en_t4t/41-MAT.usfm

\id MAT - Translation 4 Translators 1
\ide 65001 - Unicode (UTF-8)
\h MATTHEW
\toc1 Matthew
\toc2 Matthew
\toc3 Mat
\mt2 The Gospel that was written by
\mt1 Matthew
\c 1
\s1 The genealogy of Jesus, with the names listed in three groups of fourteen generations each.
\sr Matthew 1:1-8
\p
\v 1 \add This is\add* the record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, the descendant of \add King\add* David and of Abraham, \add from whom all we Jews have descended\add*.
\v 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and Judah's \add older and younger\add* brothers.
\v 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, \add and their mother\add* was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.
\v 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
\v 5 Salmon and his wife Rahab, \add a non-Jewish woman\add*, were the parents of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. \add Obed's mother was\add* Ruth, \add another non-Jewish woman\add*. Obed was the father of Jesse.
\v 6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. \add Solomon's mother was previously married to\add* Uriah.
\v 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asaph.
\v 8 Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was an ancestor of Uzziah.
\v 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
\v 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.
\v 11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jeconiah and Jeconiah's brothers. \add They lived\add* at the time when the \add Babylonian army\add* took the Israelites as captives to the \add country of\add* Babylon.
\p
\v 12 After the Babylonians took the Israelites to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the grandfather of Zerubbabel.
\v 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
\v 14 Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim.
\v 15 Akim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.
\v 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was Mary's husband, and Mary was Jesus' mother. Jesus is the one who is called {whom we call} the Messiah.
\p
\v 17 \add As you can calculate, I have grouped Jesus'\add* ancestors \add as follows:\add* There was \add a succession of\add* fourteen of them from \add the time when\add* Abraham \add lived\add* to \add the time when King\add* David \add lived\add*. There was \add a succession of\add* fourteen of them from \add the time when\add* David \add lived\add* to \add the time when\add* the \add Israelites were taken\add* {\add the Babylonian army took the Israelites\add*} away to Babylon. There was \add a succession of\add* fourteen of them from \add the time when the Israelites were taken\add* {\add the Babylonian army took the Israelites\add*} away to Babylon until \add the time when\add* the Messiah \add was born\add*.
\s1 When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he decided to divorce her, but an angel told him to take her as his wife because it was the power of the Holy Spirit that had enabled her to be pregnant.
\sr Matthew 1:18-25
\p
\v 18 This is \add the account of what happened just before\add* Jesus Christ was born. Mary, his mother, {had publicly promised Joseph that she would marry him} had been publicly promised to marry Joseph. Before they began to sleep together, \add Mary\add* realized that she was pregnant. \add It was the power of\add* the Holy Spirit that had caused her to become pregnant.
\v 19 Joseph, her \add future\add* husband, was a man who obeyed God's commands. \add One of those commands was that men must divorce women who had acted immorally. So when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he assumed that she was pregnant as a result of her acting immorally\add*. So he decided to break the engagement. But because he did not want to shame her publicly, he decided to do it privately.
\v 20 While he was seriously considering this, much to his surprise, in a dream he saw an angel whom the Lord \add sent\add*. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of \add King\add* David, do not be afraid that \add you(sg) would be doing wrong if you(sg) would marry\add* Mary. Instead, \add begin to treat her\add* as your wife, because the Holy Spirit, \add not a man\add*, has caused her to be pregnant.
\v 21 She will give birth to a son. Since it is he who will cause that his people will be saved from \add the guilt of\add* their having sinned, name \add the baby\add* Jesus, \add which means ‘the Lord saves people’\add*.”
\v 22 All this happened as a result of what the Lord told the prophet \add Isaiah to write long ago about what was going to happen\add*. This is what Isaiah wrote:
\v 23 “Listen, a virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will call him Emmanuel.” Emmanuel means ❛God is with us❜.
\v 24 When Joseph got up from sleep, he did what the angel whom the Lord \add had sent\add* commanded him to do. He took \add Mary\add* home to be his wife.
\v 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son. And \add Joseph\add* named him Jesus.
\c 2
\s1 After some astrologers saw an unusual star, they traveled westwards to find the place where the infant Jesus was. King Herod helped direct them, but then an angel told them not to go back to King Herod.
\sr Matthew 2:1-12
\p
\v 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem \add town\add* in Judea \add province\add* during the time [MTY] that King Herod \add the Great ruled there. Some time\add* after Jesus was born, some men who studied the stars and who lived in a \add country\add* east \add of Judea\add* came to Jerusalem \add city\add*.
\v 2 They asked \add people\add*, “Where is the one who has been born \add in order that he might be\add* the king of \add you\add* Jews? \add We believe that your new king\add* has been born, because we have seen the star \add that we believe indicated that\add* he has been \add born\add*. \add We saw it while we were in our country\add* east \add of here\add*. So we have come to worship him.”
\p
\v 3 When King Herod heard \add what those men were asking\add*, he became worried \add that someone else might be proclaimed\add* {\add people might proclaim someone else\add*} \add king of the Jews to replace him\add*. Many \add of the people\add* of Jerusalem \add city\add* [MTY, HYP] \add also\add* became worried \add because they were afraid of what King Herod might do\add*.
\v 4 Then Herod gathered together all the ruling priests and men who taught the people the \add Jewish\add* laws and he asked them where \add the prophets had predicted that\add* the Messiah was to be born.
\v 5 They said to him, “\add He will be born\add* in Bethlehem \add town, here\add* in Judea \add province\add*, because it was written by the prophet \add Micah\add* {the prophet \add Micah\add* wrote} \add long ago what God said\add*:
\v 6 ‘You \add who live in\add* Bethlehem \add town\add* [APO], in Judea \add province\add*, your town is certainly very important [LIT], because a man from your \add town\add* will become a ruler. He will guide my people \add who live in\add* Israel.’”
\p
\v 7 Then \add King\add* Herod secretly summoned those men who studied the stars. He asked them exactly when the star \add first\add* appeared. \add By what they told him, he was able to know the approximate age of the baby\add*.
\v 8 Then he \add concealed what he really planned to do and\add* said to them, “Go to Bethlehem and inquire thoroughly \add where\add* the infant is. When you have found him, \add come back and\add* report to me so that I, myself, can go \add there and\add* worship him, too.”
\p
\v 9 After the men heard what the king \add told them\add*, they went \add toward Bethlehem town\add*. To their surprise, the star that they had seen while they were in the eastern \add country\add* went ahead of them \add again\add* until it stood above \add the house\add* where the child was.
\v 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced greatly \add and followed it\add*.
\v 11 They \add found\add* the house and entered it and saw the child and his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure \add boxes\add* [MTY] and they gave gold, \add costly\add* frankincense, and myrrh to him.
\v 12 \add Because\add* God \add knew that King Herod planned to kill Jesus\add*, in a dream the men who studied the stars were warned {he warned the men who studied the stars} that they should not return to \add King\add* Herod. So they returned to their country, \add but instead of traveling back on the same road, they\add* went on a different road.
\s1 Following an angel's instructions, Joseph took his family to the country of Egypt to escape from Herod.
\sr Matthew 2:13-21
\p

\v 13 After the men who studied the stars left \add Bethlehem\add*, an angel \add from\add* the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to \add the country of\add* Egypt. Stay there until I tell you \add (sg) that you should leave\add*, because \add King\add* Herod is about \add to send soldiers\add* to look for the child so that they can kill him.” 
\v 14 So Joseph got up, he took the child and his mother \add that\add* night, and they fled to Egypt. \v 15 They stayed there until \add King\add* Herod died, \add and then they left Egypt\add*. By doing that, it was {they} fulfilled what the prophet \add Hosea\add* wrote, which had been said by the Lord {which the Lord had said},
\q I have told my son to come out of Egypt.
\m
\v 16 \add While King\add* Herod \add was still living\add*, because he realized that he had been tricked by the men who studied the stars {the men who studied the stars had tricked him}, he became furious. Then, \add assuming that Jesus was still in Bethlehem or the surrounding regions\add*, Herod sent \add soldiers there\add* to kill all the boy babies two years old and younger. \add Herod calculated how old the baby was\add*, according to what the men who studied the stars told him \add about when the star first appeared\add*.

\v 17 \add Because Bethlehem and Ramah towns were in the area where the descendants of Jacob's wife Rachel lived, when soldiers killed the infant boys\add*, they fulfilled what Jeremiah the prophet wrote, 
\pi1 \v 18 \add Women\add* in Ramah were weeping and wailing loudly. \add Women who were the descendants\add* of Rachel, \add the ancestor of the women there\add* [SYN], were grieving for \add what happened to\add* their children. \add Even though people tried to comfort them\add*, they would not be comforted {stop mourning} because their children were dead.
\p
\v 19 After Herod died \add and while Joseph and his family were still in Egypt\add*, an angel that the Lord \add had sent\add* appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream.

\v 20 He said to Joseph, “Take the child and his mother and go back to Israel \add to live\add*, because the people who were looking for the child \add in order to kill him\add* have died.” \v 21 So Joseph took the child and his mother, and they went back to Israel.
\s1 Following an angel's warning, Joseph and his family returned to Nazareth, and thus a prophecy about the Messiah was fulfilled.
\sr Matthew 2:22-23
\p

\v 22 When Joseph heard that Archaelaus now ruled in Judea \add district\add* instead of his father, \add King\add* Herod \add the Great\add*, he was afraid to go there. Because he was warned {\add God\add* warned Joseph} in a dream \add that it was still dangerous for them to live in Judea\add*, he \add and Mary and Jesus\add* went to Galilee \add District\add* \v 23 to the town called Nazareth \add to live there\add*. The result was that what had been said by the ancient prophets {what the ancient prophets had said} \add about the Messiah\add*, that he would be called {people would call him} a Nazareth-man, was fulfilled {came true}.
\c 3
\s1 John the Baptizer announced the coming of Jesus, and he baptized many people who heard his message.
\sr Matthew 3:1-6
\p
\v 1 While \add Jesus was still in Nazareth town\add*, John, \add whom the people called\add* the Baptizer, went to a desolate place in Judea \add district\add*.
\v 2 He was preaching \add to the people who came there\add*. He kept saying, “\add You need to\add* turn away from your sinful behavior, because God [MET] will soon begin to rule \add over people, and he will reject you if you do not turn away from your sinful life\add*.”
\v 3 John was the person who \add fulfilled\add* what was said by Isaiah the prophet {what Isaiah the prophet \add predicted\add* when he said}, long ago,
\pi In a desolate area ◄\add people will hear someone/someone will be heard\add*► shouting \add to the people who pass by\add*,
\pi Prepare \add yourselves to receive\add* the Lord when he comes!
\pi \add Make yourselves ready so that you will be prepared when he comes\add* [MET, DOU], just like people \add improve and\add* straighten out the road \add for an important official!\add*
\p
\v 4 John wore \add coarse\add* clothing made from camel's hair. And \add as the prophet Elijah did long ago\add*, he wore a leather belt around his waist. His food was \add only\add* grasshoppers and honey \add that he found\add* in that desolate area.
\v 5 \add People who lived in\add* Jerusalem \add city\add* [MTY], many [HYP] \add people who lived in other places in\add* Judea \add district\add* [MTY], and many [HYP] \add people who lived in\add* the area around the Jordan \add River\add* [MTY] came to John \add to hear him preach\add*.
\v 6 After \add they heard him tell them to turn away from their sinful behavior\add*, they \add openly\add* confessed their sins, and as a result they were baptized by John {John baptized them} in the Jordan River.
\s1 John told the Pharisees and Sadducees that they needed to repent before he would baptize them.
\sr Matthew 3:7-10
\p
\v 7 After John noted that many men of the Pharisee \add religious group\add* and of the Sadducee \add religious group\add* were coming \add to him\add* to be baptized {in order that he would baptize them}, he said to them, “You people are \add evil like poisonous\add* snakes [MET]! I warn you that God will some day punish [MTY] everyone who sins. ◄And do not think that you can escape from his punishing you [MTY] \add if you do not turn from your sinful behavior\add*!/Did someone tell you that you can escape from his punishing you [MTY] \add if you do not turn from your sinful behavior\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 8 Do what is appropriate [IDI] for people who have truly turned away from their sinful behavior \add before you come to me in order to be baptized\add* {\add that I baptize you\add*}.
\v 9 \add God promised to give Abraham many descendants. In order to fulfill that promise\add*, God \add does not need you! I\add* tell you that he can change these stones to make them descendants of Abraham. So do not start to say to yourselves, ‘Since we are descendants of \add our ancestor\add* Abraham, \add God will not punish us even though we have sinned\add*.’
\v 10 \add God is\add* ready \add to punish you if you do not turn away from your sinful behavior, just like\add* a man who lays his axe at the roots of a \add fruit\add* tree \add in order to\add* chop it down and throw it into the fire if it does not produce good fruit [MET].”
\s1 John said that someone greater than him would soon come who would enable some of the people to change their lives and who would severely punish the others.
\sr Matthew 3:11-12
\p
\v 11 “As for me, I \add am not very important, because\add* I baptize you \add only\add* with water. I \add baptize you\add* because of your feeling sorry that you have sinned. But someone else will come soon who is very great; \add he will do powerful deeds\add* (OR, \add act powerfully\add*). \add Because he is\add* superior to me, I am not worthy \add even to do a menial task for him, such as\add* to carry his sandals.
\p He will put \add his\add* Holy Spirit \add within\add* you \add to truly change\add* the way you live [MET], and \add he will judge others of you and punish you in\add* the fire \add in hell\add*.
\v 12 \add He is like a farmer who wants to clear away the grain that is on the ground where it has been threshed\add* {\add they have threshed it\add*}. \add That farmer uses a\add* huge fork to throw the grain into the air \add to separate the wheat from the chaff\add* [MET], and then he cleans up the threshing area. \add Similarly\add*, God will \add separate righteous people from the evil people like a farmer who\add* gathers the wheat into his storage area, and then \add God\add* will burn the \add people who are like\add* chaff with a fire that will never be put out [MET].”
\s1 When John baptized Jesus, God showed that Jesus was his Son by sending the Holy Spirit upon him.
\sr Matthew 3:13-17
\p
\v 13 During that time, Jesus went from Galilee \add District\add* to the Jordan \add River\add*, where John was. \add He did that\add* in order to be baptized by John {in order to ask that John would baptize him}.
\v 14 \add When Jesus asked John to baptize him\add*, John objected, saying, “I need to be baptized by \bd you\bd* {\bd you\bd* to baptize \bd me\bd*} \add because you are superior to me. Since you are not a sinner\add*, ◄\add you(sg)\add* should not come to me \add to be baptized by me\add* {\add to ask that I baptize you(sg)\add*}!/why do you come to me \add to be baptized by me\add* {\add ask that I baptize you(sg)\add*} [RHQ]?►”
\v 15 But Jesus said to him, “Baptize me at this time, because in this way we \add two\add* will do \add everything that God\add* requires.” Then John consented to baptize him.
\p
\v 16 After he was baptized {John baptized Jesus}, Jesus immediately came up out of the water. Just then, \add it was as though\add* the sky was opened {split apart}. Then \add Jesus\add* saw God's Spirit coming down upon him. He came in the form of a dove.
\v 17 Then \add God\add* [SYN] spoke from heaven, saying, “This is my Son. I love him. I am very pleased with him.”
\c 4
\s1 After Jesus fasted forty days, Satan tempted him in various ways.
\sr Matthew 4:1-11
\p
\v 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit {\add God's\add* Spirit led Jesus} into a desolate area to be tempted by the devil {in order that the devil would tempt him}.
\v 2 After he did not eat food day and night for forty days, he was hungry.
\v 3 \add Satan\add*, the tempter, came to him and said, “Because you \add claim that you have a relationship with\add* God \add as\add* a son \add has with his father\add* [MET], \add prove it\add* by commanding these stones to become bread \add so that you can eat them\add*!”
\v 4 But Jesus said \add to him\add*, “\add No! I will not change stones into bread, because\add* it is written \add in the Scriptures\add* {in the Scriptures \add Moses\add* wrote}, \add ‘Eating\add* food [SYN] \add sustains\add* people \add physically, but\add* it does not sustain them \add spiritually\add* [SYN]. Instead, \add paying attention to\add* everything that God has spoken \add to them is what sustains people spiritually\add*.’”
\v 5 Then the devil took Jesus to \add Jerusalem\add*, the city that is dedicated to God. He set him on the highest part of the Temple,
\v 6 and said to him, “Because you \add claim that you have a relationship with\add* God \add as\add* a son \add has with his father, prove it by\add* jumping down \add to the ground. You will not be hurt\add*, because it is written \add in the Scriptures\add*, \add ‘God\add* will command his angels to protect you. They will lift you up in their hands \add when you are falling\add*, in order that \add you will not get hurt\add*. You will not \add even\add* strike your foot on a stone.’”
\v 7 But Jesus said, “\add No! I\add* will not \add jump down, because\add* in another place \add in the Scriptures\add* it is written {there are these words that \add Moses\add* wrote}: ‘Do not \add try to\add* test the Lord your God \add to see if he will prevent something bad from happening to you when you do something foolish!\add*’”
\v 8 Then the devil took him on \add top of\add* a very high mountain. There he showed him all the nations in the world and the magnificent things in those nations.
\v 9 And then he said to him, “I will \add let you rule all these nations and\add* give you the magnificent things in them if you bow down and worship me.”
\v 10 But Jesus said to him, “\add No, I will not worship you\add*, Satan, \add so\add* go away! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘It is the Lord your God whom you \add (pl)\add* must worship, and you \add (pl)\add* must serve only him!’”
\v 11 Then the devil went away, and right away, angels came to Jesus and took care of him.
\s1 Jesus went to Galilee and preached that people needed to repent to belong to the group whom God would consider his people.
\sr Matthew 4:12-17
\p
\v 12 \add While\add* Jesus \add was in Judea, John the Baptizer's disciples\add* told him that John had been put in prison and kept there {that \add Herod Antipas\add* had put John \add the Baptizer\add* in prison \add and kept him there\add*}. \add So\add* Jesus returned to Galilee \add District\add*. While he was in Galilee, he first went to Nazareth town.
\v 13 Then he left Nazareth and went to Capernaum \add city in order to live there. Capernaum is located beside Galilee Lake in the region which was formerly\add* the regions of \add the tribes of\add* Zebulun and Naphtali.
\v 14 \add One reason that he went there\add* was so that \add these words\add* that were written by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled {so that he might fulfill these words that the prophet Isaiah wrote}:
\p
\v 15 Zebulun \add region\add* and Naphtali \add region are on\add* the road \add which is\add* near \add Galilee Lake and\add* on the eastern side of the Jordan \add River. They are\add* the regions in Galilee \add District where many\add* non-Jews \add are living\add*.
\v 16 \add Although the people there will be like\add* people who sit in a dark place [MET], \add they will suddenly perceive clearly a new teaching, as\add* people who have seen a big light shining on them [MET] perceive everything clearly. \add The\add* people who are located in a dangerous [MET] region \add will suddenly perceive clearly what God teaches\add*, as people on whom a light shines perceive things clearly [MET, DOU].
\p
\v 17 From that time, \add while\add* Jesus was \add in Capernaum city, he began to preach this to people: “God [MTY/EUP] will very soon begin to rule, and he will judge you when he rules\add*. So you \add (pl)\add* need to turn from your sinful ways \add so that God will not punish you\add*.”
\s1 Jesus summoned four fishermen, who immediately left their work and went with him.
\sr Matthew 4:18-23
\p
\v 18 \add One day\add* while Jesus was walking by Galilee Lake, he saw two men, Simon, who was \add later\add* called Peter, and Andrew, his \add younger\add* brother. They were casting their \add fishing\add* net into the lake because they \add earned money by\add* catching \add and selling\add* fish.
\v 19 He said to them, “\add Just like you have been\add* gathering fish, come with me and I will teach you how to gather people \add to become my disciples\add*.” [MET]
\v 20 They immediately left \add the work that they were doing with\add* their \add fishing\add* nets, and they went with him.
\p
\v 21 As \add the three of them\add* walked on from there, Jesus saw two other men, James, and John, the \add younger\add* brother of James. \add They were\add* in their boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their \add fishing\add* nets. Jesus told them that \add they should leave their work and\add* go with him.
\v 22 They immediately left their fishing boat and their father, and they went with Jesus.
\s1 Jesus taught and healed many people when he was in Galilee District.
\sr Matthew 4:23-25
\p
\v 23 Jesus went \add with those four men\add* throughout all of Galilee \add District\add*. He was teaching \add the people\add* in the buildings where we Jews worship God. He was preaching the good message that tells how to become members of the group of people whose lives God rules over. He was also healing all \add the Galileans\add* who had diseases or who were sick.
\v 24 When people who lived in other parts of Syria \add District\add* heard [PRS] what he was doing, they brought to him people who suffered from illnesses, people who suffered from many kinds of diseases, people who \add suffered from\add* severe pains, people who were controlled by demons {whom demons controlled}, people who were epileptics, and people who were paralyzed. And Jesus healed them.
\v 25 Then crowds started to go with him. \add They were people from\add* Galilee \add District\add*, ◄from the Decapolis/from the Ten Towns \add area\add*►, from Jerusalem \add city\add*, from other \add parts of\add* Judea \add district\add*, and from areas east of the Jordan \add River\add*.
\c 5
\s1 On a hillside, Jesus taught his disciples and others what kind of people God esteems.
\sr Matthew 5:1-12
\p
\v 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hillside. He sat down \add in order to teach\add* his disciples. They came near to him \add to listen to him\add*.
\v 2 Then he began to teach them by saying,
\q
\v 3 \add God\add* is pleased with people who recognize that they have a spiritual \add need\add*;
\q he will allow them to be the people whose lives he rules over.
\q
\v 4 \add God\add* is pleased with people who mourn \add because they have sinned;\add*
\q they will be encouraged {he will encourage them.}
\q
\v 5 \add God\add* is pleased with people who are meek;
\q they will inherit the earth \add that God will recreate\add*.
\q
\v 6 \add God\add* is pleased with people who sincerely \add desire to live\add* righteously \add just like they\add* desire to eat and drink [MET];
\q they will be enabled {he will enable them} to do all that he desires [MET].
\q
\v 7 \add God\add* is pleased with people who act mercifully;
\q he will act mercifully to them.
\q
\v 8 \add God\add* is pleased with people who think only about that which pleases him;
\q \add some day\add* they will \add be where\add* God is and will see him.
\q
\v 9 \add God\add* is pleased with people who help other people to live peacefully;
\q they will be considered to be {he will consider that they are} his children [MET].
\q
\v 10 \add God is pleased with\add* people to whom evil things are done {to whom \add other people\add* do evil things} because they \add conducted themselves\add* righteously;
\q he will allow them to be where he rules over people.
\q
\v 11 \add God is pleased with\add* you when \add other\add* people insult you, when \add other people\add* do evil things to you and when \add other people\add* say falsely \add that\add* you are evil because \add you believe in\add* me.
\v 12 \add When that happens\add*, rejoice and be glad [DOU], because \add God will give\add* you a great reward in heaven. \add God will think highly of you\add*, just like \add he thought highly of\add* the prophets whom your \add ancestors persecuted\add* long ago.
\s1 Jesus taught that we should live in such a way that other people will see how we live and will praise God.
\sr Matthew 5:13-16
\p
\v 13 “\bd You\bd* are \add able to influence\add* evil \add people\add* [MTY] \add and improve the way they live in order that they do not become more evil, just like\add* salt \add is able to improve the flavor of food and to preserve it\add* [MET] \add from spoiling\add*. Salt that no longer tastes salty cannot become salty again [RHQ]. As a result, that salt becomes useless. It is rejected by people, thrown on the ground, and walked on {People reject it, throw it on the ground and walk on it} [MET]. \add Similarly, if the way you live no longer influences people to live in a godly manner, God will reject you\add*.
\v 14 \bd You\bd* \add enable\add* evil \add people\add* [MTY] \add to perceive God's truth as\add* a light \add enables people to perceive what is around them. Just like\add* everyone can see [LIT] \add the lights of\add* a city on a hill [MET], \add other people can see what you do\add*.
\v 15 After people light a lamp, they never put it under a basket. Instead, \add they put it\add* on a lampstand in their houses in order that it can shine on everyone there.
\v 16 \add Similarly\add*, you need to do \add what is right\add* [MET] in such a manner that other people can see the good deeds that you do, and as a result they will praise your Father \add who is\add* in heaven.”
\s1 Jesus taught that it is important to obey all of God's commandments.
\sr Matthew 5:17-20
\p
\v 17 “I came to earth, not to annul the laws \add that God gave Moses\add* or \add what\add* the prophets [MTY] \add wrote\add*. Instead, I \add came\add* to cause to happen \add what the authors of those books predicted would happen\add*. So do not think any longer that I have come \add to earth\add* in order that I might annul \add what they wrote\add*.
\v 18 Keep this in mind: \add Every\add* point of those laws, \add including those points that seem\add* least important, and even the smallest details of the laws [MTY] will surely be in effect [HYP, LIT] until the heavens and the earth disappear and until all \add that God told their authors to write\add* happens.
\v 19 Since \add all God's laws are important\add*, if anyone disobeys any of those commandments, \add even if it would be\add* one of the least \add important ones\add*, and if that person teaches people \add to disobey any of those commandments\add*, it will be said {\add God\add* will say} that that person is the least \add important\add* of those in the place where [EUP] God rules. But those who obey \add those commandments\add* and teach \add other people to obey them, it will be said\add* {\add God\add* will say} that they are very important among those that God rules.
\v 20 Keep this in mind: \add You assume that\add* the Pharisees and the men who teach our laws \add faithfully obey\add* what God commands. But if you do not obey those laws better than they obey them, you will by no means enter the place where God rules.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not be angry and that we should quickly settle accounts with those whom we have wronged.
\sr Matthew 5:21-26
\p
\v 21 “You have heard \add your religious teachers say\add* that it was said {that \add Moses\add* said} to your ancestors, ‘Do not murder \add anyone.’ This implied that\add* if someone murders \add another person\add*, the judge will condemn that person \add and\add* sentence him to be \add executed\add* {\add say that someone must execute him\add*}.
\v 22 But what I say to you is this: \add If you are\add* angry with someone, \add God\add* will judge you. If you say to someone, ‘\add You are worthless\add*,’ the Jewish Council will judge you. If you say \add to someone\add*, ‘\add You are\add* a fool,’ \add God will throw you\add* into the fires in hell.
\v 23 So, when you take your gift \add for God\add* to the altar, if you remember that you have offended someone,
\v 24 leave your gift by the altar, and first go \add to the person you have offended\add*. Tell that person that you are sorry for what you have done, and ask that person to forgive you. Then go back and offer your gift \add to God\add*.
\v 25 \add Also\add*, when a fellow citizen \add takes you to court in order to\add* accuse you, settle accounts with that person quickly while you are walking with that person \add to court\add*. Do that \add while there still is time to do so\add* in order that he will not take you to the judge, \add because if\add* the judge \add favors the person who is accusing you, he will declare that you are guilty and send you\add* to the prison guard, and the prison guard will put you in prison.
\v 26 Keep this in mind: \add If you go to prison\add*, you will never get out \add because you will never be able to\add* pay all that the judge says that you owe [MET]. \add And remember also that\add* you \add ought to settle accounts with God before you die, too\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught about the way to refuse to sin when we are tempted to do something wrong.
\sr Matthew 5:27-30
\p
\v 27 “You have heard \add God's\add* commandment, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
\v 28 But what I say to you is this: If a man only looks at a woman desiring to have sex with her, \add God considers that\add* his thinking about sinning sexually [MET] is sin.
\v 29 If because of what you see [MTY] you \add are tempted to\add* sin, \add stop looking at those things! Even if you have to\add* gouge out one of your eyes and throw it away [HYP] \add to avoid sinning, do it!\add* It is good \add that you not sin and\add* as a result \add go to heaven, even though while you are still here on earth\add* you lack one \add or both of\add* your eyes. But it is not good \add that you continue to have two eyes and sin and, as a result, God\add* sends your whole body to hell.
\v 30 If you are \add tempted to\add* use one of your hands to sin [MTY], \add stop using your hand. Even if you have to\add* cut your hand off and throw it away \add to avoid sinning, do it\add* [HYP]! It is good \add that you do not sin and as a result you go to heaven, even though while you are still here on earth\add* you lack one \add or both\add* of your \add hands\add*. But it is not good \add that you sin and, as a result, God\add* sends your whole body to hell.”
\s1 Jesus taught that people should not divorce their spouses.
\sr Matthew 5:31-32
\p
\v 31 “It is written {\add Moses\add* wrote}, ‘If a man is divorcing his wife, he should write a document \add on which he states that he is\add* divorcing her.’
\v 32 But \add now listen to what\add* I say to you: \add A man\add* may \add divorce his wife\add* only if she has committed adultery, \add and not for any other reason\add*. If a man divorces his wife \add for any other reason, and he has sex with another woman\add*, he makes his wife become one against whom he has committed adultery, \add because in God's estimation she still is his wife\add*. Also, if a man marries a woman who is divorced {whose husband has divorced her}, \add God considers\add* him \add guilty of\add* committing adultery.”
\s1 Jesus taught that people should not add anything to make their words more credible when they promise to do something.
\sr Matthew 5:33-37
\p
\v 33 “You have also heard \add your religious teachers say\add* that it was written {that \add Moses\add* wrote} to your ancestors, ‘Make sure that you do what you promised the Lord that you would do!’ [DOU]
\v 34 But \add now listen to what\add* I say to you: Never promise to do anything and then ask a superior being to affirm \add that what you are saying will happen. For example, do\add* not \add promise that you will give something and then ask spiritual beings in\add* heaven [MTY] \add to affirm that you will do it\add*, because heaven is where God \add sits\add* on his throne [MTY] \add to rule over people\add*.
\v 35 \add Also, do\add* not \add promise that you will give something and then ask spiritual beings\add* on earth [MTY] \add to affirm that you will do it\add*, because the earth is where God rests his feet [MET]. \add Also, do\add* not \add promise that you will do something and ask religious authorities\add* in Jerusalem \add to affirm that you will do it\add*, because Jerusalem is the city where \add God\add*, the great King \add rules\add*.
\p
\v 36 \add Also, do not promise that you will do something and then say that\add* your head \add should be cut off\add* {\add someone should cut off\add* your head} \add if you do not do it\add*. You are not \add even\add* able to \add change the color of the hair of your head by\add* making one \add black\add* hair white or one \add white\add* hair black.
\v 37 \add If you talk about doing something\add*, just say ‘Yes, I \add will do it\add*,’ or ‘No, I \add will not do it\add*.’ \add If you say\add* anything more than that, it is from \add Satan\add*, the Evil One.”
\s1 Jesus taught that everyone should be kind to all people, even to people who mistreat us.
\sr Matthew 5:38-42
\p
\v 38 “You have heard \add your religious teachers say\add* that \add it is written\add* {\add Moses wrote\add*}, ‘\add Retaliate like this\add*: \add If someone damages\add* one of your eyes, \add someone should damage\add* one of that person's eyes. \add If someone damages\add* one of your teeth, \add someone should damage\add* one of that person's teeth.’
\v 39 But \add now listen to what\add* I say to you: Do not take revenge for evil \add deeds done\add* {\add that other people do\add*} \add to you\add*. Instead, if someone \add insults you by\add* striking you on one cheek, turn your other cheek toward that person \add in order that he can strike it also\add*.
\v 40 If someone wants to sue you and take your ◄inner garment/shirt►, give him your ◄outer garment/coat► also.
\v 41 If a \add military authority\add* compels you to go with him one mile \add and carry his gear\add*, go with him two miles \add and carry his gear\add*.
\v 42 Also, if someone asks you for \add something\add*, give \add him what he is asking for\add*. If someone requests you to lend him \add something\add*, do not refuse \add to lend it to him\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should love the people whom we would not normally love.
\sr Matthew 5:43-48
\p
\v 43 “You have heard \add your religious teachers say that it is written\add* {\add that Moses wrote\add*}, ‘Love the citizens of your country and hate your enemies.’
\v 44 But \add now listen to what\add* I say to you: Love your enemies \add as well as your friends\add*, and pray for those who cause you to suffer.
\v 45 Do that in order to imitate what \add God\add*, your Father \add who is\add* in heaven, does. He desires that you [MET] do \add like he does\add*. \add He acts kindly to all people. For example, he causes\add* the sun to shine \add equally\add* on wicked \add people\add* and on good \add people\add*, and \add he sends\add* rain \add both\add* on righteous \add people\add* and on unrighteous \add people\add*.
\v 46 If you love \add only\add* the people who love you, ◄\add do not expect God to\add* reward you \add in heaven\add*!/will \add God\add* reward you \add in heaven\add*?► [RHQ] \add This is based on the fact that everyone\add*, even the tax collectors, \add who you think are very great sinners\add*, love [RHQ] those who love them. \add If you act like them\add*, ◄\add you are not any different from tax collectors!/in what way are you different from tax collectors\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 47 If you want \add God\add* to bless only your friends, ◄you are not acting any better than other people!/are you acting any better than other people?► [RHQ] Even the non-Jews, \add who you think sin very much\add* (OR, \add you think are unacceptable to God\add*), want God to bless their friends [RHQ], \add but God does not reward them for that\add*.
\v 48 \add You need to love those who do not love you\add*, and in that way become perfect as \add God\add* your Father, \add who is\add* in heaven, is perfect.”
\c 6
\s1 Jesus taught how we should give to needy people. He also taught his disciples how to pray.
\sr Matthew 6:1-13
\p
\v 1 “When you do your good deeds, make certain that you do not do them when other people are watching so that they may see you \add and think highly of you\add*. If \add you do good deeds merely in order that other people may think highly of you, God\add*, your Father who is in heaven, will not give you any reward.
\v 2 So, whenever you give something to the poor, do not \add announce it as people announce something that they want other people to know about\add* by playing a \add fanfare\add* on a trumpet [MET]. That is what the hypocrites do ◄in the synagogues/in the Jewish meeting places► and on the main roads in order that people might \add see what they do and\add* praise them. Keep this in mind: \add People praise those hypocrites\add*, \add but\add* that is the \add only\add* reward they will receive!
\v 3 Instead \add of doing as they do\add*, when you give something to the poor, do not let other people know that you are doing that [MET].
\v 4 In that way, you will be giving to the poor secretly. \add As a result God\add*, your Father who observes \add you\add* while no one else sees \add you\add*, will reward you.
\p
\v 5 Also when you pray, do not do what the hypocrites do. They like to stand in the Jewish meeting places and on the corners of the main streets to pray, in order that other people will see them \add and think highly of them\add*. Keep this in mind: \add People praise them, but\add* that is the \add only\add* reward they will get.
\v 6 But as for you, when you pray, go into your private room and close the door in order to pray to \add God\add*, your Father, whom no one can see. He observes you where no one else observes you, and he will reward you.
\v 7 When you pray, do not repeat words many times as the people who do not know God do \add when they pray. They repeat meaningless words\add* because they think that if they use many words, their gods will listen to them and give them \add what they ask for\add*.
\v 8 Do not \add repeat words\add* as they do, because \add God\add* your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
\v 9 So pray \add things\add* like this: Father, \add you who are\add* in heaven, we \add (exc)\add* desire that you be honored/revered {that people honor/revere you}.
\v 10 We \add (exc)\add* desire that people let you rule \add over their lives\add*. We(exc) want \add people who live\add* on the earth to do what you desire, as those who live in heaven \add do what you want them to do\add*.
\v 11 Give us \add (exc)\add* each day the food [SYN] that we \add (exc) need for\add* that day.
\v 12 Forgive our sins just like we \add (exc)\add* have forgiven the people who sin against us \add (exc)\add*.
\v 13 Do not let us(exc) do wrong things when we(exc) are tempted {someone or something tempts us}, and rescue us \add (exc)\add* when \bd Satan\bd* the evil one tempts us to do evil things.\f + \fqa people\fqa* should praise you forever.\f*”
\s1 Jesus taught more about forgiving others.
\sr Matthew 6:14-15
\p
\v 14 “\add Forgive the people who sin against you\add*, because, if you forgive other people, \add God\add*, your Father who is in heaven, will forgive your \add sins\add*.
\v 15 But if you do not forgive other people, neither will God forgive your sins.”
\s1 Jesus taught about abstaining from food.
\sr Matthew 6:16-18
\p
\v 16 “When you abstain from eating food \add in order to please God\add*, do not look sad as the hypocrites look. They make their faces appear sad in order that people will see that they are abstaining from food \add and will think highly of them\add*. Keep this in mind: \add People will think highly of those people for that\add*, but \add that is the only\add* reward those people will get!
\v 17 Instead, \add each of\add* you, when you abstain from food, should comb your hair and wash your face \add as usual\add*,
\v 18 in order that other people will not notice that you are fasting \add because you will look as you always do\add*. But \add God\add*, your Father, whom no one can see, \add will observe that you are abstaining from food. God\add* your Father sees \add you\add* even though no one else sees \add you\add*, and he will reward you.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should do deeds that please God. That will be like putting treasures in heaven.
\sr Matthew 6:19-21
\p
\v 19 “Do not \add selfishly\add* accumulate large quantities of money and material goods for yourselves on \add this\add* earth, because \add the earth is where everything perishes. For example\add*, on earth termites ruin things, and things rust, and thieves enter \add buildings\add* and steal things.
\v 20 Instead, do \add deeds that will please God. Your doing such deeds will be like\add* storing treasures in heaven [MET]. \add Nothing perishes in heaven\add*. In heaven no termites ruin \add things\add*, nothing rusts, and thieves do not enter buildings and steal.
\v 21 \add Remember that\add* the things \add that you think are the most\add* valuable are \add the things that\add* you will be constantly concerned about [MET]. \add So if you want to be storing treasures in heaven\add*, you \add need to be\add* constantly thinking \add about God and heaven\add*, \add instead of your earthly possessions\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should be generous with what we possess.
\sr Matthew 6:22-23
\p
\v 22 “Your eyes are \add like\add* a lamp [MET] for your body, because they enable you to see things. So if your eyes are healthy, you are able to see everything well [MET]. \add Similarly, if you are generous with your money and other possessions, you will be able to know much of what God wants you to know\add* [MET].
\v 23 But if your eyes are bad, you are not able to see things well. And if that continues, the time will come when you will not be able to see at all. You will be in complete darkness [MET]. \add Similarly, if you continue to be greedy, you will be in spiritual darkness. If all that your eyes can see and your mind can think about involves your greedily desiring material possessions, all that you do will be evil\add* [MET].”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not try to serve God and accumulate money at the same time.
\sr Matthew 6:24
\p

