Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) conferred together against Jesus, [plotting how] to put Him to death [since under Roman rule they had no power to execute anyone];

²so they bound Him, and led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor [of Judea, who had the authority to condemn prisoners to death].

³When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

⁴saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They replied, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"

⁵And throwing the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary, he left; and went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests, picking up the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put these in the treasury [of the temple], because it is the price of blood."

⁷So after consultation they used the money to buy the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers.

⁸Therefore that piece of ground has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled: "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel;

¹⁰and they gave them for the Potter's Field, as the Lord directed me."

¹¹Now Jesus stood before [Pilate] the governor, and the governor asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" [In affirmation] Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."

¹²But when the charges were brought against Him by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.

¹³Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?"

¹⁴But Jesus did not reply to him, not even to a single accusation, so that the governor was greatly astonished.

¹⁵Now at the feast [of the Passover] the governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner whom the people chose.

¹⁶And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner [guilty of insurrection and murder], called Barabbas.

¹⁷So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

¹⁸For Pilate knew that it was because of jealousy that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While he was seated on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous and innocent Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

²¹The governor said to them, "Which of the two do you wish me to set free for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."

²²Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all replied, "Let Him be crucified!"

²³And he said, "Why, what has He done that is evil?" But they continued shouting all the louder, "Let Him be crucified!"

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands [to ceremonially cleanse himself of guilt] in the presence of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this [righteous] Man's blood; see to that yourselves."

²⁵And all the people answered, "Let [the responsibility for] His blood be on us and on our children!"

²⁶So he set Barabbas free for them; but after having Jesus severely whipped (scourged), he handed Him over to be crucified.

²⁷Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and they gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on Him [as a king's robe].

²⁹And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand [as a scepter]. Kneeling before Him, they ridiculed Him, saying, "Hail (rejoice), King of the Jews!"

³⁰They spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him repeatedly on the head.

³¹After they finished ridiculing Him, they stripped Him of the scarlet robe and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

³²Now as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced into service to carry the cross of Jesus.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

³⁴they offered Him wine mixed with gall (myrrh, a bitter-tasting narcotic) to drink; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes among them by casting lots.

³⁶Then sitting down there, they began to keep watch over Him [to guard against any rescue attempt].

³⁷And above His head they put the accusation against Him which read, " THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

³⁸At the same time two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹Those who passed by were hurling abuse at Him and jeering at Him, wagging their heads [in scorn and ridicule],

⁴⁰and they said [tauntingly], "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying,

⁴²"He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him.

⁴³He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

⁴⁴The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).

⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud [agonized] voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

⁴⁷When some of the bystanders there heard it, they began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah."

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, soaked it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

⁴⁹But the rest said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him [from death]."

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father's plan].

⁵¹And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

⁵²The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints (God's people) who had fallen asleep [in death] were raised [to life];

⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

⁵⁵There were also many women there looking on from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him.

⁵⁶Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and [Salome] the mother of Zebedee's sons [James and John].

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus [so that he might bury Him], and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth (burial wrapping),

⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock; and he rolled a large stone over the entrance of the tomb and went away.

⁶¹And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, the day after the [day of] preparation [for the Sabbath], the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate,

⁶³and said, "Sir, we have remembered that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise [from the dead].'

⁶⁴Therefore, give orders to have the tomb made secure and safeguarded until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception [the reporting of His resurrection] will be worse than the first [the reporting that He is the Messiah]."

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, "You have a guard [of soldiers]; go [with them], make the tomb as secure as you know how."

⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure, and along with [stationing] a guard of soldiers [to be on watch] they set a seal on the stone.

¹Now after the Sabbath, near dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

³The angel's appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.

⁴The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

⁶He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said [He would]. Come! See the place where He was lying.

⁷Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee [as He promised]. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you."

⁸So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.

⁹And as they went, suddenly, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" And they went to Him and took hold of His feet [in homage] and worshiped Him [as the Messiah].

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me [just as I promised]."

¹¹While they were on their way, some of the [Roman] guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

¹²And when the chief priests had gathered with the elders and had consulted together [to develop a plan of deception], they gave a sufficient sum of money [as a bribe] to the soldiers,

¹³and said, "You say this, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.'

¹⁴And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble."

¹⁵So they took the money [they were paid for lying] and did as they were instructed; and this [fabricated] story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to the present day.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

¹⁷And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He].

