Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Verse 1
1. Given that many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those things that really did take place among us,[1]
Chapter 1 Verse 2
2. just as those who became eyewitnesses, from the beginning, and ministers of the Word delivered them to us,[2]
Chapter 1 Verse 3
3. it seemed good to me also, most excellent Theophilus,[3] having taken careful note of everything from Above,[4] to write to you with precision and in sequence,[5]
Chapter 1 Verse 4
4. so that you may know the certainty of the things in which you were instructed.[6]
Chapter 1 Verse 5
5. In the days of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah.[7] His wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.
Chapter 1 Verse 6
6. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
Chapter 1 Verse 7
7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and they both were well advanced in years.
Chapter 1 Verse 8
8. Now it happened, as he was officiating as priest before God in the order of his division,
Chapter 1 Verse 9
9. according to the custom of the priesthood, that his lot was to burn incense, upon entering the sanctuary of the Lord;
Chapter 1 Verse 10
10. and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
Chapter 1 Verse 11
11. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense;
Chapter 1 Verse 12
12. and upon seeing him Zacharias was shaken, and a fear fell upon him.
Chapter 1 Verse 13
13. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your prayer was heard,[8] and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Chapter 1 Verse 14
14. And you will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice over his birth.
Chapter 1 Verse 15
15. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must not drink either wine or strong drink;[9] indeed, he will be filled with Holy Spirit[10] already from his mother’s womb.
Chapter 1 Verse 16
16. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God;
Chapter 1 Verse 17
17. in fact he himself will go before Him[11] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of fathers to children’[12] and the disobedient to the mind-set of the righteous,[13] to prepare a people made ready for the Lord.”
Chapter 1 Verse 18
18. But Zacharias said to the angel: “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”[14]
Chapter 1 Verse 19
19. So in answer the angel said to him: “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God;[15] I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
Chapter 1 Verse 20
20. Now look, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day in which these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Chapter 1 Verse 21
21. Now the people were waiting for Zacharias and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary.
Chapter 1 Verse 22
22. But when he came out he was unable to speak to them, and they understood that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary—he kept gesturing to them while remaining mute.
Chapter 1 Verse 23
23. And so, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he took off for home.[16]
Chapter 1 Verse 24
24. Well after those days[17] his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and stayed in seclusion five months.[18] She kept saying,
Chapter 1 Verse 25
25. “So that’s what the Lord has done for me in the days[19] when He concerned Himself to take away my reproach among the people!”[20]
Chapter 1 Verse 26
26. Now in the sixth month[21] the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee named Natsareth,[22]
Chapter 1 Verse 27
27. to a virgin betrothed[23] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house[24] of David; the virgin’s name was Mary.
Chapter 1 Verse 28
28. So upon entering where she was the angel said, “Rejoice, recipient of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”[25]
Chapter 1 Verse 29
29. But upon seeing him she was perplexed at his word and was trying to figure out what sort of greeting it might be.[26]
Chapter 1 Verse 30
30. The angel said to her: “Do not be afraid,[27] Mary, because you have found favor with God.
Chapter 1 Verse 31
31. Now then, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS.[28]
Chapter 1 Verse 32
32. He will be great, and will be called ‘Son of the Most High’; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,[29]
Chapter 1 Verse 33
33. and He will reign over the house of Jacob[30] into the ages; indeed, of His kingdom there will be no end!”[31]
Chapter 1 Verse 34
34. So Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I do not know a man?”[32]
Chapter 1 Verse 35
35. In answer the angel said to her: “Holy Spirit[33] will come upon you and the power of the Most High will hover over you; precisely for this reason the holy One who is to be born will be called ‘Son of God’![34]
Chapter 1 Verse 36
36. Furthermore, your relative Elizabeth, she has actually conceived a son in her old age and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren;
Chapter 1 Verse 37
37. because any word spoken by God will be possible.”
Chapter 1 Verse 38
38. So Mary said: “Yes, I am the Lord’s slave! Let it happen to me according to your word.”[35] And the angel departed from her.
Chapter 1 Verse 39
39. Then Mary quickly got ready and went into the hill country in those days, to a town of Judah,
Chapter 1 Verse 40
40. and entered the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.[36]
Chapter 1 Verse 41
41. Well it happened that as Elizabeth heard Mary’s salutation the babe bounced up and down in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit.
Chapter 1 Verse 42
42. And she cried out with a great voice[37] and said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb!
Chapter 1 Verse 43
43. Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord[38] should come to me?
Chapter 1 Verse 44
44. Yes indeed, because as the sound of your salutation came into my ears the babe bounced up and down in my womb for joy.[39]
Chapter 1 Verse 45
45. Blessed is she who believed, because there will be a fulfillment of the things that have been spoken to her from the Lord.”[40]
Chapter 1 Verse 46
46. So Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Chapter 1 Verse 47
47. and my spirit has exulted over God my Savior,[41]
Chapter 1 Verse 48
48. in that He paid attention to the humble station of His slave (f). Yes indeed, because from now on all generations will declare me to be highly favored,[42]
Chapter 1 Verse 49
49. in that the Mighty One did sublime things for me, and Holy is His name.
Chapter 1 Verse 50
50. His mercy is for generations of generations to those fearing Him.
Chapter 1 Verse 51
51. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has dispersed the arrogant in the reasoning of their hearts.
Chapter 1 Verse 52
52. He has dethroned rulers and exalted the lowly.
Chapter 1 Verse 53
53. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.[43]
Chapter 1 Verse 54
54. He has taken the part of His servant Israel, in remembrance of mercy,
Chapter 1 Verse 55
55. just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed while there is an age.”[44]
Chapter 1 Verse 56
56. So Mary stayed with her about three months,[45] and returned to her house.
Chapter 1 Verse 57
57. Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth was completed and she bore a son.
Chapter 1 Verse 58
58. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had used His great mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.
Chapter 1 Verse 59
59. So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child,[46] and they started calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
Chapter 1 Verse 60
60. His mother reacted and said, “Absolutely not;[47] he shall be called John!”
Chapter 1 Verse 61
61. So they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
Chapter 1 Verse 62
62. So they started motioning to his father, as to what he would have him called.
Chapter 1 Verse 63
63. Asking for a writing tablet he wrote this: “His name is to be John!” They all marveled.
Chapter 1 Verse 64
64. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed and he started to speak, blessing God.
Chapter 1 Verse 65
65. (Well a fear came on all who lived around them; and all these sayings kept being talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
Chapter 1 Verse 66
66. All who heard kept them in their hearts saying, “What then will this child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.)[48]
Chapter 1 Verse 67
67. Now his father Zacharias was filled with Holy Spirit and prophesied saying:
Chapter 1 Verse 68
68. “Blessed be the LORD,[49] the God of Israel, because He has visited and provided redemption for His people;
Chapter 1 Verse 69
69. and has raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of His servant David
Chapter 1 Verse 70
70. —just as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from antiquity—
Chapter 1 Verse 71
71. deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;[50]
Chapter 1 Verse 72
72. to use mercy with our fathers, even to remember His Holy covenant,
Chapter 1 Verse 73
73. the oath that He swore to our father Abraham;
Chapter 1 Verse 74
74. to grant to us (having been rescued from the hand of our enemies) to serve Him without fear,
Chapter 1 Verse 75
75. in holiness and righteousness[51] before Him all the days of our life.
Chapter 1 Verse 76
76. “And you, child, will be called Prophet of the Most High, because you will go before the face of the Lord[52] to prepare His ways,
Chapter 1 Verse 77
77. to give a knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins,[53]
Chapter 1 Verse 78
78. through the merciful compassions of our God, with which the divine Dawn has contemplated us,[54]
Chapter 1 Verse 79
79. to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Chapter 1 Verse 80
80. So the child kept growing and being strengthened in spirit,[55] and he stayed in uninhabited areas until the day of his manifestation to Israel.[56]
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Verse 1
1. Now it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole inhabited world should be enrolled.[1]
Chapter 2 Verse 2
2. This first census took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.[2]
Chapter 2 Verse 3
3. So everyone was traveling, each to his own town, to enroll himself.
Chapter 2 Verse 4
4. So Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of Natsareth town, into Judea to the city of David, that is called Bethlehem, because he was of David’s ‘house’, that is, line of descent,
Chapter 2 Verse 5
5. to enroll himself with Mary, the woman who had been betrothed to him,[3] who was pregnant.
Chapter 2 Verse 6
6. So it happened that when they got there the days for her to give birth were completed;
Chapter 2 Verse 7
7. and she gave birth to her firstborn[4] Son, wrapped Him in pieces of cloth and laid Him in the manger,[5] because there was no room for them in the lodging place.
Chapter 2 Verse 8
8. Now there were shepherds in that same area, staying out in the field and keeping the nightly watches[6] over their flock.
Chapter 2 Verse 9
9. When wow, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Chapter 2 Verse 10
10. The angel said to them: “Do not be afraid because listen, I am announcing the most joyful news to you, which will be to all the people!
Chapter 2 Verse 11
11. You see, today,[7] in David’s city, a Savior was born to you, who is Lord Christ!
Chapter 2 Verse 12
12. And this is the sign to you: you will find a Baby wrapped in pieces of cloth, lying in a manger.”[8]
Chapter 2 Verse 13
13. Suddenly a multitude of the heavenly army was with the angel praising God and saying,
Chapter 2 Verse 14
14. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward mankind!”[9]
Chapter 2 Verse 15
15. So when the angels went away from them into the sky the men, the shepherds, said to one another, “Hey, let’s go to Bethlehem and see this event that has taken place, that the Lord made known to us!”
Chapter 2 Verse 16
16. So they went in a hurry and located both Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger.
Chapter 2 Verse 17
17. And having seen they spread an exact account of the saying that had been spoken to them concerning this Child.
Chapter 2 Verse 18
18. All who heard marveled at the things told them by the shepherds.[10]
Chapter 2 Verse 19
19. As for Mary, she treasured all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
Chapter 2 Verse 20
20. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God over all that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
Chapter 2 Verse 21
21. When eight days were completed so as to circumcise Him, His name was indeed called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Chapter 2 Verse 22
22. And when the days of their[11] purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
Chapter 2 Verse 23
23. (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens a womb shall be called holy to the LORD”[12]),
Chapter 2 Verse 24
24. and to offer a sacrifice according to what was specified in the Lord’s Law, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”.[13]
Chapter 2 Verse 25
25. Well now, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, expectantly waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and Holy Spirit was upon him.
Chapter 2 Verse 26
26. (It had been revealed to him repeatedly by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he saw the Lord’s Messiah.[14])
Chapter 2 Verse 27
27. So by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought the Child Jesus in, to do concerning Him according to the custom of the law,
Chapter 2 Verse 28
28. Simeon took Him into his arms and blessed God and said:
Chapter 2 Verse 29
29. “Sovereign,[15] now You can release your slave in peace, according to Your word,
Chapter 2 Verse 30
30. because my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Chapter 2 Verse 31
31. which You have prepared before the face of all peoples:
Chapter 2 Verse 32
32. a light for revelation to Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
Chapter 2 Verse 33
33. And Joseph[16] and His mother were marveling at the things[17] being spoken concerning Him.
Chapter 2 Verse 34
34. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother: “Listen, this One is appointed to bring about the fall and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that is spoken against,
Chapter 2 Verse 35
35. so that the reasonings of many hearts may be revealed (furthermore, a sword will pass through your own soul also).”[18]
Chapter 2 Verse 36
36. Also there was a prophetess Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher—she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity
Chapter 2 Verse 37
37. and having been a widow for about eighty-four years[19]—who did not depart from the temple, serving God with fastings and petitions night and day.
Chapter 2 Verse 38
38. Well she, having come up at that very moment, started praising the Lord,[20] and kept on speaking of Him to all those in Jerusalem who were looking for redemption.[21]
Chapter 2 Verse 39
39. When they had completed everything, according to the law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own town, Natsareth.[22]
Chapter 2 Verse 40
40. And the Child kept growing and being strengthened in spirit,[23] being filled[24] with wisdom; yes, the grace of God was upon Him.
Chapter 2 Verse 41
41. Now every year His parents would go to Jerusalem to the feast of the Passover;
Chapter 2 Verse 42
42. so when He was twelve years old they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
Chapter 2 Verse 43
43. When they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but Joseph and His mother[25] did not know it.
Chapter 2 Verse 44
44. Supposing Him to be in the caravan, they went a day’s journey and then started looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
Chapter 2 Verse 45
45. Not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking Him.
Chapter 2 Verse 46
46. So it happened that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
Chapter 2 Verse 47
47. (All who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.[26])
Chapter 2 Verse 48
48. So upon seeing Him they were amazed, and His mother said to Him: “Son, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in distress.”[27]
Chapter 2 Verse 49
49. So He said to them: “Why were you seeking me? Didn’t you know that I must be about my Father’s concerns?”[28]
Chapter 2 Verse 50
50. But they did not understand the statement that He made to them.[29]
Chapter 2 Verse 51
51. Then He went down with them and came to Natsareth, and continued subordinating Himself to them; His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.[30]
Chapter 2 Verse 52
52. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Verse 1
1. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, while his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Chapter 3 Verse 2
2. during the high priesthood of Annas (also Caiaphas),[1] the word of God came upon[2] John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Chapter 3 Verse 3
3. So he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins;[3]
Chapter 3 Verse 4
4. as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “A voice calling out: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make His paths straight.[4]
Chapter 3 Verse 5
5. Every ravine will be filled up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled;[5] the crooked parts of the roads will be straightened out, and the rough parts will be smoothed out;
Chapter 3 Verse 6
6. and all flesh[6] will see the salvation of God.’”
Chapter 3 Verse 7
7. Then he said to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him: “You sons of poisonous snakes![7] Who tipped you off to flee from the coming wrath?
Chapter 3 Verse 8
8. Well then, produce fruits befitting repentance, and don’t even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father,’ because I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones![8]
Chapter 3 Verse 9
9. But even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees;[9] so then, every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Chapter 3 Verse 10
10. So the people[10] started asking him, “What then must we do?”
Chapter 3 Verse 11
11. In answer he said to them, “He who has two coats,[11] let him share with him who has none; and he who has food should do likewise.”[12]
Chapter 3 Verse 12
12. Well even tax collectors came to be baptized by him and said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
Chapter 3 Verse 13
13. So He said to them, “Don’t charge more than what was determined to you.”[13]
Chapter 3 Verse 14
14. So the soldiers started asking him too: “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Don’t extort or harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”[14]
Chapter 3 Verse 15
15. Now as the people were expectant and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether he just might be the Messiah,
Chapter 3 Verse 16
16. John anticipated them all saying: “I indeed am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire;[15]
Chapter 3 Verse 17
17. whose winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”[16]
Chapter 3 Verse 18
18. (Indeed, with many other exhortations as well he kept on preaching to the people;
Chapter 3 Verse 19
19. but Herod the tetrarch—being reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother’s wife, as also about all the wicked things that Herod perpetrated[17]—
Chapter 3 Verse 20
20. added this also to them all: he actually locked John up in his prison.)
Chapter 3 Verse 21
21. Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus, having been baptized also, was praying, when the heaven was opened
Chapter 3 Verse 22
22. and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove and rested upon Him, and a Voice came out of heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; in you I am always well pleased.”[18]
Chapter 3 Verse 23
23. (Beginning His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (so it was supposed) a son of Joseph, Jesus Himself[19] was of Eli,[20]
Chapter 3 Verse 24
24. of Matthan,[21] of Levi, of Melchi, of Janna, of Joseph,
Chapter 3 Verse 25
25. of Mattathiah, of Amos, of Nahum, of Esli, of Naggai,
Chapter 3 Verse 26
26. of Maath, of Mattathiah, of Semei, of Joseph, of Judah,
Chapter 3 Verse 27
27. of Joannan, of Rhesa, of Zerubbabel,[22] of Shealtiel,[23] of Neri,
Chapter 3 Verse 28
28. of Melchi, of Addi, of Cosam, of Elmodam, of Er,
Chapter 3 Verse 29
29. of Jose, of Eliezer, of Jorim, of Matthat, of Levi,
Chapter 3 Verse 30
30. of Simeon, of Judah, of Joseph, of Jonam, of Eliakim,
Chapter 3 Verse 31
31. of Melea, of Menan, of Mattatha, of Nathan, of David,
Chapter 3 Verse 32
32. of Jesse, of Obed, of Boaz, of Salmon, of Nahshon,
Chapter 3 Verse 33
33. of Amminadab, of Aram,[24] of Joram,[25] of Hezron, of Perez, of Judah,
Chapter 3 Verse 34
34. of Jacob, of Isaac, of Abraham, of Terah,[26] of Nahor,
Chapter 3 Verse 35
35. of Serug, of Reu,[27] of Peleg, of Eber, of Shela,
Chapter 3 Verse 36
36. of Cainan,[28] of Arphaxad, of Shem, of Noah, of Lamech,
Chapter 3 Verse 37
37. of Methuselah, of Enoch, of Jared, of Mahalaleel, of Cainan,
Chapter 3 Verse 38
38. of Enosh, of Seth, of Adam, of God.)
