# verses

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Shave the hair from your head as you mourn for the children who were your delight; make yourselves as bald as vultures, for they have gone from you into exile.


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Woe to those who think up evil and plan wickedness as they lie in bed. When morning comes, they do it, since they have it in their power.


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They covet fields and seize them; they take over houses as well, doing violence to both owner and house, to people and their inherited land.


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Therefore this is what ADONAI says: 'Against this family I am planning an evil from which you will not withdraw your necks; nor will you walk with your heads held high, for it will be an evil time.'


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On that day they will take up a dirge for you; sadly lamenting, they will wail, 'We are completely ruined! Our people's land has changed hands. Our fields are taken away from us; instead of restoring them, he parcels them out.'


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Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of ADONAI to stretch out a measuring line and restore the land assigned by lot.


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'Don't preach!' - thus they preach! 'They shouldn't preach about these things. Shame will not overtake us' -


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is this what the house of Ya'akov says? ADONAI has not grown impatient, and these things are not his doings. 'Rather, my words do only good to anyone living uprightly.


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But lately my people behave like an enemy, stripping both cloaks and tunics from travelers who thought they were secure, so that they become like war refugees.


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You throw my people's women out of the homes they love. You deprive their children of my glory forever.


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Get up and go! You can't stay here! Because [the land] is now unclean, it will destroy you with a grievous destruction.'


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If a man who walks in wind and falsehood tells this lie: 'I will preach to you of [how good it is to drink] wine and strong liquor' - this people will accept him as their preacher!


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'I will assemble all of you, Ya'akov; I will gather the remnant of Isra'el, I will put them together like sheep in a pen, like a herd in its pasture - it will hum with the sounds of people.'


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The one breaking through went up before them; they broke through, passed the gate and went out. Their king passed on before them; ADONAI was leading them.


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'I said, 'Please listen, leaders of Ya'akov, rulers of the house of Isra'el: Shouldn't you know what justice is?


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Yet you hate what is good and love what is bad. You strip off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones,


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you eat the flesh of my people, skin them alive, break their bones; yes, they chop them in pieces, like flesh in a caldron, like meat in a pot.''


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Then they will call to ADONAI, but he will not answer them; when that time comes, he will hide his face from them, because their deeds were so wicked.


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Here is what ADONAI says in regard to the prophets who cause my people to go astray, who cry, 'Peace' as soon as they are given food to eat but prepare war against anyone who fails to put something in their mouths:


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'Therefore you will have night, not vision, darkness and not divination; the sun will go down on the prophets, over them the day will be black.'


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The seers will be put to shame, the diviners will be disgraced. They will have to cover their mouths, because there will be no answer from God.


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On the other hand, I am full of power by the Spirit of ADONAI, full of justice and full of might, to declare to Ya'akov his crime, to Isra'el his sin.


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Hear this, please, leaders of the house of Ya'akov, rulers of the house of Isra'el, you who abhor what is just and pervert anything that is right,


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Her leaders sell verdicts for bribes, her cohanim teach for a price, her prophets divine for money - yet they claim to rely on ADONAI! 'Isn't ADONAI here with us?' they say. 'No evil can come upon us.'


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Therefore, because of you, Tziyon will be plowed under like a field, Yerushalayim will become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house like a forested height.


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But in the acharit-hayamim it will come about that the mountain of ADONAI's house will be established as the most important mountain. It will be regarded more highly than the other hills, and peoples will stream there.


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Many Gentiles will go and say, 'Come, let's go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.' For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim.


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He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for many nations far away. Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war.


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Instead, each person will sit under his vine and fig tree, with no one to upset him, for the mouth of ADONAI-Tzva'ot has spoken.


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For all the peoples will walk, each in the name of its god; but we will walk in the name of ADONAI our God forever and ever.


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'When that day comes,' says ADONAI, 'I will assemble the lame and gather those who were dispersed, along with those I afflicted.


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I will make the lame a remnant and those who were driven off a strong nation.' ADONAI will rule them on Mount Tziyon from that time forth and forever.


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You, tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Tziyon, to you your former sovereignty will return, the royal power of the daughter of Yerushalayim.


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Why are you now crying out? Don't you have a king? Has your counselor been destroyed, that you are seized with pain like a woman in labor?


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Be in pain! Work to give birth like a woman in labor, daughter of Tziyon! For now you will go out of the city and live in the wilds till you reach Bavel. There you will be rescued; there ADONAI will redeem you from the power of your enemies.


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Now many nations have gathered against you; they say, 'Let her be defiled, let's gloat over Tziyon.'


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But they don't know the thoughts of ADONAI, they don't understand his plan; for he has gathered them like sheaves on the threshing-floor.


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Get up! Start threshing, daughter of Tziyon! 'For I will make your horns like iron and your hoofs like bronze.' You will crush many peoples and devote their plunder to ADONAI, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.


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Now gather yourself in troops, you who are accustomed to being in troops; they have laid siege to us. They are striking the judge of Isra'el on the cheek with a stick.


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But you, Beit-Lechem near Efrat, so small among the clans of Y'hudah, out of you will come forth to me the future ruler of Isra'el, whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient times.


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Therefore he will give up [Isra'el] only until she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his kinsmen will return to the people of Isra'el.


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He will stand and feed his flock in the strength of ADONAI, in the majesty of the name of ADONAI his God; and they will stay put, as he grows great to the very ends of the earth;


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and this will be peace. If Ashur invades our land, if he overruns our fortresses, we will raise seven shepherds against him, eight leaders of men.


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They will shepherd the land of Ashur with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its gates; and he will rescue us from Ashur when he invades our land, when he overruns our borders.


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Then the remnant of Ya'akov, surrounded by many peoples, will be like dew from ADONAI, like showers on the grass, which doesn't wait for a man or expect anything from mortals.


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The remnant of Ya'akov among the nations, surrounded by many peoples, will be like a lion among forest animals, like a young lion among flocks of sheep - if it passes through, tramples and tears to pieces, there is no one to rescue them.


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'When that day comes,' says ADONAI, 'I will cut off your horses from among you and destroy your chariots.


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I will cut off your carved images and standing-stones from among you; no longer will you worship what your own hands have made.


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So listen now to what ADONAI says: 'Stand up and state your case to the mountains, let the hills hear what you have to say.'


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Listen, mountains, to ADONAI's case; also you enduring rocks that support the earth! ADONAI has a case against his people; he wants to argue it out with Isra'el:


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I brought you up from the land of Egypt. I redeemed you from a life of slavery. I sent Moshe, Aharon and Miryam to lead you.


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My people, just remember what Balak the king of Mo'av had planned, what Bil'am the son of B'or answered him, [and what happened] between Sheetim and Gilgal - so that you will understand the saving deeds of ADONAI.'


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'With what can I come before ADONAI to bow down before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings? with calves in their first year?


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Would ADONAI take delight in thousands of rams with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Could I give my firstborn to pay for my crimes, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?'


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Human being, you have already been told what is good, what ADONAI demands of you - no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God.


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The voice of ADONAI! He calls to the city - and it is wisdom to fear your name - 'Listen to the rod and to him who commissioned it.


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Are there still ill-gotten gains in the house of the wicked? still the detestable short eifah-measure?


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The rich men there are full of violence, the inhabitants tell lies, with tongues of deceit in their mouths.


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You will eat but not be satisfied, with hunger gnawing inside you. You will conceive but not give birth; if you do give birth, I will give him to the sword.


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You will sow but will not reap, you will press olives but not rub yourself with oil, likewise you will press grapes but not drink the wine.


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For you keep the regulations of 'Omri and all the practices of the house of Ach'av, modeling yourselves on their advice. Therefore I will make you an object of horror, the inhabitants of this city a cause for contempt; you will suffer the insults aimed at my people.'


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Woe to me! for I have become like the leavings of summer fruit, like the gleanings when the vintage is finished - there isn't a cluster worth eating, no early-ripened fig that appeals to me.


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The godly have been destroyed from the land, there is no one upright among humankind. They all lie in wait for blood, each hunts his brother with a net.


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Their hands do evil well. The prince makes his request, the judge grants it for a price, and the great man expresses his evil desires - thus they weave it together.


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The best of them is a briar, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The time of your watchmen - of your punishment - has come; now they will be confused.


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Don't trust in your neighbor; don't put confidence in a close friend; shut the gates of your mouth even from [your wife], lying there with you in bed.


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For a son insults his father, a daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a person's enemies are the members of his own household.


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Enemies of mine, don't gloat over me! Although I have fallen, I will rise; though I live in the dark, ADONAI is my light.


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I will endure ADONAI's rage, because I sinned against him; until he pleads my cause and judges in my favor. Then he will bring me out to the light, and I will see his justice.


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My enemies will see it too, and shame will cover those who said to me, 'Where is ADONAI your God?' I will gloat over them, as they are trampled underfoot like mud in the streets.


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a day when [your] people will come [back] to you from Ashur and from the cities of Egypt, from Egypt and from as far as the Euphrates River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.


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Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, who live alone, like a forest in the middle of a fertile pasture. Let them feed in Bashan and Gil'ad, as they did in days of old.


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The nations will see and be put to shame, in spite of all their power. They will cover their mouths with their hands, and their ears will be deafened.


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They will lick the dust like snakes; they will emerge from their fortresses trembling like reptiles that crawl about on the earth; they will come with fear to ADONAI our God, afraid because of you.


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Who is a God like you, pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in grace.


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He will again have compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities. You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea.


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You will show truth to Ya'akov and grace to Avraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors since days of long ago.


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This is a prophecy about Ninveh, the book of the vision of Nachum the Elkoshi: ADONAI is a jealous and vengeful God. ADONAI avenges; he knows how to be angry. ADONAI takes vengeance on his foes and stores up wrath for his enemies. 3 ADONAI is slow to anger, but great in power; and he does not leave the guilty unpunished. ADONAI's path is in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and leaves it dry, he dries up all the rivers. Bashan and the Karmel languish; the flower of the L'vanon withers. 5 The mountains quake before him, and the hills dissolve; the earth collapses in his presence, the world and everyone living in it. 6 Who can withstand his fury? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, the rocks broken to pieces before him. 7 ADONAI is good, a stronghold in time of trouble; he takes care of those who take refuge in him. 8 But with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of [Ninveh's] place, and darkness will pursue his enemies. 9 What are you planning against ADONAI? He is making an end [of it]; trouble will not arise a second time. 10 For like men drunk with liquor, they will be burned up like tangled thorns, like straw completely dry. 11 Out of you, [Ninveh,] he came, one who plots evil against ADONAI, who counsels wickedness. 12 Here is what ADONAI says: 'Though they be many and strong, they will be cut down, they will pass; and though I have made you suffer, I will make you suffer no more. 13 Now I will break his yoke from your necks and snap the chains that bind you. 14 ADONAI gave this order concerning you: you will have no descendants to bear your name; from the house of your god I will cut off carved image and cast metal image; I will prepare your grave, because you are worthless.' 15 Look! On the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, proclaiming shalom. Keep your festivals, Y'hudah, fulfill your vows; for B'liya'al will never pass through you again; he has been completely destroyed.


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A destroyer has risen in front of your face; guard the ramparts, keep watch on the road, brace yourselves, marshall all your strength.


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For ADONAI is restoring the pride of Ya'akov, along with the pride of Isra'el; because plunderers have plundered them and ravaged their vines.


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The shields of [Ninveh's] warriors are [dyed] red; the soldiers are wearing scarlet. The steel of the chariots flashes like fire as they prepare for battle. The cypress [spears] are poisoned.


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The chariots rush madly about in the streets, jostling each other in the open places; their appearance is like torches, they run here and there like lightning.


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[The king of Ninveh] assigns his officers; they stumble as they march; they hurry to its wall and set up shields to protect the battering ram.


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Its mistress is stripped and carried away; her handmaids moan, they sound like doves, as they beat their breasts.


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Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the treasure, weighed down with precious things.


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She is void, vacant; she is made bare. Hearts are melting, knees are knocking; every stomach is churning, every face is drained of color.


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What has become of the lion's den, the cave where the young lions fed, where lion and lioness walked with their cubs, and no one made them afraid?


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The lion would tear up food for his cubs and strangle prey for his lionesses; he used to fill his caves with prey, his lairs with torn flesh.


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'I am against you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'Her chariots I will send up in smoke, the sword will consume your lion cubs, I will destroy your prey from the earth, and your envoys' voices will be heard no more.'


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cavalry charging, swords flashing, spears glittering - and hosts of slain, heaps of bodies; there is no end to the corpses; they stumble over their corpses.


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'Because of the continual whoring of this whore, this alluring mistress of sorcery, who sells nations with her whoring and families with her sorcery;


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I am against you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'I will uncover your skirts on your face; I will show the nations your private parts and the kingdoms your shame.


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Then all who see you will recoil from you; they will say, 'Ninveh is destroyed!' Who will mourn for her? Where can I find people to comfort you?'


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Are you any better than No-Amon, located among the streams of the Nile, with water all around her, the flood her wall of defense?


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Still she went captive into exile, her infants torn to pieces at every streetcorner. Lots were drawn for her nobles, and all her great men were bound in chains.


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You too, [Ninveh,] will be drunk; your senses completely overcome. You too will seek a refuge from the enemy.


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All your fortifications will be like fig trees with early ripening figs; the moment they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.


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Look at your troops! They behave like women! Your country's gates are wide open to your foes; fire has consumed their bars.


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Draw water for the siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go down in the clay, tread the mortar, Take hold of the mold for bricks!


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There the fire will burn you up; and the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like grasshoppers. Make yourselves as many as grasshoppers, Make yourselves as many as locusts!


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Your guards are like grasshoppers, your marshals like swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun rises they fly away; they vanish to no one knows where.


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Your shepherds are slumbering, king of Ashur. Your leaders are asleep. Your people are scattered all over the mountains, with no one to round them up.


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Your wound cannot be healed. Your injury is fatal. Everyone hearing the news about you claps his hands in joy over you. For who has not been overwhelmed by your relentless cruelty?


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Why do you make me see wrongdoing, why do you permit oppression? Pillage and cruelty confront me, so that strife and discord prevail.


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Therefore Torah is not followed; justice never gets rendered, because the wicked fence in the righteous. This is why justice comes out perverted.


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'Look around among the nations! What you see will completely astound you! For what is going to be done in your days you will not believe, even when you are told.


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I am raising up the Kasdim, that bitter and impetuous nation, who march far and wide over the earth to seize homes that are not their own.


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Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at night. Their cavalry gallop in from afar, flying like vultures rushing to feed.


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They scoff at kings; princes they deride. They laugh at any fortress; they pile up earth and take it.


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Then they sweep on like the wind, but they become guilty, because they make their strength their god.'


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ADONAI, haven't you existed forever? My God, my holy one, we will not die. ADONAI, you appointed them to execute judgment. Rock, you commissioned them to correct us.


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Your eyes are too pure to see evil, you cannot countenance oppression. So why do you countenance traitors? Why are you silent when evil people swallow up those more righteous than they?


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The evil haul them all up with their hooks, catch them in their fish net, or gather them in their dragnet. Then they rejoice and make merry,


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offering sacrifices to their fishnet and burning incense to their dragnet; because through them they live in luxury, with plenty of food to eat.


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Should they, therefore, keep emptying their nets? Should they keep slaughtering the nations without pity?


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I will stand at my watchpost; I will station myself on the rampart. I will look to see what [God] will say through me and what I will answer when I am reproved.


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Then ADONAI answered me; he said, 'Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that even a runner can read it.


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For the vision is meant for its appointed time; it speaks of the end, and it does not lie. It may take a while, but wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.


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'Look at the proud: he is inwardly not upright; but the righteous will attain life through trusting faithfulness.


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Truly, wine is treacherous; the arrogant will not live at peace but keeps expanding his desires like Sh'ol; like death, he can never be satisfied; he keeps collecting all the nations for himself, rallying to himself all the peoples.


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Won't all these take up taunting him and say about him, in mocking riddles, 'Woe to him who amasses other people's wealth! how long must it go on? and to him who adds to himself the weight of goods taken in pledge!


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Won't your own creditors suddenly stand, won't those who make you tremble wake up? You will become their spoil.


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Because you plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples will plunder you; because of the bloodshed and violence done to the land, the city and all who live there.


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''Woe to him who seeks unjust gain for his household, putting his nest on the heights, in order to be safe from the reach of harm.


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so that people toil for what will be burned up, and nations exhaust themselves to no purpose. Isn't all this from ADONAI-Tzva'ot?


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''Woe to him who has his neighbor drink, adds his own poison and makes him drunk, in order to see him naked.


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You are filled with shame, not glory. You, drink too, and stagger! The cup of ADONAI's right hand will be turned against you; your shame will exceed your glory.


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For the violence done to the L'vanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the wild animals will terrify you; because of the bloodshed and violence done to the land, the city and all who live there.''


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What good is an idol, once its maker has shaped it, a cast metal image and a teacher of lies, that its maker puts his trust in it, and goes on making non-gods, unable to talk?


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Woe to him who tells a piece of wood, 'Wake up!' or a speechless stone, 'Rouse yourself!' Can this thing teach? Why, it's covered with gold and silver, without the slightest breath in it!


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ADONAI, I have heard the report about you. ADONAI, I am awed by your deeds. Bring your work to life in our own age, make it known in our own time; but in anger, remember compassion.


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God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Pa'ran. His splendor covers the sky, and his praise fills the earth.


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His brightness is like the sun, rays come forth from his hand - that is where his power is concealed.


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When he stands up, the earth shakes; when he looks, the nations tremble, (Selah) the eternal mountains are smashed to pieces, the ancient hills sink down; the ancient paths are his.


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ADONAI, is it against the rivers, against the rivers that your anger is inflamed? Is your fury directed at the sea? Is that why you ride on your horses, and drive your chariots to victory?


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You brandish your naked bow and order it filled with arrows. (Selah) You split the earth with rivers.


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The mountains see you and tremble; a torrent of water streams by; the deep thunders forth, as it raises enormous waves.


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The sun and moon stand still in the sky at the light of your arrows speeding by, at the gleam of your glittering spear.


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You come out to save your people, to save your anointed one; you crush the head of the house of the wicked, uncovering its foundation all the way to the neck.


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With their own rods you pierce the head of their warriors, who come like a whirlwind to scatter us, who rejoice at the prospect of devouring the poor in secret.


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When I heard, my whole body trembled, my lips shook at the sound; weakness overcame my limbs, my legs gave way beneath me. But I wait calmly for the day of trouble, when it comes upon our assailants.


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For even if the fig tree doesn't blossom, and no fruit is on the vines, even if the olive tree fails to produce, and the fields yield no food at all, even if the sheep vanish from the sheep pen, and there are no cows in the stalls;


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ELOHIM Adonai is my strength! He makes me swift and sure-footed as a deer and enables me to stride over my high places. For the leader. With my stringed instruments.


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This is the word of ADONAI that came to Tz'fanyah the son of Kushi, the son of G'dalyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Hizkiyah, during the reign of Yoshiyahu the son of Amon, king of Y'hudah:


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'I will sweep away humans and animals, the birds in the air and the fish in the sea, also the wicked and what makes them stumble; I will wipe humanity off the land,' says ADONAI.


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'I will stretch out my hand over Y'hudah and all those living in Yerushalayim. I will wipe every remnant of Ba'al from this place, the idol-serving priests and even their names,


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those worshipping heaven's army on the roofs, also those who worship and swear by ADONAI but swear by Malkam as well,


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those who turned away from following ADONAI, and those who haven't sought ADONAI or consulted him at all.'


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Keep silent before Adonai ELOHIM, for the Day of ADONAI is near. ADONAI has prepared a sacrifice; he has set apart those he invited.


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When the time comes for ADONAI's sacrifice - 'I will punish the leaders and the sons of the king, also those who dress in foreign clothes.


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On the same day I will also punish all who jump over the threshold to fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.


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Also on that day,' says ADONAI, 'a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, wailing from the city's Second Quarter and a loud crash from the hills.


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Wail, you who live down in the hollow, because all the merchants are destroyed, all who trade with silver are ruined.


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When that time comes, I will search Yerushalayim with lamps and punish those who are [smug and thick, like wine] left too long on its dregs, who say to themselves, 'ADONAI will do nothing - neither good nor bad.'


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For this, their wealth will be plundered; and their houses will be destroyed. Yes, they will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine.'


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The great Day of ADONAI is near, near and coming very quickly; Hear the sound of the Day of ADONAI! When it's here, even a warrior will cry bitterly.


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That Day is a Day of fury, a Day of trouble and distress, a Day of waste and desolation, a Day of darkness and gloom, a Day of clouds and thick fog,


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a Day of the shofar and battle-cry against the fortified cities and against the high towers [on the city walls].


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'I will bring such distress on people that they will grope their way like the blind, because they have sinned against ADONAI. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their bowels like dung.


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Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. On the day of ADONAI's fury, the whole land will be destroyed in the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, a horrible end, of all those living in the land.'


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before the decree takes effect, and the day comes when one passes like chaff; before ADONAI's fierce anger comes on you, before the day of ADONAI's anger comes on you.


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Seek ADONAI, all you humble in the land, you who exercise his justice; seek righteousness, seek humility - you might be hidden on the day of ADONAI's anger.


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For 'Azah will be abandoned, Ashkelon will be desolate, they will evacuate Ashdod at noon, and 'Ekron will be uprooted.


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Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the K'reti! The word of ADONAI is against you, Kena'an, land of the P'lishtim: 'I will destroy you; no one will be left.'


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and the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Y'hudah. They will pasture their flocks there and in the evening lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. For ADONAI their God will remember them and restore their fortunes.


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'I have heard the insults of Mo'av and the taunts of the people of 'Amon, how they reviled my people and boasted of expanding their territory.


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Therefore, as I live,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, 'Mo'av will become like S'dom and the people of 'Amon like 'Amora, a land covered with nettles and salt pits, desolate forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them, the survivors in my nation will inherit them.'


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This is what they will earn for their pride, for having reviled and boasted against the people of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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ADONAI will be fearsome against them, for he will make all the earth's gods waste away. Then all the coasts and islands of the nations will worship him, each from its place.


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He will stretch out his hand against the north; he will destroy Ashur; he will make Ninveh desolate, as dry as the desert.


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Herds will lie down in it, and all kinds of wild animals too - jackdaws and owls will roost on her columns, voices screeching in the windows, desolation on the doorsteps, for its cedarwork is stripped bare.


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This is the city, once so joyful, whose people felt themselves secure, who used to say to herself, 'I am [the greatest]! I have no rival.' What a ruin she has become a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone passing by her hisses and shakes his fist!


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She wouldn't listen to the voice, wouldn't receive correction; she didn't trust in ADONAI, didn't draw close to her God.


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Her leaders there with her are roaring lions, her judges desert wolves, who don't leave even a bone for tomorrow.


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ADONAI, who is righteous, is there among them; he never does anything wrong. Every morning he renders his judgment, every morning, without fail; yet the wrongdoer knows no shame.


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'I have cut off nations, their battlements are ruined; I have made their streets ruins, no one walks in them. Their cities are destroyed, abandoned, unpeopled.


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I said, 'Surely now you will fear me, you will receive correction'; so that her place will not be cut off by all the punishments I brought on her. But no, they only grew all the more eager to be corrupt in all that they do.


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Therefore, wait for me,' says ADONAI, 'for the day when I rise to witness against you, when I decide to assemble nations, to gather kingdoms together, to pour on them my indignation, all my furious anger; for all the earth will be consumed in the fire of my passion.


text:
For then I will change the peoples, so that they will have pure lips, to call on the name of ADONAI, all of them, and serve him with one accord.


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Even from beyond Ethiopia's rivers they will bring those who petition me, the daughter of my dispersed as my offering.


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When that day comes, you will not be ashamed of everything you have done, committing wrongs against me; for then I will remove from among you those of you who take joy in arrogance; you will no longer be full of pride on my holy mountain.


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I will leave among you a poor and afflicted people, who will find their refuge in the name of ADONAI.'


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The remnant of Isra'el will not do wrong, nor will they speak lies, nor will there be found in their mouths a tongue given over to deceit; for they will be able to graze and lie down, with no one to disturb them.


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Sing, daughter of Tziyon! Shout, Isra'el! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Yerushalayim!


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ADONAI has removed the judgments against you, he has expelled your enemy; the king of Isra'el, ADONAI, is right there with you. You no longer need to fear that anything bad will happen.


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On that day, it will be said to Yerushalayim, 'Do not fear, Tziyon! don't let your hands droop down.


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ADONAI your God is right there with you, as a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you and be glad, he will be silent in his love, he will shout over you with joy.'


text:
'I will gather those of yours who grieve over the appointed feasts and bear the burden of reproach [because they cannot keep them].


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When that time comes, I will deal with all those who oppress you. I will save her who is lame, gather her who was driven away, and make them whose shame spread over the earth the object of praise and renown.


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When that time comes, I will bring you in; when that time comes, I will gather you and make you the object of fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth - when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,' says ADONAI.


text:
In the second year of Daryavesh the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the following word of ADONAI came through Hagai the prophet to Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, governor of Y'hudah, and to Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol:


text:
'Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: 'This people is saying that now isn't the time - the time hasn't yet arrived for ADONAI's house to be rebuilt.''


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'So is now the time for you to be living in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?


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You sow much but bring in little; you eat but aren't satisfied; you drink but never have enough; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who works for a living earns wages that are put in a bag full of holes.''


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Go up into the hills, get wood, and rebuild the house. I will be pleased with that, and then I will be glorified,' says ADONAI.


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'You looked for much, but it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?' asks ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'Because my house lies in ruins, while every one of you runs to take care of his own house.


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This is why the sky above you has withheld the dew, so that there is none, and the land withholds its yield.


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In fact, I called for a drought on the land and on the hills, on the grain, the wine and the olive oil, on what the ground brings up, on men, animals and on all that hands produce.''


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Then Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el and Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, with all the rest of the people, paid attention to what ADONAI their God had said and to the words of Hagai the prophet; since ADONAI their God had sent him; and the people were filled with fear in the presence of ADONAI.


text:
Hagai the messenger of ADONAI conveyed this message of ADONAI to the people: ''I am with you,' says ADONAI.'


text:
ADONAI roused the spirit of Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, governor of Y'hudah, and the spirit of Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and the spirits of all the rest of the people; so that they came and began to work on the house of ADONAI-Tzva'ot their God.


text:
'Speak now to Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, governor of Y'hudah, and to Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and to the rest of the people; say this to them:


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''Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? It seems like nothing to you, doesn't it?


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Nevertheless, Z'rubavel, take courage now,' says ADONAI; 'and take courage, Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol; and take courage, all you people of the land,' says ADONAI; 'and get to work! For I am with you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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'This is in keeping with the word that I promised in a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit remains with you, so don't be afraid!'


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For this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: 'It won't be long before one more time I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land;


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and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations will flow in; and I will fill this house with glory,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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'The glory of this new house will surpass that of the old,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and in this place I will grant shalom,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.''


text:
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Daryavesh, this word of ADONAI came through Hagai the prophet:


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if someone carries meat that has been set aside as holy in a fold of his cloak; and then he lets his cloak touch bread, stew, wine, olive oil or any other food; does that food become holy too?'' The cohanim answered, 'No.'


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Then Hagai asked, 'If someone who is unclean from having had contact with a corpse touches any of these [food items], will they become unclean?' The cohanim answered, 'They become unclean.'


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Hagai then said, ''That is the condition of this people, that is the condition of this nation before me,' says ADONAI, 'and that is the condition of everything their hands produce; so that anything they offer there is unclean.


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Now, please, from this day on, keep this in mind: before you began laying stones on each other to rebuild the temple of ADONAI,


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throughout that whole time, when someone approached a twenty-measure pile [of grain], he found only ten; and when he came to the winepress to draw out fifty measures, there were only twenty.


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I struck you with blasting winds, mildew and hail on everything your hands produced; but you still wouldn't return to me,' says ADONAI.


text:
'So please keep this in mind, from this day on, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of ADONAI's temple was laid, consider this:


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there's no longer any seed in the barn, is there? and the vine, fig tree, pomegranate tree and olive tree have produced nothing yet, right? However, from this day on, I will bless you.''


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I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms, I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and I will overturn the chariots and the people riding in them; the horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.


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When that day comes,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'I will take you, Z'rubavel, my servant, the son of Sh'alti'el,' says ADONAI, 'and wear you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.'


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In the eighth month of the second year of Daryavesh, the following message from ADONAI came to Z'kharyah the son of Berekhyah, the son of 'Iddo, the prophet:


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Therefore, tell them that ADONAI-Tzva'ot says this: ''Return to me,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and I will return to you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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'Don't be like your ancestors. The earlier prophets proclaimed to them, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says to turn back now from your evil ways and deeds'; but they didn't listen or pay attention to me,' says ADONAI.


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But my words and my laws, which I ordered my servants the prophets, overtook your ancestors, didn't they? Then they turned and said, 'ADONAI has dealt with us according to our ways and deeds, just as he intended to do.''''


text:
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Sh'vat, in the second year of Daryavesh, this message from ADONAI came to Z'kharyah the son of Berekhyah, the son of 'Iddo, the prophet:


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It was night, and I saw there before me a man riding on a russet-colored horse. He stood among the myrtle bushes in the valley; and behind him were other horses, russet, chestnut-colored and white.


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I asked, 'What are these, my Lord?' The angel speaking with me said to me, 'I will show you what these are.'


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The man standing among the myrtles said, 'These are those whom ADONAI has sent to wander throughout the earth.'


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Then they themselves answered the angel of ADONAI standing among the myrtles, 'We have been wandering throughout the earth, and the whole world is quiet and at peace.'


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The angel of ADONAI said, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot, how long will you keep withholding mercy from Yerushalayim and the cities of Y'hudah? You've been angry with them for the past seventy years!'


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The angel speaking with me then said to me, 'Here is what ADONAITzva'ot says: 'I am extremely jealous on behalf of Yerushalayim and Tziyon;


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and [to the same degree] I am extremely angry with the nations that are so self-satisfied; because I was only a little angry [at Yerushalayim and Tziyon], but they made the suffering worse.'


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Therefore ADONAI says, 'I will return to Yerushalayim with merciful deeds. My house will be rebuilt there,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot; 'yes, a measuring line will be stretched out over Yerushalayim.'


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In addition, proclaim that ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'My cities will again overflow with prosperity.' ADONAI will again comfort Tziyon, and he will again make Yerushalayim the city of his choice.'


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I asked the angel who was speaking to me, 'What are these?' He answered, 'These are the horns that scattered Y'hudah, Isra'el and Yerushalayim.'


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I asked, 'What are these coming to do?' He said, 'Those horns that scattered Y'hudah so completely that no one could even raise his head - well, these men have come to terrify them, to overthrow the nations that raised their horns against the land of Y'hudah to scatter it.'


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I asked, 'Where are you going?' He said to me, 'To measure Yerushalayim, to determine its width and length.'


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and said to him, 'Run and tell this young man, 'Yerushalayim will be inhabited without walls, because there will be so many people and animals;


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'for,' says ADONAI, 'I will be for her a wall of fire surrounding her; and I will be the glory within her.


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Up!' says ADONAI, 'Move! Flee the land of the north! For I scattered you like the four winds of the sky,' says ADONAI.


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For ADONAI-Tzva'ot has sent me on a glorious mission to the nations that plundered you, and this is what he says: 'Anyone who injures you injures the very pupil of my eye.


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But I will shake my hand over them, and they will be plundered by those who were formerly their slaves.' Then you will know that ADONAI-Tzva'ot sent me.


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Whenrejoice! For, here, I am coming; and I will live among you,' says ADONAI. that time comes, many nations will join themselves to ADONAI. 'They will be my people, and I will live among you.' Then you will know that it was ADONAI-Tzva'ot who sent me to you.


text:
ADONAI will take possession of Y'hudah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again make Yerushalayim his choice.


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He showed me Y'hoshua the cohen hagadol standing before the angel of ADONAI, with the Accuser [Hebrew: Satan] standing at his right to accuse him.


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ADONAI said to the Accuser, 'May ADONAI rebuke you, Accuser! Indeed, may ADONAI, who has made Yerushalayim his choice, rebuke you! Isn't this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?'


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who said to those standing in front of him, 'Take those filthy garments off of him.' Then to him he said, 'See, I am taking your guilt away. I will clothe you in fine robes.'


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I said, 'They should put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and gave him fine robes to wear, while the angel of ADONAI stood by.


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'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says this: 'If you will walk in my ways, obey my commission, judge my house and guard my courtyards; then I will give you free access among these who are standing here.


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Listen, cohen gadol Y'hoshua, both you and your colleagues seated here before you, because these men are a sign that I am going to bring my servant Tzemach [Sprout].


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For look at the stone I have put in front of Y'hoshua: on one stone are seven eyes; I will engrave what is to be written on it,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot; 'and I will remove the guilt of this land in one day.


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When that time comes,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'you will all invite each other to join you under your vines and fig trees.''


text:
Then the angel that had been speaking with me returned and roused me, as if he were waking someone up from being asleep,


text:
and asked me, 'What do you see?' I answered, 'I've been looking at a menorah; it's all of gold, with a bowl at its top, seven lamps on it, and seven tubes leading to the lamps at its top.


text:
I then asked the angel speaking with me, 'What are these, my Lord?' The angel speaking with me said,


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Then he answered me, 'This is the word of ADONAI to Z'rubavel: 'Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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'What are you, you big mountain? Before Z'rubavel you will become a plain; and he will put the capstone in place, as everyone shouts, 'It's beautiful! Beautiful!''


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'The hands of Z'rubavel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will also finish it.' Then you will know that ADONAI-Tzva'ot sent me to you.


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For even someone who doesn't think much of a day when such minor events take place will rejoice at seeing the plumbline in the hand of Z'rubavel. So these seven are the eyes of ADONAI that range about over all the earth.'


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I replied by asking him, 'What are those two olive trees on the right and left sides of the menorah?'


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Then I asked the question again: 'What are those two olive branches discharging gold[-colored oil] through the two gold spouts?'


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He said, 'Those are the two who have been anointed with oil; they are standing with the Lord of all the land.'


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He said to me, 'What do you see?' I replied, 'I see a flying scroll thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.


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Then he said to me, 'This is the curse that goes out over the face of all the land; for [according to what is written] on one side, everyone who steals will be swept away; and [according to what is written] on the other side, everyone who swears will be swept away.


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'I will release it,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name; it will stay there inside the house and consume it completely, even its timbers and stones.''


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Then the angel speaking with me went forward and said to me, 'Now raise your eyes, and see what this thing is, passing by.'


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I asked, 'What is it?' He said, 'This is the eifah-measure [a one-bushel dry-measure] passing by.' Then he added, 'This is their eye in all the land.'


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He said, 'This is Evil.' He threw her down into the eifah and pressed the lead weight over its opening.


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I raised my eyes and saw two women coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like those of a stork. They lifted the eifah up between the earth and the sky.


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He answered me, 'To build it a shrine in the land of Shin'ar. When it's ready, [the eifah] will be set down there on its base.'


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Again I raised my eyes, and I saw in front of me four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze.


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The angel answered me, 'These are the four winds of the sky that go out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the land.


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The one with the black horses is going out toward the land in the north, the white [horses] have gone out after them, and the spotted have gone out toward the land in the south.'


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Then the gray ones went out and were seeking to go and wander throughout the whole earth, when he said, 'Wander throughout the whole earth'; and they did wander throughout the whole earth.


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Then he called out to me and said, 'Look! The ones going to the land in the north have given my Spirit rest in the north country.'


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'Take [gifts] from the exiles of Heldai, Toviyah, and Y'da'yah, who have arrived from Bavel; then you, go to the house of Yoshiyah the son of Tz'fanyah.


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Take silver and gold; make crowns; put one on the head of Y'hoshua the son of Y'hotzadak, the cohen hagadol;


text:
and tell him, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: 'There is coming a man whose name is Tzemach [Sprout]. He will sprout up from his place and rebuild the temple of ADONAI.


text:
Yes, he will rebuild the temple of ADONAI; and he will take up royal splendor, sitting and ruling from his throne. There will be a cohen before his throne; and they will accept each other's advice in complete harmony.


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The other crowns will be for Helem, Toviyah, Y'da'yah and Hen the son of Tz'fanyah; then [they are to be kept] as a memorial in the temple of ADONAI.


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Those who are now far away will come and help rebuild the temple of ADONAI.' Then you will know that it is ADONAI-Tzva'ot who sent me to you. And it will all come about, provided you heed carefully what ADONAI your God says.''


text:
In the fourth year of King Daryavesh, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev, a message from ADONAI came to Z'kharyah.


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as they inquired of the cohanim of the house of ADONAI-Tzva'ot and the prophets, 'Should we go into mourning and abstain from pleasure during the fifth month, as we have been doing for all these years?'


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'Speak to all the people of the land and to the cohanim. Tell them, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months throughout these seventy years, were you really fasting for me? Was it for me?


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Isn't this just what ADONAI proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Yerushalayim was inhabited and prosperous, as were the cities around her; and the Negev and the Sh'felah were inhabited?''


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'In the past ADONAI-Tzva'ot said, 'Administer true justice. Let everyone show mercy and compassion to his brother.


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But they wouldn't listen, they stubbornly turned their shoulder away and stopped up their ears, so that they wouldn't have to hear it.


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Yes, they made their hearts as hard as a diamond, so that they wouldn't hear the Torah and the messages that ADONAI-Tzva'ot had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. This is why great anger came from ADONAI-Tzva'ot;


text:
and it came about that just as they hadn't listened when he called, so ADONAI-Tzva'ot said, 'I won't listen when they call;


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but with the power of a whirlwind I will disperse them among all the nations which they have not known.' Thus the land was left desolate after them, so that no one came or went. They had turned a pleasant land into a desert.'


text:
'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'I am extremely jealous on Tziyon's behalf, and I am jealous for her with great fury.'


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ADONAI says, 'I am returning to Tziyon, and I will live in Yerushalayim. Then Yerushalayim will be called Truth City, ADONAI-Tzva'ot's Mountain, the Mountain of the Holy One.


text:
ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'Old men and old women will once again sit in the open places of Yerushalayim, each one with his cane in his hand, because of their great age.


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ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'This may seem amazing to the survivors in those days, but must it also seem amazing to me?' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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I will bring them back, and they will live in Yerushalayim. They will be my people; and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.'


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'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'Take courage, you who are hearing only now, in these days, these words spoken by the prophets when the foundation was being laid for rebuilding the temple, the house of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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For prior to that time, there were wages neither for people nor for animals; moreover, it was unsafe for anyone to go out or come in, because of the enemy; for I set all people each against the other.


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'Now they will sow in peace, the vine will give its fruit, the ground will produce its yield, the sky will give its dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.


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House of Y'hudah and house of Isra'el, just as you were formerly a curse among the nations, so now I will save you; and you will be a blessing. Don't be afraid, but take courage!'


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'For ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'Just as I resolved to do you harm when your forefathers provoked me,' ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'and I did not relent;


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These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other; in your courts, administer justice that is true and conducive to peace;


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don't plot harm against each other; and don't love perjury; for all these are things I hate,' says ADONAI.'


text:
'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'The fast days of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months are to become times of joy, gladness and cheer for the house of Y'hudah. Therefore, love truth and peace.'


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the inhabitants of one city will travel to another and say, 'We must go to ask ADONAI's favor and consult ADONAI-Tzva'ot. I'll go too.'


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Yes, many peoples and powerful nations will come to consult ADONAI-Tzva'ot in Yerushalayim and to ask ADONAI's favor.'


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ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'When that time comes, ten men will take hold - speaking all the languages of the nations - will grab hold of the cloak of a Jew and say, 'We want to go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'''


text:
A prophecy, the word of ADONAI: In the land of Hadrakh and Dammesek is where [God] comes to rest, for the eyes of humankind are directed toward ADONAI, as are those of all the tribes of Isra'el,


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Tzor built herself a fortified tower, heaping up silver as if it were dust and fine gold as if it were mud in the streets.


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But Adonai will dispossess her and break her power at sea, while the city itself will be destroyed by fire.


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On seeing this, Ashkelon will be terrified; 'Azah too will writhe in pain; likewise 'Ekron, as her hopes are dashed. 'The king will vanish from 'Azah, Ashkelon will be without people,


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I will end their eating meat with its blood still in it, snatching the disgusting things from between their teeth.' But the surviving remnant will belong to our God; it will be like a clan in Y'hudah; and 'Ekron will be like a Y'vusi.


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'Then I will guard my house against armies, so that none will march through or return. No oppressor will ever again overrun them, for now I am watching with my own eyes.


text:
Rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Tziyon! Shout out loud, daughter of Yerushalayim! Look! Your king is coming to you. He is righteous, and he is victorious. Yet he is humble - he's riding on a donkey, yes, on a lowly donkey's colt.


text:
I will banish chariots from Efrayim and war-horses from Yerushalayim.' The warrior's bow will be banished, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea, and from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.


text:
'Also you, by the blood of your covenant, I release your prisoners from [the dungeon,] the cistern that has no water in it.


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Return to the stronghold, you prisoners with hope! This day I declare to you that I will grant you double reparation.


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For I have bent Y'hudah as my bow and made Efrayim its arrow. I will rouse your sons, Tziyon, and make you like a warrior's sword against your sons, Greece.'


text:
ADONAI will appear over them, and his arrow will flash like lightning. Adonai ELOHIM will blow the shofar and go out in the whirlwinds of the south.


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ADONAI-Tzva'ot will defend them; they will devour and trample the sling-stones. They will drink and roar as if they had drunk wine; they will be filled, like basins and like the corners of the altar.


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On that day ADONAI their God will save them as the flock of his people; for they will be like gems in a crown, sparkling over his countryside.


text:
What wealth is theirs, what beauty! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.


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Ask ADONAI for rain in the spring, ADONAI who makes the rain clouds; and he will give them showers of rain, grass in the field to each one.


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For the household gods talk nonsense, the diviners have seen a lie; their dreams convey delusions, and the comfort they offer is in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep in distress from lack of a shepherd.


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'My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will vent it on the leaders of the flock.' For ADONAI-Tzva'ot will care for his flock, the people of Y'hudah; he will make them like his royal war-horse.


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From them come cornerstone and tent peg, from them the bow for battle, from them all the rulers together.


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They will be like warriors trampling the mud of the streets in battle. They will fight, because ADONAI is with them; they will rout even those on horseback.


text:
'I will strengthen the house of Y'hudah and save the house of Yosef. I will bring them back in my compassion for them; they will be as if I hadn't driven them out; for I am ADONAI their God, and I will answer them.


text:
Efrayim's men will be like warriors; their hearts will be cheered as if from wine. Their children will see it and rejoice, their hearts will be glad in ADONAI.


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'I will whistle for them and gather them, because I have redeemed them; they will be as numerous as they were before;


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and I will sow them among the peoples. In distant lands they will remember me; they will rear their children and then return.


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I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them out of Ashur. I will bring them into Gil'ad and the L'vanon, until there is no more room for them.


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'Trouble will pass over the sea and stir up waves in the sea; all the depths of the Nile will be dried up, the pride of Ashur will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will leave.


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But I will strengthen [Isra'el] in ADONAI; they will travel here and there in his name,' says ADONAI.


text:
Wail, cypress, because the cedar has fallen, those splendid trees are ruined. Wail, oaks of Bashan, because the thick forest has been felled.


text:
Listen to the wail of the shepherds, because their glory is spoiled. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the Yarden's thickets are plundered.


text:
Their buyers kill them and go unpunished; while those who sell them say, 'Barukh ADONAI! Now I'm rich!' Even their own shepherds show them no pity.


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I will no longer show pity to the inhabitants of the land,' says ADONAI. 'No, I will hand every one of them over to the power of a neighbor and to the power of his king; they will crush the land; and I won't rescue them from their power.'


text:
So I shepherded the flock for slaughter, truly the most miserable of the sheep; and I took two staffs for myself. I called the one No'am [pleasantness], the other I called Hovalim [bound together], and I shepherded the flock.


text:
'In a single month I got rid of three shepherds, because I grew impatient with them; and besides, they detested me.


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I said, 'I'm not going to shepherd you. Whichever one is going to die, let it die; whichever is going to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and the rest can all devour each other.''


text:
I took my staff No'am and snapped it in two, 'in order to break my covenant, which I made with all the peoples.'


text:
On that day when it was broken, the most miserable of the sheep who paid attention to me knew that this was indeed a message from ADONAI.


text:
I said to them, 'If it seems good to you, give me my wages; if not, don't.' So they weighed out my wages, thirty silver [shekels, that is, twelve ounces].


text:
Concerning that 'princely sum' at which they valued me, ADONAI said, 'Throw it into the treasury!' So I took the thirty silver [shekels] and threw them into the treasury in the house of ADONAI.


text:
Then I snapped in two my other staff Hovalim [bound together], in order to break up the brotherhood between Y'hudah and Isra'el.


text:
For I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who won't bother about the ones who have been destroyed, won't seek out the young, won't heal the broken and won't feed those standing still; on the contrary, he will eat the meat of the fat ones and break their hoofs in pieces.


text:
'Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the sheep! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm be completely withered and his right eye totally blinded.'


text:
A prophecy, the word of ADONAI concerning Isra'el - here is the message from ADONAI, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth and formed the spirit inside human beings:


text:
'I will make Yerushalayim a cup that will stagger the surrounding peoples. Even Y'hudah will be caught up in the siege against Yerushalayim.


text:
When that day comes, I will make Yerushalayim a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who try to lift it will hurt themselves, and all the earth's nations will be massed against her.


text:
When that day comes,' says ADONAI, 'I will strike all the horses with panic and their riders with madness; I will keep watch over Y'hudah, but I will strike blind all the horses of the peoples.


text:
The leaders of Y'hudah will say to themselves, 'Those living in Yerushalayim are my strength through ADONAI-Tzva'ot their God.'


text:
When that day comes, I will make the leaders of Y'hudah like a blazing fire pan in a pile of wood, like a fiery torch among sheaves of grain; they will devour all the surrounding peoples, on the right and on the left. Yerushalayim will be inhabited in her own place, Yerushalayim.


text:
ADONAI will save the tents of Y'hudah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of those living in Yerushalayim will not appear greater than that of Y'hudah.


text:
When that day comes, ADONAI will defend those living in Yerushalayim. On that day, even someone who stumbles will be like David; and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of ADONAI before them.


text:
and I will pour out on the house of David and on those living in Yerushalayim a spirit of grace and prayer; and they will look to me, whom they pierced.' They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son; they will be in bitterness on his behalf like the bitterness for a firstborn son.


text:
When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Yerushalayim, mourning like that for Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.


text:
Then the land will mourn, each family by itself - the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Natan by itself, and their wives by themselves;


text:
the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shim'i by itself, and their wives by themselves;


text:
When that day comes, a spring will be opened up for the house of David and the people living in Yerushalayim to cleanse them from sin and impurity.


text:
'When that day comes,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'I will cut off the very names of the idols from the land, so that no one even remembers them any more. I will also expel the [false] prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land;


text:
so that if anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother who brought him into the world will tell him, 'You cannot continue to live, because you are speaking lies in the name of ADONAI'; then his own father and mother who brought him into the world will stab him to death.


text:
When that day comes, each one of the prophets will be shamed by his vision when he prophesies. He will stop wearing a hair cloak to deceive people;


text:
and instead, he will say, 'I'm no prophet, I just work the soil; since my youth I've only wanted to be an ordinary man.'


text:
If someone asks him, 'Then what are these gashes between your shoulders?' he will answer, 'I got hurt at my friends' house.'


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'Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the young ones.


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In time, throughout that land,' says ADONAI, 'two-thirds of those in it will be destroyed - they will die, but one-third will remain.


text:
That third part I will bring through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined, I will test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is my people' and they will say, 'ADONAI is my God.''


text:
Look, a day is coming for ADONAI when your plunder, [Yerushalayim], will be divided right there within you.


text:
'For I will gather all the nations against Yerushalayim for war. The city will be taken, the houses will be rifled, the women will be raped, and half the city will go into exile; but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.'


text:
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, to make a huge valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.


text:
You will flee to the valley in the mountains, for the valley in the mountains will reach to Atzel. You will flee, just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of 'Uziyah king of Y'hudah. Then ADONAI my God will come to you with all the holy ones.


text:
and one day, known to ADONAI, will be neither day nor night, although by evening there will be light.


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On that day, fresh water will flow out from Yerushalayim, half toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea, both summer and winter.


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Then ADONAI will be king over the whole world. On that day ADONAI will be the only one, and his name will be the only name.


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All the land will be made like the 'Aravah, from Geva to Rimmon in the Negev. Yerushalayim will be raised up and inhabited where she is, from Binyamin's Gate to the place where the earlier gate stood, and on to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hanan'el to the king's winepresses.


text:
ADONAI will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim with a plague in which their flesh rots away while they are standing on their feet, their eyes rot away in their sockets, and their tongues rot away in their mouths.


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When that day comes, there will be among them great panic, sent by ADONAI, so that everyone lays hands on his neighbor, who in turn attacks him.


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Y'hudah too will fight against Yerushalayim; and the wealth of all the nations will be assembled - gold, silver and clothing in great abundance.


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A plague like this plague will also affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys and all the other animals in those camps.


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Finally, everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Yerushalayim will go up every year to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, and to keep the festival of Sukkot.


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If any of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, no rain will fall on them.


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If the family of Egypt doesn't go up, if they refuse to come, they will have no [annual] overflow [from the Nile]; moreover, there will be the plague with which ADONAI will strike the nations that don't go up to keep the festival of Sukkot.


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This will be Egypt's punishment and the punishment of all the nations that don't go up to keep the festival of Sukkot.


text:
When that day comes, this will be written on the bells worn by the horses: 'Consecrated to ADONAI'; and the cooking pots in the house of ADONAI will be [as holy] as the sprinkling bowls before the altar.


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Yes, every cooking pot in Yerushalayim and Y'hudah will be consecrated to ADONAI-Tzva'ot. Everyone who offers sacrifices will come, take them and use them to stew the meat. When that day comes, there will no longer be merchants in the house of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
'I love you,' says ADONAI. But you ask, 'How do you show us your love?' ADONAI answers, ''Esav was Ya'akov's brother. Yet I loved Ya'akov


text:
Edom says, 'We are beaten down now, but we will come back and rebuild the ruins.' ADONAI-Tzva'ot answers, 'They can build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, the people with whom ADONAI is permanently angry.


text:
'A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I'm a father, where is the honor due me? and if I'm a master, where is the respect due me? - says ADONAI-Tzva'ot to you cohanim who despise my name. You ask, 'How are we despising your name?'


text:
By offering polluted food on my altar! Now you ask, 'How are we polluting you?' By saying that the table of ADONAI doesn't deserve respect;


text:
so that there's nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that's lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?' asks ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
So if you pray now that God will show us favor, what your actions have accomplished is that ADONAI-Tzva'ot asks, 'Will he receive any of you?


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Why doesn't even one of you shut the doors and thus stop this useless lighting of fires on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and I will not receive an offering from you.


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For from farthest east to farthest west my name is great among the nations. Offerings are presented to my name everywhere, pure gifts; for my name is great among the nations,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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'But you profane it by saying that the table of ADONAI is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt.


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You also say, 'It's all so tiresome!' and sniff scornfully at it,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you?' asks ADONAI.


text:
'Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to ADONAI anyway. For I am a great king,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and my name is respected among the nations.


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If you won't listen, if you won't pay attention to honoring my name,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'then I will send the curse on you; I will turn your blessings into curses. Yes, I will curse them, because you pay no attention.


text:
I will reject your seed; I will throw dung in your faces, the dung from your festival offerings; and you will be carted off with it.


text:
Then you will know that I sent you this command to affirm my covenant with Levi,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
'My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave him these things. It was also one of fear, and he feared me; he was in awe of my name.


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The true Torah was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found on his lips; he walked with me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from sin.


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A cohen's lips should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek Torah from his mouth, because he is the messenger of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
But you turned away from the path, you caused many to fail in the Torah, you corrupted the covenant of Levi,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
'Therefore I have in turn made you contemptible and vile before all the people, because you did not keep my ways but were partial in applying the Torah.'


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Don't we all have the same father? Didn't one God create us all? Then why do we break faith with each other, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?


text:
Y'hudah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Isra'el and Yerushalayim. For Y'hudah has profaned the sanctuary of ADONAI, which he loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.


text:
If a man does this and presents an offering to ADONAI-Tzva'ot, may ADONAI cut him off from the tents of Ya'akov, whether initiator or follower.


text:
Here is something else you do: you cover ADONAI's altar with tears, with weeping and with sighing, because he no longer looks at the offering or receives your gift with favor.


text:
Nevertheless, you ask, 'Why is this?' Because ADONAI is witness between you and the wife of your youth that you have broken faith with her, though she is your companion, your wife by covenant.


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And hasn't he made [them] one [flesh] in order to have spiritual blood-relatives? For what the one [flesh] seeks is a seed from God. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and don't break faith with the wife of your youth.


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'For I hate divorce,' says ADONAI the God of Isra'el, 'and him who covers his clothing with violence,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and don't break faith.


text:
You have wearied ADONAI with your words. Yet you ask, 'How have we wearied him?' By saying that anyone who does wrong is good from ADONAI's perspective, and that he is delighted with them; or by asking, 'Where is the God of justice?'


text:
'Look! I am sending my messenger to clear the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Yes, the messenger of the covenant, in whom you take such delight - look! Here he comes,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
But who can endure the day when he comes? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like the soapmaker's lye.


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He will sit, testing and purifying the silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold and silver, so that they can bring offerings to ADONAI uprightly.


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Then the offering of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim will be pleasing to ADONAI, as it was in the days of old, as in years gone by.


text:
'Then I will approach you for judgment; and I will be quick to witness against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers; against those who take advantage of wage-earners, widows and orphans; against those who rob the foreigner of his rights and don't fear me,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
Since the days of your forefathers you have turned from my laws and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'But you ask, 'In respect to what are we supposed to return?'


text:
Can a person rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How have we robbed you?' In tenths and voluntary contributions.


text:
Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and put me to the test,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 'See if I won't open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing far beyond your needs.


text:
For your sakes I will forbid the devourer to destroy the yield from your soil; and your vine will not lose its fruit before harvest-time,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


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By saying, 'There is no point in serving God. What good is it to obey his orders or to walk about as mourners before ADONAI-Tzva'ot?


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We consider the arrogant happy; also evildoers prosper; they put God to the test; nevertheless, they escape.''


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Then those who feared ADONAI spoke together; and ADONAI listened and heard. A record book was written in his presence for those who feared ADONAI and had respect for his name.


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'They will be mine,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'on the day when I compose my own special treasure. I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.


text:
Then once again you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and one that doesn't serve him.


text:
For the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble; the day that is coming will set them ablaze,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and leave them neither root nor branch.


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But to you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will break out leaping, like calves released from the stall.


text:
You will trample the wicked, they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I take action,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.


text:
'Remember the Torah of Moshe my servant, which I enjoined on him at Horev, laws and rulings for all Isra'el.


text:
Look, I will send to you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible Day of ADONAI.


text:
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers; otherwise I will come and strike the land with complete destruction.' [Look, I will send to you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible Day of ADONAI.]


text:
Avraham was the father of Yitz'chak, Yitz'chak was the father of Ya'akov, Ya'akov was the father of Y'hudah and his brothers,


text:
Y'hudah was the father of Peretz and Zerach (their mother was Tamar), Peretz was the father of Hetzron, Hetzron was the father of Ram,


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Ram was the father of 'Amminadav, 'Amminadav was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmon,


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Salmon was the father of Bo'az (his mother was Rachav), Bo'az was the father of 'Oved (his mother was Rut), 'Oved was the father of Yishai,


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Yishai was the father of David the king. David was the father of Shlomo (his mother was the wife of Uriyah),


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Shlomo was the father of Rechav'am, Rechav'am was the father of Aviyah, Aviyah was the father of Asa,


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Asa was the father of Y'hoshafat, Y'hoshafat was the father of Yoram, Yoram was the father of 'Uziyahu,


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Hizkiyahu was the father of M'nasheh, M'nasheh was the father of Amon, Amon was the father of Yoshiyahu,


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After the Babylonian Exile, Y'khanyahu was the father of Sh'altiel, Sh'altiel was the father of Z'rubavel,


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Z'rubavel was the father of Avihud, Avihud was the father of Elyakim, Elyakim was the father of 'Azur,


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El'ichud was the father of El'azar, El'azar was the father of Mattan, Mattan was the father of Ya'akov,


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Ya'akov was the father of Yosef the husband of Miryam, from whom was born the Yeshua who was called the Messiah.


text:
Thus there were fourteen generations from Avraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian Exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian Exile to the Messiah.


text:
Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the <i> Ruach HaKodesh</i>.


text:
Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame.


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But while he was thinking about this, an angel of <i>ADONAI </i>appeared to him in a dream and said, "Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>.


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She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means '<i>ADONAI </i> saves,'] because he will save his people from their sins."


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"The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him 'Immanu El." (The name means, "God is with us.")


text:
When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of <i>ADONAI </i>had told him to do- he took Miryam home to be his wife,


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but he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Yeshua.


text:
After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim


text:
and asked, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."


text:
He called together all the head <i>cohanim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers of the people and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"


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'And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Y'hudah; for from you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Isra'el.'"


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Herod summoned the Magi to meet with him privately and asked them exactly when the star had appeared.


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Then he sent them to Beit-Lechem with these instructions: "Search carefully for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him."


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After they had listened to the king, they went away; and the star which they had seen in the east went in front of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.