\v 24 “No one is able to serve two \add different\add* bosses \add at the same time\add*. If \add he tried to do that\add*, he would dislike one of them and love the other one, or he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one [DOU]. \add Similarly\add*, you cannot \add devote your life to\add* worshipping God and \add worshipping\add* money and material goods \add at the same time\add*.” 
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not worry about having enough food and clothes. 
\sr Matthew 6:25-34 
\p \v 25 “Because \add you should be concerned about what God thinks is important and not about material goods, I\add* tell you that you should not worry about \add things that you need in order to\add* live. \add Do not worry\add* about whether you will have \add enough food\add* to eat, and \add something\add* to drink, or \add enough\add* clothes to wear. It is important to have \add sufficient\add* food \add and drink\add* and clothing, but the way you conduct your lives is much more important [RHQ].
\v 26 Look at the birds. They do not plant \add seeds, and they do not\add* harvest \add crops\add* and gather them into barns. \add They always have food to eat because God\add*, your Father who is in heaven, provides food for them. And you are certainly worth a lot more than birds [RHQ]! \add So you can be assured that God will supply what you need!\add*
\v 27 ◄None of you can, just by worrying, \add add time to your life\add*./Can any of you, just by worrying, \add add time to your life\add*?► [RHQ] \add You cannot\add* add \add even\add* one minute to your life! \add So you should not worry about things such as food and clothing!\add*
\p
\v 28 You should also not worry about \add whether you will have enough\add* clothes \add to wear\add* [RHQ]. Think about the way flowers \add grow\add* in the fields. They do not work \add to earn money\add*, and they do not make their own clothes.
\v 29 But I tell you that even though \add King\add* Solomon, who \add lived long ago\add*, \add wore very beautiful clothes\add*, his clothes were not as beautiful as one of those \add flowers\add*.
\v 30 God makes the wild plants very beautiful, \add but they grow\add* in the field \add for only a short time\add*. One day they grow, and the next day they are thrown into an oven {someone \add cuts them and\add* throws them into an oven} \add to be burned to make heat for baking bread. But you are more important to God than wild plants are, and you live much longer\add*. So ◄God will certainly provide clothes for you who \add live a long time but\add* trust him so little!/will not God surely very adequately clothe you, \add who live a long time but\add* trust him so little?► [RHQ]
\v 31 Because of God's caring for you, do not worry and say, ‘Will we have anything to eat?’ or ‘Will we have anything to drink?’ or ‘Will we have clothes to wear?’ [RHQ]
\v 32 Those who do not know God are always worrying about things like that. But God, your Father who is in heaven, knows that you need all those things, \add so you should not worry about them\add*.
\v 33 Instead, the most important thing you should be concerned about is to let \add God\add* completely direct your life, and to strive \add to live\add* righteously. \add If you do that\add*, all the things that you \add need\add* will be given to you {God will give you all the things \add that you need\add*}.
\v 34 So \add each day\add* do not be worried about what will happen to you the next day, because \add when\add* that day [PRS] comes, \add you\add* will be concerned about \add what happens during\add* that day. You will have enough to be concerned about each day. \add So do not worry ahead of time\add*.”
\c 7
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not condemn others for their faults since we have faults ourselves.
\sr Matthew 7:1-5
\p
\v 1 “Do not talk about how sinfully others have acted, in order that God will not say how sinfully you have acted.
\v 2 If you condemn \add other people\add*, \add God\add* will condemn you. To the same extent that you condemn others, you will be condemned {\add God\add* will condemn you}.
\v 3 ◄None of you should be concerned \add about someone else's small faults\add* [MET]!/Why should any of you be concerned \add about someone else's small faults\add*?► [MET, RHQ] \add That would be like noticing\add* a speck in that person's eye. But you should \add be concerned about your own big faults. They are like\add* [MET] planks in your own eye, which you do not notice.
\v 4 ◄You should not say to other people \add about their minor faults\add*, ‘Let me remove the specks from your eyes!’/Why do you say to other people \add about their minor faults\add*, ‘Let me remove the specks from your eyes?’► [RHQ] \add You should not say that\add* if a plank is still in your own eye [MET].
\v 5 You hypocrite, \add stop committing your own sins! That will be like\add* removing the plank from your own eye [MET]. Then, as a result, you will be able to perceive things spiritually so that you can help other people get rid of the \add faults\add* [MET] \add that are like\add* specks in their eyes.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not teach spiritual truth to those who will not appreciate it.
\sr Matthew 7:6
\p
\v 6 “You do not give holy things to dogs \add that would ignore those things\add* and attack you [CHI]. You do not throw pearls in front of hogs, \add because they would just ignore them\add* and trample them. \add Similarly\add*, do not give \add precious spiritual truth to people you know will not value it but instead will do evil things to you\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that God is ready to give good things to us if we persist in prayer.
\sr Matthew 7:7-11
\p
\v 7 “Keep asking \add God for what you need\add*. If you do that, \add he\add* will give it to you. Confidently keep \add expecting God to give you the things that you need, and he will give them to you. It will be like\add* [MET] looking for what you need and finding it. Keep on \add praying persistently to God. Then God will answer you. It will be like\add* [MET] knocking \add on a door in order to enter a room\add*. And the way will be opened {\add God\add* will open the way} for you \add to get what you pray for\add*.
\v 8 Remember that \add God\add* will give things to everyone who continues to ask \add him for them\add*. \add He\add* will give things to whoever confidently keeps asking. \add He\add* will open \add the way\add* for people \add to get the things that they keep persistently praying for\add*.
\p
\v 9 ◄No man among you would give a stone to his son if his son were to ask for bread./Would anyone among you give a stone to his son if his son were to ask for bread?► [RHQ]
\v 10 Likewise, ◄no man would give a \add poisonous\add* snake to his son if his son would ask for a fish./would anyone give a \add poisonous\add* snake to his son if his son would ask for a fish?► [RHQ]
\v 11 You, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children. So \add God\add*, your Father who is in heaven, will certainly give good things to the people who ask him.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us.
\sr Matthew 7:12
\p
\v 12 “So in whatever way you want others to act toward you \add (pl)\add*, that is the way you \add (pl)\add* should act toward them, because that \add sums up what Moses wrote in\add* the laws \add that God gave him\add* and \add also what\add* the prophets \add wrote long ago\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should try to walk on the narrow road that leads to heaven.
\sr Matthew 7:13-14
\p
\v 13-14 “\add Going to\add* where people live eternally \add with God in heaven\add* is difficult. \add It is like\add* going along a narrow road [PRS, MET] that leads to a narrow gate. Not many people find that way. \add The way\add* that most \add people take\add* is easy, \add but it results in their being punished\add* {\add God punishing them\add*} \add in hell. That way is like a\add* wide road that people walk on [PRS, MET] until they reach the wide gate, but that road and that gate lead to where \add they\add* will be destroyed {\add God\add* will destroy them}. Many people enter that gate. So I \add am telling you to leave the wide road and\add* enter the narrow gate \add to heaven\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught about how to recognize false prophets.
\sr Matthew 7:15-20
\p
\v 15 “Beware of people who come to you and say falsely that they are telling you \add what God has said\add*. \add They seem to be harmless, but they are extremely harmful. They are like\add* wolves that have covered themselves with sheepskins \add to make people believe that they are sheep\add* [MET], but they actually are wolves that attack people [MET].
\v 16 \add So how will you know that they are false?\add* Well, by seeing what plants produce, you know \add what kind of plants\add* they are [MET]. \add For example, thornbushes cannot produce grapes\add*, so ◄no one can pick grapes from thornbushes./can anyone pick grapes from thornbushes?► [RHQ] And \add thistles cannot produce figs\add*, so ◄no one can pick figs from thistles./can anyone pick figs from thistles?► [RHQ]
\v 17 \add Here is another example\add*: All good fruit trees produce good fruit, but all unhealthy trees produce worthless fruit.
\v 18 No good fruit tree is able to produce worthless fruit, and no unhealthy tree is able to produce good fruit.
\v 19 \add And\add* all the trees that do not produce good fruit are chopped down and burned in a fire {people chop them down and burn them in a fire} \add to get rid of them\add*. \add Similarly\add*, those who falsely claim to be prophets \add will be thrown\add* {\add God will throw false prophets\add*} \add into the fires of hell\add*.
\v 20 By seeing \add what plants\add* produce, you know \add what kind of plants\add* they are. \add Similarly, when you see what the people who come to you do\add*, \add you will know if they are false prophets\add*.”
\s1 Jesus warned that he will reject those who do not do what God desires.
\sr Matthew 7:21-23
\p
\v 21 “\add Even though many\add* people \add habitually\add* call me ‘Lord’, \add pretending that they have my authority\add*, some of them will not go to heaven where God rules, \add because they do not do what he desires\add*. \add Only\add* those people who do what my Father, who is in heaven, desires \add will go there\add*.
\v 22 On the day [MTY] \add that God judges everyone\add*, many \add people, trying to tell me that they deserve to go to heaven\add*, will say to me, ‘Lord, we(exc) spoke God's message as your representatives [MTY, RHQ]! As your representatives we(exc) expelled demons from \add people\add* [RHQ]! And as your representatives, many times we(exc) performed miracles [RHQ]!’
\v 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I have never said that you belonged to me. Go away from me, you who do what is evil!’”
\s1 Jesus warned that undesirable things would happen to those who did not obey his teaching.
\sr Matthew 7:24-27
\p
\v 24 “So then, anyone who hears what I say and does what I command, will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
\v 25 \add Even though\add* the rain came down and the river flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house, it did not fall down because it had been built {he built it} on a solid foundation.
\v 26 On the other hand, anyone who hears what I say but does not obey what I say will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
\v 27 When the rain fell and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house, it crashed down and broke completely apart, \add because it was built on the sand. So it is important for you to obey what I teach you\add*.”
\s1 The crowds were amazed at Jesus, because he taught with his own authority.
\sr Matthew 7:28-29
\p
\v 28 When Jesus finished saying all those things, the crowd \add who had heard him was\add* amazed at the \add new\add* teaching that he had taught them.
\v 29 The reason they were amazed was that he was teaching as a person does who has authority. He was not teaching like the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws, \add who just repeated what other people had taught them\add*.
\c 8
\s1 Jesus healed a leper and made it possible for him to associate with people again.
\sr Matthew 8:1-4
\p
\v 1 When Jesus went down from the hillside, large crowds followed him.
\v 2 \add After he left the crowds\add*, a man who had \add the skin disease called\add* leprosy unexpectedly came and knelt before him. He said \add to Jesus\add*, “Lord/Sir, \add please heal me, because I know\add* you are able to heal me if you are willing to.”
\v 3 Then Jesus, \add disregarding the religious law that forbade people to come close to lepers\add*, stretched out his hand and touched the man. He said \add to him\add*, “I am willing to \add heal you\add*, and I heal you \add now\add*!” Immediately the man was healed from his leprosy {he was no longer a leper}.
\v 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Go and show yourself to a \add nearby\add* priest \add so that he can examine you and verify that you no longer have leprosy\add*. \add Then\add*, after he tells \add the local people\add*, they will know \add that you no longer have leprosy\add*, \add and you will be able to associate with them again\add*. Make sure that \add now\add* you do not report \add about my healing you\add* to anyone \add other than the priest\add*. Then go \add to the Temple in Jerusalem and give the priest the offering that Moses commanded that people who have been healed from leprosy should offer as a sacrifice to God\add*.”
\s1 Jesus healed from a distance a Roman officer's servant because the officer trusted in him.
\sr Matthew 8:5-13
\p
\v 5 When Jesus went to Capernaum \add city\add*, a \add Roman\add* officer who commanded one hundred soldiers came to him. He begged Jesus \add to help him\add*.
\v 6 He said \add to him\add*, “Sir, my servant is lying \add in bed\add* at home and is paralyzed, and he has severe pain.”
\v 7 Jesus said \add to him\add*, “I will go \add to your house\add* and heal him.”
\v 8 But the officer said \add to him\add*, “Lord/Sir, \add do not bother to go. I am a non-Jew\add*, so I am not worthy for you, \add a Jew\add*, to come into my house [MTY] \add and associate with me\add*. Instead, \add just\add* say \add that\add* my servant \add is healed\add*, and he will be healed.
\v 9 I \add believe this\add* because, as for me, I am a man under the authority of others, and I also have soldiers under my authority. When I say to one of them ‘Go!’ he goes. When I say to another ‘Come!’ he comes. When I say to my slave, ‘Do this!’ he does it. \add And I believe that you speak with a similar kind of authority\add*.”
\v 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled. He said to the crowd that was walking with him, “Listen to this: I have never before found anyone who has as firm a faith \add in me as this non-Jewish man has\add*. Not even in Israel, \add where I would expect people to believe in me\add*, have I found anyone who has the kind of faith in me that he has!
\v 11 I tell you truly that many \add other non-Jewish people\add* who \add will believe in me like this Roman officer\add* will come from \add distant countries, including\add* those \add far\add* to the east and far to the west [SYN], and they will sit down to eat with [MTY] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in heaven, where God rules.
\v 12 But \add the Jews\add* [IDM] \add who should have allowed\add* God to rule over them will be sent to \add hell, where there is\add* total darkness. And as a result, they will weep \add because of their suffering\add* and will grind their teeth \add because they will have severe pain\add* [MTY].”
\v 13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go \add home\add*. What you believed \add would happen\add*, \add that I would heal your servant from a distance\add*, will happen.” \add Then the officer went home and found out that\add* his servant became well at the exact time \add that Jesus told him that he would heal him\add*.
\s1 Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law.
\sr Matthew 8:14-15
\p
\v 14 When Jesus \add and some of his disciples\add* went to the home of Peter, Jesus saw Peter's mother-in-law. She was lying on a bed because she had a fever.
\v 15 He touched her hand, and as a result, \add immediately\add* she no longer had a fever [PRS]. Then she got up and served them \add some food\add*.
\s1 Jesus healed many sick people and expelled demons from other people.
\sr Matthew 8:16-17
\p
\v 16 That evening \add when\add* ◄\add the Sabbath/the Jewish rest day\add*► \add ended and restrictions about traveling ended\add*, many people who were controlled by demons {whom demons controlled} \add and people who were sick\add* [MTY] \add were\add* brought to Jesus. He caused the demons to leave just by speaking to them, and he healed all the people who were sick.
\v 17 By doing this he fulfilled the words that had been said by the prophet Isaiah {that the prophet Isaiah had said} \add about the Messiah\add*: “He healed people who had sicknesses and he cured them of their diseases.” [DOU]
\s1 Jesus told a man what to expect if he went with Jesus. He told another man to follow Jesus immediately, not to wait until later.
\sr Matthew 8:18-22
\p
\v 18 Jesus saw the crowd around him, but \add he needed to rest\add*. So he told \add his disciples to take him by boat\add* to the other side \add of the lake\add*.
\v 19 \add As they were walking toward the boat\add*, a man who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws came to him and said, “Teacher, I will go with you wherever you go.”
\v 20 \add In order that the man might know what he could expect if he went with him\add*, Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes \add in the ground in which to live\add*, and birds have nests, but \add even though I\add* am the one who came from heaven, I do not have a home where I can sleep [MTY].”
\v 21 Another man who was one of Jesus' disciples said to him, “Sir/Lord, permit me first to go \add home. After\add* my father \add dies I will\add* bury him, \add and then I will come with you\add*.”
\v 22 But Jesus said to him, “Come with me \add now\add*. \add God considers that people who do not have eternal life are\add* dead [MET]. Let those people \add do the work of\add* burying people who die.”
\s1 The disciples were amazed when Jesus calmed a storm on the lake.
\sr Matthew 8:23-27
\p
\v 23 Then Jesus got into the boat. The disciples also got \add in, and\add* they \add started sailing close to the shoreline around Lake Galilee\add*.
\v 24 Suddenly strong winds blew on the lake, and very high waves were splashing into the boat and filling it. But Jesus was sleeping.
\v 25 They went and woke him up, and said \add to him\add*, “Sir/Lord, rescue \add us!\add* We are about to drown!”
\v 26 He said \add to them\add*, “◄You should not be terrified!/Why are you terrified?► [RHQ] I \add am disappointed that in spite of all you have seen me do\add*, ◄you do not believe very much \add that I can rescue you./\add*do you not believe \add that I can rescue you\add*?► [RHQ]” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and told the waves to calm down. And \add the wind stopped blowing and the lake\add* became calm.
\v 27 \add As a result\add*, they were amazed, and they said \add to one another\add*, “This man is certainly an \add extraordinary\add* person [RHQ]! \add All things are under his control!\add* Even the winds and the waves obey him [PRS]!”
\s1 Jesus expelled some demons from two men.
\sr Matthew 8:28-34
\p
\v 28 When they came to the \add east\add* side \add of the lake\add*, they arrived in the region where the Gadarenes \add lived\add*. \add Jesus got out of the boat and began walking on the road. Then\add* two men who were controlled by demons {whom demons controlled} came out of the burial caves \add where they were living\add*. Because they were extremely violent \add and attacked people\add*, no one dared to travel on the road \add near where they were living\add*.
\v 29 Suddenly they shouted \add to Jesus\add*, “You are the Son of God! \add Because\add* you have nothing in common with us [IDM, RHQ], \add leave us alone\add* Have you come here [RHQ] to torture us before the time [MTY] \add God has appointed to punish us\add*?”
\v 30 There was a large herd of pigs not far away, digging for food with their noses.
\v 31 So the demons begged Jesus, saying, “You are going to cast us out of the men, so send us into the herd of pigs!”
\v 32 Jesus said \add to them\add*, “\add If that is what you want\add*, go!” So the demons left \add the men\add* and entered the pigs. Suddenly the whole herd \add of pigs\add* rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
\v 33 The men who were tending the pigs \add became afraid and\add* ran into the town and reported everything \add that had happened\add*, including what had happened to the two men who had been controlled by demons {whom demons had controlled}.
\v 34 Then \add it seemed as if\add* all \add the people\add* [HYP] \add who lived in\add* that town [MTY] went to meet Jesus. When they saw him \add and the two men who had been controlled by the demons\add*, they begged Jesus to leave their region \add because they thought that he would destroy more things than just the pigs\add* (OR, \add because they realized he must be very powerful\add*).
\c 9
\s1 Jesus showed that he had power to forgive sins as well as to heal a paralyzed man.
\sr Matthew 9:1-8
\p
\v 1 Jesus and his disciples got into the boat. They skirted around \add the lake\add* and went to \add Capernaum, the city where he was living\add*.
\v 2 \add Some men\add* brought to him a man who was paralyzed and who was lying on a sleeping pad. When Jesus perceived that they believed \add that he could heal the paralyzed man\add*, he said to him, “Young man, be encouraged! I forgive your sins.”
\v 3 Some of the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws said among themselves, “\add He claims that he can forgive sins! That means that he claims to be equal with God\add* He is insulting God!”
\v 4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “◄You should not think evil \add thoughts\add*, \add accusing me because I claim that I am God\add*!/Why do you think evil \add thoughts\add*, \add saying that it is wrong for me to claim that I am God\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 5 It would \add not\add* be risky \add for someone\add* to say \add to this man\add*, ‘\add I\add* forgive your sins’, \add because no one could see whether or not it really happened\add*. But \add no one, without having the power to heal\add*, would say \add to him\add*, ‘\add Get\add* up and walk!’, \add because people could easily see whether it happened or not!\add* [RHQ]
\v 6 \add So I am going to do something\add* in order that you may know that \add God\add* has authorized \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, to forgive the sins \add of people while I am\add* on the earth, \add as well as to heal people\add*.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your sleeping pad, and go home!”
\v 7 And \add immediately\add* the man got up, \add picked up his sleeping pad\add*, and went home!
\v 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck. They praised God for giving authority to a human being \add to do\add* such \add things\add*.
\s1 Jesus invited Matthew to go with him, and he told the Pharisees that they needed to repent.
\sr Matthew 9:9-13
\p
\v 9 As Jesus was going away from there, he saw me, a man named Matthew. I was sitting at a table where I collected taxes \add for the Roman government\add*. He said to me, “Come with me \add and become my disciple\add*!” So I got up and went with him.
\v 10 \add Then I invited\add* Jesus and his disciples to my home for a meal. While \add they\add* were sitting and eating in my home, many tax collectors and \add other people who were\add* {whom \add the Pharisees\add*} \add considered to be habitual\add* sinners came unexpectedly to eat with us.
\v 11 When the Pharisees saw \add that, they came\add* to us disciples and said, “◄\add It is disgusting that\add* your teacher, \add who claims to be righteous\add*, eats \add and associates\add* with tax collectors and \add other\add* sinners!/Why is it that your teacher, \add who claims to be righteous\add*, eats \add and associates\add* with tax collectors and \add other\add* sinners?►” [RHQ]
\v 12 Jesus heard what \add they said\add*, so he told them \add this parable\add*: “\add It is\add* people who are sick who need a \add doctor\add* [MET], not people who are well.” \add What he meant by that was that it was people who knew that they were sinners who were coming to him in order to be helped spiritually\add*.
\v 13 He continued by saying, “You need to learn what these words that \add God said\add* mean: ‘I want you to \add act\add* mercifully to people and not \add just to offer\add* sacrifices.’ Keep in mind that I came \add from heaven, not\add* to invite \add people who think\add* [IRO] \add that they are\add* righteous \add to turn away from their sinful lives and come to me, but to invite people who know they are\add* sinners \add to turn from their sins and come to me\add*.”
\s1 Jesus illustrated why it was not appropriate for his disciples to fast, and that living according to his new message was better than following the old traditions like fasting.
\sr Matthew 9:14-17
\p
\v 14 Later, the disciples of John \add the Baptizer\add* came to Jesus and asked him, “We \add (exc)\add* and the Pharisees \add often\add* abstain from food \add to show that we want to please God\add*, but your disciples do not do that. Why \add do they not\add*?”
\v 15 \add Jesus wanted to show them and the Pharisees that it was not appropriate for his disciples to abstain from food and mourn while he was still with them\add*. So he \add gave them this illustration\add*: “When a bridegroom is with \add his friends at the time of the wedding\add*, ◄his friends certainly do not mourn, do they?/do his friends mourn?► [RHQ] \add No, they do not mourn, because they are not sad at that time. But when\add* the bridegroom is taken {\add someone\add* takes the bridegroom\add /his enemies\add* take the bridegroom} from them, they will abstain from food, \add because then they will be sad\add*.”
\p
\v 16 \add Jesus wanted to show them that people who desire to live in accordance with his new message should not try to continue to obey the old religious traditions like\add* ◄\add abstaining from food/fasting\add*► [MET]. \add So he said to them\add*, “People do not sew a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment \add to mend a hole\add*. If they did that, \add when they washed the garment\add*, the patch would \add shrink\add* and tear the garment, and the hole would become bigger.
\v 17 Neither does anyone pour freshly- \add squeezed\add* grape juice into old skin bags \add to store it\add*. If anyone did that, those skin bags would tear \add because they would not stretch when the grape juice ferments and expands. They\add* would be ruined, and the wine would be spilled {spill} \add on the ground\add*. Instead, \add people\add* put new wine into new skin bags, \add and the bags will stretch when the wine ferments\add*. As a result, both \add the wine and the bags\add* are preserved.”
\s1 Jesus healed a woman who had constant hemorrhaging. He also caused a young girl to become alive again.
\sr Matthew 9:18-26
\p
\v 18 While Jesus was saying that, a leader of the Jewish meeting place came and bowed down before him \add to show respect\add*. Then he said, “My daughter just died! But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live \add again\add*!”
\v 19 So Jesus got up, and he and \add we\add* disciples went with the man.
\v 20-21 Then a woman who \add had been suffering constant vaginal\add* bleeding for twelve years came near Jesus. She was saying to herself, “\add I want Jesus to heal me without anyone finding out that I have this problem of bleeding\add*. So if I \add touch him\add* or even if I just touch his garment, I will be healed \add without anyone finding out about it\add*.” So she came behind him and touched the tassel of his garment.
\v 22 Then Jesus turned around \add to see who had touched him\add*. And when he saw the woman, he said to her, “Be encouraged, dear woman. Because you believed [PRS] \add that I could heal you, I\add* have healed you.” The woman was healed at that very moment.
\p
\v 23 Then Jesus \add and some of us disciples\add* came to Jairus' house. Jesus heard the flute players \add playing funeral music\add* and the crowd \add that had gathered\add* wailing loudly \add because the girl had died\add*.
\v 24 \add Knowing that he would cause her to live again\add*, he said \add to them\add*, “Go away \add and stop the funeral music and wailing\add*, because the girl is not dead! She is \add just\add* sleeping!” \add The people laughed at him, because they knew that she was dead\add*.
\v 25 But Jesus told them to get out of the house. Then he went into \add the room where the girl was lying\add*. He took hold of her hand and she \add became alive again and\add* got up.
\v 26 And the \add people of that\add* whole region heard [PRS] about it.
\s1 Jesus healed two blind men.
\sr Matthew 9:27-31
\p
\v 27 As Jesus went away from there, two blind men followed him and shouted, “Have mercy on us \add and heal our eyes, you who are the Messiah\add*, the Descendant of \add King\add* David!”

