The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^ralways to pray and not ^slose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^tneither 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, ^u‘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 ^vwill not God give justice to ^whis elect, ^xwho cry to him day and night? ^yzWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them ^aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^bwill he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He also told this parable to some ^cwho trusted ^din themselves that they were righteous, ^eand treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men ^fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, ^gstanding by himself, prayed^{1 h}thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ⁱI fast twice a week; ^jI give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, ^gstanding far off, ^kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, ^mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ⁿeveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let the Children Come to Me

15 ^oNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they ^prebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, ^q“Let the children come to me, and ^rdo not hinder them, ^qfor to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 ^sTruly, I say to you, whoever does not ^treceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

18 ^uAnd a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^vinherit 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: ^w‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, ^x“All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ^ySell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ^ztreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 ^aBut when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, ^b“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter ^cthe 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 ^cthe kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, ^d“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, ^ewe have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^fthere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers² or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive ^gmany times more ^hin this time, and in ⁱthe age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

31 ^jAnd taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, ^kwe are going up to Jerusalem, and ^leverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be ^mdelivered over to the Gentiles and will be ⁿmocked and shamefully treated and ^ospit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on ^pthe third day he will rise.” 34 ^qBut they understood none of these things. ^rThis saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

35 ^sAs he drew near to Jericho, ^ta blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, ^u“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, ^vSon of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front ^wrebuked 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 ^x“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; ^yyour faith has ^zmade you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, ^aglorifying God. And ^ball the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And ^dhe 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 ^ea 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 ^fI must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and ^greceived him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all ^hgrumbled, “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 ⁱI give to the poor. And if I have ^jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^kfourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^lhe also is a son of Abraham. 10 For ^mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ⁿthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, ^o“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ^pten of his servants,¹ he gave them ten minas,² and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^quntil I come.’ 14 But ^rhis 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. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!³ Because you have been ^sfaithful in a very little, ^tyou shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And 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 ^ua handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are ^va severe man. You take ^wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ^x‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was ^va 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 ^zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But ^ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^aslaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, ^bhe went on ahead, ^cgoing up to Jerusalem. 29 ^dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and ^eBethany, at ^fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^gtwo of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^hon 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 ⁱjust 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 And they said, “The Lord has need of 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 ^jspread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^kthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, ^m“Blessed is ⁿthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^oglory in the highest!” 39 ^pAnd some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^qthe very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 ^rAnd when he drew near and saw the city, ^she wept over it, 42 saying, ^t“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^uthey are hidden from your eyes. 43 For ^vthe days will come upon you, when your enemies ^wwill set up a barricade around you and ^xsurround you and hem you in on every side 44 ^yand tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^zthey will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^athe time of your ^bvisitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 ^cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ^d‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.”

47 ^fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. ^gThe 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.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^hOne day, ⁱas Jesus¹ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us ^kby 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, 4 was the baptism of John ^lfrom heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^m‘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 ⁿa 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.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

9 ^oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^pa vineyard and ^qlet it out to tenants and ^rwent into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant² to the tenants, so that ^qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 ^tAnd ^she sent another servant. But they also beat and ^utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 ^sAnd 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 ^vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^w‘This is the heir. ^xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they ^ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 ^zHe will ^acome and destroy those tenants and ^bgive the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he ^clooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

18 ^eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^fon anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 ^hThe 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 ⁱSo they ^jwatched him and sent spies, who ^kpretended to be sincere, that they might ^lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^oshow no partiality,⁴ but truly teach ^pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give ^qtribute to ^rCaesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their ^scraftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me ^ta denarius.⁵ Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then ^urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people ^vto catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

27 There came to him ^wsome Sadducees, ^xthose who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ^ythat if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man⁶ must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward 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, ^z“The sons of this age ^amarry and ^aare given in marriage, 35 but those who are ^bconsidered worthy to attain to ^cthat age and to the resurrection from the dead ^dneither marry ^dnor are given in marriage, 36 for ^ethey cannot die anymore, because they are ^fequal to angels and ^gare ^hsons of God, being ⁱsons⁷ of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, ^jeven Moses showed, in ^kthe passage about the bush, where he calls ^lthe 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 ^mlive to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes ⁿanswered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For ^othey no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 ^pBut he said to them, “How can they say that ^qthe Christ is ^qDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

44 David thus calls him Lord, so ^thow is he his son?”

Beware of the Scribes

45 ^uAnd 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 ^vthe places of honor at feasts, 47 ^wwho devour widows’ houses and ^xfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

21 ^yJesus¹ looked up and saw the rich ^zputting their gifts into ^athe offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two ^bsmall copper coins.² 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^cthis poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^dpoverty put in all ^eshe had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

5 ^fAnd 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, ^gthe 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, ^hwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, ⁱ“See that you are not led astray. For ^jmany will come in my name, saying, ^k‘I am he!’ and, ^l‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^mterrified, for these things ⁿmust first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

10 Then he said to them, ^o“Nation will rise against nation, and ^pkingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great ^qearthquakes, and in various places ^rfamines and pestilences. And there will be ^sterrors and great ^tsigns from heaven. 12 But before all this ^uthey will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to ^vthe synagogues and ^wprisons, and you ^xwill be brought before ^ykings and ^zgovernors for my name’s sake. 13 ^aThis will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds ^bnot to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for ^cI will give you a mouth and ^dwisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or ^econtradict. 16 You will be delivered up ^feven by parents and brothers³ and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 ^gYou will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But ^hnot a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your ⁱendurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

20 “But ^jwhen you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that ^kits 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 ^ldays of ^mvengeance, to fulfill ⁿall that is written. 23 ^oAlas 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 ^pwrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and ^qbe led captive among all nations, and ^rJerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, ^suntil the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.