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Upon entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Miryam; and they prostrated themselves and worshipped him. Then they opened their bags and presented him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


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But they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they took another route back to their own country.


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After they had gone, an angel of <i>ADONAI </i>appeared to Yosef in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave. For Herod is going to look for the child in order to kill him."


text:
where he stayed until Herod died. This happened in order to fulfill what <i>ADONAI </i> had said through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."


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Meanwhile, when Herod realized that the Magi had tricked him, he was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in and around Beit-Lechem who were two years old or less, calculating from the time the Magi had told him.


text:
"A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and lamenting loudly. It was Rachel sobbing for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no longer alive."


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and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to <i>Eretz-Yisra'el</i>, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead."


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However, when he heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Y'hudah, he was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he withdrew to the Galil


text:
and settled in a town called Natzeret, so that what had been spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he will be called a <i>Natzrati</i>.


text:
It was during those days that Yochanan the Immerser arrived in the desert of Y'hudah and began proclaiming the message,


text:
This is the man Yesha'yahu was talking about when he said, "The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way of <i>ADONAI</i>! Make straight paths for him!'"


text:
Yochanan wore clothes of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.


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People went out to him from Yerushalayim, from all Y'hudah, and from the whole region around the Yarden.


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But when Yochanan saw many of the <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Tz'dukim </i>coming to be immersed by him, he said to them, "You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment?


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And don't suppose you can comfort yourselves by saying, 'Avraham is our father'! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones!


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Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!


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It's true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I- I'm not worthy even to carry his sandals- and he will immerse you in the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>and in fire.


text:
He has with him his winnowing fork; and he will clear out his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn but burning up the straw with unquenchable fire!"


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However, Yeshua answered him, "Let it be this way now, because we should do everything righteousness requires." Then Yochanan let him.


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As soon as Yeshua had been immersed, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, he saw the Spirit of God coming down upon him like a dove,


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But he answered, "The <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of <i>ADONAI</i>'"


text:
"If you are the Son of God," he said, "jump! For the <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'He will order his angels to be responsible for you.... They will support you with their hands, so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.'"


text:
Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit of a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory,


text:
"Away with you, Satan!" Yeshua told him, "For the <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'Worship <i>ADONAI </i>your God, and serve only him.'"


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but he left Natzeret and came to live in K'far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z'vulun and Naftali.


text:
"Land of Z'vulun and land of Naftali, toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-<i>Goyim</i>-


text:
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, light has dawned."


text:
From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, "Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!"


text:
As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen- Shim'on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew- throwing their net into the lake.


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Going on from there, he saw two other brothers- Ya'akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother- in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them.


text:
Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.


text:
Word of him spread throughout all Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill, suffering from various diseases and pains, and those held in the power of demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and he healed them.


text:
"How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness! for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.


text:
"How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me!


text:
Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great- they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.


text:
"You are salt for the Land. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except being thrown out for people to trample on.


text:
Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don't cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house.


text:
In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.


text:
"Don't think that I have come to abolish the <i>Torah </i>or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete.


text:
Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a <i>yud </i>or a stroke will pass from the <i>Torah</i>- not until everything that must happen has happened.


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So whoever disobeys the least of these <i>mitzvot </i>and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.


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For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!


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"You have heard that our fathers were told, 'Do not murder,' and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment.


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But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, 'You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the <i>Sanhedrin</i>; that whoever says, 'Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom!


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So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you,


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leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift.


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If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail!


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But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.


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If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom.


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And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom.


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But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and that anyone who marries a divorcee commits adultery.


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"Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, 'Do not break your oath,' and 'Keep your vows to <i>ADONAI</i>.'


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not 'by the earth,' because it is his footstool; and not 'by Yerushalayim,' because it is the city of the Great King.


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Just let your 'Yes' be a simple 'Yes,' and your 'No' a simple 'No'; anything more than this has its origin in evil.


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But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too!


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When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him.


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Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike.


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And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the <i>Goyim </i>do that!


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"Be careful not to parade your acts of <i>tzedakah </i>in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.


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So, when you do <i>tzedakah</i>, don't announce it with trumpets to win people's praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!


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But you, when you do <i>tzedakah</i>, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.


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Then your <i> tzedakah </i>will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.


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"When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!


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But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.


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"And when you pray, don't babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot.


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And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.*For kingship, power and glory are yours forever. <i>Amen</i>.'


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"Now when you fast, don't go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!


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so that no one will know you are fasting- except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.


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"Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal.


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Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal.


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'The eye is the lamp of the body.' So if you have a 'good eye' [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light;


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but if you have an 'evil eye' [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!


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No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money.


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"Therefore, I tell you, don't worry about your life- what you will eat or drink; or about your body- what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?


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Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they are?


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"And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread,


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If this is how God clothes grass in the field- which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven- won't he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!


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"So don't be anxious, asking, 'What will we eat?,' 'What will we drink?' or 'How will we be clothed?'


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For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.


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But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.


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Don't worry about tomorrow- tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough <i>tsuris </i> already!


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For the way you judge others is how you will be judged- the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you.


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How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the splinter out of your eye,' when you have the log in your own eye?


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You hypocrite! First, take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye!


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"Don't give to dogs what is holy, and don't throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, then turn and attack you.


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"Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.


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For everyone who keeps asking receives; he who keeps seeking finds; and to him who keeps knocking, the door will be opened.


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So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will your Father in heaven keep giving good things to those who keep asking him!


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"Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the <i>Torah </i>and the Prophets.


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"Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it;


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"Beware of the false prophets! They come to you wearing sheep's clothing, but underneath they are hungry wolves!


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You will recognize them by their fruit. Can people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?


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"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants.


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On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?'


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Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'


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"So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on bedrock.


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The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it didn't collapse, because its foundation was on rock.


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But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand.


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The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed- and its collapse was horrendous!"


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for he was not instructing them like their <i>Torah</i>-teachers but as one who had authority himself.


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Then a man afflicted with <i>tzara'at </i>came, kneeled down in front of him and said, "Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean."


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Yeshua reached out his hand, touched him and said, "I am willing! Be cleansed!" And at once he was cleansed from his <i>tzara'at</i>.


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Then Yeshua said to him, "See that you tell no one; but as a testimony to the people, go and let the <i>cohen </i>examine you, and offer the sacrifice that Moshe commanded."


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But the officer answered, "Sir, I am unfit to have you come into my home. Rather, if you will only give the command, my orderly will recover.


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For I too am a man under authority. I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; to another, 'Come!' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."


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On hearing this Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him, "Yes! I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isra'el with such trust!


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Moreover, I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov.


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But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!"


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Then Yeshua said to the officer, "Go; let it be for you as you have trusted." And his orderly was healed at that very moment.


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When evening came, many people held in the power of demons were brought to him. He expelled the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill.


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This was done to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Yesha'yahu, "He himself took our weaknesses and bore our diseases"


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Yeshua said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own."


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Then, without warning, a furious storm arose on the lake, so that waves were sweeping over the boat. But Yeshua was sleeping.


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He said to them, "Why are you afraid? So little trust you have!" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a dead calm.


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The men were astounded. They asked, "What kind of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?"


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When Yeshua arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gadarenes' territory, there came out of the burial caves two men controlled by demons, so violent that no one dared travel on that road.


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They screamed, "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"


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"All right, go!" he told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, whereupon the entire herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned.


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The swineherds fled, went off to the town and told the whole story, including what had happened to the demonized men.


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At this, the whole town came out to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their district.


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Some people brought him a paralyzed man lying on a mattress. When Yeshua saw their trust, he said to the paralyzed man, "Courage, son! Your sins are forgiven."


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Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, said, "Why are you entertaining evil thoughts in your hearts?


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But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralyzed man, "Get up, pick up your mattress, and go home!"


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When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and said a <i>b'rakhah </i>to God the Giver of such authority to human beings.


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As Yeshua passed on from there he spotted a tax-collector named Mattityahu sitting in his collection booth. He said to him, "Follow me!" and he got up and followed him.


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While Yeshua was in the house eating, many tax-collectors and sinners came and joined him and his <i>talmidim </i>at the meal.


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When the <i> P'rushim </i>saw this, they said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "Why does your rabbi eat with tax-collectors and sinners?"


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But Yeshua heard the question and answered, "The ones who need a doctor aren't the healthy but the sick.


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As for you, go and learn what this means: 'I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifices.' For I didn't come to call the 'righteous,' but sinners!"


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Next, Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>came to him and asked, "Why is it that we and the <i> P'rushim </i>fast frequently, but your <i>talmidim </i>don't fast at all?"


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Yeshua said to them, "Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast.


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No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a worse hole.


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Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved."


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While he was talking, an official came in, kneeled down in front of him and said, "My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live."


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A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years approached him from behind and touched the <i>tzitzit </i>on his robe.


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Yeshua turned, saw her and said, "Courage, daughter! Your trust has healed you." And she was instantly healed.


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But after the people had been put outside, he entered and took hold of the girl's hand, and she got up.


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As Yeshua went on from there, two blind men began following him, shouting, "Son of David! Take pity on us!"


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When he entered the house, the blind men came up, and Yeshua said to them, "Do you believe that I have the power to do this?" They replied, "Yes, sir."


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After the demon was expelled the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Isra'el," they said.


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Yeshua went about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and weakness.


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When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.


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Yeshua called his twelve <i>talmidim </i>and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness.


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These are the names of the twelve emissaries: First, Shim'on, called Kefa, and Andrew his brother, Ya'akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother,


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These twelve Yeshua sent out with the following instructions: "Don't go into the territory of the <i>Goyim</i>, and don't enter any town in Shomron,


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heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with <i>tzara'at</i>, expel demons. You have received without paying, so give without asking payment.


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and for the trip don't take a pack, an extra shirt, shoes or a walking stick- a worker should be given what he needs.


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"When you come to a town or village, look for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave.


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If the home deserves it, let your <i>shalom </i>rest on it; if not, let your <i>shalom </i> return to you.


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But if the people of a house or town will not welcome you or listen to you, leave it and shake its dust from your feet!


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Yes, I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the people of S'dom and 'Amora than for that town!


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"Pay attention! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves.


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Be on guard, for there will be people who will hand you over to the local <i>Sanhedrin</i>s and flog you in their synagogues.


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On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as a testimony to them and to the <i>Goyim</i>.


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But when they bring you to trial, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you should say.


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"A brother will betray his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.


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Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever holds out till the end will be preserved from harm.


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When you are persecuted in one town, run away to another. Yes indeed; I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Isra'el before the Son of Man comes.


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It is enough for a <i>talmid </i>that he become like his rabbi, and a slave like his master. Now if people have called the head of the house Ba'al-Zibbul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!


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So do not fear them; for there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be known.


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What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim on the housetops.


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"Do not fear those who kill the body but are powerless to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gei-Hinnom.


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Aren't sparrows sold for next to nothing, two for an assarion? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's consent.


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"Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven.


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"Don't suppose that I have come to bring peace to the Land. It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword!


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a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, so that a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.


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Whoever loves his father or mother more than he loves me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than he loves me is not worthy of me.


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Whoever finds his own life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for my sake will find it.


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Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive the reward a prophet gets, and anyone who receives a <i>tzaddik </i>because he is a <i>tzaddik </i> will receive the reward a <i>tzaddik </i>gets.


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Indeed, if someone gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my <i>talmid</i>- yes!- I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward!"


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After Yeshua had finished instructing the twelve <i>talmidim</i>, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns nearby.


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Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his <i>talmidim</i>,


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the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with <i>tzara'at </i>are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor-


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As they were leaving, Yeshua began speaking about Yochanan to the crowds: "What did you go out to the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze?


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No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? Well-dressed people live in kings' palaces.


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<i>Nu</i>, so why did you go out? To see a prophet! Yes! and I tell you he's much more than a prophet.


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This is the one about whom the <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'


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Yes! I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!


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From the time of Yochanan the Immerser until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been suffering violence; yes, violent ones are trying to snatch it away.


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"Oh, what can I compare this generation with? They're like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling out to each other,


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The Son of Man came, eating freely and drinking wine- so they say, 'Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!' Well, the proof of wisdom is in the actions it produces."


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Then Yeshua began to denounce the towns in which he had done most of his miracles, because the people had not turned from their sins to God.


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"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Beit-Tzaidah! Why, if the miracles done in you had been done in Tzor and Tzidon, they would long ago have put on sackcloth and ashes as evidence that they had changed their ways.


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And you, K'far-Nachum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Sh'ol! For if the miracles done in you had been done in S'dom, it would still be in existence today.


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But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment it will be more bearable for the land of S'dom than for you!"


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It was at that time that Yeshua said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated and revealed them to ordinary folks.


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"My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.


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Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.


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One <i>Shabbat </i>during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His <i>talmidim </i>were hungry, so they began picking heads of grain and eating them.


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On seeing this, the <i>P'rushim </i>said to him, "Look! Your <i>talmidim </i>are violating <i>Shabbat</i>!"


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He entered the House of God and ate the Bread of the Presence!"- which was prohibited, both to him and to his companions; it is permitted only to the <i>cohanim</i>.


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"Or haven't you read in the <i>Torah </i>that on Shabbat the <i>cohanim </i>profane <i> Shabbat </i>and yet are blameless?


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If you knew what 'I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifice' meant, you would not condemn the innocent.


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A man there had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they asked him, "Is healing permitted on <i>Shabbat</i>?"


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But he answered, "If you have a sheep that falls in a pit on <i>Shabbat</i>, which of you won't take hold of it and lift it out?


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How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, what is permitted on <i>Shabbat </i>is to do good."


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Then to the man he said, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, it became restored, as sound as the other one.


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"Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will announce justice to the Gentiles.


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he will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory.


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Then some people brought him a man controlled by demons who was blind and mute; and Yeshua healed him, so that he could both speak and see.


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But when the <i>P'rushim </i>heard of it, they said, "It is only by Ba'al-Zibbul"- the ruler of the demons- "that this man drives out demons."


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However, knowing what they were thinking, Yeshua said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive.


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Besides, if I drive out demons by Ba'al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges!


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"Or again, how can someone break into a strong man's house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? After that he can ransack his house.


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Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>will not be forgiven.


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One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>will never be forgiven, neither in the <i> 'olam hazeh </i>nor in the <i>'olam haba</i>.


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"If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good; and if you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.


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You snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart.


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The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil.


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Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken;


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He replied, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Yonah.


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For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the depths of the earth.


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The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned from their sins to God when Yonah preached, but what is here now is greater than Yonah.


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The Queen of the South will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, but what is here now is greater than Shlomo.


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"When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it.


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Then it says to itself, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order.


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Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there- so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation."


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He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared outside, asking to talk with him.


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but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the crowd stood on the shore.


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Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow;


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but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up.


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But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown.


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He answered, "Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them.


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For anyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have plenty; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.


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Here is why I speak to them in parables: they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding.


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That is, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yesha'yahu which says, 'You will keep on hearing but never understand, and keep on seeing but never perceive,


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because the heart of this people has become dull- with their ears they barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, so as not to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and do <i>t'shuvah</i>, so that I could heal them.'


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Yes indeed! I tell you that many a prophet and many a <i>tzaddik </i>longed to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.


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Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn't understand it, is like the seed sown along the path- the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in his heart.


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The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once,


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but has no root in himself. So he stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, he immediately falls away.


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Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth, so that it produces nothing.


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However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown."


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Yeshua put before them another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;


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The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'


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He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants asked him, 'Then do you want us to go and pull them up?'


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But he said, 'No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time.


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Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.'"


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Yeshua put before them another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field.


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It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches."


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And he told them yet another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose."


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All these things Yeshua said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without using a parable.


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This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, "I will open my mouth in parables, I will say what has been hidden since the creation of the universe."


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Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His <i>talmidim </i>approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."


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the field is the world. As for the good seed, these are the people who belong to the Kingdom; and the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One.


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


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The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all the things that cause people to sin and all the people who are far from <i>Torah</i>;


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Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear!


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"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field.


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"Once more, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the lake, that caught all kinds of fish.


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When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away.


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So it will be at the close of the age- the angels will go forth and separate the evil people from among the righteous


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He said to them, "So then, every <i>Torah</i>-teacher who has been made into a <i>talmid </i>for the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a home who brings out of his storage room both new things and old."


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and went to his home town. There he taught them in their synagogue in a way that astounded them, so that they asked, "Where do this man's wisdom and miracles come from?


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Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Miryam? and his brothers Ya'akov, Yosef, Shim'on and Y'hudah?


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And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them, "The only place people don't respect a prophet is in his home town and in his own house."


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and said to his attendants, "This must be Yochanan the Immerser. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."


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For Herod had arrested Yochanan, put him in chains and thrown him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip;


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Herod had wanted to put Yochanan to death; but he was afraid of the people, in whose eyes Yochanan was a prophet.


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However, at Herod's birthday celebration, Herodias' daughter danced before the company and pleased Herod so much


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The king became deeply upset; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he ordered that her wish be granted,


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On hearing about this, Yeshua left in a boat to be by himself in the wilderness. But the people learned of it and followed him from the towns by land.


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So when he came ashore, he saw a huge crowd; and, filled with compassion for them, he healed those of them who were sick.


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As evening approached, the <i>talmidim </i>came to him and said, "This is a remote place and it's getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the villages."


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After instructing the crowds to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a <i>b'rakhah</i>. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the <i>talmidim</i>, who gave them to the crowds.


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Immediately he had the <i>talmidim </i>get in the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away.


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After he had sent the crowds away, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night came on, and he was there alone.


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When the <i> talmidim </i>saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost!" they said and screamed with fear.


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Yeshua immediately stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "Such little trust! Why did you doubt?"


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When the people of the place recognized him, they sent word throughout the neighborhood and brought him everyone who was ill.


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They begged him that the sick people might only touch the <i>tzitzit </i>on his robe, and all who touched it were completely healed.


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"Why is it that your <i>talmidim </i>break the Tradition of the Elders? They don't do <i> n'tilat-yadayim </i>before they eat!"


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For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'


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But you say, 'If anyone says to his father or mother, "I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,"


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then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.' Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God!


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What makes a person unclean is not what goes into his mouth; rather, what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean!"


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The <i> talmidim </i>came to him and said, "Do you know that the <i>P'rushim </i>were offended by what you said?"


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Let them be. They are blind guides. When a blind man guides another blind man, both will fall in a pit."


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Don't you see that anything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine?


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But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean.


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For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders....


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These are what really make a person unclean, but eating without doing <i>n'tilat-yadayim </i>does not make a person unclean."


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A woman from Kena'an who was living there came to him, pleading, "Sir, have pity on me. Son of David! My daughter is cruelly held under the power of demons!"


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But Yeshua did not say a word to her. Then his <i>talmidim </i>came to him and urged him, "Send her away, because she is following us and keeps pestering us with her crying."


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She said, "That is true, sir, but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their master's table."


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Then Yeshua answered her, "Lady, you are a person of great trust. Let your desire be granted." And her daughter was healed at that very moment.


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and large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.


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The people were amazed as they saw mute people speaking, crippled people cured, lame people walking and blind people seeing; and they said a <i>b'rakhah </i>to the God of Isra'el.


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Yeshua called his <i>talmidim </i>to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, because they might collapse on the way home."


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The <i> talmidim </i>said to him, "Where will we find enough loaves of bread in this remote place to satisfy so big a crowd?"


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he took the seven loaves and the fish, made a <i>b'rakhah</i>, broke the loaves and gave them to the <i>talmidim</i>, who gave them to the people.


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Then some <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Tz'dukim </i>came to trap Yeshua by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from Heaven.


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and in the morning you say, 'Storm today!' because the sky is red and overcast. You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can't read the signs of the times!


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A wicked and adulterous generation is asking for a sign? It will certainly not be given a sign- except the sign of Yonah!" With that he left them and went off.


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So when Yeshua said to them, "Watch out! Guard yourselves against the <i>hametz </i>of the <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Tz'dukim</i>,"


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But Yeshua, aware of this, said, "Such little trust you have! Why are you talking with each other about not having bread?


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Don't you understand yet? Don't you remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you filled?


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How can you possibly think I was talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the <i> hametz </i>of the <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Tz'dukim</i>!"


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Then they understood- they were to guard themselves not from yeast for bread but from the teaching of the <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Tz'dukim</i>.


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When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his <i>talmidim</i>, "Who are people saying the Son of Man is?"


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They said, "Well, some say Yochanan the Immerser, others Eliyahu, still others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets."


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"Shim'on Bar-Yochanan," Yeshua said to him, "how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven.


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I also tell you this: you are Kefa," [which means 'Rock,'] "and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh'ol will not overcome it.


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I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."


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From that time on, Yeshua began making it clear to his <i>talmidim </i>that he had to go to Yerushalayim and endure much suffering at the hands of the elders, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that on the third day, he had to be raised to life.


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Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him, "Heaven be merciful, Lord! By no means will this happen to you!"


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But Yeshua turned his back on Kefa, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God's perspective!"


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Then Yeshua told his <i>talmidim</i>, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him say 'No' to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me.


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For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake will find it.


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What good will it do someone if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or, what can a person give in exchange for his life?


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


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Yes! I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom!"


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Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya'akov and his brother Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately.


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As they watched, he began to change form- his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became as white as light.


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Kefa said to Yeshua, "It's good that we're here, Lord. I'll put up three shelters if you want- one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu."


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While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them; and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"


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When the <i> talmidim </i>heard this, they were so frightened that they fell face down on the ground.


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As they came down the mountain, Yeshua ordered them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."


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The <i> talmidim </i>asked him, "Then why do the <i>Torah</i>-teachers say that Eliyahu must come first?"


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on the other hand, I tell you that Eliyahu has come already, and people did not recognize him but did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way, the Son of Man too is about to suffer at their hands."


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and said, "Sir, have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and has such terrible fits that he often falls into the fire or into the water.


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Yeshua answered, "Perverted people, without any trust! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!"


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He said to them, "Because you have such little trust! Yes! I tell you that if you have trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there!' and it will move; indeed, nothing will be impossible for you!"


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As they were going about together in the Galil, Yeshua said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of people


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who will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised." And they were filled with sadness.


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When they came to K'far-Nachum, the collectors of the half-<i>shekel </i>came to Kefa and said, "Doesn't your rabbi pay the Temple tax?"


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"Of course he does," said Kefa. When he arrived home, Yeshua spoke first. "Shim'on, what's your opinion? The kings of the earth- from whom do they collect duties and taxes? From their sons or from others?"


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But to avoid offending them- go to the lake, throw out a line, and take the first fish you catch. Open its mouth, and you will find a <i>shekel</i>. Take it and give it to them for me and for you."


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At that moment the <i>talmidim </i>came to Yeshua and asked, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"


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and said, "Yes! I tell you that unless you change and become like little children, you won't even enter the Kingdom of Heaven!


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and whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the open sea!


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Woe to the world because of snares! For there must be snares, but woe to the person who sets the snare!


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"So if your hand or foot becomes a snare for you, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should be maimed or crippled and obtain eternal life than keep both hands or both feet and be thrown into everlasting fire!


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And if your eye is a snare for you, gouge it out and fling it away! Better that you should be one-eyed and obtain eternal life than keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of Gei-Hinnom.


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See that you never despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually seeing the face of my Father in heaven.


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"What's your opinion? What will somebody do who has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away? Won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go off to find the stray?


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And if he happens to find it? Yes! I tell you he is happier over it than over the ninety-nine that never strayed!


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"Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault- but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.


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If he doesn't listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation can be supported by the testimony of two or three witnesses.


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If he refuses to hear them, tell the congregation; and if he refuses to listen even to the congregation, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax-collector.


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Yes! I tell you people that whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.


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To repeat, I tell you that if two of you here on earth agree about anything people ask, it will be for them from my Father in heaven.


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Then Kefa came up and said to him, "Rabbi, how often can my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? As many as seven times?"


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Because of this, the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared with a king who decided to settle accounts with his deputies.


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and since he couldn't pay, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold to pay the debt.


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But the servant fell down before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'


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"But as that servant was leaving, he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him some tiny sum. He grabbed him and began to choke him, crying, 'Pay back what you owe me!'


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When the other servants saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed; and they went and told their master everything that had taken place.


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Then the master summoned his servant and said, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt just because you begged me to do it.


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And in anger his master turned him over to the jailers for punishment until he paid back everything he owed.


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This is how my heavenly Father will treat you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts."


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When Yeshua had finished talking about these things, he left the Galil and traveled down the east side of the Yarden River until he passed the border of Y'hudah.


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Some <i> P'rushim </i>came and tried to trap him by asking, "Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?"


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and that he said, 'For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh'?


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Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together."


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They said to him, "Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a <i>get </i>and divorce her?"


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He answered, "Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning.


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Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!"


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The <i> talmidim </i>said to him, "If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!"


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For there are different reasons why men do not marry- some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so."


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Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the <i>talmidim </i>rebuked the people bringing them.


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However, Yeshua said, "Let the children come to me, don't stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."


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A man approached Yeshua and said, "Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?" He said to him,


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"Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the <i>mitzvot</i>."


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The man asked him, "Which ones?" and Yeshua said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony


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Yeshua said to him, "If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"


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Then Yeshua said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.


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Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."


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When the <i> talmidim </i>heard this they were utterly amazed. "Then who," they asked, "can be saved?"


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Yeshua said to them, "Yes. I tell you that in the regenerated world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Isra'el.


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Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life.


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After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard.


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Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing,


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About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?"


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"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.'


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so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius.


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'These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day's work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!'


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But he answered one of them, 'Look, friend, I'm not being unfair with you. Didn't you agree to work today for a denarius?


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As Yeshua was going up to Yerushalayim, he took the twelve <i>talmidim </i>aside by themselves and said to them, as they went on their way,


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"We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head <i>cohanim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers. They will sentence him to death


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and turn him over to the <i>Goyim</i>, who will jeer at him, beat him and execute him on a stake as a criminal. But on the third day, he will be raised."


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He said to her, "What do you want?" She replied, "Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left."


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But Yeshua answered, "You people don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We can."


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He said to them, "Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it."


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But Yeshua called them and said, "You know that among the <i>Goyim</i>, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators.


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Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant,


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


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Two blind men sitting by the side of the road heard that he was passing by and shouted, "Son of David! Have pity on us!"


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The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord! Son of David! Have pity on us!"


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Filled with tenderness, Yeshua touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed him.


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As they were approaching Yerushalayim, they came to Beit-Pagei on the Mount of Olives. Yeshua sent two <i>talmidim</i>


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with these instructions: "Go into the village ahead of you, and you will immediately find a donkey tethered there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me.


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"Say to the daughter of Tziyon, 'Look! Your King is coming to you, riding humbly on a donkey, and on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden!'


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Crowds of people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road.


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The crowds ahead of him and behind shouted, "Please! Deliver us!"* to the Son of David; "Blessed is he who comes in the name of <i>ADONAI</i>!" "You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!" <i>*</i>


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Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both the merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money-changers and knocked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons.


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He said to them, "It has been written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it into a den of robbers!"


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But when the head <i>cohanim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers saw the wonderful things he was doing, and the children crying out in the Temple, "Please deliver us!"* to the Son of David, they were furious.


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They said to him, "Do you hear what they're saying?" Yeshua replied, "Of course! Haven't you ever read, 'From the mouth of children and infants you have prepared praise for yourself'?"


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Spotting a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to it, "May you never again bear fruit!" and immediately the fig tree dried up.


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The <i> talmidim </i>saw this and were amazed. "How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?" they asked.


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Yeshua answered them, "Yes! I tell you, if you have trust and don't doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree; but even if you say to this mountain, 'Go and throw yourself into the sea!' it will be done.


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In other words, you will receive everything you ask for in prayer, no matter what it is, provided you have trust."


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He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, "What <i>s'mikhah </i>do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who gave you this <i>s'mikhah</i>?"


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Yeshua answered, "I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what <i>s'mikhah </i>I do these things.


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The immersion of Yochanan- where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?" They discussed it among themselves: "If we say, 'From Heaven,' he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'


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But if we say, 'From a human source,' we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet."


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So they answered Yeshua, "We don't know." And he replied, "Then I won't tell you by what <i>s'mikhah </i>I do these things.


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"But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'


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The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, 'I will, sir'; but he didn't go.


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Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they replied. "That's right!" Yeshua said to them. "I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you!


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For Yochanan came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn't trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn't change your minds later and trust him.


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"Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower; then he rented it to tenants and left.


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But the tenants seized his servants- this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned.


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But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance!'


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They answered him, "He will viciously destroy those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when it's due."


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Yeshua said to them, "Haven't you ever read in the <i>Tanakh</i>, 'The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This has come from <i>ADONAI</i>, and in our eyes it is amazing'?


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Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!"


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As the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them.


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But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.


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So he sent some more slaves, instructing them to tell the guests, 'Look, I've prepared my banquet, I've slaughtered my bulls and my fattened cattle, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding!'


