Luke 20 Cross References - ISV

¹ Jesus’ Authority is Challenged
One day, while Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple and telling them the good news, the high priests and the scribes came with the elders ² and asked him, “Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
³ He answered them, “I, too, will ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ Was John’s authority to baptize from heaven or from humans?”
⁵ They discussed this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they didn’t know where it was from.
⁸ Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”
⁹ The Parable about the Tenant Farmers
Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went abroad for a long time. ¹⁰ At the right time he sent a servant to the farmers in order to get his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him back empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, and they beat him, too, treated him shamefully, and sent him back empty-handed. ¹² Then he sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out, too.
¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son whom I love. Maybe they’ll respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
Those who heard him said, “That must never happen!”
¹⁷ But Jesus looked at them and asked, “What does this text mean: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
¹⁹ When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.
²⁰ A Question about Paying Taxes
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor, ²¹ so they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach, and that you don’t favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully. ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
²³ But he discerned their craftiness and responded to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose face and name does it have?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
²⁵ So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²⁶ So they couldn’t catch him before the people in what he said. Amazed at his answer, they became silent.
²⁷ A Question about the Resurrection
Now some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus ²⁸ and asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man should marry the widow and have children for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died childless. ³⁰ Then the second ³¹ and the third married her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. ³² Finally, the woman died, too. ³³ Now in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since the seven had married her?”
³⁴ Jesus told them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are married, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶ Nor can they die anymore, because they are like the angels and, since they share in the resurrection, are God’s children. ³⁷ Even Moses demonstrated in the story about the bush that the dead are raised, when he calls the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him.”
³⁹ Then some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have given a fine answer.” ⁴⁰ Then they no longer dared to ask him another question.
⁴¹ A Question about David’s Son
Then he asked them, “How can people say that the Messiah is David’s son? ⁴² Because David himself in the book of Psalms says, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, ⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
⁴⁴ So David calls him ‘Lord.’ Then how can he be his son?”
⁴⁵ Jesus Denounces the Scribes
While all the people were listening, he told his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

¹ The Priestly DivisionsWith respect to the descendants of Aaron, classes of service were organized for Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, the descendants of Aaron. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, leaving no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. ³ Along with Zadok, one of Eleazar’s descendants, and Ahimelech, one of Ithamar’s descendants, David organized their service according to their assigned responsibilities.
⁴ More leaders were located among Eleazar’s descendants than among those of Ithamar, so sixteen leaders were appointed from the leaders of the ancestral households of Eleazar’s descendants and eight from those of Ithamar. ⁵ They were chosen by impartial lottery, since there were trustees of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s descendants and among Ithamar’s descendants. ⁶ Nethanel’s son Shemaiah, a Levitical scribe, made an official record of them for the king, the officers, Zadok the priest, Abiathar’s son Ahimelech, and the heads of ancestral households of both the priests and the descendants of Levi. One ancestral house was chosen for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.
⁷ The first lottery was chosen in favor of Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, ⁸ third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, ⁹ the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third for Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth for Maaziah. ¹⁹ These were appointed to enter the Temple of the LORD according to their protocols established by their ancestor Aaron, as commanded by the LORD God of Israel.
²⁰ Other Levitical DivisionsNow with respect to the descendants of Levi there remained Shubael from the descendants of Amram and Jehdeiah from the descendants of Shubael; ²¹ with respect to Rehabiah, Isshiah their chief from the descendants Rehabiah; ²² with respect to the Izharites, Shelomoth, Jahath from the descendants of Shelomoth; ²³ with respect to the descendants of Hebron, Jeriah their chief, Amariah their second in rank, Jahaziel their third, and Jekameam their fourth; ²⁴ with respect to the descendants of Uzziel, Micah; with respect to the descendants of Micah, Shamir; ²⁵ with respect to Micah’s brother Isshiah; with respect to the descendants of Isshiah, Zechariah; ²⁶ with respect to Merari’s sons, Mahli and Mushi; with respect to the sons of Jaaziah, Beno; ²⁷ with respect to the sons of Merari, Jaaziah, Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri; ²⁸ with respect to Mahli, Eleazar, who had no sons; ²⁹ with respect to Kish, Jerahmeel, one of the descendants of Kish; ³⁰ and with respect to the descendants of Mushi, Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral households. ³¹ These individuals also cast lots corresponding to their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, in the presence of King David, Zadok, and Ahimelech, and in the presence of the heads of the ancestral households of the priests and of the descendants of Levi, and the eldest was treated as impartially as was the younger brother.

²³ Jesus’ Authority is Challenged
Then Jesus went into the Temple. While he was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I, too, will ask you one question. If you answer it for me, I will also tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from humans?”
They began discussing this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
He in turn told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

⁵⁵ At this point, Jesus asked the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit? Day after day I sat teaching in the Temple, yet you didn’t arrest me.

²⁷ Jesus’ Authority is Challenged
Then they went into Jerusalem again. While Jesus was walking in the Temple, the high priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him ²⁸ and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority to do them?”
²⁹ Jesus told them, “I’ll ask you one question. Answer me, and then I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. ³⁰ Was John’s authority to baptize from heaven or from humans? Answer me.”
³¹ They began discussing this among themselves. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From humans’…?” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone really thought John was a prophet.
³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”

¹ Some Women Accompany JesusAfter this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God’s kingdom. The Twelve were with him,

⁴⁷ Then he began teaching in the Temple every day. The high priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him, ⁴⁸ but they couldn’t find a way to do it, because all the people were eager to hear him.

²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in the synagogue or in the Temple, where all Jews meet together, and I have said nothing in secret.

¹ Peter and John are Tried before the Jewish CouncilWhile they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the Temple guards, and the Sadducees came to them.

¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at Stephen, grabbed him, and brought him before the Council.

¹⁴ The man replied, “Who appointed you to be an official judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses became terrified and told himself, “Certainly this event has become known!”

³⁵ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat upon it.
³⁶ As he was riding along, people kept spreading their coats on the road. ³⁷ He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen. ³⁸ They said, “How blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”
⁴⁰ He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!”

⁴⁵ Confrontation in the Temple over Money
Then Jesus went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling things. ⁴⁶ He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a hideout for bandits!”

¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us as authority for doing these things?”

²² The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, ²³ so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
²⁴ “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, whoever hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵ Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the time approaches, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. ²⁶ Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself, ²⁷ and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man.

⁷ They made Peter and John stand in front of them and began asking, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
⁸ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, ¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

²⁷ “But the man who was harming his neighbor pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?

³⁵ “This same Moses—whom they rejected by saying, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’—was the man whom God sent to be both their ruler and deliverer with the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for 40 years. ³⁷ It was this Moses who told the Israelis, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own brothers, just as he did me.’ ³⁸ This Moses is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and to our ancestors. He received living truths to give to us, ³⁹ but our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and wished to return to Egypt.

⁵¹ “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

² “Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat.”
³ But he answered them, “Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition?

⁶⁸ and if I ask you a question, you won’t answer me.

