en_t4t/43-LUK.usfm

\id LUK - Translation 4 Translators 1
\ide 65001 - Unicode (UTF-8)
\h LUKE
\toc1 Luke
\toc2 Luke
\toc3 Luk
\mt2 The Gospel that was written by
\mt1 Luke
\c 1
\s1 Luke 1:1-4
\s1 Luke told Theophilus why he was writing about all that Jesus did.
\p
\v 1-2 My noble \add friend\add* Theophilus, many people saw the things that \add Jesus\add* did while he was with us, from the time when he started [MTY] \add his ministry\add*. They served God \add by teaching people\add* the message \add about the Lord Jesus\add*. Many of those who heard what they taught wrote down for us accounts of the things that \add Jesus did from the time when\add* he began \add his ministry\add*.
\v 3 I myself have studied carefully these accounts. So I decided that it would be good for me also to write for you \add (sg)\add* an accurate account of these matters.
\v 4 I want you to know the truth about what you have been taught {what others have taught you}.
\s1 An angel told Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son, John.
\sr Luke 1:5-25
\p
\v 5 When King Herod \add the Great ruled\add* Judea \add district\add*, there was a \add Jewish\add* priest named Zechariah. He belonged to the \add group of priests called\add* the Abijah group. He and his wife Elizabeth were both descended from the \add first priest of Israel\add*, Aaron.
\v 6 \add God considered that\add* both of them were righteous, because they constantly obeyed without fault everything that God had commanded.
\v 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was unable to bear children. Furthermore, she and her husband were very old.
\p
\v 8 One day \add Zechariah's\add* group was doing their work \add in the Temple in Jerusalem\add*, and he was serving as a priest in God's presence.
\v 9 Following their custom, \add the other priests\add* chose him by lot to enter the Lord's temple and burn incense.
\v 10 While he was burning the incense, many people were outside \add in the courtyard\add*, praying.
\v 11 Then an angel whom God had \add sent\add* appeared to him. The angel was standing at the right side of the place \add where the priests burned\add* incense.
\v 12 When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and became very afraid.
\v 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, do not be afraid! When you \add (sg)\add* prayed \add asking God for a son\add* (OR, \add that God would send the Messiah\add*), God heard what you prayed. \add So\add* your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son for you. You must name him John.
\v 14 He will cause you to be very happy, and many other people will also be happy because he is born.
\v 15 God will consider him to be very important. He must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, \add in order that he will be completely dedicated to God\add*. He will be controlled by the Holy Spirit {The Holy Spirit will control him} from before he is born.
\v 16 He will \add persuade\add* many people in Israel to turn away \add from their sins and please\add* the Lord their God.
\v 17 As \add God's\add* Spirit enables him \add to preach\add* powerfully as \add the prophet\add* Elijah did, he will precede \add the Messiah\add*. He will cause parents [SYN] to act \add peacefully\add* toward their children \add again\add*. He will cause \add many\add* people who do not obey \add God to hear and obey\add* the wise things that righteous people \add tell them\add*. He will do this in order to make \add many\add* people to be ready when the Lord \add comes\add*.”
\p
\v 18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “I am very old, and my wife is also so old \add that she cannot bear a child. So\add* ◄I cannot \add believe\add* that what you \add (sg)\add* said \add will happen\add*!/how can I \add believe\add* that what you \add (sg)\add* said \add will happen\add*?► [RHQ]”
\p
\v 19 Then the angel said to him, “I am \add God's chief angel\add*, Gabriel! \add I do what God tells me, because\add* I constantly stand in God's presence! I was sent {\add He\add* sent me} to tell you \add (sg)\add* this good message \add about what will happen to you\add*.
\v 20 What I have told you will certainly happen at the time \add God decides\add*, but you did not believe my words. So now \add God will cause\add* that you will be unable to talk until the day \add your son is born!\add*”
\p
\v 21 While \add Zechariah and the angel\add* were talking, the people \add in the courtyard\add* were waiting for Zechariah \add to come out\add*. They wondered, “Why is he staying in the Temple for such a long time?”
\v 22 When he came out, he was not able to speak to them. Because he could not talk, he made motions with his hands \add to try to convey what had happened\add*. Then they realized that he had seen ◄a vision \add from God\add*/something that \add God\add* showed him► while he was in the Temple.
\p
\v 23 When Zechariah's time to work \add as a priest in the Temple\add* was finished, he \add left Jerusalem and\add* returned to his home.
\p
\v 24 Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant [EUP]. She did not go out of her house for five months, \add because she knew that people would laugh at her during that time if she told them that she was pregnant\add*.
\v 25 But she said to herself, “God has enabled me to become pregnant. At this time he has pitied me and has caused that I will no longer be ashamed \add because I have no children\add*!”
\s1 An angel told a virgin named Mary that she would bear a son, to be named Jesus.
\sr Luke 1:26-38
\p
\v 26 When Elizabeth had been \add pregnant\add* [EUP] \add for almost\add* six months, the angel Gabriel was sent by God {God sent the angel Gabriel} \add again\add*.
\v 27 \add This time\add* he went to Nazareth \add town\add* in Galilee \add district\add*, to a virgin whose name was Mary. It had been {\add Her parents\add* had} promised that she would marry a man named Joseph, who was descended from \add King\add* David.
\v 28 The angel said to her, “Greetings! ◄The Lord/God► is with you \add (sg)\add* and you will be greatly blessed {\add has decided to\add* greatly bless you}!”
\v 29 But Mary was greatly confused \add when she heard\add* that. She wondered what \add the angel meant\add* by these words.
\v 30 Then the angel said to her, “Mary, God is very pleased with you \add (sg)\add*, so do not be afraid.
\v 31 You will become pregnant and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.
\v 32 He will become great. He will be called {\add People will\add* call him} ◄the Son of God/the man who is also God►. God, the Lord, will make him a king [MTY] as his ancestor \add King\add* David was.
\v 33 He will be the King of \add the\add* Jews, the descendants [MTY] of \add your ancestor\add* Jacob, forever. He will rule as king forever!”
\p
\v 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin, so how can I \add have a baby\add*?”
\v 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come to you \add (sg)\add* and the power of God [MTY/EUP] will be on you \add to enable you to become pregnant\add*. So the child \add you will\add* bear will be completely set apart {give himself completely} to obey God, and he will be called {\add people\add* will say that he is} ◄the Son of God/the man who is also God►.
\v 36 \add I also need to tell you something else\add*. Your cousin Elizabeth is very old, and it was thought {\add people\add* said} that she could not bear any children. But she has been \add pregnant\add* [EUP] \add for almost\add* six months, and will bear a son!
\v 37 \add You should not be surprised at that\add*, because God can do everything!”
\v 38 Then Mary said, “All right, I want to serve ◄the Lord/God►, so may what you \add (sg)\add* have said about me come true!” Then the angel left her.
\s1 Mary visited Elizabeth.
\sr Luke 1:39-45
\p
\v 39 Very soon after that, Mary got ready and went quickly to a town in the highlands of Judea \add district\add* where Zechariah lived.
\v 40 She entered his house and greeted \add his wife\add* Elizabeth.
\v 41 As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary greet her, the baby leaped inside \add Elizabeth's\add* womb. The Holy Spirit took complete control of Elizabeth,
\v 42 and she said loudly \add to Mary\add*, “\add God\add* has blessed you \add more than\add* he has blessed \add any other\add* woman, and \add he has\add* blessed the child you will bear!
\v 43 ◄I am not worthy that \add God would allow you\add* to visit me!/Why is \add God allowing you\add* to visit me?► [RHQ] You will be the mother of my Lord!
\v 44 \add I realize this because\add* as soon as I heard you greet me, the baby inside my womb leaped because he was so happy \add that you had come\add*
\v 45 \add God\add* is pleased with you \add because\add* you believed that what ◄the Lord/God► told you would come true.”
\s1 Mary praised God.
\sr Luke 1:46-56
\p
\v 46 Then Mary \add praised God by\add* saying/singing:
\q1 O, how I [SYN] praise ◄the Lord/God►!
\q1
\v 47 I rejoice in my inner being because God is the one who saves me.
\q1
\v 48 I was only his lowly servant girl, but he did not forget me.
\q1 So from now on, people living in all ◄ages/future time► will say that God was pleased with me,
\q1
\v 49 because they will hear about the things that God [MTY], the mighty one, has done for me.
\q1 He [MTY] is awesome!
\q1
\v 50 He acts mercifully from one generation to the next toward those who respect him.
