# verses

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 "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.


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 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.


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 "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.


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 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.


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 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.


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 "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.


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 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.


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 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.


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 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.


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 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.


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 "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.


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 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?


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 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?


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 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.


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 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?


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 So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?'


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 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.


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 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.


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 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.


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 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?


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 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye?


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 You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.


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 "Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.


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 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.


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 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.


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 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.


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 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter hrough it are many.


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 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.


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 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.


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 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'


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 "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.


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 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.


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 And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.


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 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."


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 He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately.


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 Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."


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 The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.


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 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."


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 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.


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 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,


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 but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."


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 And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour (his) servant was healed.


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 When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,


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 to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: "He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases."


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 Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."


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 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep.


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 He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.


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 When he came to the other side, to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.


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 They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"


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 And he said to them, "Go then!" They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned.


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 The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.


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 Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.


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 And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."


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 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."


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 When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.


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 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.


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 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.


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 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"


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 Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."


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 Then the disciples of John approached him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?"


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 Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.


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 No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.


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 People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."


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 While he was saying these things to them, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."


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 A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak.


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 Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured.


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 When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,


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 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (him), crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!"


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 When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him.


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 and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."


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 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.


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 At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.


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 Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.


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


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


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 Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.


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 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.


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 no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep.


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 Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave.


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 Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words-- go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.


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 Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.


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 "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.


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 and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.


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 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.


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 Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.


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 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.


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 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!


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 "Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.


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 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.


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 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.


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 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.


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 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.


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 For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;


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 "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;


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 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward.


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 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple-- amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."


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 When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.


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 the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.


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 As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?


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 Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.


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 This is the one about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'


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 Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.


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 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.


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 "To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,


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 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works."


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 Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented.


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 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.


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 And as for you, Capernaum: 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.


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 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."


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 At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.


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 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.


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 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.


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 At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.


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 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."


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 how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat?


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 Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent?


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 If you knew what this meant, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned these innocent men.


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 And behold, there was a man there who had a withered hand. They questioned him, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?" so that they might accuse him.


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 He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out?


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


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 When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many (people) followed him, and he cured them all,


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 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.


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 A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory.


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 Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see.


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 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons."


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 But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand.


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 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.


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 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.


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 How can anyone enter a strong man's house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.


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 Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.


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 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.


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 "Either declare the tree good and its fruit is good, or declare the tree rotten and its fruit is rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit.


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 You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.


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 A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil.


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 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak.


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 He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.


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 Just 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.


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 At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here.


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 At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.


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 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a person it roams through arid regions searching for rest but finds none.


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 Then it says, 'I will return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order.


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 Then it goes and brings back with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the first. Thus it will be with this evil generation."


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 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.


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 (Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.")


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 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.


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 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,


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 He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.


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 To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.


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 This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.'


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 Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: 'You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see.


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 Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.'


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 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.


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 The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart.


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 But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.


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 The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.


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 But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."


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 He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.


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 The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'


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 He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'


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 Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"


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 He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field.


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 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"


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 He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."


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 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation (of the world)."


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 Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."


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 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,


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 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.


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 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.


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 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.


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 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.


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 When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.


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 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous


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 And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old."


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 He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?


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


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 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house."


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 and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him."


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 Now Herod had arrested John, bound (him), and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,


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 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod


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 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given,


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 When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.


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 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.


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 When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."


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 and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.


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 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over-- twelve wicker baskets full.


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 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.


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 After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.


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 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.


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 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.


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 But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"


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 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"


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 When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick


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 and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.


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 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash (their) hands when they eat a meal."


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 He said to them in reply, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?


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 For God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother shall die.'


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 But you say, 'Whoever says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,"


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 It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one."


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 Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"


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 Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."


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 Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine?


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 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy.


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 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."


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 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."


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 She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."


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 Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.


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 Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.


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 Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.


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 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.


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 Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."


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 The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?"


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 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.


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 and, in the morning, 'Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.)


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 An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.


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 When Jesus became aware of this he said, "You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread?


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 Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up?


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 How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."


text:
 Then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


text:
 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"


text:
 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."


text:
 Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.


text:
 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.


text:
 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."


text:
 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.


text:
 Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."


text:
 He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."


text:
 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.


text:
 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.


text:
 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?


text:
 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."


text:
 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.


text:
 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.


text:
 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."


text:
 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."


text:
 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."


text:
 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."


text:
 and said, "Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water.


text:
 Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me."


text:
 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."


text:
 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,


text:
 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief.


text:
 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"


text:
 "Yes," he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?"


text:
 But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."


text:
 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"


text:
 and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.


text:
 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.


text:
 Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!


text:
 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire.


text:
 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.


text:
 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.


text:
 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?


text:
 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.


text:
 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.


text:
 "If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.


text:
 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'


text:
 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.


text:
 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.


text:
 Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"


text:
 That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.


text:
 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.


text:
 At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'


text:
 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'


text:
 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'


text:
 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.


text:
 His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.


text:
 When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.


text:
 Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"


text:
 He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female'


text:
 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?


text:
 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."


text:
 They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?"


text:
 He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.


text:
 I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."


text:
 (His) disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."


text:
 Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."


text:
 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them,


text:
 but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."


text:
 He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."


text:
 He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;


text:
 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."


text:
 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.


text:
 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."


text:
 Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."


text:
 Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?"


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


text:
 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.


text:
 Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'


text:
 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'


text:
 So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.


text:
 saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'


text:
 He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?


text:
 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve (disciples) aside by themselves, and said to them on the way,


text:
 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death,


text:
 and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."


text:
 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.


text:
 He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."


text:
 Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can."


text:
 He replied, "My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left (, this) is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."


text:
 But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.


text:
 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;


text:
 Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


text:
 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "(Lord,) Son of David, have pity on us!"


text:
 The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!"


text:
 Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.


text:
 When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,


text:
 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me.


text:
 And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 'The master has need of them.' Then he will send them at once."


text:
 "Say to daughter Zion, 'Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"


text:
 The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road.


text:
 The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest."


text:
 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.


text:
 And he said to them, "It is written: 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of thieves."


text:
 When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant


text:
 and said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes; and have you never read the text, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise'?"


text:
 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again." And immediately the fig tree withered.


text:
 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and said, "How was it that the fig tree withered immediately?"


text:
 Jesus said to them in reply, "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done.


text:
 When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?"


text:
 Jesus said to them in reply, "I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.


text:
 Where was John's baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?" They discussed this among themselves and said, "If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'


text:
 So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." He himself said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.


text:
 "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'


text:
 The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.


text:
 Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.


text:
 When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.


text:
 "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.


text:
 But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned.


text:
 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way.


text:
 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'


text:
 They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?


text:
 Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.


text:
 ( The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.)"


text:
 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them.


text:
 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.


text:
 A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."'


text:
 Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.


text:
 The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests.


text:
 He said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence.


text:
 Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'


text:
 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status.


text:
 They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."


text:
 On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection. They put this question to him,


text:
 saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'


text:
 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother.


text:
 Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her."


text:
 Jesus said to them in reply, "You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God.


text:
 At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.


text:
 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."


text:
 He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.


text:
 No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.


text:
 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.


text:
 They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.


text:
 All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.


text:
 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.'


text:
 And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.'


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.


text:
 Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.


text:
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous,


text:
 and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'


text:
 Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;


text:
 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,


text:
 so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.


text:
 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!


text:
 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"


text:
 Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings.


text:
 He said to them in reply, "You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."


text:
 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?"


text:
 You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.


text:
 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.


text:
 Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.


text:
 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.


text:
 "When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),


text:
 for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.


text:
 And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.


text:
 False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.


text:
 So if they say to you, 'He is in the desert,' do not go out there; if they say, 'He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.


text:
 For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.


text:
 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.


text:
 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.


text:
 And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.


text:
 "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.


text:
 "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.


text:
 In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.


text:
 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.


text:
 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.


text:
 "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?


text:
 and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.


text:
 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.


text:
 But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'


text:
 While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.


text:
 "It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.


text:
 To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one-- to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately


text:
 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.'


text:
 His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'


text:
 (Then) the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.'


text:
 Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter;


text:
 His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter?


text:
 Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?


text:
 For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.


text:
 And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'


text:
 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,


text:
 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.


text:
 Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.


text:
 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,


text:
 Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?


text:
 And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'


text:
 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.


text:
 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'


text:
 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?'


text:
 He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'


text:
 "You know that in two days' time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."


text:
 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,


text:
 a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table.


text:
 Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, "Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her."


text:
 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver,


text:
 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"


text:
 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."'"


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 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born."


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 Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."


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 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body."


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 for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.


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 I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father."


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 Then Jesus said to them, "This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed';


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 Jesus said to him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times."


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 Peter said to him, "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you." And all the disciples spoke likewise.


text:
 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."


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 He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will."


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 When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?


text:
 Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!"


text:
 Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.


text:
 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people.


text:
 Jesus answered him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.


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 And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear.


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 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.


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 Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?


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 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me.


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 But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled.


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 Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.


text:
 Peter was following him at a distance as far as the high priest's courtyard, and going inside he sat down with the servants to see the outcome.


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 The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death,


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 The high priest rose and addressed him, "Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?"


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 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God."


text:
 Jesus said to him in reply, "You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see 'the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power' and 'coming on the clouds of heaven.'"


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 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy;


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 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean."


text:
 As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazorean."


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 A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away."


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 Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the cock crows you will deny me three times." He went out and began to weep bitterly.


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 When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.


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 Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,


text:
 saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? Look to it yourself."


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 The chief priests gathered up the money, but said, "It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood."


text:
 Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites,


text:
 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so."


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 Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished.


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 So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, "Which one do you want me to release to you, (Jesus) Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?"


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 While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him."


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 The governor said to them in reply, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They answered, "Barabbas!"


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 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"


text:
 When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look to it yourselves."


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 Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.


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 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him.


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 Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"


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 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.


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 As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.


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 and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, (and) come down from the cross!"


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 "He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.


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 And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"


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 Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink.


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 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split,


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 And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.


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 The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"


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 There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.


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


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 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus.


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 and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.


text:
 The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate


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 and said, "Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, 'After three days I will be raised up.'


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 Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.' This last imposture would be worse than the first."


text:
 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.


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 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.


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 Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.


text:
 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you."


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 Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.


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 And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.


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 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."


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 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened.


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 They assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,


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 The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present (day).


text:
 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,


text:
 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."


text:
 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.


text:
 John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.


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 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.


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 John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey.


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 And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.


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 It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.


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 On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.


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 and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.


text:
 "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."


text:
 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.


text:
 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.


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 Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.


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


text:
 he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-- the Holy One of God!"


