What the Bible Says About Traditional History

Scripture

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
⁴ And God saw that the light was good.
⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
⁷ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.
¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:1-31

Genesis 2:1-25: ² Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
⁵ When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
⁶ And a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.
⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
¹² The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.
¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.
²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
²³ Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:1-24: ¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,
³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
¹⁷ And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
²⁰ The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 6:1-22: ⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
⁶ And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹⁰ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.
¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
¹⁷ For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.
²¹ And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them.
²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-24: ¹ Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
² Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,
³ and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
⁴ For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.
⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.
⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground,
⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.
¹⁰ And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,
¹⁴ they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature.
¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
¹⁶ And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
¹⁷ The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
²⁰ The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.
²² Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Genesis 8:1-22: ¹ But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
² The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
³ The waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated.
⁴ And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
⁵ The waters continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
⁶ At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.
⁷ and sent out a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
⁸ Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.
⁹ But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.
¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.
¹¹ And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
¹² And he waited yet another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.
¹³ In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.
¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out.
¹⁵ Then God said to Noah,
¹⁶ “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.”
¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.
¹⁹ Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
²¹ And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. I will never again strike down every living creature as I have done.
²² While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

Genesis 9:1-29: ¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
² The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
⁵ And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
⁶ “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
⁷ And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.
⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
⁹ “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,”
¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.
¹¹ I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
¹⁸ The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.
¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
²⁰ Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
²¹ He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
²⁵ he said, “Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
²⁶ He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.”
²⁷ May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”
²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
²⁹ All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

Genesis 11:1-9: ¹ Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
² And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
⁷ Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.
⁸ So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Genesis 12:1-20: ¹ Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.
⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
⁸ From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
⁹ And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
¹³ Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
¹⁴ When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
¹⁵ And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
¹⁶ And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
¹⁷ But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
¹⁸ So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”
²⁰ And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Genesis 15:1-21: ¹ After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
⁷ And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
⁸ But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
¹⁰ And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
¹¹ And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
¹⁴ But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
²¹ And the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Genesis 17:1-27: ¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
² “I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
³ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”
⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
⁹ And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
¹⁰ This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
¹¹ You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
¹² He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Throughout your generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at eight days old, including those born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.
¹³ He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.
¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
¹⁶ I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
¹⁹ God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
²¹ But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
²² When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
²³ Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.
²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
²⁶ In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
²⁷ So all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 22:1-19: ²² After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.
⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
²² and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
¹⁸ and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Exodus 1:1-22: ¹ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
⁵ All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.
⁶ Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
⁷ But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.
¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”
¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens.
¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves.
¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
¹⁶ “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”
¹⁷ But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
¹⁸ But the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?”
¹⁹ Then the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.
²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Exodus 3:1-22: ¹ Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
² And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
⁶ And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
⁸ and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
⁹ And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
¹⁰ Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
¹⁷ and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
¹⁸ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’
¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.
²¹ And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty,
²² But each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Exodus 12:1-51: ¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.
⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.
⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old.
⁶ and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
⁷ Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
¹⁴ “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”
¹⁵ Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
¹⁶ On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
¹⁷ And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.
¹⁸ In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
¹⁹ For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land.
²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.
²² Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
²³ For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
²⁴ You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever.
²⁵ And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.
²⁶ And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
²⁷ Then you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
²⁸ Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
²⁹ At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.
³⁰ And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
³¹ Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.
³² Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also.
³³ The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”
³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.
³⁵ The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
³⁶ And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
³⁷ And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
³⁸ A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
³⁹ And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
⁴⁰ The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.
⁴¹ At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
⁴² It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it,
⁴⁴ but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him.
⁴⁵ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.
⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.
⁴⁷ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
⁴⁸ If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
⁴⁹ There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
⁵⁰ All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
⁵¹ And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Exodus 14:1-31: ¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses,
² Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
³ For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’
⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
⁶ So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,
⁷ and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.
⁸ And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.
⁹ The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
¹⁰ When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
¹¹ They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
¹² Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
¹³ And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
¹⁶ Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
¹⁷ And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.
¹⁸ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
¹⁹ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,
²⁰ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
²² And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
²³ The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
²⁴ And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,
²⁵ He clogged their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”
²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared.
²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.
²⁹ But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
³¹ Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 20:1-17: ¹ And God spoke all these words, saying,
² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
³ “You shall have no other gods before me.
⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
⁷ You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹ Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
¹³ “You shall not murder.”
¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.”
¹⁵ “You shall not steal.”
¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Joshua 1:1-18: ¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant,
² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.”
³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.
⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.
⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the officers of the people,
¹¹ “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,
¹³ “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’”
¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them,
¹⁵ until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.
¹⁶ They answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.
¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses!
¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Joshua 6:1-27: ¹ Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel.
² And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.
³ You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days.
⁴ Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. And on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
⁵ And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”
⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.”
⁷ And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”
⁸ And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them.
⁹ And the armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually.
¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”
¹¹ So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
¹³ And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually.
¹⁴ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.
¹⁵ On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times.
¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.
¹⁷ And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it.
¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.”
²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.
²¹ Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.
²² But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.”
²³ So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel.
²⁴ And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
²⁵ But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
²⁶ Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

Judges 2:1-23: ¹ Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim.
² And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?
³ So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.”
⁴ When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.
⁶ And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land.
⁷ And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.
⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years.
⁹ And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.
¹⁰ And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
¹¹ And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
¹² and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.
¹³ They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.
¹⁴ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
¹⁵ Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.
¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.
¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice,
²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died,
²² in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.”
²³ So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

