Chapter 8

Four Thousand Fed

1 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, aJesus called His disciples and * said to them,

2 “aI feel compassion for the 1people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.

3 “If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”

4 And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough 1bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”

5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”

6 And He * directed the 1people to 2sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to 3serve to them, and they served them to the 1people.

7 They also had a few small fish; and aafter He had blessed them, He ordered these to be 1served as well.

8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large abaskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.

9 About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.

10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of aDalmanutha.

11 aThe Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, bseeking from Him a 1sign from heaven, 2to test Him.

12 aSighing deeply 1in His spirit, He * said, “Why does this generation seek for a 2sign? Truly I say to you, 3bno 2sign will be given to this generation.”

13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.

15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “aWatch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of bHerod.”

16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.

17 And Jesus, aware of this, * said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? aDo you not yet see or understand? Do you have a 1hardened heart?

18 “aHaving eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember,

19 when I broke athe five loaves for the five thousand, how many bbaskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They * said to Him, “Twelve.”

20 “When I broke athe seven for the four thousand, how many large bbaskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they * said to Him, “Seven.”

21 And He was saying to them, “aDo you not yet understand?”

22 And they * came to aBethsaida. And they * brought a blind man to Jesus and * implored Him to btouch him.

23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He abrought him out of the village; and after aspitting on his eyes and blaying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 And he 1looked up and said, “I see men, for 2I see them like trees, walking around.”

25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter athe village.”

Peter’s Confession of Christ

27 aJesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of bCaesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”

28 aThey told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”

29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” aPeter * answered and * said to Him, “You are 1the Christ.”

30 And aHe 1warned them to tell no one about Him.

31 aAnd He began to teach them that bthe Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

32 And He was stating the matter aplainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and * said, “Get behind Me, aSatan; for you are not setting your mind on 1God’s interests, but man’s.”

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and atake up his cross and follow Me.

35 “For awhoever wishes to save his 1life will lose it, but whoever loses his 1life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 “For awhoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, bthe Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He ccomes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Chapter 9

The Transfiguration

1 And Jesus was saying to them, “aTruly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

2 aSix days later, Jesus * took with Him bPeter and 1James and John, and * brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;

3 and aHis garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

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

5 Peter * said to Jesus, “aRabbi, it is good for us to be here; blet us make three 1tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.

7 Then a cloud 1formed, overshadowing them, and aa voice 1came out of the cloud, “bThis is My beloved Son, 2listen to Him!”

8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

9 aAs they were coming down from the mountain, He bgave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, 1until the Son of Man rose from the dead.

10 They 1seized upon 2that statement, discussing with one another 3what rising from the dead meant.

11 They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that aElijah must come first?”

12 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of athe Son of Man that bHe will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

13 “But I say to you that Elijah has 1indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”

All Things Possible

14 aWhen they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.

15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were aamazed and began running up to greet Him.

16 And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?”

17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;

18 and 1whenever it seizes him, it 2slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and 3stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”

19 And He * answered them and * said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”

20 They brought 1the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.

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

22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ aAll things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

25 When Jesus saw that aa crowd was 1rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I 2command you, come out of him and do not enter him 3again.”

26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.

28 When He came ainto the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?”

29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

Death and Resurrection Foretold

30 aFrom there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it.

31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “aThe Son of Man is to be 1delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.”

32 But athey 1did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

33 aThey came to Capernaum; and when He 1was in bthe house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

34 But they kept silent, for on the way athey had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and * said to them, “aIf anyone wants to be first, 1he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

36 Taking a child, He set him 1before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

37 “aWhoever receives 1one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Dire Warnings

38 aJohn said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and bwe tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”

39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

40 “aFor he who is not against us is 1for us.

41 “For awhoever gives you a cup of water to drink 1because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

42 “aWhoever causes one of these 1little ones who believe to stumble, it 2would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he 3had been cast into the sea.

43 “aIf your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into 1bhell, into the cunquenchable fire,

44 [1where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

45 “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into 1ahell,

46 [1where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

47 “aIf your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into 1bhell,

48 awhere their worm does not die, and bthe fire is not quenched.

49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.

50 “Salt is good; but aif the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you 1make it salty again? bHave salt in yourselves, and cbe at peace with one another.”

Chapter 10

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

1 aGetting up, He * went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds * gathered around Him again, and, baccording to His custom, He once more began to teach them.

2 Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to 1divorce a wife.

3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

4 They said, “aMoses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and 1send her away.”

5 But Jesus said to them, “1aBecause of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

6 “But afrom the beginning of creation, God bmade them male and female.

7 “aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother1,

8 aand the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

9 “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

10 In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again.

11 And He * said to them, “aWhoever 1divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

12 and aif she herself 1divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 aAnd they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.

14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; afor the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

15 “Truly I say to you, awhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

16 And He atook them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

17 aAs He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and bknelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to cinherit 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, ‘aDo 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, I have kept aall these things from my youth up.”

21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have atreasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But at these words 1he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus, looking around, * said to His disciples, “aHow hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples awere amazed at His words. But Jesus * answered again and * said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

25 “aIt is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “1Then who can be saved?”

27 Looking at them, Jesus * said, “aWith people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

28 aPeter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.”

29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, athere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,

30 1but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in 2the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in athe age to come, eternal life.

31 “But amany who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

32 aThey were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they bwere amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,

33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and athe Son of Man will be 1delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will 2hand Him over to the Gentiles.

34 “They will mock Him and aspit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

35 1aJames and John, the two sons of Zebedee, * came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

37 They said to Him, “1Grant that we amay sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ato drink the cup that I drink, or bto be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ayou shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

40 “But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; abut it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 aHearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with 1James and John.

42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus * said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

43 “But it is not this way among you, abut whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

45 “For even the Son of Man adid not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His 1life a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 aThen they * came to Jericho. And bas He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.

47 When he heard that it was Jesus the aNazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, bSon of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “aSon of David, have mercy on me!”

49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they * called the blind man, saying to him, “aTake courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”

50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “1aRabboni, I want to regain my sight!”

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; ayour faith has 1made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.