\v 28 Jesus went into the house, where he \add was staying\add*, and then the blind men went in, too. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able \add to heal your eyes\add*?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord!” \v 29 Then he touched their eyes and he said \add to them\add*, “Because you believe \add that I can heal your eyes\add*, I am healing them \add right now\add*!”
\v 30 And they were able to see [IDM]! Then Jesus told them sternly, “Be sure [IDM] that you do not tell anybody \add what I did for you\add*!”
\v 31 But they went out and reported it throughout that whole region.
\s1 Jesus expelled a demon, but the Pharisees accused him of doing such things by Satan's power.
\sr Matthew 9:32-34
\p
\v 32 When \add Jesus and we disciples \add* left \add the house \add*, some people brought to Jesus a man who was unable to speak because he was controlled by a demon {a demon controlled him}. \v 33 After Jesus had expelled the demon, the man who had been unable to speak began to speak! The crowd \add who saw this\add* marveled. They said, “Never before have \add we seen\add* anything as \add marvelous\add* as this happen in Israel!”
\v 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is \add Satan\add*, who rules the demons, who \add enables this man to\add* expel demons \add from people\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples to pray that God would send more workers to tell his message to those who were ready to respond.
\sr Matthew 9:35-38
\p
\v 35 Then \add we\add* went \add with\add* Jesus through many of [HYP] the cities and towns \add in Galilee district. He was teaching ◄in the synagogues/in the Jewish meeting places►\add*, and preaching the good message about how God rules \add over people's lives\add*. He also was healing the \add people who had\add* various diseases and illnesses.
\v 36 When he saw the crowd of people, he pitied them because they were harassed and dejected. \add They were\add* like sheep that do not have a shepherd [SIM].
\v 37 Then he gave \add this illustration\add* to us disciples: “\add The people who are ready to receive my message are like a\add* field that is ready to be harvested {for people to harvest}. But there are only a few \add of you who are teaching people my message\add*.
\v 38 So pray and ask the Lord \add God\add* to send \add more\add* workers \add who will gather people together and teach them my message, just like a landowner sends workers\add* into his \add field to gather\add* the [MET] harvest.”
\c 10
\s1 Jesus selected twelve apostles and instructed them before sending them out to various places.
\sr Matthew 10:1-15
\p
\v 1 He told \add us\add* twelve disciples to come to him. Then he gave us the power/authority to expel evil spirits \add that controlled people\add*. He also enabled \add us\add* to heal all people who had diseases or who were sick.
\v 2 \add Here is a list of us\add* twelve \add disciples whom he called\add* apostles (\add which means ❛messengers❜\add*): Simon, \add to whom he gave the new name\add* Peter; Andrew, Peter's \add younger\add* brother; James, the son of Zebedee; John, the \add younger\add* brother of James;
\v 3 Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; me, Matthew, the tax collector; James, the \add son\add* of Alpheus; Thaddeus;
\v 4 Simon, a member of the party \add that wanted to overthrow the Roman government;\add* and Judas Iscariot, who \add later\add* enabled \add the Jewish leaders\add* to seize Jesus.
\p
\v 5 When Jesus was \add about to\add* send \add us\add* twelve \add apostles to tell his message to people in various places\add*, he gave \add us\add* these instructions: “Do not go where the non-Jews live [MTY] or into the towns \add where the\add* Samaritans live, \add because they hate you\add*.
\v 6 Instead, go to the people of Israel [SYN] who have \add gone away from God like\add* sheep that have gotten lost [MET] have gone away \add from their shepherd\add*.
\v 7 When you go \add to them\add*, proclaim to them that God [EUP/MTY] will soon begin to rule over people.
\v 8 Heal sick people, cause dead people to become alive, heal people who have leprosy, and cause demons to leave people \add who are controlled by them\add* {\add whom demons control\add*}. Do not charge money \add for helping people, because God\add* did not charge you anything \add for helping you\add*.
\v 9-10 Do not take any money with you [MTY], nor a knapsack. Do not take an extra shirt, nor sandals \add in addition to what you are wearing\add*, nor a walking stick. Every worker deserves to get pay \add from the people for whom he works\add*, \add so you deserve to receive food and a place to stay from the people to whom you go\add*.
\v 11-12 In whatever town or village you enter, find out which person is worthy \add that you should stay in his home\add*. And as you go into that house, \add ask God to\add* bless the people \add who live there\add* [MTY]. Stay in that home until you leave \add that town or village\add*.
\v 13 If the people who live in [MTY] that house are worthy \add of being blessed\add* {\add God blessing them\add*}, \add God\add* will bless them. If the people who live in that house are not worthy \add of being blessed\add* {\add of God blessing them\add*}, \add God\add* will bless you \add instead of blessing them\add*.
\v 14 If the people \add who live in any house or town\add* do not welcome you \add to their home or town\add*, nor listen to your message, leave that house or town. And as you leave, shake off the dust from your feet. \add By doing that, you will warn them that God will punish them for rejecting your message\add*.
\v 15 Note this carefully: \add At the time when God\add* judges \add all people, he\add* will punish \add the people who lived in\add* Sodom and Gomorrah [MTY], \add the ancient cities which God destroyed because their people were extremely wicked\add*. But in any town where the people [MTY] refuse to hear your message, God will punish them even more severely.”
\s1 Jesus instructed his disciples to be wary of their religious leaders and to endure when they are persecuted by people who refuse to accept the new message.
\sr Matthew 10:16-25
\p
\v 16 “Take note: After I send you out, \add you will be as defenseless\add* as sheep [MET] in the midst of \add people who are as dangerous as\add* wolves. You, \add on your part, should\add* wisely \add stay away from such people, like you stay away from poisonous\add* snakes [SIM]. You should be as harmless as doves are [SIM].
\v 17 Also, be on guard against \add our religious leaders\add*. They will arrest you and take you to the members of the religious councils \add to put you on trial and punish you because you are my disciples\add*. You will be whipped {The local leaders will whip you} \add in\add* their meeting places.
\v 18 \add And\add* because \add you teach\add* about me, you will be taken {\add the religious leaders\add* will take you} to governors and kings \add in order that they may put you on trial and punish you\add*. As a result, you will testify to those rulers and to \add other\add* non-Jews \add about what I have done\add*.
\v 19 When \add the religious leaders\add* arrest you, do not be worried about what you will say \add to them\add*, because at that very time \add the\add* Holy Spirit will tell you the words that you should say.
\v 20 It is not that you \add will decide what to\add* say. Instead, you will say what the Spirit of your \add heavenly\add* Father tells \add you to say\add*.
\v 21 \add You will be taken\add* {\add People who do not believe in me will\add* take you} to the authorities to be killed \add because you believe in me. For example\add*, people will betray their brothers, and fathers will betray their children. Children will rebel against their parents and cause \add them\add* to be killed.
\v 22 Many people will hate you \add because you believe in me\add*. Nevertheless, \add many people\add* will keep on believing in me until they die. They are the people whom \add God\add* will take to live with him.
\v 23 When people in one town cause you to suffer, escape to another town \add and tell the people there about me\add*. Note this: \add I\add*, the one who came down from heaven, will certainly return \add to earth\add* before you have finished going from one town to another town throughout Israel \add and telling people about me\add*.
\p
\v 24 A disciple should not \add expect to be\add* greater than his teacher, and servants \add are not\add* superior to their master.
\v 25 You do not \add expect that\add* people will \add treat\add* a disciple better than \add they treat\add* his teacher, or that \add they will treat\add* a servant \add better than they treat\add* his master. \add Similarly, because I am your teacher and master, you can expect that people will mistreat you, because they have mistreated me\add*. The most you can expect is that people \add will treat you like they treat me. I am like\add* the ruler of a household [MET]. But people \add have insulted me by\add* calling \add me\add* Beelzebub, \add the ruler of the demons\add*. So they \add will\add* certainly \add insult you more, you who are only like\add* members of my household [MET]!”
\s1 Jesus instructed his disciples that they should not fear those who persecute them.
\sr Matthew 10:26-33
\p
\v 26 “Do not be afraid of \add people who insult you and do evil things to you. God wants\add* everything that is unknown now to be revealed {\add God wants you to\add* reveal everything \add that is unknown now\add*}. \add He does\add* not \add want his truth\add* to remain hidden [MET] and kept secret [DOU].
\v 27 \add So, instead of being afraid\add*, what I say to you \add secretly as people do\add* at night [MTY], tell \add publicly as people do\add* during the daytime [MTY]. What I \add say to you privately as people do when they\add* whisper to you [MTY], proclaim publicly [MTY, DOU].
\v 28 Do not be afraid of people who \add are able to\add* kill your body [SYN] but are not able to destroy your soul. Instead, fear \add God because\add* he is able to destroy both a \add person's\add* body and a \add person's\add* soul in hell.
\v 29 \add Think about the \add* sparrows. \add They have so little value \add* that \add you \add* can buy cares two of them for \add only \add* one small coin [RHQ]. But when \add any \add* sparrow falls to the ground \add and dies \add* [LIT], \add God \add*, your \add heavenly \add* Father, knows it, \add because he cares about everything \add*.

\v 30 \add He cares about you, too\add*. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head! \v 31 \add God\add* values you much more than he values sparrows [LIT]. So, do not be afraid \add of people who threaten to kill you\add*
\v 32 If people, \add without being afraid, are willing to\add* tell others \add that they are my disciples\add*, I will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven \add that they are my disciples\add*.
\v 33 But if they are afraid to say in front of others that they are my \add disciples\add*, I will tell my Father, who is in heaven, \add that\add* they are not \add my disciples\add*.”
\s1 Jesus instructed his disciples that they should be willing to suffer because of their faith in him.
\sr Matthew 10:34-39
\p
\v 34 “Do not think that I came to earth to cause \add people\add* to live together harmoniously. The result of my coming is that \add some of those who follow me\add* [MTY] will be killed.
\v 35 Because I came \add to earth, people who do not believe in me\add* will oppose \add those who do believe in me. For example\add*, some sons will oppose their fathers, some daughters will oppose their mothers, and some daughters-in-law will oppose their mothers-in-law.
\v 36 \add This shows that sometimes\add* a person's enemies will be members of his own household.
\v 37 People who love their fathers or mothers more than \add they love\add* me are not worthy to \add have a relationship with me\add*. And people who love their sons or daughters more than \add they love\add* me are not worthy \add to belong to\add* me.
\v 38 \add People who are ready to execute a prisoner force him to\add* carry a cross \add to the place where they will nail him to it\add* [MET]. Those who are not \add willing to allow other people to hurt and disgrace them like that because of being my disciples\add* are not worthy to belong to me.
\v 39 People who \add deny that they believe in me in order to escape being killed\add* will not live \add with God eternally\add* [MET], but people who \add confess that they believe in\add* me and, \add as a result are\add* killed, will live \add with God eternally\add* [MET].”
\s1 Jesus instructed his apostles about the people whom God rewards, and then he sent them to various towns.
\sr Matthew 10:40-42
\p
\v 40 “\add God considers that\add* everyone who welcomes you, welcomes me [SIM], and \add he considers that\add* everyone who welcomes me welcomes \add him\add*, the one who sent me [SIM].
\v 41 Those who welcome \add someone because\add* [MTY] \add they know\add* that person is a prophet they will receive the \add same\add* reward that prophets \add receive from God. Likewise\add*, those who welcome a person \add because\add* [MTY] \add they know\add* that person is righteous they will receive the reward righteous people \add receive from God\add*.
\v 42 \add Note this \add*: Suppose people \add see that you are thirsty \add* [MTY] \add and \add* give you a drink of cold water because they know that [MTY] you are one of my disciples. \add God \add* will certainly reward people who do that. \add They might consider that what they did \add* is insignificant, \add but God will consider it very significant \add*” [LIT].\c 11
\p
\v 1 When Jesus had finished instructing \add us\add* twelve disciples \add about what we should do, he sent us to various Israelite towns\add*. Then he went to teach and preach in \add other Israelite\add* towns \add in that area\add*.
\s1 Jesus showed the messengers from John the Baptizer that he was the Messiah, and he told the people that John was the man like Elijah who was to prepare the way for the Messiah.
\sr Matthew 11:2-15
\p
\v 2 While John \add the Baptizer\add* was in prison, he heard what \add the man whom he thought was\add* the Messiah was doing. So he sent \add some of\add* his disciples \add to him\add* in order
\v 3 to ask him, “Are you the \add Messiah\add* who \add the prophets prophesied\add* would come, or is it someone else that we should expect \add to come\add*?”
\v 4 \add After they asked\add* Jesus \add that question\add*, he answered them, “Go back and report to John what you hear \add me telling people\add* and what you see \add me doing\add*.
\v 5 I \add am enabling\add* blind people to see and lame people to walk. I \add am\add* healing \add people\add* who have leprosy. I \add am enabling\add* deaf people to hear and dead people to become alive again. I \add am\add* telling poor people \add God's\add* good message.
\v 6 \add Also tell John that God\add* is pleased with people who do not stop believing in me \add because what I do is not what they expected the Messiah to do\add*.”
\p
\v 7 When John's disciples had gone away, Jesus began to talk to the crowd of people about John. He said to them, “\add Think about\add* what sort of person you went to see in the desolate area \add when you went there to see John\add*. ◄\add You did not go there to listen to a man who constantly changed his message, like\add* a reed that is blown {blows} back and forth in the wind [MET]!/Did you go there \add to listen to a man whose message changes continually like\add* long grass that is blown {blows} back and forth in the wind \add changes its direction\add*?► [MET, RHQ]
\v 8 Then what \add kind of person\add* did you go \add there\add* to see [RHQ]? ◄\add You did not go there to see\add* a man who was wearing expensive clothes.\add /Did you go there to see\add* a man who was wearing expensive clothes?► [RHQ] \add No! You know very well that\add* people who wear beautiful clothes reside in kings' palaces \add and not in desolate areas\add*.
\v 9 Then what \add kind of person\add* did you go to see [RHQ]? \add Did you go there\add* [RHQ] \add to see John because he was\add* ◄a prophet/a person who speaks what God tells him to say►? Yes! But I will tell you that \add John\add* is more \add important\add* than an \add ordinary\add* prophet.
\v 10 He is the one \add to whom God was referring when he said to the Messiah these words\add* that are written {about whom \add the prophet Malachi\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures:\add*
\q Listen! I am going to send my messenger \add to go\add* before you [SYN] to prepare \add the people\add* [MET] for your coming.
\p
\v 11 Note this: Of all the people who have ever lived, \add God does not consider\add* that any of them are greater than John the Baptizer. However, \add God considers that all\add* those people who have let God rule their lives are greater than \add John, even if they are insignificant people\add*.
\v 12 From the time that John the Baptizer \add preached\add* until now, \add other people\add* have violently attacked the people who have \add allowed\add* God [MTY/EUP] to rule their lives and they have suffered (OR, people have very eagerly been asking God to take control of their lives, OR, Israelite people \add who have thought that I would become their king\add* have been extremely eager to be included in my kingdom) (OR, have been violently attacked and made to suffer).
\v 13 \add All this that I am saying about John is confirmed by the fact that\add* all the men who wrote the Scriptures [MTY, SYN] foretold \add about God ruling people's lives\add*, until John \add the Baptizer came\add*.
\v 14 \add Even though most of you are unwilling to believe what I am saying, I will tell this truth to\add* anyone who is willing to believe \add it:\add* John is \add the man who is like\add* Elijah [MET]. He is the one who \add one of the prophets said\add* would come \add in order to prepare the people to welcome the Messiah\add*.
\v 15 If you want to understand this, you must think \add carefully\add* [MTY] \add about what I have just said\add* [MTY].”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the people who refused to believe both him and John the Baptizer.
\sr Matthew 11:16-19
\p
\v 16 “◄I will illustrate what \add you\add* people who have heard what John \add the Baptizer\add* and I have taught are like./Do you know what \add you\add* people who have heard what John and I have taught are like?► [RHQ] You are like children who are \add playing games\add* in an open area. \add Some of the children\add* are calling to the others, saying,
\v 17 ‘We played \add happy music\add* on the flute for you, but you did not dance! Then we sang sad funeral songs for you, but you did not cry [MET]!’
\v 18 \add Similarly, you are dissatisfied with both John and me!\add* When John came \add and preached to you\add*, he did not eat \add good food\add* and did not drink \add wine, like most people do\add*. But you \add rejected him\add* saying, ‘A demon is controlling him!’
\v 19 \add In contrast\add*, \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, eat \add the same\add* food and drink \add wine as other people do\add*. But you \add reject me\add*, saying, ‘Look! \add This man\add* eats too much food and drinks too much wine, and he associates with tax collectors and \add other\add* sinners!’ But people \add who really think about\add* what \add John\add* and I have done will realize that what we do is truly wise [MET, PRS].”
\s1 Jesus explained why the people of Corazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum would be punished more severely than the people of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom.
\sr Matthew 11:20-24
\p
\v 20 \add The people, who lived in\add* the towns [MTY] \add in the area where Jesus was, saw him\add* perform many miracles. But they did not turn away from their sinful behavior. So Jesus began to reproach them \add by saying to them\add*,
\v 21 “You \add people who live in\add* Chorazin \add city\add* [MTY] and you \add people who live in\add* Bethsaida \add city\add* [MTY] will suffer terribly in hell! \add I\add* did great miracles in your \add cities, but you did not turn from your sinful behavior\add*. If the miracles that I performed in your \add cities\add* had been done in \add the ancient cities of\add* Tyre and Sidon, the \add wicked people who lived there\add* long ago would have sat in ashes, wearing coarse cloth \add to show that they were sorry for their sins\add*.
\v 22 So note this: \add God will punish the wicked people who lived in the cities of\add* Tyre and Sidon [MTY], but he will punish you even more severely on the final day when he judges \add all people\add*.
\v 23 I \add also have something to say to\add* you \add people who live in\add* Capernaum \add city\add* [MTY]. ◄Do not \add think that\add* you will be honored {that \add God\add* will honor you} in heaven!/Do you think that you will be honored {that \add God\add* will honor you} in heaven?► [RHQ] \add That will not happen! On the contrary, after you die, you will be sent\add* {\add God\add* will send you} down into the place where \add sinful people\add* will be punished {he will punish sinful people} \add forever. God destroyed the ancient city of\add* Sodom \add because the people who lived in that city were extremely wicked\add*. If I had performed in \add Sodom the miracles that I performed in your city, the people there would have turned away from their wicked behavior and\add* their \add city\add* [MET] would still exist now [MTY]. But you, \add although I did miracles in your city, did not turn from your wicked behavior\add*.
\v 24 So note this: \add God\add* will punish \add the people who lived in\add* Sodom \add city\add* [MTY], but he will punish you \add even\add* more severely on the final day when \add he\add* judges \add all people\add*.”
\s1 Jesus thanked God for revealing his truth to uneducated people, and he urged the people to come to him to get rid of the burden of trying to obey religious laws.
\sr Matthew 11:25-30
\p
\v 25 At that time Jesus prayed, “Father, you rule over \add everything in\add* heaven and \add on\add* the earth. I thank you that you have prevented \add people who think that they\add* are wise [IRO] because they are well-educated from \add knowing\add* these things. \add Instead\add*, you have revealed them to \add people who accept your truth as readily as\add* little children [MET] \add do\add*.
\v 26 Yes, Father, \add you have done that\add* because it seemed good to you \add to do\add* so.”
\p
\v 27 \add Then Jesus said to the people there who wanted him to teach them\add*, “\add God\add*, my Father, has revealed to me all the things \add that I need to know in order to do my work\add*. Only my Father knows \add who\add* I \add really am\add*. Furthermore, only I and those \add people\add* to whom I wish to reveal him know \add what God\add* my Father \add is like\add*.
\v 28 Come to me, all you people who are very weary \add of trying to obey all the many laws that your religious teachers tell you to obey\add* [MET]. I will enable you to quit \add trying to obey all those laws\add*.
\v 29-30 Let me \add help\add* you \add carry those loads, just like two oxen who have\add* a yoke \add on their necks\add* [MET, DOU] \add help each other pull a heavy load\add*. It will not be difficult for you to do the things that I ask you to do for me [DOU]. Because I am gentle and humble [DOU], accept what I teach \add about what God wants you to do\add*. \add And as a result, you will quit worrying about obeying all the religious laws, and\add* your spirits will be at peace.”
\c 12
\s1 Jesus showed the religious leaders that the Scriptures indicated that God permitted some people to disobey religious laws when they needed food. He also showed them that he had the authority from God to tell people what was right to do on the Sabbath.
\sr Matthew 12:1-8
\p
\v 1 During that period of time, on a ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest►, Jesus \add and we\add* disciples were walking through some grain fields. And because we were hungry, we began to pick some of the heads of grain and eat them. \add The laws of Moses permitted people to do that if they were hungry\add*.
\v 2 Some Pharisees saw us \add do what they considered to be work\add*. So they said to Jesus, \add accusing him\add*, “Look! Your disciples are doing \add work\add* that is not permitted \add in our\add* laws [PRS] \add for us\add* to do on our day of rest!”
\v 3 \add Jesus wanted to show them that the record in the Scriptures indicated that God permitted people to disobey certain religious laws when they needed food\add*. \add So\add* he said to them, “\add It is written\add* {\add Someone wrote\add*} \add in the Scriptures\add* [RHQ] what \add our revered ancestor King\add* David did when he and the men with him were hungry. You have read about that, ◄\add but you do not think about what it implies!/so why do you not think about what it implies\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 4 David entered the big tent \add where they worshipped\add* God \add and asked for some food. The high priest gave him\add* the bread that had been {they had} presented \add to God\add*. According to the laws \add of Moses\add*, only priests were permitted to eat that bread, but David and the men who were with him ate it. And \add God did not consider that what they did was wrong\add*
\v 5 Also, think about the laws that \add Moses wrote\add* [RHQ]. He said that \add even though\add* the priests, \add by working\add* in the Temple on our Jewish day of rest, are not obeying the Jewish day of rest \add laws\add*, they are not guilty. You have surely read that, \add but you do not understand what it means\add*.
\v 6 Note this: \add God allows men to work in\add* the Temple \add on our rest day because that work must be done. But in addition, I\add* tell you that \add I have\add* more \add authority than the authority of\add* the Temple. So, it is more important for you to obey my teachings than to obey your traditions about our rest day.
\v 7 \add You should think about\add* these words \add of God in the Scriptures:\add* ‘I want you to \add act\add* mercifully toward people, and not \add just\add* offer sacrifices.’ If you understood what that means, you would not condemn \add my disciples\add*, who have done no wrong.
\v 8 \add I want you to know that\add* I, the one who came from heaven, have \add the\add* authority \add to determine what is right for my disciples to do on\add* the days of rest.”
\s1 Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. At the same time, he told the Pharisees that they were mistaken in thinking that it was wrong to heal a person on the Sabbath.
\sr Matthew 12:9-14
\p
\v 9 After Jesus left there \add that day\add*, he went into a building where we Jews worship God.
\v 10 \add He saw\add* a man with a shriveled hand there. \add The Pharisees thought that Jesus would be disobeying the tradition about not working on the day of rest if he healed the man, so one of\add* them asked him, “Does \add God\add* permit \add us\add* to heal \add people\add* on our day of rest?” \add They asked that question\add* so that they might accuse him \add if he healed someone\add* ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day►.
\v 11 He replied to them, “Would anyone among you who has \add only\add* one sheep that falls into a hole ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day► \add just leave it there\add* [RHQ]? \add Certainly not!\add* You would take hold of it and lift it out right away, \add and that would be acceptable work on our day of rest, too\add*
\v 12 \add Because\add* sheep are valuable, \add their owners may work on our day of rest in order to rescue them. So, because\add* people are more valuable than sheep, it is certainly right for us to do something good \add by healing another person any day, including\add* our day of rest!”
\v 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your \add withered\add* hand!” The man stretched it out, and it became normal like the other hand!
\v 14 Then the Pharisees left \add the meeting house. They were worried that the people would reject their traditions and would accept Jesus' teaching instead. So\add* they met together to plan how they could kill him.
\s1 Jesus explained that his acting humbly when he healed people was a fulfillment of prophecy.
\sr Matthew 12:15-21
\p
\v 15 Because Jesus knew \add that the Pharisees were plotting to kill him\add*, he \add took us disciples and\add* went away from there. Crowds, \add including many sick people\add*, followed him, \add wanting him to heal them\add*, and he healed them all.
\v 16 But he told them firmly that they should not tell \add other people yet\add* who he was.

