called Didymus <n>the Twin</n>, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us go too to die with him."


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Jesus said to her, <i>"I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me even though he dies will live,</i>


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She said to him, "Yes, Master. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."


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Having said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying to her privately, "The Teacher is here and is asking for you."


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The Jews who were with Mary in the house trying to comfort her, seeing her rise quickly and go out, followed thinking that she was going to the tomb to wail there.


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When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying, "Master, if you had been here my brother would not have died."


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When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he was indignant in spirit and disturbed,


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Some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have prevented this man from dying?"


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Jesus said, <i>"Take away the stone."</i> Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Master, he is already offensive, for he has been dead four days."


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So they took away the stone. Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, <i>"Father, I thank thee for hearing me.</i>


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<i>I know that thou always hearest me; but for the sake of the crowd that stand around I say it, that they may believe that thou didst send me."</i>


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Forth came the dead man, swathed feet and hands in grave-clothes and his face bound up in a handkerchief. Jesus said, <i>"Loose him and let him go."</i>


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So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council and said, "What are we doing? for this man is doing many signs.


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If we let him alone in this way, all will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy our place and nation."


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nor do you reason that it is better for you that one man should die for the people and so the whole nation escape destruction."


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He did not say this of himself, but being High Priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation,


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So Jesus no more walked about openly among the Jews, but went away from there into the country near the wild lands, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with his disciples.


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The Passover of the Jews was near and many went up to Jerusalem from the country before the Passover to purify themselves.


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They were looking for Jesus and were saying to one another, as they stood in the Temple courts, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?"


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The high priests and the Pharisees had given orders that, if any one knew where he was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.


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SIX days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was whom he had raised from the dead.


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There they made a dinner for him. Martha waited on them, and Lazarus was one of those who reclined at table with him.


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Mary took a pound of pure nard perfume, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.


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He said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and having the purse used to pilfer what was put into it.


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A great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not on account of Jesus alone, but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.


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On the next day the great crowd which had come to the feast, hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,


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took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, "God save him! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord \'97 the King of Israel!"


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These things his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus had been glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.


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The people that were with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead were bearing witness to it.


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The Pharisees said among themselves, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone off after him."


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<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies it bears much fruit.</i>


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<i>He who loves his life destroys it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for life eternal.</i>


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<i>If any one is serving me, let him follow me and where I am there my servant shall be. If any one is serving me, him my Father will honor.</i>


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<i>Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this I have come to this hour.</i>


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<i>Father, glorify thy name!"</i> There came a voice from heaven, "I have glorified it and will again glorify it."


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The crowd that was standing there and heard said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel spoke to him."


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The crowd answered him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"


text:
Jesus said to them, <i>"A little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, that darkness may not overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.</i>


text:
<i>While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so as to become sons of Light." Jesus said these things and then went away and hid himself from them.</i>


text:
so that the word of Isaiah the prophet should be fulfilled. Isaiah said, "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"


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"He has blinded their eyes and dulled their mind so that they may not see with their eyes nor understand with their mind and repent so that I should heal them."


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Nevertheless, even of the rulers many did believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, in order not to be expelled from the synagogue;


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<i>If any one hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.</i>


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<i>He who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge. The message that I have spoken \'97 that will judge him on the last day.</i>


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<i>But he who sent me \'97 the Father himself \'97 has given me a command what I am to say and what I am to speak,</i>


text:
<i>and I know that his command is life eternal. So what I am speaking I am speaking just as the Father has told me."</i>


text:
BEFORE the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world loved them to the end.


text:
During supper, the Devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him,


text:
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God,


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Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.


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Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, <i>"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"He who has bathed has no need to be washed, except his feet, but is all clean. And you are clean, though not all."</i>


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For he knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, <i>"You are not all clean."</i>


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When he had washed their feet and had taken his upper garments and lain down again, he said to them, <i>"Do you know what I have done to you?</i>


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<i>If then I, the Master and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another's feet.</i>


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<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, the servant is not superior to his master nor the messenger superior to him who sent him.</i>


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<i>I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who is eating my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'</i>


text:
<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me. He who receives me receives him who sent me."</i>


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After saying these things Jesus was disturbed in spirit and solemnly said to them, <i>"Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me."</i>


text:
Jesus answered, <i>"I will dip a piece of bread and give it to one. That is the man."</i> When he had dipped the bread, he took it and gave it to Judas the son of Simon Iscariot.


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After the piece of bread Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, <i>"What you are doing do quickly."</i>


text:
Some thought, since Judas had the purse, that Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor.


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When Judas had gone, Jesus said, <i>"Now the Son of Man has been glorified and God has been glorified in him.</i>


text:
<i>If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and immediately will glorify him.</i>


text:
<i>Children, yet a little while I am with you. You will look for me and, as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going you cannot come,' so I say now to you.</i>


text:
<i>A new command I give you, to love one another, as I have loved you \'97 that so you love one another.</i>


text:
Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered, <i>"Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you will follow me later."</i>


text:
Jesus answered, <i>"Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I tell you, the cock will not crow before you have disowned me three times."</i>


text:
<i>For I am going to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.</i>


text:
Jesus said to him, <i>"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.</i>


text:
<i>If you had known me you would have known my Father also. But now you know him and have seen him."</i>


text:
Jesus said, <i>"Have I been so much time with you and you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?</i>


text:
<i>Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I speak not of myself. The Father abides in me and does his works.</i>


text:
<i>Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me. But if not, believe on account of the works themselves.</i>


text:
<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes in me \'97 the works that I am doing he also will do and greater works than these he will do, because I am going to the Father.</i>


text:
<i>and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever \'97 </i>


text:
<i>the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him because he abides with you and will be in you.</i>


text:
<i>After a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I am living you too will live.</i>


text:
<i>He who has my commands and keeps them \'97 he is the one that loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will show myself to him."</i>


text:
Judas <n>not Iscariot</n> said to him, "Master, what has happened that you are going to show yourself to us and not to the world?"


text:
Jesus answered him, <i>"If any one loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and abide with him.</i>


text:
<i>He who loves me not does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but is the word of the Father who sent me.</i>


text:
<i>The Counselor \'97 the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name \'97 will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said to you.</i>


text:
<i>Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor fearful.</i>


text:
<i>You heard that I said to you I am going away and am coming back to you. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.</i>


text:
<i>I shall no longer speak much with you, for the Ruler of this world is coming and he has no part in me.</i>


text:
<i>But that the world may know that I love the Father, even as the Father commanded me, so I am doing. Rise, let us go hence."</i>


text:
<i>Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every one that bears fruit he cleanses, that it may bear more fruit.</i>


text:
<i>Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me.</i>


text:
<i>I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him \'97 he bears much fruit; but without me you cannot do anything.</i>


text:
<i>If any one does not abide in me, he is cast out like a branch and withers, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned.</i>


text:
<i>If you keep my commands, you will abide in my love as I have kept my Father's commands and abide in his love.</i>


text:
<i>These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made complete.</i>


text:
<i>I no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I call you friends, for all that I have heard from the Father I have made known to you.</i>


text:
<i>It was not you who chose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.</i>


text:
<i>If you were of the world the world would love its own. But you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world. For this reason the world hates you.</i>


text:
<i>Remember the word that I said to you, 'The servant is not superior to his Master.' If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they have kept my word, they will keep yours also.</i>


text:
<i>But all these things they will do to you because of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.</i>


text:
<i>If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.</i>


text:
<i>If I had not done among them works which no other did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and have hated both me and my Father.</i>


text:
<i>But in order that the saying written in their Law may be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a cause.'</i>


text:
<i>"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father \'97 the Spirit of Truth who goes forth from the Father \'97 he will witness concerning me.</i>


text:
<i>They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when every one who kills you will think that he is offering a sacrifice to God.</i>


text:
<i>But these things I have told you in order that when their hour comes you may remember them \'97 that I told you. These things I did not tell you from the beginning because I was with you.</i>


text:
<i>I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I should go away. For unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.</i>


text:
<i>And he, when he comes, will convince the world regarding sin and regarding righteousness and regarding judgment \'97 </i>


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<i>But when he comes \'97 the Spirit of Truth \'97 he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak his own thoughts, but all that he hears he will speak and he will announce to you the things to come.</i>


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<i>All things that the Father has are mine. For that reason I say, 'He will take of mine and announce it to you.'</i>


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<i>After a little while you will no longer see me, and again a little while and you will see me."</i>


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Some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he says, <i>'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,'</i> and, <i>'because I am going to the Father'?"</i>


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Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, <i>"Are you discussing with one another about this that I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'?</i>


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<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will change into joy.</i>


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<i>A woman when she is bringing forth has grief because her hour has come. But when she has borne the child, she no longer remembers her anguish for the joy that a human being has been born into the world.</i>


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<i>And you have grief now, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.</i>


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<i>On that day you will ask me no questions. Truly, truly, I tell you, if you ask the Father for anything in my name, he will give it to you.</i>


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<i>So far you have asked for nothing in my name; ask and you will obtain, that your joy may be made full.</i>


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<i>"I have spoken these things to you in figures. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father.</i>


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<i>On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will make request of the Father for you,</i>


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<i>for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth from the Father's presence.</i>


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<i>I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father."</i>


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Now we know that you know all things and that you have no need to have any one question you. From this we believe that you have come forth from God."