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

²⁵ You’ll be driven from people, and you’ll live among wild animals of the field. You’ll eat grass like cattle and be soaked with the dew of the sky while seven years pass you by—until you realize that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires. ²⁶ Just as it was ordered to leave the stump of the tree in the ground along with its roots, so your kingdom will be restored to you when you realize that Heaven rules over everything.

⁷ As they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ Really, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? See, those who wear fancy clothes live in kings’ houses. ⁹ Really, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ¹⁰ This is the man about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
¹¹ I tell all of you with certainty, among those born of women no one has appeared who is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom from heaven is greater than he.
¹² “From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people have been attacking it, ¹³ because the Law and all the Prophets prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ Let the person who has ears listen!
¹⁶ “To what can I compare the people living today? They’re like little children who sit in the marketplaces and shout to each other, ¹⁷ ‘A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.’
¹⁸ Because John didn’t come eating or drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Absolved from every act of sin, is wisdom by her kith and kin.”

¹¹ He answered them, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, yet people did not recognize him and treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”

²⁵ Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from humans?”
They began discussing this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
He in turn told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
²⁸ The Parable about Two Sons“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ His son replied, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did the father’s will?”
They answered, “The first one.”
Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”

²⁸ I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
²⁹ By having been baptized with John’s baptism, all the people who listened, including the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law rejected God’s plan for themselves by refusing to be baptized by John.
³¹ Jesus continued, “To what may I compare the people living today? ³² They’re like little children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other, ‘A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.’
³³ Because John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, yet you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

¹⁸ I will get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and you.

⁶ John’s Witness to the WordThere was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

¹⁹ The Testimony of John the Baptist
This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
²⁰ He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself, admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”
²¹ So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”
John said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
²² “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
²³ He replied, “I am ‘…a voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the Lord’s highway,”’as the prophet Isaiah said.”
²⁴ Now those men had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
²⁶ John answered them, “I am baptizing with water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

¹⁵ John told the truth about him when he cried out, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance, ¹⁷ because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The unique God, who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.

³⁰ This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.’

³⁴ I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

²⁶ so they went to John and told him, “Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one about whom you testified—look, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”

³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

³³ You have sent messengers to John, and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ I myself do not accept human testimony, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ That man John was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light.

²⁵ When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the Messiah. No, but he is coming after me, and I’m not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’

⁹ Really, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet!

⁵ Although Herod wanted to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, since they regarded John as a prophet.

²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet.”

⁴⁶ Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

⁵ But they kept saying, “This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there’ll be a riot among the people.”

¹² They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way

²⁶ Really, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ²⁷ This is the man about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
²⁸ I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
²⁹ By having been baptized with John’s baptism, all the people who listened, including the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice.

⁴¹ Many people came to him and kept saying, “John never performed a sign, but everything that John said about this man is true!”

²⁶ So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people.

⁹ “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ¹⁰ Dull the mind of this people, deafen their ears, and blind their eyes. By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.”

¹¹ “LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. And let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame— yes, let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them!

⁹ Blind to God’s Words“Act stupid! Be astonished! Act blind, and be blind! Be drunk, but not from wine; stagger around, but not from strong drink. ¹⁰ For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep— he has closed your eyes, you prophets, he has covered your heads, you seers!”
¹¹ “And this entire vision has become for you like the words of a sealed book. When people give it to someone who can read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers, ‘I cannot, because it is sealed.’ ¹² Or when they give the book to someone who cannot read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers, ‘I don’t know how to read.’”

¹⁴ Therefore, watch out! “As for me, I will once again do amazing things with this people, wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the insights of their discerning men will stay hidden.”

²⁸ But when I look, there is no one— among them there’s no one to give counsel, no one to give an answer when I ask them.

¹⁹ Who is blind except my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending? Who is blind like the one committed to me, or blind like the LORD’s servant? ²⁰ You’ve seen many things, but you pay no attention. His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.

¹⁸ They don’t realize; they don’t understand, because their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds, too, so they cannot understand.

⁷ Even the stork in the sky knows its seasons, and the dove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time for migration. But my people don’t know the requirements of the LORD. ⁸ How can you say, ‘We’re wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when, in fact, the deceitful pen of the scribe has made it into something that deceives. ⁹ The wise men will be put to shame. They’ll be dismayed and taken captive. Look, they have rejected the message from the LORD! So what kind of wisdom do they have?

¹⁵ God’s Curse on the Worthless ShepherdThe LORD told me, “Pick up the tools of a worthless shepherd again,

¹⁷ “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither and his right eye be completely blind.”

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he’s the messenger of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
⁸ “But you priests turned aside from the way, and by your teaching you caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁹ “So I also made you despised, humiliating you before all of the people, because you aren’t following my ways and are showing partiality when you teach.”

¹⁹ And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed.

³⁹ Then Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge it, so that those who are blind may see and so that those who see may become blind.”

¹⁰ and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them. ¹¹ For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. ¹² Then all who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and their faith is a counterfeit. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those two men, their stupidity will be plain to everyone.

³ First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us

¹² He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds. ¹³ He captures the wise in their own craftiness, bringing a quick end to their cunning advice.

⁴ Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you will be just like him. ⁵ Answer a fool according to his foolishness, or he will think himself to be wise.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”

⁴ An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
He in turn told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”

¹⁵ So I chose leaders from your tribes, wise and respected men, and I appointed them over you—commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ¹⁶ I charged your judges at that time, ‘When you hold a hearing between brothers, judge fairly between a man and his brother or between foreigners. ¹⁷ When you hold a hearing, don’t be partial in judgment toward the least important or toward the great. Never fear men, because judgment belongs to God. If the matter is difficult for you, bring it to me for a hearing.’ ¹⁸ I charged you at that time that you must do all of these things.”

¹⁸ Pursue Justice“Appoint judges and civil servants according to your tribes in all your cities that the LORD your God is about to give you, so they may judge the people impartially.

⁸ Deciding Difficult Cases“If a case is too difficult for you to decide with respect to bloodshed, civil claims, assault and battery, or other matters of dispute within your courts, bring it to the place that the LORD your God will choose. ⁹ Present the case to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, ¹⁰ carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the LORD will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you ¹¹ in accordance with what the Law says, and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. ¹² If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the LORD your God there or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel. ¹³ Then all the people who hear will be afraid and will not act presumptuously again.”
¹⁴ Duties of the Future King“When you have come to the land that the LORD your God is about to give you, and you have taken possession of it, and have settled in it, then you will say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations around me.’ ¹⁵ You will certainly set a king over you, whom the LORD your God will choose from among your relatives, but you must not place a foreign king over you who is not from your relatives.

⁸ You uprooted a vine from Egypt, and drove out nations to transplant it. ⁹ You cleared the ground so that its roots grew and filled the land. ¹⁰ Mountains were covered by its shadows, and the mighty cedars by its branches. ¹¹ Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean Sea and its shoots to the Euphrates River. ¹² Why did you break down its walls so that those who pass by pluck its fruits? ¹³ Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it, and creatures of the field feed on it. ¹⁴ God of the Heavenly Armies, return! Look down from heaven and see. Show care toward this vine.