\v 17 \add By acting humbly like that\add* he fulfilled what was written by Isaiah the prophet {what Isaiah the prophet wrote} \add long ago about the Messiah\add*. \add Isaiah wrote\add* that God said: 
\pi1 \v 18 Take note of my servant whom I have chosen, the one whom I love and with whom I am pleased. I will put my Spirit in him, and he will proclaim that \add God\add* will judge the non-Jews justly.
\v 19 He will not quarrel \add with people\add*, neither will he shout. He will not \add teach with\add* a loud voice in the \add main\add* streets.
\v 20 Until he has justly judged \add the people who trust in him and\add* has declared them not guilty, he will not destroy \add anyone who is weak like\add* a smashed stalk [MET], nor will he silence \add anyone who is helpless like\add* a smoldering \add linen\add* wick [MET, DOU].
\v 21 As a result, the non-Jews will confidently expect \add that he will do great things for them\add*.
\s1 Jesus refuted the argument that he was expelling demons by Satan's power, and he warned that making such statements is an unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
\sr Matthew 12:22-32
\p
\v 22 One day when Jesus was at home, \add some men\add* brought to \add Jesus\add* a man \add who, because of being\add* controlled by a demon {a demon controlled him}, was blind and unable to speak. \add Jesus\add* healed him \add by expelling the demon\add*. As a result, the man \add began to\add* talk and \add was able to\add* see.
\v 23 All the crowd \add who saw it\add* marveled. They began asking \add each other\add*, “Could this man be the \add Messiah, the\add* descendant of \add King\add* David, \add whom we have been expecting\add*?”
\v 24 Because the Pharisees \add and the men who taught the Jewish laws\add* heard \add that the people thought that Jesus might be the Messiah because he had expelled the demon\add*, they said, “\add It is not God, but\add* Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, who enables \add this man\add* to expel demons \add from people!\add*”
\v 25 But Jesus knew what \add the Pharisees\add* were thinking \add and saying\add*. So, \add in order to show them that what they said did not make sense\add*, he said to them, “If \add the people in\add* [MTY] one nation fight against each other, \add they\add* will destroy their nation {their nation will be destroyed}. If \add people who live in\add* the same city or house fight each other, they will certainly not remain \add as one group or family\add*.
\v 26 \add Similarly\add*, if Satan were expelling his own \add demons\add* [MTY], \add it would be as though\add* he was fighting against himself. ◄His kingdom would not continue!/How could his kingdom continue?► [RHQ] His rule over them would \add certainly\add* not last!
\v 27 Furthermore, if \add it is true that\add* Satan enables me to expel demons, is it also true that your disciples \add who\add* expel demons \add do so\add* by \add Satan's\add* power [RHQ]? \add No\add* So they will show you that you \add are not thinking logically\add*.
\v 28 But because it is God's Spirit who \add enables\add* me to expel demons, \add that proves that the power of\add* God to rule \add people's lives\add* has come to you.
\p
\v 29 \add I will illustrate why I am able to expel demons\add*. ◄A person cannot go into the house of a strong man► [RHQ] \add But if he ties up the strong man\add*, then he will be able to steal \add the things in that man's\add* house.
\p
\v 30 \add No one can be neutral\add*. Those who do not acknowledge \add that the Holy Spirit enables\add* me \add to expel demons\add* are opposing me, and those who do not gather \add people to become\add* my \add disciples\add* are causing \add those people\add* to [DOU] go away \add from me\add*.
\p
\v 31 You \add are saying that it is not the Holy Spirit who is enabling me to expel demons\add*. So I will say this to you: \add If\add* those who offend and slander other people in any way are \add then sorry and ask God to forgive them, God\add* will forgive them. But people who discredit what the Holy Spirit does will not be forgiven {\add God\add* will not forgive \add people\add* who discredit what the Holy Spirit does}.
\v 32 \add God is willing to\add* forgive people who criticize \add me\add*, the One who came from heaven. But I \add warn you that\add* those who say evil things about what the Holy Spirit \add does\add* will not be forgiven {\add God\add* will not forgive people who speak evil words about what the Holy Spirit \add does\add*}. They will not be forgiven {\add He\add* will not forgive them} now, and they will never be forgiven {\add he\add* will never forgive them}.”
\s1 Jesus said that we can judge what people are like by seeing what they do.
\sr Matthew 12:33-37
\p
\v 33 “Think about this: You can know whether \add a person is good and what that person says is good, in the same way that you\add* can know whether a tree [MET] and the fruit it produces [MET] are good. \add You can also know whether a person and what that person says is evil in the same way that you can know\add* whether a tree [MET] and its fruit [MET] are blighted. You can know whether a tree is good by \add seeing\add* its fruit, and similarly \add people can know the evil character of you Pharisees by listening to your accusations against me\add*.
\v 34 \add What\add* you \add teach harms people spiritually like poisonous\add* snakes \add harm them physically\add* [MET]! You are not able to speak good things because you are evil [RHQ]. Evil people [SYN] \add like you\add* speak what comes from all that is in their ◄inner beings/hearts►.
\v 35 Good people \add speak good things. That is like\add* taking good things out of buildings where they are stored. But evil people \add speak evil things. That is like\add* taking evil things out of buildings where they are stored.
\v 36 I tell you that on the day when God judges [MTY], he will make people recall every useless word they have spoken, \add and he will judge them accordingly\add*.
\v 37 Based on the words that you have spoken, \add God\add* will \add either\add* declare that you are righteous based on the words that you have spoken, or \add else\add* he will condemn you.”
\s1 Jesus told the Jewish leaders that the only miracle that they would see him do would be one like God did for Jonah.
\sr Matthew 12:38-42
\p
\v 38 Then some of the Pharisees and men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws responded \add to what Jesus was teaching\add* by saying to him, “Teacher, we want to see you \add perform\add* a miracle \add that would prove to us that God sent you\add*.”
\v 39 Then Jesus said to them, “\add You\add* people \add have already seen me perform miracles\add*, but you are evil, and you do not faithfully worship God [MET]! You want \add me to perform\add* a miracle \add that would prove to you that God sent me\add*, but \add God will enable\add* you to see only one miracle. It will be \add like\add* what happened to Jonah the prophet [MET].
\v 40 Jonah was in the stomach of a huge fish for three days and nights \add before God caused him to live again\add*. Similarly, for three days and nights I, the one who came from heaven, will be in a place \add where dead people are, and then God will cause me to live again\add*.
\v 41 When \add God\add* judges \add all people\add*, the people who lived in Nineveh will stand \add in front of him\add* with \add you\add* people who \add have seen me perform miracles\add*. The \add people of Nineveh turned from their sinful ways as a result of hearing what\add* Jonah preached. \add Jonah was important, but I\add*, who am more important than Jonah, \add have come and preached to you, but you have not turned from your sinful ways. So\add* when \add God\add* judges \add all people, he\add* will condemn you.
\v 42 The queen from \add Sheba, South of Israel, who lived long ago, came from a distant region in order to listen to King Solomon teach\add* many wise things. But now \add I\add*, \add a man\add* who \add is much\add* greater \add and wiser\add* than Solomon, am here, \add but you have not listened to what I have told you\add*. So at the time when \add God\add* judges \add all people\add*, the queen from \add Sheba will stand in front of him, along\add* with you people, and will condemn you.”
\s1 Jesus taught that those who have had evil spirits expelled from them need to have their lives controlled by the Holy Spirit.
\sr Matthew 12:43-45
\p
\v 43 “\add Sometimes\add* when an evil spirit leaves a person, it wanders around in desolate areas, seeking \add someone in whom it can\add* rest. If it does not find anyone,
\v 44 it says \add to itself\add*, ‘I will return to the person [MET] in whom I used to live.’ So it goes back \add and finds that the Spirit of God is not in control of that\add* person's \add life. The person's life is like\add* a house that has been swept clean and everything put in order [MET], \add but it is\add* empty.
\v 45 Then \add this evil spirit\add* goes and gets seven other spirits that are \add even\add* more evil, and they \add all\add* enter \add that person\add* and \add begin\add* living there. \add So, although\add* that person's condition \add was bad\add* before, it becomes much worse. That is what \add you\add* wicked people who \add have heard me teach\add* will experience.”
\s1 Jesus said that those who do God's will are as important to Jesus as his own relatives are.
\sr Matthew 12:46-50
\p
\v 46 While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his \add younger\add* brothers \add arrived\add*. They stood outside \add the house\add*, wanting to speak with him.
\v 47 Someone said to him, “Your mother and your \add younger\add* brothers are standing outside \add the house\add*, wanting to talk to you.”
\v 48 Then Jesus said to the person who told him \add that\add*, “◄\add I will tell you something about\add* my mother and brothers [MET].\add /Do you know\add* who I \add consider to be like\add* my mother and my brothers?►” [MET, RHQ]
\v 49 He then pointed toward \add us\add* disciples and said, “These are ones \add whom I love as much as I love\add* my mother and my brothers [MET].
\v 50 Those who do what \add God\add* my Father \add who is\add* in heaven wants, are \add as dear to me\add* [MET] \add as\add* my brother, my sister, or my mother.”
\c 13
\s1 Jesus taught a parable about different kinds of soil.
\sr Matthew 13:1-10
\p
\v 1 That same day Jesus, \add along with us\add* disciples, left the house \add where he was teaching and went\add* to \add Galilee lake\add*. He sat down there,
\v 2 and a very large crowd gathered around him to \add listen to his teaching\add*. So, \add in order that they would not jostle him\add* (OR, \add to speak to the people better\add*), he got into a boat and sat down \add to teach them\add*. The crowd stood on the shore \add and was listening\add*.
\v 3 He was telling them many parables. \add One of the parables\add* that he told them was this: “Listen! A man went out \add to his field\add* to sow \add some seeds\add*.
\v 4 As he was scattering \add them over the soil\add*, some \add of the\add* seeds fell on the path. Then some birds came and ate those seeds.
\v 5 Other \add seeds\add* fell on ground where there was not much soil \add on top of the\add* rock. Those seeds sprouted very soon, \add because the sun quickly warmed\add* the shallow soil.
\v 6 But when \add the young plants came up\add*, they were scorched by the sun, and they withered because they did not have \add deep\add* roots.
\v 7 Other seeds fell on \add ground that contained roots of\add* thorny \add weeds\add*. The thorny weeds grew \add together with the young plants\add*, and \add they\add* crowded out \add the plants\add*.
\v 8 \add But\add* other seeds fell on good soil, and \add the plants grew and\add* produced \add a lot of\add* grain. Some \add plants produced\add* one hundred times \add as many seeds as were planted\add*. Some \add plants produced\add* sixty times \add as much\add*. Some \add plants produced\add* thirty times \add as much\add*.
\v 9 If you want to understand this [MTY], you should consider \add carefully what I have just said\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told the disciples why he taught them using parables.
\sr Matthew 13:10-17
\p
\v 10 \add We\add* disciples approached Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowd?”

\v 11 He answered \add us\add* saying, “God [EUP/MTY] is revealing to you what he did not reveal before, about \add how he wants to\add* rule \add over people's lives\add*. But he has not revealed it to others. \v 12 Those who \add think about what I say and\add* understand \add it\add*, God will enable them to understand more. But those who do not \add think carefully about what I say\add* will forget even what they already know.
\v 13 That is why I use parables when I speak to people, because although they see \add what I do\add*, they do not perceive \add what it means\add*, and although they hear \add what I say\add*, they do not really understand \add what it means\add*.
\v 14 What these people do completely fulfills what \add God told\add* the prophet Isaiah \add to say long ago to the people who did not\add* try to understand what he said,
\p You will hear \add what I say\add*, but you will not understand it. You will keep seeing \add what I do\add*, but you will not understand \add what it means\add* [DOU].
\p
\v 15 \add God also said to Isaiah\add*,
\q These people have become unresponsive [MTY] \add to what they see me do and to what they hear me say\add*. They listen unwillingly [MTY] \add to what I say\add*, and they do not pay attention to [MTY] \add what I do\add*. If it were not so, they would perceive [MTY] \add what I am doing\add*, they would understand [MTY] \add what I say to them\add*, and they would turn \add away from their sinful lives\add* and turn \add to me\add*, and I would save them \add from being punished for their sins\add* [MET].
\p
\v 16 But as for you, God is pleased with you because you [SYN] have seen \add what I have done\add* and because you [SYN] understand \add what I say\add* [DOU].
\v 17 Note this: Many prophets and righteous people \add who lived long ago\add* longed to see what you are seeing \add me do\add*, but they did not see it. They longed to hear the things that you have been hearing \add me say\add*, but they did not hear \add what you hear me say\add*.” [DOU]
\s1 Jesus explained that the parable about the kinds of soil illustrates four different ways people respond to his teaching.
\sr Matthew 13:18-23
\p
\v 18 “\add Since God wants\add* you \add to understand what I am teaching you\add*, listen as I \add explain\add* the parable about the man who sowed \add seeds in various kinds of soil\add*.
\v 19 The people who hear about how God rules over people's lives and do not understand \add what they have heard\add* are \add like\add* the path where \add some of\add* the seeds fell. \add Satan\add*, the Evil One, comes and causes these people to forget [MET] what they have heard [MET].
\v 20 \add Some people are like the\add* shallow soil on top of rock. When they hear God's message, they immediately accept it joyfully.
\v 21 \add But because it does not penetrate deeply into their hearts, they believe it for only\add* a \add short\add* time. \add They are like the plants that\add* did not have \add deep\add* roots. When they are treated badly and caused to suffer because they believe \add God's message\add*, they soon stop believing \add it\add*.
\v 22 \add Some people are like the soil that had the roots of\add* thorny \add weeds\add* in it. They hear God's message, but they desire to be rich, \add so they\add* worry \add only\add* about [MTY, PRS] material things. As a result, they [PRS] forget \add God's\add* message and they do not do [IDI] the things that God wants them to do.
\v 23 But \add some people are like the\add* good soil where \add some of the seeds\add* fell. \add Just like the plants that grew in this soil\add* produced a lot of grain, \add these people\add* hear my message and understand it. \add Some of them\add* do many things [IDI] \add that please God, some do\add* even more \add things that please God, and some do\add* very many \add things that please God\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable about wheat and weeds.
\sr Matthew 13:24-30
\p
\v 24 Jesus also told the crowd another parable, \add by which he tried to explain that although\add* God [MTY/EUP] is a king, \add he will not immediately judge and punish all the wicked people\add*. Jesus said, “\add God\add* is like a landowner \add who sent his servants\add* to sow good \add wheat\add* seed in his field.
\v 25 While those servants were sleeping \add and not watching the field\add*, an enemy of the landowner came and scattered weed \add seeds\add* in the midst of the wheat. Then he left.
\v 26 After \add the seeds\add* sprouted and the green plants \add grew\add*, the heads of grain began to form. But the weeds also grew.
\v 27 So the servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, you [RHQ] \add gave us good seeds and those are the ones we\add* [RHQ] \add planted\add* in your field. So where did the weeds come from?’
\v 28 The landowner said to them, ‘\add My\add* enemy did this.’ His servants said to him, ‘So, do you want us to pull up \add the weeds and\add* put them in a pile?’
\v 29 He said \add to them\add*, ‘No, \add do not do that, because\add* you might pull up \add some of\add* the wheat at the same time.
\v 30 Let the wheat and the weeds grow together until harvest \add time\add*.’ At that time I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather the weeds, tie them into bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat \add and put it\add* into my barns.’”
\s1 Jesus illustrated the effects of people letting God rule their lives.
\sr Matthew 13:31-33
\p
\v 31 Jesus also told this parable: “The \add number of\add* (OR, \add God's influence in the lives of\add*) \add people whose\add* lives God rules over \add will continue to grow. It is very much\add* like mustard seeds grow after a man plants them in his field.
\v 32 Although mustard seeds are among the smallest of all the seeds \add that people plant, here in Israel they become large plants. When the plants have fully grown, they are larger than the other garden plants. They become shrubs that are large enough for the birds to build nests in their branches.”\add*
\p
\v 33 Jesus also told this parable: “\add The way people who let\add* God [MTY/EUP] rule their lives [MET] \add can influence the world\add* is like yeast that a woman mixed with about fifty pounds of flour. \add That small amount of yeast made\add* the whole batch of dough swell up.”
\s1 Jesus' use of parables fulfilled a prophecy in Scripture.
\sr Matthew 13:34-35
\p
\v 34 Jesus told the crowd parables \add to teach them\add* all these things. When he spoke [HYP] to them he habitually used such illustrations.
\v 35 By doing that, \add he\add* fulfilled what \add God told one of\add* the prophets to write \add long ago\add*.
\p I will speak [MTY] in parables; I will tell \add parables to teach\add* what I have kept secret since I created the world.
\s1 Jesus explained the parable about wheat and weeds. The wheat represents those who obey God, and the weeds represents those who disobey God. The reaping represents judgment.
\sr Matthew 13:36-43
\p

\v 36 After Jesus dismissed the crowds, he went inside. Then \add we\add* disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable about the weeds \add that grew\add* in the \add wheat\add* field.” \v 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed represents \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven.
\v 38 The field represents this world [MTY], \add where people live\add*. The seeds \add that grew\add* well represent the people who let God rule their lives [MET]. The weeds represent the people who do what \add the devil\add*, the Evil One, \add tells them to do\add*.
\v 39 The enemy who sowed the weed seeds represents the devil. The \add time when the reapers will\add* harvest \add the grain\add* represents the time when the world will end. The reapers represent the angels.
\v 40 The weeds are gathered and burned. {The reapers gather the weeds. Then they burn them.} That represents \add the judging of people, which God will do\add* when the world will end. \add It will be like this\add*:
\v 41 I, the one who came from heaven, will send my angels and they will gather \add from everywhere the people\add* who cause others to quit believing in me [MET] and all those who disobey \add God's\add* commands.
\v 42 They will throw those people into the fires of \add hell\add*. There they will weep and grind their teeth \add because of the great pain that they are suffering\add*.
\v 43 \add God's\add* brightness will shine \add on\add* the people who have lived as he wants them to. It will shine \add on them as brightly\add* as the sun \add shines\add*. It will shine on them in the place where \add God\add*, their Father, rules over them. If you want to understand this [MTY], you should think \add carefully\add* about what I have just said.”
\s1 Jesus illustrated the value of letting God rule our lives.
\sr Matthew 13:44-50
\p
\v 44 “\add What people do who begin to allow\add* God [MTY/EUP] to rule their lives is like \add what a certain man did to acquire a treasure\add*. A treasure was hidden in a field by someone {Someone hid a treasure in a field \add and never dug it up again\add*}. When \add another\add* man found it, he hid it \add by burying it again in order that no one else would find it\add*. Being very happy \add that he had found something very valuable, he went and\add* sold all his possessions \add to obtain money to buy the field the treasure was in\add*. He then went and bought the field, \add and so he was able to acquire that treasure\add*.
\p
\v 45 Also, what \add people do who begin to allow\add* God [MTY/EUP] to rule their lives is like \add what\add* a merchant \add did who was\add* looking for good quality pearls \add to buy\add*.
\v 46 When he found one very costly pearl \add that was for sale\add*, he sold all his possessions \add to acquire enough money to buy that pearl\add*. Then he \add went and\add* bought it.
\p
\v 47 What God [MTY/EUP] \add will do to people who falsely say that they are letting him\add* rule their lives is like what certain \add fishermen\add* did \add with the fish they caught\add* in a lake, using a large net. They caught all classes \add of fish, both useful and worthless fish\add*.
\v 48 When the net was full, the \add fishermen\add* pulled it up onto the shore. Then they sat there and put the useful \add fish\add* into buckets, and threw the worthless ones away.
\v 49 \add What they did in separating the good fish from the bad ones\add* is like \add what will happen to people\add* when the world ends. The angels will come \add to where God is judging people\add* and will separate the wicked \add people\add* from the righteous \add ones\add*.
\v 50 They will throw the wicked people into the fire \add in hell\add*. And those wicked people will weep and gnash their teeth \add because of the intense pain they are suffering\add*.”
\s1 Jesus illustrated the value of understanding his parables.
\sr Matthew 13:51-52
\p
\v 51 \add Then Jesus asked us\add*, “Do you understand all these \add parables I have told you\add*?” We said to him,
\v 52 “Yes, \add we understand them\add*.” Then he said to us, “Because \add you understand all these parables\add*, \add you will understand the following parable: You, along with\add* all others, will teach people what \add you heard me say\add* about God ruling people's lives. \add You will add that to what you formerly learned. You will be\add* like a manager of a household who takes both new things and old things out of his storage room.”
\s1 Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth because people there rejected him as the Messiah.
\sr Matthew 13:53-58
\p
\v 53 When Jesus had finished \add telling\add* these parables, he took \add us\add* and left that \add area\add*.
\v 54 We went to \add Nazareth, his hometown. ◄On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day\add*► he began to teach the people in the Jewish worship house. The result was that the people there were astonished. But \add some\add* said, “\add This man is just an ordinary person like us. So\add* how is it that he knows so much and understands so much [RHQ]? And how is it that he is able to do \add such\add* miracles [RHQ]?
\v 55 ◄He is \add just\add* the son of the carpenter!/Isn't he \add just\add* the son of the carpenter \add that lived here\add*?► [RHQ] His mother is Mary, and his younger brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas [RHQ]!
\v 56 ◄And his sisters \add also live\add* here in our \add town\add*./Do not his sisters \add live\add* in our \add town\add*?► [RHQ] So how is he able to do all these \add miracles\add*?”
\v 57 The people were unable to accept \add that\add* he \add was the Messiah. So\add* Jesus said to them, “\add People\add* honor \add me and other\add* prophets \add everywhere else we go\add*, but in \add our\add* hometowns \add we are\add* not \add honored\add*, and \add even\add* our own families do not \add honor us!\add*”
\v 58 Jesus did not perform many miracles there because the people did not believe \add that he was the Messiah\add*.
\c 14
\s1 Herod had John the Baptizer imprisoned and then killed because John criticized Herod for marrying his brother's wife.
\sr Matthew 14:1-13
\p
\v 1 During that time Herod \add Antipas\add*, the ruler, heard reports about Jesus \add performing miracles\add*.
\v 2 He said to his servants: “That must be John the Baptizer. He must have risen from the dead, and that is why he has power to perform miracles.”
\v 3-4 The reason \add Herod thought that was this: Herod had married\add* Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, \add while Philip was still living. So\add* John had been saying to him, “\add What\add* you \add did by\add* marrying \add your brother's wife while your brother is still alive is against God's\add* law!” Then, to \add please\add* Herodias, Herod \add told his soldiers\add* to arrest John. They bound him with chains and put him in prison.
\v 5 Herod wanted to have John executed, but he was afraid that the people \add who had accepted what John taught would riot if he did that\add*, because they believed that John was a prophet.
\p
\v 6 But when Herod \add gave a party to celebrate\add* his birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for \add his guests\add*. This pleased Herod.
\v 7 So he promised to give her whatever she asked, and he asked God to punish him if he did not do what he had promised.
\v 8 \add So Herodias' daughter went and asked her mother what to ask for\add*. Her mother told her to ask for John the Baptizer's head. \add So\add* her daughter \add went back and\add* said \add to Herod\add*: “\add Cut off\add* the head of John the Baptizer and \add please\add* bring it here on a platter \add so that my mother can know for sure that he is dead!\add*”
\v 9 The king was distressed because he now knew he should not have made that promise to her. \add But\add* because he had made an oath \add in front of\add* his guests \add when he made that promise\add*, and \add he did not want\add* them \add to think that he would not do what he had promised\add*, he commanded that \add the girl\add* be given \add what she requested\add*.
\v 10 He sent \add the executioner to go to\add* the prison and to cut off John's head.
\v 11 \add The executioner did that, and\add* put John's head on a platter and gave it to the girl. Then the girl took it to her mother.
\v 12 John's disciples then went \add to the prison\add*, took John's body and buried it, and they reported to Jesus \add what had happened\add*.
\v 13 After Jesus heard that, he took \add just us disciples\add* with him and we went by boat \add on Galilee lake to an uninhabited place\add*.
\s1 Jesus miraculously fed more than 5,000 people.
\sr Matthew 14:13-21
\p After the crowds heard \add that we had gone to an uninhabited place\add*, they \add left their towns and\add* followed Jesus, walking along the shore.
\v 14 When Jesus came \add to the shore\add*, he saw a large crowd of people \add who had gathered there, waiting for him\add*. He felt sorry for them, and he healed those \add among them who were\add* sick.
\p
\v 15 When it was \add nearly\add* evening, we disciples came to him and said, “This is a place where nobody lives, and it is very late. Dismiss the crowds so that they can go into the \add nearby\add* towns. \add Have them do that so that they can\add* buy food for themselves.”
\v 16 But Jesus said to us, “They do not need to leave \add to get food. Instead\add*, you \add yourselves\add* give them something to eat!”
\v 17 We said to him, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two \add cooked\add* fish here!”
\v 18 He said \add to us\add*, “Bring them to me!”
\v 19 He told the people \add who had gathered there\add* to sit on the grass. Then he took the five flat loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven, thanked \add God for them\add*, and broke \add them into pieces\add*. Then he gave them to us disciples, and we distributed them to the crowd.
\v 20 All \add the people in the crowd\add* ate until they had enough to eat. Then we \add disciples\add* gathered the pieces that were left over, \add and we\add* filled twelve baskets with them.
\v 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men. \add We did\add* not \add count the\add* women and children!
\s1 Jesus walked on Galilee lake, and then Peter tried to do the same.
\sr Matthew 14:22-33
\p
\v 22 Right after that happened, Jesus told us disciples to get in the boat and to go ahead of him further around \add the lake\add* while he dismissed the crowds.
\v 23 After he dismissed them, he went up into the hills to pray by himself. When it was evening, he was \add still\add* there alone.

