Matthew 12:29-19:2 Or how can any man enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

ACV⁽ⁱ⁾ ²⁹ Or how can any man enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰ He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ Because of this I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in the present age, nor in the one that is coming. ³³ Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say to you, that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they will render account about it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For from thy words thou will be justified, and from thy words thou will be condemned. ³⁸ Then some of the scholars and Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from thee. ³⁹ But having answered, he said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-creature three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. ⁴³ But when the unclean spirit goes forth out of the man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds it not. ⁴⁴ Then it says, I will return into my house from where I came out. And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes, and takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having enter in, they dwell there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So it will also be to this evil generation. ⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers had stood outside, seeking to speak to him. ⁴⁷ And some man said to him, Behold, thy mother and thy brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to thee. ⁴⁸ But having answered, he said to the man who told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ⁴⁹ And having stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, he said, Behold, my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. ¹³ ¹ And on that day, having departed from the house, Jesus was sitting beside the sea. ² And many multitudes were gathered to him, so as for him (having entered in) to sit in the boat, and all the multitude had stood on the shore. ³ And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the man who sows went forth to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ But others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much soil, and straightaway they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun was risen, they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered. ⁷ And others fell in the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear. ¹⁰ And the disciples having come, they said to him, Why do thou speak to them in parables? ¹¹ And having answered, he said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those men it has not been given. ¹² For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever has not, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, By hearing ye will hear, and will, no, not understand, and seeing ye will see, and will, no, not perceive. ¹⁵ For this people's heart became fat, and their ears hear heavily, and their eyes are shut, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn, and I will heal them. ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men longed to see the things that ye see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that ye hear, and did not hear them. ¹⁸ Hear ye then the parable of the man who sows. ¹⁹ Of every man who hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, evil comes, and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that which was sown by the wayside. ²⁰ And that which was sown upon the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and straightaway receiving it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, instead it is temporary. And when tribulation or persecution develops because of the word, straightaway he is caused to stumble. ²² And that which was sown in the thorns, this is he who hears the word, and the care of this age, and the deceitfulness of wealth, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But that which was sown upon the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who indeed bears fruit, and is productive, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ²⁴ He set forth another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is compared to a man sowing good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ And when the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ But the bondmen of the house-ruler having come, they said to him, Sir, did thou not sow good seed in thy field? From where then does it have tares? ²⁸ And he said to them, A hostile man did this. And the bondmen said to him, Do thou desire therefore, after going, we would gather them up? ²⁹ But he said, No, lest while gathering up the tares, ye uproot the wheat together with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles in order to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. ³¹ He set forth another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard plant, which having taken, a man sowed in his field. ³² Which indeed is smaller than all seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so as for the birds of the sky to come and lodge in the branches of it. ³³ He spoke another parable to them. The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which having taken, a woman hid in three measures of meal until it was all leavened. ³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes, and he did not speak to them independent of a parable, ³⁵ so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, which says, I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things concealed from the foundation of the world. ³⁶ Then having sent the multitudes away, Jesus came into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. ³⁷ And having answered, he said to them, He who sows the good seed is the Son of man, ³⁸ and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of evil. ³⁹ And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are agents. ⁴⁰ As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned in fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of man will send forth his agents, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing lawlessness, ⁴² and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. ⁴⁴ Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man having found, he hid. And from the joy of it, he goes and sells all, as many things as he has, and buys that field. ⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking fine pearls. ⁴⁶ Who, having found one very valuable pearl, after departing, sold all, as many things as he had, and bought it. ⁴⁷ Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered from every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, after dragging to the shore, having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, but they cast out the useless. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The agents will come forth, and separate the bad from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹ Jesus says to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yes, Lord. ⁵² And he said to them, Because of this every scholar who has been instructed in the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a house-ruler, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. ⁵³ And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these parables, he departed from there. ⁵⁴ And having come into his fatherland he taught them in their synagogue, so as for them to be astonished, and say, From where is this wisdom and powers in this man? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joses and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And his sisters, are they not all near us? From where then are all these things in this man? ⁵⁷ And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his fatherland, and in his house. ⁵⁸ And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. ¹⁴ ¹ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report of Jesus, ² and he said to his boys, This is John the immerser. He has risen from the dead, and because of this the powers work in him. ³ For Herod having arrested John, bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. ⁴ For John said to him, It is not permitted for thee to have her. ⁵ And though he wanted to kill him, he feared the multitude because they held him as a prophet. ⁶ But Herod's birthday being brought, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. ⁷ Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask. ⁸ And she, having been put forward by her mother, says, Give me here on a platter the head of John the immerser. ⁹ And he became sad, but because of the oaths, and of those dining together, the king commanded it to be given. ¹⁰ And having sent, he beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the maiden, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² And after coming, his disciples took up the body and buried it, and having gone, they informed Jesus. ¹³ Now when Jesus heard it, he departed from there in a boat into a desolate place in private. And when the multitudes heard of it, they followed him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And having come forth, Jesus saw a great multitude, and he felt compassion toward them, and healed the feeble of them. ¹⁵ And having become evening, his disciples came to him, saying, The place is desolate, and the hour is now past. Send the multitudes away, so that having gone into the villages, they may buy food for themselves. ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, They have no need to depart. Give ye them to eat. ¹⁷ And they say to him, We have not here, except five loaves and two fishes. ¹⁸ But he said, Bring them here to me. ¹⁹ And after commanding the multitudes to sit down on the grass, having taken the five loaves, and the two fishes, having looking up to heaven, he blessed. And having broken them in pieces, he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ²⁰ And they all ate, and were filled. And they took up that which remained of the fragments, twelve baskets full. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ²² And straightaway Jesus compelled the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, until he would dismiss the multitudes. ²³ And having dismissed the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain in private to pray. And having become evening, he was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, being buffeted by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking upon the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost, and they cried out from fear. ²⁷ But straightaway Jesus spoke to them, saying, Cheer up. It is I, fear not. ²⁸ And having answered him, Peter said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee on the waters. ²⁹ And he said, Come. And having come down from the boat, Peter walked upon the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the boisterous wind, he was afraid, and having begun to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. ³¹ And straightaway having stretched forth his hand, Jesus took hold of him, and says to him, O thou of little faith, why did thou doubt? ³² And when they entered into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those who came in the boat worshiped him, saying, Thou really are the Son of God. ³⁴ And when they crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when they recognized him, the men of that place sent into that whole region round about, and brought to him all those faring badly. ³⁶ And they besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched were healed. ¹⁵ ¹ Then scholars and Pharisees from Jerusalem come to Jesus, saying, ² Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. ³ And having answered, he said to them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God, because of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and, He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him perish in death. ⁵ But ye say, Whoever may say to the father or the mother, Whatever thou might have benefited from me is an offering. ⁶ And he will, no, not honor his father or mother. And ye have annulled the command of God because of your tradition. ⁷ Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, ⁸ This people comes near me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far distant from me. ⁹ And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ¹⁰ And having called in the multitude, he said to them, Hear and understand. ¹¹ Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man. ¹² Then having come near, his disciples said to him, Know thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard the saying? ¹³ But having answered, he said, Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant, will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them. They are blind leaders of blind men, and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch. ¹⁵ And having answered, Peter said to him, Explain this parable to us. ¹⁶ And Jesus said, Are ye also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do