\q1
\v 51 He shows people that he [MTY] is very powerful. He scatters those who think proudly within their inner beings.
\q1
\v 52 He sends mighty kings away and does not let them rule [MTY] anymore, but he honors the people who are oppressed (OR, humble).
\q1
\v 53 He gives good things to eat to those who are hungry, but he sends away the rich people without giving them anything.
\q1
\v 54-55 He promised to Abraham and all our other ancestors who descended from him that he would act mercifully toward them forever.
\q1 And now he has remembered what he promised.
\q1 So he has helped me and all the other people of [MTY] Israel who serve him.
\p
\v 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months. Then she returned to her home.
\s1 What happened when John was born.
\sr Luke 1:57-66
\p
\v 57 When it was time for Elizabeth to bear her child, she bore a son.
\v 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how ◄the Lord/God► had greatly blessed her, so they were happy along with \add Elizabeth\add*.
\v 59 Seven days later they gathered together for the \add ceremony for\add* circumcising the baby \add to show that he belonged to God\add*. Since his father's name was Zechariah, they wanted to give the baby the same name.
\v 60 But his mother said, “No, \add his name will not be Zechariah\add*. His name will be John!”
\v 61 \add So\add* they said to her, “\add John\add* is not the name of any of your \add (dl)\add* relatives, \add so you(dl) should not give him that name\add*!”
\v 62 Then they made motions with their hands to his father, \add for him\add* to indicate what name \add he\add* wanted to be given {to give} to his son.
\v 63 \add So\add* he signaled that they \add should give him\add* a tablet \add to write on. When they gave him one\add*, he wrote \add on it\add*, “His name is John.” All those \add who were there\add* were surprised!
\v 64 Immediately Zechariah was able to speak again [MTY], and he praised God.
\v 65 All their neighbors were amazed/awestruck! They told other people who lived all over the highlands of Judea about what had happened.
\v 66 Everyone who heard about it kept thinking about it. They were saying, “We wonder what work \add the child\add* will do \add for God when\add* he \add grows up\add* [RHQ]!” They wondered that because \add from what had happened they were sure that\add* God would be helping him [SYN] \add in a powerful way\add*.
\s1 Zechariah praised God and predicted what his son would do.
\sr Luke 1:67-80
\q1
\v 67 \add After\add* Zechariah's \add son was born\add*, Zechariah was completely directed by the Holy Spirit {the Holy Spirit completely directed Zechariah} as he spoke these words that came from God:
\q1
\v 68 Praise the Lord, the God whom we(inc) people of Israel worship,
\q1 because he has come to set us, his people, free from our enemies.
\q1
\v 69 He is sending us someone who will powerfully [MTY] save us,
\q1 someone who is descended from [MTY] King David,
\q1 who served God well.
\q1
\v 70 Long ago God caused his prophets to say that he would do that.
\q1
\v 71 He will rescue us from our enemies,
\q1 and he will save us from the power of all those who hate us.
\q1
\v 72 He will do this because he has not forgotten what he promised our ancestors;
\q1 he made an agreement that he would act mercifully to us, their descendants.
\q1
\v 73 That is what he strongly promised our ancestor Abraham that he would do.
\q1
\v 74 God told him that we would be rescued {he would rescue us} from the power of our enemies,
\q1 that he would enable us to serve him without being afraid,
\q1
\v 75 that he would cause us to be completely dedicated to him,
\q1 and enable us to live righteously all of our lives.
\p
\v 76 \add Then Zechariah said this to\add* his little son:
\q1 My child, you will be called {people will say that you are} a prophet
\q1 whom God [MTY/EUP] has sent;
\q1 you will begin your work before ◄the Lord/Messiah► comes;
\q1 you will prepare people so that they will be ready for him.
\q1 (OR, you will begin your work before the Messiah comes).
\q1
\v 77 You will tell God's people how he will forgive them and save them from being punished for their sins.
\q1
\v 78 Our God will do that because he is very kind to us.
\q1 Just like a new day begins when the sun rises [MET],
\q1 God will do that new thing for us when the Messiah comes to us from heaven.
\q1
\v 79 People who do not know God [MET] are like those who sit in the darkness.
\q1 They are afraid [MTY] that they will soon die.
\q1 But when the Messiah tells us God's message,
\q1 it will be like causing such people to see a bright light.
\q1 He will guide us [SYN] so that we will be living peacefully.
\p
\v 80 \add Later\add*, Zechariah's son grew up and became spiritually strong. Then he lived in a desolate region until he began to preach to the Israelite people.
\c 2
\s1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
\sr Luke 2:1-7
\p
\v 1 About that time the Emperor Augustus commanded that ◄\add his officials must\add* write down the names/\add a census be taken\add*► of all the people who lived in countries \add controlled\add* by the Roman \add government\add* {that the Roman \add government controlled\add*}, \add so that the government could collect taxes from them\add*.
\v 2 That was the first time that they ◄wrote down the names/took a census► in Syria \add province, which included Judea district\add*. They did this while Quirinius was the governor of the province.
\v 3 Every person had to go to the town where his \add most famous ancestor\add* had lived, so that \add the officials\add* could write down their names.
\v 4 So, because Joseph was a descendant of \add King\add* David, he went up from Nazareth, the town in Galilee \add district where he lived\add*, to Bethlehem town in Judea \add district\add*. That was the town where \add King\add* David \add grew up\add*.
\v 5 Joseph went with Mary, who \add was considered\add* {whom \add people considered\add*} \add to be\add* his wife, who was now pregnant. They went so that they could put his name and Mary's name \add in the record book\add*.
\v 6-7 When they arrived \add in Bethlehem\add*, there was no place for them to stay in the house where travelers stay. \add So they stayed in a cattle shed\add*. When the time for Mary to give birth arrived, she gave birth to her first son there. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and placed him in a trough where \add people\add* put food for the animals.
\s1 Responding to the angel's announcement, shepherds went to see Jesus.
\sr Luke 2:8-20
\p
\v 8 That night, there were \add some\add* shepherds who were taking care of their sheep \add as usual\add* in the fields near \add Bethlehem\add*.
\v 9 An angel from God appeared to them. A great light ◄from the Lord/from God► shone on them and around them. \add So\add* they became very afraid.
\v 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! I have come to tell you good news, which will \add make you\add* very happy! This message is for everyone \add to hear\add*
\v 11 \add The message is that\add* today a baby has been born in \add Bethlehem, the town where King\add* David grew up. That baby will \add eventually\add* save you \add from the guilt of your sins!\add* He is the Messiah, \add your\add* Lord!
\v 12 I will tell you how \add you will recognize him\add* (OR, how you will know \add that what I say is true\add*): \add In Bethlehem\add* you will find a baby who has been wrapped {\add whose mother\add* has wrapped him} in strips of cloth and placed in a trough where \add people\add* put food for the animals.”
\p
\v 13 Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven appeared and joined the other angel. They all praised God, singing/saying,
\v 14 “May \add all the angels\add* in the highest heaven praise God! And on the earth may the people to whom God has shown his favor have peace \add with him\add*!”
\p
\v 15 After the angels left them \add and returned\add* to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let's go to Bethlehem to see this \add wonderful\add* thing that has happened, which ◄the Lord/God► has told us about!”
\v 16 So they went quickly. They found the \add place where\add* Mary and Joseph \add were staying\add*, and \add they saw\add* the baby lying in the trough where \add people\add* put food for the animals.
\v 17 Then they told \add Mary and Joseph and others\add* what had been told them {what \add the angel\add* had told them} about this child.
\v 18 Everyone who heard what was said by the shepherds {what the shepherds said} to them was amazed.
\v 19 But Mary \add did not talk to others about what the angels said\add*; she just kept thinking very much about it.
\v 20 The shepherds returned \add to their sheep\add*. They kept praising God very much for all the things that they had heard and seen, \add because\add* everything \add happened\add* exactly like \add the angels\add* told them.
\s1 They circumcised Jesus and presented him to the Lord.
\sr Luke 2:21-24
\p
\v 21 Seven days later, when \add the priests\add* circumcised the baby, \add his parents\add* named him Jesus. That was the name that \add they were told by\add* the angel {the angel \add told them\add*} \add to\add* give him before Mary became pregnant.
\p
\v 22-23 It had been written by Moses {Moses had written} \add long ago\add* in a law that God gave him, that when a woman gave birth to her first son, the parents had to take him \add to the Temple\add* in Jerusalem in order that they might dedicate him ◄to the Lord/to God►. So when the time came for them to do those rituals so that \add God would consider\add* them pure again, Mary and Joseph took Jesus there.