\v 24 \add By this time\add* we were already many hundred meters from the shore. The boat was being severely tossed around by the waves {The waves were severely tossing the boat} because the wind was \add blowing\add* against \add it\add*. \v 25 \add Then Jesus came down from the hills to the lake\add*. Some time between three and six o'clock in the morning he walked on the water toward our \add boat\add*.
\v 26 When we disciples saw someone walking on the water, we thought that \add we must be seeing\add* a ghost. We were terrified, and we screamed out because we were afraid.
\v 27 Immediately Jesus said to us, “Cheer up! It is I. Do not be afraid!”
\v 28 Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to walk on the water to you!”
\v 29 Then Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
\v 30 But when Peter looked at the \add tossing waves which\add* the strong wind \add caused\add*, he became afraid. He began to sink, and cried out, “Lord, save me!”
\v 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and grabbed him. He said to Peter, “You only trust a little bit \add in my power\add* ◄Why did you doubt \add that I could keep you from sinking\add*?/You should not have doubted \add that I could keep you from sinking\add*!► [RHQ]”
\v 32 Then Jesus and Peter got in the boat, and the wind \add immediately\add* stopped blowing.
\v 33 All \add of us disciples\add* who were in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
\s1 Jesus healed many sick people in the Gennesaret region.
\sr Matthew 14:34-36
\p

\v 34 When we had gone further around \add the lake in the boat\add*, we came ashore at Gennesaret \add town\add*. \v 35 The men of that area recognized Jesus. So they sent \add people to inform those who lived\add* in that whole surrounding region [MTY] \add that Jesus was in their area\add*. \add So the people\add* brought to Jesus all the sick people \add who lived in that region\add*.
\v 36 \add The sick people\add* kept begging him to allow them to touch \add him or\add* just to touch the edge of his robe \add so that they would be healed\add*. And all who touched \add him or his robe\add* were healed {he healed all who touched \add him or his clothing\add*}.
\c 15
\s1 Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for ignoring God's commands in order to uphold their own religious traditions.
\sr Matthew 15:1-9
\p
\v 1 Then \add some\add* Pharisees and men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws came from Jerusalem \add to talk to\add* Jesus. They said,
\v 2 “◄We think it is disgusting that your disciples disobey the traditions of our ancestors!/Why do your disciples disobey \add what our ancestors wrote down and\add* our \add elders taught us\add*?► [RHQ] They do not perform the proper ritual of washing their hands before they eat!”
\v 3 Jesus answered them, “◄What is really disgusting is that \bd you\bd* refuse to obey God's commands \add just\add* so that you can follow what your ancestors taught you!/Why do you refuse to obey what God commanded \add people to do, just\add* so that you can follow your own traditions?► [RHQ]
\v 4 God gave these \add two\add* commands: ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘People who speak evil about their father or mother must be executed.’
\v 5 But you tell people, ‘You can say to your father or mother, “What I was going to give to you \add to help provide for you\add*, \add I have now promised\add* to give \add to God\add*.”’
\v 6 And if you do that, you think that you do not need to give anything to your parents. In \add that way\add*, \add by teaching people\add* your traditions, you disregard what God commanded.
\v 7 You only pretend to be good! Isaiah prophesied accurately about you \add also when he quoted what God said about your ancestors. God said\add*,
\v 8 ‘These people talk \add as if they\add* honor me [MTY], but they do not think about honoring me at all [MET].
\v 9 It is useless for them to worship me, because they teach what people thought up \add as if I myself had commanded it\add*.’”
\s1 Jesus said that people are defiled by the words that come out of their mouths, rather than by any kind of food that they eat.
\sr Matthew 15:10-11
\p
\v 10 Then Jesus \add again\add* summoned the crowd to come \add nearer\add* to him. Then he said to them, “Listen to \add what I am about to tell you\add*, and \add try to\add* understand it.
\v 11 Nothing that a person puts into his mouth \add to eat\add* causes \add God to consider\add* that person to be unacceptable. Instead, it is \add the words\add* that come out of people's mouths [SYN] that cause \add God to reject them\add*.”
\s1 Jesus explained that people's inner thoughts are what make them unacceptable to God.
\sr Matthew 15:12-20
\p
\v 12 Later we disciples went to Jesus and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees heard what you said, and as a result they felt offended [RHQ]?”
\v 13 Then, \add to teach us what God would do to the Pharisees\add*, Jesus told \add us this parable\add*: “My Father in heaven \add will\add* get rid of all \add those who teach things that are contrary to his truth, just like a farmer\add* gets rid of plants that he did not plant by pulling them up along with their roots [MET].
\v 14 Do not pay any attention to \add the Pharisees\add*. They \add do not help people who do not know God's truth\add* to \add understand it, just like\add* blind guides \add do not help\add* blind \add people to perceive where they should go\add* [MET]. If a blind person \add tries to\add* lead \add another\add* blind person, they will both fall into a hole [MET]. \add Similarly, both the Pharisees and their disciples will end up in hell\add*.”
\p
\v 15 Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable \add about what a person eats\add*.”
\v 16 He replied \add to them\add*, “◄I am disappointed that even you, \add who should understand what I teach\add*, still do not understand!/Why is it that even you \add who should understand what I teach\add*, still do not understand?► [RHQ]
\v 17 ◄You ought to understand that all \add food that people\add* eat enters their stomachs, and later the refuse passes out of their \add bodies\add*./Cannot you understand that all \add food that people\add* eat enters their stomachs and later the refuse passes out \add of their bodies\add*?► [RHQ] \add Because food does not alter what we think and desire, what we eat does not cause God to consider that we are unacceptable to him\add*.
\v 18 \add You should know that\add* what comes out of \add people's\add* mouths, \add meaning everything that they say\add* [SYN], comes from their inner beings/hearts. Many of the \add things that they say\add* cause \add God to consider\add* them to be unacceptable \add to him\add*.
\v 19 It is people's innermost beings that \add cause them\add* to think things that are evil, to murder people, to \add commit\add* adultery, to commit other sexual sins, to steal things, to testify falsely, and to speak evil about \add others\add*.
\v 20 It is these actions that cause \add God to consider\add* people to be unacceptable \add to him\add*. To eat with unwashed hands does not cause \add God to consider\add* people unacceptable to him.”
\s1 Jesus healed a non-Jewish woman's daughter after testing the mother's faith in him.
\sr Matthew 15:21-28
\p
\v 21 After Jesus \add took us and\add* left \add Galilee district\add*, we went into the region \add where the cities of\add* Tyre and Sidon \add are located\add*.
\v 22 A woman \add from the group of people called\add* Canaanites who live in that region came \add to the place where Jesus was staying\add*. She kept shouting \add to him\add*, “Lord, you are the descendant of \add King\add* David, \add you are the Messiah!\add* Have pity on me \add and my daughter!\add* She is suffering very much because a demon controls her.”
\v 23 But Jesus did not answer her at all. \add We\add* disciples came to him, and \add knowing that the woman was not a Jew\add*, we said to him, “Tell her to leave because she keeps \add bothering us\add* by yelling behind us!”
\v 24 But Jesus said \add to her\add*, “I have been sent {\add God\add* has sent me} to \add help\add* only the Israelite people \add at this time\add* [SYN]. \add They are like\add* sheep that have gotten lost [MET] \add because they do not know the way to heaven\add*.”
\v 25 But she came \add closer\add* to Jesus and knelt down in front of him \add to worship him\add*. She pled, “Lord/Sir, help me!”
\v 26 Then, \add to suggest to her that he needed to help the Jews first and not the non-Jews, whom the Jews called dogs\add*, he told her, “It is not good \add for someone\add* to take food \add that has been prepared for\add* the children and throw it to the \add little\add* dogs.”
\v 27 \add But to show that she believed that non-Jews could also receive help from God\add*, the woman said \add to Jesus\add*, “Lord/Sir, what you \add say is\add* correct, but even the \add little\add* dogs eat the crumbs that fall to the floor \add when\add* their masters \add sit at\add* their tables \add and eat\add*!”
\v 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, \add because\add* you believe firmly \add in me, I\add* will \add heal your daughter\add* as you desire!” At that moment \add the demon left\add* her daughter, \add and she\add* became well.
\s1 Jesus healed many people on a hillside near Galilee lake.
\sr Matthew 15:29-31
\p
\v 29 After Jesus, \add along with us disciples\add*, departed from that area, we went \add back\add* to Galilee lake \add and walked\add* along it. Then Jesus climbed the hill \add near there\add* and sat down \add to teach the people\add*.
\v 30 Crowds kept coming to him for the next two days and brought lame, crippled, and blind people, those who were unable to talk, and many others \add who had various sicknesses\add*. They laid them in front of Jesus \add so that he would heal them\add* [SYN]. And he healed them.
\v 31 The crowd saw \add him heal\add* people who could not talk, crippled people, lame people, and blind people, and they were amazed. They said, “Praise God \add who rules over us who live in\add* Israel!”
\s1 Jesus miraculously fed over 4,000 people.
\sr Matthew 15:32-39
\p
\v 32 Then Jesus called us disciples to him and said \add to us\add*, “This crowd \add of people\add* has been with me for three days and have nothing \add left\add* to eat. I feel sorry for them. I do not want to send them away \add while they are still\add* hungry, \add because if I did that\add*, they might faint on the way \add home\add*.”
\v 33 We disciples said to him, “In this place where nobody lives, ◄we cannot possibly obtain enough food to feed such a large crowd!/how can we obtain a large enough amount of food to feed such a large crowd?► [RHQ]”
\v 34 Jesus asked us, “How many small loaves do you have?” We said to him, “\add We have\add* seven small loaves and a few \add cooked\add* fish.”
\v 35 He told the people to sit on the ground.
\v 36 Then he took the seven small loaves and the fish. After he thanked \add God for them\add*, he broke them \add into pieces\add*, and he kept giving \add them\add* to us. Then we \add kept distributing\add* them to the crowd.
\v 37-38 \add Because Jesus made the food multiply miraculously\add*, all \add those people\add* ate and had \add plenty to\add* satisfy \add them\add*. There were four thousand men \add who ate\add*, but no \add one counted\add* the women and the children \add who also ate\add*. Then we \add disciples\add* collected the pieces of food that were left over, and we filled seven large baskets \add with them\add*.
\p
\v 39 After Jesus dismissed the crowd, he, \add along with us\add*, got in the boat, and we sailed \add around the lake\add* to the region called Magadan.
\c 16
\s1 Jesus again told the religious leaders that the only miracle that he would do for them was one like God did for Jonah.
\sr Matthew 16:1-4
\p
\v 1 \add Some\add* Pharisees and Sadducees came to \add Jesus\add* and asked him \add to perform\add* a miracle that would prove \add that\add* God\add had sent him\add*.
\v 2 He answered them, “\add In this country\add*, in the evening you say, ‘\add It will be\add* good weather \add tomorrow\add*, because the sky is red.’
\v 3 \add Early\add* in the morning \add you say\add*, ‘It will be stormy weather today, because the sky is red, and dark clouds have formed.’ You understand how to predict \add the weather by looking at the sky\add*, but you cannot \add seem to look at what is happening\add* now \add and by that\add* understand \add what God is doing\add*.
\v 4 \add You\add* evil people have seen me \add perform miracles\add* but you do not faithfully worship God [MET]. You want to see \add me perform\add* a miracle \add that would prove that God has sent me\add*. But \add God\add* will \add enable you to see\add* only one miracle. It will be \add like\add* what happened [MET] to Jonah, \add the prophet, who was inside a huge fish for three days and then came out of it to live again\add*.” Then Jesus left them and sailed away, \add along with us disciples\add*.
\s1 Jesus rebuked the disciples for worrying about not having enough food.
\sr Matthew 16:5-12
\p
\v 5 \add We\add* forgot to take bread when \add we\add* sailed to another edge of \add the lake\add*.
\v 6 \add Then\add* Jesus said to us, “Beware \add that you do not accept\add* the yeast [MET] that the Pharisees and Sadducees \add distribute\add*.”
\v 7 Then, \add not realizing that he was speaking figuratively\add*, \add we\add* said to one another, “\add He must have said that\add* because we forgot to bring any bread!”
\v 8 Because Jesus knew what \add we were saying\add*, he said \add to us\add*, “◄I am disappointed that you are discussing among yourselves, \add thinking\add* that \add it was because\add* you did not bring any bread \add that I talked about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees\add*./Why are you discussing among yourselves thinking that it was because you did not bring any bread \add that I talked about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees\add*?► [RHQ] You believe only a little \add what I am able to do for you\add*.
\v 9 ◄You should understand \add that I can continue to do miracles to provide for what you need./\add*Do you not yet understand \add that I can provide miraculously for you if you need food\add*?► [RHQ] Do you not remember that five thousand \add people ate when I multiplied the\add* five small loaves \add and the two fish? And after everyone had enough to eat\add*, you collected \add twelve\add* baskets \add of left-over pieces\add* [RHQ]!
\v 10 \add Do you not remember\add* [RHQ] \add that\add* four thousand \add people ate when I multiplied the\add* seven small loaves \add and a few fish\add*? And \add after everyone had enough to eat\add*, you collected \add seven\add* large baskets \add of left-over pieces\add*
\v 11 ◄You should have understood that I was not speaking about \add real\add* bread \add that contains yeast\add*./Why have you not understood that I was not speaking about \add real\add* bread \add that contains yeast?\add*► [RHQ] What I \add was saying\add* was that you should \add not accept what\add* the Pharisees and Sadducees \add say, because it would affect you like\add* yeast \add affects\add* [MET] \add dough\add*.”
\v 12 Then we understood that he was not talking about the yeast that is \add in\add* bread. Instead, \add he was talking\add* about the \add wrong\add* teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
\s1 Jesus commented on the implications of Peter's recognition of Jesus being the Messiah.
\sr Matthew 16:13-20
\p
\v 13 When Jesus came with \add us\add* disciples to the region near Caesarea Philippi \add town\add*, he asked us, “Who do people say that I, the one who came from heaven, \add really\add* am?”
\v 14 We answered, “Some \add people say that you are\add* John the Baptizer, \add who has come back to life again\add*. Others say \add that you are the prophet\add* Elijah, \add who has returned from heaven as God promised\add*. \add Still\add* others \add say that you are the prophet\add* Jeremiah or one of the \add other\add* prophets \add who lived long ago, who has come back to life again\add*.”
\v 15 Jesus said to us, “\add What about\add* you? Who do you say that I am?”
\v 16 Simon Peter said to him, “You are the Messiah! You are the Son of the all-powerful God.”
\v 17 Then Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of Jonah, \add God\add* is pleased with you. What you just said was not [SYN] revealed to you by any human. Instead, \add it was\add* my Father \add who lives\add* in heaven \add who revealed this to you\add*.
\v 18 I will also tell you this: You are Peter, \add which means rock\add*. \add You are like\add* a rock. What you \add and your fellow apostles teach\add* (OR, \add what\add* you \add do\add*) \add will be like a foundation on which I\add* will create congregations of people who \add believe in\add* me. And the demons [PRS], \add who live\add* where the dead people who lived evil lives are, will not be able to \add come and\add* prevent [MET] \add me from doing\add* that.”
\v 19 \add Then, speaking to all of us, he said\add*, “I will enable you \add (pl)\add* to have authority [MTY] over the groups of people over whose lives \add God\add* rules. Whatever you forbid regarding those people [MTY], it will have been forbidden by God. Whatever you permit [MET] regarding them, it will have been permitted by God.”
\v 20 Then Jesus warned \add us\add* disciples strongly not to tell anyone \add at that time\add* that he is the Messiah.
\s1 Jesus began to teach the disciples about his coming death and resurrection.
\sr Matthew 16:21-23
\p
\v 21 From that time Jesus began to teach \add us\add* disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem \add city\add*. There the ruling elders, the chief priests, and the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws would cause him to suffer and be killed {die}. Then on the third day \add after that\add*, he would become alive again.
\v 22 \add Because Peter assumed that the Messiah would not suffer and die\add*, he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him \add for talking about suffering and dying\add*. He said, “Lord, may \add God\add* never permit that to happen to you! That must certainly not happen!”
\v 23 Then Jesus turned \add to look at\add* Peter, and he said to him, “Stop talking to me \add like that\add* [MTY]! \add Stop saying what\add* Satan [MET] \add would say, and stop\add* trying to prevent \add from happening what God has planned!\add* You are a hindrance to me, because you are not thinking like God thinks. Instead, \add you are thinking\add* like people \add think\add*!”
\s1 Jesus taught the disciples more about what they would face as his disciples, and about his coming again.
\sr Matthew 16:24-28
\p
\v 24 Then Jesus said to \add us\add* disciples, “If any one \add of you\add* wants to be my disciple, you must not do \add only\add* what you yourself want \add to do\add*. \add You\add* must be willing to \add let people hurt you and disgrace you. That is like what they do to criminals whom they force to\add* carry a cross [MET] \add to the place where the criminals will be executed. That is what anyone who wants to\add* be my disciple \add must do\add*.
\v 25 \add You must do that\add*, because those who try to save their lives \add by denying that they belong to me when people want to kill them for believing in me\add* will not live \add eternally\add*, but those who are killed \add because of being my disciples\add* will live \add with God eternally\add*.
\v 26 People \add might\add* get everything \add they want\add* in this world, but ◄\add if they do not become my disciples\add*, they would really be gaining nothing \add because\add* they would not get eternal life!/what would they gain \add if they do not become my disciples and thus\add* do not get eternal life?► [RHQ] ◄There is absolutely nothing that people can give \add to God\add* that would enable them to gain eternal life./What can people give \add to God\add* that could enable them to gain eternal life?► [MTY, RHQ]
\v 27 \add Listen carefully: I\add*, the one who came from heaven, \add will leave this earth, but\add* I will return, and the angels of heaven will accompany me. At that time I will have the glorious \add radiance\add* that my Father has, and I will reward everyone according to what they did \add when they were living on earth\add*.
\v 28 Listen carefully! Some of you who are here now will see \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, when I return to rule. You will see this before you die!”
\c 17
\s1 Jesus' appearance changed while Moses and Elijah talked with him on a mountain.
\sr Matthew 17:1-8
\p
\v 1 A week after Jesus \add said that\add*, he took Peter, James, and John, the \add younger\add* brother of James, and led them up a high mountain where they were away from other people.
\v 2 \add While they were there, the three disciples\add* saw that Jesus' appearance was changed. His face shone like the sun, and his clothing \add shone and\add* became as brilliant as light.
\v 3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah, \add who were important prophets many years ago\add*, appeared and started talking with him.
\v 4 Peter \add saw them and\add* said to Jesus, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here! If you want \add me to\add*, I will make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
\v 5 While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud \add appeared and\add* covered them. \add They heard God\add* speaking \add about Jesus from\add* inside the cloud. He said \add to them\add*, “This is my Son. I love him. He pleases me very much. \add So\add* you must listen to him!”

\v 6 When the three disciples heard \add God speaking\add*, they were terrified. \add As a result\add*, they fell prostrate on the ground. \v 7 But Jesus went to them and touched them \add and\add* said \add to them\add*, “Stand up! Do not be afraid anymore!”
\v 8 And when they looked up [MTY], they saw that Jesus was the only one \add who was still there\add*.
\s1 Jesus explained that John the Baptizer fulfilled the prophecy about Elijah returning.
\sr Matthew 17:9-13
\p
\v 9 When they were walking down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone what you saw \add on the mountain top\add* until \add God has caused me\add*, the one who has come from heaven, to become alive again after I die.”
\v 10 \add Those three disciples had just seen Elijah and he did not do anything to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah\add*, so they asked Jesus, “If \add what you say is true\add*, why do the men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws say that it is necessary for Elijah to come \add back to earth\add* before \add the Messiah comes\add*?”
\v 11 Jesus answered \add them\add*, “It is true that \add God promised that\add* Elijah would come to prepare many [HYP] \add people for the Messiah's coming\add*.
\v 12 But note this: Elijah's \add representative\add* has already come \add and our leaders have seen him\add*, but they did not recognize him \add as the one who would come before the Messiah\add*. Instead, they treated him \add badly\add*, just like they desired. And those same rulers will soon treat \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, in the same manner.”
\v 13 Then the three disciples understood that \add when he was talking about Elijah\add*, he was referring to John the Baptizer.
\s1 Jesus healed an epileptic boy, and he rebuked his disciples for not having enough faith to do miracles.
\sr Matthew 17:14-21
\p
\v 14 When \add Jesus and the three disciples\add* returned to the \add rest of us disciples\add* and to the crowd \add that had gathered\add*, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
\v 15 He said \add to him\add*, “Sir/Lord, have mercy on my son and \add heal him!\add* He has epilepsy and suffers very much. \add Because of this illness\add*, he has fallen in the fire and in the water many times.
\v 16 I brought him to your disciples \add in order that they might heal him\add*, but they were not able to heal him.”
\v 17 Jesus responded \add by saying to everyone who had gathered there\add*, “\add You who have seen how I help people\add* do not believe \add that you can do anything! Your minds\add* are distorted. How long do I have to be with you \add before you\add* are \add able to do what I do\add* [RHQ]? How long \add do\add* I have to endure your \add not believing\add* [RHQ]? Bring the boy here to me!”
\v 18 When \add they brought the boy to Jesus\add*, Jesus rebuked the demon \add that was causing the epilepsy\add*. \add As a result\add*, the demon came out of the boy, and the boy was healed from that time onward.
\v 19 \add Later, some of us\add* disciples approached Jesus. We asked him privately, “Why were \bd we\bd* \add (exc)\add* not able to expel the demon?”
\v 20-21 He answered us, “It is because you did not believe very much \add in God's power\add*. Think about this: Mustard seeds \add are very small, but in this area they grow and produce large\add* [MET] \add plants\add*. \add Similarly\add*, if your faith grows until you truly believe \add that God will do what you ask him to\add*, you will be able to do anything [LIT]! You \add could even\add* say to this hill, ‘Move from here to there!’ and it would go \add where you told it to go\add*.”
\s1 Jesus again predicted his death and resurrection.
\sr Matthew 17:22-23
\p
\v 22 When \add we disciples\add* had gathered together in Galilee \add district\add*, Jesus said to us, “\add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will soon be handed over {\add Someone\add* will soon hand me, the one who came from heaven, over} to the authorities [SYN].
\v 23 They will kill me. But \add God\add* will cause me to become alive again on the third day \add after I am killed\add*.” \add When we heard that\add*, we became very sad.
\s1 Jesus arranged for a miracle so that Peter could pay the Temple tax.
\sr Matthew 17:24-27
\p
\v 24 When we came to Capernaum \add city\add*, the men who collect taxes \add for the Temple approached Peter and said to him\add*, “Your teacher pays the \add Temple tax\add*, does he not?”
\v 25 He answered \add them \add*, “Yes, \add he does pay it \add*.” When we came into the house \add before Peter began to talk about paying taxes \add*, Jesus said \add to him \add*, “Simon, from whom do you think rulers collect revenue or taxes? \add Do they collect taxes \add* from the citizens of their own \add country \add*, or from citizens of countries \add they have conquered \add*?” \v 26 Peter answered \add him\add*, “From \add citizens of\add* other \add countries\add*.” Then Jesus said to him, “So citizens of their own \add country\add* do not need to \add pay taxes\add*.
\v 27 But \add even though the Temple is mine, pay the tax for us so that the Temple tax collectors will not become angry with us. In order to get the money to pay it\add*, go to the lake. Cast your \add fish line and\add* hook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a silver coin \add that is worth enough to pay the tax\add* for you and me. Take that coin and give \add it\add* to the Temple tax collectors.”
\c 18
\s1 Jesus showed that being great in God's sight means being as humble as a child.
\sr Matthew 18:1-5
\p
\v 1 About that time we disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who \add among us will be\add* the most important when God [MTY/EUP] \add makes you\add* king?”
\v 2 Jesus called a child to come, and he placed that child in our midst.
\v 3 He said, “Think about this: If you \add (pl)\add* do not change \add the way you(pl) think\add* and become \add as humble\add* as little children, you \add (pl)\add* will surely not go to the place where God [MTY/EUP] rules.
\v 4 The people who become as humble as this child \add or any child\add* is, will be the most important people among those over whom God rules.
\v 5 Also, when those who, \add because they love\add* me, welcome \add a\add* child like this one, \add God considers\add* that they are welcoming me.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we need to take severe measures to keep us from sinning when we are tempted.
\sr Matthew 18:6-9
\p
\v 6 “If you cause someone who believes in me to sin, \add even if it is someone who is socially unimportant like\add* this little child, \add God will severely punish you\add*. If a heavy stone were fastened around your neck and you were thrown into the deep waters of the sea, \add people would consider that you had been severely punished. But God will punish\add* you more severely \add than that if you cause someone to sin\add*
\v 7 It will be terrible for those [MTY] who cause others to stop believing in me. \add God will punish them eternally\add*. It is inevitable that there will be \add those who\add* cause others to stop believing in me. But it will be horrible for everyone who does that.
\v 8 So, if you \add are wanting to use\add* one of your hands or feet to sin, \add stop using that hand or foot! Even if you have to\add* cut it off \add to avoid sinning, do it\add* [MET]! It is good \add that you not sin and\add* go where you will live \add with God eternally, even though while you are still here on earth\add* you are maimed or lame and do not have a hand or a foot. But it is not good that you continue to have your two hands and two feet \add and do\add* [MTY] \add the sinful things you want to, and as a result\add*, you are thrown into \add hell\add*, where there is eternal fire burning.
\v 9 If what you see you \add makes you want\add* to sin, \add stop looking at those things! Even if you have to\add* gouge out one of your eyes and throw it away \add to avoid sinning, do it\add* [HYP]! It is good \add that you not sin and\add* go where you will live \add with God eternally, even though while you are still here on earth\add* you have only one eye. But it is not good that you continue to have your two eyes \add and do the sinful things you want to, and as a result\add*, you are thrown {God throws you} into hell where there is eternal fire burning.”
\s1 Jesus taught that God is deeply concerned if even one person goes astray from him.
\sr Matthew 18:10-14
\p
\v 10-11 “Make an effort that you \add (pl)\add* do not despise \add even\add* one of these children. I tell you \add (pl)\add* truly that \add since\add* the angels \add live\add* in heaven \add in the presence of\add* my Father, \add they will report to him if you mistreat the children\add*.\f + \fr 18:10-11 \ft Some Greek manuscripts add verse 11, ❛For the Son of Man came to seek the lost❜.\f*
\v 12 What do you \add (pl)\add* think \add you would do in the following situation\add*? If you had one hundred sheep and one of them got lost, you would surely leave the ninety-nine sheep \add that are\add* on the hill and go and search for the lost one [RHQ], would you not?
\v 13 If you found it, I affirm to you \add (pl)\add* that you would rejoice very much. You would be happy that ninety-nine sheep did not stray away, but you would rejoice even more \add because you had found\add* the sheep that had strayed away.
\v 14 In the same way \add that the shepherd does not want one of\add* his \add sheep to stray away\add*, so \add God\add*, your Father in heaven, does not want \add even\add* one of these children to go to hell.”
\s1 Jesus taught about what we should do if someone sins against us and about agreeing when we pray.
\sr Matthew 18:15-20
\p
\v 15 “If a fellow believer sins \add against you\add*, go \add to him\add*, and when you two are alone, reprove him \add for sinning against you\add*. If that person listens to you \add and feels sorry that he has sinned against you\add*, you will have restored \add your friendship with\add* that person.
\v 16 If that person will not listen to you \add nor feel sorry that he has sinned against you\add*, go get one or two other people \add who will listen to what you both have to say\add*. Have them go with you so that \add what is written\add* {\add Moses wrote\add*} \add in the Scriptures might happen:\add* ‘\add When one person accuses another in some matter\add*, it should be confirmed by \add at least\add* two or three people {\add at least\add* two or three people should confirm it} \add before that person can be declared\add* guilty {\add before they declare that person guilty\add*}.’
\v 17 If the one who has sinned against you will not listen to them \add or does not feel sorry that he has sinned against you\add*, tell that to the congregation \add so that they can rebuke him\add*. If that person will not listen to the congregation \add or feel sorry that he has sinned against you, exclude him from being a member of your congregation, just like\add* you \add would exclude\add* pagans, tax collectors, \add and others who do not believe in God and sin greatly\add*.
\v 18 Keep this in mind: Whatever you decide on earth \add about punishing\add* or \add not punishing a member of your congregation\add* is what has also been decided by \add God\add* in heaven {what \add God\add* in heaven has also decided}.
\v 19 Also note this: If \add at least\add* two of you \add who live\add* here on earth agree together about whatever you ask \add God\add* for [DOU], \add God\add*, my Father \add who is\add* in heaven, will give you what you ask for.
\v 20 \add This is true\add*, because wherever \add at least\add* two or three of you assemble because you believe in me [MTY], I am \add spiritually\add* present with you. I \add will hear what you ask for and I will ask God to do it for you\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable to illustrate the need for forgiving others.
\sr Matthew 18:21-35
\p
\v 21 Then Peter approached \add Jesus\add* and said to him, “How many times must I forgive a fellow believer who \add keeps on\add* sinning against me? \add If he keeps asking me to forgive him, must I forgive him\add* as many as seven times?”
\v 22 Jesus said to him, “I tell you \add that the number of\add* times \add you must forgive someone is\add* not just up to seven, but \add you must\add* ◄\add forgive him\add* 77 times/never stop forgiving him►.
\v 23 \add In order to illustrate\add* why \add you should do this\add*, I \add will tell you a story in which\add* God [MTY/EUP], \add who cares for\add* the people whose lives he rules over, is compared {I compare God, \add who cares for\add* the people whose lives he rules over} to a king \add and his officials\add*. That king told \add some of his servants that he wanted\add* his officials to pay what they owed him.
\v 24 \add So those officials were brought to the king to\add* settle \add their accounts with him\add*. \add One of the officials who were brought\add* owed the king several million dollars.
\v 25 But because he did not have \add enough money\add* to pay \add what he owed\add*, the king demanded that he, his wife, his children and all he possessed be sold \add to someone else and that the king\add* be repaid \add with\add* {receive} \add the money that was paid for them\add*.
\v 26 Then that official, \add knowing that he did not have the money to pay that huge debt\add*, fell on his knees \add in front of the king\add* and he begged him saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you all of it, \add eventually\add*.’
\v 27 The king, \add knowing that the official could never pay all that huge debt\add*, felt sorry for him. So he canceled his debt and released him.
\v 28 Then this official went to another one of the king's officials who owed him a bit less than a year's wages. He grabbed him \add by the throat\add*, started choking him, and said to him, ‘Pay back what you owe \add me\add*!’
\v 29 That official fell on his knees and begged him saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you all of it, \add eventually\add*.’
\v 30 But this official kept refusing \add to cancel that small debt that the man owed him\add*. Instead, he \add caused that official to be\add* put in prison \add and to stay there\add* until he could pay back all the money that he owed him.
\v 31 When the other officials \add of the king\add* learned that this had happened, they felt very distressed. So they went to the king and reported in detail what had happened.
\v 32 Then the king summoned the official \add who had owed him several million dollars\add*. He said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I canceled that huge debt \add that you owed me\add* because you begged me \add to do so\add*
\v 33 You should have been merciful \add and canceled your fellow official's debt\add*, just like I was merciful to you \add and canceled your debt\add* [RHQ]!’
\v 34 The king was very angry. He handed this official over to some jailers who would torture him severely until he paid all of the debt that he owed.”
\v 35 \add Then Jesus continued by saying\add*, “That is what my Father in heaven will do to you if you do not \add feel merciful and\add* sincerely forgive a fellow believer \add who sins against you\add*.”
\c 19
\s1 Jesus taught them God's view of divorce, and about abstaining from marriage to give more time to serve God.
\sr Matthew 19:1-12
\p
\v 1 After Jesus had said that, he \add took us\add* and left Galilee \add district\add* and went to the part of Judea \add district that is located\add* on the \add east\add* side of the Jordan \add River\add*.