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<i>Indeed the hour is coming \'97 it has come \'97 for each one of you to be scattered to his own and leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.</i>


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<i>I have spoken these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have distress. But he courageous. I have conquered the world."</i>


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THESE words spoke Jesus, and lifted his eyes to heaven and said, <i>"Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee,</i>


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<i>as thou hast given him authority over all flesh, that he may give life eternal to all that thou hast given him.</i>


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<i>This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ.</i>


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<i>And now glorify me, Father, at thy side with the glory that I had at thy side before the existence of the world.</i>


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<i>I have revealed thy name to the men whom thou didst give me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou didst give them to me, and they have kept thy word.</i>


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<i>For the words that thou didst give me I have given them, and they have accepted them and have perceived truly that I came forth from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.</i>


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<i>"I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine.</i>


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<i>Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep in thy name those whom thou hast given to me, that they may be one, as we are.</i>


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<i>When I was with them I kept in thy name those whom thou hast given to me, and I guarded them, and none of them has perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.</i>


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<i>Now I am coming to thee, and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy made full in themselves.</i>


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<i>I have given them thy word and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.</i>


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<i>that all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou didst send me.</i>


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<i>I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that thou didst send me and didst love them just as thou didst love me.</i>


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<i>Father, those thou didst give me \'97 I will that they also may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.</i>


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<i>Righteous Father, the world did not know thee, but I knew thee, and these knew that thou didst send me.</i>


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<i>I have made known thy name to them and will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."</i>


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WHEN Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron to a place where there was a garden. Into this he entered with his disciples.


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So Judas, getting a battalion of soldiers and some subordinate officers of the high priests and the Pharisees, came there with torches and lamps and weapons.


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Jesus, knowing all things that were coming upon him, came forward and said to them, <i>"Whom are you seeking?"</i>


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They answered him, "Jesus the Nazarene." He said to them, <i>"I am he."</i> Judas the traitor was standing with them.


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Jesus answered, <i>"I have told you that I am he. If then you are seeking for me, let these go."</i>


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He said this that the word might be fulfilled which he had spoken, <i>"Of those whom thou hast given me I have lost none."</i>


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Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck a servant of the High Priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.


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Jesus said to Peter, <i>"Put your sword into its sheath. The cup that my Father has given me \'97 shall I not drink it?"</i>


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and took him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was High Priest that year.


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Caiaphas was the man who had advised the Jews that it was best that one man should die for the people.


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Simon Peter was following Jesus and so was another disciple. That disciple was known to the High Priest and he went in with Jesus into the court of the High Priest.


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Peter stood by the gate outside. The other disciple, who was known to the High Priest, went out and spoke to the girl at the door and brought in Peter.


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The girl at the door said to Peter, "You are not one of this man's disciples, too, are you?" He said, "I am not."


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The servants and policemen were standing there. They had made a fire, for it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.


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Jesus answered him, <i>"I have spoken frankly to the world. I constantly taught in synagogues and in the Temple courts where all the Jews assemble, and I have spoken nothing in secret.</i>


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<i>Why do you question me? Question my hearers what I said to them. Certainly they know what I said."</i>


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When he said this, a policeman, who was standing by, gave Jesus a slap, saying, "Do you answer the High Priest that way?"


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Jesus answered him, <i>"If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness against me of the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"</i>


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Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, "Are not you also one of his disciples?" He denied it and said, "I am not."


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One of the servants of the High Priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"


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They led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Castle. It was early morning. The Jews did not enter the Castle, wishing to avoid defilement, so that they might eat the Passover.


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Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put any one to death."


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They said this that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled \'97 the word he had spoken indicating by what death he was to die.


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Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your nation and the high priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"


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Jesus answered, <i>"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my subordinates would be fighting to prevent my being delivered up to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here."</i>


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Pilate said to him, "Are you not a king then?" Jesus answered, <i>"I am a king, as you say. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth listens to my voice."</i>


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Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After saying this he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no crime in him.


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But you have a custom that I should release for you one at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?"


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Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no crime in him."


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Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"


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When the high priests and their subordinates saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said, "You take him and crucify him. For I find no crime in him."


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The Jews answered, "We have a law and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."


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Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?"


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Jesus answered, <i>"You would not have any authority over me if it were not given you from above. For this reason he who delivered me to you has a greater sin."</i>


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After this, Pilate kept trying to release him, but the Jews shouted, "If you let this man go you are not a friend of Caesar. Every one who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar."


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Pilate, on hearing these words, brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat in the place called the Mosaic Pavement \'97 in Hebrew, Gabbatha.


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They shouted, "Away with him, away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The high priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."


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where they crucified him. And with him they crucified two others, one on this side and one on that, and Jesus between them.


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Pilate wrote a sign and put it up on the cross. It was written: <i>JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS</i>


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Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.


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The high priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' "


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The soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, a part to each soldier, and there was his tunic besides. The tunic was seamless, woven from the top entire.


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They said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots who shall have it." This was so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "They parted my garments among them and on my clothing they cast lots." The soldiers did this.


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There were standing beside the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.


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When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, <i>"Woman, there is your son."</i>


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Then he said to the disciple, <i>"There is your mother."</i> From that hour the disciple took her to his own home.


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After this, Jesus knowing that now all things had been completed, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled said, <i>"I am thirsty."</i>


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A pitcher was standing there full of sour wine. Putting a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop stem, they raised it to his mouth.


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When Jesus had taken the sour wine, he said, <i>"It is finished,"</i> and bowing his head gave up his spirit.


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The Jews, because it was Preparation Day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a great day, requested Pilate to have their legs broken to kill them.


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So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with him.


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But one of the soldiers with his spear pierced his side and immediately there came forth blood and water.


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He who saw it has borne witness and his witness is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth in order that you may believe.


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After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate permission to carry away the body of Jesus, and Pilate granted it. So he came and carried his body away.


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Nicodemus, the man who came to him at first by night, came also bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.


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They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the custom of the Jews in preparing for burial.


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There was in the place where he had been crucified a garden and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had been laid.


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ON the first day of the week, early in the morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken from the tomb.


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She ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Master from the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him."


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and the handkerchief that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place apart.


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and saw two angels in white sitting one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain.


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They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have carried away my Master and I do not know where they have laid him."


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Jesus said to her, <i>"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"</i> She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have removed him, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away."


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Jesus said to her, <i>"Mary!"</i> She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" <n>that is, Teacher</n>.


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Jesus said to her, <i>"Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'</i>


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Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples, "I have seen the Master," and she told that he had said these things to her.


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In the evening of that day, the first day of the week, when the doors had been closed where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, <i>"Peace be with you."</i>


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When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy on seeing the Master.


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<i>If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained."</i>


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The other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Master." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."


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After eight days the disciples were again within and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said, <i>"Peace be with you."</i>


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Then he said to Thomas, <i>"Reach your finger here. Here are my hands. Reach your hand and put it into my side, and become not faithless, but believing."</i>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"Because you have seen me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."</i>


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But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life through his name.


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AFTER this, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Lake of Tiberias. He showed himself in this way.


