Matthew 21

⁴On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.

¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples

²and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

³⁷Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

³⁰And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

²and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

³If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’”

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

⁶Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.

¹³So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him,

¹⁴and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’

¹⁸He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’”

¹Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.

²In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

²⁵Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

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

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹⁰for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine.

⁵So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.

⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁵“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

⁵⁶But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.

³⁶Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

³⁷And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”

⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

¹¹Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.

⁶Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

⁷Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the Lord their God.”

²²So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.

¹¹“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all that night.

⁴So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

⁴³And Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had accomplished it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you.

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him.

¹³Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

⁴So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it,

⁵and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³²So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them.

³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

¹³Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

⁴⁰On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵O Lord, save us, we pray. We beseech You, O Lord, cause us to prosper!

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:

³⁹For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

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

⁵“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.

⁴⁹But those at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

¹⁶At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.

¹⁷Meanwhile, many people who had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

¹⁹So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²¹But the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

¹⁴When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁶A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”

⁴⁰On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”

³⁷This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’

²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

¹⁵The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

¹⁶This is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”

¹⁴In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.

¹⁵So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there.

⁴⁶He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹⁵When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.

¹⁶And He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

¹⁴If, instead, one’s offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to present a turtledove or a young pigeon.

⁷If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the Lord as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

²⁴and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

¹¹Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the Lord.

⁷I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

⁴⁶He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹⁷Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

⁵Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, for all the days to come.

²⁵But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’

¹One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

²And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

⁵Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

⁹The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

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

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?”

¹When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John

²⁰But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.

²From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.

²⁵At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

⁴Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

³Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

²⁵Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,

¹¹Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

¹At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

⁵⁰When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

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.

¹⁹And when evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city.

²After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

¹²The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

¹³Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs.

²⁰As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.

²¹Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”

¹At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

²where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

¹⁴Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.

⁶If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

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

⁶Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.

⁷So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁹The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

²He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.

⁶A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

⁷The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

²⁰As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.

²¹Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”

¹⁰But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

⁶But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

²⁰“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

²²“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them.

²³“Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him.

⁶And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.

²⁰Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

²²and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.

¹³And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹⁹Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

⁷They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

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?”

¹These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.

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

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.”

⁹Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

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

¹⁶Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

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.

²⁰Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”

²⁵“I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf.

²⁶But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

¹⁸Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

²⁰because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John’s words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.

⁵Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

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

³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

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

²and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they feared the people.

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

¹⁹For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

⁹The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,

¹⁰and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.

³⁰“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

⁹Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast?

¹⁶Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’

¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

³⁴It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.

¹⁵I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say.

¹¹Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

¹²The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

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.

²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.

²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

³⁴But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

³⁵All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

²in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

³This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

¹⁶Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

¹⁷Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

²“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”

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

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.

³So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;

¹⁸if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

²⁹All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

³⁷When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.

³⁸As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

²¹Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

³⁰What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

³¹but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

³⁷When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.

³⁸As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

²⁹All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

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?’

¹¹But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.

¹²They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts.

²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

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.’

²⁶Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

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!

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.

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

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?

¹“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.

¹²But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

⁴What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?

³So tell the people that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts.’

⁴Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the Lord.

²⁹You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They turned a stubborn shoulder; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

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.”

¹⁴But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the Lord their God.

⁹“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.

¹⁰Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

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.

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.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

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.

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—

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

³²Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.

⁴Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

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.

⁷I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me and accept correction.’ Then her dwelling place would not be cut off despite all for which I punished her. But they rose early to corrupt all their deeds.

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.”

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

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

⁴What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?

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.’

¹⁸Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.

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

⁸So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

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.

²⁷In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.

²⁸They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

⁴⁸If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

²³He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.

¹²Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?

⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.”

¹⁴You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

¹⁵You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of this fact.

⁶You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist 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—

²⁹How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

⁹What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁴³Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

⁵Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

⁶I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”

²⁸Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

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

¹⁶hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

²²The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

²³This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

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.’

⁴As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,

⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

³³as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

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.”

¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

¹²But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

³Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

²⁰When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.

²¹Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

²Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful.

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.”

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

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.

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.”

³³as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

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.

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”

¹²How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹¹The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

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

⁴⁰On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”

⁴¹Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?

²²Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

¹⁶A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”

⁷He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.

⁸Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.