1 Samuel 8:1-22: ³ Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
³ Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah
⁵ and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
⁸ According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
⁹ Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.
¹¹ He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
¹² He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
¹⁵ He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
¹⁶ He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
¹⁸ And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
¹⁹ But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,
²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.
²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

1 Samuel 16:1-13: ¹⁶ The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.
⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

2 Samuel 7:1-29: ¹ Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”
³ And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
⁴ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan,
⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?
⁶ I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.
⁷ In all the places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
⁸ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
⁹ And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
¹¹ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
¹⁴ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
¹⁵ but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.
¹⁷ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?
¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!
²⁰ And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God!
²¹ Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.
²² Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
²³ And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?
²⁴ For you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.
²⁵ And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.
²⁶ And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.
²⁷ For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.
²⁸ And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
²⁹ Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

1 Kings 3:1-28: ³ Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
² The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
³ Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.
⁴ And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
⁶ And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
⁷ And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.
⁸ And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
⁹ Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
¹¹ And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
¹² behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
¹³ I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.
¹⁴ And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
¹⁵ And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
¹⁶ Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
¹⁷ And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.
¹⁸ It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.
¹⁹ And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
²⁰ Then she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
²¹ And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.”
²² And the other woman said, “No, but the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, but the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” So they spoke before the king.
²³ Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No, but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’”
²⁴ And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king.
²⁵ And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”
²⁶ Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.”
²⁷ Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.”
²⁸ And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

1 Kings 6:1-38: ¹ In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.
² The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
³ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits.
⁴ And for the house he made windows with recessed frames.
⁵ He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.
⁶ The lowest storey was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
⁷ When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
⁸ The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.
⁹ So he built the House and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the House of beams and planks of cedar.
¹⁰ And he built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
¹² “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.”
¹³ And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.
¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.
¹⁵ He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.
¹⁶ He also built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place.
¹⁷ The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.
¹⁸ The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.
¹⁹ The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
²⁰ The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar.
²¹ So Solomon overlaid the house on the inside with pure gold.
²² And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. And the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.
²⁴ And five cubits was the length of the wings of the cherubim.
²⁵ The doors for the most holy place were made of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.
²⁷ He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house.
²⁸ And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
²⁹ Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.
³⁰ He also overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in the inner and outer rooms.
³¹ For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
³² So he built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
³³ So also he made for the entrance to the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood
³⁴ And the two doors were of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work.
³⁶ And he built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
³⁷ In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv.
³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

1 Kings 8:1-66: ¹ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.
² And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
³ And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.
⁵ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
⁶ Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.
⁷ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
⁸ And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord,
¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
¹² Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.
¹³ I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
¹⁴ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.
¹⁵ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying,
¹⁶ Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.
¹⁷ Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁸ “But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.’”
¹⁹ Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’
²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
²¹ And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
²² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,
²³ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
²⁴ who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.
²⁵ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’
²⁶ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.
²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”
²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,
²⁹ that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.
³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
³¹ “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house,”
³² then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
³³ “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,”
³⁴ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.
³⁵ “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,”
³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
³⁷ “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,”
³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,
³⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),
⁴⁰ that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.
⁴¹ “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake
⁴² (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house,
⁴³ “hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.”
⁴⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,”
⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
⁴⁶ “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,”
⁴⁷ yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’
⁴⁸ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,
⁴⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause,
⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them.
⁵¹ (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace).
⁵² Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you.
⁵³ for you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”
⁵⁴ Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven.
⁵⁵ And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.”
⁵⁷ be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us,
⁵⁸ that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires,
⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”
⁶² Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.
⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
⁶⁴ The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.
⁶⁵ So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.
⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

1 Kings 18:1-46: ¹ After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
² So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, )
⁴ And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.
⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”
⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
⁷ And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
⁸ And he answered him, “I am the prophet of the Lord. But how have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
⁹ And he said, “What have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”‘
¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. So, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water?
¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”‘; and he will kill me.”
¹⁵ And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.
¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
²¹ And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
²³ Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it.
²⁴ And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.”
²⁶ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
²⁷ And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
²⁸ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
²⁹ And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down.
³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,”
³² And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord.
³³ And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
³⁴ And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
³⁵ And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
³⁶ And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
⁴⁰ And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”
⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.
⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times.
⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’”
⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
⁴⁶ And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

2 Kings 2:1-25: ¹ Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
² And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
³ And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
⁵ The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
⁶ And Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
⁷ Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
⁸ Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.
⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”
¹⁰ And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”
¹¹ And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
¹² And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
¹³ He picked up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
¹⁴ Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
¹⁵ Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
¹⁶ And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”
¹⁷ But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him.
¹⁸ And when they came back to him (for he was staying in Jericho), he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
¹⁹ Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”
²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
²¹ Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.”
²² So the waters have been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
²³ He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
²⁴ He turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
²⁵ He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

2 Kings 17:1-41: ¹ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years.
² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
³ Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
⁴ And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.
⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
⁷ And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods.
⁸ and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.
⁹ And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.
¹⁰ They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
¹¹ and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger,
¹² they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.”
¹³ Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”
¹⁴ But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God.
¹⁵ They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
¹⁶ And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.
¹⁷ And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
¹⁸ Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.
¹⁹ Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced.
²⁰ And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
²¹ When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord and made them commit great sin.
²² For the people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them,
²³ until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.
²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
²⁵ And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.”
²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.”
²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
²⁹ But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived.
³⁰ The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
³¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
³² They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places.
³³ They feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
³⁴ To this day they do according to their former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
³⁵ The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them,
³⁶ but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice.
³⁷ And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods.
³⁸ And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, and you shall not fear other gods.
³⁹ but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
⁴⁰ but they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God.
⁴¹ So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

