9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^ltaste death ^muntil they see the kingdom of God after it has come ⁿwith power.”

The Transfiguration

2 ^oAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^pPeter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was ^qtransfigured before them, 3 and ^rhis clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one¹ on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, ^s“Rabbi,² it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^ttents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For ^uhe did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And ^va cloud overshadowed them, and ^va voice came out of the cloud, ^w“This is my beloved Son;^{3 x}listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

9 ^yAnd as they were coming down the mountain, ^zhe charged them to tell no one what they had seen, ^auntil the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 ^bSo they kept the matter to themselves, ^cquestioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say ^dthat first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first ^eto restore all things. And ^fhow is it written of the Son of Man that he should ^gsuffer many things and ^hbe treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and ⁱthey did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

14 ^jAnd when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, ^kwere greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has ^la spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and ^mthey were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O ⁿfaithless generation, ⁿhow long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it ^oconvulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But ^pif you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, ^p“‘If you can’! ^qAll things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out⁴ and said, “I believe; ^rhelp my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that ^sa crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ^t“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and ^oconvulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus ^utook him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had ^ventered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”⁵

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

30 ^wThey went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, ^xafter three days he will rise.” 32 ^yBut they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 And ^zthey came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house ^ahe asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way ^bthey had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ^c“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and ^dtaking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 ^e“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and ^ewhoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

38 ^fJohn said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone ^gcasting out demons in your name,⁶ and ^hwe tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 ⁱFor the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, ^jwhoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

Temptations to Sin

42 ^k“Whoever causes one of ^lthese little ones who believe in me to sin,^{7 m}it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 ⁿAnd if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to ^ohell,⁸ to ^pthe unquenchable fire.⁹ 45 ^qAnd if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into ^ohell. 47 ^rAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into ^shell, 48 ‘where ^ttheir worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.¹⁰ 50 ^vSalt is good, ^wbut if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? ^xHave salt in yourselves, and ^ybe at peace with one another.”

Teaching About Divorce

10 ^zAnd he left there and went ^ato the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

2 And Pharisees came up and in order ^bto test him asked, ^c“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, ^d“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^ehardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But ^ffrom the beginning of creation, ‘God made them ^gmale and female.’ 7 ^h‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,¹ 8 and ⁱthe two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 ^jWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, ^k“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and ^lif she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^mAnd they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples ⁿrebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ^o“Let the children come to me; ^pdo not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 ^qTruly, I say to you, whoever does not ^rreceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And ^she took them in his arms and blessed them, ^tlaying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

17 ^uAnd as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and ^vknelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^winherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ^x‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, ^yall these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, ^zlooking at him, ^aloved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, ^bsell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have ^ctreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 ^dDisheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus ^elooked around and said to his disciples, ^f“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter ^gthe kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples ^hwere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ⁱ“Children, ^jhow difficult it is² to enter ^gthe kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^gthe kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,³ “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus ^klooked at them and said, ^l“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, ^mwe have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, ⁿthere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ^ofor the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold ^pnow in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, ^qwith persecutions, and in ^rthe age to come eternal life. 31 But ^smany who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

32 ^tAnd they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and ^uJesus was walking ahead of them. And ^vthey were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, ^wwe are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will ^xcondemn him to death and ^ydeliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will ^zmock him and ^aspit on him, and flog him and kill him. And ^bafter three days he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

35 ^cAnd James and John, ^dthe sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us ^ewhatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, ^f“What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us ^gto sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^hin your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, ⁱ“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^jto drink the cup that I drink, or ^kto be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, ^l“The cup that I drink ^myou will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, ⁿyou will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, ^obut it is for those for whom it has been ^pprepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 ^qAnd Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles ^rlord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But ^sit shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,⁴ 44 and whoever would be first among you must be ^tslave⁵ of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but ^uto serve, and ^vto give his life as a ransom for ^wmany.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 ^xAnd they came to Jericho. And ^yas he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, ^za blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was ^aJesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many ^brebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ^c“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his ^dcloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, ^e“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, ^f“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; ^gyour faith has ^hmade you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

The Triumphal Entry

11 ⁱNow when they drew near to Jerusalem, to ^jBethphage and Bethany, at ^kthe Mount of Olives, Jesus¹ sent ^ltwo of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, ^mon which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many ⁿspread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ^o“Hosanna! ^pBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is ^qthe coming ^rkingdom of ^sour father ^rDavid! ^oHosanna ^tin the highest!”

11 ^uAnd he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, ^vhe went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^wOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^xhe was hungry. 13 ^yAnd seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^zit was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 ^aAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^bthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^cpigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^d‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^fwere seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^gall the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 ^hAnd when evening came they² went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ⁱAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^j“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have ^kfaith in God. 23 ^lTruly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ^m‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not ⁿdoubt in his heart, but ^obelieves that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^pwhatever you ask in prayer, ^obelieve that you ^qhave received³ it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever ^ryou stand praying, ^sforgive, ^tif you have anything against anyone, so that ^uyour Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”⁴

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^vAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, ^w“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John ^xfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^y‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^zthey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^aa prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 ^bAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^ca vineyard ^dand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^eleased it to tenants and ^fwent into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant¹ to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 ^gAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 ^gAgain ^hhe sent to them another servant, and ⁱthey struck him on the head and ^jtreated him shamefully. 5 ^gAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, ^ka beloved son. ^lFinally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ^m‘This is the heir. Come, ⁿlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and ^othrew him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^pHe will ^qcome and destroy the tenants and ^rgive the vineyard to others. 10 ^sHave you not read ^tthis Scripture:

12 And ^vthey were seeking to arrest him ^wbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^xleft him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 ^yAnd they sent to him some of ^zthe Pharisees and some of ^zthe Herodians, to ^atrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, ^bwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For ^cyou are not swayed by appearances,³ but truly teach ^dthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay ^etaxes to ^fCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing ^gtheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why ^hput me to the test? Bring me ⁱa denarius⁴ and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, ^j“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.