The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^aalways to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, ^b“In a certain city there was a judge who neither ^cfeared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who ^dcry to him day and night? Will he ^edelay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed¹ thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I ^ffast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, ^gwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ^heveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Teaching About Divorce

1 ^fNow when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And Pharisees came up to him and ^gtested him by asking, “Is it lawful to ^hdivorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning ⁱmade them male and female, 5 and said, ^j‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, ^k“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 ^lhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: ^mwhoever 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, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is ⁿgiven. 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 ^ofor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Teaching About Divorce

1 ^aAnd he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

2 And Pharisees came up and ^bin order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to ^cdivorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, ^d“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^ehardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ^f‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ^g‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,¹ 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, ^h“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^pThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^qrebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, ^r“Let the little children come 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 ^sAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, ^twhat good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^uIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^v“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, ^wYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^xperfect, go, ^ysell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, ^zfollow me.” 22 When 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, only with difficulty will a ^arich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, ^bbut with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^cwe have ^dleft everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,¹ when the Son of Man will ^esit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also ^fsit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And 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 hundredfold² and will ^ginherit eternal life. 30 ^hBut many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ⁱAnd they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples ^jrebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ^k“Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not ^lenter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

17 ^mAnd as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, ⁿwhat must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ^o‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, ^psell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, ^qfollow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have ^rwealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ^s“Children, how difficult it is¹ to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a ^trich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were ^uexceedingly astonished, and said to him,² “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For ^vall things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, ^wwe have ^xleft everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or ^ybrothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 ^zBut many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Let the Children Come to Me

15 ⁱNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

18 ^jAnd a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, ^kwhat must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ^l‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ^mSell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, ⁿfollow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have ^owealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, ^p“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, ^qwe have ^rleft our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or ^swife or brothers¹ or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”