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Verse 1
1. Then Jesus, full of Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Chapter 4 Verse 2
2. where He was tested for forty days by the devil.[1] He ate nothing at all during those days, so after they were completed He was hungry.[2]
Chapter 4 Verse 3
3. So the devil said to Him, “Since you are Son of God,[3] tell this stone to become bread!”[4]
Chapter 4 Verse 4
4. Jesus answered him saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[5]
Chapter 4 Verse 5
5. And taking Him up on a high mountain,[6] the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.[7]
Chapter 4 Verse 6
6. The devil said to Him: “To you I will give all this authority, and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want to.
Chapter 4 Verse 7
7. So you, if you would worship before me, all will be yours.”[8]
Chapter 4 Verse 8
8. In answer Jesus said to him: “Get behind me, Satan![9] It is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve!’”[10]
Chapter 4 Verse 9
9. He also took Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,[11] and said to Him: “Since you are Son of God, throw yourself down from here;
Chapter 4 Verse 10
10. because it is written, ‘He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you,’
Chapter 4 Verse 11
11. and, ‘They will carry you along on their hands, so you do not stub your foot on a stone.’”[12]
Chapter 4 Verse 12
12. In answer Jesus said to him: “The statement stands, ‘You shall not test the LORD your God!’”[13]
Chapter 4 Verse 13
13. Having finished every test,[14] the devil departed from Him until an opportune time.[15]
Chapter 4 Verse 14
14. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about Him spread throughout the whole surrounding area;
Chapter 4 Verse 15
15. yes, He started teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Chapter 4 Verse 16
16. So He came to Natsareth, where He had been brought up; as was His custom He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Chapter 4 Verse 17
17. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, so unrolling the scroll He found the place where it was written:
Chapter 4 Verse 18
18. “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to evangelize poor people. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,[16] to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to blind people, to send those who are oppressed out in freedom,
Chapter 4 Verse 19
19. to proclaim the Lord’s favorable year.”[17]
Chapter 4 Verse 20
20. Then, having rolled up the scroll and returned it to the attendant, He sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him,
Chapter 4 Verse 21
21. and He began by saying to them, “Today, this Scripture in your ears has been fulfilled.”
Chapter 4 Verse 22
22. (All were bearing witness to Him and were marveling at the gracious words that were coming out of His mouth;[18] and they started saying, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”)
Chapter 4 Verse 23
23. He said to them: “Doubtless you will quote this parable to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’—do here in your hometown the things we have heard were done in Capernaum.’’
Chapter 4 Verse 24
24. Then He said: “Assuredly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.
Chapter 4 Verse 25
25. Further, I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months and a severe famine came over all the land;
Chapter 4 Verse 26
26. yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow woman in Sarepta, near Sidon.
Chapter 4 Verse 27
27. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet not one of them was cleansed—just Naaman the Syrian.”[19]
Chapter 4 Verse 28
28. Well, upon hearing these things everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury,[20]
Chapter 4 Verse 29
29. and rising up they drove Him out of the town and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff.
Chapter 4 Verse 30
30. But He, passing through the middle of them, went on His way.[21]
Chapter 4 Verse 31
31. Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee; He started teaching them on the Sabbaths.
Chapter 4 Verse 32
32. They kept on being amazed at His teaching, because His word was with authority.
Chapter 4 Verse 33
33. Now in the synagogue was a man having a spirit of an unclean demon; he cried out with a loud voice
Chapter 4 Verse 34
34. saying: “Ugh! What do you want with us, Jesus of Natsareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!”[22]
Chapter 4 Verse 35
35. So Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be muzzled, and get out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the midst, it came out of him without harming him.
Chapter 4 Verse 36
36. Everyone was taken with amazement and they started conversing together, saying: “What is this word! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
Chapter 4 Verse 37
37. And the news about Him started going out to every place of the surrounding region.
Chapter 4 Verse 38
38. Then He left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering with a high fever, and they requested Him on her behalf.
Chapter 4 Verse 39
39. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.[23]
Chapter 4 Verse 40
40. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on each one of them and healed them.[24]
Chapter 4 Verse 41
41. Moreover, demons came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ,[25] the Son of God!” But rebuking them He would not allow them to continue speaking, because they knew that He was the Messiah.[26]
Chapter 4 Verse 42
42. Now at daybreak He departed and went to a deserted place; so the crowds started looking for Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them.
Chapter 4 Verse 43
43. But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
Chapter 4 Verse 44
44. So He went preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.[27]
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 Verse 1
1. Now it happened, as He had come along the Lake of Genesaret, that the multitude crowded Him to hear the Word of God;
Chapter 5 Verse 2
2. He saw two boats standing by the lake (the fishermen were out of them, washing their nets).
Chapter 5 Verse 3
3. So He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land.[1] Sitting down He began to teach the crowds from the boat.
Chapter 5 Verse 4
4. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Chapter 5 Verse 5
5. And in answer Simon said to Him, “Master, we have worked hard the whole night and caught nothing, but based on your word I will let down the net.”[2]
Chapter 5 Verse 6
6. When they had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their net began to tear.
Chapter 5 Verse 7
7. So they signaled to their partners who were in the other boat to come help them; they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
Chapter 5 Verse 8
8. Upon experiencing this Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees,[3] saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”[4]
Chapter 5 Verse 9
9. Because astonishment gripped him and all who were with him at the haul of fish which they had caught;
Chapter 5 Verse 10
10. yes, this included James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
Chapter 5 Verse 11
11. Pulling the boats up on the shore, they left it all[5] and followed Him.
Chapter 5 Verse 12
12. Now it happened, while He was in one of the towns—a man full of leprosy! Upon seeing Jesus he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can cleanse me!”
Chapter 5 Verse 13
13. So He extended His hand and touched him, saying, “I want to; be cleansed!”[6] Immediately the leprosy left him.
Chapter 5 Verse 14
14. Then He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them.”[7]
Chapter 5 Verse 15
15. However the news about Him spread all the more, and large crowds kept gathering to hear and to be healed by Him of their sicknesses.
Chapter 5 Verse 16
16. So He Himself would withdraw into deserted places and pray.[8]
Chapter 5 Verse 17
17. Now it happened on a certain day that He was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem, sitting there—and the power of the Lord was there to heal them.[9]
Chapter 5 Verse 18
18. And then, some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a cot, and tried to take him in and place him before Him.
Chapter 5 Verse 19
19. When they could not find how to do it, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with the cot through the tiling into the center, in front of Jesus.
Chapter 5 Verse 20
20. Seeing their faith He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you!”[10]
Chapter 5 Verse 21
21. So the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”[11]
Chapter 5 Verse 22
22. But Jesus perceived their reasonings and reacted by saying to them: “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
Chapter 5 Verse 23
23. Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’, or to say, ‘Get up and walk!’?[12]
Chapter 5 Verse 24
24. But that you may know that the Son of the Man[13] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man: “I say to you, get up! Take your cot and go to your house.”
Chapter 5 Verse 25
25. Immediately he stood up in front of them, took up what he had been lying on, and set out to his own house glorifying God.
Chapter 5 Verse 26
26. Amazement gripped them all and they kept glorifying God; they were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”[14]
Chapter 5 Verse 27
27. After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow me!”
Chapter 5 Verse 28
28. So leaving everything he got up and followed Him.[15]
Chapter 5 Verse 29
29. Then Levi made a great banquet for Him at his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them.
Chapter 5 Verse 30
30. Well the scribes and Pharisees complained about them to His disciples, saying, “How can you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?!”
Chapter 5 Verse 31
31. So Jesus reacted and said to them: “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, just those who are sick.
Chapter 5 Verse 32
32. I have not come to call righteous people to repentance, just sinners.”
Chapter 5 Verse 33
33. Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but yours keep eating and drinking?”
Chapter 5 Verse 34
34. So He said to them: “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?
Chapter 5 Verse 35
35. But days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then, in those days, they will fast.”
Chapter 5 Verse 36
36. Then He also told them a parable: “No one puts a patch from a new garment on an old one; otherwise, both the new makes a tear and that from the new does not match the old.
Chapter 5 Verse 37
37. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst those skins and will itself be spilled and the skins wasted.