ye not yet understand, that everything entering into the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into a toilet? ¹⁸ But the things coming out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and those things defile the man. ¹⁹ For from the heart comes forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, revilings. ²⁰ These are things defiling the man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man. ²¹ And having gone out from there, Jesus departed into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman having come out from those regions, cried out to him, saying, Be merciful to me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously demon-possessed. ²³ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples having approached, they besought him, saying, Send her away, because she cries out behind us. ²⁴ But having answered, he said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ²⁵ But having come, she worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. ²⁶ And having answered, he said, It is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to the house dogs. ²⁷ But she said, Yes, Lord, for even the house dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. ²⁸ Then Jesus having answered, said to her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it done for thee as thou desire. And her daughter was healed from that hour. ²⁹ And having departed from there, Jesus came near the sea of Galilee. And having gone up onto the mountain, he sat there. ³⁰ And many multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, crippled, and many others. And they placed them beside Jesus' feet, and he healed them, ³¹ so as for the multitudes to marvel seeing the mute speaking, the maimed healthy, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. ³² And Jesus having summoned his disciples, he said, I feel compassion toward the multitude because they continue with me now three days and do not have what they might eat. And I do not want to dismiss them without food, lest they might faint on the way. ³³ And his disciples say to him, From where are so many loaves for us in a wilderness so as to feed so great a multitude? ³⁴ And Jesus says to them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. ³⁵ And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ And after taking the seven loaves and the fishes, having expressed thanks, he broke in pieces, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ³⁷ And they all ate and were filled. And they took up seven hampers full of the fragments that remained. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And having dismissed the multitudes, he entered into the boat, and came into the regions of Magdala. ¹⁶ ¹ And the Pharisees and Sadducees who came, testing, demanded him to exhibit to them a sign from the sky. ² But having answered, he said to them, When it becomes evening, ye say, Fair weather, for the sky is red. ³ And at morning, Bad weather today, for the sky is red, being gloomy. Hypocrites! Ye indeed know how to discern the face of the sky, but the signs of the times ye are not able. ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet. And having left them behind, he departed. ⁵ And his disciples having come to the other side, they forgot to take loaves. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ⁷ And they deliberated among themselves, saying, We took no loaves. ⁸ And having known it, Jesus said to them, O ye of little faith, why do ye deliberate among yourselves because ye brought no loaves? ⁹ Do ye not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up, ¹⁰ nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many hampers ye took up? ¹¹ How do ye not understand that I spoke to you not about bread, to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? ¹² Then they understood that he said not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ Now when Jesus came into the regions of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say I, the Son of man, am? ¹⁴ And they said, Some, John the immerser, others, Elijah, but others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. ¹⁵ He says to them, But who say ye, I am? ¹⁶ And Simon Peter having answered, said, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¹⁷ And having answered, Jesus said to him, Blessed are thou, Simon Bar-jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father in the heavens. ¹⁸ And I also say to thee, that thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever thou may bind on earth will be what is bound in the heavens, and whatever thou may loose on the earth will be what is loosed in the heavens. ²⁰ Then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no man that he is Jesus, the Christ. ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scholars, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. ²² And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, Be merciful to thee, Lord. This will, no, not be to thee. ²³ But having turned around, he said to Peter, Go thee behind me, Satan. Thou are my stumbling-block, because thou regard not the things of God, but the things of men. ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any man wants to come behind me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what does it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his agents, and then he will reward each man according to his actions. ²⁸ Truly I say to you, there are some of those who stand here, who will, no, not taste of death, until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. ¹⁷ ¹ And after six days Jesus takes Peter, and James, and John his brother, and brings them up onto a high mountain in private. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. ⁴ And having responded, Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou desire, we could make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. ⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were exceedingly afraid. ⁷ And having come, Jesus touched them and said, Arise, and fear not. ⁸ And having lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, except Jesus only. ⁹ And while they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man will rise from the dead. ¹⁰ And his disciples questioned him, saying, Why then do the scholars say that Elijah must first come? ¹¹ And having answered, Jesus said to them, Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all. ¹² But I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they knew him not, but did to him how many things they wanted. Likewise also the Son of man is going to suffer by them. ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them about John the immerser. ¹⁴ And when they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling to him, and saying, ¹⁵ Lord, be merciful to my son, because he is lunatic, and suffers badly. For he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not heal him. ¹⁷ And having answered, Jesus said, O faithless and perverted generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me. ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked it, and the demon departed from him. And the boy was cured from that hour. ¹⁹ Then the disciples having come to Jesus in private, said, Why could we not cast it out? ²⁰ And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if ye have faith as a grain of a mustard plant, ye will say to this mountain, Remove from here to there, and it will depart, and nothing will be impossible to you. ²¹ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. ²² And while they turned back in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up. And they were exceedingly sorry. ²⁴ And when they came to Capernaum, those who receive the double-drachma came to Peter, and said, Does not your teacher pay the double-drachma? ²⁵ He says, Yes. And when he entered into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What think thou, Simon? The kings of the earth, from whom do they take taxes or tribute, from their sons or from strangers? ²⁶ And Peter says to him, From strangers. Jesus said to him, Therefore the sons are free. ²⁷ But, so that we might not offend them, after going to the sea, cast a hook. And take up the first fish coming up, and having opened its mouth, thou will find a four-drachma coin. After taking that, give thou to them for me and thee. ¹⁸ ¹ In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens? ² And having called in a child, Jesus set it in the midst of them. ³ And he said, Truly I say to you, if ye are not turned, and become as children, ye will, no, not enter into the kingdom of the heavens. ⁴ He therefore who will make himself lowly as this child, this man is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens. ⁵ And whoever will receive one such child in my name receives me. ⁶ But whoever may cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it is advantageous for him that a donkey-powered millstone were hanged on his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks. For it is necessary that the stumbling-blocks come, yet woe to that man through whom the stumbling-block comes. ⁸ And if thy hand or thy foot causes thee to stumble, cut them off and cast from thee. It is good for thee to enter into life crippled or maimed, than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if thine eye causes thee to stumble, remove it and cast it from thee. It is good for thee to enter into life one-eyed, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. ¹⁰ See that ye not disparage one of these little ones, for I say to you, that in the heavens their agents do always behold the face of my Father in the heavens. ¹¹ For the Son of man came to save that which was lost. ¹² What does it seem to you? If it happens a hundred sheep are with some man, and one of them went astray, after going (having left the ninety-nine on the mountains), does he not seek the one going astray? ¹³ And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you, that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So, it is not a purpose before your Father in the heavens, that one of these little ones should perish. ¹⁵ But if thy brother should sin against thee, go and reprove him between thee and him alone. If he should hear thee, thou have gained thy brother. ¹⁶ But if he should not hear, take with thee one or two besides, so that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ¹⁷ And if he is heedless of them, speak to the church. But if he is also heedless of the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, however many things ye may bind on the earth will be things that are bound in heaven, and however many things ye may loose on the earth will be things that that are loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you truly, that if two of you should agree on the earth concerning every matter, whatever they might ask, it will happen for them from my Father in the heavens. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. ²¹ Then Peter having come to him, he said, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times? ²² Jesus says to him, I say to thee, not until seven times, but until seventy times seven. ²³ Because of this the kingdom of the heavens is compared to a man, a king, who wanted to settle account with his bondmen. ²⁴ And when he began to settle, one debtor of ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ But of him not having to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all things, as many as he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ The bondman therefore having fallen down, worshiped him, saying, Lord, be patient toward me and I will pay thee all. ²⁷ And having felt compassion, the lord of that bondman released him, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But after going out, that bondman found one of his fellow bondmen who owed him a hundred denarii. And having grabbed him, he choked him, saying, Pay me if thou owe anything. ²⁹ So his fellow bondman having fallen down at his feet, besought him, saying, Be patience toward me, and I will pay thee. ³⁰ But he would not, instead, having left him, he cast him into prison until he would pay that which was owed. ³¹ And when his fellow bondmen saw the things that happened, they were extremely sorry. And after coming, they reported to their lord all the things that happened. ³² Then his lord having summoned him, he says to him, Thou evil bondman, I forgave thee all that debt because thou besought me. ³³ Was it not necessary for thee also to be merciful to thy fellow bondman, as I also was merciful to thee? ³⁴ And having become angry, his lord delivered him to the tormentors until he would pay all that was due to him. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if ye do not forgive each man his brother, from your hearts, their trespasses. ¹⁹ ¹ And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee and came into the regions of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And many multitudes followed him and he healed them there.