Saul Anointed King

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord ^wanointed you to be prince¹ over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince² over his ^xheritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by ^yRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and ^znow your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim,³ where there is a ^agarrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place ^bwith harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will ^crush upon you, ^dand you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. ^eSeven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibeah,⁴ behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? ^fIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, ^g“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Saul Proclaimed King

17 Now Samuel ^hcalled the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and ⁱI delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have ^jrejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and ^kyou have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”

20 Then Samuel ^lbrought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;⁵ and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then they ran and took him from there. ^mAnd when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ⁿwhom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, ^o“Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people ^pthe rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to ^qhis home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

The Twelve Apostles

1 ^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them ^vauthority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the ^wtwelve apostles are these: first, ^xSimon, who is called Peter, and ^yAndrew his brother; ^zJames the son of Zebedee, and ^aJohn his brother; 3 ^bPhilip and ^cBartholomew; ^dThomas and ^eMatthew the tax collector; ^fJames the son of Alphaeus, and ^gThaddaeus;¹ 4 ^hSimon the Zealot,² and ⁱJudas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 ^jThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere ^kamong the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the ^llost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And ^mproclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is ⁿat hand.’³ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. You received ^owithout paying; give ^pwithout pay. 9 Acquire ^qno gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^rthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And ^swhatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your ^tpeace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^ushake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be ^vmore bearable on the day of judgment for ^wthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of ^xwolves, so be ^ywise as serpents and ^zinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their ^asynagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before ^bgovernors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the ^cSpirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^dBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^eBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^fpersecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 ^g“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^hIf they have called the master of the house ⁱBeelzebul, ^jhow much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 ^k“So have no fear of them, for ^lnothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather ^mfear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.⁸ 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And ⁿnot one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who ^oacknowledges me before men, I also will ^packnowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever ^qdenies me before men, I also will ^rdeny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^s“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set ^ta man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^uWhoever loves ^vfather or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not ^wtake his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^xWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ^y“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^zwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And ^awhoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Messengers from John the Baptist

1 ^bWhen Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 Now when John heard in ^cprison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ^dthe one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John ^ewhat you hear and see: 5 ^fthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹⁰ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^gthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^hinto the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man¹¹ dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A ⁱprophet?¹² Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is ^kleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^lFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,¹³ and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, ^mhe is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear,¹⁴ let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

18 For John came neither ⁿeating nor ^odrinking, and they say, ^p‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a ^qfriend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^rYet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”¹⁵

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 ^sThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be ^tmore bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be ^uexalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^vSodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 ^wAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the ^xwise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.¹⁶ 27 ^yAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and ^zno one knows the Son except the Father, and ^ano one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to ^breveal him. 28 ^cCome ^dto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and ^eI will give you rest. 29 Take my ^fyoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will ^gfind rest for your souls. 30 For ^hmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 ⁱAt that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to ^jpluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing ^kwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read ^lwhat David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate ^mthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law ⁿhow on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ^o‘I desire ^pmercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

9 ^qHe went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ^r“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who ^shas a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and ^tlift it out? 12 Of ^uhow much more value is a man ^vthan a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, ^whow to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was ^xto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 ^aThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were ^bamazed, and said, ^c“Can this be the ^dSon of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^e“It is only by ^fBeelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a ^gstrong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 ^hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the ⁱblasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever 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 age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 ^j“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the ^ktree is known by its fruit. 34 You ^lbrood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? ^mFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will ⁿgive account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38 ^oThen some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, ^p“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For ^qjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be ^rthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ^sthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ^tshe came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.