Chapter 5 Verse 38
38. Rather, new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.[16]
Chapter 5 Verse 39
39. Further, no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Verse 1
1. Now it happened on a second-first[1] Sabbath that He was passing through the grain fields, and His disciples began to pick and eat the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
Chapter 6 Verse 2
2. But some of the Pharisees said to them,[2] “Why are you doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
Chapter 6 Verse 3
3. So in answer to them Jesus said: “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Chapter 6 Verse 4
4. how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and even gave it to those with him—that which only the priests are allowed to eat?”
Chapter 6 Verse 5
5. Then He said to them, “The Son of the Man is Lord even of the Sabbath!”[3]
Chapter 6 Verse 6
6. Now it happened on a different Sabbath that He entered the synagogue and began to teach. Well there was a man there whose right hand was shriveled;
Chapter 6 Verse 7
7. so the scribes and the Pharisees started watching, to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him.
Chapter 6 Verse 8
8. But He knew their thoughts and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in the center.” So he got up and stood.
Chapter 6 Verse 9
9. Then Jesus said to them: “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”[4]
Chapter 6 Verse 10
10. And when He had looked around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” So he did that, and his hand was restored, as sound as the other.[5]
Chapter 6 Verse 11
11. But they were filled with rage,[6] and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Chapter 6 Verse 12
12. Now it happened in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and He continued all night in prayer to God.[7]
Chapter 6 Verse 13
13. When it was day He called His disciples, and from them He chose twelve, whom He also named apostles:[8]
Chapter 6 Verse 14
14. Simon (whom He also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Phillip and Bartholomew,
Chapter 6 Verse 15
15. Matthew and Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus) and Simon (the one called ‘Zealot’),
Chapter 6 Verse 16
16. Judas of James and Judas Iscariot (who also became ‘traitor’).[9]
Chapter 6 Verse 17
17. Then He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, also from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases,
Chapter 6 Verse 18
18. as well as those who were being harassed by unclean spirits—and they were being healed!
Chapter 6 Verse 19
19. So the whole crowd kept trying to touch Him, because power was going out from Him and was healing all.[10]
Chapter 6 Verse 20
20. Then He raised His eyes toward His disciples and said: “Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.
Chapter 6 Verse 21
21. Blessed are you who hunger now, because you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh.
Chapter 6 Verse 22
22. Blessed are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and heap insults on you and trash your name as ‘malignant’,[11] for the Son of the Man’s sake.
Chapter 6 Verse 23
23. Rejoice in that day and skip about![12] Because your reward really is great in Heaven; for that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
Chapter 6 Verse 24
24. “But woe to you who are rich! because you have already received your comfort.
Chapter 6 Verse 25
25. Woe to you who are full! because you will go hungry. Woe to you who are presently laughing! because you will mourn and weep.
Chapter 6 Verse 26
26. Woe, when all men speak well of you; for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets!
Chapter 6 Verse 27
27. “Further, to you who are listening[13] I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you;
Chapter 6 Verse 28
28. bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.[14]
Chapter 6 Verse 29
29. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other;[15] and from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold the tunic as well.
Chapter 6 Verse 30
30. Give to everyone who asks of you;[16] and from him who takes away your things, do not demand them back.
Chapter 6 Verse 31
31. Yes, like you want people to treat you, that is just how you must treat them.[17]
Chapter 6 Verse 32
32. Also, if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.
Chapter 6 Verse 33
33. And if you do good to those doing good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do the same.
Chapter 6 Verse 34
34. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to get it back, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, to receive an equal value back.
Chapter 6 Verse 35
35. “So, love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High;[18] because He is kind toward the ungrateful and wicked.
Chapter 6 Verse 36
36. So be compassionate, even as your Father is compassionate.[19]
Chapter 6 Verse 37
37. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Chapter 6 Verse 38
38. Give and it will be given to you: a good measure—pressed down and shaken together and running over—will they deposit in your lap.[20] Because with the same measure that you use it will be measured back to you.”
Chapter 6 Verse 39
39. Then He told them a parable: “Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a ditch?
Chapter 6 Verse 40
40. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.[21]
Chapter 6 Verse 41
41. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank that is in your own eye?[22]
Chapter 6 Verse 42
42. Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Chapter 6 Verse 43
43. “Now no good tree produces rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree produce good fruit
Chapter 6 Verse 44
44. —each tree is known by its own fruit: people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, nor do they pick a bunch of grapes from a bramble.
Chapter 6 Verse 45
45. The good man produces the good out of the good treasure in his heart, and the malignant man produces the malignant out of the malignant treasure in his heart; because his mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart.[23]
Chapter 6 Verse 46
46. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do what I say?[24]
Chapter 6 Verse 47
47. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them—I will show you who he is like:
Chapter 6 Verse 48
48. he is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on the bedrock. When a flood occurred, the torrent burst upon that house but could not shake it, because it was founded on the bedrock.[25]
Chapter 6 Verse 49
49. But he who heard and did nothing[26] is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 Verse 1
1. Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.
Chapter 7 Verse 2
2. Well a certain centurion’s slave, who was valuable to him, was sick and about to die.
Chapter 7 Verse 3
3. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and rescue his slave.
Chapter 7 Verse 4
4. And when they came to Jesus they started pleading earnestly with Him, saying that the one for whom He would do this was worthy,
Chapter 7 Verse 5
5. “Because he loves our nation, and he himself built our synagogue.”
Chapter 7 Verse 6
6. So Jesus went with them. But when He was no longer far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.
Chapter 7 Verse 7
7. In fact I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.[1] Just say a word and my servant will be healed;
Chapter 7 Verse 8
8. because I also am a man placed under authority,[2] having soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does.”
Chapter 7 Verse 9
9. Well upon hearing these things Jesus marveled at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!”[3]
Chapter 7 Verse 10
10. When those who were sent returned to the house they found that the slave who had been sick was well.
Chapter 7 Verse 11
11. Now it happened on the next day that He went to a town called Nain, and many of His disciples went with Him, also a large crowd.
Chapter 7 Verse 12
12. But as He approached the town gate, mercy, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; a large crowd from the town was with her.
Chapter 7 Verse 13
13. When the Lord saw her He had compassion on her[4] and said to her, “Don’t cry!”
Chapter 7 Verse 14
14. And advancing He took hold of the bier and the bearers stood still. Then He said, “Young man, to you I say, get up!”[5]
Chapter 7 Verse 15
15. So the dead man sat up and began to talk! Yes, He gave him back to his mother.
Chapter 7 Verse 16
16. Fear took hold of all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
Chapter 7 Verse 17
17. And this report about Him went throughout Judea, as well as all the surrounding region.[6]
Chapter 7 Verse 18
18. Then the disciples of John informed him about all these things.
Chapter 7 Verse 19
19. And summoning a certain two of his disciples, John sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the Coming One, or should we look for another?”[7]
Chapter 7 Verse 20
20. When the men had come to Him, they said: “John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the Coming One, or should we look for another?’”
Chapter 7 Verse 21
21. Well in that very hour He healed many from diseases and torments and malignant spirits, and to many blind He granted sight.
Chapter 7 Verse 22
22. So in answer Jesus said to them: “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind regain sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, dead are raised, the poor are evangelized.[8]
Chapter 7 Verse 23
23. And, blessed is he who does not take offense at me!”[9]
Chapter 7 Verse 24
24. Now when John’s messengers had departed, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to observe, a reed being shaken by the wind?
Chapter 7 Verse 25
25. But what did you go out to see, a man clothed in soft garments? Really, those with gorgeous apparel and living in luxury are in palaces.
Chapter 7 Verse 26
26. But what did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet.
Chapter 7 Verse 27
27. This is he about whom it is written: ‘Take note, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’[10]
Chapter 7 Verse 28
28. Further, I tell you that among those born of women there is no greater prophet[11] than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”[12]
Chapter 7 Verse 29
29. (When all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism.
Chapter 7 Verse 30
30. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)[13]
Chapter 7 Verse 31
31. “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and to what are they similar?
Chapter 7 Verse 32
32. They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not cry.’
Chapter 7 Verse 33
33. Because John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
Chapter 7 Verse 34
34. The Son of the Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Just look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Chapter 7 Verse 35
35. Still, by all her children wisdom is justified.”[14]
Chapter 7 Verse 36
36. Then one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with Him,[15] so He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined.