¹¹ Solomon has a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers— each one is to bring 1,000 pieces of silver in exchange for its fruit. ¹² My vineyard belongs to me and is at my disposal. The 1,000 are for you, Solomon, and 200 are for those who take care of its fruit.

¹ The LORD’s Vineyard I will sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: “The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. ² He plowed its land and cleared it of stones. Then he planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and dug a wine vat in it; He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only wild ones.” ³ “So now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, won’t you please, between me and my vineyard. ⁴ What more could I do in my vineyard, that I haven’t already done? When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield wild ones? ⁵ “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please, what I’m going to do to my vineyard. “I’m going to take away its protective hedge, and it will be devoured; I’ll break down its wall, and it will be trampled. ⁶ I’ll make it a wasteland, and it won’t be pruned or cultivated. Instead, briers and thorns will grow up. I’ll also issue commands to the clouds, that they drop no rain upon it.” ⁷ For the vineyard of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden in which he delights. He looked for justice, but saw only bloodshed; he searched for righteousness, but heard only an outcry!

²¹ I planted you myself as a choice vine, from the very best seed. How did you turn against me into a degenerate and foreign vine?

³³ The Parable about the Tenant Farmers
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. ³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. ³⁶ Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
⁴¹ They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”
⁴² Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.’?
⁴³ That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. ⁴⁴ The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
⁴⁵ When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

¹⁴ The Parable about the Talents“Similarly, it is like a man going on a trip, who called his servants and turned his money over to them.

¹ The Parable about the Tenant Farmers
Then Jesus began to speak 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 watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. ² At the right time, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the produce from the vineyard. ³ But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. ⁴ Again, the man sent another servant to them. They beat the servant over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ Then the man sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He still had one more person to send, a son whom he loved. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those farmers told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ So they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
⁹ “Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, execute the farmers, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you ever read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ¹¹ This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
¹² They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.

¹² So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return.

¹ Jesus the True Vine “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. ² He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of what I’ve spoken to you.
⁴ “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.
⁷ “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it. ⁸ This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept everything growing. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is significant, but God, who keeps everything growing, is the one who matters. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own action. ⁹ For we are God’s co-workers. You are God’s farmland and God’s building.

⁸ the LORD sent a man who was a prophet to the Israelis and told them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I was the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, delivering you from the house of servitude. ⁹ I delivered you from the domination of Egypt and from the domination of all of your oppressors, expelling them right in front of you and giving their land to you. ¹⁰ I told you, “I am the LORD your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you’ll be living.”’ But you haven’t obeyed what I said.”

²⁴ Right then, Chenaanah’s son Zedekiah approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. Then he asked him, “How did the Spirit of the LORD move from me to speak to you?”

¹³ Nevertheless, the LORD had warned both Israel and Judah by means of every prophet and seer: “Turn away from your evil practices and keep my commandments and statutes according to the entire Law that I gave your ancestors and that I sent to you through my servants, the prophets.”

¹⁰ In response, Asa flew into a rage and locked up the seer in stocks in the palace prison because of what Hanani had told him. Asa also tortured some of the people of Israel at that time.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, God sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD.
²⁰ Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the LORD’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”
²¹ But the people conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple.

¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people.

²⁶ “Then they disobeyed, rebelled against you, and threw your Law behind their backs. They murdered your prophets who had admonished the people to return to you, committing terrible blasphemies.

³⁰ You were patient with them for many years, warning them by your Spirit through your prophets. But they would not listen, so you turned them over to the control of people in other lands.

³ He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

³⁰ “I’ve punished your children with no results, they have accepted no discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.”

²⁴ They don’t say to themselves, ‘Let’s fear the LORD our God, who gives rain in its season, both the autumn and the spring rain. He sets aside for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’

² Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate of the Temple.

³ “From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I’ve spoken to you again and again, but you haven’t listened. ⁴ Again and again, the LORD sent all his servants, the prophets, to you, but you wouldn’t listen or even turn your ears in my direction to hear. ⁵ They said, ‘Turn, each one of you, from your evil habits and evil deeds, and live in the land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever and ever. ⁶ Don’t follow other gods to serve and worship them. Don’t provoke me with the idols you make with your hands, and I won’t bring disaster on you.’ ⁷ But you didn’t listen to me,” declares the LORD, “so as to provoke me with the idols you make with your hands to your own harm.

² “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple and tell those from all the cities of Judah who are coming to worship at the LORD’s Temple everything that I’ve commanded you to say to them. Don’t leave out a word! ³ Perhaps they’ll listen, and each of them will repent from his evil way. Then I’ll change my mind about the disaster I’m planning to bring on them because of their evil deeds. ⁴ Say to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you don’t listen to me to follow my Law which I’ve set before you, ⁵ and listen to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I’ve sent to you over and over—but you wouldn’t listen— ⁶ then I’ll make this house like Shiloh and make this city into a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”’”

²⁰ There was also a man named Uriah, Shemaiah’s son from Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied in the LORD’s name. He prophesied about this city and this land in words similar to those of Jeremiah. ²¹ King Jehoiakim, all his troops, and all the officials heard his words, and the king sought to kill him. Uriah heard about this and was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt. ²² King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt. He sent Achbor’s son Elnathan, along with a contingent of men into Egypt. ²³ They brought Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword. Then they threw his body into a common grave.”
²⁴ Yet because Shaphan’s son Ahikam supported Jeremiah, he was not handed over to the people for them to kill.

²⁶ The LORD made you a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest to serve in the LORD’s Temple as an official against every crazy prophet, and to put him in stocks and restraints. ²⁷ And now, why didn’t you rebuke Jeremiah from Anathoth who prophesies to you?

¹⁵ I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention and you haven’t obeyed me.

¹⁵ The officials were angry with Jeremiah and beat him. They put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made it into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah came into the cells in the dungeon and remained there for a long time.

⁴ Then the officials told the king, “Let this man be put to death because he’s undermining the efforts of the soldiers who remain in this city and that of all the people by speaking words like these to them. Indeed, this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.”
⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Look, he’s in your hands, and the king can do nothing to you.” ⁶ So they threw Jeremiah into a cistern that belonged to the king’s son Malchijah and was located in the courtyard of the guard. When they let Jeremiah down with ropes, because there was no water in the cistern—only mud—Jeremiah sank into the mud.

⁴ Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Don’t do this repulsive thing that I hate.” ⁵ ‘But they didn’t listen or pay attention by turning from their wickedness and not offering sacrifices to other gods.

⁴ “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your love is like a morning rain cloud— it passes away like the morning dew. ⁵ Therefore I cut them to pieces by the prophets, killing them by the words from my mouth. The verdict against you shines like a beacon. ⁶ For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

³ So tell them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Return to me,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will return to you. ⁴ Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the LORD.’ ⁵ “Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.’”