¹⁸Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age."

¹The beginning of the [facts regarding the] good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah: "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way—

³A voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!'"

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [that is, requiring a change of one's old way of thinking, turning away from sin and seeking God and His righteousness].

⁵And all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were continually going out to him; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁶John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a [wide] leather band around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he was preaching, saying, "After me comes He who is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, and I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the straps of His sandals [even as His slave].

⁸As for me, I baptized you [who came to me] with water [only]; but He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit."

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);

¹¹and a voice came out of heaven saying: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!"

¹²Immediately the [Holy] Spirit forced Him out into the wilderness.

¹³He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted [to do evil] by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered continually to Him.

¹⁴Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and taken into custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God,

¹⁵and saying, "The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God's purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation]."

¹⁶As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon's brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, " Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men."

¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

¹⁹Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending and cleaning the nets.

²⁰Immediately Jesus called to them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers, and went away to follow Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

²¹They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

²²They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

²⁴saying, " What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

²⁵Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet (muzzled, silenced), and come out of him!"

²⁶The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and screeching with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷They were all so amazed that they debated and questioned each other, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits (demons), and they obey Him."

²⁸Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere throughout the district surrounding Galilee.

²⁹And immediately they left the synagogue and went into the house of Simon [Peter] and Andrew, accompanied by James and John.

³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they told Him about her.

³¹Jesus went to her, and taking her by the hand, raised her up; and the fever left her, and she began to serve them [as her guests].

³²Now when evening came, after the sun had set [and the Sabbath Day had ended, in a steady stream] they were bringing to Him all who were sick and those who were under the power of demons,

³³until [it seemed as though] the whole city had gathered together at the door.

³⁴And Jesus healed many who were suffering with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him [recognizing Him as the Son of God].

³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left [the house], and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there.

³⁶Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him,

³⁷and they found Him and said, "Everybody is looking for You!"

³⁸He replied, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so I may preach there also; that is why I came [from the Father]."

³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching [the gospel] in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰And a leper came to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, saying, "If You are willing, You are able to make me clean."

⁴¹Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."

⁴²The leprosy left him immediately and he was cleansed [completely healed and restored to health].

⁴³And Jesus [deeply moved] admonished him sternly and sent him away immediately,

⁴⁴saying to him, "See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed]."

⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news [of his healing], to such an extent that Jesus could no longer openly enter a city [where He was known], but stayed out in the unpopulated places; yet people were still coming to Him from everywhere.

¹Jesus returned to Capernaum, and a few days later the news went out that He was at home.

²So many people gathered together that there was no longer room [for them], not even near the door; and Jesus was discussing with them the word [of God].

³Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

⁴When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

⁵When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

⁶But some of the scribes were sitting there debating in their hearts [the implication of what He had said],

⁷"Why does this man talk that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins [remove guilt, nullify sin's penalty, and assign righteousness] except God alone?"

⁸Immediately Jesus, being fully aware [of their hostility] and knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this, said to them, "Why are you debating and arguing about these things in your hearts?

⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your mat and walk'?

¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority and power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralyzed man,

¹¹"I say to you, get up, pick up your mat and go home."

¹²And he got up and immediately picked up the mat and went out before them all, so that they all were astonished and they glorified and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

¹³Jesus went out again along the [Galilean] seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

¹⁴As He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax collector's booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk]." And he got up and followed Him [becoming His disciple, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

¹⁵And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi's house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.

¹⁶When the scribes [belonging to the sect] of the Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with the sinners [including non-observant Jews] and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, "Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹⁷When Jesus heard this, He said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness]."

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting [as a ritual]; and they came and asked Jesus, "Why are John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasting, but Your disciples are not doing so?"

¹⁹Jesus answered, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is [still] with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them, and they will fast at that time.

²¹"No one sews a patch of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

²²No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the [fermenting] wine will [expand and] burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the wineskins. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

²³One Sabbath He was walking along [with His disciples] through the grainfields, and as they went along, His disciples began picking the heads of grain.

²⁴The Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

²⁵Jesus said to them, "Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

²⁶how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?"

²⁷Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath [and He has authority over it]."

¹Again Jesus went into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

²The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

³He said to the man whose hand was withered, "Get up and come forward!"

⁴He asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

⁵After looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, "Hold out your hand." And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.

⁷Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea,

⁸and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

⁹And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him;

¹⁰for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, "You are the Son of God!"

¹²Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.

¹³He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him.

¹⁴And He appointed twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives],

¹⁵and to have authority and power to cast out demons.

¹⁶He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

¹⁷and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder");

¹⁸and [He also appointed] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael), and Matthew (Levi the tax collector), and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas the son of James), and Simon the Zealot;

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

²⁰Then He came to a house [in Capernaum], and a crowd formed again, so [many people] that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat a meal [together].

²¹When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He is out of His mind."

²²The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul (Satan)," and "He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons."

²³So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan?

²⁴If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

²⁷But no one can go into a strong man's house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house.

²⁸"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say;

²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]"—

³⁰[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.

³²A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You."

³³And He replied, "Who are My mother and My brothers?"

³⁴Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!

³⁵For whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother."

¹Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea [of Galilee]. And a very large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat [anchoring it a short distance out] on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

²And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them,

³"Listen! A sower went out to sow seed;

⁴and as he was sowing, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

⁵Other seed fell on rocks where there was not much soil; and immediately a plant sprang up because the soil had no depth.

⁶And when the sun came up, the plant was scorched; and because it had no root, it dried up and withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

⁸And other seed fell into good soil, and as the plants grew and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times [as much as had been sown]."

⁹And He said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words."

¹⁰As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables.

¹¹He said to them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,

¹²so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven."

¹³Then He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand and grasp the meaning of all the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation].

¹⁵These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

¹⁶In a similar way these [in the second group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy [but accept it only superficially];

¹⁷and they have no real root in themselves, so they endure only for a little while; then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they [are offended and displeased at being associated with Me and] stumble and fall away.

¹⁸And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

¹⁹but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰And those [in the last group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation] and accept it and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much [as was sown]."

²¹He said to them, "A lamp is not brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not [brought in] to be put on the lampstand?

²²For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been kept secret, but that it would come to light [that is, things are hidden only temporarily, until the appropriate time comes for them to be known].

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words."

²⁴Then He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.

²⁵For whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a yearning for truth], even what he has will be taken away from him."

²⁶Then He said, "The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground;

²⁷and he goes to bed at night and gets up every day, and [in the meantime] the seed sprouts and grows; how [it does this], he does not know.

²⁸The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head [of grain], then the mature grain in the head.

²⁹But when the crop ripens, he immediately puts in the sickle [to reap], because [the time for] the harvest has come."

³⁰And He said, "How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?

³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil,

³²yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden herbs; and it puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky are able to make nests and live under its shade."

³³With many such parables, Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear and understand it;

³⁴and He did not say anything to them without [using] a parable; He did, however, explain everything privately to His own disciples.

³⁵On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee]."

³⁶So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

³⁷And a fierce windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already being swamped.

³⁸But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor's leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?"

³⁹And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still (muzzled)!" And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness].

⁴⁰Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?"

⁴¹They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.

²When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

³and the man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with chains.

⁴For he had often been bound with shackles [for the feet] and with chains, and he tore apart the chains and broke the shackles into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue and tame him.

⁵Night and day he was constantly screaming and shrieking among the tombs and on the mountains, and cutting himself with [sharp] stones.

⁶Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him [in homage];

⁷and screaming with a loud voice, he said, " What business do we have in common with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God [swear to me], do not torment me!"

⁸For Jesus had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"

⁹He was asking him, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."

¹⁰And he began begging Him repeatedly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹Now there was a large herd of pigs grazing there on the mountain.

¹²And the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the pigs so that we may go into them!"

¹³Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered the pigs. The herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea; and they were drowned [one after the other] in the sea.

¹⁴The herdsmen [tending the pigs] ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what had happened.

¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the "legion" [of demons]; and they were frightened.

¹⁶Those who had seen it described [in detail] to the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [told them all] about the pigs.

¹⁷So the people began to beg with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸As He was stepping into the boat, the [Gentile] man who had been demon-possessed was begging with Him [asking] that he might go with Him [as a disciple].

¹⁹Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, "Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you."

²⁰So he [obeyed and] went away and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten Hellenistic cities] all the great things that Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

²¹When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side [of the sea], a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore.

²²One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up; and seeing Him, fell at His feet

²³and begged anxiously with Him, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; [please] come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live."

