Chapter 8

1 When 1Jesus came down from the mountain, 2large crowds followed Him.

2 And aa leper came to Him and 1bbowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his aleprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus * said to him, “aSee that you tell no one; but bgo, cshow yourself to the priest and present the 1offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

5 And awhen 1Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him,

6 and saying, “1Lord, my 2servant is 3lying aparalyzed at home, fearfully tormented.”

7 Jesus * said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

8 But the centurion said, “1Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just 2say the word, and my 3servant will be healed.

9 “For I also am a man under aauthority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith 1with anyone in Israel.

11 “I say to you that many awill come from east and west, and 1recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;

12 but athe sons of the kingdom will be cast out into bthe outer darkness; in that place cthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; 1it shall be done for you aas you have believed.” And the 2servant was healed that very 3moment.

Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed

14 aWhen Jesus came into Peter’s 1home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and 1waited on Him.

16 When evening came, they brought to Him many awho were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and bhealed all who were ill.

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “aHe Himself took our infirmities and 1carried away our diseases.”

Discipleship Tested

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, aHe gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.

19 aThen a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

20 Jesus * said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the 1air have 2nests, but athe Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

21 Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus * said to him, “aFollow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 aWhen He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

24 And behold, there arose 1a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.

25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “aSave us, Lord; we are perishing!”

26 He * said to them, “Why are you 1afraid, ayou men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and 2it became perfectly calm.

27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Casts Out Demons

28 aWhen He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were bdemon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.

29 And they cried out, saying, “1aWhat business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before 2the time?”

30 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.

31 The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

32 And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.

33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, 1including what had happened to the ademoniacs.

34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, athey implored Him to leave their region.

Chapter 9

A Paralytic Healed

1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to aHis own city.

2 aAnd they brought to Him a bparalytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “cTake courage, 1son; dyour sins are forgiven.”

3 And some of the scribes said 1to themselves, “This fellow ablasphemes.”

4 And Jesus aknowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

5 “Which is easier, to say, ‘aYour sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?

6 “But so that you may know that athe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He * said to the bparalytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”

7 And he got up and 1went home.

8 But when the crowds saw this, they were 1awestruck, and aglorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called

9 aAs Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called bMatthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He * said to him, “cFollow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

10 Then it happened that as 1Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and 2sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.

11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “aWhy is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not athose who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

13 “But go and learn 1awhat this means: ‘bI desire 2compassion, 3and not sacrifice,’ for cI did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Question about Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John * came to Him, asking, “Why do we and athe Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

15 And Jesus said to them, “The 1attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

16 “But no one puts 1a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for 2the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

17 “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Miracles of Healing

18 aWhile He was saying these things to them, 1a synagogue 2official came and 3bbowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

19 Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples.

20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched athe 1fringe of His 2cloak;

21 for she was saying 1to herself, “If I only atouch His garment, I will 2get well.”

22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, atake courage; byour faith has 1made you well.” 2At once the woman was 3made well.

23 When Jesus came into the 1official’s house, and saw athe flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder,

24 He said, “Leave; for the girl ahas not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.

25 But awhen the crowd had been sent out, He entered and btook her by the hand, and the girl 1got up.

26 aThis news spread throughout all that land.

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, aSon of David!”

28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus * said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They * said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “1It shall be done to you aaccording to your faith.”

30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus asternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!”

31 But they went out and aspread the news about Him throughout all that land.

32 As they were going out, aa mute, bdemon-possessed man 1was brought to Him.

33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “aNothing like this has 1ever been seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He acasts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ateaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

36 aSeeing the 1people, He felt compassion for them, bbecause they were 2distressed and 3dispirited like sheep 4without a shepherd.

37 Then He * said to His disciples, “aThe harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Chapter 10

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

1 Jesus asummoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to bheal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

2 aNow the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, bSimon, who is called Peter, and bAndrew his brother; and 1cJames the son of Zebedee, and 2John his brother;

3 aPhilip and 1Bartholomew; bThomas and cMatthew the tax collector; 2dJames the son of Alphaeus, and eThaddaeus;

4 Simon the 1Zealot, and aJudas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

5 aThese twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not 1go 2in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the bSamaritans;

6 but rather go to athe lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 “And as you go, 1preach, saying, ‘aThe kingdom of heaven 2is at hand.’