\v 2 Large crowds followed him there, and he healed \add the sick among\add* them. 
\p 
\v 3 \add Some\add* Pharisees approached Jesus and said to him, “Does \add our Jewish\add* law permit \add a man\add* to divorce his wife for any reason whatever?” \add They asked that\add* in order to be able to criticize Jesus, \add whether he answered “Yes” or “No\add*.” \v 4 Jesus said \add to them\add*, “\add Because\add* you have read [RHQ] \add the Scriptures\add*, \add you should know\add* that at the time \add God first\add* created \add people\add*, ‘he made \add one\add* man, and he made \add one\add* woman \add to be that man's wife\add*.’
\v 5 That explains why \add God said\add*, ‘\add When\add* a man \add and woman marry\add*, they should no longer live with their fathers and mothers. \add Instead\add*, the two of them shall live together, and they shall become \add so closely united that they are like\add* one person [MET].’
\v 6 Consequently, \add although they functioned as\add* two \add separate people before\add*, they now \add become as if they were\add* one person [MET]. Since that is true, a man must not separate \add from his wife\add* whom God has joined to him, \add because it is God's plan for them to remain together\add*.”
\p
\v 7 The Pharisees then said to him, “If that is true, why did Moses command that \add a man who wanted to divorce\add* his wife should give her a paper \add stating his reason for\add* divorcing her, and then send her away?”
\v 8 He said to them, “It was because \add your ancestors \add* stubbornly \add wanted their own way \add* that Moses allowed them to divorce their wives, \add and you are no different from them \add*. But when God first [MTY] created a man and a woman, \add he did not intend for them to separate \add*. \v 9 I am telling you emphatically that \add because God considers that a marriage lasts until either the husband or the wife dies, he considers that\add* any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery, unless \add his first wife\add* has committed adultery.”
\v 10 We disciples said to him, “If that is true, it is better for men never to marry!”
\v 11 Then he said to us, “Not every man is able to accept this teaching. Only the men whom \add God\add* enables \add to accept it are able to do so\add*.
\v 12 There are men who \add do not marry because they are not able to have sexual relations because they\add* have been sexually defective ever since they were born. There are other men \add who do not marry because they are unable to have sexual relations\add* because they have been castrated {other men have made them that way}. There are other \add men who decide not to marry\add* [MET] in order that they can serve God better \add and spend more time telling people about how\add* God [MTY/EUP] wants to rule people's lives. You who are able to understand \add what I have said about marriage\add* should accept it \add and obey it\add*.”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the disciples for trying to prevent children from coming to him.
\sr Matthew 19:13-15
\p
\v 13 Then \add some\add* children were brought {\add some people\add* brought their children} to Jesus in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray \add for them\add*. But we disciples scolded the people \add for bringing their children to Jesus because we thought that Jesus did not want to take the time to be with children\add*.

\v 14 But \add when Jesus saw us scolding them\add*, he said to us, “Let the children come to me! Do not stop them! It is people who are \add humble and trusting\add* like they are, who can experience God's rule \add in their lives\add*.” \v 15 Jesus then laid his hands on the children \add and asked God to bless them\add*. Then he left there.
\s1 A rich young man went away sad because Jesus told him to sell all his possessions.
\sr Matthew 19:16-22
\p
\v 16 \add As Jesus was walking along, a young\add* man approached him and said \add to him\add*, “Teacher, what good \add deeds\add* must I do in order to live \add with God\add* eternally?”
\v 17 Jesus said to him, “◄Consider \add what you are implying about who I am when\add* you ask me about what is good./Do you realize \add what you are implying about who I am when\add* you ask me about that which is good?► [RHQ] Only one being is good and \add really knows what is good. That being is God. But in order to answer your question\add* about \add desiring to\add* live \add with God eternally\add*, I \add will say to you\add*, ‘Keep the commandments \add that God gave Moses’\add*.”
\v 18 The man asked Jesus, “Which \add commandments must I keep\add*?” Jesus answered \add him\add*, “Do not murder \add anyone\add*, do not commit adultery, do not steal things, do not testify falsely,
\v 19 honor your father and your mother, and love people you come in contact with as \add much as you love\add* yourself.”
\v 20 \add Thinking that he might not be able to live with God eternally even though he had kept those commandments\add*, the young man said to Jesus, “I have always obeyed all those commandments. What else must I do \add in order to live with God eternally\add*?”
\v 21 Jesus said to him, “If you desire to be all that God intends you to be, go \add home\add*, sell everything that you have and give \add the money\add* to poor people. \add The result will be that\add* you will have \add spiritual\add* riches in heaven. Then come and be my disciple!”
\v 22 When the young man heard those words, he went away feeling sad, because he was very rich \add and did not want to give away everything he owned\add*.
\s1 Jesus taught how difficult it is for rich people to let God rule their lives, but there are rewards for those who leave family and possessions for his sake.
\sr Matthew 19:23-30
\p
\v 23 Then Jesus said to \add us\add* disciples, “Keep this in mind: It is very difficult for rich people \add to decide\add* to let God [MTY/EUP] rule their \add lives\add*.
\v 24 Note this also: It is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It is \add almost\add* as difficult [HYP] for rich people \add to decide\add* to let God rule their \add lives\add*.”

\v 25 When \add we\add* disciples heard this, we were astounded. \add We thought that rich people were the ones whom God blesses the most. So we said to him\add*, “◄If that is so, it does not seem likely that anyone will be saved!/Who then will God will save?►” [RHQ] \v 26 \add When Jesus heard us say that\add*, he looked intently at us, and \add then\add* he said to us, “\add Yes\add*, it is impossible for people \add to save themselves\add*. But \add God can save them, because\add* God is able to do \add anything\add*!”
\v 27 Then Peter said to him, “You know that we \add (exc)\add* have left everything behind and we have become your disciples. So what benefit will we get \add for doing that\add*?”
\v 28 Jesus said to us, “Keep this in mind: \add You will get many benefits\add*. When \add God\add* makes \add the\add* new \add earth\add* and when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, sit on my magnificent throne, those of you who have accompanied me will each sit on a throne, and you will judge \add the people of\add* the twelve tribes of Israel.
\v 29 \add God will reward\add* those who, because of being my \add disciples\add*, have left \add behind\add* a house or plot of ground, \add their\add* brothers, \add their\add* sisters, their father, their mother, their children, \add or any other family\add* [MTY] \add members\add*. \add God\add* will give them a hundred times \add as many benefits as they have given up\add*. And they will live \add with God\add* eternally.
\v 30 But many \add people who consider themselves to\add* be important \add now\add* will be unimportant \add at that future time\add*, and many \add people who consider themselves to be\add* unimportant \add now will be\add* important \add at that future time\add*.”
\c 20
\s1 Jesus told a parable to illustrate how God will reward those who serve him.
\sr Matthew 20:1-16
\p

\v 1 “\add In order to illustrate how God rewards people\add*, I will compare \add the way\add* God [MTY/EUP] rules his people with what the owner of an estate \add did\add*. Early in the morning the owner of the estate went to \add the market\add* where \add people who wanted work gathered\add*. He went there to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. \v 2 He promised the men whom he hired that he would pay them the standard wage \add for working\add* one day. Then he sent them to his vineyards.
\v 3 At nine o'clock \add that same morning\add* he went back \add to the market\add*. There he saw more men who did not have work.
\v 4 He said to them, ‘Go to my vineyard as other men have done, \add and work there\add*. I will pay you whatever is a just \add wage\add*.’ \add So they also went to his vineyard and began to work\add*.
\v 5 At noon and at three o'clock he again went \add to the market\add* and found \add other laborers whom he promised to pay a fair wage\add*.
\v 6 At five o'clock he went \add to the market again\add* and saw other \add men\add* standing \add there who were not working\add*. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day and not working?’
\v 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘\add I will hire you\add*. Go to my vineyard as other men have done, \add and work there.’ So they went\add*.
\p
\v 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Tell the men to come so that you can give them their wages. First, pay the men who started working last, and pay the men last who started working first.’

\v 9 The \add manager\add* paid the standard daily wage to each of the men who did not start working until five o'clock \add in the afternoon\add*. \v 10 When the men who had begun working early \add in the morning\add* went \add to get their wages\add*, they thought that they would receive more than the standard wage. But they also received only the standard wage.
\v 11 So they complained to the owner of the vineyard \add because they thought their payment was unfair\add*.
\v 12 They said \add to him\add*, ‘\add You are not being fair!\add* The men who started working after \add all of the rest of us started\add* worked for \add only\add* one hour! You have \add paid\add* them the same \add wage\add* as \add you paid\add* us! But we worked hard \add all\add* day [IDM], \add including working in the\add* hottest part of the day!’
\v 13 The owner of the vineyard said to one of those \add who complained\add*, ‘Friend, I did not treat you unfairly. You agreed with me \add to work the whole day\add* for the standard wage [RHQ].
\v 14 \add Stop complaining to me\add* Take your wage and go! I desire to give the same wage that I gave you to the men who began working after all of you \add had begun working\add*.
\v 15 I certainly have a right to \add spend my money\add* as I desire [RHQ], \add including paying those laborers what I desire to pay them\add*. ◄You should not be envious about my being generous!/Are you angry [MET] because I am generous?► [RHQ]’”
\v 16 \add Then Jesus said to us\add*, “Similarly, \add God will reward\add* well \add some\add* people who \add seem to be\add* less important now, and he will not reward \add some\add* people who \add seem to be\add* more important \add now\add*.”
\s1 For the third time Jesus predicted his death and resurrection.
\sr Matthew 20:17-19
\p
\v 17 When Jesus was walking \add on the road\add* up to Jerusalem, \add along with us\add* twelve \add disciples\add*, he took us to a place by ourselves \add in order that he could talk to us privately\add*. Then he said to us,
\v 18 “Listen carefully! We are \add now\add* going up to Jerusalem. \add While we are there, someone\add* will enable the chief priests and the men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws to seize \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, \add and they will put me on trial\add*. They will condemn me \add and say\add* that I should be killed {the authorities should kill me}.
\v 19 \add Then they\add* will put me in the hands of non-Jews so that they can make fun of me, whip me, \add and kill me by\add* nailing me to a cross. But on the third day \add after that\add*, \add God\add* will cause me to live again.”
\s1 Jesus taught that greatness in God's sight means humbly serving others as Jesus did.
\sr Matthew 20:20-28
\p
\v 20 Then the mother of James and John brought her two sons to Jesus. She bowed down before Jesus and asked him to do her a favor.
\v 21 Jesus said to her, “What do you want \add me to do for you\add*?” She said to him, “Permit these two sons of mine to sit next to you (OR, Permit these two sons of mine to sit next to you at your right side and at your left side) \add and rule with you\add* [MTY] when you become king.”
\v 22 Jesus said to \add her and her sons\add*, “You do not understand what you are asking for. Can you suffer like I am about to suffer [IDM]?” \add James and John\add* answered him, “Yes, we are able \add to do that\add*.”
\v 23 Then Jesus said to them, “Yes, you will suffer as I will suffer [IDM]. But I am not the one who chooses the ones who \add will\add* sit next to me \add and rule with me\add*. \add God\add*, my Father, will give those places [MTY] to the ones whom he appoints.”
\p
\v 24 When we ten \add other disciples\add* heard \add what James and John had requested\add*, we became angry with them \add because we also wanted to rule with Jesus in the highest positions\add*.
\v 25 \add So\add* Jesus called all of us together and said \add to us\add*, “You know that those who rule the non-Jews \add enjoy\add* showing them that they are powerful. Their chief rulers \add enjoy\add* commanding the people under them.
\v 26 You \add should\add* not be like them. On the contrary, everyone among you who wants \add God to consider\add* him great must become \add like\add* a servant for \add the rest of\add* you.
\v 27 And everyone among you who wants \add God to consider him\add* to be the most important must become \add like\add* a slave for \add the rest of\add* you.
\v 28 \add You should imitate me\add*. \add Even though I am\add* the one who came from heaven, I did not come to be served {in order that people would serve me}. On the contrary, I \add came in order\add* to serve \add others\add* and to [IDM] allow myself to be killed {other people to kill me}, so that \add my dying would be like\add* a payment to rescue many \add people from being punished for their sins\add*.” [MTY]
\s1 Jesus healed two blind men.
\sr Matthew 20:29-34
\p
\v 29 As we were leaving Jericho \add city\add*, a large crowd of people followed \add us\add*.
\v 30 \add As we walked along, we saw\add* two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they yelled \add to him\add*, “Lord, Descendant of \add King\add* David, \add you are the Messiah\add* Take pity on us!”
\v 31 \add People in\add* the crowd scolded them \add and\add* told them to be quiet. But the blind men yelled even louder, “Lord, Descendant of \add King\add* David, \add you are the Messiah\add* Have pity on us!”
\v 32 Jesus stopped and called them \add to come to him\add*. \add Then\add* he said \add to them\add*, “What do you want me to do for you?”
\v 33 They said to him, “Lord, heal our eyes [IDM] \add so that we can see!\add*”
\v 34 Jesus \add felt\add* sorry \add for them and\add* touched their eyes. Immediately they were able to see, and they went with Jesus.
\c 21
\s1 Jesus entered Jerusalem humbly on a donkey, but with great acclaim by the crowd.
\sr Matthew 21:1-11
\p

\v 1-2 As \add we\add* approached Jerusalem, we came near Bethphage \add village\add*, near Olive \add Tree\add* Hill. Jesus said to two \add of his\add* disciples, “Go to the village just ahead of us. As soon as you enter \add it\add*, you will see a donkey and her foal that are {someone has} tied \add up\add*. Untie them and bring them \add here\add* to me. \v 3 If anyone says anything to you \add about your doing that\add*, tell \add him\add*, ‘The Lord needs them.’ He will \add then allow you to\add* lead them away.”
\v 4-5 When all this happened, what was written by a prophet {what a prophet wrote about} was fulfilled {happened}. The prophet wrote, “Tell the people who live in Jerusalem [SYN], ‘Look! Your king is coming to you! He will come humbly. He \add will show that he is humble, because he will be\add* riding on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.’”
\p
\v 6 So the \add two\add* disciples went and did what Jesus told them to do.
\v 7 They brought the donkey and its colt \add to Jesus\add*. They placed their cloaks on them \add to make something for him to sit on\add*. Then Jesus \add mounted the colt\add* and sat on the cloaks.
\v 8 Then a large crowd spread \add some of\add* their clothing on the road, and other \add people\add* cut off branches from \add palm\add* trees and spread them on the road. \add They did those things to decorate the road in order to honor Jesus\add*.
\v 9 The crowds that walked in front of him and those who walked behind him were shouting things like, “Praise the \add Messiah\add*, the descendant of \add King\add* David!” “May the Lord \add God\add* bless \add this one\add* who comes as \add God's\add* representative and with \add God's\add* authority [MTY].” “Praise God, who is in the highest \add heaven\add*!”
\v 10 As Jesus entered Jerusalem, a crowd of people [MTY] from all \add over the city\add* became excited and were saying, “Why \add are they honoring\add* this man \add like that\add*?”
\v 11 The crowd \add that was already following him\add* said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee!”
\s1 Jesus chased buyers and sellers from the temple, and he rebuked the Jewish leaders for objecting to children praising him.
\sr Matthew 21:12-17
\p
\v 12 Then Jesus went into the Temple \add courtyard\add* and chased out all of those who were buying and selling things there. He also overturned the tables of those who were giving \add Temple tax money in exchange for Roman\add* coins, and he overturned the seats of those who were selling pigeons \add for sacrifices\add*.
\v 13 Then he said to them, “It is {◄\add Jeremiah/A prophet\add*► has} written \add in the Scriptures that God said\add*, ‘\add I want\add* my house to be called a place where \add people\add* pray’, but you bandits have made it [MET] your hideout!”
\p
\v 14 After that, \add many\add* blind \add people\add* and lame \add people\add* came to Jesus in the temple \add in order that he would heal them\add*, and he healed them.
\v 15 The high priests and the men who taught the people the \add Jewish\add* laws saw the wonderful deeds that Jesus did. \add They also saw and\add* heard the children shouting in the Temple, “We praise the \add Messiah\add*, the descendant of \add King\add* David!” They were indignant \add because they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah\add*.
\v 16 \add They thought that Jesus should not be allowing the children to say that\add*, so they asked him, “\add How can you tolerate\add* this [RHQ]? Do you hear what these \add children\add* are shouting?” Then Jesus said to them, “Yes, I \add hear them, but\add* if you \add remembered what\add* you have read \add in the Scriptures about children praising me, you would know that God is pleased\add* [RHQ] \add with them\add*. \add The psalmist\add* wrote, \add saying to God\add*, ‘You have taught infants and other children to praise you perfectly.’”
\p
\v 17 Then Jesus left the city. We \add disciples\add* went \add with him\add* to Bethany \add town\add*, and we slept there \add that night\add*.
\s1 Jesus taught the disciples a lesson from what happened to a fig tree.
\sr Matthew 21:18-22
\p
\v 18 Early \add the next morning\add* when we were returning to the city, \add Jesus\add* was hungry.
\v 19 He saw a fig tree near the road. \add So he went over to it to pick some figs to eat\add*. But when he got close, he saw that there were no \add figs on the tree\add*. There were only leaves on it. So \add to illustrate how God would punish the nation of Israel\add*, he said to the fig tree, “May you never again produce figs!” As a result, the fig tree withered that night.
\v 20 \add The next day\add* when we disciples saw \add what had happened to the tree\add*, we marveled, and we said \add to Jesus\add*, “◄It is astonishing that the fig tree withered so quickly!/How is it that the fig tree dried up so quickly?►” [RHQ]
\v 21 Jesus said to us, “Think about this: If you believe \add that God has power to do what you ask him to\add* and you do not doubt \add that\add*, you will be able to do \add things like what I have\add* done to this fig tree. You will even be able to do \add marvelous deeds like\add* saying to a nearby hill, ‘Uproot yourself and throw yourself into the sea’, and it will happen!
\v 22 In addition \add to that\add*, whenever you ask \add God for something\add* when you pray \add to him, if you\add* believe \add that he will give it to you\add*, you will receive \add it from him\add*.”
\s1 Jesus refused to state the basis for his authority because the Jewish leaders refused to admit where John the Baptizer's authority came from.
\sr Matthew 21:23-27
\p
\v 23 After that, Jesus went into the Temple \add courtyard\add*. While he was teaching \add the people\add*, the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish Council approached him. They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do what you did \add here yesterday\add* [DOU]?”
\v 24 Jesus said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and if you answer me, I will tell you who authorized me to do these things.
\v 25 Where did John \add the Baptizer\add* get \add his authority to\add* baptize \add those who came to him\add*? \add Did he get it\add* from God or from people? [MTY/EUP]” The chief priests and elders debated among themselves \add about what they should answer\add*. \add They said to each other\add*, “If we say, ‘\add It was\add* [MTY/EUP] from God’, he will say to us, ‘Then ◄you should have believed his \add message\add*!/why did you not believe \add John's message\add*?► [RHQ]’
\v 26 If we say, ‘It was from people’, we are afraid that the crowd \add will react violently\add*, because all \add the people\add* believe that John was a prophet \add sent by God\add*.”
\v 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know \add where John got his authority\add*.” Then he said to them, “\add Because you did not answer my question\add*, I will not tell you who authorized me to do the things I did \add here yesterday\add*.”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the religious leaders and said that it is more likely that God would accept notorious sinners than that he would accept them.
\sr Matthew 21:28-32
\p
\v 28 \add Then Jesus said to the chief priests and elders\add*, “Tell me [RHQ] what you think \add about what I am about to tell you\add*. There was a man who had two sons. He went to his older son and said, ‘My son, go and work in my vineyard today!’
\v 29 But the son said \add to his father\add*, ‘I do not want to \add go and work in the vineyard today\add*!’ But later he changed his mind, and he went to the vineyard \add and worked\add*.
\v 30 Then the father approached his younger son and said what he had said to his older son. That son said, ‘Sir, I will \add go and work in the vineyard today.’\add* But he did not go there.
\v 31 So which of the man's two sons did what their father desired?” They answered, “The older son.” Jesus \add explained to them what that parable meant\add* by saying, “Think about this: \add It is more likely that other people, including\add* tax collectors and prostitutes, \add whom you think are very sinful\add*, will enter where God rules, than it is that you \add Jewish leaders\add* will enter.
\v 32 I \add say this to you\add* because, even though John \add the Baptizer\add* explained to you how to live righteously, you did not believe his message. But tax collectors and prostitutes believed his \add message, and they turned away from their sinful behavior\add*. In contrast, you, even though you saw what they did, refused to turn away from your sinful behavior, and you did not believe \add John's message\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable about the Jewish religious leaders rejecting him as Messiah.
\sr Matthew 21:33-46
\p
\v 33 “Listen to another parable \add that I will tell you\add*. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it. He dug a hole in the ground \add inside the fence\add*. He placed \add in the hole\add* a stone tank to \add collect the juice that would be\add* pressed out of the grapes. He also built a tower \add inside that fence that someone would sit in to guard that vineyard\add*. He arranged for some men \add to care for\add* the vineyard \add and to give him some of the grapes in return\add*. Then he went away to another country.
\v 34 When it was time to harvest the grapes, the landowner sent some of his servants to the men who were caring for the vineyard to get his share of the grapes \add that the vineyard had produced\add*.
\v 35 But the renters seized the servants. They beat one of them, they killed another one, and \add killed\add* another one of them \add by throwing\add* stones at him.
\v 36 \add So the landowner\add* sent more servants than \add he had sent\add* the first \add time\add*. The renters treated those servants the same way that \add they had treated the other servants\add*.
\v 37 Later, \add knowing this\add*, \add the landowner\add* sent his son to \add the renters to get his share of the grapes\add*. When he sent him, he said \add to himself\add*, ‘They will certainly respect my son \add and give him some of the grapes\add*.’