\v 24 God had commanded in his laws that if the first child \add of a couple\add* was a boy, his parents should offer as a sacrifice to God two turtledoves or two young pigeons. \add So Joseph and Mary gave the priest two birds so he could offer them\add*.
\s1 Simeon prophesied about what Jesus would do.
\sr Luke 2:25-35
\p
\v 25 At that time there was an \add old\add* man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He habitually did what was pleasing to God and he obeyed God's laws. The Holy Spirit was \add directing\add* him as he was waiting for \add God\add* [MTY] \add to\add* encourage the Israelite \add people by sending the Messiah\add*.
\v 26 It was \add previously\add* revealed by the Holy Spirit {The Holy Spirit \add previously\add* revealed} to him that he would see God's \add promised\add* Messiah before he died.
\v 27 When Joseph and Mary brought their baby Jesus \add to the Temple\add* in order to perform the rituals that \add God had commanded\add* in his laws, the Spirit led Simeon to enter the Temple \add courtyard, and revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah\add*.
\v 28 So he took Jesus up in his arms and praised God, saying,
\q1
\v 29-32 Lord, you promised me that I would see the one [MTY] who would enable you to save people of all people-groups from the guilt of their sins. He will be [MET] like a light that will reveal your truth to non-Jews, and he will cause people to think highly of your people, the Israelite people. Since I [SYN] have now seen this one that you promised to send, now let me die peacefully.
\p
\v 33 His parents marveled about what \add Simeon\add* said about \add Jesus\add*. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary,
\v 34 “Note what I say: \add God\add* has determined that because of this child, many Israelite people will \add turn away from God\add*, and many others will turn to God [MET]. Although he will be like a sign [MET] \add to warn people\add*, \add many\add* people will oppose him.
\v 35 As a result, the \add evil\add* thoughts of many people will be made evident {he will reveal the \add evil\add* thoughts of many people}. \add Furthermore, the cruel things that they will do to him\add* [MET] \add will be like\add* a sword that will pierce your ◄soul/inner being►.”
\s1 Anna praised God for Jesus and told others about him.
\sr Luke 2:36-38
\p
\v 36 There was also \add in the Temple courtyard\add* a very old woman named Anna. She was a prophetess. Her father Phanuel was a member of the tribe of Asher. After she had been married seven years, her husband died.
\v 37 After that, she lived until she was eighty-four years old, and she was still a widow. She stayed in the Temple \add area\add* all the time, night and day, worshipping God. She often ◄abstained from food/fasted► as she prayed.
\v 38 \add While Joseph and Mary and the baby were\add* still \add in the Temple, Anna came to them. She thanked God for the baby\add*. Then she spoke about Jesus to many people who were expecting \add God to send the Messiah\add* [MTY] to set \add the people of\add* [MTY] Jerusalem free \add from their enemies\add*.
\s1 Jesus grew up in Nazareth.
\sr Luke 2:39-40
\p
\v 39 After Joseph and Mary had finished performing the rituals that ◄the Lord/God► required \add the parents of a first son\add* to perform, they returned to their own town, Nazareth, in Galilee \add district\add*.
\v 40 As the child grew up, he became strong and very wise, and God was very pleased with him.
\s1 What Jesus did in the Temple when he was a boy.
\sr Luke 2:41-52
\p
\v 41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem to \add celebrate\add* the Passover festival.
\v 42 So when Jesus was twelve years old, they went up \add to Jerusalem\add* as they always did.
\v 43 When the celebration ended, his parents started to return home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. \add His parents\add* did not realize that \add Jesus stayed there\add*.
\v 44 They thought that he was with the other people who were traveling with them. They walked all day. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.
\v 45 They did not find him, so they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
\v 46 Two days later, they found him. He was in the Temple \add courtyard\add*, sitting with the \add Jewish\add* religious teachers. He was listening to what they said, and he was asking them questions.
\v 47 Everyone who heard what he \add said\add* was amazed at how much he understood and \add how well\add* he answered \add the questions that the teachers asked\add*.
\v 48 When his parents saw him, they were very surprised. His mother said to him, “My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried as we \add (exc)\add* have been searching for you!”
\v 49 He said to them, \add speaking about the Temple being God his Father's house\add*, “◄I am surprised that you \add (dl)\add* did \add not know\add* where to find me!/Why did you \add not know\add* where to find me?► [RHQ] ◄You \add (dl)\add* should have known that it was necessary for me to be in my Father's house!/Did you not know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father's house?► [RHQ]”
\v 50 But they did not understand \add the meaning of\add* what he said to them.
\v 51 Then he returned with them down to Nazareth. He always obeyed them. But his mother kept thinking about all those things.
\p
\v 52 \add As the years passed\add*, Jesus continued to become wiser and he grew taller. God and people continued to approve of him more and more.
\c 3
\p
\v 1 When the Emperor Tiberius had been ruling  \add the Roman Empire\add* for fifteen years, and while Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea  \add district\add*, and Herod  \add Antipas\add* was ruling Galilee  \add district\add*, and his brother Philip was ruling Iturea and Trachonitis  \add districts\add*, and Lysanius was ruling Abilene  \add district\add*, 
\v 2 and while Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests  \add in Jerusalem\add*, God gave messages to Zechariah's son John while he was living in the desolate region.
\v 3 \add So\add* John went all over the area close to the Jordan  \add River\add*. He kept telling people, “If you want  \add God\add* to forgive you for your sins, you must ◄repent/turn away from your sinful behavior► \add before you ask me\add* to baptize  \add you\add*!” 
\p
\v 4 John was the one who  \add fulfilled\add* these words that had  \add been written\add* by the prophet Isaiah {that the prophet Isaiah had written} on a scroll  \add long ago\add*: 
\pi In a desolate area, someone [SYN] will be heard shouting  \add to the people who pass by\add*, 
\pi Prepare yourselves  \add to receive\add* the Lord when he comes!
\pi  \add Make yourselves ready so that you will be prepared when he comes\add*, 
\pi  \add just like people\add* straighten out the road [MET] \add for an important official\add* [MET, DOU]!
\pi
\v 5 \add Just like people\add* level off all the places where the land rises and  \add just like they\add* fill all the ravines,
\pi and  \add just like people\add* make the road straight wherever it is crooked,
\pi and  \add just like people\add* make smooth the bumps in the road,
\pi  \add Similarly you need to remove all the obstacles which prevent God from blessing you!\add*
\pi
\v 6 Then people [SYN] everywhere will understand how God can save [MTY] \add people\add*.
\p
\v 7 Although large groups of people came to John to be baptized {in order that he would baptize them}, \add he knew that many of them were not sincere\add*. So he kept saying to them, “You  \add people are evil\add* [MET] \add like\add* poisonous snakes! \add I\add* warn you that  \add God\add* will some day punish [MTY] \add everyone\add* who sins. And ◄do not think that you can escape  \add from his punishing\add* [MTY] \add you if you do not turn from your sinful behavior!/did someone tell you\add* that you can escape  \add from his punishing\add* [MTY] \add you if you do not turn from your sinful behavior\add*?► [RHQ] (OR, Who told you that you could escape  \add God's punishment?\add*)
\v 8 Do the deeds that are appropriate for people who have truly turned from their sinful behavior! \add God promised to give Abraham many\add* descendants. In order to fulfill that promise, God does not need you! I tell you that he can change these stones to make them descendants of Abraham! So do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We  \add (exc)\add* are descendants of Abraham, \add so God will not punish us, even though we have\add* sinned!’
\v 9 \add God is ready to punish you if you do not turn away from your sinful behavior, just like a man\add* [MET] lays his axe at the roots  \add of a fruit\add* tree  \add to chop it down and throw it into the fire if it does not produce good fruit\add* [MET].”
\p
\v 10 \add Then\add* various ones in the crowd asked him, “What shall we  \add (exc)\add* do  \add to escape God punishing us\add* (OR), \add to show that we have repented\add*?” 
\v 11 He answered them, “If any of you has two shirts, you should give one of them to someone who has no shirt. If any of you has  \add plenty of\add* food, you should give some to those who have no food.”
\v 12 \add Some\add* tax collectors came  \add and asked\add* to be baptized {\add asked him\add* to baptize them}. They asked him, “Teacher, what shall we  \add (exc)\add* do  \add to please God\add*?” 
\v 13 He said to them, “Do not take from the people any more money than  \add the Roman government\add* tells you to take!”