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"Then he said to his slaves, 'Well, the wedding feast is ready; but the ones who were invited didn't deserve it.


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The slaves went out into the streets, gathered all the people they could find, the bad along with the good; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.


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"Now when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn't dressed for a wedding; so he asked him,


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Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark!' In that place people will wail and grind their teeth,


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They sent him some of their <i>talmidim </i>and some members of Herod's party. They said, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and really teach what God's way is. You aren't concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person's status.


text:
Yeshua, however, knowing their malicious intent, said, "You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me?


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"The Emperor's," they replied. Yeshua said to them, "<i>Nu</i>, give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!"


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That same day, some <i>Tz'dukim </i>came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a <i>sh'eilah</i>:


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"Rabbi, Moshe said, 'If a man dies childless, his brother must marry his widow and have children to preserve the man's family line.'


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There were seven brothers. The first one married and then died; and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother.


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Yeshua answered them, "The reason you go astray is that you are ignorant both of the <i> Tanakh </i>and of the power of God.


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For in the Resurrection, neither men nor women will marry; rather, they will be like angels in heaven.


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'I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov'? He is God not of the dead but of the living!"


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He told him, "'You are to love <i>ADONAI </i>your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.'


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"Then how is it," he asked them, "that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord,' when he says,


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'<i>ADONAI </i>said to my Lord, "Sit here at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet"'?


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No one could think of anything to say in reply; and from that day on, no one dared put to him another <i>sh'eilah</i>.


text:
So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don't do what they do, because they talk but don't act!


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Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their <i>t'fillin </i>broad and their <i>tzitziyot </i>long,


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"But you are not to let yourselves be called 'Rabbi'; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other's brothers.


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Nor are you to let yourselves be called 'leaders,' because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah!


text:
"But woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! For you are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces, neither entering yourselves nor allowing those who wish to enter to do so.


text:
"Woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! You go about over land and sea to make one proselyte; and when you succeed, you make him twice as fit for Gei-Hinnom as you are!


text:
"Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, 'If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'


text:
And you say, 'If someone swears by the altar, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the offering on the altar, he is bound.'


text:
"Woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the <i> Torah</i>- justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to- without neglecting the others!


text:
"Woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.


text:
"Woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and all kinds of rottenness.


text:
Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and far from <i>Torah</i>.


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"Woe to you hypocritical <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim</i>! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the <i>tzaddikim</i>,


text:
and you say, 'Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.'


text:
In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants of those who murdered the prophets.


text:
Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and <i>Torah</i>-teachers- some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on stakes as criminals; some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.


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And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Hevel to the blood of Z'kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.


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"Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!


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


text:
As Yeshua left the Temple and was going away, his <i>talmidim </i>came and called his attention to its buildings.


text:
But he answered them, "You see all these? Yes! I tell you, they will be totally destroyed- not a single stone will be left standing!"


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When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the <i>talmidim </i>came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that you are coming, and that the <i>'olam hazeh </i>is ending?"


text:
You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don't become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come.


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For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world;


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At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me.


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And this Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the whole world as a witness to all the <i>Goyim</i>. It is then that the end will come.


text:
"So when you see the abomination that causes devastation spoken about through the prophet Dani'el standing in the Holy Place" (let the reader understand the allusion),


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For there will be trouble then worse than there has ever been from the beginning of the world until now, and there will be nothing like it again!


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Indeed, if the length of this time had not been limited, no one would survive; but for the sake of those who have been chosen, its length will be limited.


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"At that time, if someone says to you, 'Look! Here's the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' don't believe him.


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For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing great miracles- amazing things!- so as to fool even the chosen, if possible.


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So if people say to you, 'Listen! He's out in the desert!' don't go; or, 'Look! He's hidden away in a secret room!' don't believe it.


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For when the Son of Man does come, it will be like lightning that flashes out of the east and fills the sky to the western horizon.


text:
"But immediately following the trouble of those times, the sun will grow dark, the moon will stop shining, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.


text:
"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory.


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He will send out his angels with a great <i>shofar</i>; and they will gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.


text:
"Now let the fig tree teach you its lesson: when its branches begin to sprout and leaves appear, you know that summer is approaching.


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In the same way, when you see all these things, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door.


text:
"But when that day and hour will come, no one knows- not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father.


text:
Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark;


text:
and they didn't know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes.


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But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into.


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Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him.


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"Who is the faithful and sensible servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time?


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and he starts beating up his fellow servants and spends his time eating and drinking with drunkards;


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and he will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites, where people will wail and grind their teeth!


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"The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.


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The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'


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'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.'


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But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.


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"For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants.


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To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years' wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent- to each according to his ability. Then he left.


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The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, 'Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.'


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His master said to him, 'Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master's happiness!'


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Also the one who had received two came forward and said, 'Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.'


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His master said to him, 'Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master's happiness!'


text:
"Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, 'I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn't plant and gather where you didn't sow seed.


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'You wicked, lazy servant!' said his master, 'So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven't planted? and that I gather where I didn't sow seed?


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Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital!


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For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.


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As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!'


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"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne.


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All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.


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"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.


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For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest,


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I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'


text:
Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?


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The King will say to them, 'Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!'


text:
"Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, 'Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels!


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a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'


text:
Then they too will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?'


text:
And he will answer them, 'Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!'


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They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life."


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"As you know, <i>Pesach </i>is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-stake."


text:
Then the head <i>cohanim </i>and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of Kayafa the <i>cohen hagadol</i>.


text:
A woman who had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume approached Yeshua while he was eating and began pouring it on his head.


text:
But Yeshua, aware of what was going on, said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me.


text:
Yes! I tell you that throughout the whole world, wherever this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory."


text:
and said, "What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?" They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y'hudah.


text:
On the first day for <i>matzah</i>, the <i>talmidim </i>came to Yeshua and asked, "Where do you want us to prepare your <i>Seder</i>?"


text:
"Go into the city, to so-and-so," he replied, "and tell him that the Rabbi says, 'My time is near, my <i>talmidim </i>and I are celebrating <i>Pesach </i>at your house.'"


text:
They became terribly upset and began asking him, one after the other, "Lord, you don't mean me, do you?"


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The Son of Man will die just as the <i>Tanakh </i>says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!"


text:
Y'hudah, the one who was betraying him, then asked, "Surely, Rabbi, you don't mean me?" He answered, "The words are yours."


text:
While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of <i>matzah</i>, made the <i>b'rakhah</i>, broke it, gave it to the <i>talmidim </i>and said, "Take! Eat! This is my body!"


text:
Also he took a cup of wine, made the <i>b'rakhah</i>, and gave it to them, saying, "All of you, drink from it!


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For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven.


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I tell you, I will not drink this 'fruit of the vine' again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom."


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Yeshua then said to them, "Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'


text:
Yeshua said to him, "Yes! I tell you that tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"


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"Even if I must die with you," Kefa replied, "I will never disown you!" And all the <i> talmidim </i>said the same thing.


text:
Then Yeshua went with his <i>talmidim </i>to a place called Gat-Sh'manim and said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."


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and he said to them, "My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake with me."


text:
Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet- not what I want, but what you want!"


text:
He returned to the <i>talmidim </i>and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, "Were you so weak that you couldn't stay awake with me for even an hour?


text:
Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test- the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak."


text:
A second time he went off and prayed. "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, let what you want be done."


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Then he came to the <i>talmidim </i>and said, "For now, go on sleeping, take your rest.... Look! The time has come for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.


text:
While Yeshua was still speaking, Y'hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a large crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head <i>cohanim </i>and elders of the people.


text:
Yeshua said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they moved forward, laid hold of Yeshua and arrested him.


text:
At that, one of the men with Yeshua reached for his sword, drew it out and struck at the servant of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, cutting off his ear.


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Yeshua said to him, "Put your sword back where it belongs, for everyone who uses the sword will die by the sword.


text:
Don't you know that I can ask my Father, and he will instantly provide more than a dozen armies of angels to help me?


text:
But if I did that, how could the passages in the <i>Tanakh </i>be fulfilled that say it has to happen this way?"


text:
Then Yeshua addressed the crowd: "So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion? Every day I sat in the Temple court, teaching; and you didn't seize me then.


text:
But all this has happened so that what the prophets wrote may be fulfilled." Then the <i> talmidim </i>all deserted him and ran away.


text:
Those who had seized Yeshua led him off to Kayafa the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, where the <i> Torah</i>-teachers and elders were assembled.


text:
Kefa followed him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>; then he went inside and sat down with the guards to see what the outcome would be.


text:
The head <i> cohanim </i>and the whole <i>Sanhedrin </i>looked for some false evidence against Yeshua, so that they might put him to death.


text:
But they didn't find any, even though many liars came forward to give testimony. At last, however, two people came forward and said,


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The <i> cohen hagadol </i>stood up and said, "Have you nothing to say to the accusation these men are making?"


text:
Yeshua remained silent. The <i>cohen hagadol </i>said to him, "I put you under oath! By the living God, tell us if you are the <i>Mashiach</i>, the Son of God!"


text:
Yeshua said to him, "The words are your own. But I tell you that one day you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of <i>HaG'vurah </i>and coming on the clouds of heaven."


text:
At this, the <i>cohen hagadol </i>tore his robes. "Blasphemy!" he said. "Why do we still need witnesses? You heard him blaspheme!


text:
Kefa was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him. "You too were with Yeshua from the Galil," she said.


text:
He went out onto the porch, and another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Yeshua of Natzeret."


text:
After a little while, the bystanders approached Kefa and said, "You must be one of them- your accent gives you away."


text:
This time he began to invoke a curse on himself as he swore, "I do not know the man!"- and immediately a rooster crowed.


text:
Kefa remembered what Yeshua had said, "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times"; and he went outside and cried bitterly.


text:
Early in the morning, all the head <i>cohanim </i>and elders met to plan how to bring about Yeshua's death.


text:
When Y'hudah, who had betrayed him, saw that Yeshua had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the head <i>cohanim </i>and elders,


text:
saying, "I sinned in betraying an innocent man to death." "What is that to us?" they answered. "That's your problem."


text:
The head <i> cohanim </i>took the silver coins and said, "It is prohibited to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money."


text:
Then what Yirmeyahu the prophet spoke was fulfilled, "And they took the thirty silver coins, which was the price the people of Isra'el had agreed to pay for him,


text:
Meanwhile, Yeshua was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question to him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Yeshua answered, "The words are yours."


text:
It was the governor's custom during a festival to set free one prisoner, whomever the crowd asked for.


text:
So when a crowd had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to set free for you? Bar-Abba? or Yeshua, called 'the Messiah'?"


text:
While he was sitting in court, his wife sent him a message, "Leave that innocent man alone. Today in a dream I suffered terribly because of him."


text:
But the head <i>cohanim </i>persuaded the crowd to ask for Bar-Abba's release and to have Yeshua executed on the stake.


text:
"Which of the two do you want me to set free for you?" asked the governor. "Bar-Abba!" they answered.


text:
Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Yeshua, called 'the Messiah'?" They all said, "Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!"


text:
When he asked, "Why? What crime has he committed?" they shouted all the louder, "Put him to death on the stake!"


text:
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, "My hands are clean of this man's blood; it's your responsibility."


text:
Then he released to them Bar-Abba; but Yeshua, after having him whipped, he handed over to be executed on a stake.


text:
The governor's soldiers took Yeshua into the headquarters building, and the whole battalion gathered around him.


text:
wove thorn-branches into a crown and put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him: "Hail to the King of the Jews!"


text:
When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution-stake.


text:
As they were leaving, they met a man from Cyrene named Shim'on; and they forced him to carry Yeshua's execution-stake.


text:
Above his head they placed the written notice stating the charge against him, THIS IS YESHUA THE KING OF THE JEWS


text:
and saying, "So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days? Save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the stake!"


text:
"He saved others, but he can't save himself!" "So he's King of Isra'el, is he? Let him come down now from the stake! Then we'll believe him!"


text:
"He trusted God? So, let him rescue him if he wants him! After all, he did say, 'I'm the Son of God'!"


text:
At about three, Yeshua uttered a loud cry, "<i>Eli! Eli! L'mah sh'vaktani</i>? (My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?)"


text:
Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar, put it on a stick and gave it to him to drink.


text:
At that moment the <i>parokhet </i>in the Temple was ripped in two from top to bottom; and there was an earthquake, with rocks splitting apart.


text:
and after Yeshua rose, they came out of the graves and went into the holy city, where many people saw them.


text:
When the Roman officer and those with him who were keeping watch over Yeshua saw the earthquake and what was happening, they were awestruck and said, "He really was a son of God."


text:
There were many women there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Yeshua from the Galil, helping him.


text:
Among them were Miryam from Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya'akov and Yosef, and the mother of Zavdai's sons.


text:
Towards evening, there came a wealthy man from Ramatayim named Yosef, who was himself a <i>talmid </i>of Yeshua.


text:
and laid it in his own tomb, which he had recently had cut out of the rock. After rolling a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb, he went away.


text:
Next day, after the preparation, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>went together to Pilate


text:
and said, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will be raised.'


text:
Therefore, order that the grave be made secure till the third day; otherwise the <i> talmidim </i>may come, steal him away and say to the people, 'He was raised from the dead'; and the last deception will be worse than the first."


text:
After <i>Shabbat</i>, as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave.


text:
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of <i>ADONAI </i>came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it.


text:
But the angel said to the women, "Don't be afraid. I know you are looking for Yeshua, who was executed on the stake.


text:
He is not here, because he has been raised- just as he said! Come and look at the place where he lay.


text:
Then go quickly and tell the <i>talmidim</i>, 'He has been raised from the dead, and now he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there.' Now I have told you."


text:
So they left the tomb quickly, frightened yet filled with joy; and they ran to give the news to his <i>talmidim</i>.


text:
Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, "<i>Shalom</i>!" They came up and took hold of his feet as they fell down in front of him.


text:
Then Yeshua said to them, "Don't be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to the Galil, and they will see me there."


text:
As they were going, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the head <i> cohanim </i>everything that had happened.


text:
Then they met with the elders; and after discussing the matter, they gave the soldiers a sizeable sum of money


text:
and said to them, "Tell people, 'His <i>talmidim </i>came during the night and stole his body while we were sleeping.'


text:
If the governor hears of it, we will put things right with him and keep you from getting in trouble."


text:
The soldiers took the money and did as they were told, and this story has been spread about by Judeans till this very day.


text:
Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.


text:
Therefore, go and make people from all nations into <i>talmidim</i>, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>,


text:
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age."


text:
It is written in the prophet Yesha'yahu, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare the way before you."


text:
"The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way for <i>ADONAI</i>! Make straight paths for him!'"


text:
So it was that Yochanan the Immerser appeared in the desert, proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven.


text:
People went out to him from all over Y'hudah, as did all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. Confessing their sins, they were immersed by him in the Yarden River.


text:
Yochanan wore clothes of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; he ate locusts and wild honey.


text:
He proclaimed: "After me is coming someone who is more powerful than I- I'm not worthy even to bend down and untie his sandals.


text:
Shortly thereafter, Yeshua came from Natzeret in the Galil and was immersed in the Yarden by Yochanan.


text:
Immediately upon coming up out of the water, he saw heaven torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove;


text:
and he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by the Adversary. He was with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.


text:
As he walked beside Lake Kinneret, he saw Shim'on and Andrew, Shim'on's brother, casting a net into the lake; for they were fishermen.


text:
Going on a little farther, he saw Ya'akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, his brother, in their boat, repairing their nets.


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Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zavdai in the boat with the hired men and went after Yeshua.


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They were amazed at the way he taught, for he did not instruct them like the <i>Torah</i>-teachers but as one who had authority himself.


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"What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!"


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They were all so astounded that they began asking each other, "What is this? A new teaching, one with authority behind it! He gives orders even to the unclean spirits, and they obey him!"


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He came, took her by the hand and lifted her onto her feet. The fever left her, and she began helping them.


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He healed many who were ill with various diseases and expelled many demons, but he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.


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Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Yeshua got up, left, went away to a lonely spot and stayed there praying.


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He answered, "Let's go somewhere else- to the other villages around here. I have to proclaim the message there too- in fact this is why I came out."


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A man afflicted with <i>tzara'at </i>came to Yeshua and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."


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Moved with pity, Yeshua reached out his hand, touched him and said to him, "I am willing! Be cleansed!"


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"See to it that you tell no one; instead, as a testimony to the people, go and let the <i> cohen </i>examine you, and offer for your cleansing what Moshe commanded."


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But he went out and began spreading the news, talking freely about it; so that Yeshua could no longer enter a town openly but stayed out in the country, where people continued coming to him from all around.


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and so many people gathered around the house that there was no longer any room, not even in front of the door. While he was preaching the message to them,


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They could not get near Yeshua because of the crowd, so they stripped the roof over the place where he was, made an opening, and lowered the stretcher with the paralytic lying on it.


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But immediately Yeshua, perceiving in his spirit what they were thinking, said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?


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Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man? 'Your sins are forgiven'? or 'Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk'?


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But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic,


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In front of everyone the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and left. They were all utterly amazed and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"


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As he passed on from there, he saw Levi Ben-Halfai sitting in his tax-collection booth and said to him, "Follow me!" And he got up and followed him.


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As Yeshua was in Levi's house eating, many tax-collectors and sinners were sitting with Yeshua and his <i>talmidim</i>, for there were many of them among his followers.


text:
When the <i> Torah</i>-teachers and the <i>P'rushim </i>saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?"


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But, hearing the question, Yeshua answered them, "The ones who need a doctor aren't the healthy but the sick. I didn't come to call the 'righteous' but sinners!"


text:
Also Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>were fasting; and they came and asked Yeshua, "Why is it that Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>and the <i>talmidim </i>of the <i>P'rushim </i>fast, but your <i>talmidim </i>don't fast?"


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Yeshua answered them, "Can wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, fasting is out of the question.


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But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; and when that day comes, they will fast.


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No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old coat; if he does, the new patch tears away from the old cloth and leaves a worse hole.


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And no one puts new wine in old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is for freshly prepared wineskins."


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One <i> Shabbat </i>Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields; and as they went along, his <i>talmidim </i>began picking heads of grain.


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He said to them, "Haven't you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food?


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He entered the House of God when Evyatar was <i>cohen gadol </i>and ate the Bread of the Presence,"- which is forbidden for anyone to eat but the <i>cohanim</i>- "and even gave some to his companions."


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Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him carefully to see if he would heal him on <i>Shabbat</i>.


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Then to them he said, "What is permitted on <i>Shabbat</i>? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or killing?" But they said nothing.


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Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, it became restored.


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The <i> P'rushim </i>went out and immediately began plotting with some members of Herod's party how to do away with him.


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Yeshua went off with his <i>talmidim </i>to the lake, and great numbers followed him from the Galil.


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When they heard what he was doing, great numbers also followed him from Y'hudah, Yerushalayim, Idumea, the territory beyond the Yarden, and the Tzor-Tzidon area.


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He told his <i>talmidim </i>to have a boat ready for him, so that he could escape the crush of the crowd if necessary,


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Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, "You are the Son of God!"


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Then he went up into the hill country and summoned to himself those he wanted, and they came to him.


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Ya'akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, Ya'akov's brother- to them he gave the name "B'nei-Regesh" (that is, "Thunderers");


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When his family heard about this, they set out to take charge of him; for they said, "He's out of his mind!"


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The <i> Torah</i>-teachers who came down from Yerushalayim said, "He has Ba'al-Zibbul in him," and "It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons."


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So if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he can't survive either; and that's the end of him.


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Furthermore, no one can break into a strong man's house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. After that, he can ransack his house.


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however, someone who blasphemes against the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin."


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A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you."


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Again Yeshua began to teach by the lake, but the crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the crowd remained on shore at the water's edge.


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but when the sun rose, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up.


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But other seed fell into rich soil and produced grain; it sprouted, and grew, and yielded a crop- thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown."


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He answered them, "To you the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables,


text:
so that they may be always looking but never seeing; always listening but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven!"


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Then Yeshua said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you be able to understand any parable?


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Those alongside the path where the message is sown are people who no sooner hear it than the Adversary comes and takes away the message sown in them.


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Likewise, those receiving seed on rocky patches are people who hear the message and joyfully accept it at once;


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but they have no root in themselves. So they hold out for a while, but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, they immediately fall away.


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but the worries of the world, the deceitful glamor of wealth and all the other kinds of desires push in and choke the message; so that it produces nothing.


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But those sown on rich soil hear the message, accept it and bear fruit- thirty, sixty or a hundredfold."


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He said to them, "A lamp isn't brought in to be put under a bowl or under the bed, is it? Wouldn't you put it on a lampstand?


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Indeed, nothing is hidden, except to be disclosed; and nothing is covered up, except to come out into the open.


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He also said to them, "Pay attention to what you are hearing! The measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you- and more besides!


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For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away."


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By itself the soil produces a crop- first the stalk, then the head, and finally the full grain in the head.


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Yeshua also said, "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? What illustration should we use to describe it?


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but after it has been planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants, with such big branches that the birds flying about can build nests in its shade."


text:
With many parables like these he spoke the message to them, to the extent that they were capable of hearing it.


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He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own <i> talmidim </i>he explained everything to them.


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So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.


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A furious windstorm arose, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was close to being swamped.


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But he was in the stern on a cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, "Rabbi, doesn't it matter to you that we're about to be killed?"


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He awoke, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind subsided, and there was a dead calm.


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But they were terrified and asked each other, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the waves obey him?"


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He had often been chained hand and foot, but he would snap the chains and break the irons off his feet, and no one was strong enough to control him.


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Night and day he wandered among the graves and through the hills, howling and gashing himself with stones.


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and screamed at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Yeshua, Son of God <i> Ha'Elyon</i>? I implore you in God's name! Don't torture me!"


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Yeshua gave them permission. They came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering around two thousand, rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.


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The swineherds fled and told it in the town and in the surrounding country, and the people went to see what had happened.


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They came to Yeshua and saw the man who had had the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were frightened.


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As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonized begged him to be allowed to go with him.


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But Yeshua would not permit it. Instead, he said to him, "Go home to your people, and tell them how much <i>ADONAI </i>in his mercy has done for you."


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He went off and began proclaiming in the Ten Towns how much Yeshua had done for him, and everyone was amazed.


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and pleaded desperately with him, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Please! Come and lay your hands on her, so that she will get well and live!"


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and had suffered a great deal under many physicians. She had spent her life savings; yet instead of improving, she had grown worse.


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Instantly the hemorrhaging stopped, and she felt in her body that she had been healed from the disease.


text:
At the same time, Yeshua, aware that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"


text:
His <i> talmidim </i>responded, "You see the people pressing in on you; and still you ask, 'Who touched me?'"


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The woman, frightened and trembling, because she knew what had happened to her, came and fell down in front of him and told him the whole truth.


text:
"Daughter," he said to her, "your trust has healed you. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."


text:
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house came, saying, "Your daughter has died. Why bother the rabbi any longer?"


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Ignoring what they had said, Yeshua told the synagogue official, "Don't be afraid, just keep trusting."


text:
When they came to the synagogue official's house, he found a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly.


text:
On entering, he said to them, "Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead, she's just asleep!"


text:
And they jeered at him. But he put them all outside, took the child's father and mother and those with him, and went in where the child was.


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Taking her by the hand, he said to her, "<i>Talita, kumi</i>!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").


text:
At once the girl got up and began walking around; she was twelve years old. Everybody was utterly amazed.


text:
He gave them strict orders to say nothing about this to anyone, and told them to give her something to eat.


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On <i> Shabbat </i>he started to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They asked, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom he has been given? What are these miracles worked through him?


text:
Isn't he just the carpenter? the son of Miryam? the brother of Ya'akov and Yosi and Y'hudah and Shim'on? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.


text:
But Yeshua said to them. "The only place people don't respect a prophet is in his home town, among his own relatives, and in his own house."


text:
He was amazed at their lack of trust. Then he went through the surrounding towns and villages, teaching.


text:
Yeshua summoned the Twelve and started sending them out in pairs, giving them authority over the unclean spirits.


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He instructed them, "Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick- no bread, no pack, no money in your belt.


text:
and if the people of some place will not welcome you, and they refuse to hear you, then, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."


text:
Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua's reputation had spread. Some were saying, "Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."


text:
For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her,


text:
So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish,


text:
because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a <i> tzaddik</i>, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.


text:
Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil.


text:
The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you";


text:
So she went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She said, "The head of Yochanan the Immerser."


text:
At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: "I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser."


text:
Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her.


text:
So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan's head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison,


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There were so many people coming and going that they couldn't even take time to eat, so he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a place where we can be alone, and you can get some rest."


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but many people, seeing them leave and recognizing them, ran ahead on foot from all the towns and got there first.


text:
When Yeshua came ashore, he saw a huge crowd. Filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, he began teaching them many things.


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By this time, the hour was late. The <i>talmidim </i>came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's getting late.


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Send the people away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the farms and towns around here."


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But he answered them, "Give them something to eat, yourselves!" They replied, "We are to go and spend thousands on bread, and give it to them to eat?"


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


text:
Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up toward heaven, made a <i> b'rakhah</i>. Next he broke up the loaves and began giving them to the <i> talmidim </i>to distribute. He also divided up the two fish among them all.


text:
Immediately Yeshua had his <i>talmidim </i>get in the boat and go on ahead of him toward the other side of the lake, toward Beit-Tzaidah, while he sent the crowds away.


text:
He saw that they were having difficulty rowing, because the wind was against them; so at around four o'clock in the morning he came toward them, walking on the lake! He meant to come alongside them;


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for they had all seen him and were terrified. However, he spoke to them. "Courage," he said, "it is I. Stop being afraid!"


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for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.


text:
and began running around throughout that whole region and bringing sick people on their stretchers to any place where they heard he was.


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Wherever he went, in towns, cities or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the <i>tzitzit </i>on his robe, and all who touched it were healed.


text:
The <i>P'rushim </i>and some of the <i>Torah</i>-teachers who had come from Yerushalayim gathered together with Yeshua


text:
and saw that some of his <i>talmidim </i>ate with ritually unclean hands, that is, without doing <i>n'tilat-yadayim</i>.


text:
(For the <i> P'rushim</i>, and indeed all the Judeans, holding fast to the Tradition of the Elders, do not eat unless they have given their hands a ceremonial washing.


text:
Also, when they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they have rinsed their hands up to the wrist; and they adhere to many other traditions, such as washing cups, pots and bronze vessels.)


text:
The <i> P'rushim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers asked him, "Why don't your <i> talmidim </i>live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?"


text:
Yeshua answered them, "Yesha'yahu was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites- as it is written, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.


text:
Indeed," he said to them, "you have made a fine art of departing from God's command in order to keep your tradition!


text:
For Moshe said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'


text:
But you say, 'If someone says to his father or mother, "I have promised as a <i>korban</i>" ' " (that is, as a gift to God) " ' "what I might have used to help you,"'


text:
Thus, with your tradition which you had handed down to you, you nullify the Word of God! And you do other things like this."


text:
Then Yeshua called the people to him again and said, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand this!


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There is nothing outside a person which, by going into him, can make him unclean. Rather, it is the things that come out of a person which make a person unclean!"


text:
He replied to them, "So you too are without understanding? Don't you see that nothing going into a person from outside can make him unclean?


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For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and it passes out into the latrine." (Thus he declared all foods ritually clean.)


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For from within, out of a person's heart, come forth wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,


text:
Next, Yeshua left that district and went off to the vicinity of Tzor and Tzidon. There he found a house to stay in and wanted to remain unrecognized, but keeping hidden proved impossible.


text:
Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit in her came to him and fell down at his feet.


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


text:
He said, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's food and toss it to their pet dogs."


text:
She answered him, "That is true, sir; but even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers."


text:
Then he left the district of Tzor and went through Tzidon to Lake Kinneret and on to the region of the Ten Towns.


text:
They brought him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment and asked Yeshua to lay his hand on him.


text:
Taking him off alone, away from the crowd, Yeshua put his fingers into the man's ears, spat, and touched his tongue;


text:
then, looking up to heaven, he gave a deep groan and said to him, "<i>Hippatach!</i>" (that is, "Be opened!").


text:
Yeshua ordered the people to tell no one; but the more he insisted, the more zealously they spread the news.


text:
People were overcome with amazement. "Everything he does, he does well!" they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak!"


text:
It was during that time that another large crowd gathered, and they had nothing to eat. Yeshua called his <i>talmidim </i>to him and said to them,


text:
"I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat.