\v 38 But when the renters saw his son \add arriving\add*, they said to each other, ‘This is the man who will inherit \add this vineyard\add*! Let's kill him and divide the property \add among ourselves\add*.’ \v 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him outside the vineyard, and killed him.
\v 40 \add Now I ask you\add*, when the landowner returns to his vineyard, what \add do you think\add* he will do to those renters?”
\v 41 \add The chief priests and elders\add* replied, “He will thoroughly destroy those wicked \add renters\add* Then he will rent the vineyard to others. They will give him \add his share of\add* the grapes when they are ripe.”
\v 42 Jesus said to them, “\add That is right, so you need to think carefully about these words which\add* you have read [RHQ] in the Scriptures:
\q The builders rejected a certain stone. \add But others put\add* that same stone \add in its proper place, and it\add* has become the most important stone \add of the\add* building [MET]. The Lord has done this, and we marvel as we look at it.
\p
\v 43 So, \add because you reject me\add*, I am going to tell you this: God will no longer let you \add Jews\add* be the people over whom he rules. Instead, he will let \add non-Jews\add* be the people over whom he rules, and they will do [IDM] what he asks them to do.
\v 44 \add The important stone in the building represents me, the Messiah, and those who reject me are like people who fall on this stone\add*. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken into pieces {This cornerstone will break into pieces anyone who falls on it}, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
\p
\v 45 When the chief priests and the \add elders who were\add* Pharisees heard this parable, they realized that he was accusing them \add because they did not believe that he was the Messiah\add*.
\v 46 They wanted to seize him, but \add they did not do so\add* because they were afraid of what the crowds \add would do if they did that\add*, because \add the crowds\add* considered that Jesus was a prophet.
\c 22
\s1 Jesus told a parable about a wedding feast to illustrate what will happen to people who do not accept him as the Messiah.
\sr Matthew 22:1-14
\p
\v 1 Then Jesus told \add the Jewish leaders\add* other parables \add in order to illustrate what will happen to the people who do not accept him as the King God promised to send\add*. \add This is one of those parables:\add*
\v 2 “\add God\add* [MTY/EUP] \add is like\add* a king [SIM] who \add told his servants that they should\add* make a wedding feast for his son.
\v 3 \add When\add* the feast \add was ready\add*, the king sent his servants to tell the people who had been {whom he had} invited that it was time for them to come to the wedding feast. \add The servants did that\add*. But the people who had been invited did not want to come.
\v 4 So he sent other servants \add to\add* again \add tell the people whom he had invited that they should come to the feast\add*. He said \add to those servants\add*, ‘Say to the people whom I invited \add to come to the feast\add*, “The king says that he has prepared the food. The oxen and the fattened calves have been butchered \add and cooked\add*. Everything is ready. It is time \add now for you to\add* come to the wedding feast!’”’
\v 5 \add But when the servants told them that, they\add* disregarded \add what the servants said\add*. Some of them went to their own fields. Others went to their places of business.
\v 6 The rest of them seized the king's servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
\v 7 \add When the king heard what had happened\add*, he became furious. He commanded his soldiers to go and kill those murderers and burn their cities.
\v 8 \add After his soldiers had done that\add*, the king said to his other servants, ‘I have prepared the \add wedding\add* feast, but the people who were {whom I} invited do not deserve to \add come to it because they did not consider it an honor to have been invited\add*.
\v 9 So, go to the intersections of the main streets. Tell whomever you find that they should come to the \add wedding\add* feast.’
\v 10 So the servants went there, and they gathered everyone they saw \add who wanted to come to the feast\add*. They gathered \add both people that were considered\add* to be evil and \add those that were considered to be\add* good. They brought them into the hall where the wedding \add feast took place\add*. The hall was filled with people.
\v 11 But when the king went \add into the hall\add* to see the guests who were there, he saw someone who was not wearing clothes \add that had been provided for the guests to wear\add* at a wedding \add feast\add*.
\v 12 The king said to him, ‘Friend, ◄you should never have entered this hall, because you are not wearing the clothes \add that guests wear\add* at wedding \add feasts\add*!/how did you enter this hall, because you are not wearing the clothes \add that are appropriate for guests to wear\add* at a wedding \add feast\add*?► [RHQ]’ The man did not say anything, \add because he did not know what to say\add*.
\v 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie this person's feet and hands and throw him outside where there is total darkness. People who are there cry out \add because they are suffering\add* and they gnash their teeth \add because of their severe pain\add*.’”
\v 14 \add Then Jesus said, “The point of this story is that God\add* has invited many \add to come to him\add*, but only a few people are the ones whom he has chosen \add to be there\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught his critics that they needed to give to God and to the government what they each required.
\sr Matthew 22:15-22
\p
\v 15 After Jesus said that, the Pharisees met together in order to plan how they could cause him to say something that would enable them to accuse him.
\v 16 They sent to him some of their disciples, \add who thought that the Israelites should pay only the tax that the Jewish authorities required them to pay\add*. They also sent some members of the party that supported Herod. \add The members of that party thought that the Israelites should pay only the tax that the Roman government required them to pay\add*. \add Those who were sent came and\add* said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and that you teach the truth about what God wants \add us to do\add*. We also know that you do not change what you teach because of what someone says about you, even if it is an important person who does not like what you [IDM] teach.
\v 17 So tell us what you think [RHQ] \add about this matter\add*: Is it right that we pay taxes to the Roman government [MTY], or not?”
\v 18 But Jesus knew that what they really wanted to do was evil. \add They were wanting him to say something that would get him in trouble with either the Jewish authorities or the Roman authorities. So he said to them\add*, “You are ◄hypocrites/pretending to ask a legitimate question►, but you are just wanting [RHQ] me to say something for which you can accuse me.
\v 19 Show me \add one of\add* the coins with \add which people pay\add* the \add Roman\add* tax.” So they showed him \add a coin called\add* a denarius.
\v 20 He said to them, “Whose picture is \add on\add* this \add coin\add*? And \add whose\add* name \add is on it\add*?”
\v 21 They answered, “\add It has the picture and name of\add* Caesar, \add the head of the Roman government\add*.” Then he said to them, “Okay, give to the government what they \add require\add*, and give to God what he \add requires\add*.”
\v 22 When those men heard Jesus say that, they marveled \add that his answer did not enable anyone to accuse him\add*. Then they left Jesus.
\s1 Jesus showed from the Scriptures that the spirits of God's people are alive after death.
\sr Matthew 22:23-33
\p
\v 23 During that same day, some Sadducees came to Jesus. \add They are a Jewish sect who do not\add* believe that people will become alive again after they die. They \add wanted to\add* ask \add Jesus\add* a question.
\v 24 \add In order to discredit the idea that dead people will live again\add*, they said \add to him\add*, “Teacher, Moses wrote \add in the Scriptures\add*, ‘If a man dies who did not have any children, his brother must marry the \add dead man's\add* widow in order that she can have a child by him. The child \add will be considered\add* the descendant of the man \add who died\add*, \add and in that way the dead man will have descendants\add*.’
\v 25 Well, there were seven boys in a family \add living\add* near us. The oldest one married someone. He \add and his wife\add* did not have any children, and he died. So the second brother married the widow. \add But he also died without having a child\add*.
\v 26 The same thing \add happened to\add* the third \add brother\add*, and also to the other four \add brothers, who one by one married this same woman\add*.
\v 27 Last of all, the widow also died.
\v 28 So, at the time when people are raised from the dead, which of the seven \add brothers do you think\add* will be her husband? Keep in mind that they had all been married to her.”
\v 29 Jesus replied to them, “You are certainly wrong \add in what you are thinking\add*. You do not know \add what is written in\add* the Scriptures. \add You\add* also do not know \add that\add* God has \add the\add* power \add to make people alive again\add*.
\v 30 The fact is that \add the woman will not be the wife of any of them, because\add* after \add God causes all dead\add* people \add to\add* live again, no one will be married. Instead, \add people\add* will be like the angels in heaven. \add They do not marry\add*.
\v 31 But as for dead people becoming alive again, God said something about that. ◄I'm sure you have read it./Have you not read it?► [RHQ] \add Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses\add*,
\v 32 ‘I am the God whom Abraham \add worships\add* and the God whom Isaac \add worships\add* and the God whom Jacob worships.’ It is not dead people who worship God. It is living people who worship him. \add Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died long before Moses lived, but God said that they were still worshipping him, so we know their spirits were still alive!\add*”
\p
\v 33 When the crowds of people heard \add Jesus teach\add* that, they were amazed.
\s1 Jesus told his critics that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love others.
\sr Matthew 22:34-40
\p
\v 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had answered the Sadducees in such a way that the Sadducees could not \add think of anything that they might say to\add* respond to him, the Pharisees gathered together to \add plan what they would say to him\add*. \add Then they approached him\add*.
\v 35 One of them was a man who had studied well the laws \add that God gave Moses\add*. He wanted to see if Jesus \add could answer\add* his question well \add or if he would say something wrong\add*. He asked him,
\v 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the laws \add that God gave Moses\add* is the most important?”
\v 37 Jesus \add quoted the Scriptures as he replied\add*, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all [IDM] your ◄inner being/heart►. \add Show that you love him\add* in all that you desire, in all that you feel, and in all that you think.’
\v 38 That is the most important commandment \add in the laws that God gave Moses\add*.
\v 39 The next most important commandment \add that everyone must surely obey\add* is: ‘You must love the people you come in contact with as much as \add you love\add* yourself.’
\v 40 These two commandments are the basis of every law \add that Moses wrote in the Scriptures\add* and also of all that the prophets \add wrote\add*.”
\s1 Jesus showed that the Messiah must be greater than King David, and not just his descendant.
\sr Matthew 22:41-46
\p
\v 41 While the Pharisees were still gathered together \add near\add* Jesus, he asked them,
\v 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose descendant is he?” They said to him, “\add He is\add* the descendant of \add King\add* David.”
\v 43 Jesus said to them, “\add If the Messiah is King David's descendant\add*, then ◄David should not have called him ‘Lord’ when David was saying \add what\add* the \add Holy\add* Spirit \add prompted him to\add* say./Why did David call the Messiah ‘Lord’ when David was speaking \add what\add* the \add Holy\add* Spirit \add prompted him to\add* say?► [RHQ]
\v 44 \add David wrote this in the Scriptures about the Messiah\add*: ‘God said to my Lord, “Sit \add here beside me\add* on my right, \add the place of greatest honor you\add* [MTY]. \add Sit here\add* while I completely defeat your enemies [MTY].”’
\v 45 So, since \add King\add* David called \add the Messiah\add* ‘my Lord’, ◄\add the Messiah\add* cannot be \add just someone\add* descended from David!/how can he be \add only\add* the descendant of \add King\add* David?► [RHQ] \add He must be much greater than David\add*!”
\v 46 No one \add who heard what Jesus said\add* was able to think of even one word to say to him \add in response\add*. And after that, no one else ever dared to ask him another question \add to try to trap him\add*.
\c 23
\s1 Jesus warned the people against the hypocritical behavior of the religious leaders.
\sr Matthew 23:1-12
\p
\v 1 Then Jesus said to the crowd and to us his disciples,
\v 2 “\bd Moses\bd* was the \add renowned\add* teacher who taught \add the people the laws that God gave him\add* [MTY]. Now, the Pharisees and the men who teach our \add Jewish\add* laws have made themselves the ones who interpret those laws [IDM].
\v 3 Consequently, you should do \bd whatever they tell you that you must do.\bd* But do not do what they do, because they themselves do not do what they tell \add you that you must do\add*.
\v 4 They \add require you to obey many rules that are difficult to obey\add*. But \bd they themselves\bd* \add do not help anyone obey those rules. It is\add* as if they are tying up loads that are hard to carry and putting them on your shoulders [MET] \add for you to carry. But they\add* \bd themselves\bd* \add do not desire to help anyone obey those laws. They are like\add* people who do not want to lift \add even the slightest load\add* that they \add could lift\add* [MET]
\v 5 \add with\add* one finger. Whatever they do, they do it to be seen by other people {so that other people will see them doing that}. \add For example\add*, they make extra wide the tiny boxes containing portions of Scripture that they wear on their arms. They enlarge the tassels on their robes, \add to make others think that they are pious\add*.
\v 6 \add They want people to honor them. For example\add*, at dinner parties they sit in the seats where the most important people sit. In the places of worship \add they want to sit\add* in the seats where the most honored people sit.
\v 7 Also, \add they want people to\add* greet them \add respectfully\add* in the marketplaces and to honor them by calling them ‘Teacher’.
\v 8 But you \add who are my disciples\add* should not allow people to address you \add honorably\add* as ‘Rabbi’, \add which means ‘teacher\add*’. I \add am the\add* only one who is \add really\add* your teacher, which means that you are all \add equal, like\add* brothers and sisters, \add and none of you should act superior to another, as the Pharisees do\add*.
\v 9 Do not \add honor anyone\add* on earth \add by\add* addressing him as ‘Father’, because God, your Father in heaven, is the only \add spiritual\add* father of all of you.
\v 10 Do not \add allow people to\add* call you ‘Instructors’, because I, the Messiah, am the one instructor who \add teaches all of\add* you.
\v 11 In contrast, everyone among you who wants \add God to consider them\add* to be important must serve others as servants do.
\v 12 \add God\add* will humble those who exalt themselves. And \add he\add* will exalt those who humble themselves.”
\s1 Jesus warned the religious leaders about preventing people from letting God rule their lives.
\sr Matthew 23:13-14
\p
\v 13-14 \add Then Jesus said to the religious leaders\add*, “You men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees are hypocrites! There will be terrible punishment for \add you, because by teaching what is false\add*, you \add prevent people\add* [MTY/HYP] \add who are thinking about letting\add* God rule their lives \add from doing that\add* [MET]. \add What you are doing is like\add* closing a gate [MET] \add so that people who\add* are wanting to enter \add a city cannot go in\add*. As for \bd you,\bd* \add you do not let\add* God \add rule your lives. Neither do you allow\add* other people \add to let God rule their lives. What you do is like\add* not going into a \add house\add* yourselves, and not allowing others to enter it \add either\add* [MET].\f + \fk very \fk* severely.\f*”
\s1 Jesus also warned the religious leaders about zealously encouraging others to believe what they teach.
\sr Matthew 23:15
\p
\v 15 “You are hypocrites, you men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees! Your punishment will be terrible, because you exert yourselves very much to get \add even\add* one person to believe what you teach. For instance, you travel across seas and lands \add to distant places\add* in order to do that. And \add as a result\add*, when one person \add believes what you teach\add*, you make that person much more deserving to go to hell than you yourselves \add deserve to\add*.”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the religious leaders about their silly ideas about supporting their promises with oaths.
\sr Matthew 23:16-22
\p
\v 16 “You \add Jewish leaders\add*, your punishment will be terrible! You are \add like people who are\add* blind [MET] who are trying to lead others. You say, ‘\add In the case of\add* those who promise to \add do\add* something and then ask the Temple \add to affirm what they have promised\add*, it means nothing \add if they do not do what\add* they have promised. But if they ask the gold that is in the Temple \add to affirm what they have promised\add*, they must do what they promised.’
\v 17 You are fools, and you are \add like people who are\add* blind [MET]! The gold \add that is in the Temple\add* is important, but \add the Temple\add* is even more important [RHQ], because it is the Temple that the gold is in that sets the gold apart for a special use for God.
\v 18 Also \add you say\add*, ‘In the case of those who promise to \add do\add* something and then ask \add the altar to affirm what they have promised\add*, it means nothing \add if they do not do what they have promised\add*. But if they ask the gift \add that\add* they have put on the altar \add to support what they have promised\add*, they must do \add what they promised\add*.’
\v 19 \add You are like people who are\add* blind [MET]. The gift \add that is offered\add* on the altar is important, but the altar is even more important [RHQ] because it is the altar on which the offering is offered that sets it apart for a special use for God.
\v 20 So, those who promise to do something, and then ask the altar \add to affirm what they have promised\add* are asking everything on the altar \add to support what they promised\add*.
\v 21 Those who promise to do something, and then ask the Temple \add to affirm what they promised\add*, are asking that \add God\add*, to whom the Temple belongs, \add will affirm what they have promised\add*.
\v 22 Those who promise to do something and then ask heaven \add to affirm what they promised\add* are asking the throne of God and \add God\add*, who sits on that throne, \add to affirm what they promised\add*.”
\s1 Jesus also rebuked the religious leaders about paying attention to unimportant laws and at the same time ignoring important ones.
\sr Matthew 23:23-24
\p
\v 23 “You men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees, your punishment will be terrible! You are hypocrites because, \add even though\add* you give \add to God\add* a tenth of \add the herbs you produce, such as\add* mint, dill, and cummin, you do not \add obey God's\add* laws that are more important. \add For example, you do not act\add* justly toward others, you do not act mercifully toward people, and you are not trustworthy. It is good to \add give a tenth of your herbs\add* to God, but you should also \add obey\add* these other \add more important laws\add*.
\v 24 You \add leaders are like\add* blind people \add who are trying to lead others. According to your laws you say that touching gnats and camels makes you unacceptable to God. What you are doing is like\add* straining a gnat \add out of a jar of water so that you do not swallow it and thereby become unacceptable to God\add*, and \add at the same time\add* swallowing a camel \add with the water\add* [MET]!”
\s1 Jesus also rebuked the religious leaders about being greedy and selfish.
\sr Matthew 23:25-26
\p
\v 25 “You men who teach people the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees, your punishment will be terrible! You are hypocrites! You are greedy and selfish, but you \add make yourselves appear holy. You are like\add* cups and plates that have been cleaned on the outside, but on the inside \add they are very filthy\add*.
\v 26 You blind Pharisees! First you must \add stop being greedy and selfish\add*. \add Then you will be able to do what\add* is \add righteous. That will be like\add* cleaning the inside of a cup first. Then when you clean [MET] the outside \add of the cup\add*, \add the cup will truly be clean\add*.”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for being hypocrites and pretending to be righteous.
\sr Matthew 23:27-28
\p
\v 27 “You men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees, your punishment will be terrible! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs [SIM] that are painted white \add so that people can see them and avoid touching them\add*. The outside surfaces are beautiful, but inside they are full of dead people's bones and filth.
\v 28 You are \add like those tombs\add*. When people look at you, they think that you are righteous, but in your ◄inner beings/hearts► you are hypocrites and you disobey \add God's\add* commands.”
\s1 Jesus accused the religious leaders of being guilty of killing all the prophets.
\sr Matthew 23:29-36
\p
\v 29 “You men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws and you Pharisees are hypocrites! Your punishment will be terrible! You rebuild the tombs of the \add prophets whom others killed long ago\add*. You decorate the monuments \add that honor\add* righteous \add people\add*.
\v 30 You say, ‘If we had \add lived\add* when our ancestors [MET] \add lived\add*, we would not have helped [MET] those who killed [MTY] the prophets.’
\v 31 Thus \add you recognize that you should honor the prophets, but you disregard the word of God that other men whom God has sent teach you. In that way\add* you testify against yourselves that you are descendants and disciples [MET] of those who killed the prophets.
\v 32 \bd You\bd* are as ready to murder people as [MET] your ancestors were!
\v 33 \add You people are so wicked\add* You are \add as dangerous as poisonous\add* snakes [DOU, MET]! ◄You \add foolishly\add* think that you will escape being punished in hell!/Do you \add foolishly\add* think that you will escape when \add God\add* punishes \add wicked people\add* in hell?► [RHQ]
\v 34 Take note that this is why I will send prophets, wise men, and other men who will teach you \add my message\add*. You will kill some of them by nailing them to crosses, and you will kill some in other ways. You will whip some of them in the places where you worship and \add you will\add* chase them from city to city.
\v 35 As a result, God will consider that you are guilty for killing [SYN] all the righteous \add people\add*, including killing [MTY] \add Adam's son\add* Abel, who was a righteous man [SYN], and Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you \add are guilty of\add* killing \add in the holy place\add* between the Temple and the altar, and for killing \add all the prophets\add* who lived between \add the times that those two men lived\add*.
\v 36 Think about this: You people who have observed my ministry, it is you whom \add God\add* will punish \add for killing all\add* those \add prophets\add*!”
\s1 Jesus expressed his sorrow about what would happen to Jerusalem.
\sr Matthew 23:37-39
\p
\v 37 “O \add people of\add* Jerusalem [MTY, APO], you killed the prophets \add who lived long ago\add*, and you killed others whom \add God\add* sent to you. You killed them by throwing stones at them [DOU]! Many times I wanted to gather you together \add to protect you\add*, like a hen gathers her young chicks under her wings [MET]. But you did not want \add me to do that\add*.
\v 38 So listen to this: Your city [SYN] will become an uninhabited place.
\v 39 Keep this in mind: You will see me again only when I \add return\add*, and you say \add about me\add*, ‘\add God\add* is truly pleased with this man who comes with God's authority [MTY].’”
\c 24
\s1 Jesus told his disciples that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
\sr Matthew 24:1-2
\p
\v 1 Jesus left the Temple \add courtyard\add*. As he was walking along, \add we\add* disciples came to him to ask him to note \add how beautiful\add* the Temple buildings \add were\add*.
\v 2 He said to us, “These buildings that you are looking at [RHQ] \add are wonderful, but\add* I want to tell you \add something about them. They will be completely destroyed\add* {\add Foreign invaders will completely destroy them\add*}. Every stone \add in these buildings\add* will be thrown down {they will throw down every stone in these buildings}. Not one stone will be left {They will not leave one stone} on top of another stone.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples about the distressing things that would happen before his return.
\sr Matthew 24:3-14
\p
\v 3 \add Later\add*, as Jesus was sitting alone on \add the slope of\add* Olive \add Tree\add* Hill, \add we\add* disciples went to him and asked him, “When will this happen \add to the buildings of the Temple? Also, tell us what will happen to indicate that you are about to\add* come again, and \add to indicate\add* that this world is ending?”
\p
\v 4 Jesus replied, “\add All that I will say is\add*, be sure that no one deceives you \add about what will happen\add*
\v 5 Many \add people\add* will come and say ◄that I sent them/that they have my authority► [MTY]. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah’, and they will deceive many \add people\add*.
\v 6 You will hear about wars \add that are close\add* and wars that are far away, but do not let that trouble you. Keep in mind that \add God has said that\add* those things must happen. But \add when they happen\add*, it will not mean that the end \add of the world\add* has come!
\v 7 \add Groups in various\add* countries will fight each other, and \add various\add* governments \add will also fight\add* against each other. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
\v 8 These things will happen first. Then there will be other things that \add will happen before I return. What will happen will be like the first pains \add* of childbirth MET]. \p \v 9 At that time \add people who oppose you\add* will take you to \add the authorities, who\add* will mistreat you and kill you. You will be hated by \add people who live in\add* all nations [PRS] {\add People who live in\add* all nations [PRS] will hate you} because \add you believe in me [MTY]\add*.
\v 10 Also, many \add people\add* will stop believing \add in me because of the way they will suffer\add*. They will betray each other and will hate each other.
\v 11 Many will come saying that they are prophets, but they will be lying, and they will deceive many people.
\v 12 Because there will be more and more \add people\add* who will disobey \add God's\add* laws [PRS], many \add people\add* will no longer [MET] love \add their fellow believers\add* [PRS].
\v 13 But \add all\add* those who keep on \add believing in me\add* to the end \add of their lives\add* will be saved.
\v 14 Furthermore, the good message about my ruling over people's lives will be preached in every part of the world, in order that people of all ethnic groups may hear it. Then the end \add of the world\add* will come.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples about the suffering that would come when Jerusalem was about to be destroyed.
\sr Matthew 24:15-22
\p
\v 15 “\add But before the world ends\add*, the disgusting person who will defile \add the\add* holy \add Temple and cause people to abandon it will stand in the Temple. Daniel the prophet spoke and wrote\add* about that \add long ago\add*. May everyone who reads \add this\add* pay attention \add to the following warning from me:\add*
\v 16 When you see that happen \add in the Temple, those of you\add* who are in Judea \add district\add* must flee to the \add higher\add* hills!
\v 17 Those who are outside their houses must not go back into their houses to get things \add before they flee\add*.
\v 18 Those who are \add working\add* in a field should not turn back to get their outer clothing \add before they flee\add*.
\v 19 I \add feel\add* very sorry for women who will be pregnant and women who will be nursing \add their babies\add* in those days, \add because it will be very difficult for them to run away\add*
\v 20 Pray that you will not have to flee ◄in the winter/in the rainy season► \add when it will be hard to travel\add*. \add People who think that God never allows anyone to do any work on\add* our day of rest \add will not help you as you flee, so\add* pray also that you will not have to flee on such a day,
\v 21 because people will suffer very severely \add when those things happen\add*. People have never suffered that severely since \add God\add* created the world until now, and no one will ever \add suffer like that again\add*.
\v 22 If \add God had not decided to\add* shorten that time [MTY] \add when people will suffer so much\add*, everyone [LIT] would die. But \add he has decided to\add* shorten it because \add he is concerned\add* about \add the people\add* whom \add he\add* has chosen.”
\s1 Jesus warned his disciples not to believe false reports about his return because everyone will see him when he comes.
\sr Matthew 24:23-28
\p
\v 23-24 “\add At that time\add* people will appear \add who will\add* falsely \add say that they are\add* the Messiah or \add that they are\add* prophets. They will perform many kinds ◄of miracles/of things that ordinary people cannot do►, in order to deceive people. They will even try \add to see\add* if \add it is\add* possible to deceive \add you people whom God has\add* chosen. So, at that time, if someone says to you, ‘Look, here \add is\add* the Messiah!’ or \add if someone says\add*, ‘There is the Messiah!’ do not believe it!
\v 25 Do not forget \add that\add* I have warned you about all this before \add it happens\add*.
\v 26 So if someone says to you, ‘Look, \add the Messiah\add* is in the desolate area!’ do not go there. \add Likewise, if someone says to you\add*, ‘Look, he is in a secret room!’ do not believe \add that person\add*,
\v 27 because just like lightning flashes from the east to the west \add and people everywhere can\add* see it [SIM], when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, return again, \add everyone will see me\add*.
\v 28 \add When I return, it will be as obvious to everyone as the fact that\add* wherever you see vultures gathering, you know that there will be an animal carcass [MET] there. (OR, Just like the vultures gather together wherever there is an animal carcass, God will punish sinful people wherever they are.)”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples what will happen at the time of his return.
\sr Matthew 24:29-31
\p
\v 29 “Immediately after many people have suffered during those days, \add the universe will become dark\add*. The sun will become dark. The moon will not shine. The stars will fall from the sky. And the powerful \add objects\add* in the sky will be shaken. (OR, And the spiritual beings in space will be deposed.)
\v 30 After that, something \add will be seen\add* {\add people will observe something\add*} in the sky that indicates that \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, \add am returning to the earth\add*. Then \add unbelieving people from\add* all ethnic groups of the earth will \add mourn because they will be afraid\add* of \add God punishing them\add*. They will see \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, coming on the clouds with power and great glory \add as I return to the earth\add*.
\v 31 I will send my angels \add to the earth\add* from everywhere in the heavens. \add They will be\add* blowing trumpets loudly. \add Then\add* from throughout the whole earth [DOU] they will gather the people whom I have chosen.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples how to know when the time of his return was near.
\sr Matthew 24:32-35
\p

\v 32 “\add Now\add* I \add want you to\add* learn something \add from\add* this parable about \add how\add* fig trees \add grow\add*. \add In this area\add*, when the buds \add of a fig tree\add* become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. \v 33 Similarly, when you see all these things that I \add have just described happening\add*, you will know that \add the time for me to return\add* is very close [MET].
\v 34 Keep this in mind: All of these events will happen before all the people who have observed the things that I have done have died.
\v 35 \add You can be certain that these\add* things that I have told \add you\add* about will happen. You can be more certain of that than you can be certain that the earth and sky [LIT] will continue to exist.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples to be ready because they do not know the time of his return.
\sr Matthew 24:36-44
\p
\v 36 “But neither I, nor any other person, nor any angel in heaven, knows either the day or the hour \add when the things that I have told you about will happen\add*. Only \add God, my\add* Father, \add knows\add*.
\v 37-39 It will be like what happened when Noah lived. Until the flood came, \add the people\add* did not know that \add anything bad would happen\add* to them. Before the flood waters covered the earth, \add the people\add* were eating and drinking \add as usual\add*. Some men were marrying women and \add some parents\add* were giving their daughters to men to marry them. They were doing all this until the day that Noah \add and his family\add* entered the big boat. And then the flood came and drowned all \add those who were not in the boat\add*. Similarly, \add the unbelieving people will not know\add* when \add I, the one who came from heaven\add*, will return, \add and they will not\add* be \add expecting me\add*.
\v 40 When I \add return\add*, I \add will not take all people up to heaven. I will take only those who trust in me. For example\add*, two \add people\add* will be in the fields. One of them will be taken {\add I\add* will take one of them} up \add to heaven\add* and the other \add person\add* will be left {and I will leave the other \add person\add*} \add here to be punished\add*.
\v 41 \add Similarly\add*, two \add women\add* will be at the mill grinding grain. One of them will be taken up \add to heaven\add* and the other will be left.
\v 42 So, because you do not know what day \add I\add*, your Lord, will return \add to the earth\add*, you need to be ready \add for me to return at any time\add*.
\v 43 You know that if the owners of a house knew at what time in the night thieves would come, they would be awake and prevent the thieves from breaking into their houses. Similarly I \add will come just like unexpectedly as a thief\add*.
\v 44 So you need to be ready \add for my return\add*, because \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will return \add to the earth\add* at a time when you do not expect \add me to come\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable to warn his disciples not to act wickedly, thinking that he would not return soon.
\sr Matthew 24:45-51
\p
\v 45 “Think about what every faithful and wise servant is like [RHQ]. The house owner appoints one servant to supervise the other servants. He tells him to give them food at the proper times. \add Then he leaves on a long trip\add*.
\v 46 If the servant is doing that \add work\add* when the house owner returns, \add the house owner\add* will be very pleased with him.
\v 47 Think about this: The house owner will appoint \add that one servant\add* to be the supervisor of all his possessions.
\v 48 But a wicked servant might say to himself, ‘The owner \add has been away\add* for a long time, \add so he probably\add* will not return soon \add and find out what I am doing.’\add*

\v 49 \add So he\add* will begin to beat the other servants and eat and get drunk. \v 50 \add Then\add* the house owner will come back at a time when the servant does not expect him [DOU].
\v 51 He will punish that servant severely [HYP], (OR, cut that servant into two pieces) and he will put him where ◄the hypocrites/the ones who only pretended to be good► are put. In that place the people cry and grind their teeth \add because they suffer very much\add*.”
\c 25
\s1 Jesus taught in a parable that his disciples should always be ready for his return.
\sr Matthew 22:1-13
\p
\v 1 \add Jesus continued by saying, “I will tell you something else about the time when I return from\add* heaven as king [MET]. \add What will happen to many people who say that they know me will be\add* like \add what happened to\add* ten virgins who took their lanterns and went to the place where they would meet a bridegroom \add and go to his wedding celebration\add*.
\v 2 Five of the virgins were foolish and five of them were wise.
\v 3 The \add virgins\add* who were foolish took their lanterns, but they did not take any \add extra olive\add* oil \add for\add* the lantern \add s\add*.
\v 4 But the \add virgins\add* who were wise took oil in their flasks as well as in their lanterns.
\v 5 The bridegroom was delayed, \add and it became late at night \add*. So all the virgins became sleepy and fell asleep. \v 6 In the middle of the night someone \add woke them up by\add* shouting, ‘Hey! The bridegroom \add is arriving\add* Go outside and meet him!’
\v 7 So all the virgins got up and trimmed their lantern wicks \add so that they would burn properly\add*.
\v 8 The foolish virgins said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your \add olive\add* oil, because our lanterns are about to go out!’
\v 9 The wise virgins replied, ‘\add No, because\add* there might not be enough oil for our lanterns and for yours. Go to a store and buy some for yourselves!’

\v 10 But while \add the foolish virgins\add* were going to buy \add some oil\add*, the bridegroom arrived. So the \add wise virgins\add*, who were ready, went with the bridegroom to the wedding hall \add where the bride was waiting\add*. Then the door was closed {someone closed the door \add of that hall\add*}. \v 11 Later, the rest of the virgins came \add to the hall\add* and they called \add to the bridegroom\add*, ‘Sir, open \add the door\add* for us!’
\v 12 But he said \add to them\add*, ‘The truth is that I do not know you, so I \add will not open the door for you\add*!’”
\v 13 \add Then Jesus continued by saying\add*, “So, in order that \add this will not happen to you\add*, keep expecting \add that I will return\add*, because you do not know when [MTY] \add it will be\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable to teach his disciples about making good use of what God has given them.
\sr Matthew 22:14-30
\p
\v 14 “\add When I return from heaven as king, I will deal with those who say that they have been serving me like\add* a man who was about to go on a long journey dealt with his servants. He called them together and gave them each some of his wealth \add to invest and gain more money for him\add*.
\v 15 He gave them money according to their ability \add to take care of it\add*. \add For example\add*, he gave one servant five thousand dollars, he gave another servant two thousand dollars, and he gave another servant one thousand dollars. Then he left on his journey.
\v 16 The servant who had received five thousand dollars went immediately and used that money to gain five thousand dollars more.
\v 17 Similarly, the servant who had \add received\add* two thousand dollars gained two \add thousand dollars\add* more.
\v 18 But the servant who had received one \add thousand dollars\add* went and dug a hole in the ground and hid the money there \add to keep it safe\add*.
\p
\v 19 After a long time the servants' boss returned. He \add called them together to\add* find out what they had done with his money.
\v 20 The servant who had received five thousand dollars brought two \add bags, each containing\add* five thousand dollars. He said, ‘Boss, you gave me five thousand dollars to take care of. Look, I have gained five thousand more!’
\v 21 His boss replied, ‘\add You are a very\add* good and faithful servant! \add You have\add* done \add very\add* well! You have faithfully handled a small \add amount of money\add*, so I will put you in charge of a lot of things. Come and be happy with me!’
\p
\v 22 The servant who had \add received\add* two thousand dollars also came and said, ‘Boss, you gave me two thousand dollars to take care of. Look, I have gained two thousand more!’
\v 23 His boss replied, ‘You are a \add very\add* good and faithful servant! You have done very well! You have faithfully handled a small \add amount of money\add*, so I will put you in charge of a lot of things. Come and be happy with me!’
\p
\v 24 Then the servant who had received one thousand dollars came. He said, ‘Boss, I \add was afraid of you\add*. I knew that you are a man who does not do foolish things with his money. \add You even\add* take \add from others money\add* that does not really belong to you, \add like a farmer who\add* harvests \add grain from another man's field\add* where he did not even plant \add the seeds\add*.
\v 25 So because I was afraid \add of what you would do to me if I did not make a profit from my business\add*, I went out and hid your thousand dollars in the ground \add to keep it safe\add*. Here, this is \add the money\add* that belongs to you!’
\v 26 His boss replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! ◄You knew that I take \add from others money\add* that does not really belong to me, \add like a farmer who\add* harvests \add grain from another man's field\add* where I did not even plant \add the seeds\add*!/Did you not know that I \add take from others money that does not really belong to me, like a farmer\add* who harvests \add grain from another man's field\add* where I did not even plant \add the seeds\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 27 So then, you should have put my money \add on deposit\add* in a bank, so that when I returned I would get it back with the interest \add it earned\add*!’
\v 28 \add Then the boss said to his other servants\add*, ‘Take the thousand dollars from him, and give it to \add the servant\add* who has the ten thousand dollars!
\v 29 To those who \add use well what\add* they have \add received, God\add* will give more, and they will have plenty. But from those who \add do\add* not \add use well what they have received\add*, even what they \add already\add* have will be taken away.
\v 30 Furthermore, throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where he will be \add with those who are\add* wailing and gnashing their teeth \add because they are in much pain\add*.’”
\s1 Jesus told a parable about how he will judge between those who have shown kindness to others and those who have not.
\sr Matthew 22:31-46
\p
\v 31 “When I, the one who came from heaven, come again, I will come with all my radiance and \add bring\add* all my angels with me. Then I will sit as a king on my wonderful throne \add to judge people\add*.
\v 32 People from all nations [MTY] will be gathered in front of me {\add The angels\add* will gather in front of me people from all nations}. Then I will separate them, one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats.
\v 33 I will put \add the righteous people\add* on my right and \add the unrighteous ones on my left, as a\add* shepherd puts sheep \add on one side\add* and goats \add on the other side\add*.
\p
\v 34 Then I will say to those on my right, ‘You people who have been blessed by my Father {whom my Father has blessed}, come! From the time he created the world, he has been preparing to allow you to \add receive the blessings that he will give to all those\add* who let him rule their lives. \add Now is the time for\add* you to receive \add those blessings\add*
\v 35 \add They belong to you\add*, because you gave me something to eat when I was hungry. (OR, \add They belong to you\add*. It is as though you gave me something to eat when I was hungry.) You gave me something to drink when I was thirsty. When I was a stranger \add in your town\add*, you invited me \add to stay\add* in \add your houses\add*.
\v 36 When I needed clothes [MTY], you gave me some. When I was sick, you took care of me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.’
\p
\v 37 Then the righteous people will reply, ‘Lord, when were you hungry and we saw you and gave you something to eat? When were you thirsty and we gave you something to drink?
\v 38 When were you a stranger \add in our town\add* and we invited you \add to stay\add* in \add our houses\add*? When did you need clothes and we gave you some?
\v 39 When were you sick or in prison and we went to visit you?’ \add We do not remember doing any of these things for you\add*.
\p
\v 40 I will reply, ‘The truth is that whatever you did for any one of your fellow believers, even an unimportant one, \add it was as though\add* you did it for me.’
\p
\v 41 Then I will say to those on my left, ‘You people who have been cursed \add by God\add* {whom God has cursed}, leave me! Go into the eternal fire that God has prepared for ◄the devil/Satan► and his angels!
\v 42 \add It is right for you to go there\add*, because you did not give me anything to eat when I was hungry. You did not give me anything to drink when I was thirsty.
\v 43 You did not invite me into \add your homes\add* when I was a stranger \add in your town\add*. You did not give me any clothes when I needed them [MTY]. You did not take care of me when I was sick or in prison.’
\p
\v 44 They will answer, ‘Lord, when were you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and we did not help you?’
\p
\v 45 I will reply, ‘The truth is that whenever you did not do anything to help any one of \add my people\add*, \add even if they were\add* unimportant people, \add it was as though\add* you did not do anything \add to help\add* me.’
\p
\v 46 Then those people \add on my left\add* will go away to the place where \add they\add* will be punished {\add God\add* will punish them} eternally, but the righteous people will go to where they will live forever \add with God\add*.”
\c 26
\s1 Jesus told his disciples of his coming arrest. The Jewish leaders planned how to seize Jesus.
\sr Matthew 26:1-5
\p
\v 1 When Jesus had finished \add saying\add* all those things, he said to \add us\add* disciples,