\v 14 Some soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we  \add (exc)\add* do  \add to please God\add*?” He said to them, “Do not  \add say to anyone\add*, ‘\add If you(sg) do not give me\add* some money, I will hurt you,’ and do not take  \add people to court and\add* falsely accuse them of doing something wrong! And be content with your wages.”
\p
\v 15 People were expecting  \add that the Messiah would come soon\add*. Because of that, many of them wondered about John. \add Some of them asked him\add* if he was the Messiah.
\v 16 John replied to them all, “No, \add I am not\add*. I used  \add only\add* water when I baptized you. But  \add the Messiah\add* will soon come! He is far greater than I am. \add He is so great that\add* I am not worthy to  \add be like his slave and\add* untie his sandals [MET] \add like\add* a slave would do! He will put  \add his\add* Holy Spirit within [MTY] you  \add to truly change your lives\add*, and  \add he will judge others of you and punish you in\add* the fire [MET] \add in hell\add*.
\v 17 He  \add is like a man\add* [MET] \add who wants to\add* clear away the grain on the ground where it has been threshed {they have threshed it}. That man  \add uses\add* a huge fork  \add to throw the grain into the air\add* to separate the wheat from the chaff [MET], and then he cleans up the threshing area. \add Similarly, God\add* will  \add separate righteous people from the evil people, like a man who\add* gathers the wheat into his storage area, and then he will burn  \add those who are like\add* chaff with a fire ◄that will never be put out/that will burn forever►.”
\p
\v 18 John kept telling them many things to urge them  \add to turn to God\add*, as he told them the good message  \add from God\add*.
\v 19 He also rebuked  \add the ruler of the district\add*, Herod  \add Antipas. He rebuked him\add* for  \add marrying\add* Herodias, his brother's wife, \add while his brother was still alive\add*, and for doing many other evil things.
\v 20 But Herod  \add had his soldiers\add* put John in prison. That was another evil thing he did.
\s1 John baptized Jesus.
\sr Luke 3:21-22
\p
\v 21 \add But before John was put in prison\add*, when many people were being baptized {when he was baptizing many people}, after Jesus was baptized and {he baptized Jesus} and Jesus was praying, the sky opened.
\v 22 Then the Holy Spirit, resembling a dove, descended upon  \add Jesus\add*. And  \add God\add* [SYN/EUP] spoke to Jesus from heaven, saying, “You  \add (sg)\add* are my Son, the one whom I love dearly. I am very pleased with you!”
\s1 The list of Jesus' ancestors.
\sr Luke 3:23-38
\p
\v 23 When Jesus began  \add his work for God\add*, he was about thirty years old. It was {\add People\add*} thought that he was  \add the son of\add* Joseph. \add Joseph was the son\add* of Heli.
\v 24 \add Heli was the son\add* of Matthat. \add Matthat was the son\add* of Levi. \add Levi was the son\add* of Melchi. \add Melchi was the son\add* of Jannai. \add Jannai was the son\add* of Joseph.
\v 25 \add Joseph was the son\add* of Mattathias. \add Mattathias was the son\add* of Amos. \add Amos was the son\add* of Nahum. \add Nahum was the son\add* of Esli. \add Esli was the son\add* of Naggai.
\v 26 \add Naggai was the son\add* of Maath. \add Maath was the son\add* of Mattathias. \add Mattathias was the son\add* of Semein. \add Semein was the son\add* of Josech. \add Josech was the son\add* of Joda.
\v 27 \add Joda was the son\add* of Joanan. \add Joanan was the son\add* of Rhesa. \add Rhesa was the son\add* of Zerubbabel. \add Zerubbabel was the son\add* of Shealtiel. \add Shealtiel was the son\add* of Neri.
\v 28 \add Neri was the son\add* of Melchi. \add Melchi was the son\add* of Addi. \add Addi was the son\add* of Cosam. \add Cosam was the son\add* of Elmadam. \add Elmadam was the son\add* of Er.
\v 29 \add Er was the son\add* of Joshua. \add Joshua was the son\add* of Eliezer. \add Eliezer was the son\add* of Jorim. \add Jorim was the son\add* of Matthat. \add Matthat was the son\add* of Levi.
\v 30 \add Levi was the son\add* of Simeon. \add Simeon was the son\add* of Judah. \add Judah was the son\add* of Joseph. \add Joseph was the son\add* of Jonam. \add Jonam was the son\add* of Eliakim.
\v 31 \add Eliakim was the son\add* of Melea. \add Melea was the son\add* of Menna. \add Menna was the son\add* of Mattatha. \add Mattatha was the son\add* of Nathan. \add Nathan was the son\add* of David.
\v 32 \add David was the son\add* of Jesse. \add Jesse was the son\add* of Obed. \add Obed was the son\add* of Boaz. \add Boaz was the son\add* of Sala. \add Sala was the son\add* of Nahshon.
\v 33 \add Nahshon was the son\add* of Amminadab. \add Amminadab was the son\add* of Admin. \add Admin was the son\add* of Arni. \add Arni was the son\add* of Hezron. \add Hezron was the son\add* of Perez. \add Perez was the son\add* of Judah.
\v 34 \add Judah was the son\add* of Jacob. \add Jacob was the son\add* of Isaac. \add Isaac was the son\add* of Abraham. \add Abraham was the son\add* of Terah. \add Terah was the son\add* of Nahor.
\v 35 \add Nahor was the son\add* of Serug. \add Serug was the son\add* of Reu. \add Reu was the son\add* of Peleg. \add Peleg was the son\add* of Eber. \add Eber was the son\add* of Shelah.
\v 36 \add Shelah was the son\add* of Cainan. \add Cainan was the son\add* of Arphaxad. \add Arphaxad was the son\add* of Shem. \add Shem was the son\add* of Noah. \add Noah was the son\add* of Lamech.
\v 37 \add Lamech was the son\add* of Methuselah. \add Methuselah was the son\add* of Enoch. \add Enoch was the son\add* of Jared. \add Jared was the son\add* of Mahalalel. \add Mahalalel was the son\add* of Cainan.
\v 38 \add Cainan was the son\add* of Enos. \add Enos was the son\add* of Seth. \add Seth was the son\add* of Adam. \add Adam was the man\add* God created.
\s1 Jesus refused to do the things that Satan suggested to him.
\sr Luke 4:1-13
\c 4
\s1 What John the Baptizer preached.
\sr Luke 3:1-20
\p
\v 1 As Jesus left the Jordan \add River valley, the Holy Spirit was\add* completely controlling him.
\v 2 For forty days the Spirit led him around in the desolate area. During that time Jesus was being tempted by the devil {the devil was tempting him}, and Jesus did not eat anything. When that time ended, he was \add very\add* hungry.
\v 3 Then the devil said to Jesus, “Because you \add claim that you\add* ◄\add have a relationship with\add* God as a son \add has with his father\add* [MET]/are the man who is both God and man►, \add prove it by\add* telling these stones to become bread \add so that you can eat them!\add*”
\v 4 Jesus replied, “\add No, I will not change stones into bread, because it is written\add* {\add Moses\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures\add* that \add eating\add* food sustains people physically, but it does not \add sustain them spiritually. They also need food for their spirits\add*.”
\v 5 Then the devil took him on top of \add a high mountain\add* and showed him in an instant all the nations in the world.
\v 6 Then he said to \add Jesus\add*, “I will give you the authority \add to rule\add* all these areas and will make you famous. \add I can do this\add* because \add God\add* has permitted me \add to control these areas\add*, and I can allow anyone I desire to rule them!
\v 7 So if you worship me, I will \add let\add* you \add rule\add* them all!”
\v 8 But Jesus replied, “\add No, I\add* will not \add worship you, because\add* it is written {\add the Psalmist\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures\add*, ‘It is the Lord, your God, whom you must worship, and you must serve only him!’”
\p
\v 9 Then the devil took \add Jesus\add* to Jerusalem. He set him on the highest part of the Temple and said to him, “Because you \add claim that you\add* ◄\add have a relationship with God as a son has with his father\add* [MET]/are the man who is both God and man►, \add prove it by\add* jumping down from here.
\v 10 \add You will not be hurt\add*, because it is written {the \add Psalmist\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures\add*, ‘God will command his angels to protect you \add (sg)\add*.
\v 11 They will lift you up in their hands \add when you are falling\add*, so that \add you will not get hurt\add*. You will not \add even\add* strike your foot on a stone.’”
\v 12 But Jesus replied, “\add No, I\add* will not \add do that, because\add* it is written {\add Moses\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures\add*: ‘Do not try to test the Lord your God \add to see if he will prevent something bad from happening to you when you do something foolish\add*’.”
