Luke 20

²³When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

¹Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,

¹²So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,

⁴⁷Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him.

⁴⁸Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

¹While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²⁷After their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him.

²⁸“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?”

¹⁸On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”

²⁷But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?

²³When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?”

²⁹“I will ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

¹⁴But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

⁶⁸And if I ask you a question, you will not answer.

²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

⁸Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.

²⁵You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.

²⁶As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules.

¹⁸I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.

¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

¹⁹And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

²⁵What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

²⁵As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

³⁴I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

³³You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

³⁴Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.

³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

²⁶So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

¹²At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.

⁴¹Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.”

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

²⁸When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

¹⁹Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like the messenger I am sending? Who is blind like My covenant partner, or blind like the servant of the Lord?

²⁰Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch. Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”

¹⁹And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.

²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

⁷Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the Lord.

⁸How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?

³Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

¹⁵And the Lord said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

⁴A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

²⁷So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

³³So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.

¹²He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

¹³He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

³³Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

³⁴When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.

¹Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

²At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

²¹I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine?

¹I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

²He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!

⁸You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.

⁹You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.

¹⁸You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

²⁶But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.

¹⁵Again and again the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.

¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

³⁰You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

¹³Yet through all His prophets and seers, the Lord warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.”

³⁴When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.

³⁵But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

²⁴Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

²As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

³⁰And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

³⁶Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

³⁷They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

¹Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.

¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

³⁴I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

⁹This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

¹⁰And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

²But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the Lord and against His Anointed One:

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they replied.

²²“What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

²asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

³When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

¹²And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood.

⁶Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

⁷But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

³⁷Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’

²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

⁴¹“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

⁸Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.

⁹You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”

⁷The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.

⁸Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

⁹You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the Lord will engulf them, and the fire will consume them.

²²The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁷To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

⁸and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

¹⁰Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹⁴And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

¹⁵Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

⁴⁴In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

⁴⁵And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

³⁴As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

³⁵Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.

⁴⁴He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

³⁴When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.

⁴⁷Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him.

⁴⁸Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

³At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

⁴⁵When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them.

⁴⁶Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.

¹²At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.

⁵⁴waiting to catch Him in something He might say.

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.

¹⁶They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

¹⁵Those who hate the Lord would feign obedience, and their doom would last forever.

¹⁹For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

³In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

⁴Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.

⁵As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!

¹⁶They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

⁴⁹Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁵⁰“Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him.

¹⁷For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

²¹His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

³⁷Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

¹⁷So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

¹⁹I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.

²⁰And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

¹⁵you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the Lord your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.

¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

²²Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

¹⁸But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

¹⁶And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall.

²⁴But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.

²⁵He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

²⁸But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

²²All the saints send you greetings, especially those from the household of Caesar.

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

⁶This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

⁷Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

¹⁷Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

²⁷“But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²²And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

¹²‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”

⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

¹⁷When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹⁸Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him:

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²³That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him.

²⁴“Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

⁶Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

⁷As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

¹Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

⁵When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her.

⁶The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”

¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

²⁶Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

¹¹But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?

¹²Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

³⁰This is what the Lord says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”

²⁰If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

⁴Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

¹⁰After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works that He had done for Israel.

²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

²⁴“Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother.

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁰Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children.

⁸The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

⁴Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

²⁷People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.

³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

⁵All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

²And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

³Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

²⁹and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

¹⁵and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

³⁶So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

²¹who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

⁴‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

³⁰In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.

⁴²So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.

⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.

³So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

²⁶But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

³⁰After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.

³¹When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:

⁷I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

⁹Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the Lord who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’

¹³And there at the top the Lord was standing and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

²⁶And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

¹⁰The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.

¹¹So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.

⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.

⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

²⁸Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.

³⁴And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

⁹A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

⁴⁶No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.

³⁴When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?

³⁶Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

⁶In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

¹This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

¹Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

⁴¹While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them:

⁴²“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.

¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

³⁴For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

³⁵until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’

¹³Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?

³⁶Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

³⁷David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight.

⁴³Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:

⁴⁴‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

⁴⁴Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

¹⁴The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses.

¹⁵And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

⁵The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.

⁶He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.

¹Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the Lord and against His Anointed One:

⁹May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

²³“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,

²⁰But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.

¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples:

²“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

⁵All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

⁶They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,

³⁸In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

³⁴Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

³⁸In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

⁷When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable:

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

⁶“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁵All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

⁶They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,

⁴⁰They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

¹⁶They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

⁴⁷That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.

⁴⁸But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

³¹So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.