2 Kings 25:1-30: ¹ And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.
² And the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
³ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
⁴ Then the city was breached, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.
⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.
⁶ Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him.
⁷ And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
⁸ In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
⁹ And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.
¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
¹¹ And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile.
¹² But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
¹³ And the bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.
¹⁴ And he carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land.
¹⁵ The fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.
¹⁶ The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
¹⁷ The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.
¹⁸ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold.
¹⁹ And from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city, and the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
²¹ And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
²² And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor.
²³ Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.
²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
²⁵ But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
²⁶ And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
²⁷ And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
²⁸ and he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
²⁹ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table.
³⁰ and his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

Ezra 1:1-11: ¹ In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
² “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”
³ Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
⁴ And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
⁵ Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.
⁶ And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.
⁷ Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
⁸ Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
⁹ And this was the inventory: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers,
¹⁰ thirty basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers,
¹¹ All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:1-11: ¹ The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,
¹ that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
⁴ As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
⁵ And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.
⁷ We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.
⁸ Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,
⁹ but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’
¹⁰ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
¹¹ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah 2:1-20: ¹ In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
² And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.”
³ And I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”
⁶ And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
⁷ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,
⁸ And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
⁹ Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
¹⁰ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
¹¹ So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
¹³ I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
¹⁴ Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.
¹⁵ Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
¹⁶ And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
¹⁸ And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
²⁰ Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah 4:1-23: ¹ Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
² And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”
³ Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
⁴ Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
⁵ Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
⁶ So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
⁷ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.
⁸ And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
⁹ And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
¹⁰ In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”
¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”
¹² In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
¹³ So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
¹⁴ And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
¹⁵ When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
¹⁶ From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.
¹⁷ who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
¹⁸ And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
¹⁹ And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.
²⁰ In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
²² In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.

Nehemiah 6:1-19: ¹ Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),
² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
³ I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
⁴ They sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
⁵ In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
⁶ In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.
⁷ And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”
⁸ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”
⁹ For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
¹⁰ Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”
¹¹ But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.”
¹² And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
¹³ For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
¹⁴ Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
¹⁶ When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.
¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.
¹⁹ Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

Nehemiah 8:1-18: ¹ And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.
² So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
³ And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose.
⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.
⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.
⁸ They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
⁹ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”
¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
¹³ On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.
¹⁴ And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
¹⁵ and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”
¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.
¹⁷ And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.
¹⁸ And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Esther 4:1-17: ¹ When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
² And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
³ And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
⁴ When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
⁵ Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.
⁶ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
⁷ And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.
⁹ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,
¹¹ “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.
¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Job 1:1-22: ¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
³ His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?
¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
¹⁵ and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
¹⁹ Behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job 2:1-13: ¹ Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.
² And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
³ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”
⁴ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.
⁵ But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”
⁶ And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
⁸ And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
¹¹ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.
¹² And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven.
¹³ And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Isaiah 6:1-13: ¹ In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
³ And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
⁷ And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
⁹ And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.
¹¹ Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
¹² And the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
¹³ And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.

Isaiah 53:1-12: ¹ Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Jeremiah 1:1-19: ¹ The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
² to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.
⁹ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
¹¹ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.”
¹² Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
¹³ The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”
¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.”
¹⁵ “For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.”
¹⁶ And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.
¹⁷ But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸ And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
¹⁹ They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 31:31-34: ³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:1-14: ¹ The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”
⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”
⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”
¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’
¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

Daniel 1:1-21: ¹ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.
³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,
⁴ youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.
⁶ Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.
⁷ And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
⁸ But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.
⁹ And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,
¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
¹¹ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
¹² “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.”
¹³ Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.
¹⁵ At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food.
¹⁶ So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
¹⁷ As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
¹⁸ At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king.
²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
²¹ And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Daniel 3:1-30: ¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
³ Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
⁴ And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
⁵ that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
⁹ They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.
¹¹ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
¹² There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
¹⁵ Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
¹⁷ If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
¹⁸ But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
²⁰ And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
²¹ Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
²² Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
³ He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 6:1-28: ¹ It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;
² and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.
³ Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
⁴ Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.
⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
⁶ Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!
⁷ All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
⁸ Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.
¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.
¹² Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”
¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
¹⁴ Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.
¹⁵ Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”
¹⁶ Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
¹⁷ And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.
¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
¹⁹ Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions.
²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!
²² My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
²³ Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
²⁴ And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you.
²⁶ I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.
²⁷ He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Hosea 1:1-11: ¹ The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
² When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”
³ So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
⁵ And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.
⁶ She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.
⁷ But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.
⁸ When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.
⁹ And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
¹⁰ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
¹¹ And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Jonah 1:1-17: ¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
³ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
⁴ But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.
⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
⁶ So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
⁷ And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
⁸ Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
⁹ And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
¹⁰ Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
¹² He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”
¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
¹⁴ Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.”
¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
¹⁷ And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:1-10: ¹ Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
² saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
³ For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
⁴ Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’
⁵ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head.
⁶ I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
⁷ When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
⁸ Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
⁹ But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!
¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Jonah 3:1-10: ¹ Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
³ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.
⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
⁶ The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,
⁸ but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 4:1-11: ¹ But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
² And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
⁴ And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
⁵ Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.
⁶ Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
⁷ But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
⁸ When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”
¹⁰ And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.
¹¹ And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Micah 5:2-5: ² But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
⁴ And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
⁵ And he shall be their peace.