\p
\v 13 Then, after the devil had finished trying to tempt \add Jesus\add* in many ways, he left him. He wanted to try to tempt him later at an appropriate time.
\s1 Jesus began his work in Galilee district.
\sr Luke 4:14-15
\p
\v 14 As the Spirit empowered him, Jesus returned to Galilee \add district. People\add* throughout all that region heard about what he \add was doing\add*.
\v 15 He taught \add people\add* in their ◄synagogues/meeting places►. \add As a result\add*, he was praised by everyone {everyone praised him}.
\s1 The people of Jesus' hometown tried to kill him after he rebuked them for rejecting him.
\sr Luke 4:16-30
\p
\v 16 Then \add Jesus\add* went to Nazareth, \add the town\add* where he grew up. ◄On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day► he went ◄to the synagogue/to the Jewish meeting place►, as he usually did. He stood up \add to indicate that he wanted\add* to read \add Scriptures\add* to them.
\v 17 A scroll containing \add the words\add* that the prophet Isaiah \add had written\add* was given to him {\add Someone\add* gave to him a scroll containing \add the words\add* that the prophet Isaiah \add had written\add*}. He opened the scroll and found the place from which he \add wanted to\add* read. \add He read these words\add*:
\q
\v 18 The Spirit ◄of the Lord/of God► is upon me.
\q He has appointed [MTY] me to declare God's good news to the poor.
\q He has sent me \add here\add* to proclaim that God will deliver those whom \add Satan\add* has captured, and
\q he will \add enable me to\add* enable those who are blind to see.
\q He will enable me to free people who have been oppressed {whom \add others\add* have oppressed}.
\q
\v 19 And he sent me to declare that now is the time when ◄the Lord/God► will \add act\add* favorably \add toward people\add*.
\p
\v 20 Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down \add to teach the people\add*. Everyone in the synagogue was looking intently [MTY] at him.
\v 21 He said to them, “Today as you have been hearing [MTY] \add me speak\add*, \add I am beginning\add* to fulfill this Scripture passage.”
\v 22 \add At first\add* everyone there spoke well about him, and they were amazed at the charming words that he spoke. \add But then some of\add* them said, “◄He is \add only\add* Joseph's son!/Isn't he \add only\add* Joseph's son?► [RHQ] \add So\add* ◄\add it is useless for us(exc) to listen to what he says!/why should we(exc) listen to what he says\add*?► [RHQ]”
\v 23 He said to them, “Surely \add some of\add* you will quote to me the proverb that says, ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ \add What you will mean is\add*, ‘People told us that you did miracles in Capernaum \add town, but we(exc) do not know if those reports are true. So\add* do miracles here in your own hometown, too!’”
\v 24 Then he said, “It is certainly true that \add people\add* do not accept \add the message of\add* a prophet when he speaks in his hometown, \add just like you(pl) are not accepting my message now\add*.
\v 25 But think about this: There were many widows in Israel during the time when \add the prophet\add* Elijah \add lived. During that time\add*, because of there being no rain [MTY] for three years and six months, there was a great famine throughout the country.
\v 26 But \add God\add* did not send Elijah to \add help\add* any of those \add Jewish\add* widows. \add God sent him\add* to Zarepath \add town\add* near Sidon \add city\add*, to \add help\add* a \add non-Jewish\add* widow.
\v 27 There were also many \add Jewish\add* lepers in Israel during the time when the prophet Elisha \add lived\add*. But \add Elisha\add* did not heal any of them. He healed only Naaman, a \add non-Jewish\add* man from Syria.”
\v 28 When all the people in the synagogue heard him say that, they were very angry, \add because they realized that he was inferring that he similarly would help non-Jewish people instead of helping Jews\add* (OR, \add that they also were not worthy of receiving God's help\add*).
\v 29 So they all got up and shoved him out of the town. They took him to the top of the hill outside their town in order to throw him off the cliff \add and kill him\add*.
\v 30 But he \add simply\add* walked through their midst and went away.
\s1 Jesus expelled an evil spirit.
\sr Luke 4:31-37
\p
\v 31 \add One day\add* he went \add with his disciples\add* down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee \add district\add*. On the next ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest► (OR, Each ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest►), he taught the people ◄\add in the synagogue/in the Jewish meeting place\add*►.
\v 32 They were continually amazed at what he was teaching, because \add he spoke\add* ◄\add with authority/as people speak who have\add* the right to command others what to do►.
\v 33 \add That day\add*, (OR, On one of those Jewish days of rest,) there was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. That man shouted very loudly,
\v 34 “Hey! Jesus, from Nazareth! \add We(exc) evil spirits\add* have nothing in common with you, so ◄\add do not interfere with us now!/why should you interfere with us now\add*?► [RHQ] ◄Do not destroy us \add now!\add*/Have you come to destroy us \add now\add*?► [RHQ] I know who you are. You are the Holy One \add who has come\add* from God!”
\v 35 Jesus rebuked \add the evil spirit\add*, saying, “Be quiet! And come out \add of the man\add*!” The demon threw the man down on the ground in the midst of the people. But without harming the man, the demon left him.
\v 36 The people were all amazed. They said to each other, “◄What he says to the demons \add has great power!/\add*What \add kind of\add* teaching is this?► [RHQ] He speaks to them like he knows that they must obey him, and as a result they leave people!”
\v 37 The people were telling everyone in \add every village\add* in the surrounding region what Jesus \add had done\add*.
\s1 Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law and many others.
\sr Luke 4:38-41
\p
\v 38 Jesus \add and his disciples\add* left ◄the synagogue/the Jewish meeting place► and went into Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was sick and had a high fever. So \add others in Simon's family\add* (OR, \add the disciples\add*) asked Jesus to \add heal\add* her.
\v 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever. At once she became well! She got up and served them \add some food\add*.
\p
\v 40 When the sun was setting \add that day, and the restriction about not traveling\add* ◄on \add the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day\add*► \add was ended\add*, many people [HYP] whose \add friends or relatives\add* were sick or who had various diseases brought them to Jesus. He put his hands on them and healed \add all of\add* them.
\v 41 He also was \add expelling demons\add* from many people. As the demons left those people, they shouted to Jesus, “You are ◄the Son of God/the one who is God and man►!” But he rebuked those demons and would not allow them to tell \add people about him\add*, because they knew that he was the Messiah, and \add for various reasons he did not want everyone to know that yet\add*.
\s1 Jesus told them that he had to preach in other towns.
\sr Luke 4:42-44
\p
\v 42 \add Early\add* the next morning \add Jesus\add* left that house and went to an uninhabited place \add to pray\add*. Many people searched for him, and when they found him they kept urging him not to leave them.
\v 43 But he said to them, “I must tell \add people\add* in other towns also the good message about how God wants to rule [MET] their lives, because that is what I was sent {\add God\add* sent me} to do.”
\v 44 So he kept preaching in ◄the synagogues/Jewish worship places► \add in various towns\add* in Judea \add province\add*.
\c 5
\s1 Jesus chose some fishermen to be his disciples.
\sr Luke 5:1-11
\p
\v 1 One day while many people were crowding around him to hear the message from God, Jesus was standing on the shore of Gennesaret Lake, \add which is also called Lake Galilee\add*.
\v 2 He saw two \add fishing\add* boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had gone out of the boats and were washing their \add fishing\add* nets \add on the shore\add*. One of the boats belonged to Simon.
\v 3 Jesus got in that boat and asked Simon to push the boat a little bit away from the shore \add so that he could speak to the crowd more easily. Jesus\add* sat in the boat and taught the people \add who were on the shore\add*.
\v 4 After he finished speaking \add to them\add*, he said to Simon, “Push the boat out to where the water is deep. Then let your nets down \add into the water\add* to catch \add some fish\add*!”
\v 5 Simon replied, “Master, we \add (exc)\add* worked hard all night but we did not catch any \add fish\add* But because you \add (sg)\add* tell me to do it, I will let down the nets.”
\v 6 When Peter \add and the men with him\add* had done that, they caught so many fish that their nets were breaking.
\v 7 They motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. So they came and filled both the boats \add with fish from the net\add*. The result was that the boats were so full that they began to sink.
\v 8-9 Simon and all the men who were with him were amazed at how many fish they had taken. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners, were among those who were amazed. When Simon, \add whose other name was\add* Peter, saw \add the fish, feeling ashamed to be in the presence of someone who obviously had God's power\add*, he prostrated himself before Jesus and said, “Lord, you should go away from me, because I am a sinful man!”