Chapter 7 Verse 37
37. But then, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she found out that He was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster flask of perfume,
Chapter 7 Verse 38
38. and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping,[16] she began to wet His feet with her tears and kept wiping them with the hair of her head; and she kept kissing His feet[17] and anointing them with the perfume.[18]
Chapter 7 Verse 39
39. Now as the Pharisee who had invited Him observed this, he was saying to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him, including what sort of woman she is—because she is a sinner!”[19]
Chapter 7 Verse 40
40. So Jesus reacted by saying to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say on.”
Chapter 7 Verse 41
41. “A certain creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Chapter 7 Verse 42
42. And when they had no way to repay, he freely forgave them both. Now tell me, which of them will love him more?”
Chapter 7 Verse 43
43. So Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one to whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Chapter 7 Verse 44
44. Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon: “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
Chapter 7 Verse 45
45. You gave me no kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since the time I came in.
Chapter 7 Verse 46
46. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume.
Chapter 7 Verse 47
47. For this reason, I say to you, her many sins have been forgiven, because she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
Chapter 7 Verse 48
48. Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Chapter 7 Verse 49
49. The other recliners began to say within themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Chapter 7 Verse 50
50. Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go into peace.”[20]
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Verse 1
1. Now it happened after this that He started going around town by town, village by village, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, and the twelve were with Him;
Chapter 8 Verse 2
2. also certain women who had been healed of malignant spirits and infirmities: Mary (the one called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had gone out;
Chapter 8 Verse 3
3. and Joanna the wife of Chuza, an official of Herod; and Susanna, and many others—these were providing for Him[1] from their substance.
Chapter 8 Verse 4
4. Now when a large crowd had gathered, with people coming to Him from town after town, He spoke by a parable:
Chapter 8 Verse 5
5. “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed some fell along the road, and it got trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Chapter 8 Verse 6
6. And some fell on the rock ledge, and upon sprouting it withered, because it had no moisture.
Chapter 8 Verse 7
7. And some fell among thorns, and springing up together the thorns choked it.
Chapter 8 Verse 8
8. The rest fell into the good ground, and growing up it produced fruit a hundredfold.” Upon saying these things He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Chapter 8 Verse 9
9. Then His disciples asked Him saying, “What does this parable mean?”
Chapter 8 Verse 10
10. So He said: “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest only in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’[2]
Chapter 8 Verse 11
11. “Now here is the parable: The seed is the Word of God.
Chapter 8 Verse 12
12. Those along the road are those who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, in order that they not be saved, having believed.[3]
Chapter 8 Verse 13
13. Those on the rock ledge are the ones who, whenever they hear, receive the word with joy; yet these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of testing fall away.[4]
Chapter 8 Verse 14
14. Now that which fell into the thorns: these are the ones who heard, yet as they go they are choked by cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
Chapter 8 Verse 15
15. But that on the good ground: these are the ones who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, hold on to it and produce fruit with perseverance.”
Chapter 8 Verse 16
16. Upon saying these things He called out: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear![5] No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but he sets it on a lamp stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
Chapter 8 Verse 17
17. Further, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything concealed that will not be made known and come into the open.
Chapter 8 Verse 18
18. So be careful how you hear:[6] Because whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
Chapter 8 Verse 19
19. Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and they could not get near Him because of the crowd.
Chapter 8 Verse 20
20. And it was told Him by some saying, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
Chapter 8 Verse 21
21. But in answer He said to them, “My mother and my brothers are these, the ones who hear the word of God and do it!”[7]
Chapter 8 Verse 22
22. Now it happened on one of those days that He got into a boat with His disciples; and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.
Chapter 8 Verse 23
23. But as they sailed He fell asleep. A windstorm descended on the lake, and they were being swamped and were in jeopardy.
Chapter 8 Verse 24
24. So they came and awakened Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He got up and rebuked the wind and the waves of water—and they stopped, and there was a calm![8]
Chapter 8 Verse 25
25. So He said to them, “Where is your faith?”[9] But being terrified they marveled, saying to each other: “Who can this be?[10] Because He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”
Chapter 8 Verse 26
26. Then they sailed to the district of the Gadarenes,[11] which is opposite Galilee.
Chapter 8 Verse 27
27. Well when He stepped out on the land, a certain man of that town met Him, who had had demons for a long time—he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but among the tombs.
Chapter 8 Verse 28
28. When he saw Jesus he gave a yell, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice he said: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?[12] I beg you, don’t torment me!”
Chapter 8 Verse 29
29. because He had commanded the unclean spirit to get out of the man (it had seized him many times—he would be bound with chains and shackles, being kept under guard; then bursting the bonds he would be driven by the demon into deserted places).
Chapter 8 Verse 30
30. Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”[13] And he said, “Legion” (because many demons had gone into him).
Chapter 8 Verse 31
31. And he[14] kept imploring Him that He would not order them to go away into the Abyss.[15]
Chapter 8 Verse 32
32. Now a herd of many pigs was feeding there on the hillside; and they started begging Him that He would allow them to go into those; so He gave them permission.
Chapter 8 Verse 33
33. Then the demons exited the man and entered the pigs—and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned![16]
Chapter 8 Verse 34
34. Well when the herders saw what had happened they ran away and reported it in the town and in the countryside.
Chapter 8 Verse 35
35. So they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus; they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.[17]
Chapter 8 Verse 36
36. Also, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demonized man was healed.
Chapter 8 Verse 37
37. Then the whole multitude from the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, because they were overcome by fear.[18] So He got into the boat and returned.[19]
Chapter 8 Verse 38
38. Now the man from whom the demons had gone out had started begging Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
Chapter 8 Verse 39
39. “Return to your house and recount how much God has done for you.” So he went his way and proclaimed all over town how much Jesus had done for him.[20]
Chapter 8 Verse 40
40. Now it happened, when Jesus returned, that the crowd welcomed Him, because they were all waiting for Him.[21]
Chapter 8 Verse 41
41. And then, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue; he fell down at Jesus’ feet and started begging Him to come to his house,
Chapter 8 Verse 42
42. because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. A desperate woman Now as He was going, the crowds were pressing against Him.
Chapter 8 Verse 43
43. And a woman—suffering with a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent her whole livelihood on physicians, but could not be healed by any—
Chapter 8 Verse 44
44. approaching from behind touched the border of His garment; and immediately the flow of her blood stopped!
Chapter 8 Verse 45
45. So Jesus said, “Who touched me?”[22] When all denied it, Peter and those with him said: “Master, the people are pressing against you and crowding in, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”[23]
Chapter 8 Verse 46
46. But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, because I noticed power going out from me.”
Chapter 8 Verse 47
47. Now when the woman saw that she could not hide, she came trembling, and falling down before Him she told Him in the presence of all the people[24] the reason why she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.
Chapter 8 Verse 48
48. So He said: “Courage, daughter, your faith has healed you. Go into peace.”[25]
Chapter 8 Verse 49
49. While He was still speaking, here came someone from the synagogue ruler’s house, saying to him: “Your daughter has died. Don’t bother the teacher.”
Chapter 8 Verse 50
50. But upon hearing it Jesus reacted by saying to him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed.”
Chapter 8 Verse 51
51. When He arrived at the house, He allowed no one to go in except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother.
Chapter 8 Verse 52
52. Now all were weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”
Chapter 8 Verse 53
53. They started ridiculing Him, knowing that she had died.
Chapter 8 Verse 54
54. So He put them all outside, and[26] grasping her hand He called, saying, “Child, arise!”
Chapter 8 Verse 55
55. Then her spirit returned, and she got right up! And He directed that she be given something to eat.[27]
Chapter 8 Verse 56
56. Her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.[28]
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 Verse 1
1. Then He called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons,[1] and to cure diseases;
Chapter 9 Verse 2
2. and He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Chapter 9 Verse 3
3. And He said to them: “Take nothing for the journey—neither staffs[2] nor knapsack nor bread nor money, neither have two tunics apiece.
Chapter 9 Verse 4
4. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there.
Chapter 9 Verse 5
5. But as many as do not receive you, when you depart from that town, shake off even the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
Chapter 9 Verse 6
6. So they set out and went around, village by village, evangelizing and healing everywhere.
Chapter 9 Verse 7
7. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things being done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
Chapter 9 Verse 8
8. and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen.
Chapter 9 Verse 9
9. But Herod said, “John I beheaded; so who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he started trying to see Him.[3]
Chapter 9 Verse 10
10. When the Apostles returned they reported to Him all that they had done. Then He took them and withdrew privately to a deserted place belonging to a town called Bethsaida.[4]
Chapter 9 Verse 11
11. But the crowds, being aware, followed Him. So He received them and started speaking to them about the Kingdom of God, and He cured those who needed healing.
Chapter 9 Verse 12
12. Now when the day began to decline, the Twelve approached and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go to the surrounding villages and their farms, lodge and find food; because we are in a deserted place here.”