Matthew 1:1-25: ¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³ and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴ and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,
⁶ and Jesse the father of David the king.
⁷ and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,
⁸ and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,
⁹ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,
¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,
¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
¹³ and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,
¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 2:1-23: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
¹¹ And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.
¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
²⁰ saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
²¹ And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
²³ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 3:1-17: ¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
⁴ Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,
⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
¹⁴ But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 4:1-25: ¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
⁴ But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple.
⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
²³ And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
¹³ And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
¹⁴ so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—”
¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
¹⁸ While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
²³ And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
²⁵ And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 5:1-48: ¹ Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’”
²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
²⁶ truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’”
²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
³¹ “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
³² But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’”
³⁴ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
³⁷ Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
⁴⁰ And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”
⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6:1-34: ¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
¹⁶ “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,”
²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 7:1-29: ¹ “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?
⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
⁶ “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
¹² “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”
¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
²⁸ And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
²⁹ for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 13:1-58: ¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away.
⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.
¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower:
¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
²¹ Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
²⁶ But when the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.
³³ He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.
³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house.
³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,”
⁴⁶ He found one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.”
⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
⁴⁹ So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous.
⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.
⁵⁴ And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
⁵⁶ And are not his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 26:1-75: ²⁶ When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,
² “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
⁴ and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
⁶ Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
⁷ a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.
⁸ But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?
⁹ For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.
¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
¹² in pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.
¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.
¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
¹⁸ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’”
¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
²⁰ When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.
²¹ And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
²² And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?”
²³ He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
²⁴ The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
²⁵ Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,
²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
³⁰ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
³² But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.
³³ Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
³⁴ Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
³⁵ Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples said the same.
³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”
³⁷ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
³⁹ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
⁴⁰ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?
⁴¹ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
⁴² Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
⁴³ And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.
⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.
⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.”
⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
⁵³ Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
⁵⁴ But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
⁵⁵ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.
⁵⁶ But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
⁵⁷ Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.
⁵⁸ But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.
⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
⁶⁰ but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came

⁶¹ and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”
⁶² And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
⁶⁶ What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”
⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”
⁷¹ And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
⁷² And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”
⁷³ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”
⁷⁴ Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.
⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 27:1-66: ¹ When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
² And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.
³ Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,
⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.”
⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.
⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.”
⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers.
⁸ Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
⁵ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”
¹² But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
²⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”
¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.
¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
¹⁸ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.
¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”
²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”
²³ And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”
²⁵ And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.
²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),
³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
³⁶ Then sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,
⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.”
⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”
⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
⁴⁹ And the rest said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
⁵³ They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many.
⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
⁵⁵ There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,
⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you can.”
⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Matthew 28:1-20: ¹ Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.
¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers
¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’
¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Mark 1:1-45: ¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,”
³ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
⁴ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
⁷ And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
¹² The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
¹³ And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
¹⁶ Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
²² And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
²⁴ “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”
²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
²⁷ And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
²⁹ And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.
³¹ And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.
³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
³⁴ And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
³⁵ And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,
³⁷ and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
⁴⁰ And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”
⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”
⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
⁴³ And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once,
⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
⁴⁵ But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Mark 2:1-28: ² And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.
³ And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
⁶ But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
⁸ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
¹³ He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.
¹⁴ And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
¹⁶ And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
²³ One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:
²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
²⁷ And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
²⁸ So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 3:1-35: ¹ Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.
² And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
³ And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”
⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
⁵ And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea
⁸ and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.
⁹ And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him,
¹⁰ for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.
¹¹ And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
¹² But he strictly charged them not to make him known.
¹³ And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
¹⁴ And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
¹⁵ and have authority to cast out demons.
¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
¹⁸ Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.
²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”
²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.
²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,”
²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin—
³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”
³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 4:1-41: ¹ Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.
² And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.
⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
⁸ And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
⁹ And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
¹⁰ And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
¹² so that “they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.”
¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
¹⁴ The sower sows the word.
¹⁵ And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
¹⁸ And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
¹⁹ but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
²¹ And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?
²² For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.
²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
²⁵ For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
²⁶ And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
²⁷ He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
²⁸ The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
³⁰ And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
³⁴ He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Mark 5:1-43: ¹ They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
² And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
³ He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
⁴ for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
⁵ Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
⁶ And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
⁷ And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
⁸ For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
⁹ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
¹⁰ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
¹¹ Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.
¹² And they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”
¹³ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
¹⁴ The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
¹⁵ And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
¹⁶ And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.
¹⁷ And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
¹⁹ And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
²¹ And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.
²² Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet

³⁵ While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
²⁴ And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
²⁵ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,
²⁶ and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
²⁷ She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
²⁸ for she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
²⁹ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
³⁰ And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”
³¹ And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
³² And he looked around to see who had done it.
³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
³⁵ While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
³⁶ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
³⁷ And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
³⁸ They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
³⁹ And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
⁴⁰ But they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.
⁴¹ Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was twelve years old. And they were immediately overcome with amazement.
⁴³ And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 6:1-56: ¹ He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
² And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?
³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
⁴ And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”
⁵ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
⁶ And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.
⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—
⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
¹⁰ And he said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
¹² So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
¹³ And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
¹⁴ King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
¹⁵ But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
¹⁷ For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.
¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,
²⁰ for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
²² For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.
²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison

²⁸ brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.
³⁶ Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.
³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.
⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.
⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied.
⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.
⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,
⁵⁰ for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,
⁵² for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.
⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him
⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.
⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Mark 7:1-37: ¹ Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,
² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders,
⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.
⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)—
¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,
¹³ thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:
¹⁵ There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
¹⁷ And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.
¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,
¹⁹ since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.
²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.
²⁶ Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
³² And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
³³ And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.
³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
³⁵ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
³⁶ And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
³⁷ And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Mark 8:1-38: In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them,
² “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.”
³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”
⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”
⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”
⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.
⁷ And they had a few small fish.
⁸ And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
⁹ And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
¹⁰ And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
¹² And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
¹³ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
¹⁴ Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
¹⁶ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
¹⁷ And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
¹⁸ Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?
¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.”
²⁰ And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.”
²¹ And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
²² And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
²³ And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”
²⁵ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”
³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
³² And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul?
³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Mark 9:1-50: ¹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
² And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
³ And his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
⁶ For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
⁷ And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
⁸ And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
¹¹ And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”
¹² And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.
¹⁴ And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.
¹⁵ And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
¹⁶ And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
¹⁸ And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
¹⁹ And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
²⁰ And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
²¹ And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
²² And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
²⁵ And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
²⁶ But when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
²⁸ And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
³⁰ They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,
³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
³² But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
³³ And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
³⁶ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,
³⁷ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
³⁸ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
⁴⁰ For the one who is not against us is for us.
⁴¹ For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
⁴² “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”
⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
⁴⁴ ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
⁴⁶ ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
⁴⁸ ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire.
⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Mark 10:1-52: ¹ And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
² And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”
⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,’
⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
¹⁰ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,
¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.
¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!
²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,”
³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
³² And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,
³³ saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
³⁵ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
³⁶ And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
⁴² And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
⁴⁶ And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁸ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”
⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Mark 11:1-33: ¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
² and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’
⁴ And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
⁵ And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
⁶ And they said to them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
⁸ And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!
¹¹ And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
¹² On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
¹³ And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
¹⁹ And when evening came they went out of the city.
²⁰ As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
²² And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
²³ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
²⁸ and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”
²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Mark 12:1-44: ¹ And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
² When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
⁴ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
⁸ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
¹² And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
¹³ And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
¹⁵ But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
¹⁶ And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
¹⁸ And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying:
¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
²¹ And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring.
²² And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
³⁵ And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
³⁶ David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’”
³⁷ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
³⁸ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Mark 13:1-37: ¹ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
³ And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.
⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.
⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
⁹ “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
¹⁵ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out,
¹⁶ And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
¹⁷ And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
¹⁸ And pray that it may not happen in winter.
¹⁹ For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.
²⁰ And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.
²² For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
²³ But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ And the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
³⁰ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
³² “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
³³ Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
³⁵ Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.

Mark 14:1-72: ¹ It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,
² “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
³ And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that?
⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.
⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.
⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.
⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.
¹¹ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.
¹² And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
¹³ And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him,
¹⁴ And wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
¹⁵ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.”
¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
¹⁷ And when it was evening, he came with the twelve.
¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?”
²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.
²¹ For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
²² And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
²³ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.
²⁴ And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
²⁸ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.
²⁹ Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”
³⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
³¹ But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
³² And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
³³ And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
³⁴ And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
³⁵ And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
³⁶ And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
³⁸ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.
⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
⁴² “Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
⁴³ And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.”
⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him.
⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?
⁴⁹ Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.
⁵⁰ And they all left him and fled.
⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him,
⁵² And he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
⁵³ And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
⁵⁴ And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.
⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.
⁵⁶ For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.
⁵⁷ And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying,
⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”
⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
⁶¹ But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
⁶³ And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?
⁶⁴ You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
⁶⁵ And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
⁶⁶ And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came,
⁶⁷ And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed.
⁶⁹ And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.”
⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.”
⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Mark 15:1-47: ¹ And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.
² And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
³ And the chief priests accused him of many things.
⁴ And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.”
⁵ But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
⁶ Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.
⁷ And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.
⁸ And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.
⁹ And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
¹⁰ For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.
¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.
¹² And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”
¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”
¹⁴ And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”
¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
¹⁶ And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion.
¹⁷ And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.
¹⁸ And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
¹⁹ And they struck his head with a reed and spat on him and knelt down in homage to him.
²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
²¹ And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
²² And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).
²³ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
²⁴ And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.
²⁵ And it was the third hour when they crucified him.
²⁶ And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”
²⁷ And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.
²⁸ And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”
²⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!
³¹ So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
³³ And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”
³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.
³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
⁴² And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.
⁴⁵ And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.
⁴⁶ And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Mark 16:1-20: ¹ When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
⁶ And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.
⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
⁹ [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.]]
¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
¹¹ But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
¹² After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.
¹³ And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