⁹ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Administer true justice, and show gracious love and mercy toward each other. ¹⁰ You are not to wrong the widow, orphans, the foreigner, or the poor, and you are not to plan evil against each other. ¹¹ But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening. ¹² They made their hearts hard like a diamond, to keep from obeying the Law and the messages that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. ¹³ Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,’ says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. ³⁶ Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way.

² At the right time, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the produce from the vineyard. ³ But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. ⁴ Again, the man sent another servant to them. They beat the servant over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ Then the man sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.

⁴⁷ How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments. ⁴⁹ That is why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,’ ⁵⁰ so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world,

³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you people were unwilling!

¹⁶ “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

⁴ In the same way, my brothers, through the Messiah’s body you also died as far as the Law is concerned, so that you may belong to another person, the one who was raised from the dead, and may bear fruit for God.

¹ The Coming Destruction “Israel, the overgrown vine, bears fruit like itself; the more fruitful they become, the more altars they build. The better the land, the more ornate the stone idols.

³⁰ Then you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Then finish what your ancestors started! ³³ You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?
³⁴ “That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. ³⁵ As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”
³⁷ Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

⁵² Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.

² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

³⁶ Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

⁴ What more could I do in my vineyard, that I haven’t already done? When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield wild ones?

³ Perhaps the house of Judah will hear about all the calamity that I’m planning to bring on them, and so each of them will turn from his wicked way and I’ll forgive their iniquities and sins.”

⁷ Perhaps their pleas for help will come to the LORD’s attention, and each of them will turn from his evil lifestyle in light of the great anger and wrath that the LORD has declared against this people.”

⁴ “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your love is like a morning rain cloud— it passes away like the morning dew.

⁸ “How can I give up on you, Ephraim? I will deliver you, will I not, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? I can’t make you like Zeboim, can I? My heart stirs within me; my compassion also fans into flame!

¹⁷ Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”

⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them.
A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!”

³⁵ Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Keep listening to him!”

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but have eternal life. ¹⁷ Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. ³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

³ For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did. By sending his own Son in the form of humanity, he condemned sin by being incarnate,

⁴ But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law,

⁹ This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent his unique Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³ This is how we know that we abide in him and he in us: he has given us his Spirit.
¹⁴ We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ God abides in the one who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, and he abides in God.

¹⁸ Joseph’s Brothers Plot to Kill HimNow as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. ¹⁹ “Look!” they said. “Here comes the Dream Master! ²⁰ Come on! Let’s kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we’ll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!”

¹ The Nations and God’s Anointed Why are the nations in an uproar, and their people involved in a vain plot? ² As the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and his anointed one, they say, ³ “Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵ In his anger he rebukes them, and in his wrath he terrifies them: ⁶ “I have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

⁸ Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession.

²⁷ “Indeed, I myself made him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

² and asked, “Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
³ When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem. ⁴ He called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet: ⁶ ‘O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷ Then Herod secretly called together the wise men, found out from them the time the star had appeared, ⁸ and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them, “As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him.”
⁹ After listening to the king, they set out, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy. ¹¹ After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they left for their own country by a different road.
¹³ The Escape to EgyptAfter they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt,” he said. “Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him.” ¹⁴ So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left at night for Egypt. ¹⁵ He stayed there until Herod’s death in order to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.”
¹⁶ The Massacre of the InfantsHerod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men.

⁷ As they began to discuss this among themselves, they kept saying, “We didn’t bring along any bread.”

²⁵ Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from humans?”
They began discussing this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’

²¹ So the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release for you?”
“Barabbas!” they replied.
²² Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?”
They all said, “Let him be crucified!”
²³ He asked, “What has he done wrong?”
But they kept shouting louder and louder, “Let him be crucified!”
²⁴ Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was about to break out instead. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Attend to that yourselves.”
²⁵ All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and our children!”

⁴⁷ Then he began teaching in the Temple every day. The high priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him,

⁵ They discussed this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’

¹⁹ When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.

² So the high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the crowd.

⁴⁷ So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, “You don’t know anything! ⁵⁰ You don’t realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.”

²³ After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men.

¹⁵ and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.

¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah—if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

² has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe.

³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁶ He still had one more person to send, a son whom he loved. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those farmers told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ So they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
⁹ “Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, execute the farmers, and give the vineyard to others.

¹² That is why Jesus, in order to sanctify the people by his own blood, also suffered outside the city gate.

³⁶ “Look! Today we are your servants, along with the land that you gave to our ancestors, so they could enjoy its fruit and its value— behold, in it we are your servants! ³⁷ But now its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom you placed over us because of our sin. They also have power over our bodies and our herds at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

⁸ Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession. ⁹ You will break them with an iron rod, you will shatter them like pottery.”

⁸ Your hand will find all your enemies, your right hand will find those who hate you. ⁹ When you appear, you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace. In his wrath, the LORD will consume them, and the fire will devour them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their descendants from the earth, even their offspring from the ranks of mankind.

⁴¹ They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”

⁷ Then the king became outraged. He sent his troops, and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, “We had to speak God’s word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles.

²² The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹⁶ therefore this is what the LORD God says: “Look! I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.

⁹ Look, the stone that I put in place in Joshua’s presence—on that one stone are seven eyes. And look, I will do the engraving myself,’ declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, ‘and I will remove the perversity of that land in a single day.

⁴² Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.’?

⁵ Jesus looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand was restored to health.

²³ Salvation and Reward
Then Jesus looked around and told his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”

¹⁰ Haven’t you ever read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

⁴¹ When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it:

³⁷ Because I tell you, what has been written about me must be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the criminals.’ Indeed, what is written about me must be fulfilled.”

⁶¹ Then the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered the word from the Lord, and how he had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”

⁴⁴ Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.”

²⁵ But this happened so that what has been written in their Law might be fulfilled: ‘They hated me for no reason.’

¹¹ He is ‘the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.’

⁷ Therefore he is precious to you who believe, but to those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, ⁸ a stone they stumble over and a rock they trip on.”They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

¹⁴ Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Many will stumble on them; They’ll fall and be broken; They’ll be snared and captured.

³⁴ “As you were watching, a rock was quarried—but not with human hands—and it struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, breaking them to pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together and became like chaff from a summer threshing floor that the breeze carries away without leaving a trace. Then the rock that struck the statue grew into a huge mountain and filled the entire earth.

⁴⁴ “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. ⁴⁵ Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands—and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces—so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy.”

³ It will come about at that time that I will make Jerusalem a heavy weight; so everyone who burdens themselves with it will be crushed, even though all of the nations of the earth gather themselves against it.

³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce.

⁴⁴ The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

³ Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴ They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him.

¹⁴ But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!’

² so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who’s been in mourning for the dead for many days.

² so Jeroboam suggested to his wife, “Get up, disguise yourself so that no one will know that you’re Jeroboam’s wife, and go to Shiloh where the prophet Ahijah lives. He’s the one who told me that I would be king over this people. ³ Take ten loaves with you, some cakes, and a jar of honey and go visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
⁴ So that’s what Jeroboam’s wife did. She got up, went to Shiloh, and found Ahijah’s home. Ahijah was blind, because his eyes could not focus due to his age. ⁵ Meanwhile, the LORD had spoken to Ahijah, “Be on your guard! Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he is ill. You’re to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else!”
⁶ When she arrived, Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the doorway. He said this to her: “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. What is this pretension at being someone else? I have some harsh news.