Chapter 9 Verse 13
13. But He said to them, “You feed them!”[5] So they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd”
Chapter 9 Verse 14
14. (there were about five thousand men). But He said to His disciples, “Make them recline in groups of fifty!”
Chapter 9 Verse 15
15. They did so, making them all recline.
Chapter 9 Verse 16
16. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
Chapter 9 Verse 17
17. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the pieces they left were taken up.[6]
Chapter 9 Verse 18
18. Now it happened, as He was alone praying, that the disciples joined Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
Chapter 9 Verse 19
19. In answer they said, “John the Baptizer, but others say ‘Elijah,’ while others that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
Chapter 9 Verse 20
20. Then He said to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” In answer Peter said, “The Christ[7] of God!”
Chapter 9 Verse 21
21. But He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,
Chapter 9 Verse 22
22. saying, “The Son of the Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”
Chapter 9 Verse 23
23. Then He said to everyone: “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross,[8] and follow me.
Chapter 9 Verse 24
24. Because whoever desires to ‘save’ his life will waste it, but whoever ‘wastes’ his life for my sake, he will save it.[9]
Chapter 9 Verse 25
25. Further, what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, yet wastes or forfeits his very self?
Chapter 9 Verse 26
26. Yes, whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of the Man will be ashamed of Him, whenever He comes in the glory—His, and the Father’s, and of the holy angels.[10]
Chapter 9 Verse 27
27. However, I tell you truly: there are some standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God!”
Chapter 9 Verse 28
28. Now about eight days after these words, it happened that He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
Chapter 9 Verse 29
29. And as He prayed, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing dazzling white.
Chapter 9 Verse 30
30. And then, two men started talking with Him, who were Moses and Elijah;
Chapter 9 Verse 31
31. they appeared in glory and were explaining His ‘departure’, that He was about to bring to fruition in Jerusalem.[11]
Chapter 9 Verse 32
32. Now Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; but becoming fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two men who stood with Him.
Chapter 9 Verse 33
33. Then it happened: as they were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus: “Master, it is good for us to be here” and “Should we make three shelters: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah?”[12]—not knowing what he was saying.
Chapter 9 Verse 34
34. But as he was saying this a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they became afraid as they entered the cloud.
Chapter 9 Verse 35
35. And a Voice[13] came out of the cloud, saying: “This is my beloved[14] Son. Listen to Him!”
Chapter 9 Verse 36
36. When the Voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. (They kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.)[15]
Chapter 9 Verse 37
37. Now it happened on the next day, when they came down from the mountain,[16] that a large crowd met Him.
Chapter 9 Verse 38
38. And then, a man from the crowd called out, saying: “Teacher, I beg you, look upon my son, for he is my only begotten.
Chapter 9 Verse 39
39. And oh, a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams, and it convulses him with foaming, and it hardly departs from him, destroying him!
Chapter 9 Verse 40
40. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
Chapter 9 Verse 41
41. Then in answer Jesus said: “O unbelieving and perverse[17] generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you (pl)? Bring your (sg) son here!”
Chapter 9 Verse 42
42. But while he was still coming the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Chapter 9 Verse 43
43. Everyone was amazed at the majesty[18] of God. Jesus foretells His death, again But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples,
Chapter 9 Verse 44
44. “Let these words sink into your ears, because the Son of the Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”[19]
Chapter 9 Verse 45
45. But they did not understand this saying; indeed it was concealed from them,[20] in order that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
Chapter 9 Verse 46
46. Then an argument started among them as to which of them would be the greatest.
Chapter 9 Verse 47
47. So Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their heart, took a little child and had him stand beside Him,
Chapter 9 Verse 48
48. and said to them: “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives Him who sent me. Further, he who is least among all of you, he will be great.”
Chapter 9 Verse 49
49. Then John reacted by saying, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
Chapter 9 Verse 50
50. So Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid, because he who is not against us is for us.”[21]
Chapter 9 Verse 51
51. Now it happened, as the days for His Ascension approached,[22] that He set His face to go to Jerusalem,
Chapter 9 Verse 52
52. and He sent messengers ahead of Him. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for Him.
Chapter 9 Verse 53
53. But they did not receive Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.
Chapter 9 Verse 54
54. Well, when His disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and consume them, just like Elijah did?”[23]
Chapter 9 Verse 55
55. But He turned and rebuked them saying: “You do not know of what sort of spirit you are.
Chapter 9 Verse 56
56. Further, the Son of the Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save.”[24] And they went to another village.
Chapter 9 Verse 57
57. Now as they journeyed on the road, it happened that someone said to Him, “Lord,[25] I will follow you wherever you go.”
Chapter 9 Verse 58
58. So Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of the Man has no place to lay His head.”[26]
Chapter 9 Verse 59
59. Then He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
Chapter 9 Verse 60
60. Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”[27]
Chapter 9 Verse 61
61. And another also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first allow me to bid farewell to those who are at my house.”[28]
Chapter 9 Verse 62
62. But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to ‘the plow’ and looks back is suitable for the Kingdom of God.”[29]
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 Verse 1
1. Now after these things, the Lord appointed seventy[1] others also, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He Himself was about to go.
Chapter 10 Verse 2
2. Then He said to them: “The harvest is indeed great, but the workers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He may send out workers into His harvest.
Chapter 10 Verse 3
3. “Go! Yes, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Chapter 10 Verse 4
4. Do not carry a purse, nor a knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.[2]
Chapter 10 Verse 5
5. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
Chapter 10 Verse 6
6. If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you.
Chapter 10 Verse 7
7. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking what they offer, because the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.[3]
Chapter 10 Verse 8
8. “And into whatever town you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you.
Chapter 10 Verse 9
9. Heal the sick therein and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Chapter 10 Verse 10
10. But into whatever town you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say:
Chapter 10 Verse 11
11. ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us we wipe off against you. Nonetheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Chapter 10 Verse 12
12. I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that town.
Chapter 10 Verse 13
13. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! Because if the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Chapter 10 Verse 14
14. Nevertheless it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the Judgment than for you.
Chapter 10 Verse 15
15. And you, Capernaum, who are ‘exalted to heaven’, will be brought down to Hades.
Chapter 10 Verse 16
16. “He who listens to you listens to me, and he who rejects you rejects me;[4] but he who rejects me rejects Him who sent me!”
Chapter 10 Verse 17
17. Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
Chapter 10 Verse 18
18. So He said to them: “I watched Satan fall like lightning out of heaven.[5]
Chapter 10 Verse 19
19. Take note, I am giving[6] you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions,[7] and over all the power of the enemy,[8] and nothing at all may harm you.
Chapter 10 Verse 20
20. However, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”[9]
Chapter 10 Verse 21
21. In that same hour Jesus exulted in His spirit[10] and said: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to ‘infants’. Yes, Father, because it pleased you to do so.”
Chapter 10 Verse 22
22. And turning to the disciples He said:[11] “All things have been entrusted to me by my Father; also, no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and to whomever the Son may choose to reveal Him.”
Chapter 10 Verse 23
23. Then turning to His disciples[12] privately He said: “Blessed are the eyes that are seeing the things that you see;
Chapter 10 Verse 24
24. for I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you are seeing but did not, and to hear what you are hearing but did not.”[13]
Chapter 10 Verse 25
25. And then, a certain lawyer stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Chapter 10 Verse 26
26. So He said to him: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Chapter 10 Verse 27
27. In answer he said: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and, your neighbor as yourself.”[14]
Chapter 10 Verse 28
28. So He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live!”
Chapter 10 Verse 29
29. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”[15]
Chapter 10 Verse 30
30. By way of reply Jesus said: “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and as it chanced he ran into robbers, who after having stripped and wounded him, departed, leaving him half dead.
Chapter 10 Verse 31
31. Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Chapter 10 Verse 32
32. So too, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked,[16] and passed by on the other side.
Chapter 10 Verse 33
33. But a certain Samaritan,[17] as he traveled, came by there, and upon seeing him was moved with compassion;
Chapter 10 Verse 34
34. and going to him he bound up his wounds, applying oil and wine. Then he placed him on his own mount, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Chapter 10 Verse 35
35. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and should you spend more, I will repay you when I return.’
Chapter 10 Verse 36
36. So which of these three, would you say, was ‘neighbor’ to him who ran into the robbers?”
Chapter 10 Verse 37
37. He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise!”[18]
Chapter 10 Verse 38
38. Now it happened as they traveled that He entered a certain village;[19] and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.[20]
Chapter 10 Verse 39
39. And she had a sister called Mary, who actually sat at Jesus’ feet listening to His words.
Chapter 10 Verse 40
40. Well Martha was distracted with much serving; so coming up she said: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Do please tell her to help me!”