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


text:
His <i> talmidim </i>said to him, "How can anyone find enough bread to satisfy these people in a remote place like this?"


text:
He then told the crowd to sit down on the ground, took the seven loaves, made a <i>b'rakhah</i>, broke the loaves and gave them to his <i>talmidim </i>to serve to the people.


text:
The people ate their fill; and the <i>talmidim </i>took up the leftover pieces, seven large basketsful.


text:
After sending them away, Yeshua got into the boat with his <i>talmidim </i>and went off to the district of Dalmanuta.


text:
The <i> P'rushim </i>came and began arguing with him; they wanted him to give them a sign from Heaven, because they were out to trap him.


text:
With a sigh that came straight from his heart, he said, "Why does this generation want a sign? Yes! I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation!"


text:
So when Yeshua said to them, "Watch out! Guard yourselves from the <i>hametz </i>of the <i>P'rushim </i>and the <i>hametz </i>of Herod,"


text:
But, aware of this, he said, "Why are you talking with each other about having no bread? Don't you see or understand yet? Have your hearts been made like stone?


text:
When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" "Twelve," they answered him.


text:
"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" "Seven," they answered.


text:
Taking the blind man's hand, he led him outside the town. He spit in his eyes, put his hands on him and asked him, "Do you see anything?"


text:
Then he put his hands on the blind man's eyes again. He peered intently, and his eyesight was restored, so that he could see everything distinctly.


text:
Yeshua and his <i>talmidim </i>went on to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked his <i>talmidim</i>, "Who are people saying I am?"


text:
"Some say you are Yochanan the Immerser," they told him, "others say Eliyahu, and still others, one of the prophets."


text:
He began teaching them that the Son of Man had to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that after three days, he had to rise again.


text:
But, turning around and looking at his <i>talmidim</i>, he rebuked Kefa. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said, "For your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God's perspective!"


text:
Then Yeshua called the crowd and his <i>talmidim </i>to him and told them, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him say 'No' to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me.


text:
For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it.


text:
For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.


text:
Yes!" he went on, "I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God come in a powerful way!"


text:
Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya'akov and Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. As they watched, he began to change form,


text:
and his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than anyone in the world could possibly bleach them.


text:
Kefa said to Yeshua, "It's good that we're here, Rabbi! Let's put up three shelters- one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu."


text:
Then a cloud enveloped them; and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"


text:
As they came down the mountain, he warned them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.


text:
So they kept the matter to themselves; but they continued asking each other, "What is this 'rising from the dead'?"


text:
"Eliyahu will indeed come first," he answered, "and he will restore everything. Nevertheless, why is it written in the <i>Tanakh </i>that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?


text:
There's more to it: I tell you that Eliyahu has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as the <i>Tanakh </i>says about him."


text:
When they got back to the <i>talmidim</i>, they saw a large crowd around them and some <i> Torah</i>-teachers arguing with them.


text:
One of the crowd gave him the answer: "Rabbi, I brought my son to you because he has an evil spirit in him that makes him unable to talk.


text:
Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground- he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and becomes stiff all over. I asked your <i>talmidim </i>to drive the spirit out, but they couldn't do it."


text:
"People without any trust!" he responded. "How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!"


text:
Yeshua asked the boy's father, "How long has this been happening to him?" "Ever since childhood," he said;


text:
"and it often tries to kill him by throwing him into the fire or into the water. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!"


text:
Yeshua said to him, "What do you mean, 'if you can'? Everything is possible to someone who has trust!"


text:
When Yeshua saw that the crowd was closing in on them, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and dumb spirit! I command you: come out of him, and never go back into him again!"


text:
Shrieking and throwing the boy into a violent fit, it came out. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the people said he was dead.


text:
After Yeshua had gone indoors, his <i>talmidim </i>asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"


text:
because he was teaching his <i>talmidim</i>. He told them, "The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men who will put him to death; but after he has been killed, three days later he will rise."


text:
They arrived at K'far-Nachum. When Yeshua was inside the house, he asked them, "What were you discussing as we were traveling?"


text:
But they kept quiet; because on the way, they had been arguing with each other about who was the greatest.


text:
He sat down, summoned the Twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all."


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"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me."


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Yochanan said to him, "Rabbi, we saw a man expelling demons in your name; and because he wasn't one of us, we told him to stop."


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But Yeshua said, "Don't stop him, because no one who works a miracle in my name will soon after be able to say something bad about me.


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Indeed, whoever gives you even a cup of water to drink because you come in the name of the Messiah- yes! I tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward.


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"Whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me- it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown in the sea.


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If your hand makes you sin, cut it off! Better that you should be maimed but obtain eternal life, rather than keep both hands and go to Gei-Hinnom, to unquenchable fire!


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And if your foot makes you sin, cut it off! Better that you should be lame but obtain eternal life, rather than keep both feet and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom!


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And if your eye makes you sin, pluck it out! Better that you should be one-eyed but enter the Kingdom of God, rather than keep both eyes and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom,


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Salt is excellent, but if it loses its saltiness, how will you season it? So have salt in yourselves- that is, be at peace with each other."


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Then Yeshua left that place and went into the regions of Y'hudah and the territory beyond the Yarden. Again crowds gathered around him; and again, as usual, he taught them.


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Some <i> P'rushim </i>came up and tried to trap him by asking him, "Does the <i>Torah </i> permit a man to divorce his wife?"


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He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife;


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People were bringing children to him so that he might touch them, but the <i>talmidim </i> rebuked those people.


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However, when Yeshua saw it, he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me, don't stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


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As he was starting on his way, a man ran up, kneeled down in front of him and asked, "Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?"


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You know the <i>mitzvot</i>- 'Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony, don't defraud, honor your father and mother,...'"


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Yeshua, looking at him, felt love for him and said to him, "You're missing one thing. Go, sell whatever you own, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"


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Yeshua looked around and said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!"


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The <i> talmidim </i>were astounded at these words; but Yeshua said to them again, "My friends, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!


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It's easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."


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Yeshua looked at them and said, "Humanly, it is impossible, but not with God; with God, everything is possible."


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Yeshua said, "Yes! I tell you that there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News,


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who will not receive a hundred times over, now, in the <i>'olam hazeh</i>, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands- with persecutions!- and in the <i>'olam haba</i>, eternal life.


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They were on the road going up to Yerushalayim. Yeshua was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed- and those following were afraid. So again taking the Twelve along with him, he began telling them what was about to happen to him.


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"We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers. They will sentence him to death and turn him over to the <i>Goyim</i>,


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Ya'akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai, came up to him and said, "Rabbi, we would like you to do us a favor."


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They replied, "When you are in your glory, let us sit with you, one on your right and the other on your left."


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But Yeshua answered, "You don't know what you're asking! Can you drink the cup that I am drinking? or be immersed with the immersion that I must undergo?"


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They said to him, "We can." Yeshua replied, "The cup that I am drinking, you will drink; and the immersion I am being immersed with, you will undergo.


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But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared."


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But Yeshua called them to him and said to them, "You know that among the <i>Goyim</i>, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators.


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But among you, it must not be like that! On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must be your servant;


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They came to Yericho; and as Yeshua was leaving Yericho with his <i>talmidim </i>and a great crowd, a blind beggar, Bar-Timai (son of Timai), was sitting by the side of the road.


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When he heard that it was Yeshua from Natzeret, he started shouting, "Yeshua! Son of David! Have pity on me!"


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Many people scolded him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, "Son of David! Have pity on me!"


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Yeshua stopped and said, "Call him over!" They called to the blind man, "Courage! Get up! He's calling for you!"


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"What do you want me to do for you?" asked Yeshua. The blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me be able to see again."


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Yeshua said to him, "Go! Your trust has healed you." Instantly he received his sight and followed him on the road.


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As they were approaching Yerushalayim, near Beit-Pagei and Beit-Anyah, by the Mount of Olives, Yeshua sent two of his <i>talmidim</i>


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with these instructions: "Go into the village ahead of you; and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it, and bring it here.


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If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it,' and he will send it here right away."


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Many people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others spread out green branches which they had cut in the fields.


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Those who were ahead and those behind shouted, "Please! Deliver us!"* "Blessed is he who comes in the name of <i>ADONAI</i>!"


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"Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!" and, "You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!"*


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Yeshua entered Yerushalayim, went into the Temple courts and took a good look at everything; but since it was now late, he went out with the Twelve to Beit-Anyah.


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Spotting in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came up to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it wasn't fig season.


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He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And his <i>talmidim </i>heard what he said.


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On reaching Yerushalayim, he entered the Temple courts and began driving out those who were carrying on business there, both the merchants and their customers. He also knocked over the desks of the money-changers, upset the benches of the pigeon-dealers,


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Then, as he taught them, he said, "Isn't it written in the <i>Tanakh</i>, My house will be called a house of prayer for all the <i>Goyim </i>But you have made it into a den of robbers!"


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The head <i> cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers heard what he said and tried to find a way to do away with him; they were afraid of him, because the crowds were utterly taken by his teaching.


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In the morning, as the <i>talmidim </i>passed by, they saw the fig tree withered all the way to its roots.


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Yes! I tell you that whoever does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says will happen can say to this mountain, 'Go and throw yourself into the sea!' and it will be done for him.


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Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours.


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And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your offenses."


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They went back into Yerushalayim; and as he was walking in the Temple courts, there came to him the head <i>cohanim</i>, the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the elders;


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and they said to him, "What <i>s'mikhah </i>do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this <i>s'mikhah </i>authorizing you to do them?"


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Yeshua said to them, "I will ask you just one question: answer me, and I will tell you by what <i>s'mikhah </i>I do these things.


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They discussed it among themselves: "If we say, 'From Heaven,' he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'


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But if we say, 'From a human source,... '"- they were afraid of the people, for they all regarded Yochanan as a genuine prophet.


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So they answered Yeshua, "We don't know." "Then," he replied, "I won't tell you by what <i>s'mikhah </i>I do these things."


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Yeshua began speaking to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; then he rented it to tenant-farmers and left.


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When harvest-time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the crop from the vineyard.


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He sent another one, and him they killed; and so with many others- some they beat up, others they killed.


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He had still one person left, a son whom he loved; in the end, he sent him to them, saying, 'My son they will respect.'


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But the tenants said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!'


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What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others!


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Haven't you read the passage in the <i>Tanakh </i>that says, 'The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!


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They set about to arrest him, for they recognized that he had told the parable with reference to themselves. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.


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Next they sent some <i>P'rushim </i>and some members of Herod's party to him in order to trap him with a <i>sh'eilah</i>.


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They came and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person's status but really teach what God's way is. Does <i>Torah </i>say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?"


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But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it."


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They brought one; and he asked them, "Whose name and picture are these?" "The Emperor's," they replied.


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Yeshua said, "Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!" And they were amazed at him.


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Then some <i>Tz'dukim </i>came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a <i>sh'eilah</i>:


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"Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man's family line.


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Yeshua said to them, "Isn't this the reason that you go astray? because you are ignorant both of the <i>Tanakh </i>and of the power of God?


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And as for the dead being raised, haven't you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov'?


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One of the <i>Torah</i>-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, "Which is the most important <i> mitzvah </i>of them all?"


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Yeshua answered, "The most important is, '<i>Sh'ma Yisra'el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad </i>[Hear, O Isra'el, the LORD our God, the LORD is one],


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and you are to love <i>ADONAI </i>your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.'


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The second is this: 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other <i> mitzvah </i>greater than these."


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The <i> Torah</i>-teacher said to him, "Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him;


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and that loving him with all one's heart, understanding and strength, and loving one's neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."


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When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared put to him another <i>sh'eilah</i>.


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As Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, he asked, "How is it that the <i>Torah</i>-teachers say the Messiah is the Son of David?


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David himself, inspired by the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>, said, '<i>ADONAI </i>said to my Lord, "Sit here at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."'


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As he taught them, he said, "Watch out for the kind of <i>Torah</i>-teachers who like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces,


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who like to swallow up widows' houses while making a show of <i>davvening </i>at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!"


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Then Yeshua sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the crowd as they put money into the offering-boxes. Many rich people put in large sums,


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He called his <i>talmidim </i>to him and said to them, "Yes! I tell you, this poor widow has put more in the offering-box than all the others making donations.


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For all of them, out of their wealth, have contributed money they can easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given everything she had to live on."


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As Yeshua came out of the Temple, one of the <i>talmidim </i>said to him, "Look, Rabbi! What huge stones! What magnificent buildings!"


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"You see all these great buildings?" Yeshua said to him, "They will be totally destroyed- not a single stone will be left standing!"


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As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Kefa, Ya'akov, Yochanan and Andrew asked him privately,


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"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what sign will show when all these things are about to be accomplished?"


text:
When you hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off, don't become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come.


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For peoples will fight each other, and nations will fight each other, there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines; this is but the beginning of the 'birth pains.'


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"But you, watch yourselves! They will hand you over to the local <i>Sanhedrin</i>s, you will be beaten up in synagogues, and on my account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.


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Now when they arrest you and bring you to trial, don't worry beforehand about what to say. Rather, say whatever is given you when the time comes; for it will not be just you speaking, but the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>.


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Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death;


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"Now when you see the abomination that causes devastation standing where it ought not to be" (let the reader understand the allusion), "that will be the time for those in Y'hudah to escape to the hills.


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For there will be worse trouble at that time than there has ever been from the very beginning, when God created the universe, until now; and there will be nothing like it again.


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Indeed, if God had not limited the duration of the trouble, no one would survive; but for the sake of the elect, those whom he has chosen, he has limited it.


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"At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here's the Messiah!' or, 'See, there he is!'- don't believe him!


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There will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing signs and wonders for the purpose, if possible, of misleading the chosen.


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He will send out his angels and gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.


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In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door.


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However, when that day and hour will come, no one knows- not the angels in heaven, not the Son, just the Father.


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"It's like a man who travels away from home, puts his servants in charge, each with his own task, and tells the doorkeeper to stay alert.


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whether it will be evening, midnight, cockcrow or morning- you don't want him to come suddenly and find you sleeping!


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It was now two days before <i>Pesach </i>(that is, the festival of <i> Matzah</i>), and the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers were trying to find some way to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death;


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While he was in Beit-Anyah in the home of Shim'on (a man who had had <i>tzara'at</i>), and as he was eating, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfume, pure oil of nard, very costly. She broke the jar and poured the perfume over Yeshua's head.


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For you will always have the poor with you; and whenever you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me.


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Yes! I tell you that wherever in the whole world this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory."


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Then Y'hudah from K'riot, who was one of the Twelve, went to the head <i>cohanim </i> in order to betray Yeshua to them.


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They were pleased to hear this and promised to give him money. And he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Yeshua.


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On the first day for <i>matzah</i>, when they slaughtered the lamb for <i>Pesach</i>, Yeshua's <i>talmidim </i>asked him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare your <i>Seder</i>?"


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He sent two of his <i>talmidim </i>with these instructions: "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him;


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and whichever house he enters, tell him that the Rabbi says, 'Where is the guest room for me, where I am to eat the <i>Pesach </i>meal with my <i>talmidim</i>?'


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The <i> talmidim </i>went off, came to the city and found things just as he had told them they would be; and they prepared the <i>Seder</i>.


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As they were reclining and eating, Yeshua said, "Yes! I tell you that one of you is going to betray me."


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For the Son of Man will die, just as the <i>Tanakh </i>says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!"


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While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of <i>matzah</i>, made the <i>b'rakhah</i>, broke it, gave it to them and said, "Take it! This is my body."


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He said to them, "This is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many people.


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Yes! I tell you, I will not drink this 'fruit of the vine' again until the day I drink new wine in the Kingdom of God."


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Yeshua said to them, "You will all lose faith in me, for the <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep will be scattered.'


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Yeshua replied, "Yes! I tell you that this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times!"


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But Kefa kept insisting, "Even if I must die with you, I will never disown you!" And they all said the same thing.


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They went to a place called Gat Sh'manim; and Yeshua said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "Sit here while I pray."


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and he said to them, "My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake."


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Going on a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him:


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"<i>Abba</i>!" (that is, "Dear Father!") "All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what you want."


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He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Kefa, "Shim'on, are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake one hour?


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and again he came and found them sleeping, their eyes were so very heavy; and they didn't know what to answer him.


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The third time, he came and said to them, "For now, go on sleeping, take your rest....There, that's enough! The time has come! Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners!


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While Yeshua was still speaking, Y'hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head <i>cohanim</i>, the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the elders.


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The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Grab him, and take him away under guard."


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but one of the people standing nearby drew his sword and struck at the servant of the <i> cohen hagadol</i>, cutting off his ear.


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Yeshua addressed them: "So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion?


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Every day I was with you in the Temple court, teaching, and you didn't seize me then! But let the <i>Tanakh </i>be fulfilled."


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There was one young man who did try to follow him; but he was wearing only a nightshirt; and when they tried to seize him,


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They led Yeshua to the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, with whom all the head <i>cohanim</i>, elders and <i>Torah</i>-teachers were assembling.


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Kefa followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, where he sat down with the guards and warmed himself by the fire.


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The head <i> cohanim </i>and the whole <i>Sanhedrin </i>tried to find evidence against Yeshua, so that they might have him put to death, but they couldn't find any.


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"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple made with hands; and in three days I will build another one, not made with hands.'"


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The <i> cohen hagadol </i>stood up in the front and asked Yeshua, "Have you nothing to say to the accusations these men are making?"


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But he remained silent and made no reply. Again the <i>cohen hagadol </i>questioned him: "Are you the <i>Mashiach</i>, <i>Ben-HaM'vorakh</i>?"


text:
"I AM," answered Yeshua. "Moreover, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of <i>HaG'vurah </i>and coming on the clouds of heaven."


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You heard him blaspheme! What is your decision?" And they all declared him guilty and subject to the death penalty.


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Then some began spitting at him; and after blindfolding him, they started pounding him with their fists and saying to him, "Let's see you prophesy!" And as the guards took him, they beat him too.


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Meanwhile, Kefa was still in the courtyard below. One of the serving-girls of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>


text:
saw Kefa warming himself, took a look at him, and said, "You were with the man from Natzeret, Yeshua!"


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But he denied it, saying, "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about!" He went outside into the entryway, and a rooster crowed.


text:
Again he denied it. A little later, the bystanders themselves said to Kefa, "You must be one of them, because you're from the Galil."


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At this he began to invoke a curse on himself as he swore, "I do not know this man you are telling me about!"-


text:
and immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Kefa remembered what Yeshua had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times." And throwing himself down, he burst into tears.


text:
As soon as it was morning, the head <i>cohanim </i>held a council meeting with the elders, the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the whole <i>Sanhedrin</i>. Then they put Yeshua in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.


text:
Pilate put this question to him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered him, "The words are yours."


text:
and Pilate again inquired of him, "Aren't you going to answer? Look how many charges they are making against you!"


text:
There was in prison among the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection a man called Bar-Abba.


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For it was evident to him that it was out of jealousy that the head <i>cohanim </i>had handed him over.


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He asked, "Why? What crime has he committed?" But they only shouted louder, "Put him to death on the stake!"


text:
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the mob, set Bar-Abba free for them; but he had Yeshua whipped and then handed him over to be executed on the stake.


text:
The soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the headquarters building) and called together the whole battalion.


text:
When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution-stake.


text:
A certain man from Cyrene, Shim'on, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country; and they forced him to carry the stake.


text:
Then they nailed him to the execution-stake; and they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to determine what each man should get.


text:
People passing by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days?


text:
Likewise, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers made fun of him, saying to each other, "He saved others, but he can't save himself!"


text:
and, "So he's the Messiah, is he? The King of Isra'el? Let him come down now from the stake! If we see that, then we'll believe him!" Even the men nailed up with him insulted him.


text:
At three, he uttered a loud cry, "<i>Elohi! Elohi! L'mah sh'vaktani</i>?" (which means, "My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?")


text:
One ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar, put it on a stick and gave it to him to drink. "Wait!" he said, "Let's see if Eliyahu will come and take him down."


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When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw the way he gave up his spirit, he said, "This man really was a son of God!"


text:
There were women looking on from a distance; among them were Miryam from Magdala, Miryam the mother of the younger Ya'akov and of Yosi, and Shlomit.


text:
These women had followed him and helped him when he was in the Galil. And many other women were there who had come up with him to Yerushalayim.


text:
Yosef of Ramatayim, a prominent member of the <i>Sanhedrin </i>who himself was also looking forward to the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Yeshua's body.


text:
Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead, so he summoned the officer and asked him if he had been dead awhile.


text:
After he had gotten confirmation from the officer that Yeshua was dead, he granted Yosef the corpse.


text:
Yosef purchased a linen sheet; and after taking Yeshua down, he wrapped him in the linen sheet, laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.


text:
When <i>Shabbat </i>was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya'akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua.


text:
On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded.


text:
But he said, "Don't be so surprised! You're looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he's not here! Look at the place where they laid him.


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But go and tell his <i>talmidim</i>, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you."


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Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.*


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When Yeshua rose early Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of Magdala, from whom he had expelled seven demons.


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Later, Yeshua appeared to the Eleven as they were eating, and he reproached them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having believed those who had seen him after he had risen.


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And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues,


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So then, after he had spoken to them, the Lord Yeshua was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.


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And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the message by the accompanying signs.


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Dear Theophilos: Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts


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based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message.


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Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative,


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In the days of Herod, King of Y'hudah, there was a <i>cohen </i>named Z'kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.


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Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the <i>mitzvot </i>and ordinances of <i> ADONAI </i>blamelessly.


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One time, when Z'kharyah was fulfilling his duties as <i>cohen </i>during his division's period of service before God,


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he was chosen by lot (according to the custom among the <i>cohanim</i>) to enter the Temple and burn incense.


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But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Z'kharyah; because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to name him Yochanan.


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for he will be great in the sight of <i>ADONAI</i>. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>even from his mother's womb.


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He will go out ahead of <i>ADONAI </i>in the spirit and power of Eliyahu to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for <i>ADONAI </i>a people prepared."


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Z'kharyah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man; my wife too is well on in years."


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"I am Gavri'el," the angel answered him, "and I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to give you this good news.


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Now, because you didn't believe what I said, which will be fulfilled when the time comes, you will be silent, unable to speak until the day these things take place."


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Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Z'kharyah; they were surprised at his taking so long in the Temple.


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But when he came out unable to talk to them, they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple; speechless, he communicated to them with signs.


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"<i>ADONAI </i>has done this for me; he has shown me favor at this time, so as to remove my public disgrace."


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He will be great, he will be called Son of <i>Ha'Elyon</i>. <i>ADONAI</i>, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David;


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The angel answered her, "The <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>will come over you, the power of <i> Ha'Elyon </i>will cover you. Therefore the holy child born to you will be called the Son of God.


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"You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant!


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Miryam said, "I am the servant of <i>ADONAI</i>; may it happen to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.


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When Elisheva heard Miryam's greeting, the baby in her womb stirred. Elisheva was filled with the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>


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and spoke up in a loud voice, "How blessed are you among women! And how blessed is the child in your womb!


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Indeed you are blessed, because you have trusted that the promise <i>ADONAI </i>has made to you will be fulfilled."


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who has taken notice of his servant-girl in her humble position. For- imagine it!- from now on, all generations will call me blessed!


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Her neighbors and relatives heard how good <i>ADONAI </i>had been to her, and they rejoiced with her.


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On the eighth day, they came to do the child's <i>b'rit-milah</i>. They were about to name him Z'kharyah, after his father,


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All their neighbors were awestruck; and throughout the hill country of Y'hudah, people talked about all these things.


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Everyone who heard of them said to himself, "What is this child going to be?" For clearly the hand of <i>ADONAI </i>was with him.


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"Praised be <i>ADONAI</i>, the God of Isra'el, because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people


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"This has happened so that he might show the mercy promised to our fathers- that he would remember his holy covenant,


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You, child, will be called a prophet of <i>Ha'Elyon</i>; you will go before the Lord to prepare his way


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to shine on those in darkness, living in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the paths of peace."


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The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until the time came for him to appear in public to Isra'el.


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So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y'hudah,


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and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.


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In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks,


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when an angel of <i>ADONAI </i>appeared to them, and the <i>Sh'khinah </i>of <i>ADONAI </i>shone around them. They were terrified;


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but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people.


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This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.


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No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go over to Beit-Lechem and see this thing that has happened, that <i>ADONAI </i>has told us about."


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Meanwhile, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen; it had been just as they had been told.


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On the eighth day, when it was time for his <i>b'rit-milah</i>, he was given the name Yeshua, which is what the angel had called him before his conception.


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When the time came for their purification according to the <i>Torah </i>of Moshe, they took him up to Yerushalayim to present him to <i>ADONAI</i>


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(as it is written in the <i>Torah </i>of <i>ADONAI</i>, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to <i>ADONAI</i>")


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and also to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the <i> Torah </i>of <i>ADONAI</i>.


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There was in Yerushalayim a man named Shim'on. This man was a <i>tzaddik</i>, he was devout, he waited eagerly for God to comfort Isra'el, and the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>was upon him.


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It had been revealed to him by the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah of <i>ADONAI</i>.


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Prompted by the Spirit, he went into the Temple courts; and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua to do for him what the <i>Torah </i>required,


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Shim'on blessed them and said to the child's mother, Miryam, "This child will cause many in Isra'el to fall and to rise, he will become a sign whom people will speak against;


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moreover, a sword will pierce your own heart too. All this will happen in order to reveal many people's inmost thoughts."


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There was also a prophet named Hannah Bat-P'nu'el, of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman- she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage


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and had remained a widow ever since; now she was eighty-four. She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying.


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She came by at that moment and began thanking God and speaking about the child to everyone who was waiting for Yerushalayim to be liberated.


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When Yosef and Miryam had finished doing everything required by the <i>Torah </i>of <i> ADONAI</i>, they returned to the Galil, to their town Natzeret.


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But after the festival was over, when his parents returned, Yeshua remained in Yerushalayim. They didn't realize this;


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supposing that he was somewhere in the caravan, they spent a whole day on the road before they began searching for him among their relatives and friends.


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On the third day they found him- he was sitting in the Temple court among the rabbis, not only listening to them but questioning what they said;


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When his parents saw him, they were shocked; and his mother said to him, "Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you!"


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He said to them, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be concerning myself with my Father's affairs?"


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So he went with them to Natzeret and was obedient to them. But his mother stored up all these things in her heart.


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In the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius' rule; when Pontius Pilate was governor of Y'hudah, Herod ruler of the Galil, his brother Philip ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,


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with 'Anan and Kayafa being the <i>cohanim g'dolim</i>; the word of God came to Yochanan Ben-Z'kharyah in the desert.


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He went all through the Yarden region proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven.


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It was just as had been written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Yesha'yahu, "The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way for <i>ADONAI</i>! Make straight paths for him!


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Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill leveled off; the winding roads must be straightened and the rough ways made smooth.


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Therefore, Yochanan said to the crowds who came out to be immersed by him, "You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment?


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If you have really turned from your sins, produce fruit that will prove it! And don't start saying to yourselves, 'Avraham is our father'! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones!


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Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!"


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He answered, "Whoever has two coats should share with somebody who has none, and whoever has food should do the same."


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Some soldiers asked him, "What about us? What should we do?" To them he said, "Don't intimidate anyone, don't accuse people falsely, and be satisfied with your pay."


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The people were in a state of great expectancy, and everyone was wondering whether perhaps Yochanan himself might be the Messiah;


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so Yochanan answered them all, "I am immersing you in water, but he who is coming is more powerful than I- I'm not worthy to untie his sandals! He will immerse you in the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>and in fire.


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He has with him his winnowing fork to clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the straw with unquenchable fire!"


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But Yochanan also denounced Herod the regional governor for taking as his own wife Herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the other wicked things Herod had done;


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While all the people were being immersed, Yeshua too was immersed. As he was praying, heaven was opened;


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the <i> Ruach HaKodesh </i>came down on him in physical form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you."


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Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. It was supposed that he was a son of Yosef who was of Eli,


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Then Yeshua, filled with the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness


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for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.


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and said to him, "I will give you all this power and glory. It has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I choose.


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Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, jump from here!


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For the <i> Tanakh </i>says, 'He will order his angels to be responsible for you and to protect you.


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Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside.


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Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on <i>Shabbat </i>he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,


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and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha'yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,


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"The Spirit of <i>ADONAI </i>is upon me; therefore he has anointed me to announce Good News to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned and renewed sight for the blind, to release those who have been crushed,


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After closing the scroll and returning it to the <i>shammash</i>, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.


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He started to speak to them: "Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the <i>Tanakh </i>was fulfilled!"


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Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, "Can this be Yosef's son?"


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Then Yeshua said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me this proverb- '"Doctor, cure yourself!" We've heard about all the things that have been going on over in K'far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!'


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It's true, I'm telling you- when Eliyahu was in Isra'el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows;


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Also there were many people with <i>tzara'at </i>in Isra'el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na'aman the Syrian."


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They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off.


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He went down to K'far-Nachum, a town in the Galil, and made a practice of teaching them on <i>Shabbat</i>.


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"Yaah! What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!"


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But Yeshua rebuked it: "Be quiet, and come out of him!" The demonic spirit threw the man down in the middle of the crowd and came out of him, having done him no harm.


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They were all astounded and said to one another, "What kind of teaching is this? Why, he gives orders with power and authority to the unclean spirits, and they come out!"