²⁴And Jesus went with him; and a large crowd followed Him and pressed in around Him [from all sides].

²⁵A woman [in the crowd] had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years,

²⁶and had endured much [suffering] at the hands of many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse.

²⁷She had heard [reports] about Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His outer robe.

²⁸For she thought, "If I just touch His clothing, I will get well."

²⁹Immediately her flow of blood was dried up; and she felt in her body [and knew without any doubt] that she was healed of her suffering.

³⁰Immediately Jesus, recognizing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched My clothes?"

³¹His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in around You [from all sides], and You ask, 'Who touched Me?'"

³²Still He kept looking around to see the woman who had done it.

³³And the woman, though she was afraid and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

³⁴Then He said to her, "Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering."

³⁵While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official's house, saying [to Jairus], "Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?"

³⁶Overhearing what was being said, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power]."

³⁷And He allowed no one to go with Him [as witnesses], except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

³⁸They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He looked [with understanding] at the uproar and commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing [in mourning].

³⁹When He had gone in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is sleeping."

⁴⁰They began laughing [scornfully] at Him [because they knew the child was dead]. But He made them all go outside, and took along the child's father and mother and His own [three] companions, and entered the room where the child was.

⁴¹Taking the child's hand, He said [tenderly] to her, "Talitha kum!"—which translated [from Aramaic] means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"

⁴²The little girl immediately got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they [who witnessed the child's resurrection] were overcome with great wonder and utter amazement.

⁴³He gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.

¹Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.

²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

³Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?" And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].

⁴Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor (respect) except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."

⁵And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around in the villages teaching.

⁷And He called the twelve [disciples] and began to send them out [as His special messengers] two by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits.

⁸He told them to take nothing for the journey except a mere walking stick—no bread, no [traveler's] bag, no money in their belts—

⁹but to wear sandals; and [He told them] not to wear two tunics.

¹⁰And He told them, "Wherever you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town.

¹¹Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them [breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message]."

¹²So they went out and preached that men should repent [that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives].

¹³And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

¹⁴King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus' name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him."

¹⁵But others were saying, "He is Elijah!" And others were saying, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets [of old]."

¹⁶But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!"

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent [guards] and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his [half-] brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful [under Mosaic Law] for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not,

²⁰because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John [speak], he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him.

²¹But an opportune time [finally] came [for Herodias]. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his officials (nobles, courtiers) and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

²²Now [Salome] the daughter of Herodias came in and danced [for the men]. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."

²³And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom."

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And Herodias replied, "The head of John the Baptist!"

²⁵And she rushed back to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter!"

²⁶The king was deeply grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests [who might have regarded him as weak], he was unwilling to [break his word and] refuse her.

²⁷So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John's head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

²⁸and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John's body and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles [who had been sent out on a mission] gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught.

³¹He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while"—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.

³²And they went away by themselves in the boat to a secluded place.

³³Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd [waiting], and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd [lacking guidance]; and He began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is an isolated place, and it is already late;

³⁶send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But He replied, "You give them something to eat!" And they asked Him, "Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five [loaves], and two fish."

³⁹Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots].

⁴¹Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate and were satisfied.

⁴³And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

⁴⁴Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children].

⁴⁵Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.

⁴⁶And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.

⁴⁹But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, "Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid."

⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed,

⁵²because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].

⁵³When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore.

⁵⁴They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him,

⁵⁵and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was.

⁵⁶And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

¹Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Him,

²and they had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with [ceremonially] impure hands, that is, unwashed [and defiled according to Jewish religious ritual].

³( For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the traditions of the elders;

⁴and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.)

⁵So the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, "Why do Your disciples not live their lives according to the tradition of the elders, but [instead] eat their bread with [ceremonially] unwashed hands?"

⁶He replied, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture], 'These people honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

⁷'They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].'

⁸You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men."

⁹He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations.

¹⁰For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother [with respect and gratitude]'; and, 'He who speaks evil of his father or mother must be put to death';

¹¹but you [Pharisees and scribes] say, 'If a man tells his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you is Corban, (that is to say, already a gift to God),"'

¹²then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother [since helping them would violate his vow of Corban];

¹³so you nullify the [authority of the] word of God [acting as if it did not apply] because of your tradition which you have handed down [through the elders]. And you do many things such as that."