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There were together Simon Peter and Thomas, called Didymus <n>the Twin</n>, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples.


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Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said, "We will go along with you." They went out and got into a boat, but that night they caught nothing.


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When day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach. The disciples, however, did not recognize that it was Jesus.


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He said to them, <i>"Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."</i> They cast, and now they could not draw it in for the multitude of fishes.


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That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Master!" Simon Peter, on hearing that it was the Master, girded around him his blouse, for he was naked, and threw himself into the lake.


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The other disciples came in the small boat, for they were not far from land \'97 about a hundred yards \'97 dragging the netful of fish.


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Simon Peter got into the boat and drew the net to land full of big fishes \'97 a hundred and fifty-three \'97 and though there were so many the net was not torn.


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Jesus said, <i>"Come, take break-fast."</i> No one of the disciples dared to ask him who he was, knowing that it was the Master.


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When they had breakfasted, Jesus said to Simon Peter, <i>"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"</i> He said to him, "Yes, Master, you know that I love you." He said to him, <i>"Feed my lambs."</i>


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He said to him a second time, <i>"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"</i> He said to him, "Yes, Master, you know that I love you." He said to him, <i>"Shepherd my sheep."</i>


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He said to him the third time, <i>"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"</i> Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, <i>"Do you love me?"</i> and he said to him, "Master, you know all things. You know that I love you." Jesus said to him, <i>"Feed my sheep.</i>


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<i>Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked about wherever you wished. When you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."</i>


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This he said, indicating the kind of death by which he would glorify God. After saying this he said to him, <i>"Follow me."</i>


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Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following. <n>It was he who at the supper had leaned on Jesus' breast and said, "Lord, who is it that will betray you? "</n>


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Jesus said to him, <i>"If I choose to have him stay until I come, what is that to you? You must follow me."</i>


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So the report went out among the brethren that that disciple was not to die. But Jesus did not say to Peter that he would not die, but, <i>"If I choose to have him stay until I come, what is that to you?"</i>


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This is the disciple who witnesses to these things and who wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.


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There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these are written, every one, I do not think that the world itself will have room for the books when written.


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down to the day when, after giving commands, through the Holy Spirit, to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up to heaven.


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By many proofs he revealed himself to these men as still alive after his sufferings; for he was seen by them for forty days and spoke of things relating to the kingdom of God.


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Also while eating with them, he charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, <i>"which,"</i> said he, <i>"you have heard from me.</i>


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<i>For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence."</i>


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When they came together, they asked him, "Master, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"


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He said to them, <i>"It is not yours to know the times and seasons which the Father has put under his own authority.</i>


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<i>But you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth."</i>


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He said this and then, while they were looking on, he was taken up and a cloud lifted him from their sight.


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They were gazing into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white robes were standing beside them


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and said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing and looking up into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you have seen him go into heaven."


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They then returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Olive Orchard, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey distant.


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When they came into the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying. There were Peter and John, and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.


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All of these continued earnestly and unitedly in prayer with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.


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In those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren <n>the company numbered about a hundred and twenty</n> and said:


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"Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became guide to those who arrested Jesus.


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(This man bought a piece of land with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst asunder and all his entrails were poured out.


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It became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, the Field of Blood.)


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For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his dwelling become desolate and let there be no one living in it,' and, 'His overseership let another take.'


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It is needful, therefore, that of the men who have been with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,


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from the baptism of John down to the day that he was taken up from us \'97 that one of these should become a witness with us of his resurrection."


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In prayer they said, "O Lord, thou who knowest the hearts of all, show which one of these two thou has chosen


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Then they cast lots between them. The lot fell on Matthias and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.


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when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a strong rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.


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Then there appeared to them, as it were, tongues of flame distributing themselves, and one rested on each of them.


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They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, as the Spirit gave them power of expression.


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When this sound was heard, the crowd came together and were astonished because each one heard them speaking in his own language.


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Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those who live in Mesopotamia, Judas and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,


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Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt and the regions of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes,


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But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Fellow Jews, and all of you who live in Jerusalem, understand this and listen to my words.


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'It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.


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Yes, upon the slave men and slave girls that are mine I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.


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I will give portents in heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.


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The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the day of the Lord comes \'97 that great and glorious day.


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Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene was a man proved to be sent to you from God by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know.


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But when he had been delivered up according to the fixed purpose and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed him through the hands of lawless men.


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But God freed him from the pangs of death and raised him up, since it was impossible that he should be held under the power of death.


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For David says of him, 'I saw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand so that I may not be cast down.


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"Brethren, allow me to say frankly to you regarding the patriarch David that he died and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day.


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But being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn to him an oath to place a descendant of his body upon his throne,


text:
he foreseeing spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, saying that he was not left to Hades and that his flesh did not see decay.


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Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.


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For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,


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Let all the house of Israel know surely that this Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ."


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Hearing this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do, brethren?"


text:
Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


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For the promise belongs to you and to your children and to all those who are far off, as many as the Lord your God may call."


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With many other words he bore witness and exhorted them, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation."


text:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and there were added on that day about three thousand souls.


text:
These gave constant attention to the teaching of the apostles and to the fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers.


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Every day, continuing with one accord in the Temple courts and in breaking bread from house to house, they ate together in joy and simplicity of heart,


text:
praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added daily to their number those who were being saved.


text:
when a man lame from his birth was being carried along. This man used to be placed every day near the gate of the Temple courts \'97 the one called the Beautiful Gate \'97 to beg of those who were entering.


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But Peter said, "Silver and gold I have not; but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk."


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and he sprang up and stood and walked and entered the Temple court with them, walking and leaping and praising God.


text:
and when they recognized that it was he who had sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple court, they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.


text:
While he still clung to Peter and John, all the people ran crowding around them in what was called Solomon's Colonnade, greatly astonished.


text:
Peter, seeing the people, explained, "Fellow Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you gaze so at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?


text:
The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered up and disowned before Pilate when he had decided to release him.


text:
And now by faith in his name this man whom you see and know has been made strong by his name, and the faith that is through him has given this man this perfect soundness before you all.


text:
God in this way fulfilled what he had predicted through the mouths of all the prophets that his Christ should suffer.


text:
Therefore, repent and turn about, that your sins may be wiped away and the gracious face of the Lord may bring times of refreshing,


text:
but whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouths of his holy prophets of old.


text:
"Moses indeed said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brethren, as he raised me; listen to all that he may say to you.


text:
It shall be that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'


text:
You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God established with your fathers when he said to Abraham, 'In your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed.'


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To you first God, when he raised up his servant, sent him, to bless you by turning each one of you from his wicked ways."


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WHILE they were speaking to the people, the priests and the commandant of the Temple and the Sadducees came upon them,


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being offended because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in the case of Jesus the resurrection from the dead.


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But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men grew to be about five thousand.


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with Annas the High Priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of high priestly race.


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They placed the apostles in the midst and asked them, "By what power and in what name did you do this?"


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if we must answer to-day regarding a benefit done to an infirm man, by what name he has been healed,


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be it known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead \'97 by this name, this man stands here before you sound.


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Nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."


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Observing the fearless outspokenness of Peter and John and perceiving that they were common, uneducated men, they were astonished, and they recognized them as former companions of Jesus.


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Seeing the man who had been healed standing there with the apostles, they had nothing to say in opposition.


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saying, "What shall we do to these men? For that a notable miracle has been done by them is plain to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.


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But that it may not spread further among the people, let us sternly forbid them to speak any longer in this name to any one."


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But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves.


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The Council after further threats set them at liberty, not finding any way to punish them on account of the people; for all were giving glory to God because of what had happened.


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The apostles upon being released came to their friends and told them all that the high priests and the elders had said.


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They hearing it unitedly lifted up their prayer to God and said, "O Lord, thou who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are in them,


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who through the Holy Spirit by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say, 'Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things?


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The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ' \'97


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for truly in this city Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered against thy holy servant Jesus,


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now, Lord, look upon their threats and enable thy servants to speak thy message with all fearlessness,


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while thou dost stretch out thine hand for healing and while signs and wonders are done through the name of thy holy servant Jesus."


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After this prayer the place in which they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the message of God with courageous freedom.