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Leaving the synagogue, he went to Shim'on's house. Shim'on's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him to do something for her.


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So, standing over her, he rebuked the fever; and it left her. She immediately got up and began helping them.


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After sunset, all those who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Yeshua, and he put his hands on each one of them and healed them;


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also demons came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But, rebuking them, he did not permit them to say that they knew he was the Messiah.


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When day had come, he left and went away to a lonely spot. The people looked for him, came to him and would have kept him from leaving them.


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But he said to them, "I must announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too- this is why I was sent."


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One day, as Yeshua was standing on the shore of Lake Kinneret, with the people pressing in around him in order to hear the word of God,


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he noticed two boats pulled up on the beach, left there by the fishermen, who were cleaning their nets.


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He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Shim'on, and asked him to put out a little way from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.


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When he had finished speaking, he said to Shim'on, "Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch."


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Shim'on answered, "We've worked hard all night long, Rabbi, and haven't caught a thing! But if you say so, I'll let down the nets."


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So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both boats to the point of sinking.


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When he saw this, Shim'on Kefa fell at Yeshua's knees and said, "Get away from me, sir, because I'm a sinner!"


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and likewise both Ya'akov and Yochanan, Shim'on's partners. "Don't be frightened," Yeshua said to Shim'on, "from now on you will be catching men- alive!"


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Once, when Yeshua was in one of the towns, there came a man completely covered with <i> tzara'at</i>. On seeing Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged him, "Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean."


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Yeshua reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I <i>am </i>willing! Be cleansed!" Immediately the <i>tzara'at </i>left him.


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Then Yeshua warned him not to tell anyone. "Instead, as a testimony to the people, go straight to the <i>cohen </i>and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moshe commanded."


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But the news about Yeshua kept spreading all the more, so that huge crowds would gather to listen and be healed of their sicknesses.


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One day when Yeshua was teaching, there were <i>P'rushim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers present who had come from various villages in the Galil and Y'hudah, also from Yerushalayim; and the power of <i>ADONAI </i>was with him to heal the sick.


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Some men came carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. They wanted to bring him inside and lay him in front of Yeshua,


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but they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd. So they went up onto the roof and lowered him on his mattress through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, right in front of Yeshua.


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The <i> Torah</i>-teachers and the <i>P'rushim </i>began thinking, "Who is this fellow that speaks such blasphemies? Who can forgive sin except God?"


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But Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, answered, "Why are you turning over such thoughts in your hearts?


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But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic, "I say to you: get up, pick up your mattress and go home!"


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Immediately, in front of everyone, he stood up, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.


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Amazement seized them all, and they made a <i>b'rakhah </i>to God; they were awestruck, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."


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Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, "Follow me!"


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Levi gave a banquet at his house in Yeshua's honor, and there was a large group of tax-collectors and others at the table with them.


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The <i> P'rushim </i>and their <i>Torah</i>-teachers protested indignantly against his <i>talmidim</i>, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?"


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I have not come to call the 'righteous,' but rather to call sinners to turn to God from their sins."


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Next they said to him, "Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>are always fasting and <i>davvening</i>, and likewise the <i>talmidim </i>of the <i>P'rushim</i>; but yours go on eating and drinking."


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The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and when that time comes, they will fast."


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Then he gave them an illustration: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; if he does, not only will the new one continue to rip, but the piece from the new will not match the old.


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Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins too will be ruined.


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Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don't want new; because they say, 'The old is good enough.'"


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One <i>Shabbat</i>, while Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields, his <i>talmidim </i>began plucking the heads of grain, rubbing them between their hands and eating the seeds.


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He entered the House of God and took and ate the Bread of the Presence"- which no one is permitted to eat but the <i>cohanim</i>.


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On another <i>Shabbat</i>, when Yeshua had gone into the synagogue and was teaching, a man was there who had a shriveled hand.


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The <i>Torah</i>-teachers and <i>P'rushim </i>watched Yeshua carefully to see if he would heal on <i> Shabbat</i>, so that they could accuse him of something.


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But he knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Come up and stand where we can see you!" He got up and stood there.


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Then Yeshua said to them, "I ask you now: what is permitted on <i>Shabbat</i>? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or destroying it?"


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Then, after looking around at all of them, he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, his hand was restored.


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But the others were filled with fury and began discussing with each other what they could do to Yeshua.


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It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.


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When day came, he called his <i>talmidim </i>and chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries:


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Shim'on, the one called the Zealot; Y'hudah Ben-Ya'akov; and Y'hudah from K'riot, who turned traitor.


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Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his <i>talmidim </i>was there with great numbers of people from all Y'hudah, Yerushalayim and the coast around Tzor and Tzidon; they had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases.


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and the whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power kept going out from him, healing everyone.


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He looked at his <i>talmidim </i>and said: "How blessed are you poor! for the Kingdom of God is yours.


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"How blessed are you who are hungry! for you will be filled. "How blessed are you who are crying now! for you will laugh.


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"How blessed you are whenever people hate you and ostracize you and insult you and denounce you as a criminal on account of the Son of Man.


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Be glad when that happens; yes, dance for joy! because in heaven your reward is great. For that is just how their fathers treated the prophets.


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"Woe to you who are full now, for you will go hungry! "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and cry!


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"Woe to you when people speak well of you, for that is just how their fathers treated the false prophets!


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Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this: "Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you,


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"If someone hits you on one cheek, offer the other too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.


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"If someone asks you for something, give it to him; if someone takes what belongs to you, don't demand it back.


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What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them.


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What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full.


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But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of <i>Ha'Elyon</i>; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.


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"Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. "Forgive, and you will be forgiven.


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Give, and you will receive gifts- the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!"


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He also told them a parable: "Can one blind man lead another blind man? Won't they both fall into a pit?


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A <i>talmid </i>is not above his rabbi; but each one, when he is fully trained, will be like his rabbi.


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How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the splinter from your eye,' when you yourself don't see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye!


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Each tree is recognized by its own fruit- figs aren't picked from thorn bushes, nor grapes from a briar patch.


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The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart.


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he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn't shake it, because it was constructed well.


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And whoever hears my words but doesn't act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!"


text:
Hearing about Yeshua, the officer sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he come and heal his servant.


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So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof-


text:
this is why I didn't presume to approach you myself. Instead, just give a command and let my servant recover.


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For I too am a man set under authority. I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."


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Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Isra'el have I found such trust!"


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The next day Yeshua, accompanied by his <i>talmidim </i>and a large crowd, went to a town called Na'im.


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As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her.


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Then he came close and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers halted. He said, "Young man, I say to you: get up!"


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They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us," and, "God has come to help his people."


text:
Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>informed him of all these things. Then Yochanan called two of his <i>talmidim</i>


text:
and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for someone else?"


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When the men came to him, they said, "Yochanan the Immerser has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come? Or should we keep looking- for someone else?'"


text:
Right then he was healing many people of diseases, pains and evil spirits, and giving sight to many who were blind.


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So he answered them by saying, "Go, tell Yochanan what you have been seeing and hearing: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with <i> tzara'at </i>are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor-


text:
When the messengers from Yochanan had gone, Yeshua began speaking to the crowds about Yochanan: "What did you go out into the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze?


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No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? But people who dress beautifully and live in luxury are found in kings' palaces.


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<i>Nu</i>, so what did you go out to see? A prophet! Yes, and I tell you he's much more than a prophet.


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I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!"


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All the people who heard him, even the tax-collectors, by undergoing Yochanan's immersion acknowledged that God was right;


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but the <i> P'rushim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers, by not letting themselves be immersed by him, nullified for themselves God's plan.


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They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling to one another, 'We made happy music, but you wouldn't dance! We made sad music, but you wouldn't cry!'


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The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, 'Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!'


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One of the <i>P'rushim </i>invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the <i>Parush </i>and took his place at the table.


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A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the <i>Parush</i>, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume,


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stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.


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When the <i> Parush </i>who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner."


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When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?"


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Shim'on answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "Your judgment is right," Yeshua said to him.


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Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim'on, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house- you didn't give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair!


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Because of this, I tell you that her sins- which are many!- have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little."


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At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, "Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?"


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After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve,


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and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses- Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out;


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Yochanah the wife of Herod's finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him.


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After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable:


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"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up.


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But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!"


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and he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.


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The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it.


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The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root- they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize.


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As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life's gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures.


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But what fell in rich soil- these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.


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"No one who has lit a lamp covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed; no, he puts it on a stand; so that those coming in may see the light.


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For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing is covered up that will not be known and come out into the open.


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Pay attention, then, to how you hear! For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he seems to have will be taken away."


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Then Yeshua's mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd.


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But he gave them this answer: "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's message and act on it!"


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One day Yeshua got into a boat with his <i>talmidim </i>and said to them, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake."


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So they set out; and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat began to fill up with water, putting them in great danger.


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They went and woke him, saying, "Rabbi! Rabbi! We're about to die!" He woke up, rebuked the wind and the rough water; and they calmed down, so that it was still.


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Then he said to the <i>talmidim</i>, "Where is your trust?" Awestruck, they marveled, asking one another, "Who can this be, that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?"


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As Yeshua stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons came to meet him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; and he lived, not in a house, but in the burial caves.


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Catching sight of Yeshua, he screamed, fell down in front of him and yelled, "Yeshua! Son of God <i>Ha'Elyon</i>! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't torture me!"


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For Yeshua had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often taken hold of him- he had been kept under guard, chained hand and foot, but had broken the bonds and been driven by the demon into the desert.


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Now there was a herd of many pigs, feeding on the hill; and the demons begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them permission.


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The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, whereupon the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.


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and the people came out to see for themselves. They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting- dressed and in his right mind- at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened.


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Then all the people of the Gerasene district asked him to leave them, for they had been seized with great fear. So he boarded the boat and returned.


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The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might go with him; but Yeshua sent him away, saying,


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"Go back to your home and tell how much God has done for you." He went away proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Yeshua had done for him.


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Then there came a man named Ya'ir who was president of the synagogue. Falling at Yeshua's feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house;


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for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old; and she was dying. As he went, with the crowds on every side virtually choking him,


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Yeshua asked, "Who touched me?" When they all denied doing it, Kefa said, "Rabbi! The crowds are hemming you in and jostling you!"


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Seeing she could not escape notice, the woman, quaking with fear, threw herself down before him and confessed in front of everyone why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.


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While Yeshua was still speaking, a man came from the synagogue president's house. "Your daughter has died," he said. "Don't bother the rabbi any more."


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But on hearing this, Yeshua answered him, "Don't be afraid! Just go on trusting, and she will be made well."


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When he arrived at the house, he didn't allow anyone to go in with him except Kefa, Yochanan, Ya'akov and the child's father and mother


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All the people were wailing and mourning for her; but he said, "Don't weep; she hasn't died, she's sleeping."


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Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases;


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He said to them, "Take nothing for your trip- neither a walking stick nor a pack, neither bread nor money; and don't have two shirts.


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Wherever they don't welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them."


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They set out and went through village after village, healing and announcing the Good News everywhere.


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Herod the governor heard about all that was going on and was perplexed, because it was said by some that Yochanan had been raised from the dead,


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by others that Eliyahu had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.


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Herod said, "I had Yochanan beheaded, so who is this about whom I keep hearing such things?" And he began trying to see him.


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On their return, the emissaries detailed to Yeshua what they had done. Then, taking them with him, he withdrew by himself to a town called Beit-Tzaidah.


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But the crowds found out and followed him. Welcoming them, he went on to speak to them about the Kingdom of God and to heal those who needed to be healed.


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The day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they can go and get lodging and food in the towns and farms around here, because where we are is a remote place."


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But he said to them, "Give them something to eat, yourselves!" They said, "We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish- unless we ourselves are supposed to go and buy food for all these people!"


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(For there were about five thousand men.) He said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each."


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Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a <i> b'rakhah</i>, broke the loaves and began giving them to the <i>talmidim </i>to distribute to the crowd.


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Everyone ate as much as he wanted; and they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces.


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Once when Yeshua was praying in private, his <i>talmidim </i>were with him; and he asked them, "Who are the crowds saying I am?"


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They answered, "Yochanan the Immerser; but others say Eliyahu, and others that some prophet of long ago has risen."


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adding, "The Son of Man has to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers; and he has to be put to death; but on the third day, he has to be raised to life."


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Then to everyone he said, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him say 'No' to himself, take up his execution-stake daily and keep following me.


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For whoever tries to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life on my account will save it.


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For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and of the holy angels.


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I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God."


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About a week after Yeshua said these things, he took Kefa, Yochanan and Ya'akov with him and went up to the hill country to pray.


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They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke of his exodus, which he was soon to accomplish in Yerushalayim.


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Kefa and those with him had been sound asleep; but on becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.


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As the men were leaving Yeshua, Kefa said to him, not knowing what he was saying, "It's good that we're here, Rabbi! Let's put up three shelters- one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu."


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When the voice spoke, Yeshua was alone once more. They kept quiet- at that time they told no one anything of what they had seen.


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What happens is this: a spirit seizes him, and suddenly it lets out a shriek and throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty will it leave him. It's destroying him!


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"Perverted people, without any trust!" Yeshua answered, "How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."


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Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a fit. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.


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All were struck with amazement at the greatness of God. While they were all marvelling at everything Yeshua was doing, he said to his <i>talmidim</i>,


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"Listen very carefully to what I'm going to say. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."


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But they didn't understand what he meant by this. It had been concealed from them so that they would not grasp its meaning, and they were afraid to ask him about it.


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and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all- this is the one who is great."


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Yochanan responded, "Rabbi, we saw someone expelling demons in your name; and we stopped him because he doesn't follow you along with us."


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As the time approached for him to be taken up into heaven, he made his decision to set out for Yerushalayim.


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He sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village in Shomron to make preparations for him.


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When the <i> talmidim </i>Ya'akov and Yochanan saw this, they said, "Sir, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?"


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Yeshua answered him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own."


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To another he said, "Follow me!" but the man replied, "Sir, first let me go away and bury my father."


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To him Yeshua said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God."


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After this, the Lord appointed seventy other <i>talmidim </i>and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.


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He said to them, "To be sure, there is a large harvest. But there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the Harvest that he speed workers out to gather in his harvest.


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If a seeker of <i>shalom </i>is there, your '<i>Shalom</i>!' will find its rest with him; and if there isn't, it will return to you.


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Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for a worker deserves his wages- don't move about from house to house.


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'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off as a sign against you! But understand this: the Kingdom of God is near!'


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"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Beit-Tzaidah! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tzor and Tzidon, they would long ago have put on sackcloth and ashes as evidence that they had changed their ways.


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"Whoever listens to you listens to me, also whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me."


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Remember, I have given you authority; so you can trample down snakes and scorpions, indeed, all the Enemy's forces; and you will remain completely unharmed.


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Nevertheless, don't be glad that the spirits submit to you; be glad that your names have been recorded in heaven."


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At that moment he was filled with joy by the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>and said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated, yet revealed them to ordinary people. Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.


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"My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."


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Then, turning to the <i>talmidim</i>, he said, privately, "How blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing!


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Indeed, I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them."


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An expert in <i>Torah </i>stood up to try and trap him by asking, "Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?"


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He answered, "You are to love <i>ADONAI </i>your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself."


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Taking up the question, Yeshua said: "A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead.


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By coincidence, a <i>cohen </i>was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.


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"But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.


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So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.


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The next day, he took out two days' wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I'll pay you back when I return.'


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Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the 'neighbor' of the man who fell among robbers?"


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On their way Yeshua and his <i>talmidim </i>came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home.


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But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, "Sir, don't you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?"


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But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won't be taken away from her."


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One time Yeshua was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of the <i>talmidim </i>said to him, "Sir, teach us to pray, just as Yochanan taught his <i>talmidim</i>."


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Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive everyone who has wronged us. And do not lead us to hard testing.'"


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He also said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend; and you go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,


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because a friend of mine who has been travelling has just arrived at my house, and I have nothing for him to eat.'


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Now the one inside may answer, 'Don't bother me! The door is already shut, my children are with me in bed- I can't get up to give you anything!'


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But I tell you, even if he won't get up because the man is his friend, yet because of the man's <i>hutzpah </i>he will get up and give him as much as he needs.


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"Moreover, I myself say to you: keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.


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For everyone who goes on asking receives; and he who goes on seeking finds; and to him who continues knocking, the door will be opened.


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"Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake?


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So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>from heaven to those who keep asking him!"


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He was expelling a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke; and the people were astounded.


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But some of them said, "It is by Ba'al-Zibbul"- the ruler of the demons- "that he expels the demons."


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But he, knowing what they were thinking, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, with one house collapsing on another.


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So if the Adversary too is divided against himself, how can his kingdom survive? I'm asking because you claim it is by Ba'al-Zibbul that I drive out the demons.


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If I drive out demons by Ba'al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges!


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"When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house, his possessions are secure.


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But when someone stronger attacks and defeats him, he carries off all the armor and weaponry on which the man was depending, and divides up the spoils.


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"When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest. On finding none, it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'


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Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there- so that in the end the person is worse off than he was before."


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As Yeshua was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice to call out, "How blessed is the mother that gave birth to you and nursed you from her breast!"


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As the people crowded around him, Yeshua went on to say, "This generation is a wicked generation! It asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it- except the sign of Yonah.


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For just as Yonah became a sign to the people of Ninveh, so will the Son of Man be for this generation.


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The Queen of the South will appear at the Judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, and what is here now is greater than Shlomo.


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The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned to God from their sins when Yonah preached, and what is here now is greater than Yonah.


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"No one who has kindled a lamp hides it or places it under a bowl; rather, he puts it on a stand, so that those coming in may see its light.


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The lamp of your body is the eye. When you have a 'good eye,' [that is, when you are generous,] your whole body is full of light; but when you have an 'evil eye,' [when you are stingy,] your body is full of darkness.


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If, then, your whole body is filled with light, with no part dark, it will be wholly lighted, as when a brightly lit lamp shines on you."


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As Yeshua spoke, a <i>Parush </i>asked him to eat dinner with him; so he went in and took his place at the table;


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and the <i> Parush </i>was surprised that he didn't begin by doing <i>n'tilat yadayim </i> before the meal.


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However, the Lord said to him, "Now then, you <i>P'rushim</i>, you clean the outside of the cup and plate; but inside, you are full of robbery and wickedness.


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"But woe to you <i>P'rushim</i>! You pay your tithes of mint and rue and every garden herb, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You have an obligation to do these things- but without disregarding the others!


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"Woe to you <i>P'rushim</i>, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces!


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One of the experts in <i>Torah </i>answered him, "Rabbi, by saying these things you are insulting us also."


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Yeshua said, "Woe to you <i>Torah </i>experts too! You load people down with burdens they can hardly bear, and you won't lift a finger to help them!


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Thus you testify that you completely approve of what your fathers did- they did the killing, you do the building!


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Therefore the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and emissaries; they will kill some and persecute others';


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so that on this generation will fall the responsibility for all the prophets' blood that has been shed since the world was established,


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from the blood of Hevel to the blood of Z'kharyah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the responsibility for it will fall on this generation!


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"Woe to you <i>Torah </i>experts! For you have taken away the key of knowledge! Not only did you yourselves not go in, you also have stopped those who were trying to enter!"


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As Yeshua left that place, the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the <i>P'rushim </i>began to oppose him bitterly and to provoke him to express his views on all sorts of subjects,


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Meanwhile, as a crowd in the tens of thousands gathered so closely as to trample each other down, Yeshua began to say to his <i>talmidim </i>first, "Guard yourselves from the <i>hametz </i>of the <i>P'rushim</i>, by which I mean their hypocrisy.


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What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.


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I will show you whom to fear: fear him who after killing you has authority to throw you into Gei-Hinnom! Yes, I tell you, this is the one to fear!


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Aren't sparrows sold for next to nothing, five for two assarions? And not one of them has been forgotten by God.


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Why, every hair on your head has been counted! Don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.


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"Moreover, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.


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Also, everyone who says something against the Son of Man will have it forgiven him; but whoever has blasphemed the <i>Ruach HaKodesh </i>will not be forgiven.


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"When they bring you before the synagogues and the ruling powers and the authorities, don't worry about how you will defend yourself or what you will say;


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Someone in the crowd said to him, "Rabbi, tell my brother to share with me the property we inherited."


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Then to the people he said, "Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns."


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Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my wheat and other goods there.


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Then I'll say to myself, "You're a lucky man! You have a big supply of goods laid up that will last many years. Start taking it easy! Eat! Drink! Enjoy yourself!"'


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But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night you will die! And the things you prepared- whose will they be?'


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To his <i> talmidim </i>Yeshua said, "Because of this I tell you, don't worry about your life- what you will eat or drink; or about your body- what you will wear.


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Think about the ravens! They neither plant nor harvest, they have neither storerooms nor barns, yet God feeds them. You are worth much more than the birds!


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Think about the wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread; yet, I tell you, not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.


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If this is how God clothes grass, which is alive in the field today and thrown in the oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you! What little trust you have!


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For all the pagan nations in the world set their hearts on these things. Your Father knows that you need them too.


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Sell what you own and do <i>tzedakah</i>- make for yourselves purses that don't wear out, riches in heaven that never fail, where no burglar comes near, where no moth destroys.


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like people waiting for their master's return after a wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him without delay.


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Happy the slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes! Yes! I tell you he will put on his work clothes, seat them at the table, and come serve them himself!


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Whether it is late at night or early in the morning, if this is how he finds them, those slaves are happy.


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"But notice this: no house-owner would let his house be broken into if he knew when the thief was coming.


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The Lord replied, "<i>Nu</i>, who is the faithful and sensible manager whose master puts him in charge of the household staff to give them their share of food at the proper time?


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But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is taking his time coming,' and starts bullying the men- and women-servants, and eating and drinking, getting drunk,


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then his master will come on a day when the servant isn't expecting him, at a time he doesn't know in advance; his master will cut him in two and put him with the disloyal.


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Now the servant who knew what his master wanted but didn't prepare or act according to his will, will be whipped with many lashes;


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however, the one who did what deserves a beating, but didn't know, will receive few lashes. From him who has been given much, much will be demanded- from someone to whom people entrust much, they ask still more.


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Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."


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Then to the crowds Yeshua said, "When you see a cloud-bank rising in the west, at once you say that a rainstorm is coming;


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Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky- how is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?


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If someone brings a lawsuit against you, take pains to settle with him first; otherwise he will take the matter to court, and the judge will turn you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you in jail.


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Just then, some people came to tell Yeshua about the men from the Galil whom Pilate had slaughtered even while they were slaughtering animals for sacrifice.


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His answer to them was, "Do you think that just because they died so horribly, these folks from the Galil were worse sinners than all the others from the Galil?


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"Or what about those eighteen people who died when the tower at Shiloach fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Yerushalayim?


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Then Yeshua gave this illustration: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit but didn't find any.


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So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'Here, I've come looking for fruit on this fig tree for three years now without finding any. Cut it down- why let it go on using up the soil?'


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A woman came up who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years; she was bent double and unable to stand erect at all.


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On seeing her, Yeshua called her and said to her, "Lady, you have been set free from your weakness!"


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But the president of the synagogue, indignant that Yeshua had healed on <i>Shabbat</i>, spoke up and said to the congregation, "There are six days in the week for working; so come during those days to be healed, not on <i>Shabbat</i>!"


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However, the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Each one of you on <i>Shabbat</i>- don't you unloose your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him off to drink?


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This woman is a daughter of Avraham, and the Adversary kept her tied up for eighteen years! Shouldn't she be freed from this bondage on <i>Shabbat</i>?"


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By these words, Yeshua put to shame the people who opposed him; but the rest of the crowd were happy about all the wonderful things that were taking place through him.


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It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds flying about nested in its branches."


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It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose."


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Yeshua continued traveling through town after town and village after village, teaching and making his way toward Yerushalayim.


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He answered, "Struggle to get in through the narrow door, because- I'm telling you!- many will be demanding to get in and won't be able to,


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once the owner of the house has gotten up and shut the door. You will stand outside, knocking at the door and saying, 'Lord! Open up for us!' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from!'


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and he will tell you, 'I don't know where you're from. Get away from me, all you workers of wickedness!'


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You will cry and grind your teeth when you see Avraham, Yitz'chak, Ya'akov and all the prophets inside the Kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside.


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Moreover, people will come from the east, the west, the north and the south to sit at table in the Kingdom of God.


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Just at that moment, some <i>P'rushim </i>came up and said to Yeshua, "Get out and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you!"


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He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Pay attention: today and tomorrow I am driving out demons and healing people, and on the third day I reach my goal.'


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Nevertheless, I must keep travelling today, tomorrow and the next day; because it is unthinkable that a prophet should die anywhere but in Yerushalayim.


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Look! God is abandoning your house to you! I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of <i>ADONAI</i>!'"


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One <i>Shabbat </i>Yeshua went to eat in the home of one of the leading <i>P'rushim</i>, and they were watching him closely.


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Yeshua spoke up and asked the <i>Torah </i>experts and <i>P'rushim</i>, "Does the <i>Torah </i>allow healing on <i>Shabbat </i>or not?"


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To them he said, "Which of you, if a son or an ox falls into a well, will hesitate to haul him out on <i>Shabbat</i>?"


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When Yeshua noticed how the guests were choosing for themselves the best seats at the table, he told them this parable:


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"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, don't sit down in the best seat; because if there is someone more important than you who has been invited,


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the person who invited both of you might come and say to you, 'Give this man your place.' Then you will be humiliated as you go to take the least important place.


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Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the least important place; so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Go on up to a better seat.' Then you will be honored in front of everyone sitting with you.


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Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."


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Yeshua also said to the one who had invited him, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives or rich neighbors; for they may well invite you in return, and that will be your repayment.


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How blessed you will be that they have nothing with which to repay you! For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."


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On hearing this, one of the people at the table with Yeshua said to him, "How blessed are those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God!"


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When the time came for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, 'Come! Everything is ready!'


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But they responded with a chorus of excuses. The first said to him, 'I've just bought a field, and I have to go out and see it. Please accept my apologies.'


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Another said, 'I've just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to test them out. Please accept my apologies.'


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The slave came and reported these things to his master. "Then the owner of the house, in a rage, told his slave, 'Quick, go out into the streets and alleys of the city; and bring in the poor, the disfigured, the blind and the crippled!'


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The master said to the slave, 'Go out to the country roads and boundary walls, and insistently persuade people to come in, so that my house will be full.


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"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my <i> talmid</i>.


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"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Don't you sit down and estimate the cost, to see if you have enough capital to complete it?


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If you don't, then when you have laid the foundation but can't finish, all the onlookers start making fun of you


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"Or again, suppose one king is going out to wage war with another king. Doesn't he first sit down and consider whether he, with his ten thousand troops, has enough strength to meet the other one, who is coming against him with twenty thousand?


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If he hasn't, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to inquire about terms for peace.


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It is fit for neither soil nor manure- people throw it out. Those who have ears that can hear, let them hear!"


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and the <i> P'rushim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers kept grumbling. "This fellow," they said, "welcomes sinners- he even eats with them!"


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"If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn't he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?


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and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Come, celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep!'


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I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns to God from his sins than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.


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"Another example: what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one of these valuable coins, won't light a lamp, sweep the house and search all over until she finds it?


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And when she does find it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Come, celebrate with me, because I have found the drachma I lost.'


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The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.' So the father divided the property between them.


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As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living.


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But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.


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"So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.


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"At last he came to his senses and said, 'Any number of my father's hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death!


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I'm going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you;


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So he got up and started back to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly.


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His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son-'


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but his father said to his slaves, 'Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet;


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For this son of mine was dead, but now he's alive again! He was lost, but now he has been found!' And they began celebrating.


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The servant told him, 'Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.'


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But the older son became angry and refused to go inside. "So his father came out and pleaded with him.


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'Look,' the son answered, 'I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends.


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Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!'


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We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life- he was lost but has been found.'"


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Speaking to the <i>talmidim</i>, Yeshua said: "There was a wealthy man who employed a general manager. Charges were brought to him that his manager was squandering his resources.


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So he summoned him and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, for you can no longer be manager.'


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"'What am I to do?' said the manager to himself. 'My boss is firing me, I'm not strong enough to dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to go begging.


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Aha! I know what I'll do- something that will make people welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job here!'


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"So, after making appointments with each of his employer's debtors, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my boss?'


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'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. 'Take your note back,' he told him. 'Now, quickly! Sit down and write one for four hundred!'


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To the next he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. 'Take your note back and write one for eight hundred.'


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"And the employer of this dishonest manager applauded him for acting so shrewdly! For the worldly have more <i>sekhel </i>than those who have received the light- in dealing with their own kind of people!


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"Now what I say to you is this: use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it gives out, you may be welcomed into the eternal home.


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Someone who is trustworthy in a small matter is also trustworthy in large ones, and someone who is dishonest in a small matter is also dishonest in large ones.