Luke 1:1-80: ¹ Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,
² just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
¹⁵ for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
²⁰ And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
²³ And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.
³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,
⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.
⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.
⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,
⁶⁰ But his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”
⁶¹ And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
⁶² And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.
⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.
⁶⁴ And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
⁶⁵ And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.
⁶⁶ And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people.
⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹ that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,
⁷⁴ that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.
⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Luke 2:1-52: ² In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
²¹ And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;”
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.
³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.
³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,
³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.
⁴³ And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,
⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
⁴⁵ And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
⁴⁸ And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”
⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
⁵⁰ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke 3:1-38: ¹ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
³ In the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
³ As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,
³ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
⁷ He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
⁸ Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
⁹ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
¹¹ And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
¹² Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
¹³ And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
¹⁶ John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,
²⁰ added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
³:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
²³ Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
²⁷ …the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er
²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,
³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah.
³ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
³ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke 4:1-44: ¹ And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
⁵ And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
⁶ and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
⁸ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
¹⁰ for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’
¹¹ and, “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
¹⁴ And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
¹⁵ And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.”
²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,
²⁶ And Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
²⁹ And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
³⁰ But passing through their midst, he went away.
³¹ And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,
³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
³³ And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
³⁴ “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
³⁶ And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
³⁷ And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
³⁸ And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf.
³⁹ And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
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 every one of them and healed them.
⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
⁴² And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them,
⁴³ but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
⁴⁴ And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke 5:1-39: ¹ On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
² and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
³ And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
⁵ And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
⁶ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
⁷ And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
¹¹ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
¹² While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
¹³ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
¹⁴ And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
¹⁵ But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
¹⁶ But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
¹⁷ On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
¹⁸ And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,
¹⁹ But finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
²⁰ And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
²² But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.
²⁶ And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
²⁷ After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”
²⁸ And he left everything, and rose and followed him.
²⁹ And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.
³⁰ And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
³¹ And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
³³ And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”
³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
³⁵ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
³⁶ He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’

Luke 6:1-49: ¹ On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
³ And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
⁴ how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?”
⁵ And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
⁶ On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
⁸ But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there.
⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
¹⁰ And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.
¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
¹² In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
¹³ And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
¹⁵ Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
¹⁶ and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
¹⁷ And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,
¹⁸ who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
¹⁹ And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
²⁰ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
²² “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”
²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
²⁵ “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
²⁶ Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
²⁹ To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
³¹ And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
³² “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”
³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
³⁷ “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”
³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
³⁹ He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
⁴¹ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
⁴³ “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,”
⁴⁴ For each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 7:1-50: ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
² A centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.
⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
⁸ For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
⁹ When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
¹¹ Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.
¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”
¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
¹⁸ The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,
¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
²⁰ And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
²¹ In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.
²² And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.
²³ And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
²⁴ When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
²⁵ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
²⁷ This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
²⁹ (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,).
³⁰ but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?
³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.”
³³ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
³⁵ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.
³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”
⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he 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 her hair.
⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 8:1-56: ¹ Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.
² and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
³ Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
⁴ And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable:
⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.”
⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
¹⁰ He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
¹⁶ “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.”
¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
¹⁸ Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
¹⁹ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
²² One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,
²³ And as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.
²⁴ And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a calm.
²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
²⁷ When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons.
²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
²⁹ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
³⁰ Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.
³¹ And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
³⁶ Then those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
³⁷ Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
³⁹ “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house,
⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”
⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.
⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.”
⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
⁵⁵ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Luke 9:1-62: ¹ And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
³ And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.
⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
⁶ And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,
⁸ for Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
¹⁰ On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida.
¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.
¹² Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.”
¹³ But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.”
¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down.
¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
¹⁸ Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
¹⁹ They answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”
²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
²¹ And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,
²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
²⁴ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
²⁵ For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
²⁸ Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.
³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,
³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
³² Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
³⁴ As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
³⁵ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
³⁷ On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.
³⁸ Behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.
⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
⁴¹ “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
⁴³ And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples,
⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
⁴⁵ But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
⁴⁶ An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side
⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
⁴⁹ John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”
⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him.
⁵³ But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them.
⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
⁶⁰ But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 10:1-42: ¹ After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
² And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
³ Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
⁴ Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’
⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
⁸ Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.
⁹ Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.”
¹⁴ But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
¹⁶ “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
¹⁸ And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
²¹ In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
²² All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
²⁷ And he answered, “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.”
²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Luke 11:1-54: ¹ Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
² And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread,
⁴ and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.
⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,
⁶ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,
⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’?
⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
⁹ And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
¹³ If you then, who are 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!”
¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.
¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”
¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.
¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.
¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;
²² But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.
²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.
²⁷ As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
²⁸ But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
²⁹ When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
³⁰ for as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
³¹ The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
³² The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
³³ “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.”
³⁴ Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
³⁵ Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.
³⁷ While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.
³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
³⁹ And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
⁴⁰ You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
⁴¹ But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.
⁴⁵ One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.”
⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
⁴⁹ Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’
⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,
⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
⁵² Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,
⁵⁴ lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Luke 12:1-59: ¹ In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
² Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
³ Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”
⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
⁷ Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
⁸ “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,”
⁹ but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
¹¹ And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,
¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,
¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”
²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
²² And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!
²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.
³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
³² “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
³³ Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
³⁵ “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
³⁶ and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
³⁷ Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
³⁸ If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
³⁹ But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
⁴⁰ You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
⁴² And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?
⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.
⁴⁷ And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.
⁴⁸ But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
⁴⁹ “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”
⁵⁰ I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
⁵² For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
⁵³ They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.
⁵⁵ And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.
⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
⁵⁷ “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
⁵⁸ As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.
⁵⁹ I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Luke 13:1-35: ¹ There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
⁷ And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’
⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”
¹³ And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?
And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
¹⁷ As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
¹⁸ He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
¹⁹ It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.
²¹ It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
²¹ It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
²² He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
²³ And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,
²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
²⁵ When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
²⁷ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’
²⁸ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
²⁹ And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.
³⁰ And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’
³³ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.
³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
³⁵ Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Luke 14:1-35: ¹ One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.
² And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
³ And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
⁴ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
⁶ And they could not reply to these things.
⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,
⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,”
⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
¹² He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
¹³ But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
¹⁴ And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
¹⁵ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
¹⁶ But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.”
¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’
¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
²⁰ But another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
²⁵ Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,
²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
³² Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
³³ So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
³⁴ “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”
³⁵ It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 15:1-32: ¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
³ So he told them this parable:
⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”
⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.
¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
And he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.”
²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him.
²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Luke 16:1-31: ¹ He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.
⁵ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
¹⁰ “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
¹¹ If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
¹² And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
¹³ No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.
¹⁵ And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.
¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
¹⁸ “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
²⁰ And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
²¹ who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
²³ and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
²⁴ And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’