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The multitude of those who had believed was of one heart and one soul, and no one said that any part of his property was his own, but they had all things in common.


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With great power the apostles continued to bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was upon them all.


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Nor was any one in need among them, for all who were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the money for what had been sold


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Joseph, to whom the apostles had given the name Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement," a Levite born in Cyprus,


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and kept back a part of the price, with his wife's connivance, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.


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Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land?


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While you had it, was it not yours? And after it was sold, was it not at your own disposal? Why have you conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God."


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When Ananias heard these words he fell down and died. Great fear came upon all who heard these words.


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Peter said to her, "Why was it agreed between you to test the Spirit of the Lord? Even now the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."


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Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and carried her out and buried her beside her husband.


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Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. They were all with one purpose in Solomon's Colonnade.


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so that they carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on couches and pallets with the hope that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some one of them.


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A crowd was coming too from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were troubled by impure spirits, and these were all being healed.


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But the High Priest and all his party \'97 the sect of the Sadducees \'97 became aroused and filled with indignation,


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On hearing this they went into the Temple courts about daybreak and began teaching. When the High Priest and his party arrived, they called together the Council and all the eldership of the children of Israel and sent to the jail to have the men brought.


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"We found the prison shut with all security and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened we found no one inside."


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On hearing these words the commandant of the Temple and the high priests were at a loss as to what this would grow into.


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Then some one came and told them, "The men whom you put in jail are standing in the Temple courts and teaching the people."


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Then the commandant with his subordinates went and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.


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"Did we not strictly order you not to teach in this name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and want to bring this man's blood on us."


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God has exalted him as Leader and Savior at his own right hand to give to Israel change of heart and forgiveness of sins.


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We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him."


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But a certain Pharisee named Gamaliel \'97 a teacher of the law honored by all the people \'97 arose in the Council and, after directing that the men should be taken outside for a little while,


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For before these days arose Theudas, professing to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves to him. But he was slain and all who followed him were scattered and came to naught.


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After him arose Judas the Galilean, in the days of the Census, and led away people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.


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And now I advise you to keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or work is of men it will collapse,


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but if it is of God you will not be able to suppress them. You might even be found to be fighting against God."


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They were persuaded by him. So they called in the apostles and gave them a flogging and ordered them not to go on speaking in the name of Jesus, and then set them at liberty;


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but they went away from before the Council rejoicing because they were thought worthy to be put to shame for the Name.


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And every day in the Temple courts and from house to house they unceasingly taught and told the good news of Jesus the Christ.


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IN those days, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Greek-speaking Jews began to grumble at the Hebrew Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily service.


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Then the twelve called the body of disciples together and said, "We do not wish to leave the message of God and wait on tables.


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Therefore, brethren, pick out seven men from among you, men of reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to look after this need.


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This proposal pleased the whole body. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch.


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The message of God continued to spread and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and even a great body of the priests were obedient to the faith.


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But certain persons from what was called the synagogue of the Libyans and Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen;


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Then they got some men to say, "We have heard him speaking profane words against Moses and against God."


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They excited the people and the elders and the scribes, and coming suddenly upon Stephen they arrested him and led him to the Council.


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There they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases saying things against this holy place and the law.


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We have heard him say that this Jesus, the Nazarene, will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us."


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All who were sitting in the Council as they looked at him saw that his face was like the face of an angel.


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Stephen said: "Brethren and Fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,


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Then he came out from the land of the Chaldaeans and settled in Haran. From there, after the death of his father, God removed him into this land in which you now live,


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but he did not give him any inheritance in it, not even a foot of it. Still he promised to give it as a possession to him and to his descendants after him, though at that time he had no child.


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God spoke thus, 'His descendants will sojourn in a land not their own, and they will be enslaved and maltreated four hundred years.'


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And God said, 'That nation by which they are enslaved I will judge, and after that they shall come out and serve me in this place.'


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God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac on the eighth day, and Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his sons, the twelve patriarchs.


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and delivered him out of all his trials, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him governor over the land of Egypt and all his own house.


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Then there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great distress, and our fathers found no food.


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On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh.


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They were brought to Shechem and buried in the tomb which Abraham bought for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.


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"As the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise which God had made to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt


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He adopted a crafty policy toward our race and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to expose their babes so that they should not be kept alive.


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"At that time Moses was born, and was beautiful in God's sight. For three months he was cared for in his father's house.


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When he reached the age of forty years it came into his heart to look after his brethren, the children of Israel.


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Seeing one of them being wronged, he defended him and did justice for the injured man by striking down the Egyptian.


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He thought that his brethren knew that God would give them freedom through his hand. But they did not understand it.


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On the next day Moses appeared when two of them were fighting, and tried to make peace between them, saying, 'Men, you are brethren. Why are you injuring each other?'


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But he who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and judge over us?


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"When forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flames of a burning bush.


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When Moses saw the sight he was astonished, but as he was approaching to look closely, the voice of the Lord was heard,


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'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' Then Moses trembled and did not dare to look closely.


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The Lord said to him, 'Loose your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.


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I have plainly seen the distress of my people in Egypt and I have heard their groans and have come down to deliver them. Come now and I will send you to Egypt.'


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"This Moses whom they disowned, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge?' \'97 this man God sent as ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.


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This man led them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.


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This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai and with our fathers, and he received the living words to give to us.


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saying to Aaron, 'Make us gods to lead us; for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt \'97 we do not know what has become of him.'


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And they made the image of a calf in those days and brought sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the work of their own hands.


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So God turned and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'Did you offer to me slaughtered animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?


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No, you carried the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made for worship. Therefore I will remove you beyond Babylon.'


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"In the wilderness our fathers had the Tent of the Testimony made as he who spoke to Moses directed, according to the model which he had seen.


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This Tent our fathers who were with Joshua received in their turn and brought into the land of the nations whom God drove out from before our fathers, and it remained until the days of David.


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'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What sort of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is my place of rest?


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"You stiff-necked men, uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so do you.


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Which one of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? Yes, they killed those who announced in advance the coming of the righteous one of whom now you have become the betrayers and murderers \'97


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But he being full of the Holy Spirit looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand,


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and hurried him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.


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Kneeling he cried aloud, "Lord, do not lay up this sin against them!" After saying this he fell asleep.


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SAUL also approved of their putting him to death. On that day arose a great persecution of the church in Jerusalem. All except the apostles were scattered through Judaea and Samaria.


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Saul cruelly hounded the church from house to house, entering and dragging out men and women and handing them over into prison.


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The crowds with one mind gave attention to what was said by Philip, listening to his words and seeing the signs that he did.


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For impure spirits came out shrieking from many who had been possessed, and many paralytic and lame people were healed.


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A certain man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, giving out that he was some great one.


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They had all given attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God which is called great."


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But when they believed Philip, who was telling the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.


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Simon himself also believed and was baptized and attached himself to Philip, and seeing the signs and great miracles that took place he was astonished.


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When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the message of God, they sent to them Peter and John.


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For the Spirit had not yet fallen on any one of them; they had merely been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.


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When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,


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But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you because you have thought that you could buy the gift of God with money!


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Repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.


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So when they had borne their testimony and had spoken the message of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, telling the good news in many villages of the Samaritans.


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An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Arise and go south-ward on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the road through the desert."


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He arose and went. Now there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of high rank under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over her treasury. He had been to Jerusalem to worship


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Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"


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The passage of Scripture that he was reading was, "He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so he did not open his mouth.


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In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."


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The eunuch said to Philip, "Please tell me, of whom is the prophet speaking \'97 of himself or of some one else?"


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As they were going along the road they came to water, and the eunuch said, "Here is water. What is there to hinder my being baptized?"


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He ordered the chariot to stop and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.


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When they had come up out of the water, the Spirit caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more. He went on his way rejoicing.


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But Philip found himself at Azotus, and passing through all the cities he told the good news until he came to Casarea.


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SAUL was still breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest


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and asked from him letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he should find any persons who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.


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He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, <i>"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"</i>


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Saul rose from the earth and opened his eyes, but he could see nothing. Taking him by the hand they led him into Damascus,


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There was in Damascus a certain disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, <i>"Ananias."</i> He answered, "Here I am, Lord."


