David and Goliath

1 Now the Philistines ^vgathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at ^wSocoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and ^xAzekah, in ^yEphes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in ^zthe Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named ^aGoliath of ^bGath, whose height was six¹ cubits² and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels³ of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a ^cjavelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. ^dAnd his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and ^eare you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants ^fand serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, ^g“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was ^hthe son of an ⁱEphrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, ^jnamed Jesse, ^kwho had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.⁴ 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And ^lthe names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 ^mDavid was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul ⁿto feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah⁵ of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 ^oAlso take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. ^pSee if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to ^qthe encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the ^rthings in charge of the keeper of the ^rbaggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, ^sthe champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke ^tthe same words as before. And David heard him.

24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to ^udefy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches ^vand will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^wthe reproach from Israel? For who is this ^xuncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^udefy the armies of ^ythe living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, ^z“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

Teaching About Divorce

1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ⁿGalilee and ^oentered ^pthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And ^qlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And Pharisees came up to him and ^rtested him by asking, ^s“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, ^t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ^u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^vthe two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, ^x“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your ^yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 ^zAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”¹

10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, ^a“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^bthose to ^cwhom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^dfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^eThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^frebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, ^g“Let the little children ^hcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 ⁱAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^jhave ^keternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^lIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^m“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, ⁿYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, ^o“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^pperfect, go, ^qsell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^rtreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 ^sWhen the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^tonly with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 ^uAgain I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^vthe kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus ^wlooked at them and said, ^x“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^ywe have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{2 z}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^awill also sit on twelve thrones, ^bjudging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 ^cAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold³ and will ^dinherit eternal life. 30 But ^emany who are ^ffirst will be last, and the last first.

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius⁴ a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And ^gabout the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And ^hwhen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ⁱforeman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^jthe scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ^k‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take ^lwhat belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 ^mAm I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ⁿdo you begrudge my generosity?’⁵ 16 So ^othe last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 ^pAnd as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, ^qwe are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^rcondemn him to death 19 and ^sdeliver him over to the Gentiles ^tto be mocked and flogged and ^ucrucified, and he will be raised on ^vthe third day.”

A Mother’s Request

20 ^wThen ^xthe mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^ykneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^zare to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^ain your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, ^b“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^cto drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, ^d“You will drink ^emy cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^fbut it is for those for whom it has been ^gprepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ^h“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ⁱlord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 ^jIt shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,⁶ 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,⁷ 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^kto serve, and ^lto give his life as a ransom for ^mmany.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 ⁿAnd as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,⁸ have mercy on us, ^oSon of David!” 31 The crowd ^prebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

The Triumphal Entry

1 ^qNow when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^rthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^ssent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place ^tto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd ^wspread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ^x“Hosanna to ^ythe Son of David! ^zBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^ain the highest!” 10 And ^bwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is ^cthe prophet Jesus, ^dfrom Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 ^eAnd Jesus entered the temple¹⁰ and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^fthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^gpigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ^h‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ⁱyou make it a den of robbers.”

14 ^jAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 ^kBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^x“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^lhave you never read,

17 And ^oleaving them, he ^pwent out of the city to ^qBethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 ^rIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^she became hungry. 19 ^tAnd seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, ^u“Truly, I say to you, ^vif you have faith and ^wdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^x‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And ^vwhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^yif you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ^zAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^aas he was teaching, and said, ^b“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, ^cfrom where did it come? ^dFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^e‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^fwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^ga prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 ^h“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ⁱthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^jchanged his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^kthe tax collectors and ^lthe prostitutes go into ^mthe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ⁿin the way of righteousness, and ^oyou did not believe him, but ^pthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^jchange your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^q“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^ra vineyard ^sand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^tleased it to tenants, and ^uwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants¹¹ to the tenants ^tto get his fruit. 35 ^vAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^wstoned another. 36 ^xAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^y‘This is the heir. Come, ^zlet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and ^athrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 ^bWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, ^c“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^dlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”