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 All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."


text:
 He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.


text:
 He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.


text:
 He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."


text:
 So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.


text:
 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean."


text:
 Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."


text:
 The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.


text:
 Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.


text:
 Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.


text:
 Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?


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 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk'?


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 He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."


text:
 As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.


text:
 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.


text:
 Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"


text:
 Jesus heard this and said to them (that), "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."


text:
 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"


text:
 Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.


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 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.


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 No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.


text:
 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."


text:
 As he was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.


text:
 He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?


text:
 How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?"


text:
 Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent.


text:
 Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored.


text:
 The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.


text:
 Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people (followed) from Galilee and from Judea.


text:
 Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.


text:
 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him.


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 And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, "You are the Son of God."


text:
 He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach


text:
 James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder;


text:
 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,


text:
 When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."


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 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."


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 But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.


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 But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."


text:
 A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers (and your sisters) are outside asking for you."


text:
 On another occasion he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.


text:
 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.


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 And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."


text:
 He answered them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables,


text:
 so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'"


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?


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 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.


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 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.


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 But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.


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 but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.


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 But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."


text:
 He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?


text:
 He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.


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 To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."


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 He said,"This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land


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 Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.


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 It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.


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 But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."


text:
 Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.


text:
 Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him.


text:
 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"


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 He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm.


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 They were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"


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 The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.


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 In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.


text:
 Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.


text:
 crying out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"


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 And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.


text:
 The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened.


text:
 As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear.


text:
 Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine.


text:
 But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."


text:
 Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.


text:
 When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.


text:
 and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."


text:
 She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.


text:
 Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.


text:
 Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"


text:
 But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"


text:
 The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.


text:
 While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"


text:
 Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."


text:
 He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.


text:
 When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.


text:
 So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."


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 And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.


text:
 He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"


text:
 The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded.


text:
 He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.


text:
 When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!


text:
 Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house."


text:
 So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.


text:
 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.


text:
 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick-- no food, no sack, no money in their belts.


text:
 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."


text:
 King Herod heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him."


text:
 Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.


text:
 Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.


text:
 She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.


text:
 Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."


text:
 He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."


text:
 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."


text:
 The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."


text:
 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.


text:
 So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.


text:
 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.


text:
 He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.


text:
 People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.


text:
 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.


text:
 By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late.


text:
 Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat."


text:
 He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?"


text:
 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out they said, "Five loaves and two fish."


text:
 Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to (his) disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.


text:
 Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.


text:
 Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.


text:
 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"


text:
 They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.


text:
 Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.


text:
 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders.


text:
 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles (and beds).)


text:
 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"


text:
 He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;


text:
 He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!


text:
 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother shall die.'


text:
 Yet you say, 'If a person says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God),


text:
 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."


text:
 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."


text:
 He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,


text:
 since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)


text:
 From that place he went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice.


text:
 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.


text:
 He said to her, "Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."


text:
 Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.


text:
 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.


text:
 He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue;


text:
 And (immediately) the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.


text:
 He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.


text:
 They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak."


text:
 In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, he summoned the disciples and said,


text:
 "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.


text:
 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance."


text:
 His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?"


text:
 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.


text:
 The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.


text:
 He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."


text:
 When he became aware of this he said to them, "Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?


text:
 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?" They answered him, "Twelve."


text:
 "When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?" They answered (him), "Seven."


text:
 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, "Do you see anything?"


text:
 Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.


text:
 Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"


text:
 And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Messiah."


text:
 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.


text:
 At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."


text:
 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.


text:
 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.


text:
 Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."


text:
 He also said to them, "Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come in power."


text:
 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,


text:
 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."


text:
 Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."


text:
 As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.


text:
 He told them, "Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?


text:
 But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."


text:
 Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.


text:
 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so."


text:
 He said to them in reply, "O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me."


text:
 They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth.


text:
 Then he questioned his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" He replied, "Since childhood.


text:
 It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."


text:
 Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, "Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!"


text:
 Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, "He is dead!"


text:
 They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.


text:
 He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise."


text:
 They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"


text:
 But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.


text:
 Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."


text:
 "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me."


text:
 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."


text:
 Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.


text:
 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.


text:
 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.


text:
 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.


text:
 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.


text:
 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,


text:
 Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."


text:
 He set out from there and went into the district of Judea (and) across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them.


text:
 The Pharisees approached and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him.


text:
 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


text:
 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"


text:
 You know the commandments: 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.'"


text:
 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."


text:
 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"


text:
 The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!


text:
 It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."


text:
 Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."


text:
 Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel


text:
 who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.


text:
 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him.


text:
 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles


text:
 who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise."


text:
 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."


text:
 They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"


text:
 They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;


text:
 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared."


text:
 Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.


text:
 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;


text:
 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


text:
 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.


text:
 On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."


text:
 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."


text:
 Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you."


text:
 Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."


text:
 Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.


text:
 When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples


text:
 and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.


text:
 If anyone should say to you, 'Why are you doing this?' reply, 'The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'"


text:
 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.


text:
 Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!


text:
 He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve.


text:
 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs.


text:
 They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.


text:
 Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written: 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples'? But you have made it a den of thieves."


text:
 The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.


text:
 Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.


text:
 When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions."


text:
 They returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him


text:
 and said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?"


text:
 Jesus said to them, "I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.


text:
 They discussed this among themselves and said, "If we say, 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say, '(Then) why did you not believe him?'


text:
 But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"-- they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet.


text:
 So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." Then Jesus said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."


text:
 He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.


text:
 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.


text:
 He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'


text:
 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'


text:
 What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others.


text:
 Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;


text:
 They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.


text:
 They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"


text:
 They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's."


text:
 So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him.


text:
 saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'


text:
 At the resurrection (when they arise) whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?


text:
 When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.


text:
 As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, 'I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac, and (the) God of Jacob'?


text:
 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"


text:
 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'


text:
 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."


text:
 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'


text:
 And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."


text:
 And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.


text:
 As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, "How do the scribes claim that the Messiah is the son of David?


text:
 David himself, inspired by the holy Spirit, said: 'The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet."'


text:
 In the course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces,


text:
 They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."


text:
 He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.


text:
 Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.


text:
 For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."


text:
 As he was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, "Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!"


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down."


text:
 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,


text:
 "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?"


text:
 When you hear of wars and reports of wars do not be alarmed; such things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.


text:
 Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes from place to place and there will be famines. These are the beginnings of the labor pains.


text:
 "Watch out for yourselves. They will hand you over to the courts. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will be arraigned before governors and kings because of me, as a witness before them.


text:
 When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit.


text:
 "When you see the desolating abomination standing where he should not (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains,


text:
 For those times will have tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of God's creation until now, nor ever will be.


text:
 If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he did shorten the days.


text:
 False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead, if that were possible, the elect.


text:
 "But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,


text:
 and then he will send out the angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.


text:
 "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.


text:
 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.


text:
 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.


text:
 The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were to take place in two days' time. So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death.


text:
 When he was in Bethany reclining at table in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, costly genuine spikenard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.


text:
 It could have been sold for more than three hundred days' wages and the money given to the poor." They were infuriated with her.


text:
 The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."


text:
 When they heard him they were pleased and promised to pay him money. Then he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.


text:
 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"


text:
 He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him.


text:
 Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'


text:
 The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.


text:
 And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me."


text:
 For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born."


text:
 While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."


text:
 Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be dispersed.'


text:
 Then Jesus said to him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times."


text:
 But he vehemently replied, "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you." And they all spoke similarly.


text:
 He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him;


text:
 he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will."


text:
 When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?


text:
 Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open and did not know what to answer him.


text:
 He returned a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.


text:
 Then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.


text:
 His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, "The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely."


text:
 Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to seize me?


text:
 Day after day I was with you teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me; but that the scriptures may be fulfilled."


text:
 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.


text:
 Peter followed him at a distance into the high priest's courtyard and was seated with the guards, warming himself at the fire.


text:
 The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none.


text:
 "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with hands.'"


text:
 The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, "Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?"


text:
 But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, "Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?"


text:
 Then Jesus answered, "I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.'"


text:
 Some began to spit on him. They blindfolded him and struck him and said to him, "Prophesy!" And the guards greeted him with blows.


text:
 Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, "You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus."


text:
 But he denied it saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." So he went out into the outer court. (Then the cock crowed.)


text:
 Once again he denied it. A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more, "Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean."


text:
 And immediately a cock crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times." He broke down and wept.


text:
 As soon as morning came, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.


text:
 A man called Barabbas was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.


text:
 Pilate again said to them in reply, "Then what (do you want) me to do with (the man you call) the king of the Jews?"


text:
 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.


text:
 The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.


text:
 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.


text:
 They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.


text:
 Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take.


text:
 Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,


text:
 Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.


text:
 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.


text:
 And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"


text:
 One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."


text:
 When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"


text:
 There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome.


text:
 These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.


text:
 Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.


text:
 Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died.


text:
 Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.


text:
 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.


text:
 They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"


text:
 On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed.


text:
 He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.


text:
 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'"


text:
 Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.


text:
 ( When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.


text:
 (But) later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.


text:
 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.


text:
 They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."


text:
 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.


text:
 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.)


text:
 just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,


text:
 I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,


text:
 In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.


text:
 Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.


text:
 according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.


text:
 Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering,


text:
 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.


text:
 for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,


text:
 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."


text:
 Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."


text:
 And the angel said to him in reply, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.


text:
 But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time."


text:
 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.


text:
 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.


text:
 "So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others."


text:
 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.


text:
 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,


text:
 And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.


text:
 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;


text:
 Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.


text:
 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,


text:
 cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.


text:
 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.


text:
 For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.


text:
 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.


text:
 When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,


text:
 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.


text:
 All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.


text:
 And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,


text:
 to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."


text:
 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.


text:
 And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,


text:
 and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


text:
 Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.


text:
 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.


text:
 The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.


text:
 And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."


text:
 When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."


text:
 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.


text:
 When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.


text:
 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,


text:
 just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,"


text:
 and to offer the sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.


text:
 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him.


text:
 It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.


text:
 He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,


text:
 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted


text:
 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,


text:
 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.


text:
 And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.


text:
 When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.


text:
 After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.


text:
 Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,


text:
 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions,


text:
 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."


text:
 And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"


text:
 He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.


text:
 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,


text:
 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.


text:
 He went throughout (the) whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,


text:
 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.


text:
 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth,


text:
 He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


text:
 Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.


text:
 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."


text:
 He said to them in reply, "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise."


text:
 Soldiers also asked him, "And what is it that we should do?" He told them, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages."


text:
 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.


text:
 John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.


text:
 His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."


text:
 Now Herod the tetrarch, who had been censured by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil deeds Herod had committed,


text:
 After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened


text:
 and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."


text:
 When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son, as was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,


text:
 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,


text:
 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,


text:
 Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert


text:
 for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.


text:
 The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.


text:
 Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.'"


text:
 Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,


text:
 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.


text:
 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read


text:
 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:


text:
 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,


text:
 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.


text:
 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"


text:
 He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"


text:
 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.


text:
 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.


text:
 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."


text:
 They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.


text:
 In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice,


text:
 "Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-- the Holy One of God!"


text:
 Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm.


text:
 They were all amazed and said to one another, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."


text:
 After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her.


text:
 At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.


text:
 And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah.


text:
 At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them.


text:
 But he said to them, "To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent."


text:
 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.


text:
 He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.


text:
 Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.


text:
 After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."


text:
 Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."


text:
 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.


text:
 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."


text:
 and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."


text:
 Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."


text:
 Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.


text:
 Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."


text:
 The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,


text:
 One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.


text:
 And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set (him) in his presence.


text:
 But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus.


text:
 Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?"


text:
 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins''-- he said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."


text:
 He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.


text:
 Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, "We have seen incredible things today."


text:
 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me."


text:
 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.


text:
 The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"


text:
 And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink."


text:
 But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days."


text:
 And he also told them a parable. "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.


text:
 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.


text:
 While he was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.


text:
 Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry?


text:
 (How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions."


text:
 On another sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.


text:
 The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.


text:
 But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there.