³² The wicked stalks the righteous person, seeking to kill him, ³³ but the LORD will not let him fall into his hands. He will not be condemned when he is put on trial.

¹² Those who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek to do me harm brag all day long about their wicked planning.

³ Say to God: “How awesome are your works! Because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.”

¹⁵ Those who hate the LORD will cringe before him; their punishment will be permanent.

²⁰ For the ruthless will vanish, and mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down— ²¹ those who make a person appear to be the offender in a lawsuit, who set a trap for someone who is making his defense in court, and push aside the innocent with specious arguments.

¹⁹ I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they had devised schemes against me. They told themselves, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s eliminate him from the land of the living, so his name won’t be remembered again.”

¹⁸ Jeremiah Reacts to the Plot against HimThen they said, “Come, let’s make up a plot against Jeremiah. After all, the priest’s instruction, the wise man’s counsel, and the prophet’s message won’t be destroyed. So let’s verbally attack him. Pay no attention to anything he says!”

¹⁰ Indeed, I hear many people whispering, “Terror on every side. Denounce him, let’s denounce him!” All my close friends watch my steps and say, “Perhaps he will be deceived, and we can prevail against him and take vengeance on him.”

¹⁵ A Question about Paying Taxes
Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus in conversation. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
¹⁸ Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he asked them, “Whose face and name is this?”
²¹ They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²² When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

² They bound him with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor.

² The people watched Jesus closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.

¹³ A Question about Paying Taxes
Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to him, intending to trap him in what he said. ¹⁴ They came and told him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or shouldn’t we?”
¹⁵ Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
¹⁶ So they brought one. Then he asked them, “Whose face and name are on this?”
They told him, “Caesar’s.”
¹⁷ So Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

²⁶ So they couldn’t catch him before the people in what he said. Amazed at his answer, they became silent.

²⁸ Pilate Questions Jesus
Then Jesus was led from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters early in the morning. The Jews did not go into the headquarters, to avoid becoming unclean and unable to eat the Passover meal. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”
³⁰ They answered him, “If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”
³¹ Pilate told them, “You take him and try him according to your Law.”
The Jewish leaders told him, “It is not legal for us to put anyone to death.” ³² This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.

³ In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.

⁷ So let the fear of the LORD rest upon you, be on your guard, and act carefully, because with the LORD our God there is neither injustice, nor partiality, nor bribery.”

¹⁹ Who isn’t partial to princes? Who doesn’t give preference to the nobles over the poor? Nevertheless, all of them are his handiwork.

² Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor; they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.

²¹ His mouth is as smooth as butter, while war is in his heart. His words were as smooth as olive oil, while his sword is drawn.

² They told Jeremiah the prophet, “Please listen to what we have to ask of you. Pray to the LORD your God for us and for all these survivors. Indeed, only a few of us remain out of many, as you can see. ³ Pray that the LORD your God may inform us as to how we should live and what we should do.”

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance.

⁴⁹ So Judas immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi!” and kissed him tenderly.
⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, “Friend, why are you here?” Then the other men surged forward, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him.

¹⁴ They came and told him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or shouldn’t we?”

² He came to Jesus at night and told him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “Now I understand that God shows no partiality. ³⁵ Indeed, whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him in any nation.

¹⁷ At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s name, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah’s servant.

⁶ Now those who were reputed to be important added nothing to my message. (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God pays no attention to outward appearances.)

⁴ Rather, because we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, we speak as we do, not trying to please people but God, who tests our motives.
⁵ As you know, we did not come with flattering words or with a scheme to make money. God is our witness!

¹⁵ You will certainly set a king over you, whom the LORD your God will choose from among your relatives, but you must not place a foreign king over you who is not from your relatives.

¹³ May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues.

¹⁹ Pursuant to my edict, an investigation has been undertaken. It is noted that this city has fomented rebellion against kings from time immemorial, and that rebellion and sedition has occurred in it. ²⁰ Powerful kings have reigned over Jerusalem, including ruling over all lands beyond the Euphrates River. Furthermore, taxes, tribute, and tolls have been paid to them. ²¹ Accordingly, issue an order to force these men to cease their work so that this city is not rebuilt until you receive further notice from me. ²² Be diligent and take precautions so that you do not neglect your responsibility in this matter. Why should the kingdom sustain any more damage?

⁷ We have lived in great sin from the days of our ancestors even until today, and because of those iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered over to foreign kings, for execution, for captivity, for plunder, and for humiliation, as is the case today.

⁴ Still others were saying “We’ve borrowed money against our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s taxes.

³⁷ But now its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom you placed over us because of our sin. They also have power over our bodies and our herds at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

²⁵ He answered, “Yes.”
When Peter went home, Jesus spoke to him first and asked him, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings on the earth collect tolls or tributes? From their own subjects, or from foreigners?”

¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
¹⁸ Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he asked them, “Whose face and name is this?”
²¹ They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

³⁷ After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered.

⁹ where your ancestors tested me. They tested me, even though they had seen my awesome deeds.

¹ Interpreting the Time
When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

¹⁸ Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

²² Because Jesus knew that they were arguing, he asked them, “Why are you arguing about this among yourselves?

⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue.” So he got up and stood there.

¹⁶ Others, wanting to test Jesus, kept asking him for a sign from heaven.
¹⁷ Since he knew what they were thinking, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is devastated, and a divided household collapses.

⁵³ As Jesus was leaving, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, interrogating him about many things. ⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

²⁰ A Question about Paying Taxes
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor,

²⁴ Jesus, however, did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵ and didn’t need anyone to tell him what people were like, because he himself knew what was in every person.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise with their own trickery,”

⁹ Let’s stop putting the Lord to the test, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by snakes.

¹³ No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

²⁸ “But when that servant went away, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, seized him by the throat, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

² After agreeing to pay the workers one denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

¹ The Birth of Jesus
Now in those days an order was published by Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered.

¹ John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

² They began to accuse him, “We found this man corrupting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah, a king.”

²⁸ One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius.

⁸ Paul said in his defense, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews, or of the Temple, or of the emperor.”
⁹ Then Festus, wanting to do the Jewish leaders a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried there before me on these charges?”
¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before the emperor’s judgment seat where I ought to be tried. I haven’t done anything wrong to the Jewish leaders, as you know very well. ¹¹ If I’m guilty and have done something that deserves death, I’m willing to die. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to the emperor!”
¹² Festus talked it over with the council and then answered, “To the emperor you have appealed; to the emperor you will go!”

³² Agrippa told Festus, “This man could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to the emperor.”

²² All the saints, especially those of the emperor’s household, greet you.

²¹ My son, fear both the LORD and the king, and don’t keep company with rebels.