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So if you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who is going to trust you with the real thing?


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And if you haven't been trustworthy with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what ought to belong to you?


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No servant can be slave to two masters, for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money."


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He said to them, "You people make yourselves look righteous to others, but God knows your hearts; what people regard highly is an abomination before God!


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Up to the time of Yochanan there were the <i>Torah </i>and the Prophets. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is pushing to get in.


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But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the <i>Torah </i>to become void.


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Every man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and a man who marries a woman divorced by her husband commits adultery.


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"Once there was a rich man who used to dress in the most expensive clothing and spent his days in magnificent luxury.


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He would have been glad to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table; but instead, even the dogs would come and lick his sores.


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In time the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Avraham's side; the rich man also died and was buried.


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"In Sh'ol, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Avraham far away with El'azar at his side.


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He called out, 'Father Avraham, take pity on me, and send El'azar just to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, because I'm in agony in this fire!'


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However, Avraham said, 'Son, remember that when you were alive, you got the good things while he got the bad; but now he gets his consolation here, while you are the one in agony.


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Yet that isn't all: between you and us a deep rift has been established, so that those who would like to pass from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'


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where I have five brothers, to warn them; so that they may be spared having to come to this place of torment too.'


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However, he said, 'No, father Avraham, they need more. If someone from the dead goes to them, they'll repent!'


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But he replied, 'If they won't listen to Moshe and the Prophets, they won't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!'"


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Yeshua said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "It is impossible that snares will not be set. But woe to the person who sets them!


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It would be to his advantage that he have a millstone hung around his neck and he be thrown into the sea, rather than that he ensnare one of these little ones.


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Also, if seven times in one day he sins against you, and seven times he comes to you and says, 'I repent,' you are to forgive him."


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The Lord replied, "If you had trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this fig tree, 'Be uprooted and replanted in the sea!' and it would obey you.


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If one of you has a slave tending the sheep or plowing, when he comes back from the field, will you say to him, 'Come along now, sit down and eat'?


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No, you'll say, 'Get my supper ready, dress for work, and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking; after that, you may eat and drink.'


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It's the same with you- when you have done everything you were told to do, you should be saying, 'We're just ordinary slaves, we have only done our duty.'"


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As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with <i>tzara'at </i>met him. They stood at a distance


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On seeing them, he said, "Go and let the <i>cohanim </i>examine you!" And as they went, they were cleansed.


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The <i> P'rushim </i>asked Yeshua when the Kingdom of God would come. "The Kingdom of God," he answered, "does not come with visible signs;


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nor will people be able to say, 'Look! Here it is!' or, 'Over there!' Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you."


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Then he said to his <i>talmidim</i>, "The time is coming when you will long to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.


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People will say to you, 'Look! Right here!' or, 'See! Over there!' Don't run off, don't follow them,


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because the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one horizon to the other.


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People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all.


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On that day, if someone is on the roof with his belongings in his house, he must not go down to take them away. Similarly, if someone is in the field, he must not turn back-


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I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed- one will be taken and the other left behind.


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They asked him, "Where, Lord?" He answered, "Wherever there's a dead body, that's where the vultures gather."


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Then Yeshua told his <i>talmidim </i>a parable, in order to impress on them that they must always keep praying and not lose heart.


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There was also in that town a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me a judgment against the man who is trying to ruin me.'


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For a long time he refused; but after awhile, he said to himself, 'I don't fear God, and I don't respect other people;


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but because this widow is such a <i>nudnik</i>, I will see to it that she gets justice- otherwise, she'll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!'"


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Now won't God grant justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Is he delaying long over them?


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I tell you that he will judge in their favor, and quickly! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find this trust on the earth at all?"


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Also, to some who were relying on their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else, he told this parable:


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The <i> Parush </i>stood and prayed to himself, 'O God! I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity- greedy, dishonest, immoral, or like this tax-collector!


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But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!'


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I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."


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People brought him babies to touch; but when the <i>talmidim </i>saw the people doing this, they rebuked them.


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However, Yeshua called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me, and stop hindering them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


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Yes! I tell you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it at all!"


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You know the <i>mitzvot</i>- 'Don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't give false testimony, honor your father and mother,...'"


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On hearing this Yeshua said to him, "There is one thing you still lack. Sell whatever you have, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"


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It's easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!"


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Yeshua answered them, "Yes! I tell you that everyone who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,


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will receive many times as much in the <i>'olam hazeh</i>, and in the <i>'olam haba </i>eternal life."


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Then, taking the Twelve, Yeshua said to them, "We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where everything written through the prophets about the Son of Man will come true.


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However, they understood none of this; its meaning had been hidden from them, and they had no idea what he was talking about.


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Those in front scolded him in order to get him to shut up, but he shouted all the louder, "Son of David! Have pity on me!"


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Instantly he received his sight and began following him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they too praised God.


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So he ran on ahead and climbed a fig tree in order to see him, for Yeshua was about to pass that way.


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When he came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zakkai! Hurry! Come down, because I have to stay at your house today!"


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But Zakkai stood there and said to the Lord, "Here, Lord, I am giving half of all I own to the poor; and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much."


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Yeshua said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, inasmuch as this man too is a son of Avraham.


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While they were listening to this, Yeshua went on to tell a parable, because he was near Yerushalayim, and the people supposed that the Kingdom of God was about to appear at any moment.


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Therefore he said, "A nobleman went to a country far away to have himself crowned king and then return.


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Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten <i>manim </i>[a <i>maneh </i>is about three months' wages] and said to them, 'Do business with this while I'm away.'


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But his countrymen hated him, and they sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to rule over us.'


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"However, he returned, having been made king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned in his business dealings.


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'Excellent!' he said to him. 'You are a good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in a small matter, I am putting you in charge of ten towns.'


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"Then another one came and said, 'Sir, here is your <i>maneh</i>. I kept it hidden in a piece of cloth,


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because I was afraid of you- you take out what you didn't put in, and you harvest what you didn't plant.'


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To him the master said, 'You wicked servant! I will judge you by your own words! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, taking out what I didn't put in and harvesting what I didn't plant?


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Then why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then, when I returned, I would have gotten it back with interest!'


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To those standing by, he said, 'Take the <i>maneh </i>from him and give it to the one with ten <i>manim</i>.'


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But the master answered, 'I tell you, everyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.


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However, as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence!'"


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instructing them, "Go into the village ahead; on entering it, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.


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and as he came near Yerushalayim, where the road descends from the Mount of Olives, the entire band of <i>talmidim </i>began to sing and praise God at the top of their voices for all the powerful works they had seen:


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"Blessed is the King who is coming in the name of <i>ADONAI</i>!" "<i>Shalom </i>in heaven!" and "Glory in the highest places!"


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saying, "If you only knew today what is needed for <i>shalom</i>! But for now it is hidden from your sight.


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For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you, encircle you, hem you in on every side,


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and dash you to the ground, you and your children within your walls, leaving not one stone standing on another- and all because you did not recognize your opportunity when God offered it!"


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saying to them, "The <i>Tanakh </i>says, 'My House is to be a house of prayer,' but you have made it into a den of robbers!"


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Every day he taught at the Temple. The head <i>cohanim</i>, the <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the leaders of the people tried to find a way of putting an end to him;


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but they couldn't find any way of doing it, because all the people were hanging onto his every word.


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One day, as Yeshua was teaching the people at the Temple, making known the Good News, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers, along with the elders, came up to him


text:
and said, "Tell us, what <i>s'mikhah </i>do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this <i>s'mikhah</i>?"


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They discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From Heaven,' he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'


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But if we say, 'From a human source,' all the people will stone us, because they're convinced that Yochanan was a prophet."


text:
Next Yeshua told the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to tenant-farmers and went away for a long time.


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When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the crop from the vineyard; but the tenants beat him up and sent him away empty-handed.


text:
"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my son, whom I love; maybe they will respect him.'


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But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir; let's kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours!'


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And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?


text:
He will come and put an end to those tenants and give the vineyard to others!" When the people heard this, they said, "Heaven forbid!"


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But Yeshua looked searchingly at them and said, "Then what is this which is written in the <i>Tanakh</i>, 'The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?


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Whoever falls on that stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!"


text:
The <i> Torah</i>-teachers and the head <i>cohanim </i>would have seized him at that very moment, because they knew that he had aimed this parable at them, but they were afraid of the people.


text:
So they kept a close watch on the situation. They sent spies who hypocritically represented themselves as righteous, so that they might seize hold of something Yeshua said, as an excuse to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.


text:
They put to him this <i>sh'eilah</i>: "Rabbi, we know that you speak and teach straightforwardly, showing no partiality but really teaching what God's way is.


text:
"Then," he said to them, "give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give God what belongs to God!"


text:
They were unable to trap him by anything he said publicly; indeed, amazed at his answer, they fell silent.


text:
and put to him a <i>sh'eilah</i>: "Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man's family line.


text:
because they can no longer die. Being children of the Resurrection, they are like angels; indeed, they are children of God.


text:
"But even Moshe showed that the dead are raised; for in the passage about the bush, he calls <i>ADONAI </i>'the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov.'


text:
"Watch out for the kind of <i>Torah</i>-teachers that like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces, the kind that like to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,


text:
the kind that swallow up widows' houses while making a show of <i>davvening </i>at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!"


text:
Then Yeshua looked up, and as he watched the rich placing their gifts into the Temple offering-boxes,


text:
For they, out of their wealth, have contributed money they could easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given all she had to live on."


text:
As some people were remarking about the Temple, how beautiful its stonework and memorial decorations were, he said,


text:
"The time is coming when what you see here will be totally destroyed- not a single stone will be left standing!"


text:
They asked him, "Rabbi, if this is so, when will these events take place? And what sign will show that they are about to happen?"


text:
He answered, "Watch out! Don't be fooled! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time has come!' Don't go after them.


text:
And when you hear of wars and revolutions, don't panic. For these things must happen first, but the end will not follow immediately."


text:
there will be great earthquakes, there will be epidemics and famines in various places, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from Heaven.


text:
But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons; and you will be brought before kings and governors. This will all be on account of me,


text:
for I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no adversary will be able to resist or refute.


text:
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends; some of you they will have put to death;


text:
"However, when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then you are to understand that she is about to be destroyed.


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Those in Y'hudah must escape to the hills, those inside the city must get out, and those in the country must not enter it.


text:
For these are the days of vengeance, when everything that has been written in the <i> Tanakh </i>will come true.


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What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress in the Land and judgment on the people.


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Some will fall by the edge of the sword, others will be carried into all the countries of the <i>Goyim</i>, and Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the <i>Goyim </i> until the age of the <i>Goyim </i>has run its course.


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"There will appear signs in the sun, moon and stars; and on earth, nations will be in anxiety and bewilderment at the sound and surge of the sea,


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as people faint with fear at the prospect of what is overtaking the world; for the powers in heaven will be shaken.


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When these things start to happen, stand up and hold your heads high; because you are about to be liberated!"


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In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you are to know that the Kingdom of God is near!


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"But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap!


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Stay alert, always praying that you will have the strength to escape all the things that will happen and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."


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Yeshua spent his days at the Temple, teaching; while at night he went out and stayed on the hill called the Mount of Olives.


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and the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers began trying to find some way to get rid of Yeshua, because they were afraid of the people.


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He approached the head <i>cohanim </i>and the Temple guard and discussed with them how he might turn Yeshua over to them.


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He told them, "As you're going into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters,


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and say to its owner, 'The Rabbi says to you, "Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the <i>Pesach </i>meal with my <i>talmidim</i>?"'


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They went and found things just as Yeshua had told them they would be, and they prepared for the <i>Seder</i>.


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and he said to them, "I have really wanted so much to celebrate this <i>Seder </i>with you before I die!


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For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God."


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Then, taking a cup of wine, he made the <i>b'rakhah </i>and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves.


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For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the 'fruit of the vine' until the Kingdom of God comes."


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Also, taking a piece of <i>matzah</i>, he made the <i>b'rakhah</i>, broke it, gave it to them and said, "This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me."


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He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, "This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.


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The Son of Man is going to his death according to God's plan, but woe to that man by whom he is being betrayed!"


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But Yeshua said to them, "The kings of the <i>Goyim </i>lord it over them; and those in authority over them are given the title, 'Benefactor.'


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But not so with you! On the contrary, let the greater among you become like the younger, and one who rules like one who serves.


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For who is greater? The one reclining at the table? or the one who serves? It's the one reclining at the table, isn't it? But I myself am among you like one who serves.


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namely, to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Isra'el.


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"Shim'on, Shim'on, listen! The Adversary demanded to have you people for himself, to sift you like wheat!


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But I prayed for you, Shim'on, that your trust might not fail. And you, once you have turned back in repentance, strengthen your brothers!"


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Yeshua replied, "I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me."


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He said to them, "When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.


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"But now," he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don't have a sword, sell your robe to buy one.


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For I tell you this: the passage from the <i>Tanakh </i>that says, 'He was counted with transgressors,' has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose."


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and in great anguish he prayed more intensely, so that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.


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On rising from prayer and coming to the <i>talmidim</i>, he found them sleeping because of their grief.


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While he was still speaking, a crowd of people arrived, with the man called Y'hudah (one of the Twelve!) leading them. He came up to Yeshua to kiss him,


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Then Yeshua said to the head <i>cohanim</i>, the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come to seize him, "So you came out just as you would to the leader of a rebellion, with swords and clubs?


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Every day I was there with you in the Temple court, yet you didn't arrest me. But this is your hour- the hour when darkness rules."


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Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>. Kefa followed at a distance;


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but when they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Kefa joined them.


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One of the servant girls saw him sitting in the light of the fire, stared at him and said, "This man also was with him."


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A little later, someone else saw him and said, "You're one of them too"; but Kefa said, "Man, I am not!"


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About an hour later, another man asserted emphatically, "There can be no doubt that this fellow was with him, because he too is from the Galil!"


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But Kefa said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" And instantly, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.


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The Lord turned and looked straight at Kefa; and Kefa remembered what the Lord had said, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."


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At daybreak, the people's council of elders, including both head <i>cohanim </i>and <i>Torah</i>-teachers, met and led him off to their <i>Sanhedrin</i>,


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where they said, "If you are the <i>Mashiach</i>, tell us." He answered, "If I tell you, you won't believe me;


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They all said, "Does this mean, then, that you are the Son of God?" And he answered them, "You say I am."


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where they started accusing him. "We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah- a king!"


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Pilate said to the head <i>cohanim </i>and the crowds, "I find no ground for a charge against this man."


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But they persisted. "He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Y'hudah- he started in the Galil, and now he's here!"


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and when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who at that time happened to be in Yerushalayim too.


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Herod was delighted to see Yeshua, because he had heard about him and for a long time had been wanting to meet him; indeed, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.


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However, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>Torah</i>-teachers stood there, vehemently pressing their case against him.


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Herod and his soldiers treated Yeshua with contempt and made fun of him. Then, dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.


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and said to them, "You brought this man before me on a charge of subverting the people. I examined him in your presence and did not find the man guilty of the crime you are accusing him of.


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And neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, he has not done anything that merits the death penalty.


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A third time he asked them, "But what has this man done wrong? I haven't found any reason to put him to death. So I'm going to have him flogged and set free."


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But they went on yelling insistently, demanding that he be executed on the stake; and their shouting prevailed.


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he released the man who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder, the one they had asked for; and Yeshua he surrendered to their will.


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As the Roman soldiers led Yeshua away, they grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Shim'on, who was on his way in from the country. They put the execution-stake on his back and made him carry it behind Yeshua.


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Yeshua turned to them and said, "Daughters of Yerushalayim, don't cry for me; cry for yourselves and your children!


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For the time is coming when people will say, 'The childless women are the lucky ones- those whose wombs have never borne a child, whose breasts have never nursed a baby!


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When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to a stake; and they nailed the criminals to stakes, one on the right and one on the left.


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Yeshua said, "Father, forgive them; they don't understand what they are doing." They divided up his clothes by throwing dice.


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The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him. "He saved others," they said, "so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!"


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One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"


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But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same punishment as he is.


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Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit." With these words he gave up his spirit.


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When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, "Surely this man was innocent!"


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And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts.


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All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.


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There was a man named Yosef, a member of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. He was a good man, a <i> tzaddik</i>;


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and he had not been in agreement with either the <i>Sanhedrin</i>'s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God.


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He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.


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The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it.


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Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments. On <i>Shabbat </i>the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;


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but the next day, while it was still very early, they took the spices they had prepared, went to the tomb,


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They were standing there, not knowing what to think about it, when suddenly two men in dazzlingly bright clothing stood next to them.


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Terror-stricken, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. The two men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?


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'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be executed on a stake as a criminal, but on the third day be raised again'?"


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The women who told the emissaries these things were Miryam of Magdala, Yochanah, Miryam the mother of Ya'akov, and the others in their circle.


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But the emissaries didn't believe them; in fact, they thought that what they said was utter nonsense!


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However, Kefa got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw only the burial cloths and went home wondering what had happened.


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That same day, two of them were going toward a village about seven miles from Yerushalayim called Amma'us,


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He asked them, "What are you talking about with each other as you walk along?" They stopped short, their faces downcast;


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and one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only person staying in Yerushalayim that doesn't know the things that have been going on there the last few days?"


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"What things?" he asked them. They said to him, "The things about Yeshua from Natzeret. He was a prophet and proved it by the things he did and said before God and all the people.


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Our head <i> cohanim </i>and our leaders handed him over, so that he could be sentenced to death and executed on a stake as a criminal.


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And we had hoped that he would be the one to liberate Isra'el! Besides all that, today is the third day since these things happened;


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and couldn't find his body, so they came back; but they also reported that they had seen a vision of angels who say he's alive!


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Some of our friends went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they didn't see him."


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Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the <i>Tanakh </i>concerning himself.


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but they held him back, saying, "Stay with us, for it's almost evening, and it's getting dark." So he went in to stay with them.


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As he was reclining with them at the table, he took the <i>matzah</i>, made the <i> b'rakhah</i>, broke it and handed it to them.


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They said to each other, "Didn't our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the <i>Tanakh </i>to us?"


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They got up at once, returned to Yerushalayim and found the Eleven gathered together with their friends,


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Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the <i>matzah</i>.


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Look at my hands and my feet- it is I, myself! Touch me and see- a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see I do."


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While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, "Have you something here to eat?"


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Yeshua said to them, "This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the <i>Torah </i>of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled."


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telling them, "Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day;


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and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim.


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Now I am sending forth upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been equipped with power from above."


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He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him.


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But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God,


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The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his <i>Sh'khinah</i>, the <i> Sh'khinah </i>of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.


text:
Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, "This is the man I was talking about when I said, 'The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.'"


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No one has ever seen God; but the only and unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father's side- he has made him known.


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Here is Yochanan's testimony: when the Judeans sent <i>cohanim </i>and <i>L'vi'im </i> from Yerushalayim to ask him, "Who are you?"


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"Then who are you?" they asked him. "Are you Eliyahu?" "No, I am not," he said. "Are you 'the prophet,' the one we're expecting?" "No," he replied.


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So they said to him, "Who are you?- so that we can give an answer to the people who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?"


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He answered in the words of Yesha'yahu the prophet, "I am The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert make the way of <i>ADONAI </i>straight!'"


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They asked him, "If you are neither the Messiah nor Eliyahu nor 'the prophet,' then why are you immersing people?"


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To them Yochanan replied, "I am immersing people in water, but among you is standing someone whom you don't know.


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The next day, Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, "Look! God's lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world!


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This is the man I was talking about when I said, 'After me is coming someone who has come to rank above me, because he existed before me.'


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I myself did not know who he was, but the reason I came immersing with water was so that he might be made known to Isra'el."


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Then Yochanan gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and remaining on him.


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I myself did not know who he was, but the one who sent me to immerse in water said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who immerses in the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>.'


text:
Yeshua turned and saw them following him, and he asked them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi!" (which means "Teacher!") "Where are you staying?"


text:
He said to them, "Come and see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and remained with him the rest of the day- it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.


text:
One of the two who had heard Yochanan and had followed Yeshua was Andrew the brother of Shim'on Kefa.


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The first thing he did was to find his brother Shim'on and tell him, "We've found the <i> Mashiach</i>!" (The word means "one who has been anointed.")


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He took him to Yeshua. Looking at him, Yeshua said, "You are Shim'on Bar-Yochanan; you will be known as Kefa." (The name means "rock.")


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Philip found Natan'el and told him, "We've found the one that Moshe wrote about in the <i>Torah</i>, also the Prophets- it's Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Natzeret!"


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Natan'el answered him, "Natzeret? Can anything good come from there?" "Come and see," Philip said to him.


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Yeshua saw Natan'el coming toward him and remarked about him, "Here's a true son of Isra'el- nothing false in him!"


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Natan'el said to him, "How do you know me?" Yeshua answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."


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Yeshua answered him, "you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that!"


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Then he said to him, "Yes indeed! I tell you that you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man!"


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Now six stone water-jars were standing there for the Jewish ceremonial washings, each with a capacity of twenty or thirty gallons.


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The man in charge tasted the water; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bridegroom


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and said to him, "Everyone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after people have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!"


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This, the first of Yeshua's miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil; he manifested his glory, and his <i>talmidim </i>came to trust in him.


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Afterwards, he, his mother and brothers, and his <i>talmidim </i>went down to K'far-Nachum and stayed there a few days.


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In the Temple grounds he found those who were selling cattle, sheep and pigeons, and others who were sitting at tables exchanging money.


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He made a whip from cords and drove them all out of the Temple grounds, the sheep and cattle as well. He knocked over the money-changers' tables, scattering their coins;


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and to the pigeon-sellers he said, "Get these things out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market?"


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(His <i> talmidim </i>later recalled that the <i>Tanakh </i>says, "Zeal for your house will devour me.")


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So the Judeans confronted him by asking him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do all this?"


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The Judeans said, "It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you're going to raise it in three days?"


text:
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his <i>talmidim </i>remembered that he had said this, and they trusted in the <i>Tanakh </i>and in what Yeshua had said.


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Now while Yeshua was in Yerushalayim at the <i>Pesach </i>festival, there were many people who "believed in his name" when they saw the miracles he performed.


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that is, he didn't need anyone to inform him about a person, because he knew what was in the person's heart.


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This man came to Yeshua by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know it is from God that you have come as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles you perform unless God is with him."


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"Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."


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Nakdimon said to him, "How can a grown man be 'born'? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born a second time?"


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Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.


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The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it's going. That's how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit."


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know; and what we give evidence of, we have seen; but you people don't accept our evidence!


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If you people don't believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven?


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No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.


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"For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed.


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For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.


text:
Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God's only and unique Son.


text:
"Now this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light. Why? Because their actions were wicked.


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For everyone who does evil things hates the light and avoids it, so that his actions won't be exposed.


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But everyone who does what is true comes to the light, so that all may see that his actions are accomplished through God."


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After this, Yeshua and his <i>talmidim </i>went out into the countryside of Y'hudah, where he stayed awhile with them and immersed people.


text:
Yochanan too was immersing at Einayim, near Shalem, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to be immersed.


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A discussion arose between some of Yochanan's <i>talmidim </i>and a Judean about ceremonial washing;


text:
and they came to Yochanan and said to him, "Rabbi, you know the man who was with you on the other side of the Yarden, the one you spoke about? Well, here he is, immersing; and everyone is going to him!"


text:
You yourselves can confirm that I did not say I was the Messiah, but that I have been sent ahead of him.


text:
The bridegroom is the one who has the bride; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed at the sound of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine is now complete.


text:
"He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth is from the earth and talks from an earthly point of view; he who comes from heaven is above all.


text:
because the one whom God sent speaks God's words. For God does not give him the Spirit in limited degree-


text:
Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life. But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life but remains subject to God's wrath."


text:
When Yeshua learned that the <i>P'rushim </i>had heard he was making and immersing more <i>talmidim </i>than Yochanan


text:
Ya'akov's Well was there; so Yeshua, exhausted from his travel, sat down by the well; it was about noon.


text:
The woman from Shomron said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for water from me, a woman of Shomron?" (For Jews don't associate with people from Shomron.)


text:
Yeshua answered her, "If you knew God's gift, that is, who it is saying to you, 'Give me a drink of water,' then you would have asked him; and he would have given you living water."


text:
She said to him, "Sir, you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep; so where do you get this 'living water'?


text:
You aren't greater than our father Ya'akov, are you? He gave us this well and drank from it, and so did his sons and his cattle."


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but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!"


text:
"Sir, give me this water," the woman said to him, "so that I won't have to be thirsty and keep coming here to draw water."


text:
She answered, "I don't have a husband." Yeshua said to her, "You're right, you don't have a husband!


text:
You've had five husbands in the past, and you're not married to the man you're living with now! You've spoken the truth!"


text:
"Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you people say that the place where one has to worship is in Yerushalayim."


text:
Yeshua said, "Lady, believe me, the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Yerushalayim.


text:
You people don't know what you are worshipping; we worship what we do know, because salvation comes from the Jews.


text:
But the time is coming- indeed, it's here now- when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him.


text:
The woman replied, "I know that <i>Mashiach </i>is coming" (that is, "the one who has been anointed"). "When he comes, he will tell us everything."


text:
Just then, his <i>talmidim </i>arrived. They were amazed that he was talking with a woman; but none of them said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you talking with her?"


text:
Yeshua said to them, "My food is to do what the one who sent me wants and to bring his work to completion.


text:
Don't you have a saying, 'Four more months and then the harvest'? Well, what I say to you is: open your eyes and look at the fields! They're already ripe for harvest!


text:
The one who reaps receives his wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the reaper and the sower may be glad together-


text:
I sent you to reap what you haven't worked for. Others have done the hard labor, and you have benefited from their work."


text:
Many people from that town in Shomron put their trust in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all the things I did."


text:
So when these people from Shomron came to him, they asked him to stay with them. He stayed two days,


text:
They said to the woman, "We no longer trust because of what you said, because we have heard for ourselves. We know indeed that this man really is the Savior of the world."


text:
But when he arrived in the Galil, the people there welcomed him, because they had seen all he had done at the festival in Yerushalayim; since they had been there too.


text:
He went again to Kanah in the Galil, where he had turned the water into wine. An officer in the royal service was there; his son was ill in K'far-Nachum.


text:
This man, on hearing that Yeshua had come from Y'hudah to the Galil, went and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.


text:
So he asked them at what time he had gotten better; and they said, "The fever left him yesterday at one o'clock in the afternoon."


text:
The father knew that that was the very hour when Yeshua had told him, "Your son is alive"; and he and all his household trusted.


text:
Yeshua, seeing this man and knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"


text:
The sick man answered, "I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I'm trying to get there, someone goes in ahead of me."


text:
Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was <i> Shabbat</i>,


text:
so the Judeans said to the man who had been healed, "It's <i>Shabbat</i>! It's against <i>Torah </i>for you to carry your mat!"


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But he answered them, "The man who healed me- he's the one who told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"


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But the man who had been healed didn't know who it was, because Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd.


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Afterwards Yeshua found him in the Temple court and said to him, "See, you are well! Now stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you!"


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and on account of this, the Judeans began harassing Yeshua because he did these things on <i>Shabbat</i>.


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This answer made the Judeans all the more intent on killing him- not only was he breaking <i> Shabbat</i>; but also, by saying that God was his own Father, he was claiming equality with God.


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Therefore, Yeshua said this to them: "Yes, indeed! I tell you that the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does, the Son does too.


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For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.


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Just as the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, so too the Son makes alive anyone he wants.


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so that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever fails to honor the Son is not honoring the Father who sent him.


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever hears what I am saying and trusts the One who sent me has eternal life- that is, he will not come up for judgment but has already crossed over from death to life!


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that there is coming a time- in fact, it's already here- when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will come to life.


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Don't be surprised at this; because the time is coming when all who are in the grave will hear his voice


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and come out- those who have done good to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment.


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I can't do a thing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is right; because I don't seek my own desire, but the desire of the one who sent me.


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But there is someone else testifying on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he is making is valid-


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"But I have a testimony that is greater than Yochanan's. For the things the Father has given me to do, the very things I am doing now, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.


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"In addition, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice or seen his shape;


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You keep examining the <i>Tanakh </i>because you think that in it you have eternal life. Those very Scriptures bear witness to me,


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I have come in my Father's name, and you don't accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept.


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How can you trust? You're busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.


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"But don't think that it is I who will be your accuser before the Father. Do you know who will accuse you? Moshe, the very one you have counted on!


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so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, "Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?"


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Philip answered, "Half a year's wages wouldn't buy enough bread for them- each one would get only a bite!"


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"There's a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?"


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Yeshua said, "Have the people sit down." There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand.


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Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a <i>b'rakhah</i>, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted.


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After they had eaten their fill, he told his <i>talmidim</i>, "Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted."


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They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.


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When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, "This has to be 'the prophet' who is supposed to come into the world."


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Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.


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got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K'far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them,


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They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified;


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Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for.