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?"


text:
 Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored.


text:
 When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles:


text:
 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon


text:
 came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.


text:
 And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.


text:
 Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.


text:
 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.


text:
 Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.


text:
 But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.


text:
 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.


text:
 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.


text:
 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.


text:
 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.


text:
 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.


text:
 "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.


text:
 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."


text:
 And he told them a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?


text:
 No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.


text:
 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?


text:
 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.


text:
 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.


text:
 A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.


text:
 That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.


text:
 But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."


text:
 When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.


text:
 They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him,


text:
 And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.


text:
 Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.


text:
 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."


text:
 Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.


text:
 As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.


text:
 He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"


text:
 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people."


text:
 When the men came to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?'"


text:
 At that time he cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind.


text:
 And he said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.


text:
 When the messengers of John had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What did you go out to the desert to see-- a reed swayed by the wind?


text:
 Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces.


text:
 This is the one about whom scripture says: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.'


text:
 I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."


text:
 (All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God;


text:
 but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)


text:
 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'


text:
 For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'


text:
 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'


text:
 A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.


text:
 Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,


text:
 she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.


text:
 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner."


text:
 "Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.


text:
 Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?"


text:
 Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly."


text:
 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.


text:
 So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."


text:
 Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve


text:
 and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,


text:
 Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.


text:
 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable.


text:
 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up.


text:
 And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."


text:
 He answered, "Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that 'they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.'


text:
 Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved.


text:
 Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial.


text:
 As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit.


text:
 But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.


text:
 "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.


text:
 For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.


text:
 Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away."


text:
 He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."


text:
 One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." So they set sail,


text:
 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A squall blew over the lake, and they were taking in water and were in danger.


text:
 They came and woke him saying, "Master, master, we are perishing!" He awakened, rebuked the wind and the waves, and they subsided and there was a calm.


text:
 Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?" But they were filled with awe and amazed and said to one another, "Who then is this, who commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?"


text:
 When he came ashore a man from the town who was possessed by demons met him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; he did not live in a house, but lived among the tombs.


text:
 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him; in a loud voice he shouted, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!"


text:
 For he had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (It had taken hold of him many times, and he used to be bound with chains and shackles as a restraint, but he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into deserted places.)


text:
 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.


text:
 A herd of many swine was feeding there on the hillside, and they pleaded with him to allow them to enter those swine; and he let them.


text:
 The demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.


text:
 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside.


text:
 People came out to see what had happened and, when they approached Jesus, they discovered the man from whom the demons had come out sitting at his feet. He was clothed and in his right mind, and they were seized with fear.


text:
 The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. So he got into a boat and returned.


text:
 "Return home and recount what God has done for you." The man went off and proclaimed throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him.


text:
 And a man named Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came forward. He fell at the feet of Jesus and begged him to come to his house,


text:
 because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As he went, the crowds almost crushed him.


text:
 And a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years, who (had spent her whole livelihood on doctors and) was unable to be cured by anyone,


text:
 Jesus then asked, "Who touched me?" While all were denying it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are pushing and pressing in upon you."


text:
 When the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came forward trembling. Falling down before him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately.


text:
 While he was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer."


text:
 When he arrived at the house he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and John and James, and the child's father and mother.


text:
 All were weeping and mourning for her, when he said, "Do not weep any longer, for she is not dead, but sleeping."


text:
 Her breath returned and she immediately arose. He then directed that she should be given something to eat.


text:
 He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.


text:
 And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."


text:
 Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.


text:
 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, "John has been raised from the dead";


text:
 But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.


text:
 When the apostles returned, they explained to him what they had done. He took them and withdrew in private to a town called Bethsaida.


text:
 The crowds, meanwhile, learned of this and followed him. He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.


text:
 As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."


text:
 He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people."


text:
 Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of (about) fifty."


text:
 Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.


text:
 They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.


text:
 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"


text:
 They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"


text:
 He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."


text:
 Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.


text:
 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.


text:
 Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


text:
 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."


text:
 About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.


text:
 Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.


text:
 As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying.


text:
 While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.


text:
 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.


text:
 There was a man in the crowd who cried out, "Teacher, I beg you, look at my son; he is my only child.


text:
 For a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams and it convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it releases him only with difficulty, wearing him out.


text:
 Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and endure you? Bring your son here."


text:
 As he was coming forward, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and returned him to his father.


text:
 And all were astonished by the majesty of God. While they were all amazed at his every deed, he said to his disciples,


text:
 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.


text:
 and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest."


text:
 Then John said in reply, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company."


text:
 When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,


text:
 and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there,


text:
 When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"


text:
 (To him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."


text:
 After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.


text:
 He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.


text:
 Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.


text:
 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.


text:
 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.


text:
 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."


text:
 The seventy (-two) returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."


text:
 Behold, I have given you the power 'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.


text:
 Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."


text:
 At that very moment he rejoiced (in) the holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.


text:
 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."


text:
 For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."


text:
 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"


text:
 He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."


text:
 Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.


text:
 A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.


text:
 He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him.


text:
 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'


text:
 As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.


text:
 Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."


text:
 There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."


text:
 He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."


text:
 and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."


text:
 And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,


text:
 and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.'


text:
 I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.


text:
 "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.


text:
 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"


text:
 He was driving out a demon (that was) mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed.


text:
 But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.


text:
 And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.


text:
 If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.


text:
 But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.


text:
 But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.


text:
 "When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.'


text:
 Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."


text:
 While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed."


text:
 While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.


text:
 At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.


text:
 At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.


text:
 "No one who lights a lamp hides it away or places it (under a bushel basket), but on a lampstand so that those who enter might see the light.


text:
 The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is sound, then your whole body is filled with light, but when it is bad, then your body is in darkness.


text:
 If your whole body is full of light, and no part of it is in darkness, then it will be as full of light as a lamp illuminating you with its brightness."


text:
 After he had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat.


text:
 The Lord said to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.


text:
 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.


text:
 Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, "Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."


text:
 And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.


text:
 Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.


text:
 Therefore, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute'


text:
 in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,


text:
 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!


text:
 Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."


text:
 When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things,


text:
 Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. He began to speak, first to his disciples, "Beware of the leaven-- that is, the hypocrisy-- of the Pharisees.


text:
 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.


text:
 I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.


text:
 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.


text:
 I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.


text:
 "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven.


text:
 When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.


text:
 Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."


text:
 And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods


text:
 and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"


text:
 But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'


text:
 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."


text:
 He said to (his) disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear.


text:
 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!


text:
 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.


text:
 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?


text:
 Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.


text:
 and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.


text:
 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.


text:
 And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.


text:
 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.


text:
 And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?


text:
 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,


text:
 then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.


text:
 That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;


text:
 and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.


text:
 There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!


text:
 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.


text:
 a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."


text:
 He also said to the crowds, "When you see (a) cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain-- and so it does;


text:
 and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot-- and so it is.


text:
 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?


text:
 If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.


text:
 At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.


text:
 He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?


text:
 Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them-- do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?


text:
 And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,


text:
 he said to the gardener, 'For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?'


text:
 He said to him in reply, 'Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;


text:
 And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.


text:
 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, "There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."


text:
 The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering?


text:
 This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?"


text:
 When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.


text:
 It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'"


text:
 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed (in) with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened."


text:
 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.


text:
 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.'


text:
 And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.


text:
 And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.


text:
 At that time some Pharisees came to him and said, "Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you."


text:
 He replied, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.


text:
 Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.'


text:
 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!


text:
 Behold, your house will be abandoned. (But) I tell you, you will not see me until (the time comes when) you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"


text:
 On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.


text:
 Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?"


text:
 Then he said to them, "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?"


text:
 He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.


text:
 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,


text:
 and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.


text:
 Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.


text:
 Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.


text:
 blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."


text:
 One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God."


text:
 When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.'


text:
 But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.'


text:
 And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.'


text:
 The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.'


text:
 The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.


text:
 "If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.


text:
 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?


text:
 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him


text:
 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?


text:
 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."


text:
 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."


text:
 "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?


text:
 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'


text:
 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.


text:
 "Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?


text:
 And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'


text:
 In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents."


text:
 and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.' So the father divided the property between them.


text:
 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.


text:
 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.


text:
 Coming to his senses he thought, 'How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.


text:
 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.


text:
 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'


text:
 So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.


text:
 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'


text:
 But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.


text:
 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began.


text:
 Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.


text:
 The servant said to him, 'Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'


text:
 He said to his father in reply, 'Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.


text:
 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'


text:
 But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'"


text:
 Then he also said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.


text:
 He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.'


text:
 The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.


text:
 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.'


text:
 He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'


text:
 He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'


text:
 Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.'


text:
 And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.


text:
 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.


text:
 The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.


text:
 No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."


text:
 And he said to them, "You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.


text:
 "The law and the prophets lasted until John; but from then on the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone who enters does so with violence.


text:
 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of the law to become invalid.


text:
 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.


text:
 "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.


text:
 who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.


text:
 When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,


text:
 and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.


text:
 And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'


text:
 Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.


text:
 Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'


text:
 Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"


text:
 He said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.


text:
 It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.


text:
 And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."


text:
 The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.


text:
 "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?


text:
 Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'?


text:
 So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"


text:
 And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.


text:
 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed,


text:
 and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you."


text:
 Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.


text:
 There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' (or) 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.


text:
 For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be (in his day).


text:
 they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.


text:
 Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;


text:
 On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.


text:
 They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."


text:
 Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said,


text:
 And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'


text:
 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,


text:
 because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"


text:
 Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?


