1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of ^aAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ^b“If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^cput away the foreign gods and the ^dAshtaroth from among you and ^edirect your heart to the Lord ^fand serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at ^gMizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at ^gMizpah ^hand drew water and poured it out before the Lord ⁱand fasted on that day and said there, ^j“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And ^kSamuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. ^lBut the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel ^mtook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen¹ and called its name Ebenezer;² for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 ⁿSo the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

15 ^oSamuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to ^pRamah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. ^qAnd he built there an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

1 When Samuel became old, ^rhe made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways ^sbut turned aside after gain. ^tThey took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^pRamah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. ^uNow appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, ^vfor they have not rejected you, ^wbut they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them ^xand show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Samuel’s Warning Against Kings

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, ^y“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: ^zhe will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some ^ato plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 ^bHe will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men³ and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, ^cbut the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

The Lord Grants Israel’s Request

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 ^dthat we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, ^e“Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

Jesus and Zacchaeus

1 ^cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And ^dhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^ea sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^fI must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and ^greceived him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all ^hgrumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ⁱI give to the poor. And if I have ^jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^kfourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^lhe also is a son of Abraham. 10 For ^mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ⁿthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, ^o“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ^pten of his servants,¹ he gave them ten minas,² and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^quntil I come.’ 14 But ^rhis citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!³ Because you have been ^sfaithful in a very little, ^tyou shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^ua handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are ^va severe man. You take ^wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ^x‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was ^va severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that ^zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But ^ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^aslaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, ^bhe went on ahead, ^cgoing up to Jerusalem. 29 ^dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and ^eBethany, at ^fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^gtwo of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^hon which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it ⁱjust as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they ^jspread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^kthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, ^m“Blessed is ⁿthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^oglory in the highest!” 39 ^pAnd some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^qthe very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 ^rAnd when he drew near and saw the city, ^she wept over it, 42 saying, ^t“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^uthey are hidden from your eyes. 43 For ^vthe days will come upon you, when your enemies ^wwill set up a barricade around you and ^xsurround you and hem you in on every side 44 ^yand tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^zthey will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^athe time of your ^bvisitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 ^cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ^d‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.”

47 ^fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. ^gThe chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

1 ^hOne day, ⁱas Jesus⁴ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us ^kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John ^lfrom heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^m‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ⁿa prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

9 ^oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^pa vineyard and ^qlet it out to tenants and ^rwent into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant⁵ to the tenants, so that ^qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 ^tAnd ^she sent another servant. But they also beat and ^utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 ^sAnd he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^w‘This is the heir. ^xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they ^ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 ^zHe will ^acome and destroy those tenants and ^bgive the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he ^clooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

18 ^eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^fon anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 ^hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 ⁱSo they ^jwatched him and sent spies, who ^kpretended to be sincere, that they might ^lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^oshow no partiality,⁷ but truly teach ^pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give ^qtribute to ^rCaesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their ^scraftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me ^ta denarius.⁸ Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then ^urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people ^vto catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

27 There came to him ^wsome Sadducees, ^xthose who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ^ythat if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man⁹ must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

34 And Jesus said to them, ^z“The sons of this age ^amarry and ^aare given in marriage, 35 but those who are ^bconsidered worthy to attain to ^cthat age and to the resurrection from the dead ^dneither marry ^dnor are given in marriage, 36 for ^ethey cannot die anymore, because they are ^fequal to angels and ^gare ^hsons of God, being ⁱsons¹⁰ of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, ^jeven Moses showed, in ^kthe passage about the bush, where he calls ^lthe Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all ^mlive to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes ⁿanswered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For ^othey no longer dared to ask him any question.