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The Lord said to him, <i>"Rise and go to the street called Straight street, and ask in the house of Judas for a man named Saul from Tarsus. He is now in prayer,</i>


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<i>and has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him in order that he may receive his sight."</i>


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Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard about this man from many people \'97 how many wicked things he has done to thy holy ones in Jerusalem,


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But the Lord said to him, <i>"Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before nations and kings and the children of Israel.</i>


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Ananias went and entered the house and put his hands on Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me \'97 Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming \'97 that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."


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and after taking food he regained his strength. Saul passed some days with the disciples who were in Damascus,


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All who heard him were astonished and said, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem persecuted those who call on this name, and who came here for the very purpose of binding and taking them to the high priests?"


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But Saul grew stronger and put to confusion the Jews who lived at Damascus, as he proved that this man was the Christ.


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But the disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.


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When Saul reached Jerusalem, he tried to attach himself to the disciples, but all were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.


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But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and how the Lord had spoken to him, and how courageously he had spoken in Damascus in the name of Jesus.


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and speaking freely in the name of the Lord. He frequently spoke and debated with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they kept trying to put him out of the way.


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So the church had peace throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and was built up, and advancing in the reverence of the Lord and by the encouragement of the Holy Spirit grew continually in numbers.


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It happened that Peter, while passing about among all the holy, came down also to those who were dwelling at Lydda.


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He found there a man named Aeneas who had been for eight years lying on a pallet, for he was a paralytic.


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Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ is healing you. Rise up and make your bed." Immediately he arose.


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In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha <n>in Greek Dorcas, Gazelle</n>. She abounded in good works and acts of kindness which she was accustomed to do.


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It happened at that time that she fell sick and died. They bathed her and laid her out in an upper room.


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Since Lydda was near to Joppa and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him begging him, "Do not delay to come on down to us."


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Peter arose and went along with them. On his arrival they took him up to the room. All of the widows came around him wailing and showing the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them.


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Peter sent them all out and kneeling down he prayed. Then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.


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Giving her his hand he raised her to her feet. Then calling the holy and the widows he presented her to them alive.


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THERE was in Caesarea a man named Cornelius, a centurion in the battalion called the Italian cohort.


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He was a pious man, reverencing God with all his household, doing many acts of charity to the people and praying to God constantly.


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About three o'clock one afternoon he saw plainly in a vision an angel come in and say to him, "Cornelius."


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He gazed at him in alarm and asked, "What is it, my Lord?" The angel said to him, "Your prayers and your gifts of charity have come up as an evidence before God.


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When the angel who had been speaking to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a pious soldier of those who were attached to him,


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On the next day, while they were on the road and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray. It was about noon.


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and saw the heavens opened and something descending like a great sheet being let down to the ground by the four corners.


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Peter was thinking this over and was at a loss what the vision meant. Just then the men who had been sent by Cornelius, after inquiring for the house of Simon, came to the door


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While Peter was debating with himself about the vision, the Spirit said, "Here are two men looking for you.


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Peter went down and said to the men, "Here I am \'97 the man you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?"


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They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to listen to your words."


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Then he invited them in and entertained them. The next day Peter arose and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him.


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On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had assembled his relatives and his close friends.


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He said to them, "You understand that it is against our Law for a Jew to be closely associated with a Gentile or to visit him. But God has taught me not to call any person common or unclean.


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Therefore when I was sent for I came without making any objection. So now I ask, For what reason have you sent for me?"


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Cornelius said, "Four days ago, at this hour, I was offering the three o'clock prayer in my house, when suddenly a man stood before me in shining dress


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and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your gifts of charity have been remembered before God.


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Send to Joppa and call for Simon who is surnamed Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon a tanner near the sea'


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Immediately I sent to you and you have done well in coming. Now here we all are in God's presence to hear all that the Lord has commanded you."


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As to the message which he sent to the children of Israel telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ \'97 who is Lord of all \'97


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you know the story that spread through all Judaea. It began in Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed.


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You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were harassed by the Devil, for God was with him.


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We are witnesses of all that he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They hung him on a cross and so killed him.


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not to all the people, but to witnesses previously chosen by God, namely, to us who ate and drank with him after his resurrection from the dead.


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God commanded us to proclaim to the people and to testify that he is the divinely appointed Judge of the living and the dead.


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All of the prophets testify to this, that every one who believes in him obtains forgiveness of sins through his name."


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While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to his message.


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All the believers who were of the circumcision who had come along with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles,


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"Can any one forbid water for the baptism of these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?"


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And he directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain there a few days.


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THE apostles and the brethren throughout Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the message of God.


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"I was in the city of Joppa and was praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. Something like a great sheet was descending, lowered from heaven by the four corners, and it came to where I was.


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I looked at it attentively and saw the fourfooted animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the reptiles and the birds of the air.


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The Spirit directed me to go with them without any questioning. These six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man's house.


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He related to us how he had seen in his house an angel who stood and said, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.


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and I remembered the words of the Lord how he said, <i>'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'</i>


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If then God gave to them the same gift that he gave to us on believing in the Lord Jesus, who was I that I could oppose God?"


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On hearing this they ceased their criticism and gave glory to God, saying, "Then even to the Gentiles God has granted the change of heart that leads to life."


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Those who were scattered abroad by the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message to none but Jews.


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Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, and they on reaching Antioch spoke also to the Greeks, telling them the good news of the Lord Jesus.


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Word came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem regarding these men, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.


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When he arrived and saw the grace of God he was delighted, and he encouraged all to be firmly faithful to the Lord.


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For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. A considerable number were added to the Lord.


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and upon finding him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians."


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One of them named Agabus arose and foretold through the Holy Spirit that a great famine was going to occur over all the inhabited world. <n>It happened in the time of Claudius.</n>


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Then the disciples determined, each according to his means, to send something for the help of the brethren who were living in Judaea.


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Seeing that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.


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He seized him and put him in prison, committing him to four guards of four soldiers each for safe keeping, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.


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So Peter was under guard in the prison. But prayer was continually made by the church to God for him.


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On the very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison.


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Suddenly an angel of the Lord was there. Light shone in the cell. Striking Peter's side he woke him, saying, "Rise up quickly." His chains fell off his hands.


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The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals." Peter did so. The angel said to him, "Throw your cloak around you and follow me."


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Peter came out and followed along, not knowing whether what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was seeing a vision.


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After passing the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. This opened for them of its own accord and they went out and went along one street. Then suddenly the angel left him.


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When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know truly that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me out of the hands of Herod, and from all the expectation of the Jewish people."


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So understanding the situation, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John called Mark, where a number were assembled and were praying.


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and when she recognized Peter's voice, without opening the door, she ran for joy and told them that Peter was standing at the door.


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They said to her, "You are insane." But she was positive that it was so. They said, "It is his angel."


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He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and explained to them how the Lord had delivered him out of the prison, and he said, "Tell this to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to a different place.


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Herod searched for him, but not finding him he closely questioned the guards and ordered them to be led away to execution. Then he went down from Jerusalem to Caesarea and stayed there.


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Herod had a bitter feud with the Tyrians and Sidonians. But they came to him with one mind, and having won over Blastus, the King's chamberlain, they begged for peace, because their country depended for its food supply on the King's country.


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Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and expired.


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Barnabas and Saul after fulfilling their mission returned from Jerusalem, bringing along with them John, surnamed Mark.


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THERE were in Antioch among the members of the church several prophets and teachers \'97 Barnabas, and Symeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen <n>a companion in childhood of Prince Herod</n> and Saul.


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As they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."


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Sent out in this way by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and from there sailed for Cyprus.


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Arriving at Salamis they announced God's message in the synagogues of the Jews. They had John as their assistant.


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After passing through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a Jewish magician and false prophet, named Bar-Jesus,


text:
who was in the company of the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The Proconsul invited in Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God's message.


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But Elymas the magician <n>for that is the translation of his name</n> opposed them, endeavoring to turn the Proconsul away from the faith.


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and said, "You who are full of every kind of fraud, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?


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And now the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind for a time, unable to see the sun." Immediately a dimness and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking for people to lead him by the hand.


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Sailing away from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them there and returned to Jerusalem.


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But they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went into the synagogue and sat down.


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After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue directors sent to them saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak it."


