Eunuchs, Outcasts, and God's Inclusive Kingdom

1. Yahweh says, “Maintain justice, and do what is right; for my salvation is near, and my righteousness will soon be revealed. 2. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3. Let no foreigner, who has joined himself to Yahweh, speak, saying, “Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.” Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” 4. For Yahweh says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant: 5. I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, that will not be cut off. 6. Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to serve him, and to love Yahweh’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant; 7. I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” 8. The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.” 9. All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest. 10. His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11. Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. 12. “Come,” say they, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.” 1. The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil. 2. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. 3. “But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes. 4. Whom do you mock? Against whom do you make a wide mouth, and stick out your tongue? Aren’t you children of disobedience, and offspring of falsehood, 5. you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 6. Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot. You have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? 7. On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed. You also went up there to offer sacrifice. 8. You have set up your memorial behind the doors and the posts; for you have exposed yourself to someone besides me, and have gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them. You loved what you saw on their bed. 9. You went to the king with oil, and increased your perfumes, and sent your ambassadors far off, and degraded yourself even to Sheol. 10. You were wearied with the length of your ways; yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’ You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren’t faint. 11. “Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace for a long time, and you don’t fear me? 12. I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they will not benefit you. 13. When you cry, let those whom you have gathered deliver you; but the wind will take them. a breath will carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land, and will inherit my holy mountain.” 14. He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.” 15. For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16. For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls whom I have made. 17. I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness, and struck him; I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners. 19. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says Yahweh; “and I will heal them.” 20. But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest, and its waters cast up mire and mud. 21. “There is no peace”, says my God, “for the wicked.” 1. “Cry aloud, don’t spare. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments. They delight to draw near to God. 3. ‘Why have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers. 4. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high. 5. Is this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yahweh? 6. “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? 7. Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8. Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you; and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard. 9. Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from among you the yoke, finger pointing, and speaking wickedly; 10. and if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will be as the noonday; 11. and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don’t fail. 12. Those who shall be of you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Paths with Dwellings. 13. “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: 14. then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:” for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it. 1. Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear. 2. But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue mutters wickedness. 4. No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity, and speak lies. They conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity. 5. They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper. 6. Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands. 7. Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. desolation and destruction are in their paths. 8. They don’t know the way of peace; and there is no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace. 9. Therefore is justice far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. 10. We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men. 11. We all roar like bears, and moan bitterly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: 13. transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14. Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter. 15. Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness sustained him. 17. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle. 18. According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; he will repay the islands their due. 19. So shall they fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which Yahweh’s breath drives. 20. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh. 21. “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from henceforth and forever.”

1. Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2. Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3. I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way. 4. Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem? 5. I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.” 6. He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. 7. He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ 8. He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and fertilize it. 9. If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’” 10. He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11. Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up. 12. When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” 13. He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God. 14. The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!” 15. Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water? 16. Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17. As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. 18. He said, “What is God’s Kingdom like? To what shall I compare it? 19. It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and put in his own garden. It grew, and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky live in its branches.” 20. Again he said, “To what shall I compare God’s Kingdom? 21. It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” 22. He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem. 23. One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?” He said to them, 24. “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. 25. When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26. Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27. He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being thrown outside. 29. They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom. 30. Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.” 31. On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32. He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. 33. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.’ 34. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! 35. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” 1. When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him. 2. Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him. 3. Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 4. But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go. 5. He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6. They couldn’t answer him regarding these things. 7. He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, 8. “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, 9. and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. 10. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 12. He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. 13. But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; 14. and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.” 15. When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will feast in God’s Kingdom!” 16. But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people. 17. He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ 18. They all as one began to make excuses. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19. “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’ 20. “Another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I can’t come.’ 21. “That servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’ 22. “The servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.’ 23. “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper.’” 25. Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, 26. “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. 27. Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple. 28. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29. Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, 30. saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31. Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32. Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace. 33. So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple. 34. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? 35. It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 1. Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. 2. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” 3. He told them this parable. 4. “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? 5. When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7. I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. 8. Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it? 9. When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.’ 10. Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.” 11. He said, “A certain man had two sons. 12. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. 13. Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. 14. When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. 15. He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16. He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. 17. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! 18. I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. 19. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20. “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23. Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate; 24. for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ They began to celebrate. 25. “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26. He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on. 27. He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ 28. But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him. 29. But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30. But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31. “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32. But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’” 1. He 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. 2. He 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 don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5. Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’ 6. He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7. Then he said 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 because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light. 9. I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents. 10. He 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. 11. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12. If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13. No 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 aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.” 14. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him. 15. He 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. 16. The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall. 18. Everyone 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. 20. A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, 21. and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22. The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. 23. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. 24. He cried 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 the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. 26. Besides 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 no one 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; 28. for 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 don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’” 1. He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come! 2. It 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. 3. Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” 5. The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6. The 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. 7. But 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,’ 8. and 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’? 9. Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. 10. Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’” 11. As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 12. As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. 13. They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14. When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. 15. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17. Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18. Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” 19. Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.” 20. Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; 21. neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.” 22. He 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. 23. They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away, nor follow after them, 24. for 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. 25. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26. As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27. They 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. 28. Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29. but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all. 30. It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31. In 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. 32. Remember Lot’s wife! 33. Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it. 34. I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left. 35. There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left.” 36. 37. They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together.” 1. He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up, 2. saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man. 3. A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’ 4. He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, 5. yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” 6. The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. 7. Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? 8. I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” 9. He 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. 11. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13. But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t 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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 15. They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16. Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these. 17. Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.” 18. A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19. Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God. 20. You know the commandments: ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ ‘Don’t murder,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ ‘Don’t give false testimony,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” 21. He said, “I have observed all these things from my youth up.” 22. When Jesus heard these things, 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.” 23. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich. 24. Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom! 25. For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.” 26. Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27. But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” 28. Peter said, “Look, we have left everything, and followed you.” 29. He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake, 30. who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.” 31. He 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. 32. For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on. 33. They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.” 34. They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said. 35. As he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging. 36. Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant. 37. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38. He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!” 39. Those who led the way rebuked him, that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “You son of David, have mercy on me!” 40. Standing 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.” 42. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.” 43. Immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.

1. An unfriendly man pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment. 2. A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion. 3. When wickedness comes, contempt also comes, and with shame comes disgrace. 4. The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters. The fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook. 5. To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice. 6. A fool’s lips come into strife, and his mouth invites beatings. 7. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are a snare to his soul. 8. The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels: they go down into a person’s innermost parts. 9. One who is slack in his work is brother to him who is a master of destruction. 10. Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe. 11. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination. 12. Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility. 13. He who gives answer before he hears, that is folly and shame to him. 14. A man’s spirit will sustain him in sickness, but a crushed spirit, who can bear? 15. The heart of the discerning gets knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 16. A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. 17. He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him. 18. The lot settles disputes, and keeps strong ones apart. 19. A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city; and disputes are like the bars of a fortress. 20. A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth. With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied. 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit. 22. Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of Yahweh. 23. The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly. 24. A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.