8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

9 “aDo not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

10 or a 1bag for your journey, or even two 2coats, or sandals, or a staff; for athe worker is worthy of his 3support.

11 “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay 1at his house until you leave that city.

12 “As you enter the 1house, agive it your 2greeting.

13 “If the house is worthy, 1give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, 2take back your blessing of peace.

14 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, ashake the dust off your feet.

15 “Truly I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom and Gomorrah in cthe day of judgment than for that city.

A Hard Road before Them

16 “aBehold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so 1be bshrewd as serpents and cinnocent as doves.

17 “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the acourts and scourge you bin their synagogues;

18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

19 “aBut when they hand you over, bdo not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

20 “For ait is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

21 “aBrother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and bchildren will rise up against parents and 1cause them to be put to death.

22 “aYou will be hated by all because of My name, but bit is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

23 “But whenever they apersecute you in 1one city, flee to 2the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel buntil the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

24 “aA 1disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. aIf they have called the head of the house 1bBeelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

26 “Therefore do not afear them, bfor there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

27 “aWhat I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim bupon the housetops.

28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather afear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 1bhell.

29 “aAre not two sparrows sold for a 1cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

30 “But athe very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 “So do not fear; ayou are more valuable than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore aeveryone who 1confesses Me before men, I will also confess 2him before My Father who is in heaven.

33 “But awhoever 1denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

34 “aDo not think that I came to 1bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 “For I came to aset a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

36 and aa man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

37 “aHe who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 “And ahe who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

39 “aHe who has found his 1life will lose it, and he who has lost his 1life for My sake will find it.

The Reward of Service

40 “aHe who receives you receives Me, and bhe who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

41 “aHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

42 “And awhoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these 1little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Chapter 11

John’s Questions

1 aWhen Jesus had finished 1giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there bto teach and 2preach in their cities.

2 aNow when bJohn, 1while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

3 and said to Him, “Are You athe 1Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

5 athe blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the bpoor have the 1gospel preached to them.

6 “And blessed is he 1who adoes not 2take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into athe wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

8 “1But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ 2palaces!

9 “1But what did you go out to see? aA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

10 “This is the one about whom it 1is written,

‘aBehold, I send My messenger 2ahead of You,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is 1least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 “aFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven 1suffers violence, and violent men 2take it by force.

13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is aElijah who 1was to come.

15 “aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not 1mourn.’

18 “For John came neither aeating nor bdrinking, and they say, ‘cHe has a demon!’

19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a 1drunkard, aa friend of tax collectors and 2sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His 1amiracles were done, because they did not repent.

21 “aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, bBethsaida! For if the 1miracles had occurred in cTyre and cSidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in 2dsackcloth and ashes.

22 “Nevertheless I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in bthe day of judgment than for you.

23 “And you, aCapernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will bdescend to cHades; for if the 1miracles had occurred in dSodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

24 “Nevertheless I say to you that ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

25 aAt that 1time Jesus said, “I praise You, bFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that cYou have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

26 “Yes, aFather, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

27 “aAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father bexcept the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28 “aCome to Me, all 1who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

29 “Take My yoke upon you and alearn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and byou will find rest for your souls.

30 “For aMy yoke is 1easy and My burden is light.”

Chapter 12

Sabbath Questions

1 aAt that 1time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to bpick the heads of grain and eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

4 how he entered the house of God, and athey ate the 1consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple 1break the Sabbath and are innocent?

6 “But I say to you that something agreater than the temple is here.

7 “But if you had known what this 1means, ‘aI desire 2compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 “For athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned 1Jesus, asking, “aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11 And He said to them, “aWhat man 1is there among you who 2has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 “aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do 1good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He * said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to 1normal, like the other.

14 But the Pharisees went out and 1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, 1aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and aHe healed them all,

16 and awarned them not to 1tell who He was.

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

18 “aBehold, My 1Servant whom I 2have chosen;

bMy Beloved in whom My soul 3is well-pleased;

cI will put My Spirit upon Him,

aAnd He shall proclaim 4justice to the 5Gentiles.

19 “aHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 “aA battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He 1leads 2justice to victory.

21 “aAnd in His name the 1Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 aThen a bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to 1Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the aSon of David, can he?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man acasts out demons only by 1Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 aAnd bknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “1Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and 1any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 “If aSatan casts out Satan, he 1is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

27 “If I aby 1Beelzebul cast out demons, bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

28 “But aif I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 “aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “aTherefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 “aWhoever 1speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever 1speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in bthis age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for athe tree is known by its fruit.