²⁷ However, so that we don’t offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

²¹ They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

¹⁷ So Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, ²⁰ for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men!

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes. For rulers are God’s servants faithfully devoting themselves to their work. ⁷ Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

³¹ Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

¹³ For the Lord’s sake submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live like free people, and do not use your freedom as an excuse for doing evil. Instead, be God’s servants. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Keep on loving the community of believers, fearing God, and honoring the king.

¹¹ Whoever speaks must speak God’s words. Whoever serves must serve with the strength that God supplies, so that in every way God may be glorified through Jesus, the Messiah. Glory and power belong to him forever and ever! Amen.

¹² He asked him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

³⁴ The Greatest Commandment
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place.

¹⁷ Even as he was saying this, all of his opponents were blushing with shame. But the rest of the crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

³⁹ Then some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have given a fine answer.” ⁴⁰ Then they no longer dared to ask him another question.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹⁰ Guard What is TrueFor there are many people who are rebellious, especially those who are converts from Judaism. They speak utter nonsense and deceive people.

⁶ Jesus told them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”

¹² Then they understood that he did not say to beware of the yeast used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

²³ A Question about the Resurrection
That same day some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him, ²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened with the second brother, and then the third, and finally with the rest of the brothers. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died, too. ²⁸ Now in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be, since all of them had married her?”
²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power, ³⁰ because in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. ³¹ As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God when he said, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
³³ When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.

¹⁸ A Question about the Resurrection
Then some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, he should marry the widow and have children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers. The first one married and died without having children. ²¹ Then the second married her and died without having children, and so did the third. ²² None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died, too. ²³ In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had married her?”
²⁴ Jesus answered them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? ²⁵ When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. ²⁶ As for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

¹ Peter and John are Tried before the Jewish CouncilWhile they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the Temple guards, and the Sadducees came to them. ² They were greatly disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.

¹⁷ The Apostles are Tried before the Jewish CouncilThen the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out,

⁶ When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the Council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I’m on trial concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected.”
⁷ After he said that, an angry quarrel broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided, ⁸ because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and that there is no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all those things.

¹² The Resurrection of the DeadNow if we preach that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, how can some of you keep claiming there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹⁷ and what they say will spread everywhere like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that. ¹⁸ They have abandoned the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place, and so they destroy the faith of others.

⁸ So Judah instructed Onan, “You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother’s wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother.”

¹¹ After this, Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Go live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” But he was really thinking, “…otherwise, Shelah might die like his brothers.” So Tamar left and lived in her father’s house.

²⁶ When Judah recognized them, he admitted, “She is more upright than I, because I never did give her my son Shelah.” And he never had sex with her again.

⁵ Levirate Marriage“When two brothers are living together and one of them dies without leaving a son, his widow must not be married outside the family to a foreigner. Instead, the brother-in-law must go to her, take her as his wife, and by doing so perform the duty of a brother-in-law. ⁶ The firstborn whom she will bear will continue the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be erased from Israel. ⁷ But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she must go to the elders at the city gate and declare, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perform the duty of a brother-in-law in order to preserve the name of his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law.’ ⁸ Then the elders of the city are to summon him and speak with him. If he insists on saying, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ ⁹ then she is to approach her brother-in-law in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and say in response, ‘May this be done to the man who does not preserve the lineage of his brother.’ ¹⁰ Then his family name in Israel will be known ‘as the family of the one whose sandal was removed.’”

¹¹ But Naomi responded, “Go back, my daughters. Why go with me? Are there still sons to be born to me as future husbands for you? ¹² So go on back, my daughters! Be on your way! I’m too old to remarry. If I were to say that I’m hoping for a husband tonight and then also bore sons this very night,

²⁰ “If a man has sexual relations with his uncle’s wife, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness. They are to bear responsibility for punishment of their sin. They’ll die childless.

³⁰ This is what the LORD says: ‘Write this man off as childless, a man who does not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed in sitting on the throne of David, or ever ruling in Judah again.’”

¹⁰ After that whole generation had died, another generation grew up after them that was not acquainted with the LORD or with what he had done for Israel.

⁴ The Predictability of LifeA generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵ At least the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing; they no longer have a reward, since memory about them has been forgotten.

²⁷ Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,

²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened with the second brother, and then the third, and finally with the rest of the brothers. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died, too. ²⁸ Now in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be, since all of them had married her?”

¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, he should marry the widow and have children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers. The first one married and died without having children. ²¹ Then the second married her and died without having children, and so did the third. ²² None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died, too. ²³ In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had married her?”

⁸ The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own.

²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them.

² Because sexual immorality is so rampant, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.
³ A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband. ⁴ A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does. ⁵ Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time, in order to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control. ⁶ But I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷ I would like everyone to be unmarried, like I am. However, each person has a special gift from God, one this and another that.
⁸ I say to those who are unmarried, especially to widows: It is good for them to remain like me. ⁹ However, if they cannot control themselves, they should get married, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. ¹⁰ To married people I give this command (not really I, but the Lord): A wife must not leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave him, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. Likewise, a husband must not abandon his wife.
¹² I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to live with him, he must not abandon her. ¹³ And if a woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he is willing to live with her, she must not abandon him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him go. In such cases the brother or sister is not under obligation. God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶ Wife, you might be able to save your husband. Husband, you might be able to save your wife.

³¹ “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

⁴ Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.

² Many of those who are sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken—some to life everlasting, and some to disgrace and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who manifest wisdom will shine like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever.

³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.”

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power,

²⁴ Jesus answered them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power?

³⁶ So be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”

²⁹ and will come out—those who have done what is good to the resurrection that leads to life, and those who have practiced what is evil to the resurrection that ends in condemnation.

⁴¹ They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name.

¹⁵ I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish—that there is to be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked.

⁵ This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering.

³⁵ Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy.

⁸ he has swallowed up death forever! Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and he will take away the disgrace of his people from the entire earth.” for the LORD has spoken.

¹⁴ “From the power of Sheol I will rescue them, from death I will redeem them. Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? My eyes will remain closed to your pleas for compassion.

⁷ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘If you will live according to my ways, and if you will keep what I have entrusted to you, then you will also administer my Temple, and you will also guard my courtyards. And I will give you access to these who serve here.

³⁰ because in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.

²⁵ When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.

¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah—if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
¹⁸ God’s Spirit Helps UsFor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God’s children, ²⁰ because the creation has become subject to futility, though not by anything it did. The one who subjected it did so in the certainty ²¹ that the creation itself would also be set free from corrupting bondage in order to share the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² For we know that all the rest of creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time. ²³ However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

²⁶ The last enemy to be done away with is death,

⁴² This is how it will be at the resurrection of the dead. What is planted is decaying, what is raised cannot decay.

⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the likeness of the man who was made from dust, we will also bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

⁵² in a moment, faster than an eye can blink, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For what is decaying must be clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying must be clothed with what cannot die. ⁵⁴ Now, when what is decaying is clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying is clothed with what cannot die, then the written word will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up by victory!”