Chapter 10 Verse 41
41. But in answer Jesus said to her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and agitated about many things,
Chapter 10 Verse 42
42. but only one is needed.[21] However, Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 Verse 1
1. Then it happened, when He finished praying in a certain place, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Chapter 11 Verse 2
2. So He said to them: “Whenever you pray, say: Our Father who is in the heavens, your name must be reverenced.[1] Your Kingdom must come. Your will must be done on earth as it is in heaven.[2]
Chapter 11 Verse 3
3. Give us day by day our daily bread.
Chapter 11 Verse 4
4. Also, forgive us our sins, because we also forgive everyone indebted to us. And, do not lead us into testing, but deliver us from the malignant one.”[3]
Chapter 11 Verse 5
5. Then He said to them: “Who among you will have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,
Chapter 11 Verse 6
6. because a friend has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
Chapter 11 Verse 7
7. and he will answer from within and say, ‘Don’t bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give to you?’
Chapter 11 Verse 8
8. I say to you, even if he will not get up and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
Chapter 11 Verse 9
9. “So I say to you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Chapter 11 Verse 10
10. Because everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.[4]
Chapter 11 Verse 11
11. And which father among you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if[5] a fish, will he give him a snake instead of a fish?
Chapter 11 Verse 12
12. Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?
Chapter 11 Verse 13
13. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”[6]
Chapter 11 Verse 14
14. Then He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. As a result, when the demon had gone out the mute spoke! And the crowds marveled.
Chapter 11 Verse 15
15. But some of them said, “It’s by Beelzebul,[7] the ruler of the demons, that he casts out demons.”
Chapter 11 Verse 16
16. While others kept asking Him for a sign from heaven, testing.
Chapter 11 Verse 17
17. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls.
Chapter 11 Verse 18
18. So if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?—since you say I cast out demons by Beelzebul!
Chapter 11 Verse 19
19. Further, if I am casting out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?[8] Therefore they will be your judges.
Chapter 11 Verse 20
20. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
Chapter 11 Verse 21
21. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his possessions are safe.
Chapter 11 Verse 22
22. But when someone stronger than he attacks, he overcomes him, takes away all his armor in which he trusted, and distributes his spoils.
Chapter 11 Verse 23
23. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.[9]
Chapter 11 Verse 24
24. “Whenever an unclean spirit goes out from a man,[10] it passes through waterless places seeking rest; and not finding any it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’
Chapter 11 Verse 25
25. And coming it finds it swept and put in order.
Chapter 11 Verse 26
26. Then it goes and picks up seven other spirits, more malignant than itself, and they go in and live there; so the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”[11]
Chapter 11 Verse 27
27. And then, as He was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!”
Chapter 11 Verse 28
28. But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”[12]
Chapter 11 Verse 29
29. Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say: “This is a malignant generation. It keeps wanting a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Chapter 11 Verse 30
30. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of the Man be to this generation.
Chapter 11 Verse 31
31. The queen of the South will be raised up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
Chapter 11 Verse 32
32. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and they will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.[13]
Chapter 11 Verse 33
33. “No one, having lit a lamp, puts it in hiding or under a basket, but on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
Chapter 11 Verse 34
34. The lamp of the body is the eye.[14] Therefore, whenever your ‘eye’ is good, your whole body is illuminated. But when it is malignant, your body also is darkened.
Chapter 11 Verse 35
35. So see to it that the ‘light’ in you not be darkness.
Chapter 11 Verse 36
36. If then your whole body is full of light, not having any part dark, the whole will be illuminated, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Chapter 11 Verse 37
37. Now as He spoke, a certain Pharisee invited Him to eat with him. So He went in and reclined.
Chapter 11 Verse 38
38. But the Pharisee, noticing that He did not first wash before the meal, was critical.[15]
Chapter 11 Verse 39
39. So the Lord said to him: “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but your inside is full of greed and malignancy.
Chapter 11 Verse 40
40. Fools! Did not He who made the outside also make the inside?
Chapter 11 Verse 41
41. Nevertheless, give what is possible as alms; then indeed all things are clean to you.[16]
Chapter 11 Verse 42
42. “But woe to you Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you ignore justice and the love of God. These it was necessary to do, without leaving those undone.
Chapter 11 Verse 43
43. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplaces.
Chapter 11 Verse 44
44. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites![17] You are like unperceived graves, that people walk on without knowing it.”
Chapter 11 Verse 45
45. Then one of the lawyers reacted and said to him, “Teacher, by saying these things you insult us also!”
Chapter 11 Verse 46
46. So He said: “Woe to you lawyers also![18] You load men down with burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
Chapter 11 Verse 47
47. Woe to you! You restore the tombs of the prophets, it being your fathers who killed them.
Chapter 11 Verse 48
48. Thereby you witness to and approve of the deeds of your fathers; because they indeed killed them, while you restore their tombs.[19]
Chapter 11 Verse 49
49. Also, because of this ‘the wisdom of God’[20] said: ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’
Chapter 11 Verse 50
50. so that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
Chapter 11 Verse 51
51. from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah,[21] who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation![22]
Chapter 11 Verse 52
52. Woe to you lawyers! You have taken away the key of knowledge;[23] you yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering!”[24]
Chapter 11 Verse 53
53. Well when He had said these things to them,[25] the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge Him on vehemently and to cross-examine Him about many things,
Chapter 11 Verse 54
54. lying in wait for Him, trying to catch Him in something He might say, so that they might accuse Him.[26]
Chapter 12
Chapter 12 Verse 1
1. Meanwhile, when a crowd of thousands[1] had converged, so that they were stepping on each other, He began to speak first to His disciples: “Guard yourselves from the ‘yeast’ of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Chapter 12 Verse 2
2. There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Chapter 12 Verse 3
3. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the ear behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.[2]
Chapter 12 Verse 4
4. “Further, I say to you, my friends: do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do.
Chapter 12 Verse 5
5. Rather, I will advise you whom you should fear—fear Him who after He kills has authority to cast into Gehenna;[3] yes indeed, fear Him!
Chapter 12 Verse 6
6. Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?[4] Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
Chapter 12 Verse 7
7. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered! So do not be afraid; you are far more valuable than sparrows![5]
Chapter 12 Verse 8
8. “Also I say to you, whoever claims me before men, the Son of the Man will also claim him before the angels of God.
Chapter 12 Verse 9
9. But whoever disclaims me before men will be disclaimed before the angels of God.[6]
Chapter 12 Verse 10
10. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of the Man, it can be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit it will not be forgiven.
Chapter 12 Verse 11
11. Now whenever they bring you before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what you will answer, or what you should say.
Chapter 12 Verse 12
12. Because the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you need to say.”[7]
Chapter 12 Verse 13
13. Then someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Chapter 12 Verse 14
14. But He said to him, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter over you?”
Chapter 12 Verse 15
15. Then He said to them, “Keep alert and guard against covetousness, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”[8]
Chapter 12 Verse 16
16. Then He told them a parable, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man produced well.
Chapter 12 Verse 17
17. And he reasoned within himself saying, ‘What shall I do, because I have no place to store my crops?’
Chapter 12 Verse 18
18. Then he said: ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my produce and my goods.
Chapter 12 Verse 19
19. And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and enjoy yourself!’
Chapter 12 Verse 20
20. But God said to him: ‘Stupid! This very night your life is being taken back from you;[9] then who will get the things you have prepared?’
Chapter 12 Verse 21
21. Just like that[10] is he who accumulates treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Chapter 12 Verse 22
22. Then He said to His disciples: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will wear.
Chapter 12 Verse 23
23. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
Chapter 12 Verse 24
24. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storeroom nor barn, and God feeds them. You are far more valuable than the birds!
Chapter 12 Verse 25
25. And who among you can add one cubit to his height by worrying?
Chapter 12 Verse 26
26. So if you cannot do even such a little thing, why worry about the rest?
Chapter 12 Verse 27
27. “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; I say to you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of these.
Chapter 12 Verse 28
28. So if God so clothes the grass that today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into an oven, how much more you, O little-faiths!
Chapter 12 Verse 29
29. Do not concentrate on what you may eat or what you may drink; do not be anxious.
Chapter 12 Verse 30
30. All these things really occupy the nations of the world, and your Father knows that you need them.
Chapter 12 Verse 31
31. Rather, concentrate on the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be provided for you.[11]
Chapter 12 Verse 32
32. “Do not fear, little flock, because it pleased the Father to give you the Kingdom.