34 “aYou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak 1what is good? bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

35 “aThe good man brings out of his good treasure 1what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure 2what is evil.

36 “But I tell you that every 1careless word that people 2speak, they shall give an accounting for it in athe day of judgment.

37 “For 1by your words you will be justified, and 1by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, awe want to see a 1sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “aAn evil and adulterous generation craves for a 1sign; and yet no 1sign will be given to it but the 1sign of Jonah the prophet;

40 for just as aJonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will bthe Son of Man be cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 “aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, csomething greater than Jonah is here.

42 “aThe Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, bsomething greater than Solomon is here.

43 “aNow when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and athe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His bmother and cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”1

48 But 1Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!

50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Chapter 13

Jesus Teaches in Parables

1 That day Jesus went out of athe house and was sitting bby the sea.

2 And 1large crowds gathered to Him, so aHe got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He spoke many things to them in aparables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 “Others fell 1among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

8 “And others fell on the good soil and * yielded a crop, some a ahundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

9 “aHe who has ears, 1let him hear.”

An Explanation

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 1Jesus answered them, “aTo you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 “aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while aseeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 “1In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘2aYou will keep on hearing, 3but will not understand;

4You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

15 aFor the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.’

16 “aBut blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

17 “For truly I say to you that amany prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

18 “aHear then the parable of the sower.

19 “When anyone hears athe 1word of the kingdom and does not understand it, bthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the 1word, immediately he 2afalls away.

22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of athe 1world and the bdeceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some aa hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tares among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven 1may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed 1tares among the wheat, and went away.

26 “But when the 1wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 1How then does it have tares?’

28 “And he said to them, ‘An 1enemy has done this!’ The slaves * said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

29 “But he * said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but agather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like ba mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that athe birds of the 1air come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

33 He spoke another parable to them, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in bthree 1pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them awithout a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“aI will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Tares Explained

36 Then He left the crowds and went into athe house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “bExplain to us the parable of the 1tares of the field.”

37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is athe Son of Man,

38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are athe sons of the kingdom; and the tares are bthe sons of cthe evil one;

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is athe 1end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at athe 1end of the age.

41 “aThe Son of Man bwill send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom 1all cstumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

42 and awill throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 “aThen the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. bHe who has ears, 1let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

44 “aThe kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and bsells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

45 “Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

47 “Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;

48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

49 “So it will be at athe 1end of the age; the angels will come forth and 2take out the wicked from among the righteous,

50 and awill throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They * said to Him, “Yes.”

52 And 1Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

53 aWhen Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

54 aHe came to 1His hometown and bbegan teaching them in their synagogue, so that cthey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these 2miraculous powers?

55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not aHis mother called Mary, and His abrothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

56 “And aHis sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

57 And they took aoffense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “bA prophet is not without honor except in his 1hometown and in his own household.”

58 And He did not do many 1miracles there because of their unbelief.

Chapter 14

John the Baptist Beheaded

1 aAt that 1time bHerod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus,

2 and said to his servants, “aThis is John the Baptist; 1he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 For when aHerod had John arrested, he bound him and put him bin prison because of cHerodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

4 For John had been saying to him, “aIt is not lawful for you to have her.”

5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded 1John as aa prophet.

6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of aHerodias danced 1before them and pleased bHerod,

7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

8 Having been prompted by her mother, she * said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of 1his dinner guests.

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 His disciples came and took away the body and buried 1it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Five Thousand Fed

13 aNow when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the 1people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

14 When He went 1ashore, He asaw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and bhealed their sick.

15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already 1late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

17 They * said to Him, “We have here only afive loaves and two fish.”

18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

19 Ordering the 1people to 2sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ablessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,

20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full abaskets.

21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 aImmediately He 1made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

23 After He had sent the crowds away, aHe went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

24 But the boat was already 1a long distance from the land, 2battered by the waves; for the wind was 3acontrary.

25 And in athe 1fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is aa ghost!” And they cried out 1in fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “aTake courage, it is I; bdo not be afraid.”

28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and * said to him, “aYou of little faith, why did you doubt?”

32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly aGod’s Son!”

34 aWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at bGennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place 1recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;

36 and they implored Him that they might just touch athe fringe of His cloak; and as many as btouched it were cured.