¹⁴After He called the people to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen [carefully] to Me, all of you, [hear] and understand [what I am saying]:

¹⁵there is nothing outside a man [such as food] which by going into him can defile him [morally or spiritually]; but the things which come out of [the heart of] a man are what defile and dishonor him.

¹⁶["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."]

¹⁷When Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples asked Him about the parable.

¹⁸And He said to them, "Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him,

¹⁹since it does not enter his heart, but [only] his stomach, and [from there it] is eliminated?" (By this, He declared all foods ceremonially clean.)

²⁰And He said, "Whatever comes from [the heart of] a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him.

²¹For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,

²²acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment).

²³All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man."

²⁴Jesus got up and left there and went to the region of Tyre [and Sidon, the coastal area of Phoenicia]. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know about it; but it was impossible for Him to be hidden [from the public].

²⁵Instead, after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile (Greek), a Syrophoenician by nationality. And she kept pleading with Him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷He was saying to her, "First let the children [of Israel] be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the pet dogs (non-Jews)."

²⁸But she replied, "Yes, Lord, but even the pet dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹And He said to her, "Because of this answer [reflecting your humility and faith], go [knowing that your request is granted]; the demon has left your daughter [permanently]."

³⁰And returning to her home, she found the child lying on the couch [relaxed and resting], the demon having gone.

³¹Soon after this Jesus left the region of Tyre, and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten Hellenistic cities].

³²They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

³³Jesus, taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man's ears, and after spitting, He touched the man's tongue [with the saliva];

³⁴and looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to the man, "Ephphatha," which [in Aramaic] means, " Be opened and released!"

³⁵And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking plainly.

³⁶Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

³⁷They were thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed, saying, "He has done everything well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!"

¹In those days, when there was again a large crowd [gathered before Him] and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and told them,

²"I feel compassion for the crowd; they have been with Me now for three days and have nothing [left] to eat.

³If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint [from exhaustion] on the road; because some of them have come a long way."

⁴His disciples replied to Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this isolated place to feed these people?"

⁵He asked them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have?" They said, "Seven."

⁶He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and [repeatedly] gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they served the crowd.

⁷They also had a few small fish; and when Jesus had blessed them [and given thanks], He ordered these [fish] to be set before them as well.

⁸And the people ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

⁹About four thousand [men] were there [besides women and children]; and He sent them away.

¹⁰Then immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came out and began to argue [contentiously and debate] with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him [because of their unbelief].

¹²He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!"

¹³Leaving them, He again boarded the boat and left for the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Jesus repeatedly ordered them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

¹⁶They began discussing this with one another, saying, "It is because we have no bread [that He said this]."

¹⁷Jesus, aware of this [discussion], said to them, "Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

¹⁸Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember,

¹⁹when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They answered, "Twelve."

²⁰"And [when I broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they answered, "Seven."

²¹And He was saying to them, "Do you still not understand?"

²²Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him.

²³Taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"

²⁴And he looked up and said, "I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around."

²⁵Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.

²⁶And He sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."

²⁷Then Jesus and His disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

²⁸They answered Him, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets."

²⁹And He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter replied to Him, "You [in contrast to the others] are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)."

³⁰Then Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about Him.

³¹And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must [of necessity] suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and must be put to death, and after three days rise [from death to life].

³²He was stating the matter plainly [not holding anything back]. Then Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him.

³³But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God's will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man."

³⁴Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

³⁵For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake and the gospel's will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].

³⁶For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul?

³⁷For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God's kingdom]?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

¹And Jesus said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."

²Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory];

³and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

⁴Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus.

⁵Peter responded and said to Jesus, "Rabbi (Master), it is good for us to be here; let us make three [sacred] tents—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

⁶For he did not [really] know what to say because they were terrified [and stunned by the miraculous sight].

⁷Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him and obey Him!"

⁸Suddenly they looked around and no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus alone.

⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus expressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰So they [carefully and faithfully] kept the matter to themselves, discussing and questioning [with one another] what it meant to rise from the dead.

¹¹They asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first [before the Messiah comes]?"

¹²He answered them, "Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]?

¹³But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come [already], and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written [in Scripture] of him."

¹⁴When they came [back] to the [other nine] disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes questioning and arguing with them.

¹⁵Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were startled and began running up to greet Him.

¹⁶He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"

¹⁷One of the crowd replied to Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him unable to speak;

¹⁸and whenever it seizes him [intending to do harm], it throws him down, and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it."

