Day 249 of 365

¹He also said to his disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions.

²He called him, and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'

³"The manager said within himself, 'What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I do not have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.

⁴I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.'

⁵Calling each one of his lord's debtors to him, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe to my lord?'

⁶He said, 'A hundred batos of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'

⁷Then said he to another, 'How much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred cors of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'

⁸"His lord commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness, for the sons of this world are, in their own generation, more shrewd than the sons of light.

⁹I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

¹⁰He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

¹¹If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

¹²If you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

¹³No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and wealth."

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.

¹⁵He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

¹⁶The Law and the Prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the Law to become void.

¹⁸Everyone who divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

¹⁹"Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.

²⁰A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was placed at his gate, full of sores,

²¹and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.

²³In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

²⁴He called out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.'

²⁵"But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

²⁶Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷"He said, 'I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house;

²⁸for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won't also come into this place of torment.'

²⁹"But Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.'

³⁰"He said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

³¹"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.'"

¹He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!

²It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

³Be careful. If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

⁴If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

⁶The Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, 'Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

⁷But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down at the table,'

⁸and will not rather tell him, 'Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink'?

⁹Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded?

¹⁰Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.'"

¹¹It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

¹²As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

¹³They lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

¹⁴When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." It happened that as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

¹⁶He fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus answered, "Weren't the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

¹⁸Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?"

¹⁹Then he said to him, "Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you."

²⁰Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The Kingdom of God does not come with observation;

²¹neither will they say, 'Look, here!' or, 'Look, there!' for the Kingdom of God is within you."

²²He said to the disciples, "The days will come, when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

²³And they will tell you, 'Look, there!' or 'Look, here!' Do not go away, nor follow after them,

²⁴for as the lightning, when it flashes out of the one part under the sky, shines to the other part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.

²⁵But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

²⁷They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

²⁸Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

²⁹but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all.

³⁰It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.

³²Remember Lot's wife!

³³Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

³⁴I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left.

³⁵There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left."

³⁶No text for this verse number in this edition.

³⁷They, answering, asked him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together."

¹He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,

²saying, "There was a judge in a certain city who did not fear God, and did not respect man.

³A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, 'Defend me from my adversary!'

⁴He would not for a while, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,

⁵yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.'"

⁶The Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.

⁷Won't God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?

⁸I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

⁹He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.

¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

¹²I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.'

¹³But the tax collector, standing far away, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

¹⁵Now they were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

¹⁶Jesus summoned them, saying, "Allow the little children to come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁷Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."

¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁹Jesus asked him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one-God.

²⁰You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not give false testimony,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"

²¹He said, "I have observed all these things from my youth up."

²²When Jesus heard it, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me."

²³But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.

²⁴Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!

²⁵For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

²⁶Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷But he said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

²⁸Peter said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you."

²⁹He said to them, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for the Kingdom of God's sake,

³⁰who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life."

³¹He took the twelve aside, and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed.

³²For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on.

³³They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again."

³⁴They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not understand the things that were said.

³⁵It happened, as he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.

³⁶Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.

³⁷They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

³⁸He called out, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!"

³⁹Those who led the way rebuked him, that he should be quiet; but he shouted all the more, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁰Standing still, Jesus commanded him to be brought to him. When he had come near, he asked him,

⁴¹"What do you want me to do?" He said, "Lord, that I may see again."

⁴²Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you."

⁴³And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.

¹He entered and was passing through Jericho.

²There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

³He was trying to see who Jesus was, and could not because of the crowd, because he was short.

⁴He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

⁶He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.

⁷And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner."

⁸Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."

¹¹As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God would be revealed immediately.

¹²He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

¹³He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.'

¹⁴But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

¹⁵"It happened when he had come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.

¹⁶The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.'

¹⁷"He said to him, 'Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'

¹⁸"The second came, saying, 'Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.'

¹⁹"So he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

²⁰Another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,

²¹for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you did not lay down, and reap that which you did not sow.'

²²"He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I did not lay down, and reaping that which I did not sow.

²³Then why did you not deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?'

²⁴He said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.'

²⁵"They said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'

²⁶'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who does not have, even that which he has will be taken away.

²⁷But bring those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.'"

²⁸Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹It happened, when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,

³⁰saying, "Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat. Untie it, and bring it.

³¹If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: 'The Lord needs it.'"

³²Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.

³³As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

³⁴They said, "The Lord needs it."

³⁵They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.

³⁶As he went, they spread their cloaks in the way.

³⁷As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,

³⁸saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!"

³⁹Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

⁴⁰He answered them, "I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out."

⁴¹When he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,

⁴²saying, "If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.

⁴³For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,

⁴⁴and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

⁴⁵He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,

⁴⁶saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of robbers'!"

⁴⁷He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.

⁴⁸They could not find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.