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The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm brought them out.


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and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years.


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Next they asked for a king and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.


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After removing him, God raised up David to be their king, to whom he bore testimony, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will carry out all my purposes.'


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As John was finishing his career he used to say, 'What do you think that I am? I am not he. But one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to unfasten.'


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"Brethren, sons of Abraham's race and those among you who reverence God, the message of this salvation has been sent to you.


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For the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, neither understanding him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled those utterances by condemning him.


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When they had completely done all that had been predicted about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.


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and he appeared for many days to those who had gone up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to all the people.


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for God has fulfilled it for our children in raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, 'Thou art my son; to-day I have become thy father.'


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And as to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he spoke thus; 'I will give you the holy and sure promises made to David.'


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For David after serving the will of God in his own generation fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw decay.


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"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.


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Yes, every one who believes in him is cleared from all the sins from which you could not be cleared by the Law of Moses.


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'See, you disdainful ones, and wonder and perish; for I am working a work in your days \'97 a work which you will not believe even if some one fully explains it to you.' "


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As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people begged that these words might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath.


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After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and of the pious converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked to them and endeavored to persuade them to hold fast to the grace of God.


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But the Jews, seeing the crowds, were filled with anger and kept speaking in abusive language against what was said by Paul.


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Then Paul and Barnabas said with fearless plainness, "The message of God had to be spoken first to you. But since you thrust it away and do not judge yourselves worthy of life eternal \'97 now, we turn to the Gentiles.


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For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have set you for a light of the Gentiles, that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth.'


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When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who were predestined to life eternal believed.


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But the Jews stirred up the pious women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their boundaries.


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IN Iconium Paul and Barnabas went in the same way into the synagogue and spoke so that a large number both of Jews and of Greeks believed.


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Therefore the apostles spent considerable time speaking freely and fearlessly in reliance upon the Lord, who bore witness to his gracious message by permitting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.


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But when there was a rush made by the Gentiles and the Jews, along with their rulers, to hustle them and stone them,


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the apostles learned of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding country,


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In Lystra there was a man sitting who was powerless in his feet. He had been lame from his mother's womb and never had walked.


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He was listening to Paul as he was speaking. Paul fixed his eyes on him, and, seeing that he had faith to be healed,


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When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods have taken human form and come down to us."


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Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, followed by the crowds, and intended to offer sacrifice.


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But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they rent their garments and sprang into the crowd, crying out,


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"Men, why are you doing this? We too are men with the same weaknesses that you have. We are bringing you the good news that you are to turn from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all things that are in them.


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though he did not leave himself without evidence, for he did you good and gave rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness."


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But Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds, and they stoned Paul and dragged him outside of the city, thinking that he was dead.


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But when the disciples gathered around him he rose up and reentered the city. On the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.


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Telling the good news in that city they made a number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch,


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reassuring the minds of the disciples and encouraging them to be steadfast in the faith, saying, "Through many trials we must enter into the kingdom of God."


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They appointed elders for them in every church, and after prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.


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From there they sailed for Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had now completed.


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Upon their arrival they assembled the church and narrated all that God, working with them, had done, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.


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BUT certain men came down from Judaea and undertook to teach the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."


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Since no little dissension and controversy arose between Paul and Barnabas and these men, it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.


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So they were sent on by the church and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, relating the conversion of the Gentiles, which caused great joy to all the brethren.


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On their arrival in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they narrated all that God, working with them, had done.


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Then some of the party of the Pharisees, who had become believers, rose and said, "We must circumcise them and tell them to keep the Law of Moses."


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After there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in early days God chose among you that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of good news and should believe.


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And God, who knows all hearts, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.


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Now, therefore, why are you testing God by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?


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The whole assembly remained silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.


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'After this I will return and build up again the tent of David which has fallen down; yes, I will build up its ruins and erect it again,


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that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles upon whom my name has been bestowed, says the Lord


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but to write to them to abstain from contamination with idols, and from unchastity, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.


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For Moses has had for generations past in every city those who preach him, for he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."


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Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to select men from themselves and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, men esteemed among the brethren.


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They wrote and sent by their hands the following letter: "The Apostles and the Brethren who are elders, to the Brethren from the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Greeting.


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"Inasmuch as we have heard that certain persons from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, \'97 men whom we did not authorize, \'97


text:
it seemed good, after unanimous agreement, to select some men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,


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For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no further burden than these necessary things:


text:
to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from strangled things, and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these you will do well. Farewell."


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So they were sent away and went down to Antioch, where they called together the whole body and delivered over the letter.


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Both Judas and Silas, being themselves prophets, encouraged and confirmed the brethren by long addresses.


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After spending some time they were sent away with a message of peace from the brethren to those who had sent them.


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Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch teaching and telling, in association with many others, the good news of the Lord's message.


text:
After some time Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brethren in every city in which we made known the Lord's message, and see how they are prospering."


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But Paul did not approve of taking him along, since he had left them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them into the work.


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Such a difference of feeling resulted that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed away to Cyprus.


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THEY came to Derbe and Lystra. At Lystra there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman, who was a believer, and of a Greek father.


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Paul wished to have Timothy go with him. So he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts. For they all knew that his father was a Greek.


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Thus they traveled through the cities and delivered to the disciples for observance the rules that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.


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They went through Phrygia and the Galatian country, the Holy Spirit having prevented their speaking the message in Asia.


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There a vision appeared to Paul in the night \'97 a Macedonian man was standing and begging him saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us."


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After Paul had seen the vision, we at once tried to go out to Macedonia, inferring that God had called on us to tell the good news to the people there.


text:
From there we went to Philippi, which is the first city of that part of Macedonia and is a Roman colony. We remained in that city for a number of days.


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On the Sabbath day we went outside of the gate to a place on the riverside where it was customary to go for prayer, and we sat down and talked with the women who had gathered there.


text:
One woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple, from the city of Thyatira, who reverenced God, was listening. God opened her heart to receive what was said by Paul.


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When she had been baptized along with her household, she begged us, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay," and she insisted on our doing so.


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It so happened that as we were going to the place of prayer a certain slave girl who had a spirit of divination met us. She was bringing great gain to her masters by divining.


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She followed Paul and us and kept calling out, "These men are servants of God Most High, and they are teaching you the way of salvation."


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This she kept doing for many days. Paul was annoyed, and turning he said to the spirit, "I tell you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," and it came out at that very moment.


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When her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them into the public square before the authorities.


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The crowd joined in the attack upon them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.


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After laying many stripes upon them they cast them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them securely.


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He on receiving such an order thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet secure in the stocks.


text:
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.


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Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors were opened and every one's fetters were loosed.


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The jailer, waking from sleep and seeing the doors of the prison open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.


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He took them at that hour of the night and washed their stripes. Then he was baptized, he and all of his household, immediately.


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He brought them into his house and spread the table for them, and rejoiced with his whole family because he had believed in God.


text:
The jailer told this order to Paul, "The magistrates have sent to have you set at liberty. Now go out and proceed on your journey in peace."


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But Paul said to them, "After beating us publicly and without a trial, although we are Romans, they cast us into prison. And are they now sending us out secretly? No, let them come themselves and lead us out."


text:
The orderlies reported these words to the magistrates. When they heard that they were Romans they were alarmed,


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They came out of the prison and went into Lydia's house, and after seeing and encouraging the brethren they departed.


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AFTER passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia they came to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews.


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According to Paul's custom he went in to meet with them, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,


text:
explaining and showing that it was necessary that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, "Jesus of whom I am telling you is the Christ."


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Some of them were persuaded and attached themselves to Paul and Silas \'97 a large number of the pious Greeks and not a few of the leading women.


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But the Jews became excited and, taking with them some of the base loafers from the market-place, they made a mob and threw the city into confusion. They attacked the house of Jason and tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.


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Not finding them, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the magistrates, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have now come here.


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Jason has received them. They all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is a different king \'97 Jesus."


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The brethren immediately sent off Paul and Silas in the night to Beraea. They on arrival went into the synagogue of the Jews.


