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¹In those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them,

²“I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat.

³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. “Seven,” they said.

⁶He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd.

⁷They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well.

⁸They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces.

⁹About four thousand were there. He dismissed them.

¹⁰And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him.

¹²Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

¹³Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Then he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

¹⁶They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread.

¹⁷Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?

¹⁸Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told him.

²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said.

²¹And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”

²²They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

²³He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people — they look like trees walking.”

²⁵Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.

²⁶Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

²⁷Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.

³¹Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.

³²He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

³⁴Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it.

³⁶For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?

³⁷What can anyone give in exchange for his life?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed 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.”

¹Then he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”

²After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transfigured in front of them,

³and his clothes became dazzling — extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.

⁴Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here. Let us set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —

⁶because he did not know what to say, since they were terrified.

⁷A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”

⁸Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰They kept this word to themselves, questioning what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹²“Elijah does come first and restores all things,” he replied. “Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written about him.”

¹⁴When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing with them.

¹⁵When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran to greet him.

¹⁶He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”

¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak.

¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

¹⁹He replied to them, “You unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me.”

²⁰So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹“How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father. “From childhood,” he said.

²²“And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

²⁴Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, 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.”

²⁶Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him into terrible convulsions. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.”

²⁷But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.

²⁸After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.”

³⁰Then they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know it.

³¹For he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise three days later.”

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”

³⁴But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.”

³⁶He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,

³⁷“Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent me.”

³⁸John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

³⁹“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me.

⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us.

⁴¹And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ — truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.

⁴²“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away  — it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

⁴³“And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire.

⁴⁴

⁴⁵And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

⁴⁶

⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸wheretheir worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”