²¹ He will change our unassuming bodies and make them like his glorious body through the power that enables him to bring everything under his authority.

¹³ Comfort about Christians who Have DiedBut we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve like other people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him. ¹⁵ For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died. ¹⁶ With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

¹ We are God’s ChildrenSee what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God’s children—and that is what we are! For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.
² Dear friends, we are now God’s children, but what we will be like has not been revealed yet. We know that when the Messiah is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.

⁶ The Vision of the Lamb Taking the ScrollThen I saw a lamb standing in the middle of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. He looked like he had been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sits on the throne.
⁸ When the lamb had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed down in front of him. Each held a harp and a gold bowl full of incense, the prayers of the saints. ⁹ They sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slaughtered. With your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation. ¹⁰ You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
¹¹ The Vision of the Song of the LambThen I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels, the living creatures, and the elders surrounding the throne. They numbered 10,000’s times 10,000 and thousands times thousands. ¹² They sang with a loud voice, “Worthy is the lamb who was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise!” ¹³ I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying, “To the one who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise, honor, glory, and power forever and ever!” ¹⁴ Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!”, and the elders bowed down and worshipped.

⁹ The Vision of Tribulation SaintsAfter these things, I looked, and there was a crowd so large that no one was able to count it! They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!” ¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell on their faces in front of the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

⁶ How blessed and holy are those who participate in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and the Messiah, and will rule with him for a thousand years.

⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”

² Between the city street and the river, the tree of life was visible from each side. It produced twelve kinds of fruit, each month having its own fruit. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him ⁴ and see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule forever and ever.

⁹ But he told me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words in this book. Worship God!”

⁷ I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants’ God after you.

¹³ And there was the LORD, standing above it and telling Jacob, “I am the LORD God of your grandfather Abraham. I’m Isaac’s God, too. I’m giving you and your descendants the ground on which you’re sleeping.

²¹ and returns me safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God,

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, O God of my father Isaac, O LORD, you who told me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives and I’ll cause things to go well for you.’

² the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flaming fire from the center of a bush. As Moses continued to watch, amazingly the bush kept on burning, but was not consumed. ³ Then Moses told himself, “I’ll go over and see this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from the center of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He said, “Here I am.”
⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Tell the Israelis, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

¹⁶ from the choicest of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who lived in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph’s head, and on the crown of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

³ He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. ⁴ So he sent other servants after saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! I’ve prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened calves have been slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention to this and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest grabbed the king’s servants, treated them brutally, and then killed them. ⁷ Then the king became outraged. He sent his troops, and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
⁸ “Then he told his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go into the roads leading out of town and invite as many people as you can find to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ Those servants went out into the streets and brought in everyone they found, evil and good alike, and the wedding hall was packed with guests.
¹¹ “When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the darkness outside!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ¹⁴ because many are invited, but few are chosen.”
¹⁵ A Question about Paying Taxes
Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus in conversation. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
¹⁸ Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he asked them, “Whose face and name is this?”
²¹ They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²² When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

³⁰ “After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached the bush to look at it, the voice of the Lord said, ³² ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses became terrified and didn’t dare to look.

⁵ The LORD is my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me; truly, I have a beautiful heritage. ⁷ I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; indeed, my conscience instructs me during the night. ⁸ I have set the LORD before me continuously; because he stands at my right hand, I will stand firm. ⁹ Therefore, my heart is glad, my whole being rejoices, and my body will dwell securely. ¹⁰ For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, you will not allow your holy one to experience corruption. ¹¹ You cause me to know the path of life; in your presence is joyful abundance, at your right hand there are pleasures forever.

²³ “All who fear the LORD, praise him! All the seed of Jacob, glorify him! All the seed of Israel, fear him! ²⁴ For he does not despise nor detest the afflicted person; he does not hide his face from him, but he hears him when he cries out to him.” ²⁵ My praise in the great congregation is because of you; I will pay my vows before those who fear you. ²⁶ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him, “May you live forever!”

¹ A Davidic Psalm
Praising God for His Works I will speak highly of you, my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. ² I will bless you every day and I will praise your name forever and ever.

⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will also live because of me.

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live. ²⁶ Indeed, everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

¹⁹ “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.

¹⁰ For when he died, he died once and for all as far as sin is concerned. But now that he is alive, he lives for God. ¹¹ In the same way, you too must continuously consider yourselves dead as far as sin is concerned, but living for God through the Messiah Jesus.

²² But now that you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves, the benefit you reap is sanctification, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord.

⁷ For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. ⁸ If we live, we live to honor the Lord; and if we die, we die to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this reason the Messiah died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

⁴ Though he was crucified in weakness, he lives by God’s power. We are weak with him, but by God’s power we will live for you.

³ For you have died, and your life has been safely guarded by the Messiah in God. ⁴ When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.

¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁵ That is why: “They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. ¹⁶ They will never be hungry or thirsty again. Neither the sun nor its heat will ever beat down on them, ¹⁷ because the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

¹ The Vision of the River of the Water of LifeThen the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb.

³⁴ The Greatest Commandment
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him by asking, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
³⁷ Jesus told him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important commandment. ³⁹ The second is exactly like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

²⁸ The Greatest Commandment
Then one of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees arguing with one another. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, ³⁰ and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
³² Then the scribe told him, “Well said, Teacher! You have told the truth that ‘God is one, and there is no other besides him.’ ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ When Jesus saw how wisely the man answered, he told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him another question.

⁹ There was a great deal of shouting until some of the scribes who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and argued forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

⁵ Answer a fool according to his foolishness, or he will think himself to be wise.

⁴⁶ No one could answer him at all, and from that day on no one dared to ask him another question.

³⁴ When Jesus saw how wisely the man answered, he told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him another question.

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

¹ The Reign of the Davidic King “A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch will bear fruit from his roots. ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

⁵ “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’

¹⁵ In those days and at that time I’ll cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he will uphold justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ At that time Judah will be delivered and Jerusalem will dwell in safety. And this is the name people will call it, “The LORD is Our Righteousness.”’

²¹ then my covenant with my servant David might also be broken so that he wouldn’t have a son sitting on his throne, and so also with my servants the Levitical priests.

¹ An Introduction to Jesus the MessiahThis is a record of the life of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

⁴¹ A Question about David’s Son
While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They told him, “David’s.”
⁴³ He asked them, “Then how can David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord’ when he says, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’?
⁴⁵ If David calls him ‘Lord’, how can he be his son?”

³⁵ A Question about David’s Son
While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is David’s son? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd kept listening to him with delight.

³⁸ So he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ The people at the front of the crowd sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah is from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

³⁰ Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne,

³ regarding his Son. He was a descendant of David with respect to his humanity ⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give this testimony to you for the churches. I am the root and descendent of David, the bright morning star.”

¹ David’s OracleThis was David’s last composition: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, an oracle by the valiant one who was exalted— anointed by the God of Jacob, the contented psalm writer of Israel. ² The Spirit of the LORD speaks within me; his word is on my tongue!