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These people were nobler than those in Thessalonica. They welcomed the message with all readiness and examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.


text:
When the Jews of Thessalonica learned that God's message had been proclaimed by Paul also in Beraea, they came there agitating and disturbing the crowds.


text:
At once then the brethren sent away Paul to go down to the sea coast. Silas and Timothy remained there.


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Those who were conducting Paul took him as far as Athens, and, after receiving a letter to Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.


text:
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him as he looked upon the city full of idols.


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He often debated in the synagogue with the Jews and pious persons, and in the market-place every day with whoever happened to be there.


text:
Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him, and some said, "What can this idle talker mean?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he was telling the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.


text:
They took him and led him up on to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new doctrine that you are speaking of is?


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For you are bringing strange and surprising things to our ears. We wish to know what these things are."


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For all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time in nothing else than in telling or hearing something newer than the last.


text:
Paul took his stand in the midst of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens, I see that you are in every way unusually reverential to the gods.


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For in passing about and contemplating your sacred objects I came upon an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' What you are worshiping in ignorance \'97 that I am making known to you.


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"The God who made the world and all the things that are in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands,


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nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything. For he gives to all life and breath and all things.


text:
And he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having marked out the appointed times and the boundaries of their abodes,


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that they might seek for God, if they could feel after him and find him, though, indeed, he is not far from each one of us.


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For in him we live and move and are; as some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are his offspring.'


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Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that deity is like gold or silver or stone, a thing carved by man's art and thought.


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since he has set a day in which he will soon judge the world in justice by the man whom he has appointed, and of whom he has given evidence to all men by raising him from the dead."


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When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some sneered; others said, "We will hear you again about this."


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But certain men attached themselves to him and believed. Among them was Dionysius the Areopagite, and there was a woman named Damaris and several other persons.


text:
There he found a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus but recently come from Italy with Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul visited these people,


text:
and because he was of the same trade stayed with them and they worked together; for by trade they were tent-makers.


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When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was absorbed by the message, bearing witness to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.


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When they resisted and spoke profane words, he rent his garments and said to them, "Your blood is on your own heads. I am clear, and from now on I am going to the Gentiles."


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So he changed over from there and came into the house of a man named Titus Justus, who reverenced God. His house was next to the synagogue.


text:
Crispus, the synagogue Director, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard believed and were baptized.


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<i>for I am with you and no one shall attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city."</i>


text:
While Gallio was Proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one mind made an attack on Paul and brought him before the court,


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As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it was some crime or wicked knavery, O you Jews, I would have reasonable patience with you.


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But if it is a dispute about doctrine and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I will not be a judge of these things,"


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Then they laid hold of Sosthenes, the synagogue Director, and beat him right in front of the judge's seat. But Gallio cared for none of these things.


text:
Paul remained a number of days more. Then after taking leave of the brethren he sailed away to Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila went with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, for he had a vow.


text:
They came to Ephesus and Paul left his companions there. He himself went into the synagogue and debated with the Jews.


text:
From Ephesus he put to sea and came to Caesarea. Then he went up <i>to Jerusalem</i> and greeted the church, and from there returned to Antioch.


text:
After spending some time there he set out and went through the Galatian country and Phrygia, place by place, strengthening all the disciples.


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He was strong in knowledge of the Scriptures and had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and, being very earnest in spirit, was teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew no baptism but John's.


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This man began to speak fearlessly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately still.


text:
As he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. So he went and greatly helped those who had believed through grace.


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For he powerfully and publicly refuted the Jews, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.


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WHILE Apollos was in Corinth, Paul, after passing through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples.


text:
He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They said to him, "On the contrary, we did not even hear that there was a Holy Spirit."


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Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of a change of heart, telling the people to believe in one who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus."


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and when Paul laid his hands on them the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.


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For three months Paul went into the synagogue and spoke fearlessly, arguing persuasively regarding the kingdom of God.


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When some were hardened and would not believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he departed from them and took away his disciples and discussed daily in the lecture-hall of Tyrannus.


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This went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message of the Lord.


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so that handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his body were carried to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits departed.


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Then some of the wandering Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul proclaims."


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and the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang on them and overpowered both of them, and so belabored them that they fled from that house naked and wounded.


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This became known to all who were living in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and awe fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in high honor.


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A number of those who had practiced magic brought their books and burned them before all. Adding up the prices of them they found the total to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.


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When these things had been accomplished Paul took it in mind to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there I must see Rome also."


text:
He sent on into Macedonia two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself remained awhile in Asia.


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For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, a maker of silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing to the artisans no small gain.


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He gathered these and the workmen employed about such things and said, "Men, you know that from this business we get our wealth,


text:
and you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but also throughout almost all Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a large number, saying that hand-made gods are not gods at all.


text:
Not only is this trade of ours in danger of coming into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis is in danger of being held of no account, and she whom now all Asia and the wide world worship will be deposed from her majesty."


text:
The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed with one mind into the theater, having gotten hold of Gaius and Aristarchus, fellow travelers of Paul's.


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Some of the city officials who were his friends sent to him and begged him not to expose himself in the theater.


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Some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the most did not know why they had come together.


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Some of the crowd fixed on Alexander, since the Jews were putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand and wished to make a defense before the people.


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But when they recognized that he was a Jew, there arose one shout from all for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"


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Then the City Clerk quieted the crowd and said, "Men of Ephesus, who is there of all men who does not know that the city of Ephesus is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis, and of her image which fell down from Zeus?


text:
If Demetrius and the artisans with him have a charge against any one, there are court days and there are proconsuls; let the parties state their cases.


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For we are in danger of being called in question regarding to-day's mob, and we shall not be able to give a reason for this tumult."


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WHEN the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and, after encouraging them, he bade them farewell and left to proceed to Macedonia.


text:
There he spent three months. When a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.


text:
There were in company with him Sopater of Beraea, the son of Pyrrhus, and of the Thessalonians Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and from Asia Tychicus and Trophimus.


text:
After the Days of Unleavened Bread we sailed from Philippi and came to them in Troas in five days. There we spent seven days.


text:
On the first day of the week, when we all were assembled to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, being about to leave in the morning, and he extended his address until midnight.


text:
A certain young man named Eutychus, sitting in a window, was overcome with deep sleep while Paul went on discoursing. At last overpowered by sleep he fell from the third story and was taken up dead.


text:
But Paul went down and threw himself on him and embraced him and said, "Do not make a noisy wailing; for his life is still in him."


text:
We went in advance to the ship and sailed for Assos, intending to take on Paul there, for so he had arranged, intending to come himself by land.


text:
From there we sailed next day and arrived off Chios. The next day we came to Samos, and on the following day to Miletus.


text:
For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus in order not to spend time in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.


text:
When they came to him, he said to them, "You know how I have lived among you the whole time since the first day I set foot in Asia,


text:
serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that befell me through the plots of the Jews \'97


text:
how I did not shrink from telling you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house,


text:
urging upon both Jews and Greeks the need of a change of heart toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus.


text:
But I do not hold my life as of any account if only I may finish my race and the service which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of the grace of God.


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And now I know that you all, among whom I have gone about heralding the kingdom, will never see my face again.


text:
"Be watchful of yourselves and of all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers. Shepherd the church of God which he bought with his own blood.


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And from among yourselves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves.


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Therefore watch, remembering that for three years I never ceased night nor day to exhort each one of you with tears.


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"And now I commit you to the Lord and to his gracious message, which can build you up and give you the heritage among all those who have been made holy.


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In all things I showed you that so laboring we ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he said, <i>'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'</i>


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grieving especially because he had said that they would never see his face again; and they escorted him to the ship.


text:
WHEN we had torn ourselves away from them and had sailed, we made a straight run to Cos, then on the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara.


text:
After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on the left, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to discharge her cargo.


text:
We looked up the disciples and stayed with them seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Holy Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.


text:
But when we had finished the days, we left and continued our journey, and they all with their wives and children escorted us until we got outside of the city. Then, after kneeling down on the beach and praying,


text:
We made the voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brethren and remained one day with them.


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On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and we stayed with him.


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He came to see us, and took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' "


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Paul answered, "What are you accomplishing by weeping and breaking my heart? For I hold myself ready not only to be bound, but to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."


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Some of the disciples from Caesarea went up with us, taking along Mnason, a Cypriote, an old-time disciple, whose guests we were to be.