text:
 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"


text:
 He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.


text:
 "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.


text:
 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity-- greedy, dishonest, adulterous-- or even like this tax collector.


text:
 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'


text:
 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."


text:
 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.


text:
 Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, "Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


text:
 You know the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.'"


text:
 When Jesus heard this he said to him, "There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."


text:
 Jesus looked at him (now sad) and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!


text:
 For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."


text:
 He said to them, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God


text:
 who will not receive (back) an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come."


text:
 Then he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.


text:
 But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said.


text:
 The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!"


text:
 He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.


text:
 was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.


text:
 When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."


text:
 When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."


text:
 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."


text:
 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.


text:
 While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately.


text:
 So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.


text:
 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'


text:
 His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.'


text:
 But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.


text:
 He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.'


text:
 Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,


text:
 for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.'


text:
 He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant;


text:
 why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'


text:
 And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.'


text:
 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.


text:
 Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"


text:
 As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples.


text:
 He said, "Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.


text:
 And if anyone should ask you, 'Why are you untying it?' you will answer, 'The Master has need of it.'"


text:
 and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen.


text:
 They proclaimed: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest."


text:
 For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.


text:
 They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."


text:
 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'"


text:
 And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death,


text:
 but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.


text:
 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple area and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, approached him


text:
 and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Or who is the one who gave you this authority?"


text:
 They discussed this among themselves, and said, "If we say, 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'


text:
 But if we say, 'Of human origin,' then all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."


text:
 Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. "(A) man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.


text:
 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.


text:
 So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed.


text:
 The owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him.'


text:
 But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours.'


text:
 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?


text:
 He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they exclaimed, "Let it not be so!"


text:
 But he looked at them and asked, "What then does this scripture passage mean: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?


text:
 Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."


text:
 The scribes and chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, for they knew that he had addressed this parable to them.


text:
 They watched him closely and sent agents pretending to be righteous who were to trap him in speech, in order to hand him over to the authority and power of the governor.


text:
 They posed this question to him, "Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is correct, and you show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.


text:
 They were unable to trap him by something he might say before the people, and so amazed were they at his reply that they fell silent.


text:
 Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him,


text:
 saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'


text:
 but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.


text:
 They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.


text:
 That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;


text:
 "Be on guard against the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and love greetings in marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.


text:
 for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."


text:
 While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said,


text:
 "All that you see here-- the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."


text:
 Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"


text:
 He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them!


text:
 When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end."


text:
 There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.


text:
 "Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.


text:
 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.


text:
 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.


text:
 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city,


text:
 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people.


text:
 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.


text:
 "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.


text:
 People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.


text:
 But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand."


text:
 "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise


text:
 Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."


text:
 During the day, Jesus was teaching in the temple area, but at night he would leave and stay at the place called the Mount of Olives.


text:
 and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.


text:
 He accepted their offer and sought a favorable opportunity to hand him over to them in the absence of a crowd.


text:
 he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."


text:
 And he answered them, "When you go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters


text:
 and say to the master of the house, 'The teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'


text:
 Then they went off and found everything exactly as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover.


text:
 for I tell you (that) from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."


text:
 Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."


text:
 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.


text:
 for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed."


text:
 He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as 'Benefactors';


text:
 but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.


text:
 For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves.


text:
 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


text:
 but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers."


text:
 But he replied, "I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows this day, you will deny three times that you know me."


text:
 He said to them, "When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack or sandals, were you in need of anything?" "No, nothing," they replied.


text:
 He said to them, "But now one who has a money bag should take it, and likewise a sack, and one who does not have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one.


text:
 For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, namely, 'He was counted among the wicked'; and indeed what is written about me is coming to fulfillment."


text:
 saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done."


text:
 He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.)


text:
 While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him.


text:
 His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked, "Lord, shall we strike with a sword?"


text:
 But Jesus said in reply, "Stop, no more of this!" Then he touched the servant's ear and healed him.


text:
 And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?


text:
 Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness."


text:
 After arresting him they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest; Peter was following at a distance.


text:
 When a maid saw him seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said, "This man too was with him."


text:
 A short while later someone else saw him and said, "You too are one of them"; but Peter answered, "My friend, I am not."


text:
 About an hour later, still another insisted, "Assuredly, this man too was with him, for he also is a Galilean."


text:
 But Peter said, "My friend, I do not know what you are talking about." Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed,


text:
 and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times."


text:
 When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin.


text:
 They said, "If you are the Messiah, tell us," but he replied to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe,


text:
 They brought charges against him, saying, "We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king."


text:
 But they were adamant and said, "He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to here."


text:
 and upon learning that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.


text:
 Herod was very glad to see Jesus; he had been wanting to see him for a long time, for he had heard about him and had been hoping to see him perform some sign.


text:
 (Even) Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him, and after clothing him in resplendent garb, he sent him back to Pilate.


text:
 and said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him,


text:
 (Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion that had taken place in the city and for murder.)


text:
 Pilate addressed them a third time, "What evil has this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime. Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him."


text:
 With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed.


text:
 So he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.


text:
 As they led him away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus.


text:
 Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children,


text:
 for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.'


text:
 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left.


text:
 (Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.") They divided his garments by casting lots.


text:
 The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God."


text:
 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us."


text:
 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation?


text:
 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal."


text:
 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had said this he breathed his last.


text:
 The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said, "This man was innocent beyond doubt."


text:
 When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts;


text:
 but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events.


text:
 Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who, though he was a member of the council,


text:
 had not consented to their plan of action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God.


text:
 After he had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried.


text:
 The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it,


text:
 they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.


text:
 But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.


text:
 They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead?


text:
 He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,


text:
 Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.


text:
 The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,


text:
 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.


text:
 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,


text:
 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?"


text:
 And he replied to them, "What sort of things?" They said to him, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,


text:
 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place.


text:
 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive.


text:
 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see."


text:
 And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!


text:
 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.


text:
 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther.


text:
 But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.


text:
 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.


text:
 Then they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?"


text:
 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them


text:
 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.


text:
 While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."


text:
 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have."


text:
 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"


text:
 He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."


text:
 And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day


text:
 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.


text:
 And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."


text:
 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,


text:
 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.


text:
 John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'"


text:
 And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites (to him) to ask him, "Who are you?"


text:
 So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."


text:
 So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?"


text:
 He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as Isaiah the prophet said."


text:
 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.


text:
 He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'


text:
 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel."


text:
 John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.


text:
 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.'


text:
 Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?"


text:
 He said to them,"Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.


text:
 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).


text:
 Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Kephas" (which is translated Peter).


text:
 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."


text:
 But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."


text:
 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him."


text:
 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."


text:
 Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this."


text:
 And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."


text:
 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.


text:
 And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom


text:
 and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now."


text:
 Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.


text:
 After this, he and his mother, (his) brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days.


text:
 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.


text:
 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables,


text:
 and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."


text:
 The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"


text:
 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.


text:
 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.


text:
 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."


text:
 Jesus answered and said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."


text:
 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.


text:
 The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.


text:
 If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?


text:
 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.


text:
 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.


text:
 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.


text:
 And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.


text:
 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.


text:
 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.


text:
 After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing.


text:
 John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized,


text:
 So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him."


text:
 You yourselves can testify that I said (that) I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him.


text:
 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete.


text:
 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven (is above all).


text:
 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.


text:
 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John


text:
 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.


text:
 Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.


text:
 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.)


text:
 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."


text:
 (The woman) said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?


text:
 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?"


text:
 but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."


text:
 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."


text:
 The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'


text:
 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true."


text:
 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."


text:
 Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.


text:
 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.


text:
 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.


text:
 The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything."


text:
 At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?"


text:
 Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.


text:
 The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.


text:
 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work."


text:
 Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I have done."


text:
 and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."


text:
 When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast.


text:
 Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.


text:
 When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death.


text:
 Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live." The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.


text:
 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, "The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."


text:
 The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live," and he and his whole household came to believe.


text:
 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.


text:
 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?"


text:
 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."


text:
 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."


text:
 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.


text:
 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."


text:
 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.


text:
 Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.


text:
 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.


text:
 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.


text:
 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, 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.


text:
 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.


text:
 Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice


text:
 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.


text:
 "I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.


text:
 But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.


text:
 But I have testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.


text:
 Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,


text:
 and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.


text:
 You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.


text:
 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.


text:
 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?


text:
 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.


text:
 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"


text:
 Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little (bit)."


text:
 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?"


text:
 Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.


text:
 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.


text:
 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."


text:
 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.


text:
 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."


text:
 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.


text:
 embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.


text:
 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.


text:
 They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.


text:
 The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left.


text:
 Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks.


text:
 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.


text:
 Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.


text:
 Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."


text:
 So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.


text:
 And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day.


text:
 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."


text:
 and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"


text:
 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.


text:
 It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.


text:
 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.


text:
 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.


text:
 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."


text:
 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?


text:
 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.


text:
 But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.


text:
 And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."


text:
 As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.


text:
 He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.


text:
 After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him.


text:
 So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.


text:
 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world."


text:
 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled."


text:
 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but (as it were) in secret.


text:
 And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, "He is a good man," (while) others said, "No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd."


text:
 Whoever chooses to do his will shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own.


text:
 Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him.


text:
 because of it. Moses gave you circumcision-- not that it came from Moses but rather from the patriarchs-- and you circumcise a man on the sabbath.


text:
 If a man can receive circumcision on a sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole person well on a sabbath?


text:
 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Messiah?


text:
 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.


text:
 But many of the crowd began to believe in him, and said, "When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man has done?"


text:
 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring about him to this effect, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent guards to arrest him.


text:
 So Jesus said, "I will be with you only a little while longer, and then I will go to the one who sent me.


text:
 So the Jews said to one another, "Where is he going that we will not find him? Surely he is not going to the dispersion among the Greeks to teach the Greeks, is he?


text:
 What is the meaning of his saying, 'You will look for me and not find (me), and where I am you cannot come'?"


text:
 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, "Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.


text:
 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.


text:
 Others said, "This is the Messiah." But others said, "The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?


text:
 Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"


text:
 So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"


text:
 They answered and said to him, "You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."


text:
 But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.


text:
 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.


text:
 They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.


text:
 But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."


text:
 And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.


text:
 She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more."


text:
 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."


text:
 So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified."


text:
 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.


text:
 And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.


text:
 So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."


text:
 He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.


text:
 He said to them again, "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come."


text:
 So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"


text:
 He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.


text:
 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."


text:
 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world."


text:
 So Jesus said (to them), "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.


text:
 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him."


text:
 Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,


text:
 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?"


text:
 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you.


text:
 I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."


text:
 They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham.


text:
 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this.