\v 10 But Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! \add Up until now you(sg) have been gathering fish\add* [MET], but from now on you will gather people \add to become my disciples\add*.”
\v 11 So after they brought the boats to the shore, they left their business [HYP] \add in the hands of others\add* and went with Jesus.
\s1 Jesus healed a leper and enabled him to associate with people again.
\sr Luke 5:12-16
\p
\v 12 While \add Jesus\add* was in one of the cities \add there in the district of Galilee\add*, there was a man there who was very severely affected by leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself before him and, \add wanting Jesus to heal him\add*, pleaded with him, “Lord/Sir, \add please heal me, because\add* you are able to heal me if you are willing to!”
\v 13 \add Then Jesus, disregarding the religious law that forbade people to come close to lepers\add*, reached out his hand and touched the man. He said, “I am willing \add to heal you\add*; and I heal you now!” Immediately the man \add was healed\add*. He was no longer a leper [PRS]!
\v 14 Then Jesus told him, “Make sure that you do not report \add your healing immediately. First, go to a priest in Jerusalem\add* and show yourself to him \add so that he can examine you and verify that you no longer have leprosy\add*. After the priest tells \add the local people\add*, they will know that \add you have been healed, and you will be able to associate with them again\add*. Also take to the priest \add the offering\add* that Moses commanded \add that people who have been healed from leprosy should offer\add*.”
\v 15 But many people heard the man's report of what \add Jesus had done\add*. The result was that large crowds came to Jesus to hear his \add message\add* and to be healed of their sicknesses {so that he would heal their sicknesses}.
\v 16 But he often would go away from them to the desolate area and pray.
\s1 By healing a paralyzed man Jesus showed that he had authority to forgive sins, too.
\sr Luke 5:17-26
\p
\v 17 One day when \add Jesus\add* was teaching, some men from the Pharisee \add sect\add* were sitting there. Some of them were men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws. They had come from many [HYP] villages in Galilee \add district\add* and also from Jerusalem and from \add other\add* villages in Judea \add district\add*. \add At that time while\add* God was giving Jesus power to heal people,
\v 18 several men brought on a sleeping pad a man who was paralyzed. They wanted to bring him into \add the house\add* and lay him in front of Jesus.
\v 19 But there was no way to do that because of the large crowd of people, so they went up \add the steps\add* onto the roof. They tied ropes onto the sleeping pad and, after \add removing some of\add* the tiles on the roof, they lowered the man \add on\add* the sleeping pad. They lowered him through the opening into the midst of the crowd in front of Jesus.
\v 20 When Jesus perceived that they believed that \add he could heal the man\add*, he said to him, “My friend, \add I\add* forgive your sins!”
\v 21 The men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and the rest of the Pharisees began to question within themselves, “Who does this man \add think he is, saying\add* that? He is insulting God! ◄Nobody can forgive sins!/What person can forgive sins?► [RHQ] Only God can do that!”
\v 22 Jesus perceived what they were thinking. So he said to them, “◄You should not question within yourselves \add about what I said!\add*/Why do you question within yourselves \add about what I said\add*?► [RHQ] \add Consider this\add*:
\v 23 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 his sins were really forgiven. But no one\add* [RHQ], \add without having the power to heal\add*, would say to \add him\add*, ‘Get up and walk!’ \add because people could easily see whether he was healed or not\add*.
\v 24 But \add as a result of my healing this man\add* you \add (pl)\add* will 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 on\add* the earth, \add as well as to heal people\add*.” Then he said to the man who was paralyzed, “To you I say, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping pad, and go home!’”
\v 25 Immediately the man \add was healed\add* He got up in front of them. He picked up the \add sleeping pad\add* on which he had been lying, and he went home, praising God.
\v 26 All the people \add there\add* were amazed! They praised God and were completely awestruck. They kept saying, “We \add (inc)\add* have seen wonderful things today!”
\s1 Jesus answered criticism about associating with sinful people.
\sr Luke 5:27-32
\p
\v 27 Then \add Jesus\add* left \add the town\add* and saw a man who collected taxes \add for the Roman government\add*. His name was Levi. He was sitting in the booth where he collected the taxes. Jesus said to him, “Come with me \add and become my disciple\add*!”
\v 28 So Levi left his work [HYP] and went with Jesus.
\p
\v 29 Afterwards, Levi prepared a big feast in his own house \add for Jesus and his disciples\add*. There was a large group of tax collectors and others eating together with them.
\v 30 The men who were there who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws, ones who belonged to the Pharisee \add sect\add*, complained to Jesus' disciples, saying, “◄\add It is disgusting that\add* you are eating with tax collectors and \add others who we(exc) consider to be\add* sinners!/Why are you eating with tax collectors \add and others who we(exc) consider to be\add* sinners?►” [RHQ]
\v 31 Then, \add to indicate that it was those who knew that they had sinned who were coming to him for help\add*, Jesus said to them, “\add It is\add* people who are sick who need a doctor, not those who are well [MET].
\v 32 \add Similarly\add*, I did not come \add from heaven\add* to invite \add those who think they are\add* righteous \add to come to me\add*. On the contrary, \add I came to invite those who know that they are\add* sinners to turn from their sinful behavior \add and come to me\add*.”
\s1 Jesus explained that people could not follow both their old customs and his new teaching.
\sr Luke 5:33-39
\p
\v 33 \add Those Jewish leaders\add* said to Jesus, “The disciples of John \add the Baptizer\add* often abstain from food \add to show that they want to please God\add*, and the disciples of the Pharisees do that, too. But your disciples keep on eating and drinking! \add Why do not they fast like the others\add*?”
\v 34 \add To show them that it was not appropriate for his disciples to be sad and abstain from food while he was still with them\add* [MET], Jesus said to them, “When ◄the bridegroom/man who is getting married► is with \add his friends at the time of the wedding\add*, you certainly do not make his friends abstain from food, do you [RHQ]? \add No, you do not do that\add*.
\v 35 \add But\add* some day he will be taken away {\add his enemies\add* will take him away} from them. Then, at that time, his friends will abstain from food, \add because they will be sad\add*.”
\p
\v 36 Then Jesus told them two parables \add to show them that those who desire to live according to God's new message should not be forced to obey the old religious traditions like\add* ◄\add fasting/abstaining from food\add*►, \add and that those who know only the old traditions are not eager to accept new ones\add* [MET]. He said, “People never tear a piece of cloth from a new garment and attach it to an old garment \add to mend it\add*. If they did that, not only would they be ruining the new garment by tearing it, but the new piece of cloth would not match the old garment.
\v 37 Neither does anyone put freshly- \add squeezed\add* grape juice into old skin bags \add to store it\add*. If anyone did that, the grape juice would burst the skin bags \add because they would not stretch when the\add* new \add wine ferments and expands. Then\add* the skin bags would be ruined, and \add the wine\add* would \add also\add* be spilled.
\v 38 On the contrary, new wine must be put into new wineskins.
\p
\v 39 Furthermore, those who have drunk \add only\add* old wine \add are content with that\add*. They do not want to drink the new wine, because they say, ‘The old wine is [MET] good!’”
\c 6
\s1 Jesus explained why he had authority to decide what his disciples should do on the Sabbath day.
\sr Luke 6:1-11
\p
\v 1 One ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest►, while Jesus was walking through some grain fields with his disciples, they picked some of the heads of grain. They rubbed them in their hands \add to separate the grains from the husks\add*, and ate the grain. \add The law of Moses permitted people to do that if they were hungry\add*.
\v 2 Some Pharisees \add who were watching\add* said to Jesus, “◄You should not be doing on our rest day \add work\add* that \add our\add* laws forbid!/Why are you doing on our rest day \add work\add* that our laws forbid?►” [RHQ]
\v 3 \add Jesus wanted to show them that the record in Scriptures indicated that God permitted people to disobey certain religious laws when they needed food\add*. \add So\add* he replied, “\add It is written in the Scriptures\add* 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 God's big worship tent \add and asked for some food\add*. \add The high priest gave him\add* the bread that the priests had presented to God. It was permitted \add in\add* one of \add Moses' laws\add* that only the priests could eat that bread. But \add even though David was not a priest\add*, he ate some, and gave some to the men who were with him. \add And God did not consider that what David did was wrong\add*!”
\v 5 Jesus also said to them, “\add I am\add* the one who came from heaven, so \add I\add* have the authority \add to determine what is right for my disciples to do on\add* the day of rest!”