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The next day, the crowd which had stayed on the other side of the lake noticed that there had been only one boat there, and that Yeshua had not entered the boat with his <i>talmidim</i>, but that the <i>talmidim </i>had been alone when they sailed off.


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Then other boats, from Tiberias, came ashore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had made the <i>b'rakhah</i>.


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Accordingly, when the crowd saw that neither Yeshua nor his <i>talmidim </i>were there, they themselves boarded the boats and made for K'far-Nachum in search of Yeshua.


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Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed! I tell you, you're not looking for me because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the bread and had all you wanted!


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Don't work for the food which passes away but for the food that stays on into eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For this is the one on whom God the Father has put his seal."


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They said to him, "<i>Nu</i>, what miracle will you do for us, so that we may see it and trust you? What work can you perform?


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Our fathers ate <i>man </i>in the desert- as it says in the <i>Tanakh</i>, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'


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Yeshua said to them, "Yes, indeed! I tell you it wasn't Moshe who gave you the bread from heaven. But my Father is giving you the genuine bread from heaven;


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Yeshua answered, "I am the bread which is life! Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty.


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Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away.


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And this is the will of the One who sent me: that I should not lose any of all those he has given me but should raise them up on the Last Day.


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Yes, this is the will of my Father: that all who see the Son and trust in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise them up on the Last Day."


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At this the Judeans began grumbling about him because he said, "I am the bread which has come down from heaven."


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They said, "Isn't this Yeshua Ben-Yosef? We know his father and mother! How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"


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No one can come to me unless the Father- the One who sent me- draws him. And I will raise him up on the Last Day.


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It is written in the Prophets, 'They will all be taught by <i>ADONAI</i>.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.


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I am the living bread that has come down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. Furthermore, the bread that I will give is my own flesh; and I will give it for the life of the world."


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At this, the Judeans disputed with one another, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"


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Then Yeshua said to them, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves.


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Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life- that is, I will raise him up on the Last Day.


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Just as the living Father sent me, and I live through the Father, so also whoever eats me will live through me.


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So this is the bread that has come down from heaven- it is not like the bread the fathers ate; they're dead, but whoever eats this bread will live forever!"


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On hearing it, many of his <i>talmidim </i>said, "This is a hard word- who can bear to listen to it?"


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But Yeshua, aware that his <i>talmidim </i>were grumbling about this, said to them, "This is a trap for you?


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It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life,


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yet some among you do not trust." (For Yeshua knew from the outset which ones would not trust him, also which one would betray him.)


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"This," he said, "is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has made it possible for him."


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(He was speaking of Y'hudah Ben-Shim'on, from K'riot; for this man- one of the Twelve!- was soon to betray him.)


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After this, Yeshua traveled around in the Galil, intentionally avoiding Y'hudah because the Judeans were out to kill him.


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so his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go into Y'hudah, so that your <i>talmidim </i>can see the miracles you do;


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for no one who wants to become known acts in secret. If you're doing these things, show yourself to the world!"


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You, go on up to the festival; as for me, I am not going up to this festival now, because the right time for me has not yet come."


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And among the crowds there was much whispering about him. Some said, "He's a good man"; but others said, "No, he is deceiving the masses."


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A person who speaks on his own is trying to win praise for himself; but a person who tries to win praise for the one who sent him is honest, there is nothing false about him.


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Didn't Moshe give you the <i>Torah</i>? Yet not one of you obeys the <i>Torah</i>! Why are you out to kill me?"


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Moshe gave you <i>b'rit-milah</i>- not that it came from Moshe but from the Patriarchs- and you do a boy's <i>b'rit-milah </i>on <i>Shabbat</i>.


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If a boy is circumcised on <i>Shabbat </i>so that the <i>Torah </i>of Moshe will not be broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man's whole body well on <i> Shabbat</i>?


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Yet here he is, speaking openly; and they don't say anything to him. It couldn't be, could it, that the authorities have actually concluded he's the Messiah?


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Surely not- we know where this man comes from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from."


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Whereupon Yeshua, continuing to teach in the Temple courts, cried out, "Indeed you do know me! And you know where I'm from! And I have not come on my own! The One who sent me is real. But him you don't know!


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At this, they tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him; because his time had not yet come.


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However, many in the crowd put their trust in him and said, "When the Messiah comes, will he do more miracles than this man has done?"


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The <i> P'rushim </i>heard the crowd whispering these things about Yeshua; so the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>sent some of the Temple guards to arrest him.


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Yeshua said, "I will be with you only a little while longer; then I will go away to the One who sent me.


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The Judeans said to themselves, "Where is this man about to go, that we won't find him? Does he intend to go to the Greek Diaspora and teach the Greek-speaking Jews?


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And when he says, 'You will look for me and not find me; indeed, where I am, you cannot come'- what does he mean?"


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Now on the last day of the festival, <i>Hoshana Rabbah</i>, Yeshua stood and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking!


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Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!"


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(Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive later- the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been glorified.)


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Doesn't the <i>Tanakh </i>say that the Messiah is from the seed of David and comes from Beit-Lechem, the village where David lived?"


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The guards came back to the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim</i>, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"


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True, these <i>'am-ha'aretz </i>do, but they know nothing about the <i>Torah</i>, they are under a curse!"


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"Our <i> Torah </i>doesn't condemn a man- does it?- until after hearing from him and finding out what he's doing."


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They replied, "You aren't from the Galil too, are you? Study the <i>Tanakh</i>, and see for yourself that no prophet comes from the Galil!"*


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At daybreak, he appeared again in the Temple Court, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.


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The <i>Torah</i>-teachers and the <i>P'rushim </i>brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery and made her stand in the center of the group.


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Now in our <i>Torah</i>, Moshe commanded that such a woman be stoned to death. What do you say about it?"


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They said this to trap him, so that they might have ground for bringing charges against him; but Yeshua bent down and began writing in the dust with his finger.


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When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "The one of you who is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."


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On hearing this, they began to leave, one by one, the older ones first, until he was left alone, with the woman still there.


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Yeshua spoke to them again: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life."


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So the <i> P'rushim </i>said to him, "Now you're testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid."


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Yeshua answered them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony is indeed valid; because I know where I came from and where I'm going; but you do not know where I came from or where I'm going.


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but if I were indeed to pass judgment, my judgment would be valid; because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the One who sent me.


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They said to him, "Where is this 'father' of yours?" Yeshua answered, "You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father too."


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He said these things when he was teaching in the Temple treasury room; yet no one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.


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Again he told them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin- where I am going, you cannot come."


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The Judeans said, "Is he going to commit suicide? Is that what he means when he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"


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Yeshua said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.


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This is why I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not trust that I AM [who I say I am], you will die in your sins."


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At this, they said to him, "You? Who are you?" Yeshua answered, "Just what I've been telling you from the start.


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There are many things I could say about you, and many judgments I could make. However, the One who sent me is true; so I say in the world only what I have heard from him."


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So Yeshua said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM [who I say I am], and that of myself I do nothing, but say only what the Father has taught me.


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Also, the One who sent me is still with me; he did not leave me to myself, because I always do what pleases him."


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So Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted him, "If you obey what I say, then you are really my <i>talmidim</i>,


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They answered, "We are the seed of Avraham and have never been slaves to anyone; so what do you mean by saying, 'You will be set free'?"


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I know you are the seed of Avraham. Yet you are out to kill me, because what I am saying makes no headway in you.


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They answered him, "Our father is Avraham." Yeshua replied, "If you are children of Avraham, then do the things Avraham did!


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As it is, you are out to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Avraham did nothing like that!


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You are doing the things your father does." "We're not illegitimate children!" they said to him. "We have only one Father- God!"


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Yeshua replied to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me; because I came out from God; and now I have arrived here. I did not come on my own; he sent me.


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You belong to your father, Satan, and you want to carry out your father's desires. From the start he was a murderer, and he has never stood by the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is speaking in character; because he is a liar- indeed, the inventor of the lie!


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Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says; the reason you don't listen is that you don't belong to God."


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The Judeans said to him, "Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Avraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, 'Whoever obeys my teaching will never taste death.'


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<i>Avraham avinu </i>died; you aren't greater than he, are you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?"


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Yeshua answered, "If I praise myself, my praise counts for nothing. The One who is praising me is my Father, the very one about whom you keep saying, 'He is our God.'


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Now you have not known him, but I do know him; indeed, if I were to say that I don't know him, I would be a liar like you! But I do know him, and I obey his word.


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His <i> talmidim </i>asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned- this man or his parents- to cause him to be born blind?"


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Yeshua answered, "His blindness is due neither to his sin nor to that of his parents; it happened so that God's power might be seen at work in him.


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As long as it is day, we must keep doing the work of the One who sent me; the night is coming, when no one can work.


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Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put the mud on the man's eyes,


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and said to him, "Go, wash off in the Pool of Shiloach!" (The name means "sent.") So he went and washed and came away seeing.


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His neighbors and those who previously had seen him begging said, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"


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Some said, "Yes, he's the one"; while others said, "No, but he looks like him." However, he himself said, "I'm the one."


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He answered, "The man called Yeshua made mud, put it on my eyes, and told me, 'Go to Shiloach and wash!' So I went; and as soon as I had washed, I could see."


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So the <i> P'rushim </i>asked him again how he had become able to see; and he told them, "He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see."


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At this, some of the <i>P'rushim </i>said, "This man is not from God, because he doesn't keep <i>Shabbat</i>." But others said, "How could a man who is a sinner do miracles like these?" And there was a split among them.


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So once more they spoke to the blind man: "Since you're the one whose eyes he opened, what do you say about him?" He replied: "He is a prophet."


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The Judeans, however, were unwilling to believe that he had formerly been blind, but now could see, until they had summoned the man's parents.


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but how it is that he can see now, we don't know; nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him- he's old enough, he can speak for himself!"


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The parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans, for the Judeans had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Yeshua as the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue.


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So a second time they called the man who had been blind; and they said to him, "Swear to God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man is a sinner."


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He answered, "Whether he's a sinner or not I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, now I see."


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"I already told you," he answered, "and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you too want to become his <i>talmidim</i>?"


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Then they railed at him. "You may be his <i>talmid</i>," they said, "but we are <i> talmidim </i>of Moshe!


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"What a strange thing," the man answered, "that you don't know where he's from- considering that he opened my eyes!


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We know that God doesn't listen to sinners; but if anyone fears God and does his will, God does listen to him.


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Yeshua heard that they had thrown the man out. He found him and said, "Do you trust in the Son of Man?"


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Yeshua said, "It is to judge that I came into this world, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."


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Yeshua answered them, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you still say, 'We see,' your guilt remains.


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"Yes, indeed! I tell you, the person who doesn't enter the sheep-pen through the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.


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This is the one the gate-keeper admits, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep, each one by name, and leads them out.


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After taking out all that are his own, he goes on ahead of them; and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.


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They never follow a stranger but will run away from him, because strangers' voices are unfamiliar to them."


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Yeshua used this indirect manner of speaking with them, but they didn't understand what he was talking to them about.


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All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them.


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I am the gate; if someone enters through me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture.


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The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.


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The hired hand, since he isn't a shepherd and the sheep aren't his own, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf drags them off and scatters them.


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The hired worker behaves like this because that's all he is, a hired worker; so it doesn't matter to him what happens to the sheep.


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Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.


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No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do."


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Others said, "These are not the deeds of a man who is demonized- how can a demon open blind people's eyes?"


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So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, "How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!"


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Yeshua answered them, "I have already told you, and you don't trust me. The works I do in my Father's name testify on my behalf,


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and I give them eternal life. They will absolutely never be destroyed, and no one will snatch them from my hands.


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My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them from the Father's hands.


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Yeshua answered them, "You have seen me do many good deeds that reflect the Father's power; for which one of these deeds are you stoning me?"


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The Judeans replied, "We are not stoning you for any good deed, but for blasphemy- because you, who are only a man, are making yourself out to be God &lt;N1&gt;."


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Yeshua answered them, "Isn't it written in your <i>Torah</i>, 'I have said, "You people are <i>Elohim</i>' "?


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If he called '<i>elohim</i>' the people to whom the word of <i>Elohim </i>was addressed (and the <i>Tanakh </i>cannot be broken),


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then are you telling the one whom the Father set apart as holy and sent into the world, 'You are committing blasphemy,' just because I said, 'I am a son of <i>Elohim</i>'?


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But if I am, then, even if you don't trust me, trust the deeds; so that you may understand once and for all that the Father is united with me, and I am united with the Father."


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Many people came to him and said, "Yochanan performed no miracles, but everything Yochanan said about this man was true."


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There was a man who had fallen sick. His name was El'azar, and he came from Beit-Anyah, the village where Miryam and her sister Marta lived.


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(This Miryam, whose brother El'azar had become sick, is the one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)


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On hearing it, he said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may receive glory through it."


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The <i> talmidim </i>replied, "Rabbi! Just a short while ago the Judeans were out to stone you- and you want to go back there?"


text:
Yeshua answered, "Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? If a person walks during daylight, he doesn't stumble; because he sees the light of this world.


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Yeshua said these things, and afterwards he said to the <i>talmidim</i>, "Our friend El'azar has gone to sleep; but I am going in order to wake him up."


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Now Yeshua had used the phrase to speak about El'azar's death, but they thought he had been talking literally about sleep.


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And for your sakes, I am glad that I wasn't there, so that you may come to trust. But let's go to him."


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Then T'oma (the name means "twin") said to his fellow <i>talmidim</i>, "Yes, we should go, so that we can die with him!"


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and many of the Judeans had come to Marta and Miryam in order to comfort them at the loss of their brother.


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So when Marta heard that Yeshua was coming, she went out to meet him; but Miryam continued sitting <i>shiv'ah </i>in the house.


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Yeshua said to her, "I AM the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts his trust in me will live, even if he dies;


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She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."


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After saying this, she went off and secretly called Miryam, her sister: "The Rabbi is here and is calling for you."


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so when the Judeans who had been with Miryam in the house comforting her saw her get up quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to mourn there.


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When Miryam came to where Yeshua 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."


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When Yeshua saw her crying, and also the Judeans who came with her crying, he was deeply moved and also troubled.


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Yeshua, again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying in front of the entrance.


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Yeshua said, "Take the stone away!" Marta, the sister of the dead man, said to Yeshua, "By now his body must smell, for it has been four days since he died!"


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So they removed the stone. Yeshua looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.


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I myself know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me."


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The man who had been dead came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen and his face covered with a cloth. Yeshua said to them, "Unwrap him, and let him go!"


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At this, many of the Judeans who had come to visit Miryam, and had seen what Yeshua had done, trusted in him.


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So the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>called a meeting of the <i>Sanhedrin </i> and said, "What are we going to do?- for this man is performing many miracles.


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If we let him keep going on this way, everyone will trust in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both the Temple and the nation."


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But one of them, Kayafa, who was <i>cohen gadol </i>that year, said to them, "You people don't know anything!


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You don't see that it's better for you if one man dies on behalf of the people, so that the whole nation won't be destroyed."


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Now he didn't speak this way on his own initiative; rather, since he was <i>cohen gadol </i>that year, he was prophesying that Yeshua was about to die on behalf of the nation,


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Therefore Yeshua no longer walked around openly among the Judeans but went away from there into the region near the desert, to a town called Efrayim, and stayed there with his <i>talmidim</i>.


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The Judean festival of <i>Pesach </i>was near, and many people went up from the country to Yerushalayim to perform the purification ceremony prior to <i>Pesach</i>.


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They were looking for Yeshua, and as they stood in the Temple courts they said to each other, "What do you think? that he simply won't come to the festival?"


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Moreover, the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim </i>had given orders that anyone knowing Yeshua's whereabouts should inform them, so that they could have him arrested.


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Six days before <i>Pesach</i>, Yeshua came to Beit-Anyah, where El'azar lived, the man Yeshua had raised from the dead;


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so they gave a dinner there in his honor. Marta served the meal, and El'azar was among those at the table with him.


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Miryam took a whole pint of pure oil of spikenard, which is very expensive, poured it on Yeshua's feet and wiped his feet with her hair, so that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.


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Now he said this not out of concern for the poor, but because he was a thief- he was in charge of the common purse and used to steal from it.


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A large crowd of Judeans learned that he was there; and they came not only because of Yeshua, but also so that they could see El'azar, whom he had raised from the dead.


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since it was because of him that large numbers of the Judeans were leaving their leaders and putting their trust in Yeshua.


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The next day, the large crowd that had come for the festival heard that Yeshua was on his way into Yerushalayim.


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They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Deliver us!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of <i>ADONAI</i>, the King of Isra'el!"


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His <i> talmidim </i>did not understand this at first; but after Yeshua had been glorified, then they remembered that the <i>Tanakh </i>said this about him, and that they had done this for him.


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The group that had been with him when he called El'azar out of the tomb and raised him from the dead had been telling about it.


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It was because of this too that the crowd came out to meet him- they had heard that he had performed this miracle.


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The <i> P'rushim </i>said to each other, "Look, you're getting nowhere! Why, the whole world has gone after him!"


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They approached Philip, the one from Beit-Tzaidah in the Galil, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Yeshua."


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest.


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He who loves his life loses it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it safe right on into eternal life!


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If someone is serving me, let him follow me; wherever I am, my servant will be there too. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.


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"Now I am in turmoil. What can I say- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. I will say this:


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'Father, glorify your name!'" At this a <i>bat-kol </i>came out of heaven, "I have glorified it before, and I will glorify it again!"


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The crowd standing there and hearing it said that it had thundered; others said, "An angel spoke to him."


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The crowd answered, "We have learned from the <i>Torah </i>that the Messiah remains forever. How is it that you say the Son of Man has to be 'lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?"


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Yeshua said to them, "The light will be with you only a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, or the dark will overtake you; he who walks in the dark doesn't know where he's going.


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While you have the light, put your trust in the light, so that you may become people of light." Yeshua said these things, then went off and kept himself hidden from them.


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Even though he had performed so many miracles in their presence, they still did not put their trust in him,


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in order that what Yesha'yahu the prophet had said might be fulfilled, "<i>ADONAI</i>, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of <i>ADONAI </i>been revealed?"


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"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they do not see with their eyes, understand with their hearts, and do <i>t'shuvah</i>, so that I could heal them."


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Nevertheless, many of the leaders did trust in him; but because of the <i> P'rushim </i>they did not say so openly, out of fear of being banned from the synagogue;


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Yeshua declared publicly, "Those who put their trust in me are trusting not merely in me, but in the One who sent me.


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I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who trusts in me might not remain in the dark.


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If anyone hears what I am saying and does not observe it, I don't judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.


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Those who reject me and don't accept what I say have a judge- the word which I have spoken will judge them on the Last Day.


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For I have not spoken on my own initiative, but the Father who sent me has given me a command, namely, what to say and how to say it.


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And I know that his command is eternal life. So what I say is simply what the Father has told me to say."


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It was just before the festival of <i>Pesach</i>, and Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. Having loved his own people in the world, he loved them to the end.


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They were at supper, and the Adversary had already put the desire to betray him into the heart of Y'hudah Ben-Shim'on from K'riot.


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Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.


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Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the <i>talmidim </i> and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him.


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"No!" said Kefa, "You will never wash my feet!" Yeshua answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me."


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Yeshua said to him, "A man who has had a bath doesn't need to wash, except his feet- his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you."


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After he had washed their feet, taken back his clothes and returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?


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Yes, indeed! I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is an emissary greater than the one who sent him.


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"I'm not talking to all of you- I know which ones I have chosen. But the words of the <i> Tanakh </i>must be fulfilled that say, 'The one eating my bread has turned against me.'


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I'm telling you now, before it happens; so that when it does happen, you may believe that I AM [who I say I am].


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that a person who receives someone I send receives me, and that anyone who receives me receives the One who sent me."


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After saying this, Yeshua, in deep anguish of spirit, declared, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that one of you will betray me."


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Yeshua answered, "It's the one to whom I give this piece of <i>matzah </i>after I dip it in the dish." So he dipped the piece of <i>matzah </i>and gave it to Y'hudah Ben-Shim'on from K'riot.


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As soon as Y'hudah took the piece of <i>matzah</i>, the Adversary went into him. "What you are doing, do quickly!" Yeshua said to him.


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Some thought that since Y'hudah was in charge of the common purse, Yeshua was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival," or telling him to give something to the poor.


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After Y'hudah had left, Yeshua said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.


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Little children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and, as I said to the Judeans, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' now I say it to you as well.


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"I am giving you a new command: that you keep on loving each other. In the same way that I have loved you, you are also to keep on loving each other.


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Shim'on Kefa said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Yeshua answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow later."


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Yeshua answered, "You will lay down your life for me? Yes, indeed! I tell you, before the rooster crows you will disown me three times.


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In my Father's house are many places to live. If there weren't, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you.


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Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also.


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Yeshua said, "I AM the Way- and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.


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Because you have known me, you will also know my Father; from now on, you do know him- in fact, you have seen him."


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Yeshua replied to him, "Have I been with you so long without your knowing me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?


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Don't you believe that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with me? What I am telling you, I am not saying on my own initiative; the Father living in me is doing his own works.


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Trust me, that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with me. But if you can't, then trust because of the works themselves.


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Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father.


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In fact, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.


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and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.


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The world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him. You know him, because he is staying with you and will be united with you.


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In just a little while, the world will no longer see me; but you will see me. Because I live, you too will live.


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When that day comes, you will know that I am united with my Father, and you with me, and I with you.


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Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."


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Y'hudah (not the one from K'riot) said to him, "What has happened, Lord, that you are about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"


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Yeshua answered him, "If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.


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Someone who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words- and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me.


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But the Counselor, the <i>Ruach HaKodesh</i>, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you.


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"What I am leaving with you is <i>shalom</i>- I am giving you my <i>shalom</i>. I don't give the way the world gives. Don't let yourselves be upset or frightened.


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You heard me tell you, 'I am leaving, and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would have been glad that I am going to the Father; because the Father is greater than I.


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"I won't be talking with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me;


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rather, this is happening so that the world may know that I love the Father, and that I do as the Father has commanded me. "Get up! Let's get going!


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Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit.


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Stay united with me, as I will with you- for just as the branch can't put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can't bear fruit apart from me.


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"I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can't do a thing.


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Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.


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"If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you.


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This is how my Father is glorified- in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my <i>talmidim</i>.


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If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love- just as I have kept my Father's commands and stay in his love.


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I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn't know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.


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You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you.


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If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world- on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world- therefore the world hates you.


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Remember what I told you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours too.


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"If I had not come and spoken to them, they wouldn't be guilty of sin; but now, they have no excuse for their sin.


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If I had not done in their presence works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now, they have seen them and have hated both me and my Father.


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But this has happened in order to fulfill the words in their <i>Torah </i>which read, 'They hated me for no reason at all.'


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"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send you from the Father- the Spirit of Truth, who keeps going out from the Father- he will testify on my behalf.


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They will ban you from the synagogue; in fact, the time will come when anyone who kills you will think he is serving God!


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But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for it to happen, you will remember that I told you. I didn't tell you this at first, because I was with you.


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But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don't go away, the comforting Counselor will not come to you. However, if I do go, I will send him to you.


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"When he comes, he will show that the world is wrong about sin, about righteousness and about judgment-


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However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative but will say only what he hears. He will also announce to you the events of the future.


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Everything the Father has is mine; this is why I said that he receives from what is mine and will announce it to you.


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At this, some of the <i>talmidim </i>said to one another, "What is this that he's telling us, 'In a little while, you won't see me; then, a little while later, you will see me'? and, 'I am going to the Father'?"


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Yeshua knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Are you asking each other what I meant by saying, 'In a little while, you won't see me; and then, a little while later, you will see me'?


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Yes, it's true. I tell you that you will sob and mourn, and the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.


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When a woman is giving birth, she is in pain; because her time has come. But when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering out of joy that a child has come into the world.


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So you do indeed feel grief now, but I am going to see you again. Then your hearts will be full of joy, and no one will take your joy away from you.


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"When that day comes, you won't ask anything of me! Yes, indeed! I tell you that whatever you ask from the Father, he will give you in my name.


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Till now you haven't asked for anything in my name. Keep asking, and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.


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"I have said these things to you with the help of illustrations; however, a time is coming when I will no longer speak indirectly but will talk about the Father in plain language.


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When that day comes, you will ask in my name. I am not telling you that I will pray to the Father on your behalf,


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"I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and returning to the Father."


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The <i> talmidim </i>said to him, "Look, you're talking plainly right now, you're not speaking indirectly at all.


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Now we know that you know everything, and that you don't need to have people put their questions into words. This makes us believe that you came from God."


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But a time is coming- indeed it has come already- when you will be scattered, each one looking out for himself; and you will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone; because the Father is with me.


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"I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have <i>shalom</i>. In the world, you have <i>tsuris</i>. But be brave! I have conquered the world!"


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After Yeshua had said these things, he looked up toward heaven and said, "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you-


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just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those whom you have given him.


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Now, Father, glorify me alongside yourself. Give me the same glory I had with you before the world existed.


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"I made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.


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because the words you gave me I have given to them, and they have received them. They have really come to know that I came from you, and they have come to trust that you sent me.


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"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given to me, because they are yours.


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Now I am no longer in the world. They are in the world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them by the power of your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are.


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When I was with them, I guarded them by the power of your name, which you have given to me; yes, I kept watch over them; and not one of them was destroyed (except the one meant for destruction, so that the <i>Tanakh </i>might be fulfilled).


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But now, I am coming to you; and I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.


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"I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world- just as I myself do not belong to the world.


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On their behalf I am setting myself apart for holiness, so that they too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth.


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that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.


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The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one-


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I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.


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"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.


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Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me.


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I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them."


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After Yeshua had said all this, he went out with his <i>talmidim </i> across the stream that flows in winter through the <i>Vadi </i>Kidron, to a spot where there was a grove of trees; and he and his <i>talmidim </i>went into it.


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Now Y'hudah, who was betraying him, also knew the place; because Yeshua had often met there with his <i>talmidim</i>.


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So Y'hudah went there, taking with him a detachment of Roman soldiers and some Temple guards provided by the head <i>cohanim </i>and the <i>P'rushim</i>; they carried weapons, lanterns and torches.


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Yeshua, who knew everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Whom do you want?"


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"Yeshua from Natzeret," they answered. He said to them, "I AM." Also standing with them was Y'hudah, the one who was betraying him.


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This happened so that what he had said might be fulfilled, "I have not lost one of those you gave me."


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Then Shim'on Kefa, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, cutting off his right ear; the slave's name was Melekh.


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Yeshua said to Kefa, "Put your sword back in its scabbard! This is the cup the Father has given me; am I not to drink it?"


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So the detachment of Roman soldiers and their captain, together with the Temple Guard of the Judeans, arrested Yeshua, tied him up,


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and took him first to 'Anan, the father-in-law of Kayafa, who was <i>cohen gadol </i>that fateful year.


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(It was Kayafa who had advised the Judeans that it would be good for one man to die on behalf of the people.)


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Shim'on Kefa and another <i>talmid </i>followed Yeshua. The second <i>talmid </i>was known to the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>;


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but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other <i>talmid</i>, the one known to the <i> cohen hagadol</i>, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside.


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The woman at the gate said to Kefa, "Aren't you another of that man's <i>talmidim</i>?" He said, "No, I'm not."


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Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too.


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Yeshua answered, "I have spoken quite openly to everyone; I have always taught in a synagogue or in the Temple where all Jews meet together, and I have said nothing in secret;


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so why are you questioning me? Question the ones who heard what I said to them; look, they know what I said."


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At these words, one of the guards standing by slapped Yeshua in the face and said, "This is how you talk to the <i>cohen hagadol</i>?"


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Yeshua answered him, "If I said something wrong, state publicly what was wrong; but if I was right, why are you hitting me?"


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Meanwhile, Shim'on Kefa was standing and warming himself. They said to him, "Aren't you also one of his <i>talmidim</i>?" He denied it, saying, "No, I am not."


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One of the slaves of the <i>cohen hagadol</i>, a relative of the man whose ear Kefa had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you with him in the grove of trees?"


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They led Yeshua from Kayafa to the governor's headquarters. By now it was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters building because they didn't want to become ritually defiled and thus unable to eat the <i>Pesach </i>meal.


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Pilate said to them, "You take him and judge him according to your own law." The Judeans replied, "We don't have the legal power to put anyone to death."


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So Pilate went back into the headquarters, called Yeshua and said to him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"


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Pilate replied, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and head <i>cohanim </i>have handed you over to me; what have you done?"


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Yeshua answered, "My kingship does not derive its authority from this world's order of things. If it did, my men would have fought to keep me from being arrested by the Judeans. But my kingship does not come from here."


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"So then," Pilate said to him, "You are a king, after all." Yeshua answered, "You say I am a king. The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to bear witness to the truth. Every one who belongs to the truth listens to me."


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Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" Having said this, Pilate went outside again to the Judeans and told them, "I don't find any case against him.