text:
 You are doing the works of your father!" (So) they said to him, "We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.


text:
 You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.


text:
 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God."


text:
 The Jews answered and said to him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed?"


text:
 (So) the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'


text:
 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'


text:
 You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.


text:
 Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.


text:
 We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.


text:
 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes,


text:
 and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see.


text:
 His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"


text:
 He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went there and washed and was able to see."


text:
 So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."


text:
 So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath." (But) others said, "How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them.


text:
 So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."


text:
 Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.


text:
 We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for him self."


text:
 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue.


text:
 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner."


text:
 He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."


text:
 He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"


text:
 The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.


text:
 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.


text:
 They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.


text:
 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"


text:
 Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."


text:
 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"


text:
 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.


text:
 "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.


text:
 The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.


text:
 When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.


text:
 But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."


text:
 I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.


text:
 A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.


text:
 A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.


text:
 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.


text:
 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."


text:
 Others said, "These are not the words of one possessed; surely a demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?"


text:
 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."


text:
 Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.


text:
 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.


text:
 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?"


text:
 The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God."


text:
 can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?


text:
 but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize (and understand) that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."


text:
 Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true."


text:
 Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.


text:
 When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."


text:
 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.


text:
 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,


text:
 She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."


text:
 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you."


text:
 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.


text:
 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."


text:
 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled,


text:
 But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?"


text:
 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days."


text:
 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.


text:
 I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me."


text:
 The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."


text:
 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.


text:
 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation."


text:
 nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish."


text:
 He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,


text:
 So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.


text:
 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves.


text:
 They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?"


text:
 For the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should inform them, so that they might arrest him.


text:
 Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.


text:
 They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.


text:
 Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.


text:
 He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.


text:
 (The) large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.


text:
 On the next day, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,


text:
 they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (even) the king of Israel."


text:
 His disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus had been glorified they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done this for him.


text:
 So the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from death continued to testify.


text:
 So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after him."


text:
 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.


text:
 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.


text:
 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.


text:
 "I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.


text:
 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again."


text:
 So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"


text:
 Jesus said to them, "The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going.


text:
 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light." After he had said this, Jesus left and hid from them.


text:
 in order that the word which Isaiah the prophet spoke might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed our preaching, to whom has the might of the Lord been revealed?"


text:
 "He blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and be converted, and I would heal them."


text:
 Nevertheless, many, even among the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly in order not to be expelled from the synagogue.


text:
 Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me,


text:
 And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.


text:
 Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day,


text:
 Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.


text:
 The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper,


text:
 fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God,


text:
 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.


text:
 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later."


text:
 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all."


text:
 So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you?


text:
 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.


text:
 I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the scripture might be fulfilled, 'The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.'


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."


text:
 When he had said this, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."


text:
 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and (took it and) handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot.


text:
 After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."


text:
 Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor.


text:
 (If God is glorified in him,) God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.


text:
 My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you.


text:
 I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.


text:
 Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered (him), "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later."


text:
 Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."


text:
 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?


text:
 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.


text:
 Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?


text:
 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.


text:
 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.


text:
 the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.


text:
 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.


text:
 Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."


text:
 Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, "Master, (then) what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"


text:
 Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.


text:
 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.


text:
 The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name-- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.


text:
 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.


text:
 You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.


text:
 I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me,


text:
 but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.


text:
 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.


text:
 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.


text:
 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.


text:
 Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.


text:
 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.


text:
 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.


text:
 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.


text:
 It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.


text:
 If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.


text:
 Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.


text:
 And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.


text:
 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.


text:
 If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father.


text:
 "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.


text:
 They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.


text:
 I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you. "I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you.


text:
 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.


text:
 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.


text:
 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.


text:
 "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me."


text:
 So some of his disciples said to one another, "What does this mean that he is saying to us, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?"


text:
 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Are you discussing with one another what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'?


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.


text:
 When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.


text:
 So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.


text:
 On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.


text:
 Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.


text:
 "I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father.


text:
 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God.


text:
 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."


text:
 Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God."


text:
 Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.


text:
 I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."


text:
 When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,


text:
 just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.


text:
 Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.


text:
 "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.


text:
 because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.


text:
 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours,


text:
 and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.


text:
 And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.


text:
 When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.


text:
 I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.


text:
 so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.


text:
 I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.


text:
 Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.


text:
 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.


text:
 I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."


text:
 When he had said this, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.


text:
 So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.


text:
 Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"


text:
 They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean." He said to them, "I AM." Judas his betrayer was also with them.


text:
 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.


text:
 Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"


text:
 and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.


text:
 It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.


text:
 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.


text:
 But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.


text:
 Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, "You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."


text:
 Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.


text:
 Jesus answered him, "I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing.


text:
 When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, "Is this the way you answer the high priest?"


text:
 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"


text:
 Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."


text:
 One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"


text:
 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.


text:
 They answered and said to him, "If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you."


text:
 At this, Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law." The Jews answered him, "We do not have the right to execute anyone,"


text:
 in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.


text:
 So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"


text:
 Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here."


text:
 So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."


text:
 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in him.


text:
 But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"


text:
 And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak,


text:
 Once more Pilate went out and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."


text:
 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"


text:
 When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him."


text:
 The Jews answered, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."


text:
 and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him.


text:
 So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?"


text:
 Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."


text:
 Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."


text:
 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge's bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.


text:
 It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!"


text:
 They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."


text:
 and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.


text:
 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."


text:
 Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.


text:
 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"


text:
 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.


text:
 So they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled (that says): "They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did.


text:
 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.


text:
 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."


text:
 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.


text:
 After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."


text:
 There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.


text:
 When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.


text:
 Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.


text:
 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.


text:
 An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may (come to) believe.


text:
 For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not a bone of it will be broken."


text:
 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body.


text:
 Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.


text:
 They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.


text:
 Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.


text:
 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.


text:
 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."


text:
 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.


text:
 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.


text:
 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been.


text:
 And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him."


text:
 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him."


text:
 Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"


text:
 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."


text:
 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.


text:
 So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."


text:
 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."


text:
 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."


text:
 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book.


text:
 But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.


text:
 After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.


text:
 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.


text:
 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also will come with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.


text:
 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.


text:
 So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.


text:
 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.


text:
 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish.


text:
 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast." And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they realized it was the Lord.


text:
 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."


text:
 He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."


text:
 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.


text:
 Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."


text:
 He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."


text:
 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?"


text:
 Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me."


text:
 So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just "What if I want him to remain until I come? (What concern is it of yours?)"


text:
 It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.


text:
 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.


text:
 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.


text:
 He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.


text:
 While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak;


text:
 When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"


text:
 He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.


text:
 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."


text:
 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.


text:
 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.


text:
 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."


text:
 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away.


text:
 When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.


text:
 All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.


text:
 During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said,


text:
 "My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.


text:
 He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out.


text:
 This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the parcel of land was called in their language 'Akeldama,' that is, Field of Blood.


text:
 For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.' And: 'May another take his office.'


text:
 Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us,


text:
 beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection."


text:
 Then they prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen


text:
 Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.


text:
 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.


text:
 And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.


text:
 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.


text:
 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?


text:
 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,


text:
 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome,


text:
 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."


text:
 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, "You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.


text:
 'It will come to pass in the last days,' God says, 'that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.


text:
 Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.


text:
 And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.


text:
 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,


text:
 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.


text:
 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.


text:
 But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.


text:
 For David says of him: 'I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.


text:
 because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.


text:
 My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day.


text:
 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,


text:
 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.


text:
 Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear.


text:
 For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand


text:
 Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."


text:
 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?"


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.


text:
 For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call."


text:
 He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."


text:
 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.


text:
 They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.


text:
 they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need.


text:
 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,


text:
 praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.


text:
 And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called "the Beautiful Gate" every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.


text:
 Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk."


text:
 Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.


text:
 He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.


text:
 they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.


text:
 As he clung to Peter and John, all the people hurried in amazement toward them in the portico called "Solomon's Portico."


text:
 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why are you amazed at this, and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?


text:
 The God of Abraham, (the God) of Isaac, and (the God) of Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence, when he had decided to release him.


text:
 And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of all of you.


text:
 but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.


text:
 and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Messiah already appointed for you, Jesus,


text:
 whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.


text:
 For Moses said: 'A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.


text:
 You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, 'In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'


text:
 For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways."


text:
 While they were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them,


text:
 disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.


text:
 But many of those who heard the word came to believe and (the) number of men grew to (about) five thousand.


text:
 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class.


text:
 They brought them into their presence and questioned them, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"


text:
 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved,


text:
 then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.


text:
 There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."


text:
 Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.


text:
 Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.


text:
 "What are we to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign was done through them, and we cannot deny it.


text:
 But so that it may not be spread any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name."


text:
 Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.


text:
 After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened.


text:
 After their release they went back to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.


text:
 And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, "Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them,


text:
 you said by the holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant: 'Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples entertain folly?


text:
 The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.'


text:
 Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,


text:
 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness,


text:
 as you stretch forth (your) hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."


text:
 As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.


text:
 The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.


text:
 With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.


text:
 There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale,


text:
 Thus Joseph, also named by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated "son of encouragement"), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,


text:
 sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the apostles.


text:
 He retained for himself, with his wife's knowledge, some of the purchase price, took the remainder, and put it at the feet of the apostles.


text:
 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you lied to the holy Spirit and retained part of the price of the land?


text:
 While it remained unsold, did it not remain yours? And when it was sold, was it not still under your control? Why did you contrive this deed? You have lied not to human beings, but to God."


text:
 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last, and great fear came upon all who heard of it.


text:
 Peter said to her, "Tell me, did you sell the land for this amount?" She answered, "Yes, for that amount."


text:
 Then Peter said to her, "Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen, the footsteps of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."


text:
 At once, she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men entered they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.


text:
 Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon's portico.


text:
 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.


text:
 A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.


text:
 Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy,


text:
 But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said,


text:
 When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in.


text:
 "We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside."


text:
 When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to.


text:
 Then someone came in and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people."


text:
 Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.


text:
 When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them,


text:
 "We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us."


text:
 God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.


text:
 But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the men to be put outside for a short time,


text:
 Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing.


text:
 After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.


text:
 So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.


text:
 But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God." They were persuaded by him.


text:
 After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.


text:
 So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.


text:
 And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus.


text:
 At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.


text:
 So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.


text:
 Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task,


text:
 The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.


text:
 The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.


text:
 Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen,


text:
 Then they instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God."


text:
 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.


text:
 They presented false witnesses who testified, "This man never stops saying things against (this) holy place and the law.


text:
 For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."


text:
 All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.


text:
 And he replied, "My brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he had settled in Haran,


text:
 and said to him, 'Go forth from your land and (from) your kinsfolk to the land that I will show you.'


text:
 So he went forth from the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he made him migrate to this land where you now dwell.


text:
 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but he did promise to give it to him and his descendants as a possession, even though he was childless.


text:
 And God spoke thus, 'His descendants shall be aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years;


text:
 but I will bring judgment on the nation they serve,' God said, 'and after that they will come out and worship me in this place.'


text:
 Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, as Isaac did Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.


text:
 and rescued him from all his afflictions. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who put him in charge of Egypt and (of) his entire household.


text:
 Then a famine and great affliction struck all Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food;


text:
 The second time, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.


text:
 and were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor at Shechem.


text:
 "When the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God pledged to Abraham, the people had increased and become very numerous in Egypt,


text:
 He dealt shrewdly with our people and oppressed (our) ancestors by forcing them to expose their infants, that they might not survive.


text:
 At this time Moses was born, and he was extremely beautiful. For three months he was nursed in his father's house;


text:
 When he saw one of them treated unjustly, he defended and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian.


text:
 He assumed (his) kinsfolk would understand that God was offering them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.


text:
 The next day he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why are you harming one another?'


text:
 Then the one who was harming his neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?


text:
 Moses fled when he heard this and settled as an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.


text:
 "Forty years later, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush.


text:
 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look at it, the voice of the Lord came,


text:
 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.' Then Moses, trembling, did not dare to look at it.


text:
 But the Lord said to him, 'Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.


text:
 I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'


text:
 This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who appointed you ruler and judge?' God sent as (both) ruler and deliverer, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.


text:
 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert for forty years.


text:
 It was this Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you, from among your own kinsfolk, a prophet like me.'


text:
 It was he who, in the assembly in the desert, was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living utterances to hand on to us.


text:
 "Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,


text:
 saying to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will be our leaders. As for that Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'


text:
 So they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.


text:
 Then God turned and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?


text:
 No, you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of (your) god Rephan, the images that you made to worship. So I shall take you into exile beyond Babylon.'


text:
 "Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the desert just as the One who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.


text:
 Our ancestors who inherited it brought it with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out from before our ancestors, up to the time of David,


text:
 who found favor in the sight of God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.


text:
 'The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me? says the Lord, or what is to be my resting place?


text:
 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.


text:
 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.


text:
 But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,


text:
 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."


text:
 They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.


text:
 Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and when he said this, he fell asleep.


text:
 Now Saul was consenting to his execution.On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.


text:
 Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.


text:
 With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.


text:
 For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.


text:
 A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.


text:
 All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, "This man is the 'Power of God' that is called 'Great.'"


text:
 but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized.


text:
 Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded.


text:
 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,


text:
 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.


text:
 When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money


text:
 and said, "Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit."


text:
 But Peter said to him, "May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money.


text:
 Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your intention may be forgiven.


text:
 Simon said in reply, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."


text:
 So when they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the good news to many Samaritan villages.


text:
 Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, "Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."


text:
 So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship,


text:
 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"


text:
 He replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.


text:
 This was the scripture passage he was reading: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth.


text:
 In (his) humiliation justice was denied him. Who will tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from the earth."


text:
 Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, "I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?"


text:
 Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him.


text:
 As they traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?"


text:
 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him.


text:
 When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing.


text:
 Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.


text:
 Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest


text:
 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.


text:
 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one.


text:
 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.


text:
 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord."


text:
 The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is there praying,


text:
 and (in a vision) he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay (his) hands on him, that he may regain his sight."


text:
 But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.


text:
 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites,


text:
 So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit."


text:
 Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized,


text:
 and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,


text:
 All who heard him were astounded and said, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem ravaged those who call upon this name, and came here expressly to take them back in chains to the chief priests?"


text:
 But Saul grew all the stronger and confounded (the) Jews who lived in Damascus, proving that this is the Messiah.


text:
 but their plot became known to Saul. Now they were keeping watch on the gates day and night so as to kill him,


text:
 but his disciples took him one night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.


text:
 When he arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.


text:
 Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how on the way he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.


text:
 And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.


text:
 The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.


text:
 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.


text:
 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.


text:
 Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid (her) out in a room upstairs.


text:
 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay."


text:
 So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them.


text:
 Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up." She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.


text:
 He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive.


text:
 devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly.


text:
 One afternoon about three o'clock, he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say to him, "Cornelius."


text:
 He looked intently at him and, seized with fear, said, "What is it, sir?" He said to him, "Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God.


text:
 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from his staff,


text:
 The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime.


text:
 He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners.


text:
 The voice spoke to him again, a second time, "What God has made clean, you are not to call profane."


text:
 While Peter was in doubt about the meaning of the vision he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon's house and arrived at the entrance.


text:
 As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said (to him), "There are three men here looking for you.


text:
 Then Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your being here?"


text:
 They answered, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, respected by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say."


text:
 So he invited them in and showed them hospitality. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.


text:
 On the following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.


text:
 and said to them, "You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean.


text:
 Cornelius replied, "Four days ago at this hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, I was at prayer in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling robes stood before me and said,


text:
 Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.'


text:
 So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to listen to all that you have been commanded by the Lord."


text:
 You know the word (that) he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,


text:
 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.


text:
 We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and (in) Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.


text:
 not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.


text:
 He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.


text:
 To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."


text:
 While Peter was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.


text:
 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also,


text:
 "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the holy Spirit even as we have?"


text:
 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.


text:
 "I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.


text:
 Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.


text:
 But a second time a voice from heaven answered, 'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'


text:
 The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house.


text:
 He related to us how he had seen (the) angel standing in his house, saying, 'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,


text:
 and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.'


text:
 If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?"


text:
 When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, "God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too."


text:
 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews.


text:
 There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.


text:
 The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas (to go) to Antioch.


text:
 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,


text:
 for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord.


text:
 and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.


text:
 and one of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world, and it happened under Claudius.


text:
 So the disciples determined that, according to ability, each should send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.


text:
 and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was (the) feast of Unleavened Bread.)


text:
 He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.


text:
 Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.


text:
 On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.


text:
 Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, "Get up quickly." The chains fell from his wrists.


text:
 The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me."


text:
 So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.


text:
 They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him.


text:
 Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that (the) Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting."


text:
 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer.


text:
 She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter's voice that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.


text:
 They told her, "You are out of your mind," but she insisted that it was so. But they kept saying, "It is his angel."


text:
 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and explained (to them) how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, "Report this to James and the brothers." Then he left and went to another place.


text:
 Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea.


text:
 He had long been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who now came to him in a body. After winning over Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they sued for peace because their country was supplied with food from the king's territory.


text:
 On an appointed day, Herod, attired in royal robes, (and) seated on the rostrum, addressed them publicly.


text:
 At once the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not ascribe the honor to God, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.


text:
 After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they returned to Jerusalem, taking with them John, who is called Mark.


text:
 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.


text:
 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."


text:
 When they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had John also as their assistant.


text:
 When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician named Bar-Jesus who was a Jewish false prophet.


text:
 He was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who had summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.


text:
 But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means) opposed them in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith.


text:
 and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of (the) Lord?


text:
 Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately a dark mist fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.


text:
 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord.


text:
 From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.


text:
 They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered (into) the synagogue and took their seats.


text:
 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, "My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please speak."


text:
 So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said, "Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen.


text:
 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out of it


text:
 When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance


text:
 at the end of about four hundred and fifty years. After these things he provided judges up to Samuel (the) prophet.


text:
 Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.


text:
 Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.'


text:
 and as John was completing his course, he would say, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'


text:
 "My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent.


text:
 The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath.


text:
 For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death,


text:
 and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.


text:
 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are (now) his witnesses before the people.


text:
 he has brought to fulfillment for us, (their) children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my son; this day I have begotten you.'


text:
 And that he raised him from the dead never to return to corruption he declared in this way, 'I shall give you the benefits assured to David.'


text:
 Now David, after he had served the will of God in his lifetime, fell asleep, was gathered to his ancestors, and did see corruption.


text:
 You must know, my brothers, that through him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, (and) in regard to everything from which you could not be justified under the law of Moses,


text:
 'Look on, you scoffers, be amazed and disappear. For I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe even if someone tells you.'"


text:
 After the congregation had dispersed, many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.


text:
 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.


text:
 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.


text:
 For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.'"


text:
 The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,


text:
 The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory.


text:
 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue together and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe,


text:
 although the disbelieving Jews stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers.


text:
 So they stayed for a considerable period, speaking out boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the word about his grace by granting signs and wonders to occur through their hands.


text:
 When there was an attempt by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to attack and stone them,


text:
 they realized it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside,


text:
 and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet." He jumped up and began to walk about.


text:
 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in human form."


text:
 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.


text:
 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,


text:
 "Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, 'who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.'


text:
 yet, in bestowing his goodness, he did not leave himself without witness, for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."


text:
 However, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.


text:
 But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and entered the city. On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.


text:
 After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.


text:
 They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."


text:
 They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.


text:
 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished.


text:
 And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.


text:
 Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved."


text:
 Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters about this question.


text:
 They were sent on their journey by the church, and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.


text:
 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what God had done with them.


text:
 But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law."


text:
 After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, "My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.


text:
 Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?


text:
 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they."


text:
 The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.


text:
 Symeon has described how God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.


text:
 'After this I shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and raise it up again,


text:
 so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,


text:
 but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.


text:
 For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath."


text:
 Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers.


text:
 This is the letter delivered by them: "The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings.


text:
 Since we have heard that some of our number (who went out) without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind,


text:
 we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,


text:
 'It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,


text:
 namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"


text:
 And so they were sent on their journey. Upon their arrival in Antioch they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.


text:
 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brothers with many words.


text:
 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with greetings of peace from the brothers to those who had commissioned them.


text:
 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming with many others the word of the Lord.


text:
 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord."


text:
 but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work.


text:
 He reached (also) Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.


text:
 and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.


text:
 As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.


text:
 They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia.


text:
 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,


text:
 During (the) night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."


text:
 When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.


text:
 and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city.


text:
 On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.


text:
 One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.


text:
 After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.


text:
 As we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl with an oracular spirit, who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune-telling.


text:
 She began to follow Paul and us, shouting, "These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation."


text:
 She did this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned, and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Then it came out at that moment.


text:
 When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the public square before the local authorities.


text:
 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These people are Jews and are disturbing our city


text:
 The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods.


text:
 After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.


text:
 When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and secured their feet to a stake.


text:
 About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,


text:
 there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.


text:
 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew (his) sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.


text:
 He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once.


text:
 He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.


text:
 The jailer reported the (se) words to Paul, "The magistrates have sent orders that you be released. Now, then, come out and go in peace."