\p
\v 6 Another ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest► Jesus entered a ◄synagogue/Jewish meeting place► and taught the people. There was a man there whose right hand was shriveled.
\v 7 The men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and the Pharisees \add who were there\add* watched Jesus, to see if he would heal the man ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day►. They did this so that, \add if he healed the man\add*, they would accuse him \add of disobeying their laws by working on the day of rest\add*.
\v 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come and stand here \add in front of everyone\add*!” So the man got up and stood there.
\v 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you this: Do the laws that \add God gave Moses\add* permit \add people\add* to do what is good ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day►, or \add do they permit people\add* to harm \add others\add*? \add Do they permit us\add* to save \add a person's\add* life \add on our day of rest\add* or to let \add him\add* die [HYP] \add by refusing to help him\add*?”
\v 10 \add They refused to answer him. So\add* after he looked around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your \add withered\add* hand!” The man did that, and his hand became all right again!
\v 11 But the menn who taught the Jewish laws and the Pharisees were very angry, and they discussed with one another what they could do to \add get rid of\add* Jesus.
\s1 Jesus chose twelve apostles.
\sr Luke 6:12-16
\p
\v 12 About that time \add Jesus\add* went up into the hills to pray. He prayed to God all night.
\v 13 The next day he summoned all his disciples to come near him. From them he chose twelve men, whom he called apostles.
\v 14 They were Simon, to whom he gave the \add new\add* name, Peter; Andrew, Peter's \add younger\add* brother; James and \add his younger brother\add*, John; Philip; Bartholomew;
\v 15 Matthew, whose other name was Levi; Thomas; \add another\add* James, the \add son\add* of Alpheus; Simon, who belonged to the party \add that encouraged people to\add* rebel \add against the Roman government\add*;
\v 16 Judas, the \add son\add* of \add another\add* James; and Judas Iscariot (OR, Judas from the town of Kerioth), the one who later ◄betrayed Jesus./enabled the Jewish leaders to seize Jesus.►
\s1 Jesus taught them which people God would be pleased with and which people he would be displeased with.
\sr Luke 6:17-26
\p
\v 17 \add Jesus\add* came down from the hills with his disciples and stood on a level area. There was a great crowd of his disciples there. There was also a large group of people who had come from Jerusalem and from many \add other\add* places \add in\add* Judea \add district\add*, and from the coastal areas near Tyre and Sidon \add cities\add*.
\v 18 They came to hear Jesus talk to them and to be healed {and for him to heal them} from their diseases. He also healed those whom evil spirits had troubled.
\v 19 Everyone \add in the crowd\add* tried to touch him, because he was healing everyone by \add his/God's\add* power.
\v 20 He looked [MTY] at his disciples and said, “\add God\add* is pleased with you \add who know\add* that you lack what \add he wants you to have;\add* he will allow you to be the people whose lives he rules over.
\v 21 \add God\add* is pleased with you who sincerely desire to receive what [MTY] \add he wants you to have\add*; he will give you what you need, until you are satisfied.
\p \add God\add* is pleased with you that grieve now \add because of sin\add*. Later you will be joyful.
\p
\v 22 \add God\add* is pleased with you when \add other\add* people hate you, when they will not let you join with them, when they insult you, when they say that you are evil because \add you believe in\add* me, the one who came from heaven.
\v 23 When that happens, rejoice! Jump up and down because you are so happy! \add God will give\add* you a great reward in heaven! \add When they do these things to you, it will prove that you are God's servants\add*. (OR, \add People have always treated God's servants like that\add*.) Do not forget that their ancestors did the same things to the prophets \add who served God faithfully.\add*
\p
\v 24 But there will be terrible punishment for you that are rich; the happiness you have received \add from your riches\add* is all that you will get.
\v 25 There will be terrible punishment for you who \add think that you\add* have all that you need now; you will \add realize\add* that these things will not make you feel satisfied.
\p There will be terrible punishment for you who are joyful now; you will \add later\add* be very sad.
\v 26 When most [HYP] people speak well about you, trouble is ahead for you; \add it will not prove that you are God's servants, because\add* your ancestors used to speak well about those who falsely \add claimed that they were\add* prophets.”
\s1 Jesus taught how we should act toward those who are not kind to us.
\sr Luke 6:27-36
\p
\v 27 “But I say this to each of you \add disciples\add* who are listening \add to what I say\add*: Love your enemies \add as well as your friends\add* Do good things for those who hate you!
\v 28 \add Ask God to\add* bless those who curse you! Pray for those who mistreat you!
\v 29 If someone \add insults one of you by\add* striking you on one of your cheeks, turn your face \add so that he can strike\add* the other cheek \add also\add*. If \add a bandit\add* wants to take away your \add (sg)\add* coat, let him also have your shirt.
\v 30 Give something to everyone who asks you \add (sg) for something\add*. If someone takes away things that belong to you \add (sg)\add*, do not ask him to return them.
\v 31 In whatever way you \add (pl)\add* want others to act toward you, that is the way that you should act toward them.
\p
\v 32 If you love \add only\add* those who love you, do not \add expect God\add* to praise you for \add doing that\add* [RHQ], \add because\add* even sinners love those who love them.
\v 33 If you do good things \add only\add* for those who do good things for you, do not \add expect God\add* to reward you \add for doing that\add* [RHQ], \add because\add* even sinners do that.
\v 34 If you lend \add things or money only\add* to those who you expect will give something back to you, do not \add expect that God\add* will reward you [RHQ] \add for doing that\add* Even sinners lend to other sinners, because they expect them to pay everything back.
\v 35 Instead, love your enemies! Do good things for them! Lend to them, and do not expect them to pay anything back! \add If you do that, God will give\add* you a great reward. And you will be \add acting like\add* his children \add should\add*. Remember that God is kind to people who are not grateful and to people who are wicked, \add and he expects you to be like that too\add*.
\v 36 Act mercifully toward others, just like your Father \add in heaven acts\add* mercifully \add toward you\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not decide how God should punish others.
\sr Luke 6:37-42
\p
\v 37 “Do not say how sinfully others have acted, and then \add God\add* will not say how sinfully you have acted. Do not condemn others, and then \add he\add* will not condemn you [DOU]. Forgive others \add for the evil things that they have done to you\add*, and then \add God\add* will forgive you.
\v 38 Give \add good things to others\add*, and then \add God\add* will give \add good\add* things to you. It will be \add as though\add* [MET] \add God is putting things in a basket\add* for you. He will give you a full amount, pressed down in the basket, which he will shake \add so that he can put more in\add*, and it will spill over the sides! \add Remember that\add* the way you act \add toward others\add* will be the way that \add God\add* will act toward you!”
\p
\v 39 He also told \add his disciples\add* this parable \add to show them that they should be like him, and not be like the Jewish religious leaders\add*: “◄You certainly would not \add expect\add* a blind man to lead another blind man./Would you \add expect\add* a blind man to lead \add another\add* blind man?► [RHQ] If he tried to do \add that\add*, ◄they would both probably fall into a hole!/wouldn't they both probably fall into a hole?► [RHQ] \add I am your teacher, and you disciples should be like me\add*.
\v 40 A disciple should not \add expect to be\add* greater than his teacher. But if a student is fully trained {if someone fully trains a student}, the student can become like his teacher [MET]. \add So you should be content to be like me\add*.
\p
\v 41 Why do you notice \add someone else's small faults\add*?/None of you should be concerned about \add someone else's small faults\add* [MET, RHQ]. \add That would be like\add* noticing a speck in that person's eye. But you should be concerned about \add your own big faults. They are like\add* planks in your own eye, \add which you do not notice\add*.
\v 42 ◄You \add (sg)\add* should not say, ‘Friend, let me take out that speck in your eye!’ when you do not notice the log in your own eye!/Why do you say, ‘Friend, let me take out that speck in your eye!’ when you do not notice the log in your own eye?► [RHQ] \add If you do that\add*, you are a hypocrite! You should first \add stop committing your own sins. That will be like\add* removing the plank from your own eye. Then, as a result, you will have the spiritual insight you need to help others get rid of the \add faults that are like\add* specks in their eyes.”
\s1 Jesus taught that what people do reflects their inner thoughts.
\sr Luke 6:43-45
\p
\v 43 “\add People are like trees\add* [MET]. Healthy trees do not bear bad fruit (OR, bear only good fruit), and unhealthy trees do not bear good fruit.
