The Sabbatical Year

1 “At the end of ^jevery seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. 3 ^kOf a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. 4 ^lBut there will be no poor among you; ^mfor the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 ⁿif only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, ^oas he promised you, and ^pyou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and ^qyou shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, ^ryou shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but ^syou shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your ^teye look grudgingly¹ on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he ^ucry to the Lord against you, and ^vyou be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and ^wyour heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because ^xfor this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For ^ythere will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ^s‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

12 ^z“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold² to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. ^aAs the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 ^bYou shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But ^cif he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave³ forever. And to your female slave⁴ you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

19 ^d“All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 ^eYou shall eat it, you and your household, before the Lord your God year by year at the place that the Lord will choose. 21 ^fBut if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your towns. ^gThe unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 ^hOnly you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

Passover

1 “Observe the ⁱmonth of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for ^jin the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or ^kthe herd, ^lat the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. ^mSeven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt ⁿin haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 ^oNo leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, ^pnor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For ^qsix days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be ^ra solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to ^vJeduthun. A Psalm of David.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 ^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,^{1 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. 4 ^mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 ^sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 ^vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 ^xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock² I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell³ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁴ in heaven.” 20 ^oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 ^pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!⁵ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance⁶ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. 25 For ^xwhoever would save his life⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 ^aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

1 ^gAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was ⁱtransfigured before them, and ^jhis face shone like the sun, and ^khis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^lElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ^ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^ma voice from the cloud said, ⁿ“This is my beloved Son,⁸ with whom I am well pleased; ^olisten to him.” 6 When ^pthe disciples heard this, ^qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and ^rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^shave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 ^tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^vthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^xdid to him whatever they pleased. ^ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 ^aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and ^cthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus ^frebuked the demon,⁹ and it¹⁰ came out of him, and ^gthe boy was healed instantly.¹¹ 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, ^h“Because of your little faith. For ⁱtruly, I say to you, ^jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^lnothing will be impossible for you.”¹²

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 ^mAs they were gathering¹³ in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ⁿthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 ^oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^rtax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.¹⁴ Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Who Is the Greatest?

1 ^tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^uturn and ^vbecome like children, you ^wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^zwhoever causes one of these ^alittle ones who believe in me to sin,¹⁵ it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 “Woe to the world for ^btemptations to sin!^{16 c}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^eAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^fthe eternal fire. 9 ^eAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^fhell¹⁷ of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^htheir angels always ⁱsee the face of my Father who is in heaven.¹⁸ 12 ^jWhat do you think? ^kIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^lit is not the will of my¹⁹ Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ^m“If your brother sins against you, ⁿgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^ogained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^rlet him be to you as ^sa Gentile and ^sa tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed²⁰ in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^uagree on earth about anything they ask, ^vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^wgathered in my name, ^xthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^zAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.²¹

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^ato settle accounts with his servants.²² 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bten thousand ^ctalents.²³ 25 ^dAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^eto be sold, with his wife and ^fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant^{24 g}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^dforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^hdenarii,²⁵ and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ⁱAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^jAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{26 k}until he should pay all his debt. 35 ^lSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^mfrom your heart.”