text:
 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, even though we are Roman citizens and have not been tried, and have thrown us into prison. And now, are they going to release us secretly? By no means. Let them come themselves and lead us out."


text:
 The lictors reported these words to the magistrates, and they became alarmed when they heard that they were Roman citizens.


text:
 When they had come out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they saw and encouraged the brothers, and then they left.


text:
 When they took the road through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.


text:
 Following his usual custom, Paul joined them, and for three sabbaths he entered into discussions with them from the scriptures,


text:
 expounding and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that "This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I proclaim to you."


text:
 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so, too, a great number of Greeks who were worshipers, and not a few of the prominent women.


text:
 But the Jews became jealous and recruited some worthless men loitering in the public square, formed a mob, and set the city in turmoil. They marched on the house of Jason, intending to bring them before the people's assembly.


text:
 When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city magistrates, shouting, "These people who have been creating a disturbance all over the world have now come here,


text:
 and Jason has welcomed them. They all act in opposition to the decrees of Caesar and claim instead that there is another king, Jesus."


text:
 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews.


text:
 These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so.


text:
 But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had now been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea also, they came there too to cause a commotion and stir up the crowds.


text:
 So the brothers at once sent Paul on his way to the seacoast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.


text:
 After Paul's escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.


text:
 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols.


text:
 So he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and with the worshipers, and daily in the public square with whoever happened to be there.


text:
 Even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers engaged him in discussion. Some asked, "What is this scavenger trying to say?" Others said, "He sounds like a promoter of foreign deities," because he was preaching about 'Jesus' and 'Resurrection.'


text:
 They took him and led him to the Areopagus and said, "May we learn what this new teaching is that you speak of?


text:
 Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new.


text:
 Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious.


text:
 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.


text:
 The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,


text:
 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.


text:
 He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,


text:
 so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.


text:
 For 'In him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'


text:
 Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.


text:
 because he has established a day on which he will 'judge the world with justice' through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead."


text:
 When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, "We should like to hear you on this some other time."


text:
 But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.


text:
 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them


text:
 and, because he practiced the same trade, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.


text:
 Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks.


text:
 When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus.


text:
 When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."


text:
 So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next to a synagogue.


text:
 Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.


text:
 One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent,


text:
 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal,


text:
 When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, "If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews;


text:
 but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters."


text:
 They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.


text:
 Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.


text:
 When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, while he entered the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews.


text:
 but as he said farewell he promised, "I shall come back to you again, God willing." Then he set sail from Ephesus.


text:
 After staying there some time, he left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.


text:
 A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the scriptures.


text:
 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John.


text:
 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way (of God) more accurately.


text:
 And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace.


text:
 He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.


text:
 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came (down) to Ephesus where he found some disciples.


text:
 He said to them, "Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered him, "We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit."


text:
 Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus."


text:
 And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.


text:
 He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God.


text:
 But when some in their obstinacy and disbelief disparaged the Way before the assembly, he withdrew and took his disciples with him and began to hold daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.


text:
 This continued for two years with the result that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Jews and Greeks alike.


text:
 that when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.


text:
 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."


text:
 The person with the evil spirit then sprang at them and subdued them all. He so overpowered them that they fled naked and wounded from that house.


text:
 When this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Ephesus, fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great esteem.


text:
 Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.


text:
 Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand silver pieces.


text:
 When this was concluded, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must visit Rome also."


text:
 Then he sent to Macedonia two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed for a while in the province of Asia.


text:
 There was a silversmith named Demetrius who made miniature silver shrines of Artemis and provided no little work for the craftsmen.


text:
 He called a meeting of these and other workers in related crafts and said, "Men, you know well that our prosperity derives from this work.


text:
 As you can now see and hear, not only in Ephesus but throughout most of the province of Asia this Paul has persuaded and misled a great number of people by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.


text:
 The danger grows, not only that our business will be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be of no account, and that she whom the whole province of Asia and all the world worship will be stripped of her magnificence."


text:
 When they heard this, they were filled with fury and began to shout, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"


text:
 The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians, Paul's traveling companions.


text:
 and even some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him advising him not to venture into the theater.


text:
 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, others something else; the assembly was in chaos, and most of the people had no idea why they had come together.


text:
 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, as the Jews pushed him forward, and Alexander signaled with his hand that he wished to explain something to the gathering.


text:
 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"


text:
 Finally the town clerk restrained the crowd and said, "You Ephesians, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from the sky?


text:
 If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.


text:
 for, as it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's conduct. There is no cause for it. We shall (not) be able to give a reason for this demonstration." With these words he dismissed the assembly.


text:
 When the disturbance was over, Paul had the disciples summoned and, after encouraging them, he bade them farewell and set out on his journey to Macedonia.


text:
 As he traveled throughout those regions, he provided many words of encouragement for them. Then he arrived in Greece,


text:
 where he stayed for three months. But when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return by way of Macedonia.


text:
 Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, from Beroea, accompanied him, as did Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia


text:
 We sailed from Philippi after the feast of Unleavened Bread, and rejoined them five days later in Troas, where we spent a week.


text:
 On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight.


text:
 and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the window sill was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Once overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and when he was picked up, he was dead.


text:
 Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and said as he embraced him, "Don't be alarmed; there is life in him."


text:
 Then he returned upstairs, broke the bread, and ate; after a long conversation that lasted until daybreak, he departed.


text:
 We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos where we were to take Paul on board, as he had arranged, since he was going overland.


text:
 We sailed away from there on the next day and reached a point off Chios, and a day later we reached Samos, and on the following day we arrived at Miletus.


text:
 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order not to lose time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if at all possible, for the day of Pentecost.


text:
 When they came to him, he addressed them, "You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.


text:
 I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews,


text:
 and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes.


text:
 I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.


text:
 But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know,


text:
 except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me.


text:
 Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace.


text:
 "But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again.


text:
 Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.


text:
 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.


text:
 And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.


text:
 So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.


text:
 And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.


text:
 In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"


text:
 for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.


text:
 When we had taken leave of them we set sail, made a straight run for Cos, and on the next day for Rhodes, and from there to Patara.


text:
 We caught sight of Cyprus but passed by it on our left and sailed on toward Syria and put in at Tyre where the ship was to unload cargo.


text:
 There we sought out the disciples and stayed for a week. They kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to embark for Jerusalem.


text:
 At the end of our stay we left and resumed our journey. All of them, women and children included, escorted us out of the city, and after kneeling on the beach to pray,


text:
 We continued the voyage and came from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed a day with them.


text:
 On the next day we resumed the trip and came to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him.


text:
 He came up to us, took Paul's belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, "Thus says the holy Spirit: This is the way the Jews will bind the owner of this belt in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles."


text:
 Then Paul replied, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I am prepared not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."


text:
 Some of the disciples from Caesarea came along to lead us to the house of Mnason, a Cypriot, a disciple of long standing, with whom we were to stay.


text:
 He greeted them, then proceeded to tell them in detail what God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.


text:
 They praised God when they heard it but said to him, "Brother, you see how many thousands of believers there are from among the Jews, and they are all zealous observers of the law.


text:
 They have been informed that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses and that you are telling them not to circumcise their children or to observe their customary practices.


text:
 Take these men and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses that they may have their heads shaved. In this way everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports they have been given about you but that you yourself live in observance of the law.


text:
 As for the Gentiles who have come to believe, we sent them our decision that they abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage."


text:
 So Paul took the men, and on the next day after purifying himself together with them entered the temple to give notice of the day when the purification would be completed and the offering made for each of them.


text:
 When the seven days were nearly completed, the Jews from the province of Asia noticed him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and laid hands on him,


text:
 shouting, "Fellow Israelites, help us. This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place, and what is more, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this sacred place."


text:
 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him and supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.


text:
 The whole city was in turmoil with people rushing together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were closed.


text:
 While they were trying to kill him, a report reached the cohort commander that all Jerusalem was rioting.


text:
 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and charged down on them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers they stopped beating Paul.


text:
 The cohort commander came forward, arrested him, and ordered him to be secured with two chains; he tried to find out who he might be and what he had done.


text:
 Some in the mob shouted one thing, others something else; so, since he was unable to ascertain the truth because of the uproar, he ordered Paul to be brought into the compound.


text:
 Just as Paul was about to be taken into the compound, he said to the cohort commander, "May I say something to you?" He replied, "Do you speak Greek?


text:
 So then you are not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led the four thousand assassins into the desert?"


text:
 Paul answered, "I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; I request you to permit me to speak to the people."


text:
 When he had given his permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people; and when all was quiet he addressed them in Hebrew.


text:
 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.


text:
 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.


text:
 "On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.


text:
 I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.'


text:
 I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?' The Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.'


text:
 Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.


text:
 "A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,


text:
 came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.


text:
 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;


text:
 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.'


text:
 and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'


text:
 But I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you.


text:
 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.'


text:
 They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, "Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live."


text:
 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him.


text:
 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?"


text:
 When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, "What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen."


text:
 The commander replied, "I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money." Paul said, "But I was born one."


text:
 At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound.


text:
 The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.


text:
 Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have conducted myself with a perfectly clear conscience before God to this day."


text:
 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. Do you indeed sit in judgment upon me according to the law and yet in violation of the law order me to be struck?"


text:
 Paul answered, "Brothers, I did not realize he was the high priest. For it is written, 'You shall not curse a ruler of your people.'"


text:
 Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; (I) am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead."


text:
 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided.


text:
 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.


text:
 A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"


text:
 The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him into the compound.


text:
 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome."


text:
 When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.


text:
 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.


text:
 You, together with the Sanhedrin, must now make an official request to the commander to have him bring him down to you, as though you meant to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part are prepared to kill him before he arrives."


text:
 The son of Paul's sister, however, heard about the ambush; so he went and entered the compound and reported it to Paul.


text:
 Paul then called one of the centurions and requested, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to report to him."


text:
 So he took him and brought him to the commander and explained, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked that I bring this young man to you; he has something to say to you."


text:
 The commander took him by the hand, drew him aside, and asked him privately, "What is it you have to report to me?"


text:
 He replied, "The Jews have conspired to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomor row, as though they meant to inquire about him more thoroughly,


text:
 but do not believe them. More than forty of them are lying in wait for him; they have bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready and only wait for your consent."


text:
 As the commander dismissed the young man he directed him, "Tell no one that you gave me this information."


text:
 Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea by nine o'clock tonight, along with seventy horsemen and two hundred auxiliaries.


text:
 This man, seized by the Jews and about to be murdered by them, I rescued after intervening with my troops when I learned that he was a Roman citizen.


text:
 I wanted to learn the reason for their accusations against him so I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.