Chapter 12 Verse 33
33. Sell your possessions and give to charity. Make for yourselves ‘purses’ that will not wear out, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where a thief cannot approach, nor a moth destroy.
Chapter 12 Verse 34
34. Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.[12]
Chapter 12 Verse 35
35. “Let your waists be belted and your lamps burning,
Chapter 12 Verse 36
36. and you yourselves like men waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
Chapter 12 Verse 37
37. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find watching when he comes. Assuredly I say to you that he will gird himself and have them recline, and will come and serve them.[13]
Chapter 12 Verse 38
38. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those slaves.
Chapter 12 Verse 39
39. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Chapter 12 Verse 40
40. Therefore you also be ready, because the Son of the Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”[14]
Chapter 12 Verse 41
41. Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, are you directing this parable to us, or to everyone?”[15]
Chapter 12 Verse 42
42. So the Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and prudent steward whom his master will place over his household to give them the food allowance at the right time?
Chapter 12 Verse 43
43. Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Chapter 12 Verse 44
44. I tell you truly that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.[16]
Chapter 12 Verse 45
45. But if that servant should say in his heart, ‘My master won’t come for a while,’ and should begin to hit the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
Chapter 12 Verse 46
46. the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers.[17]
Chapter 12 Verse 47
47. “That servant who knew his master’s will, but neither got ready nor did according to that will, will be beaten with many blows.
Chapter 12 Verse 48
48. But he who did not know, yet did things worthy of blows, will be beaten with few.[18] Everyone to whom much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him much more will be asked.
Chapter 12 Verse 49
49. “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Chapter 12 Verse 50
50. But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!
Chapter 12 Verse 51
51. Do you imagine that I came to provide peace on the earth? Not at all, I tell you, but rather division.[19]
Chapter 12 Verse 52
52. Because from now on there will be five in one house divided: three against two and two against three.
Chapter 12 Verse 53
53. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”[20]
Chapter 12 Verse 54
54. Then He also said to the crowds: “Whenever you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and so it does.
Chapter 12 Verse 55
55. And whenever a south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it happens.
Chapter 12 Verse 56
56. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky and of the earth, so how can you not discern this time?[21]
Chapter 12 Verse 57
57. Also why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?[22]
Chapter 12 Verse 58
58. “When you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him,[23] lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.
Chapter 12 Verse 59
59. I tell you, you will by no means get out of there until you have paid the last penny.”
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 Verse 1
1. Now at that time there were some present who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Herod had mixed with their sacrifices.
Chapter 13 Verse 2
2. So in answer Jesus said to them: “Do you suppose that those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
Chapter 13 Verse 3
3. Not at all, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish!
Chapter 13 Verse 4
4. Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them; do you suppose they were worse offenders than all others living in Jerusalem?
Chapter 13 Verse 5
5. Not at all, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish!”[1]
Chapter 13 Verse 6
6. Then He told this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
Chapter 13 Verse 7
7. So he said to the gardener: ‘Look, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have not found any. Cut it down; just why must it waste the soil?’
Chapter 13 Verse 8
8. But in answer he said to him, ‘Sir, let it be this year also, until I dig around it and apply fertilizer,
Chapter 13 Verse 9
9. in case it produces fruit—but if not, then cut it down.’”[2]
Chapter 13 Verse 10
10. Now as Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,
Chapter 13 Verse 11
11. He saw a woman there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years—she was bent over and could not straighten up.
Chapter 13 Verse 12
12. So He called her over[3] and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity!”
Chapter 13 Verse 13
13. He placed His hands on her and immediately she was made straight and started glorifying God.
Chapter 13 Verse 14
14. But the ruler of the synagogue reacted with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and he said to the crowd, “There are six days in which one should work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath.”[4]
Chapter 13 Verse 15
15. So the Lord answered him and said: “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water?
Chapter 13 Verse 16
16. So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan[5] kept bound during eighteen long years, be freed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Chapter 13 Verse 17
17. When He said these things all His adversaries were put to shame, while all the crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things that were being done by Him.
Chapter 13 Verse 18
18. Then He said: “What is the Kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
Chapter 13 Verse 19
19. It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden; and it grew and became a sizable tree, and the birds of the air perched on its branches.”
Chapter 13 Verse 20
20. Again He said: “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
Chapter 13 Verse 21
21. It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
Chapter 13 Verse 22
22. He was traveling through various towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
Chapter 13 Verse 23
23. Then someone said to Him, “Lord, are the ones being saved few?” So He said to them:
Chapter 13 Verse 24
24. “Exert yourselves to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I say to you, will try to enter and not manage it.
Chapter 13 Verse 25
25. When once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ and in answer he will say to you, ‘I do not know you; where are you from?’
Chapter 13 Verse 26
26. then you will begin by saying, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
Chapter 13 Verse 27
27. But he will say: ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’[6]
Chapter 13 Verse 28
28. “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves being thrown out.
Chapter 13 Verse 29
29. They will even come from the east, the west, the north and the south, and recline in the Kingdom of God.
Chapter 13 Verse 30
30. Yes indeed, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
Chapter 13 Verse 31
31. On that same day some Pharisees approached saying to Him, “Get out of here and go away, because Herod wants to kill you.”[7]
Chapter 13 Verse 32
32. He said to them: “Go tell that ‘fox’, ‘Take note, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third I will be perfected.’
Chapter 13 Verse 33
33. Nevertheless I must keep going today and tomorrow and the day following, because it is not credible that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem!
Chapter 13 Verse 34
34. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, she who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
Chapter 13 Verse 35
35. So then, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you that you will definitely not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[8]
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 Verse 1
1. Then it happened, when He entered the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they were watching Him closely.
Chapter 14 Verse 2
2. And then, there in front of Him was a man who had dropsy![1]
Chapter 14 Verse 3
3. And Jesus reacted by saying to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
Chapter 14 Verse 4
4. But they kept silent. So He took hold of him, healed him, and let him go.
Chapter 14 Verse 5
5. Then He addressed them saying, “Which of you, if a son[2] or an ox falls into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
Chapter 14 Verse 6
6. And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
Chapter 14 Verse 7
7. Then He told a parable to those who were invited, having observed how they kept trying for the best places, saying to them:
Chapter 14 Verse 8
8. “Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline in the place of honor, in case someone more honorable than you has been invited by him;
Chapter 14 Verse 9
9. then he who invited you both will come and say, ‘You, give this man place!’ and then, with shame, you start to take the lowest place.[3]
Chapter 14 Verse 10
10. Rather, whenever you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will have honor in the presence of your fellow guests.
Chapter 14 Verse 11
11. Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”[4]
Chapter 14 Verse 12
12. Then He said directly to His host: “Whenever you give a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
Chapter 14 Verse 13
13. But whenever you make a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
Chapter 14 Verse 14
14. and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you—you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”[5]
Chapter 14 Verse 15
15. Well when one of the fellow-recliners heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who will eat dinner[6] in the Kingdom of God!”[7]
Chapter 14 Verse 16
16. So He said to him: “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many.
Chapter 14 Verse 17
17. And at meal time he sent his slave to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
Chapter 14 Verse 18
18. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him: ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’
Chapter 14 Verse 19
19. Another said: ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’
Chapter 14 Verse 20
20. Yet another said, ‘I have married a wife, and so I cannot come.’
Chapter 14 Verse 21
21. So that slave came and reported these things to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
Chapter 14 Verse 22
22. And the slave said, ‘Master, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’
Chapter 14 Verse 23
23. Then the master said to the slave: ‘Go out to the roads and hedges[8] and make people come in, so that my house may be filled.
Chapter 14 Verse 24
24. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet!’”[9]
Chapter 14 Verse 25
25. Now large crowds were traveling with Him, and turning He said to them:
Chapter 14 Verse 26
26. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Chapter 14 Verse 27
27. And whoever does not carry his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Chapter 14 Verse 28
28. “Further, which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and calculate the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Chapter 14 Verse 29
29. This so he does not lay a foundation without being able to finish, and all who see it begin to ridicule him,
Chapter 14 Verse 30
30. saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’
Chapter 14 Verse 31
31. “Or what king, going to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Chapter 14 Verse 32
32. And if not, while the other is still far away he sends a delegation and asks for terms for peace.
Chapter 14 Verse 33
33. “So likewise, any of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.[10]
Chapter 14 Verse 34
34. Salt is good; but should the salt become insipid, with what can it be seasoned?
Chapter 14 Verse 35
35. It is fit for neither soil nor fertilizer; it is thrown out.[11] He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Verse 1
1. Then all the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were getting close to Him to hear Him.
Chapter 15 Verse 2