¹⁹He replied, "O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"

²⁰They brought the boy to Him. When the [demonic] spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he answered, "Since childhood.

²²The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"

²³Jesus said to him, "[You say to Me,] 'If You can?' All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!"

²⁴Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, "I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief."

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!"

²⁶After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse [so still and pale] that many [of the spectators] said, "He is dead!"

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up.

²⁸When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, "Why were we unable to drive it out?"

²⁹He replied to them, "This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father]."

³⁰They went on from there and began to go through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it,

³¹because He was teaching His disciples [and preparing them for the future]. He told them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies], and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise [from the dead] three days later."

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him [what He meant].

³³They arrived at Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He asked them, "What were you discussing and arguing about on the road?"

³⁴But they kept quiet, because on the road they had discussed and debated with one another which one [of them] was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down [to teach], He called the twelve [disciples] and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all [in importance] and a servant of all."

³⁶Taking a child, He set him before them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

³⁷"Whoever receives and welcomes one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not [only] Me, but Him who sent Me."

³⁸John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not accompanying us [as Your disciple]."

³⁹But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

⁴⁰For he who is not against us is for us.

⁴¹For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴²"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey's strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

⁴⁴[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁶[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]

⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.

⁴⁹"For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good and useful; but if salt has lost its saltiness (purpose), how will you make it salty? Have salt within yourselves continually, and be at peace with one another."

¹Getting up, He left there (Capernaum) and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again and accompanied Him, and as was His custom, He once more began to teach them.

²Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him [intending to trick Him into saying something wrong], and asked Him, "Is it lawful [according to Scripture] for a man to divorce his wife and send her away?"

³He replied to them, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."

⁵But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and theprovision of God] he wrote you this precept.

⁶But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

⁷For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother [to establish a home with his wife],

⁸and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but [are united as] one flesh.

⁹Therefore, what God has united and joined together, man must not separate [by divorce]."

¹⁰In the house the disciples began questioning Him again about this.

¹¹And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

¹²and if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

¹³People were bringing children to Him so that He would touch and bless them, but the disciples reprimanded them and discouraged them [from coming].

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and He said to them, "Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

¹⁶And He took the children [one by one] in His arms and blessed them [with kind, encouraging words], placing His hands on them.

¹⁷As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, "Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]?"

¹⁸Jesus said to him, " Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰And he replied to Him, "Teacher, I have [carefully] kept all these [commandments] since my youth."

²¹Looking at him, Jesus felt a love (high regard, compassion) for him, and He said to him, "You lack one thing: go and sell all your property and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk]."

²²But the man was saddened at Jesus' words, and he left grieving, because he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who are wealthy [and cling to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God!"

²⁴The disciples were amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁶They were completely and utterly astonished, and said to Him, "Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?"

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

²⁸Peter started saying to Him, "Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord]."

²⁹Jesus said, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake,

³⁰who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."

³²Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were perplexed [at what Jesus had said], and those who were following were alarmed and afraid. And again He took the twelve [disciples] aside and began telling them what was going to happen to Him,

³³saying, "Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans).

³⁴They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead]."

³⁵James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You."

³⁶And He replied to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

³⁷They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom]."

³⁸But 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 [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?"

³⁹And they replied to Him, "We are able." Jesus told them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

⁴⁰But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father]."

⁴¹Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John.

⁴²Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them].

⁴³But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom].

⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, "Jesus, Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, "Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, telling him, "Take courage, get up! He is calling for you."

⁵⁰Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹And Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight."

⁵²Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

¹When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples,

²saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey's] colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here.

³If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it'; and immediately he will send it here."

⁴So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it.

⁵Some of the people who were standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"

⁶They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go.

⁷They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it.

⁸And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].

⁹Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise], "Hosanna ( Save, I pray)! Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

¹⁰"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!"

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

¹²On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry.

¹³Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴He said to it, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

¹⁵Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves;

¹⁶and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut].

¹⁷He began to teach and say 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 robbers' den."

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

¹⁹When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

²⁰In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up.

²¹And remembering, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!"

²²Jesus replied, "Have faith in God [constantly].

²³I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!' and does not doubt in his heart [in God's unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God's will].

²⁴For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God's will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

²⁵Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others].

²⁶["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions."]

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him,

²⁸and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?"

²⁹Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me."

³¹They began discussing it with each other, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

³²But shall we say, 'From men?'" —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.

³³So they replied to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."