text:
 I discovered that he was accused in matters of controversial questions of their law and not of any charge deserving death or imprisonment.


text:
 Since it was brought to my attention that there will be a plot against the man, I am sending him to you at once, and have also notified his accusers to state (their case) against him before you."


text:
 The next day they re turned to the compound, leaving the horsemen to complete the journey with him.


text:
 he said, "I shall hear your case when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered that he be held in custody in Herod's praetorium.


text:
 Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an advocate, a certain Tertullus, and they presented formal charges against Paul to the governor.


text:
 When he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, "Since we have attained much peace through you, and reforms have been accomplished in this nation through your provident care,


text:
 But in order not to detain you further, I ask you to give us a brief hearing with your customary graciousness.


text:
 We found this man to be a pest; he creates dissension among Jews all over the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoreans.


text:
 If you examine him you will be able to learn from him for yourself about everything of which we are accusing him."


text:
 Then the governor motioned to him to speak and Paul replied, "I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years and so I am pleased to make my defense before you.


text:
 Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor anywhere in the city did they find me arguing with anyone or instigating a riot among the people.


text:
 But this I do admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors and I believe everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets.


text:
 I have the same hope in God as they themselves have that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.


text:
 While I was so engaged, they found me, after my purification, in the temple without a crowd or disturbance.


text:
 But some Jews from the province of Asia, who should be here before you to make whatever accusation they might have against me--


text:
 unless it was my one outcry as I stood among them, that 'I am on trial before you today for the resurrection of the dead.'"


text:
 Then Felix, who was accurately informed about the Way, postponed the trial, saying, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I shall decide your case."


text:
 He gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that he should not prevent any of his friends from caring for his needs.


text:
 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He had Paul summoned and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.


text:
 But as he spoke about righteousness and self-restraint and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "You may go for now; when I find an opportunity I shall summon you again."


text:
 At the same time he hoped that a bribe would be offered him by Paul, and so he sent for him very often and conversed with him.


text:
 Two years passed and Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, Felix left Paul in prison.


text:
 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented him their formal charges against Paul. They asked him


text:
 Festus replied that Paul was being held in custody in Caesarea and that he himself would be returning there shortly.


text:
 He said, "Let your authorities come down with me, and if this man has done something improper, let them accuse him."


text:
 After spending no more than eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the following day took his seat on the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought in.


text:
 When he appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him and brought many serious charges against him, which they were unable to prove.


text:
 In defending himself Paul said, "I have committed no crime either against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar."


text:
 Then Festus, wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, said to Paul in reply, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there stand trial before me on these charges?"


text:
 Paul answered, "I am standing before the tribunal of Caesar; this is where I should be tried. I have committed no crime against the Jews, as you very well know.


text:
 If I have committed a crime or done anything deserving death, I do not seek to escape the death penalty; but if there is no substance to the charges they are bringing against me, then no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar."


text:
 Then Festus, after conferring with his council, replied, "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go."


text:
 Since they spent several days there, Festus referred Paul's case to the king, saying, "There is a man here left in custody by Felix.


text:
 When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.


text:
 I answered them that it was not Roman practice to hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusers and had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.


text:
 So when (they) came together here, I made no delay; the next day I took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in.


text:
 Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive.


text:
 Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these charges.


text:
 And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."


text:
 Agrippa said to Festus, "I too should like to hear this man." He replied, "Tomorrow you will hear him."


text:
 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great ceremony and entered the audience hall in the company of cohort commanders and the prominent men of the city and, by command of Festus, Paul was brought in.


text:
 And Festus said, "King Agrippa and all you here present with us, look at this man about whom the whole Jewish populace petitioned me here and in Jerusalem, clamoring that he should live no longer.


text:
 I found, however, that he had done nothing deserving death, and so when he appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.


text:
 But I have nothing definite to write about him to our sovereign; therefore I have brought him before all of you, and particularly before you, King Agrippa, so that I may have something to write as a result of this investigation.


text:
 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You may now speak on your own behalf." So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.


text:
 "I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am to defend myself before you today against all the charges made against me by the Jews,


text:
 especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. And therefore I beg you to listen patiently.


text:
 My manner of living from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my people and in Jerusalem, all (the) Jews know.


text:
 They have known about me from the start, if they are willing to testify, that I have lived my life as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion.


text:
 Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews, O king.


text:
 and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them.


text:
 Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.


text:
 "On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests.


text:
 At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions.


text:
 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.'


text:
 Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen (of me) and what you will be shown.


text:
 to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.'


text:
 On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance.


text:
 But I have enjoyed God's help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold,


text:
 that the Messiah must suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."


text:
 While Paul was so speaking in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, "You are mad, Paul; much learning is driving you mad."


text:
 The king knows about these matters and to him I speak boldly, for I cannot believe that (any) of this has escaped his notice; this was not done in a corner.


text:
 Paul replied, "I would pray to God that sooner or later not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am except for these chains."


text:
 And after they had withdrawn they said to one another, "This man is doing nothing (at all) that deserves death or imprisonment."


text:
 When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius of the Cohort Augusta.


text:
 We went on board a ship from Adramyttium bound for ports in the province of Asia and set sail. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.


text:
 On the following day we put in at Sidon where Julius was kind enough to allow Paul to visit his friends who took care of him.


text:
 From there we put out to sea and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds,


text:
 For many days we made little headway, arriving at Cnidus only with difficulty, and because the wind would not permit us to continue our course we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone.


text:
 We sailed past it with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.


text:
 Much time had now passed and sailing had become hazardous because the time of the fast had already gone by, so Paul warned them,


text:
 "Men, I can see that this voyage will result in severe damage and heavy loss not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives."


text:
 The centurion, however, paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.


text:
 Since the harbor was unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority planned to put out to sea from there in the hope of reaching Phoenix, a port in Crete facing west-northwest, there to spend the winter.


text:
 A south wind blew gently, and thinking they had attained their objective, they weighed anchor and sailed along close to the coast of Crete.


text:
 Since the ship was caught up in it and could not head into the wind we gave way and let ourselves be driven.


text:
 We passed along the sheltered side of an island named Cauda and managed only with difficulty to get the dinghy under control.


text:
 They hoisted it aboard, then used cables to undergird the ship. Because of their fear that they would run aground on the shoal of Syrtis, they lowered the drift anchor and were carried along in this way.


text:
 Neither the sun nor the stars were visible for many days, and no small storm raged. Finally, all hope of our surviving was taken away.


text:
 When many would no longer eat, Paul stood among them and said, "Men, you should have taken my advice and not have set sail from Crete and you would have avoided this disastrous loss.


text:
 and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to stand before Caesar; and behold, for your sake, God has granted safety to all who are sailing with you.'


text:
 On the fourteenth night, as we were still being driven about on the Adriatic Sea, toward midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land.


text:
 They took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on, they again took soundings and found fifteen fathoms.


text:
 Fearing that we would run aground on a rocky coast, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.


text:
 The sailors then tried to abandon ship; they lowered the dinghy to the sea on the pretext of going to lay out anchors from the bow.


text:
 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."


text:
 Until the day began to dawn, Paul kept urging all to take some food. He said, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting, going hungry and eating nothing.


text:
 I urge you, therefore, to take some food; it will help you survive. Not a hair of the head of anyone of you will be lost."


text:
 When he said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.


text:
 When day came they did not recognize the land, but made out a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore on it, if they could.


text:
 So they cast off the anchors and abandoned them to the sea, and at the same time they unfastened the lines of the rudders, and hoisting the foresail into the wind, they made for the beach.


text:
 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow was wedged in and could not be moved, but the stern began to break up under the pounding (of the waves).


text:
 but the centurion wanted to save Paul and so kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore,


text:
 and then the rest, some on planks, others on debris from the ship. In this way, all reached shore safely.


text:
 The natives showed us extraordinary hospitality; they lit a fire and welcomed all of us because it had begun to rain and was cold.


text:
 Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand.


text:
 When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "This man must certainly be a murderer; though he escaped the sea, Justice has not let him remain alive."


text:
 They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.


text:
 In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days.


text:
 It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him.


text:
 Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the Dioscuri as its figurehead.


text:
 and from there we sailed round the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After a day, a south wind came up and in two days we reached Puteoli.


text:
 There we found some brothers and were urged to stay with them for seven days. And thus we came to Rome.


text:
 The brothers from there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage.


text:
 Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered he said to them, "My brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or our ancestral customs, I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem.


text:
 After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me, because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty.


text:
 But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation.


text:
 This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains."


text:
 They answered him, "We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor has any of the brothers arrived with a damaging report or rumor about you.


text:
 But we should like to hear you present your views, for we know that this sect is denounced everywhere."


text:
 So they arranged a day with him and came to his lodgings in great numbers. From early morning until evening, he expounded his position to them, bearing witness to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets.


text:
 Without reaching any agreement among themselves they began to leave; then Paul made one final statement. "Well did the holy Spirit speak to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, saying:


text:
 'Go to this people and say: You shall indeed hear but not understand. You shall indeed look but never see.


text:
 Gross is the heart of this people; they will not hear with their ears; they have closed their eyes, so they may not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.'


text:
 Let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."


text:
 and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.


text:
 but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.


text:
 Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,


text:
 to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


text:
 First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world.


text:
 God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly,


text:
 always asking in my prayers that somehow by God's will I may at last find my way clear to come to you.


text:
 For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened,


text:
 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, though I was prevented until now, that I might harvest some fruit among you, too, as among the rest of the Gentiles.


text:
 For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek.


text:
 For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous by faith will live."


text:
 The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.


text:
 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse;


text:
 for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.


text:
 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.


text:
 Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies.


text:
 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


text:
 Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural,


text:
 and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.


text:
 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.


text:
 They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips


text:
 and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents.


text:
 Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.


text:
 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.


text:
 Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?


text:
 Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?


text:
 By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God,


text:
 Yes, affliction and distress will come upon every human being who does evil, Jew first and then Greek.


text:
 All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it.


text:
 For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified.


text:
 For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law.


text:
 They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them


text:
 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people's hidden works through Christ Jesus.


text:
 that you are a trainer of the foolish and teacher of the simple, because in the law you have the formulation of knowledge and truth--


text:
 then you who teach another, are you failing to teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?


text:
 Circumcision, to be sure, has value if you observe the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.


text:
 Again, if an uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law, will he not be considered circumcised?


text:
 Indeed, those who are physically uncircumcised but carry out the law will pass judgment on you, with your written law and circumcision, who break the law.


text:
 Rather, one is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not the letter; his praise is not from human beings but from God.


text:
 Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar, as it is written: "That you may be justified in your words, and conquer when you are judged."