Luke 17:1-37: ¹ And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
³ Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,
⁴ and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
⁶ And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
⁷ “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’?”
⁸ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
⁹ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
¹⁶ He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,
²¹ nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
²² And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
²³ And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them.
²⁴ For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
²⁵ But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
²⁶ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
²⁷ They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,
²⁹ but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—
³⁰ so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
³¹ On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.
³² Remember Lot’s wife.
³³ Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.
³⁵ There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”
³⁶ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.”
³⁷ And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Luke 18:1-43: ¹ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.
⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.”
¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
¹⁵ Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
¹⁸ A ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”
²¹ And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
²³ But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
²⁴ Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
²⁷ But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
²⁸ And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”
²⁹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
³⁰ who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
³⁴ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”
⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 19:1-48: ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
¹³ Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’
¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
¹⁹ He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’
¹⁹ He said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;
²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
²² He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
²⁵ ‘And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten minas!”‘
²⁶ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’
²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
²⁸ And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
²⁹ When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,
³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.
³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’
³² So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.
³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
³⁴ They said, “The Lord needs it.”
³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
³⁶ And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
³⁹ And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
⁴¹ And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side.
⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
⁴⁵ And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,
⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
⁴⁷ And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,
⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Luke 20:1-47: ¹ One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up

² They said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
⁹ And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.
¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
¹¹ He sent yet another, and they wounded him and cast him out.
¹² And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.
¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’
¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
¹⁷ But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
²⁰ So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God.
²² Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”
²³ But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them,
²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
²⁵ He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²⁶ So they were unable to catch him in what he said before the people, and marveling at his answer, they became silent.
²⁷ There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
²⁸ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.
²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.
³⁰ and the second took her as wife, and he died childless.
³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.
³² Last of all the woman also died.
³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
³⁶ for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.
³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
⁴¹ But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?
⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand,
⁴³ until I put your enemies under your feet.”
⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
⁴⁵ And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples,
⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,”
⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.

Luke 21:1-38: ¹ Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box.
² He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
³ And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.
⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
⁵ And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
⁶ “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
⁸ And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.
⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.
¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
¹² But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
¹³ This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
¹⁶ You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
¹⁷ You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish.
¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.
²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it,
²² for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
²³ Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.
²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
²⁵ “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,
²⁶ People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
²⁷ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
²⁹ And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
³⁰ As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
³² Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.
³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
³⁴ “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”
³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.
³⁷ And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.
³⁸ And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

Luke 22:1-71: ¹ Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.
² and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
³ Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.
⁴ He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.
⁵ And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
⁶ So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”
⁹ And they said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”
¹⁰ And he said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters.
¹¹ and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
¹² And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.”
¹³ And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
¹⁴ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
¹⁶ for I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
¹⁸ for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
²¹ But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
²² For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!
²³ And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
²⁴ A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
²⁵ And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
²⁶ But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.
²⁷ For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
²⁸ You are those who have stayed with me in my trials,
²⁹ and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,
³⁰ that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,”
³² but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
³³ He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”
³⁴ Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
³⁵ And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”
³⁶ He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
³⁷ For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”
³⁸ They said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”
³⁹ And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
⁴⁰ And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
⁴¹ And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
⁴² saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
⁴³ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
⁴⁴ And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
⁴⁵ And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow.
⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him.
⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
⁴⁹ And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
⁵³ When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
⁵⁴ Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
⁵⁵ And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
⁵⁶ Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
⁵⁸ And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
⁵⁹ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.
⁶³ Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
⁶⁴ They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
⁶⁵ And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said,
⁶⁷ “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,”
⁶⁸ But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
⁷⁰ So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”
⁷¹ Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

Luke 23:1-56: ¹ Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
² And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
³ And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You have said so.”
⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
⁵ But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
⁷ And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.
⁹ Then he questioned him with many words, but he made no answer.
¹⁰ The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.
¹¹ And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.
¹² And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
¹³ Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.
¹⁵ Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.
¹⁶ I will therefore punish and release him.”
¹⁷ Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival.
¹⁸ But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—
¹⁹ (He had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.)
²⁰ Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus,
²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
²² He said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.”
²³ But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.
²⁴ So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.
²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.
²⁶ And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.
²⁷ And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him.
²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
²⁹ For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’
³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’
²³ And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
³² Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
³³ And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
³⁵ And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
³⁸ There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
⁴⁵ while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
⁴⁶ Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
⁴⁸ But all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.
⁴⁹ And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.
⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man,
⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.
⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
⁵³ Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.
⁵⁴ It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.
⁵⁵ The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
⁵⁶ Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Luke 24:1-53: ¹ But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
⁸ And they remembered his words,
⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,
¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
¹² But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
¹⁴ And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.
¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,
²³ and did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther,
²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
⁴³ and he took it and ate before them.
⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.
⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