¹ A Davidic psalm
A Priestly Ruler A declaration from the LORD to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

²⁰ “For in the Book of Psalms it is written, ‘Let his estate be desolate, and let no one live on it,’ and, ‘Let someone else take over his office,’

³⁴ After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³³ he has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ ³⁴ God raised him from the dead, never to experience decay, as he said, ‘I’ll give you the holy promises made to David.’ ³⁵ In another Psalm he says, ‘You will not let your Holy One experience decay.’

²⁵ For he must rule until God puts all the Messiah’s enemies under his feet.

¹³ But to which of the angels did he ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

⁷ A Rest for the People of GodTherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

¹ The Nations and God’s Anointed Why are the nations in an uproar, and their people involved in a vain plot? ² As the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and his anointed one, they say, ³ “Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵ In his anger he rebukes them, and in his wrath he terrifies them: ⁶ “I have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
⁷ The Anointed King SpeaksLet me announce the decree of the LORD that he told me: “You are my son, today I have become your father.

⁸ Your hand will find all your enemies, your right hand will find those who hate you. ⁹ When you appear, you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace. In his wrath, the LORD will consume them, and the fire will devour them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their descendants from the earth, even their offspring from the ranks of mankind. ¹¹ Though they plot evil against you and devise schemes, they will not succeed. ¹² Indeed, you will make them retreat, when you aim your bow at their faces.

⁹ May the nomads bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

⁴ Instead of receiving my love, they accuse me, though I continue in prayer. ⁵ They devise evil against me instead of good, and hatred in place of my love. ⁶ Appoint an evil person over him; may an accuser stand at his right side. ⁷ When he is judged, may he be found guilty; may his prayer be regarded as sin. ⁸ May his days be few; may another take over his position. ⁹ May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow. ¹⁰ May his children roam around begging, seeking food while driven far from their ruined homes. ¹¹ May creditors seize all his possessions, and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired. ¹² May no one extend gracious love to him, or show favor to his fatherless children. ¹³ May his descendants be eliminated, and their memory be erased from the next generation. ¹⁴ May his ancestors’ guilt be remembered in the LORD’s presence, and may his mother’s guilt not be erased. ¹⁵ May what they have done be continually in the LORD’s presence; and may their memory be excised from the earth. ¹⁶ For he didn’t think to extend gracious love; he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted. ¹⁷ He loved to curse—may his curses return upon him! He took no delight in blessing others— so may blessings be far from him. ¹⁸ He wore curses like a garment— may they enter his inner being like water and his bones like oil. ¹⁹ May those curses wrap around him like a garment, or like a belt that one always wears. ²⁰ May this be the way the LORD repays my accuser, those who speak evil against me.

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand; he will utterly destroy kings in the time of his wrath. ⁶ He will execute judgment against the nations, filling graves with corpses. He will utterly destroy leaders far and wide.

¹⁴ The armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, follow him on white horses. ¹⁵ A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod and tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe that covers his thigh he has a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
¹⁷ The Vision of the Angel’s InvitationThen I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great supper of God. ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, both unimportant and important.”
¹⁹ The Vision of the Judgment of the Beast and False ProphetThen I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that belonged to the rider on the horse and that came from his mouth, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

¹⁴ “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

²³ “See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,”
which means, “God with us.”

³¹ Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
³⁴ Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen, since I have not had relations with a man?”
³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

¹¹ Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah, was born in the City of David.

⁵ To the Israelis belong the patriarchs, and from them, the Messiah descended, who is God over all, the one who is forever blessed. Amen.

¹⁶ By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great: In flesh was he revealed to sight, kept righteous by the Spirit’s might, adored by angels singing. To nations was he manifest, believing souls found peace and rest, our Lord in heaven reigning!

¹⁰ Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, “Listen and understand!

¹ Jesus Denounces the Scribes and the Pharisees
Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses,

⁵ “They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.

³⁴ Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples and told them, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously,

³⁸ Jesus Denounces the Scribes
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

²⁰ As for those who keep on sinning, rebuke them in front of everyone so that the rest will also be afraid.

²³ A person’s pride will bring about his downfall, but the humble in spirit will gain honor.

¹⁵ Jesus had been warning them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”

⁴³ How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.

¹ A Warning against HypocrisyMeanwhile, the people had gathered by the thousands and were trampling on one another. Jesus began to speak first to his disciples. “Watch out for the yeast—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees!

⁷ A Lesson about GuestsWhen Jesus noticed how the guests were choosing the places of honor, he told them a parable.

¹⁰ Be devoted to each other with mutual affection. Excel at showing respect for each other.

³ Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴ Do not be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. ⁵ Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in the Messiah Jesus:

¹⁵ You, too, must watch out for him, for he violently opposed our message.

⁹ Criticism of DiotrephesI wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be in charge, will not recognize our authority.

² to deprive the needy of justice and to rob the poor of my people of their rights, so that widows may become their spoil and so that they may plunder orphans!

⁶ and if you don’t oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and don’t shed an innocent person’s blood in this place, and if you don’t follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I’ll let you dwell in this land, the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever. ⁸ “Look, you’re trusting in deceptive words that cannot benefit. ⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear by false gods, burn incense to Baal, follow other gods that you don’t know, ¹⁰ and then come to stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, ‘We’re delivered’ so we can continue to do all these things that are repugnant to God?

⁷ They’ve treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They’ve oppressed the foreigner among you. They’ve maltreated the orphan and the widow among you.

³¹ Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say— because they’re seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

⁷ moving quickly to rub the face of the needy in the dirt. Corrupting the ways of the humble, a man and his father go to the same woman, deliberately defiling my holy name.

⁴ “Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy, who intend to make the poor of the land fail, ⁵ and who are saying, ‘When will the New Moon fade so we may sell grain, and the Sabbath conclude so we may market winnowed wheat?— shortchanging the measure, raising the price, falsifying the scales by treachery, ⁶ buying the poor for cash, and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’

² They covet fields and seize them; they covet houses, and grab them, too. They harass the valiant man, along with his household, an individual and his estate.

⁸ Lately my people have acted like an enemy— you strip travelers who thought they were as secure as those who return from war.

² you who despise good and love evil, who tear off the skin of my people, along with the flesh from their bones.

²² Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you!
²³ “And you, Capernaum! You won’t be lifted up to heaven, will you? You’ll go down to Hell! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you!”

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.

²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean.
²⁷ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

¹² I tell you, on the last day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!”
¹³ Jesus Denounces Unrepentant Cities
“How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ It will be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you!

⁴⁷ That servant who knew what his master wanted but didn’t prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating. ⁴⁸ But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted.”

⁵ As you know, we did not come with flattering words or with a scheme to make money. God is our witness!

² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good, ⁴ traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. ⁵ They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people. ⁶ For some of these men go into homes and deceive foolish women who are burdened with sins and swayed by all kinds of desires.

¹⁶ They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

¹ Speak WiselyNot many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more severely than others.