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After saluting them, he related in detail all that God had done among the Gentiles through his service.


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After hearing him, they gave glory to God and said to Paul, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the Law.


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These have heard reports that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to break away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children and not to observe the customs.


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Take these men and go through purification with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that what they have heard about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself walk in obedience to the Law.


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"But as to the Gentiles that have believed, we have, after consideration, sent our decision that they shall guard themselves against what has been sacrificed to idols, and against blood, and against what has been strangled, and against unchastity."


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Then Paul on the next day took the men, and, after purifying himself, entered the Temple courts, giving notice of the completion of the days of purification \'97 the time until a sacrifice would have been offered for each one of them.


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But when the seven days were nearly completed, the Jews from Asia saw him in the Temple courts, and stirred up all the crowd and laid their hands on Paul,


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shouting, "Men of Israel, help. This is the man who teaches everybody everywhere against our people and the Law and this place, and moreover, he has brought Greeks into the Temple courts and has desecrated this holy place."


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For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul, and they thought that he had brought him into the Temple courts.


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The whole city was excited and the people rushed together. Seizing Paul, they drew him out of the Temple courts, and immediately the gates were closed.


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As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the Tribune of the battalion that all Jerusalem was in commotion.


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He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the people. They, on seeing the Tribune and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul.


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Then the Tribune coming up arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.


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Some called out one thing and some another in the crowd. Not being able to find out anything for certain on account of the confusion, he ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks.


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When Paul got upon the stairs, it so happened that he was being carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the mob.


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As he was about to enter the barracks Paul said to the Tribune, "May I say something to you?" He replied, "Can you speak Greek?


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Are you then not the Egyptian who some time ago raised a sedition and led off four thousand assassins into the desert?"


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Paul said, "I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you to let me talk to the people."


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He gave him leave, and Paul standing on the stairs motioned with his hand to the people. There was a great silence, and, speaking loudly in Hebrew, Paul said:


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"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel in exact knowledge of our ancestral Law, and I was zealous for God as you all are to-day.


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as the High Priest and all the eldership can testify for me. From them I received letters to the brethren and was journeying to Damascus in order to bring back in chains to Jerusalem for punishment those who had gone there.


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It happened that as I was journeying and nearing Damascus, about noon, suddenly a great light flashed from heaven around me.


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I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, <i>'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'</i>


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I asked, 'Who is speaking?' He said to me, <i>'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'</i>


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I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, <i>'Rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all that it has been appointed for you to do.'</i>


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Since I could not see, owing to the brightness of that light, my companions led me by the hand, and so I entered Damascus.


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"Then a man named Ananias, a strict observer of the Law and highly esteemed by all the Jews who lived there,


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came to see me and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight,' and I, at that moment, could see him.


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He said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear the voice from his mouth,


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and saw Jesus saying to me, <i>'Hasten and depart quickly from Jerusalem, for they will not receive your testimony concerning me.'</i>


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But I said, 'Lord, they know that I used to imprison and beat from synagogue to synagogue those who believe in thee,


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and when the blood of Stephen thy martyr was shed I myself was standing by and approving it, and taking care of the cloaks of those who were putting him to death.'


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They listened up to this point, but now they broke out, shouting, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought never to have lived!"


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the Tribune ordered him to be led into the barracks and directed that he should be examined with the lash, so that he might know for what crime they were shouting so against him.


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When they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said to the Centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and without a trial?"


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On hearing that, the Centurion went to the Tribune and told him," What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman."


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The Tribune said, "I obtained this citizenship by paying a great sum of money." Paul said, "But I was born to it."


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At once those who were about to examine him went away from him, and the Tribune was alarmed when he learned that he was a Roman, because he had chained him.


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On the next day, wishing to know certainly why he was accused by the Jews, the Tribune loosed Paul and ordered the high priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and stood him before them.


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PAUL fixed his eyes on the Council and said, "Brethren, I have conducted myself with all good conscience toward God up to this day."


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Then Paul said to him, "God will soon strike you, you whitewashed wall. Are you sitting to judge me by the Law and yet violating the Law by ordering me to be struck?"


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Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was High Priest. It is written, 'Thou shalt not speak evil of the Ruler of thy people.' "


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Then Paul, perceiving that one party was of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, shouted out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being tried for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."


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On his saying this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly became divided.


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For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection nor any angel or spirit, but the Pharisees confess both.


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So a great uproar arose, and some of the scribes of the party of the Pharisees arose and contended, saying, "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?"


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When the strife was becoming violent, the Tribune, fearing that Paul might be torn to pieces by them, ordered the soldiers to go down and take him from the midst of them and bring him into the barracks.


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On the following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, <i>"Courage! As you have witnessed for me in Jerusalem, so you must witness in Rome."</i>


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When it was day, the Jews made a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.


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They came to the high priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves by an oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.


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Now therefore you and the Council must ask the Tribune to bring him down to you, as if you were going to inquire more exactly about him, and we, before he comes near, will be ready to put him out of the way."


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But the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul.


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Paul called to him one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the Tribune, for he has something to tell him."


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He took him and led him to the Tribune and said, "Paul, the prisoner, called me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you."


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The Tribune took him by the hand and led him aside and asked, "What is it that you have to tell me?"


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He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to-morrow to the Council to inquire something more exactly about him.


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But do not yield to them, for more than forty men of them are lying in ambush, and they have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him, and now they are ready, expecting a promise from you."


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The Tribune dismissed the young man after charging him; "Tell no one that you have revealed this to me."


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Then calling to him two of the centurions he said, "Prepare two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, at nine o'clock to-night."


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This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came up with soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.


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I found him accused regarding disputed questions of their law, but of nothing deserving of death or of bonds.


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Information has come to me that there will be a plot against the man, and so I am sending him at once to you, and I have commanded his accusers to state their case against him before you."


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The horsemen came on to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the Governor, and also placed Paul before him.


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Then he said, "I will hear what you have to say when your accusers also arrive." He gave orders that Paul should be guarded in Herod's castle.


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AFTER five days the High Priest Ananias came down with certain elders and an advocate named Tertullus, and they spoke against Paul to the Governor.


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When Paul had been called in, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, "Because we enjoy great peace through your administration and reforms are taking place for this nation through your prudence,


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We have found this man a pest and an inciter of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a leader of the sect of the Nazarenes.


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You yourself can examine him and learn from him as to all these things of which we are accusing him."


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Paul answered, when the Governor nodded to him to speak, "Because I know that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I feel courage in defending myself.


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Neither did they find me discussing with any one in the Temple courts nor making any tumultuous gatherings in the synagogues nor anywhere in the city,


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"This I do confess to you, that in the Way which they call a heresy I worship the God of our fathers, believing all things that are according to the Law and what is written in the Prophets


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and having the hope in God which they themselves also accept \'97 that there will be a resurrection both of the just and of the unjust.


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They found me in the Temple thus occupied and purified, with no crowd or noise \'97 but there were some Jews from Asia,


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who ought to have been here before you to present their accusations if they had anything against me,


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unless it was in the single assertion that I shouted as I stood among them, 'It is regarding the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial to-day before you!' "


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Felix adjourned the case, since he was well informed regarding the Way, saying, "When Lysias the Tribune comes down, I will inquire into your matters."


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He gave orders to the Centurion to guard him, but to let him have indulgence, and not to hinder any of his friends from attending to his wants.


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After some days Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him regarding faith in Christ Jesus.


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While Paul was reasoning about righteousness and self-discipline and the judgment that is to come, Felix became alarmed and said," Go for the present. When I find a convenient time I will send for you."


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At the same time he was in hopes that money would be given him by Paul and therefore he used to send for him more frequently and converse with him.


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But at the end of two years Felix received Porcius Festus as a successor, and, wishing to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in chains.


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and begged as a favor that he would send for him to Jerusalem, intending to have an ambush and kill him on the road.


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But Festus answered that Paul was being kept in Caesarea and that he himself was going back very soon.


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"Let those of you who can," he said, "go down with me, and, if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring their charges against him."


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After spending not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea and on the next day took his seat on the judge's bench and ordered Paul to be brought in.


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When he had come in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges, which they were unable to prove,