John 1:1-51: ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)
¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
¹⁹ And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
²² So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
²³ He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
²⁴ (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
²⁵ They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
²⁷ He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
²⁸ These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,
³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

John 2:1-25: ¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.
⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
¹² After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
¹³ The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
¹⁴ In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.
¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”
¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
²³ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
²⁴ But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people
²⁵ and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

John 3:1-36: ¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
² This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.
¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.
²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.
²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.
²⁴ for John had not yet been put in prison.
²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.
²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
²⁷ John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”
²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’
²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.
³¹ He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
³² He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.
³³ Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
³⁴ For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 4:1-54: ⁴ Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
² (though Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples),
³ he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.
⁴ And he had to pass through Samaria.
⁵ So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
⁶ Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
⁷ A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
⁸ For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
¹¹ The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.
¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
¹⁶ So Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
¹⁷ The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;
¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
¹⁹ The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”
²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”
²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
²⁷ Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”
²⁸ So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
³⁰ They went out of the town and were coming to him.
³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”
³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
³⁶ Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
³⁷ For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
³⁹ Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”
⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word.
⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
⁴³ After the two days he departed for Galilee.
⁴⁴ (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)
⁴⁵ So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
⁴⁶ So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
⁴⁹ The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
⁵¹ As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.
⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
⁵³ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.
⁵⁴ This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

John 5:1-47: ¹ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
⁴ for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.
⁵ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
⁹ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
¹⁰ So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”
¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’”
¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
¹⁶ And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
¹⁸ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
²² The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
²⁷ And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
²⁹ and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
³⁰ “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
³¹ If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.
³² There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.
³³ You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
³⁴ Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
³⁵ He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
³⁶ But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,
³⁸ and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.
³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
⁴¹ I do not receive glory from people.
⁴² But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.
⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

John 6:1-71: ¹ After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.
³ And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
⁵ Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”
¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.
¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.
²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
³⁰ So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
³⁴ They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
⁴² They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ So everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—
⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
⁴⁸ I am the bread of life.
⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
⁵² The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
⁵⁷ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
⁵⁹ Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?
⁶² Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
⁶⁹ and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
⁷¹ He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

John 7:1-53: ¹ After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.
³ So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.
⁵ For not even his brothers believed in him.
⁶ Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.”
⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
⁸ You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.
⁹ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
¹⁰ But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.
¹¹ The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?”
¹² And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.”
¹³ Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
¹⁴ About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.
¹⁵ The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”
¹⁶ So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
¹⁷ If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”
²⁰ The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?”
²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it.
²² Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
²³ If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?
²⁴ Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?
²⁶ And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?
²⁷ But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”
²⁸ So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.
²⁹ I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.
³⁰ So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
³¹ Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
³³ Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.
³⁴ You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”
³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
³⁶ What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’
³⁹ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
⁴⁰ When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.”
⁴¹ Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?
⁴² Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
⁴³ So there was a division among the people over him.
⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
⁴⁵ The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”
⁴⁶ The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
⁴⁷ The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?
⁴⁸ Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them,
⁵¹ “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”
⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
⁵³ They went each to his own house,

John 8:1-59: ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.
³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst.
⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
⁵ Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”
⁶ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.
⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
¹⁰ Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”
¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
¹⁷ In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.
¹⁸ I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”
¹⁹ They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
²⁰ These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
²¹ So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
²² So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
²³ He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
²⁵ So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.
²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
²⁷ They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
²⁹ And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
³³ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
³⁹ They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
⁴⁰ but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
⁴⁷ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’
⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?
⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
⁵⁵ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.
⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

John 9:1-41: ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
⁶ Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud.
⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”
¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”
¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
¹⁵ So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.
¹⁹ And they asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind,
²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”
²² (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)
²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
²⁶ He answered, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”
²⁷ He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”
²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.
³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
³⁴ They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
³⁶ He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”
³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

John 10:1-42: ¹ “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.”
² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
³ The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
⁶ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
¹⁹ There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
³⁰ I and the Father are one.
³¹ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
³³ The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?”
³⁵ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
³⁶ do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
³⁷ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
³⁸ but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
³⁹ Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
⁴⁰ He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
⁴¹ And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”
⁴² And many believed in him there.

John 11:1-57: ¹ Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
² It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”
⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
¹⁰ But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,
¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.
¹⁶ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
²⁹ When she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him.
³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
³⁵ Jesus wept.
³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.
⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
⁴⁵ Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,
⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.
⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.
⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
⁵² and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
⁵³ So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
⁵⁴ Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”
⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

John 12:1-50: ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
² So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
³ Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.”
⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
¹² The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
¹² So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
¹⁴ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
¹⁵ “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
¹⁷ So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
¹⁸ The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
²¹ So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
²² Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
²⁷ “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
³³ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
³⁴ So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,
³⁸ so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
³⁹ Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
⁴² Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;
⁴³ for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
⁴⁵ And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

John 13:1-38: ¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
² During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
⁸ Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”
¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?
¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’
¹⁹ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
²¹ After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
²² The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.
²³ One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side,
²⁴ So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
²⁵ So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
²⁷ Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.
²⁹ Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.
³⁰ So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
³² If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
³³ Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
³⁶ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
³⁷ Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
³⁸ Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

John 14:1-31: ¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”
⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.
⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
¹³ Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
²⁹ And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
³¹ but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

John 15:1-27: ¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”
² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.
¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
²⁵ But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:1: ¹ “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”