Day 11 of 365

¹He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.

²Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

³He answered, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴They said, "Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her."

⁵But Jesus said, "For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment.

⁶But from the beginning of the creation, he made them male and female.

⁷For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife,

⁸and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

¹⁰In the house, the disciples asked him again about the same matter.

¹¹He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.

¹²If she herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery."

¹³They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, "Allow the little children to come to me! Do not forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."

¹⁶And he took them in his arms, laying his hands on them, and blessed them.

¹⁷As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

¹⁸Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one-God.

¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not give false testimony,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰And he said to him, "Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth."

²¹Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross."

²²But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.

²³Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!"

²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, "Children, how hard is it to enter into the Kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

²⁶They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷Jesus, looking at them, said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God."

²⁸Peter began to tell him, "Behold, we have left everything, and have followed you."

²⁹Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News,

³⁰but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last; and the last first."

³²They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him.

³³"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.

³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. After three days he will rise again."

³⁵Jacob and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask."

³⁶He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³⁷They said to him, "Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory."

³⁸But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

³⁹They said to him, "We are able." Jesus said to them, "You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with;

⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared."

⁴¹When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards Jacob and John.

⁴²Jesus summoned them, and said to them, "You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant.

⁴⁴Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all.

⁴⁵For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stood still, and said, "Call him." They called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!"

⁵⁰He, casting away his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "Rabboni, that I may see again."

⁵²Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight, and followed himon the road.

¹When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

²and said to them, "Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has yet sat. Untie him, and bring him.

³If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here."

⁴They went away, and found a colt tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him.

⁵Some of those who stood there asked them, "What are you doing, untying the young donkey?"

⁶They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.

⁷They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it.

⁸Many spread their garments on the way, and others cut down branches from the trees.

⁹Those who went in front, and those who followed, shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

¹⁰Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest!"

¹¹And he entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

¹²The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry.

¹³Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴Jesus told it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" and his disciples heard it.

¹⁵They came to Jerusalem, and he entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves.

¹⁶He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple.

¹⁷He taught, saying to them, "Is not it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?' But you have made it a den of robbers!"

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.

¹⁹When evening came, he went out of the city.

²⁰As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.

²¹Peter, remembering, said to him, "Teacher, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away."

²²Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.

²³Truly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; it will be done for him.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.

²⁵Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions."

²⁶No text for this verse number in this edition.

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders came to him,

²⁸and they began saying to him, "By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority to do these things?"

²⁹Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰The baptism of John-was it from heaven, or from man? Answer me."

³¹They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we should say, 'From heaven;' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

³²If we should say, 'From man'"-they feared the crowd, for all held John to really be a prophet.

³³They answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." Jesus said to them, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things."

¹He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went on a journey.

²When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

³They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.

⁴Again, he sent another servant to them; and they wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

⁵And he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.

⁶He had one left, a beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

⁷But those farmers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

⁸They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Haven't you even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner.

¹¹This was from the Lord, it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

¹²They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.

¹³They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.

¹⁴When they had come, they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and do not defer to anyone; for you are not partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

¹⁵Shall we give, or shall we not give?" But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it."

¹⁶They brought it. He said to them, "Whose is this image and inscription?" They said to him, "Caesar's."

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They marveled greatly at him.

¹⁸There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,

¹⁹"Teacher, Moses wrote to us, 'If a man's brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.'

²⁰There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.

²¹The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;

²²and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

²³In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife."

²⁴Jesus said to them, "Is not this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?

²⁵For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶But about the dead, that they are raised; have not you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken."

²⁸And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the greatest of all?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:

³⁰you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

³¹The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

³²The scribe said to him, "Truly, Teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,

³³and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." No one dared ask him any question after that.

³⁵Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?

³⁶David himself said in the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'

³⁷David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?" The common people heard him gladly.

³⁸In his teaching he said to them, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts:

⁴⁰those who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

⁴¹And he sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.

⁴²A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.

⁴³He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,

⁴⁴for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on."

¹In the Lord, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain!"

²For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

³If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.

⁵The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.

⁶On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

⁷For the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but accurate weights are his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.

⁷When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.

⁸A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.

¹⁴Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.

²⁰Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.

²¹Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.

²⁶People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner!