1 ^vAt that time ^wHerod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, ^x“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For ^yHerod had seized John and bound him and ^zput him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,¹ 4 because John had been saying to him, ^a“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, ^bhe feared the people, because they held him to be ^ca prophet. 6 But when Herod’s ^dbirthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And ^ehis disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

13 Now when Jesus heard this, ^fhe withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he ^gsaw a great crowd, and ^ghe had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^hsend the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ⁱyou give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^jhe looked up to heaven and ^ksaid a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

22 ^lImmediately he ^mmade the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, ⁿhe went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^oevening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way² from the land,³ beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And ^lin the fourth watch of the night⁴ he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^pthey were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^q“Take heart; it is I. ^qDo not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^rwalked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,⁵ he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^s“Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^t“O you of little faith, why did you ^udoubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, ^sthe wind ceased. 33 And ^vthose in the boat ^wworshiped him, saying, ^x“Truly you are ^ythe Son of God.”

34 ^zAnd when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^aGennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^bbrought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch ^cthe fringe of his garment. And ^das many as touched it were made well.

1 ^eThen Pharisees and ^fscribes came to Jesus ^ffrom Jerusalem and said, 2 ^g“Why do your disciples break ^hthe tradition of the elders? ^jFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^k‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^l‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”⁶ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^mmade void the word⁷ of God. 7 ⁿYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, ^q“Hear and understand: 11 ^rit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^soffended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, ^t“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^uwill be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; ^vthey are blind guides.⁸ And ^wif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, ^x“Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^y“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that ^zwhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁹ 18 But ^awhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come ^bevil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^dslander. 20 ^eThese are what defile a person. But ^fto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

21 ^gAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, ^ha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ⁱ“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, ^k“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and ^lknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^mthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ⁿthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^ogreat is your faith! ^pLet it be done for you as you desire.” ^qAnd her daughter was ^phealed instantly.¹⁰

29 ^rJesus went on from there and walked ^sbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^twent up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^uthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 ^vso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^wthe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^xthey glorified ^ythe God of Israel.

32 ^zThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^a“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^b“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And ^dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^eMagadan.

1 ^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,^{11 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. 4 ^mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 ^sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 ^vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 ^xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock¹² I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell¹³ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed¹⁴ in heaven.” 20 ^oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

21 ^pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!¹⁵ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance¹⁶ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. 25 For ^xwhoever would save his life¹⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 ^aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”

1 ^gAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was ⁱtransfigured before them, and ^jhis face shone like the sun, and ^khis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^lElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ^ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^ma voice from the cloud said, ⁿ“This is my beloved Son,¹⁸ with whom I am well pleased; ^olisten to him.” 6 When ^pthe disciples heard this, ^qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and ^rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^shave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 ^tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^vthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^xdid to him whatever they pleased. ^ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

14 ^aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and ^cthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus ^frebuked the demon,¹⁹ and it²⁰ came out of him, and ^gthe boy was healed instantly.²¹ 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, ^h“Because of your little faith. For ⁱtruly, I say to you, ^jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^lnothing will be impossible for you.”²²

22 ^mAs they were gathering²³ in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ⁿthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

24 ^oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^rtax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.²⁴ Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

1 ^tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^uturn and ^vbecome like children, you ^wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^zwhoever causes one of these ^alittle ones who believe in me to sin,²⁵ it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

7 “Woe to the world for ^btemptations to sin!^{26 c}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^eAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^fthe eternal fire. 9 ^eAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^fhell²⁷ of fire.

10 “See that you do not despise ^gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^htheir angels always ⁱsee the face of my Father who is in heaven.²⁸ 12 ^jWhat do you think? ^kIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^lit is not the will of my²⁹ Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 ^m“If your brother sins against you, ⁿgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^ogained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^rlet him be to you as ^sa Gentile and ^sa tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed³⁰ in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^uagree on earth about anything they ask, ^vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^wgathered in my name, ^xthere am I among them.”

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^zAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.³¹

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^ato settle accounts with his servants.³² 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bten thousand ^ctalents.³³ 25 ^dAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^eto be sold, with his wife and ^fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant^{34 g}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^dforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^hdenarii,³⁵ and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ⁱAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^jAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{36 k}until he should pay all his debt. 35 ^lSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^mfrom your heart.”