\v 2 “You know that two days from now \add we will celebrate\add* the Passover \add festival\add*. \add At that time\add* I, the one who came from heaven, will be handed over to {they will put me, the one who came from heaven,} to those who will nail me to a cross.” 
\p \v 3 At the same time the chief priests and the Jewish elders gathered in the home of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas.
\v 4 \add There\add* they plotted how they could seize Jesus in some deceitful way so that they could have him executed.
\v 5 But they said, “\add We must\add* not \add do it\add* during the \add Passover\add* festival, because \add if we do it then\add*, the people might riot.”
\s1 Jesus commended a woman for showing her appreciation of him.
\sr Matthew 26:6-13
\p
\v 6 While Jesus \add and we\add* were in Bethany \add village\add* in the home of Simon, whom \add Jesus had healed of\add* leprosy,
\v 7 a woman came to him. She \add was carrying\add* a stone jar \add containing\add* very expensive perfume. \add To show how much she appreciated\add* Jesus, she poured the perfume on his head as he was eating.
\v 8 When \add we\add* disciples saw that, \add some of us\add* were angry. \add One of us\add* said, “◄It is terrible that this perfume was wasted!/Why was this perfume wasted?► [RHQ]
\v 9 \add We\add* could have sold it and gotten a lot of money for it! Then the money could have been given {\add we\add* could have given the money} to poor people.”
\v 10 Jesus knew \add what we were saying. So he\add* said to us, “◄You should not be bothering this woman!/Why are you bothering this woman?► [RHQ] She has done a beautiful thing to me.
\v 11 \add Keep in mind that\add* you will always have poor people among you, \add so you can help them whenever you want to\add*. But I will not always be with you, \add so it is good for her to show now that she appreciates me!\add*
\v 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, \add it was as if she knew that I am going to die soon. And it is as if she\add* has anointed my body for being buried.
\v 13 I will tell you this: Wherever this good message \add about me\add* is preached {people preach this good message about me} throughout the world, those who preach it will tell what this woman has done, \add and as a result\add* people will \add always\add* remember her.”
\s1 Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins.
\sr Matthew 26:14-16
\p
\v 14 Then Judas Iscariot, \add even though he was\add* one of \add us\add* twelve \add disciples\add*, went to the chief priests.
\v 15 He asked them, “If I enable you to seize \add Jesus\add*, how much \add money\add* are you willing to give me?” They \add agreed to give him\add* thirty silver coins. So they counted out the coins and \add gave them\add* to him.
\v 16 From that time Judas watched for an opportunity to enable them to seize \add Jesus\add*.
\s1 Two disciples prepared the Passover meal. During the meal, Jesus said that Judas would betray him.
\sr Matthew 26:17-25
\p
\v 17 On the first day \add of the week-long festival\add* ◄when \add we Jews ate\add* bread which had no yeast in it/of Unleavened Bread►, \add we\add* disciples went to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare \add the meal for\add* the Passover \add celebration\add* so that \add we can\add* eat \add it with\add* you?”
\v 18 \add In reply\add*, he \add gave instructions to two disciples about where they should go. He\add* said \add to them\add*, “Go into \add the city\add* to a man \add with whom I have previously arranged this\add*. Tell him that the teacher says, ‘The time [MTY] \add that I told you about\add* is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover \add meal\add* with my disciples at your house, \add and I have sent these two to prepare the meal\add*.’”
\v 19 So the \add two\add* disciples did as Jesus told them. They \add went and\add* prepared the Passover \add meal in that man's house\add*.
\p
\v 20 When it was evening, Jesus was eating the meal with \add us\add* twelve disciples.
\v 21 While we were eating, he said \add to us\add*, “Listen carefully to this: One of you is going to enable \add my enemies\add* to seize me.”
\v 22 \add We\add* were very sad. We began to say to him, one after the other, “Lord, ◄it is surely not I!/I'm not the one, am I?► [RHQ]”
\v 23 He replied, “The one who will enable my enemies to seize me is the one of you who is dipping bread [MTY] into \add the sauce in\add* the dish along with me.
\v 24 \add It is certain that\add* I, the one who came from heaven, will \add die\add*, because that is what has been written {\add the prophets\add* have written} about me. But there will be terrible punishment for the man who enables \add my enemies\add* to seize me! It would be better for that man if he had never been born!”
\v 25 Then Judas, the one who was going to betray him, said, “Teacher, ◄surely it is not I!/I'm not the one, am I?► [RHQ]” Jesus replied, “Yes, you are the one.”
\s1 Jesus gave the disciples the bread and wine to symbolize his coming death.
\sr Matthew 26:26-30
\p
\v 26 While we were eating, Jesus took \add a small loaf of\add* bread and thanked God for it. He broke it \add into pieces\add* and gave it to \add us\add* disciples, and said, “Take this \add bread and\add* eat \add it\add*. \add It represents\add* my body.”
\v 27 Later he took a cup \add of wine\add* and thanked \add God for it\add*. Then he gave it to us, saying, “Drink some \add of the wine in this cup\add*, all of you.
\v 28 \add The wine in\add* this cup \add represents\add* my blood, which will soon flow \add from my body when I die\add*. \add With\add* this blood I \add will sign\add* the new agreement \add that God is making\add* to forgive the sins of many \add people\add*.
\v 29 Note this carefully: I will not drink wine in this way anymore until the time when I drink it with you with a new \add meaning. That will happen\add* when my Father \add enables me to begin\add* to rule as king.”
\p
\v 30 After we sang a hymn, we started out towards Olive \add Tree\add* Hill.
\s1 Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny three times that he knew Jesus.
\sr Matthew 26:31-35
\p
\v 31 \add On the way\add*, Jesus told us, “This night all of you will desert me because of \add what will happen to\add* me! \add This is certain to happen\add* because \add these words that God said\add* are written \add in the Scriptures:\add* ‘I will \add cause\add* the shepherd to be killed, and \add all\add* the sheep will be scattered {scatter}.’
\v 32 But after I have \add died and\add* become alive again, I will go ahead of you to Galilee \add district and meet you there\add*.”
\v 33 Peter replied, “Perhaps all \add the other disciples\add* will desert you \add when they see what happens to you\add*, but I \add certainly\add* will never \add leave you\add*!”
\v 34 Jesus replied to him, “The truth is that this very night, before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you do not know me!”
\v 35 Peter said to him, “Even if they kill me \add while I am defending you\add*, I will never say that I do not know you!” All \add the rest of us\add* disciples also said the same \add thing\add*.
\s1 While the disciples slept, Jesus prayed that God would spare him from the coming suffering.
\sr Matthew 26:36-46
\p
\v 36 Then Jesus went with us to a place that is called {that people call} Gethsemane. There he said to \add most of\add* us, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.”
\v 37 He took Peter, James, and John with him. He became extremely distressed.
\v 38 Then he said to them, “I [SYN] am very sorrowful, so much so that I \add feel as if I were\add* about to die! Remain here and stay awake with me!”
\v 39 After going a little further, he threw himself face down \add on the ground\add*. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible [MTY], do not make me have to endure the suffering \add that is coming\add* now. But do not do as I want. Instead, do as you want!”
\v 40 Then he returned to the \add three\add* disciples and saw that they were sleeping. He \add woke\add* Peter and said to him, “◄I am disappointed that you \add men fell asleep and\add* were not able to stay awake with me for just a short time!/Why were you men not able to stay awake with me for just one hour?► [RHQ]
\v 41 You must keep alert and pray so that you can resist when you are tempted {something tempts you}. You want \add to do what I tell you\add*, but you [SYN] are not strong enough \add to actually do it\add*.”
\p
\v 42 He went away a second time. He prayed, “My Father, if it is necessary for me to suffer [LIT], may what you want happen!”
\p
\v 43 When he returned to the \add three disciples\add*, he saw that they were asleep \add again\add*. They could not keep their eyes open [IDM].
\v 44 So he left them and went away again. He prayed the third time, saying the same thing \add that he had prayed before\add*.
\v 45 Then he returned to us disciples. He \add woke\add* us \add up and\add* said to us, “◄I am disappointed that you are still sleeping and resting!/Why are you still sleeping and resting?► [RHQ] \add Look\add* Someone is about to enable sinful \add men\add* to seize \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven!
\v 46 Get up! Let's go \add to meet them\add* Here comes the one who is enabling them to seize me!”
\s1 After Judas enabled men to seize Jesus, Jesus ridiculed them, but the disciples fled.
\sr Matthew 26:47-56
\p
\v 47 While \add Jesus\add* was still speaking, Judas \add arrived. Even though he was\add* one of \add us\add* twelve \add disciples\add*, he came \add to enable Jesus' enemies to seize him\add*. A large crowd carrying swords and clubs was with him. They had been sent by the chief priests and elders {the chief priests and \add Jewish\add* elders had sent them}.
\v 48 Judas had \add previously\add* arranged to give them a signal, saying, “The man whom I will kiss is the one \add you want\add*. Seize him!”
\v 49 He immediately went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” Then he kissed Jesus \add on the neck/cheek\add*.
\v 50 Jesus replied, “Friend, is it \add to kiss me\add* that you are here?” (OR, “Do what you have come for!”) Then \add the men who came with Judas\add* stepped forward and seized Jesus.
\v 51 Suddenly, one of the men who was with Jesus pulled his sword out \add of its sheath\add*. He struck the servant of the high priest \add to kill him\add*, \add but only\add* cut off his ear.
\v 52 Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its sheath! All those who try to kill others with a sword will themselves be killed with a sword!
\v 53 Do you think that [RHQ] if I asked my Father, he would not immediately send more than ◄twelve armies of/72 thousand► angels to help me?
\v 54 \add But if I did that, what the prophets\add* have written in the Scriptures \add about what will happen to the Messiah\add* would not be fulfilled {happen} [RHQ].”
\p
\v 55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd \add that was seizing him\add*, “◄It is ridiculous that you have come \add here\add* to seize me with swords and clubs, as \add if I were\add* a bandit!/Have you come here to seize me with swords and clubs, as if I were a bandit?► [RHQ] Day after day I sat in the Temple \add courtyard\add*, teaching \add the people\add*. Why did you not arrest me \add then\add*?
\v 56 But all this is happening to fulfill what the prophets \add have written in\add* the Scriptures \add about me\add*.” Then all of us disciples deserted Jesus and ran away.
\s1 Jesus was put on trial before the Jewish Council.
\sr Matthew 26:57-68
\p
\v 57 The men who had seized Jesus took him \add to the house where\add* Caiaphas, the high priest, \add lived\add*. The men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and the \add Jewish\add* elders had already gathered \add there\add*.
\v 58 Peter followed \add Jesus\add* at a distance. He came to the high priest's courtyard. He entered \add the courtyard\add* and sat down with the guards to see what would happen.
\p
\v 59 The chief priests and the rest of the \add Jewish\add* Council were trying to find people who would tell lies about Jesus so that they could \add convince the Roman authorities to\add* execute him.
\v 60 But even though many people spoke lies about him, they did not find anyone \add who said anything that was useful\add*. Finally two men came forward
\v 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy God's Temple and to rebuild it within three days.’”
\v 62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to reply? What \add do you say about\add* these things that they are saying \add to accuse\add* you?”
\v 63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I command you to tell us \add the truth\add*, knowing that the all-powerful God \add is listening to you\add*: Are you the Messiah, ◄the Son of God/the man who is also God►?”
\v 64 Jesus replied, “Yes, \add it is as\add* you say. But I will also say this to all of you: Some day you will see \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, sitting beside [MTY] Almighty \add God\add*, and ruling. You will also see me coming on the clouds \add from\add* heaven!”
\p
\v 65 Then the high priest tore his outer garment. \add That was the custom to show that he was shocked to hear Jesus say that he was equal to God\add*. Then he said, “This man has insulted God! He claims to be equal with God! ◄We certainly do not need anyone else to testify \add against this man\add*!/Why should we seek any more people who will testify \add against this man\add*?► [RHQ] You heard what he said!
\v 66 What have you decided?” \add The Jewish leaders\add* replied, “\add According to our laws\add*, he \add is guilty and\add* deserves to be executed!”
\v 67 Then \add some of them\add* spat in his face. \add Others\add* struck him with their fists. Others, \add after they blindfolded him\add*, slapped him
\v 68 and said, “\add Since you claim that\add* [IRO] \add you are\add* the Messiah, tell us who hit you!”
\s1 Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus.
\sr Matthew 26:69-75
\p
\v 69 Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came up to him \add and looked at him\add*. She said, “You also were with Jesus, \add that man\add* from Galilee \add district\add*!”
\v 70 But while everyone there was listening, he denied it. He said, “I do not know what you are talking about!”
\v 71 Then he went out to the gateway of the courtyard. Another servant girl saw him and said to the people who were standing nearby, “This man was with Jesus, \add the man\add* from Nazareth.”
\v 72 But \add Peter\add* again denied it. He said, “May God punish me \add if I am lying\add* I \add tell you\add*, I do not even know that man!”
\v 73 After a little while, one of the people who were standing there approached Peter and said to him, “It is certain that you are one of those \add who were with that man\add*. We can tell from your accent that you \add are from Galilee.”\add*
\v 74 Then Peter began to proclaim loudly that God should curse him \add if he was lying\add*. He asked God in heaven to witness \add that he was telling the truth\add* and said, “I do not know that man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
\v 75 Then Peter remembered the words that Jesus had spoken \add to him\add*, “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you do not know me.” And Peter went \add out of the courtyard\add*, crying because he was very sad \add about what he had done\add*.
\c 27
\s1 The Jewish religious leaders took Jesus to the Roman governor.
\sr Matthew 27:1-2
\p
\v 1 Very early the next morning all the chief priests and Jewish elders decided how \add to arrange for the Romans\add* to execute Jesus.
\v 2 They tied his hands and took him to Pilate, the \add Roman\add* governor.
\s1 After Judas returned the money and hanged himself, the Jewish leaders bought a field with the money, in fulfillment of prophecy.
\sr Matthew 27:3-10
\p
\v 3 When Judas, the one who had ◄betrayed/enabled Jesus' enemies to seize► him, realized that they had decided to have Jesus executed, he was very sorry \add about what he had done\add*. He took the thirty coins back to the chief priests and elders.
\v 4 He said, “I have sinned. I have ◄betrayed/enabled you to seize► a man who ◄is innocent/has not done anything wrong►.” They replied, “◄That means nothing to us!/What does that mean to us?► [RHQ] That is your problem!”
\v 5 So Judas \add took\add* the money \add and\add* threw it inside the Temple. Then he went away and hanged himself.
\p
\v 6 \add Later\add* the high priests \add found\add* the coins. They picked them up and said, “This is money that we paid \add to have a man killed\add* [MTY], and our law does not allow \add such money\add* to be put {us to put \add such money\add*} into the \add Temple treasury\add*.”
\v 7 So they decided to use that money to buy the field where clay was dug for making pots {men dug ground for making pots}. \add They made that field\add* a place where they buried strangers \add who died in Jerusalem\add*.
\v 8 That is why that place is still called {why they still call that place} ❛The field of blood❜.
\v 9 \add By buying that field\add*, they fulfilled these words that the prophet Jeremiah wrote \add long ago\add*:
\p They took the thirty silver coins; That was what the leaders of Israel decided \add that he was worth\add*;
\v 10 and with that money they bought the field where clay was dug for potters. They did that as the Lord had commanded me.
\s1 Jesus was put on trial before the governor.
\sr Matthew 27:11-26
\p

\v 11 Jesus stood in front of \add Pilate\add*, the governor. The governor asked Jesus, “Do you \add claim to be\add* the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “\add It is\add* as you have \add just\add* said.” 
\p \v 12 When he was accused by the chief priests and elders {When the chief priests and elders accused him} about various things, he did not answer.
\v 13 So Pilate said to him, “You hear how many things they are saying to accuse you; \add are you not going to reply\add*?”
\v 14 But \add even though he was not guilty\add*, Jesus did not say anything. He did not reply to any of the things about which they were accusing him. As a result, the governor was very surprised.
\p
\v 15 It was the governor's custom \add each year\add* during the \add Passover\add* celebration to release \add one person who was in prison\add*. \add He released\add* whatever prisoner the people wanted.
\v 16 At that time there was \add in Jerusalem\add* a well-known prisoner whose name was Barabbas.
\v 17 So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which \add prisoner\add* would you like me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus, whom \add some of you\add* claim to be the Messiah?”
\v 18 \add He asked that question\add* because he realized that the chief priests \add wanted to have Jesus executed\add*. They had brought Jesus to him \add only\add* because they were jealous of Jesus. \add And Pilate thought that the crowd would prefer that he release Jesus\add*.
\p
\v 19 While Pilate was sitting on the platform \add where he made\add* judicial \add decisions\add*, his wife sent him \add this message\add*: “Early this morning I had a bad dream because of that man. So do not condemn that righteous man!”
\p
\v 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask \add Pilate to\add* release Barabbas, and to \add order\add* that Jesus be executed {that \add his soldiers\add* execute Jesus}.
\v 21 So when the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release for you?” They replied, “Barabbas!”
\v 22 Pilate, \add very astonished\add*, asked, “So what shall I do with Jesus who \add some of you\add* say is the Messiah?” They all answered, “\add Command that\add* he be crucified! {\add Command your soldiers\add* ◄to crucify him/to nail him to a cross►}!”
\v 23 Pilate replied, “Why? What crime has he committed?” But they shouted even louder, “\add Have\add* him crucified {\add Command that your soldiers\add* crucify him}!”
\p
\v 24 Pilate realized that he was accomplishing nothing. He saw that instead, the people were starting to riot. So he took \add a basin of\add* water and washed his hands as the crowd was watching. He said, “\add By washing my hands I am showing you that\add* if this man dies [MTY], it is \add your\add* fault, \add not mine\add*!”
\v 25 And all the people answered, “The guilt for causing him to die [MTY] will be on us, and it will be on our children, too!”
\v 26 Then he \add ordered the soldiers to\add* release Barabbas for them. But he \add ordered that his soldiers\add* whip Jesus. And then he turned Jesus over to the soldiers for them ◄to nail Jesus to a cross/to crucify him►.
\s1 The soldiers made fun of Jesus before taking him to be crucified.
\sr Matthew 27:27-31
\p
\v 27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the government headquarters. The whole ◄cohort/group of soldiers► gathered around him.
\v 28 They pulled off \add his clothes\add*, and \add pretending he was a king, they\add* put a purple robe on him.
\v 29 They \add took some branches with\add* thorns and wove them to make a crown and put it on his head. They put in his right hand a reed \add like a staff that a king would hold\add*. Then they knelt in front of him and made fun of him, saying, “Hooray for the king of the Jews [IRO]!”
\v 30 They kept spitting on him. They took the staff and kept striking him on the head with it.
\v 31 When they had finished ridiculing him, they pulled off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to \add the place where they\add* would nail him to a cross.
\s1 Jesus was crucified, along with two bandits.
\sr Matthew 27:32-44
\p
\v 32 \add After Jesus carried his cross\add* a short distance, \add the soldiers\add* saw a man named Simon, \add who was\add* from Cyrene \add city\add*. They forced him to carry the cross for Jesus.
\v 33 They came to a place called Golgotha. That name means ❛the place \add like\add* a skull❜.
\v 34 When \add they got there\add*, they mixed with wine something that tasted very bitter. They gave it to \add Jesus\add* to drink \add so that he would not feel so much pain when they nailed him on the cross\add*. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. \add Some soldiers took his clothes\add*.
\v 35 Then they nailed him to the cross. Afterwards, they divided his clothes among themselves by gambling with something like dice \add to decide which piece of clothing each one would get\add*.
\v 36 Then the soldiers sat down there to guard him, \add to prevent anyone from trying to rescue him\add*.
\v 37 They fastened \add to the cross\add* above Jesus' head a \add sign on which had been\add* {\add they had\add*} written why \add they\add* were nailing him to the cross. \add But all\add* it said was, ❛This is Jesus, the King of the Jews❜.
\v 38 Two bandits were also nailed {They also nailed two bandits} on crosses. One was nailed to a cross on the right side \add of Jesus\add* and one to a cross on the left side.
\v 39 The people who were passing by insulted him by shaking their heads \add as if he were an evil man\add*.
\v 40 They said, “You \add said you\add* would destroy the Temple, and then you would build it again within three days! \add So if you could do that\add*, you \add should be able to\add* save yourself! If you are the man who is also God (OR, If you are the Son of God), come down from the cross!”
\p
\v 41 Similarly, the chief priests, the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and the elders made fun of him. \add Various ones of them\add* said things like,
\v 42 “He \add claims that he\add* saved others [IRO] \add from their sicknesses\add*, but he cannot help himself!” “He \add says that he\add* is [IRO] the King of Israel. So he should come down from the cross. Then we would believe him!”
\v 43 “He \add says that he\add* trusts in God, and that he is the man who is also God. So if God is pleased with him, God should rescue him now!”
\v 44 And the \add two\add* bandits who had been crucified with him also insulted him, saying similar things.
\s1 When Jesus died at about three o'clock, several unusual events occurred.
\sr Matthew 27:45-56
\p
\v 45 At noon it became dark over the whole land. \add It stayed dark\add* until three o'clock \add in the afternoon\add*.
\v 46 At about three o'clock Jesus shouted loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That means, ❛My God, my God, why have you deserted me?❜
\v 47 When some of the people standing there heard \add the word ❛Eli❜, misunderstanding it\add*, they said, “He is calling for \add the prophet\add* Elijah!”
\v 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with sour wine. Then he put the sponge on \add the tip of\add* a reed and \add held it up in order that Jesus\add* could suck out \add the wine that was in it\add*.
\v 49 But the other \add people there\add* said, “Wait! Let's see if Elijah comes to save him!”
\v 50 Then after Jesus shouted out loudly again, he died, giving his spirit over \add to God\add*.
\v 51 At that moment the \add heavy thick\add* curtain \add that closed off the most holy place\add* in the Temple split into two pieces from top to bottom. \add That signified that ordinary people could now go into the presence of God\add*. The earth shook, and \add some large\add* rocks split open.
\v 52 \add Some\add* tombs opened up, and the bodies of many godly people who had died became alive again.
\v 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus became alive again, they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people \add there\add*.
\p
\v 54 The officer who supervised the soldiers \add who nailed Jesus to the cross was standing nearby\add*. His soldiers who had been on guard \add so that no one would rescue\add* Jesus \add were also there\add*. When they \add felt\add* the earthquake and saw all the \add other\add* things that happened, they were terrified. They exclaimed, “Truly he was both man and God! (OR, a Son of God).”
\p
\v 55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They were women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee \add district\add* in order to provide the things he needed.
\v 56 Among these women were Mary from Magdala \add town\add*, \add another\add* Mary who was the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John.
\s1 Jesus was buried.
\sr Matthew 27:57-61
\p
\v 57 When it was \add almost\add* evening, a rich man named Joseph came \add there\add*. He was from Arimathea \add town\add*. He also was a disciple of Jesus.
\v 58 He then went to Pilate and asked Pilate to \add allow him to take\add* the body of Jesus \add and bury it\add*. Pilate ordered that \add he\add* be allowed to {\add his soldiers\add* let \add Joseph\add*} take \add the body\add*.
\v 59 So Joseph \add and others\add* took the body and wrapped it in a clean white cloth.
\v 60 Then they placed it in Joseph's own new tomb that had been dug out of the rock \add cliff\add*. They rolled a huge \add circular flat\add* stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. Then they left.
\v 61 Mary from Magdala \add town\add* and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb, \add watching\add*.
\s1 The religious leaders arranged for Jesus' tomb to be sealed and guarded.
\sr Matthew 27:62-66
\p
\v 62 The next day was Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. The chief priests and \add some of\add* the Pharisees went to Pilate.
\v 63 They said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive, he said, ‘Three days after I \add die I\add* will become alive again.’
\v 64 So we ask you to order that the tomb be guarded {that \add soldiers\add* guard the tomb} for three days. If you do not do that, his disciples may come and steal the body. Then they will tell people that he has risen from the dead. If they deceive \add people by saying that\add*, it will be worse than the way he deceived people before \add by saying that he was the Messiah\add*.”
\v 65 Pilate replied, “You \add can\add* take some soldiers. Go to the tomb and make it as secure as you know how.”
\v 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by \add fastening a cord from\add* the stone \add that was in front of the entrance to the rock cliff on each side\add* and sealing it. They also \add left some soldiers there to\add* guard \add the tomb\add*.
\c 28
\s1 After an angel appeared to several women and showed them the tomb was empty, Jesus appeared to them.
\sr Matthew 28:1-10
\p
\v 1 After ◄the Sabbath/the Jewish day of rest► \add ended\add*, on Sunday morning at dawn, Mary from Magdala \add town\add* and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
\v 2 Suddenly there was a strong earthquake. \add At the same time\add* an angel from God came down from heaven. He \add went to the tomb and\add* rolled the stone away \add from the entrance so that everyone could see that the tomb was empty\add*. Then he sat on the stone.
\v 3 His appearance was \add as bright\add* [SIM] as lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.
\v 4 The guards shook because they were very afraid. Then they became \add completely motionless\add*, as though they were dead.
\p
\v 5 The angel said to the two women, “You should not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was {whom they} ◄nailed to a cross/crucified►.
\v 6 He is not here! \add God\add* has ◄caused him to be alive again/raised him \add from the dead\add*►, just like \add Jesus\add* told you \add would happen!\add* Come and see the place where his body lay!
\v 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead! He will go ahead of you to Galilee \add district\add*. You will see him there.’ \add Pay attention to what\add* I have told you!”
\p
\v 8 So the women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were \add also\add* very joyful. They ran to tell us disciples \add what had happened\add*.
\v 9 Suddenly, \add as they were running\add*, Jesus appeared to them. He said, “Greetings!” The women came close to him. They knelt down and clasped his feet and worshipped him.
\v 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid! Go and tell ◄all my disciples/all those who have been accompanying me► that they should go to Galilee. They will see me there.”
\s1 What the guards were told to tell people about why Jesus' body was gone.
\sr Matthew 28:11-15
\p
\v 11 While the women were going, some of the soldiers who had been guarding \add the tomb\add* went into the city. They reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
\v 12 So the chief priests and Jewish elders met together. They made a plan \add to explain why the tomb was empty\add*. They gave the soldiers a lot of money \add as a bribe\add*.
\v 13 They said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole his \add body\add* while we were sleeping.’
\v 14 If the governor hears [MTY] about this, we ourselves will make sure that he does not get angry \add and punish you\add*. \add So you will not have to worry\add*.”
\v 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were told {as \add the chief priests and elders\add* told them}. And this story has been told {People have told this story} among the Jews to the very day \add that I am writing\add* this.
\s1 Jesus appeared to the apostles in Galilee and gave them final instructions.
\sr Matthew 28:16-20
\p
\v 16 \add Later we\add* eleven \add disciples\add* went to Galilee \add district\add*. We went to the mountain where Jesus had told \add us\add* to go.
\v 17 We saw him \add there\add* and worshipped him. But some of \add us\add* doubted \add that it was really Jesus, and that he had become alive again\add*.
\v 18 Then Jesus came \add close\add* to \add us\add* and said, “\add My Father\add* has given me all authority over everything and everyone in heaven and on earth.
\v 19 So go, and \add using my authority, teach my message to\add* people of all ethnic groups so that they may become my disciples. Baptize them \add to be under the authority of\add* [MTY] my Father, and of me, his Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
\v 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember that I will be with you always, until the end of \add this\add* age.”