Chapter 13

Call to Repent

1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood aPilate had 1mixed with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus said to them, “aDo you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?

3 “I tell you, no, but unless you 1repent, you will all likewise perish.

4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in aSiloam fell and killed them were worse 1bculprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?

5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had aa fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.

7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree 1without finding any. aCut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’

8 “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”

Healing on the Sabbath

10 And He was ateaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had aa sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”

13 And He alaid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began bglorifying God.

14 But athe synagogue official, indignant because Jesus bhad healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “cThere are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

15 But athe Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, bdoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?

16 “And this woman, aa daughter of Abraham as she is, whom bSatan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and athe entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

18 So aHe was saying, “bWhat is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?

19 “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and athe birds of the 1air nested in its branches.”

20 And again He said, “aTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

21 “aIt is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in bthree 1pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

Teaching in the Villages

22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and aproceeding on His way to Jerusalem.

23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,

24 “aStrive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

25 “Once the head of the house gets up and ashuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘bLord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘cI do not know where you are from.’

26 “Then you will abegin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’;

27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, aI do not know where you are from; bdepart from Me, all you evildoers.’

28 “aIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.

29 “And they awill come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

30 “And behold, asome are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for aHerod wants to kill You.”

32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I 1areach My goal.’

33 “Nevertheless aI must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a bprophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

34 “aO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, bjust as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘aBlessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Chapter 14

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

1 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the 1leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, athey were watching Him closely.

2 And 1there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.

3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the 1alawyers and Pharisees, saying, “bIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.

5 And He said to them, “1aWhich one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

6 aAnd they could make no reply to this.

Parable of the Guests

7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how athey had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,

8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ado not 1take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,

9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then ain disgrace you 1proceed to occupy the last place.

10 “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, amove up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who 1are at the table with you.

11 “aFor everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.

13 “But when you give a 1reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

14 and you will be blessed, since they 1do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at athe resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “aBlessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Parable of the Dinner

16 But He said to him, “aA man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;

17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a 1piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; 2please consider me excused.’

19 “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; 1please consider me excused.’

20 “Another one said, ‘aI have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’

21 “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’

22 “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’

23 “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

24 ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’ ”

Discipleship Tested

25 Now 1large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,

26 “aIf anyone comes to Me, and does not 1hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

27 “Whoever does not acarry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?

29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,

30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and aconsider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends 1a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who adoes not give up all his own possessions.

34 “Therefore, salt is good; but aif even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.”

Chapter 15

The Lost Sheep

1 Now all the atax collectors and the 1sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.

2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and aeats with them.”

3 So He told them this parable, saying,

4 “aWhat man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the 1open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, if she has ten 1silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’

10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ain the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

11 And He said, “A man had two sons.

12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me athe share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his 1bwealth between them.

13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.

15 “So he went and 1hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the 1pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.

17 “But when he came to 1his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!

18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and 1in your sight;

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’

20 “So he got up and came to 1his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and 2aembraced him and kissed him.

21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out athe best robe and put it on him, and bput a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;

23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;

24 for this son of mine was adead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.

27 “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’

28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

29 “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never 1neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your 1awealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you 1have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.

32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was adead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”

Chapter 16

The Unrighteous Steward

1 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was 1reported to him as asquandering his possessions.

2 “And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my 1master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

4 ‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’

5 “And he summoned each one of his 1master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “And he said, ‘A hundred 1measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

7 “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred 1measures of wheat.’ He * said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

8 “And his 1master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of athis age are more shrewd in relation to their own 2kind than the bsons of light.

9 “And I say to you, amake friends for yourselves by means of the 1bwealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, cthey will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 “aHe who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous 1awealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

12 “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

13 “aNo 1servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and 2bwealth.”

14 Now the Pharisees, who were alovers of money, were listening to all these things and bwere scoffing at Him.

15 And He said to them, “You are those who ajustify yourselves 1in the sight of men, but bGod knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable 1in the sight of God.

16 “aThe Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time bthe gospel of the kingdom of God 1has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

17 “aBut it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one 1stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

18 “aEveryone who 1divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is 2divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.

20 “And a poor man named Lazarus awas laid at his gate, covered with sores,

21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to aAbraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

23 “In aHades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and * saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “And he cried out and said, ‘aFather Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in bthis flame.’

25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that aduring your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

26 ‘And 1besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

27 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—

28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may awarn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “But Abraham * said, ‘They have aMoses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

30 “But he said, ‘No, afather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’

31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Chapter 17

Instructions

1 He said to His disciples, “aIt is inevitable that 1stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!

2 “aIt 1would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.

3 “1Be on your guard! aIf your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 “And if he sins against you aseven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ 1forgive him.”

5 aThe apostles said to bthe Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 And athe Lord said, “If you 1had faith like ba mustard seed, you would say to this cmulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would 2obey you.

7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and 1sit down to eat’?

8 “But will he not say to him, ‘aPrepare something for me to eat, and properly 1clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and 2afterward you 3may eat and drink’?

9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?

10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”

Ten Lepers Cleansed

11 While He was aon the way to Jerusalem, bHe was passing 1between Samaria and Galilee.

12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who astood at a distance met Him;

13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, aMaster, have mercy on us!”

14 When He saw them, He said to them, “aGo and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, aglorifying God with a loud voice,

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a aSamaritan.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?

18 “1Was no one found who returned to agive glory to God, except this foreigner?”

19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; ayour faith 1has made you well.”

20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees aas to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with 1bsigns to be observed;

21 nor will athey say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is 1in your midst.”

Second Coming Foretold

22 And He said to the disciples, “aThe days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

23 “aThey will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.

24 “aFor just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part 1of the sky, shines to the other part 1of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

25 “aBut first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 “aAnd just as it happened bin the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:

27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “1It was the same as happened in athe days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and 1brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be 1just the same on the day that the Son of Man ais revealed.

31 “On that day, the one who is aon the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.

32 “aRemember Lot’s wife.

33 “aWhoever seeks to keep his 1life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

34 “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

35 “aThere will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.

36 [“1aTwo men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]

37 And answering they * said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “aWhere the body is, there also the 1vultures will be gathered.”