\v 44 \add Just like you\add* can tell if a tree is good or bad by looking at its fruit, \add you can tell which people are good and which are bad by looking at the way they\add* conduct their lives. \add For example, because thornbushes cannot produce figs\add*, no one can pick figs from thornbushes. And \add since bramble bushes cannot produce grapes\add*, no one can \add pick\add* grapes from bramble bushes.
\v 45 \add Similarly\add*, good people will conduct their lives in a good way because within themselves they think a lot of good \add things\add*, and evil people will live in an evil way because within themselves they think a lot of evil \add things\add*. The basic principle is that people speak \add and act\add* according to all that they think in their ◄minds/inner beings►.”
\s1 Jesus taught why it is necessary to obey his teaching, not just listen to it.
\sr Luke 6:46-49
\p
\v 46 “\add Because people should obey what their masters tell them\add*, ◄it is disgraceful that you say that I am your master but you do not do what I tell you!/why do you say that I am your master but you do not do what I tell you?► [RHQ]
\v 47 Some people come to me, and hear my messages and obey them. I will tell you what they are like.
\v 48 They are like a man who dug deep \add into the ground to prepare to build his house\add*. He made sure that the foundation was on solid ground. Then when there was a flood, the water tried to wash away the house. But the river could not shake the house, because it was built {he built it} on a solid \add foundation\add*.
\v 49 But some people hear my messages but do not obey them. They are like a man who built a house on top of the ground without \add digging\add* a foundation. When the river flooded, the house collapsed immediately and was completely ruined. \add So it is important for you to obey what I teach you\add*.”
\c 7
\s1 Jesus healed a man without going to his house because the man's master believed that Jesus could do that.
\sr Luke 7:1-10
\p
\v 1 After Jesus finished saying this to the people, he went \add with his disciples\add* to Capernaum \add town\add*.
\v 2 There was a Roman army officer there who had a slave whom he greatly esteemed. This slave was so sick that he was about to die.
\v 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he \add summoned\add* some Jewish elders. He told them to go to Jesus and ask him to come and heal his slave.
\v 4 When they came to where Jesus was, they earnestly asked Jesus \add to return with them\add*. They said, “This officer deserves that you \add (sg)\add* do this \add for him\add*,
\v 5 because he loves us \add Jewish\add* people, and he \add paid the money to\add* build a synagogue for us.”
\v 6 So Jesus went with them. When he was near the \add officer's\add* house, the officer \add decided that it was not necessary for Jesus to come to his house. So he\add* summoned some friends. He \add told them to\add* go to Jesus and tell him this: “Lord/Sir, do not bother to come. \add Because I am a non-Jew\add*, I am not worthy for you \add (sg)\add*, \add a Jew\add*, to come into my house [MTY] \add and associate with me\add*.
\v 7 I did not feel worthy to come to you, \add either\add*. But \add please\add* command \add that\add* my servant \add be healed\add*, and he will become well!
\v 8 \add I believe this\add* because, as for me, there are people who have authority over me \add and I obey them\add*. I also have soldiers under my \add authority\add*. 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 9 When \add the officer's friends arrived and\add* told that to Jesus, he marveled at what \add the officer had said\add*. Then he turned and said to the crowd that was going with him, “I tell you, I have never before found anyone who trusted \add in me like this non-Jewish man does\add*. No one from Israel, \add where I would expect people to believe in me\add*, has trusted in me like he has!”
\v 10 When those men returned to the officer's house, they found that the slave was well.
\s1 Jesus caused a widow's son to become alive again.
\sr Luke 7:11-17
\p
\v 11 Soon after that, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd \add of other people\add* went with him.
\v 12 As they approached the town gate, the corpse of a young man who had just died was being carried out \add on a stretcher\add* {\add people\add* were carrying out \add on a stretcher\add* the corpse of a young man who had just died}. His mother was a widow, and he was her only son. A large group of people from the town were accompanying them.
\v 13 When the Lord saw her, he pitied her. He said to her, “Do not cry!”
\v 14 Then, \add ignoring the Jewish laws about not coming near a corpse\add*, he came close and touched the stretcher \add on which the body was lying\add*. So the men carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
\v 15 The man sat up and began to talk! Jesus returned him to his mother \add to care for her\add*.
\v 16 Then everyone \add there\add* was amazed/awestruck. They praised God, saying, “A great prophet has come among us!” They also said, “God has come to help his people!”
\v 17 \add Then they\add* reported what Jesus \add had done\add* throughout all of Judea \add district\add* and other nearby areas.
\s1 Jesus taught about his ministry and the ministry of John the Baptizer.
\sr Luke 7:18-35
\p
\v 18 The disciples of John \add the Baptizer went to the prison where John was and\add* told him about those things.
\v 19 So \add one day\add* John summoned two \add of his disciples\add* and \add told them\add* to go to the Lord and ask him: “Are you \add the Messiah who the prophets prophesied would come\add*, or is it someone else that we should expect \add to come\add*?”
\v 20 When those two men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptizer sent us to ask you \add (sg)\add* this: Are you \add the Messiah that\add* we are expecting \add God\add* to send, or shall we \add (exc)\add* expect someone else?”
\v 21 At that very time Jesus was healing many people of their diseases and \add other\add* sicknesses, he was \add casting out\add* evil spirits, and he was causing many blind people to be able to see.
\v 22 So he answered those two men, “Go back and report to John what you have seen \add me doing\add* and what you have heard \add me telling people. I am enabling\add* blind people to see. \add I am enabling\add* lame people to walk. \add I am\add* healing people who have leprosy. \add I am enabling\add* deaf people to hear. \add I am causing\add* dead people to become alive again, \add and I am\add* telling \add God's\add* good message to poor people.
\v 23 \add Also tell John that God\add* is pleased with those who do not stop believing in me \add because what I do is not what they expect the Messiah to do\add*.”
\p
\v 24 When the men whom John had sent left, 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* [RHQ]. \add You did not go there to listen to a man who constantly changed the nature of his message\add* [MET], \add like\add* a reed that is blown back and forth by the wind [RHQ].
\v 25 Then what kind of man did you go there to see [RHQ]? Was he [RHQ] a man who wore expensive clothes? No! \add You know very well that\add* people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are in kings' palaces, \add not in the desolate areas\add*
\v 26 Then what \add kind of person\add* did you go to see? \add Did you\add* [RHQ] \add go there to see John because he was\add* a prophet? Yes! But I will tell you that \add John is\add* more \add important\add* than an \add ordinary\add* prophet.
\v 27 He is the one about whom \add these words\add* that God said to the Messiah have been written {\add the prophet Malachi\add* wrote \add these words\add*} \add in the Scriptures\add*: ‘Listen! I am going to send my messenger ahead of you \add (sg)\add* [SYN]. He will prepare \add people\add* for your coming.’
\p
\v 28 I tell you that from among all the people who have ever lived, \add God considers that\add* no one is greater than John. However, \add God considers\add* everyone who has let God rule their \add lives\add* [MET] to be greater than \add John\add*, \add even if they are\add* insignificant \add people\add*.”
\p
\v 29 When they heard \add what Jesus said\add* (OR, \add what John preached\add*), all the people, including tax collectors, \add whom many people despised\add*, agreed that God's way was right. By being baptized by John {By \add letting\add* John baptize them}, \add they had agreed that what God required people to do in order to be saved was right\add*.
\v 30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws were not baptized by John {did not \add let\add* John baptize them} because they rejected what God wanted them to do.
\p
\v 31 \add Then Jesus also said\add*, “◄\add Many of\add* you people have heard what \add John and I\add* have taught. I will illustrate what you are like./Do you know what \add many of\add* you people who have heard what \add John and I\add* have taught are like?► [RHQ]
\v 32 You are like children who are \add playing games\add* in an open area. \add Some of them\add* are calling to \add the others\add*, saying, ‘We \add (exc)\add* played happy music for you on the flute, but you did not dance! Then we sang sad funeral songs for you, but you did not cry!’
\v 33 \add Similarly, you people are dissatisfied with both John the Baptizer and me!\add* When John came and \add preached to you\add*, he did not eat \add ordinary\add* food [SYN] or drink wine, \add like most people do\add*. But you \add rejected him\add*, saying, ‘A demon is controlling him!’
\v 34 In \add contrast\add*, \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, eat \add the same food\add* and drink \add wine as others 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!’
\v 35 But those who are \add truly God's\add* children [PRS] realize that \add what John and I do is truly\add* wise.”
\s1 Jesus told why he appreciated the sinful woman pouring perfume on his feet.
\sr Luke 7:36-50
\p
\v 36 \add One day\add* one of the Pharisees \add named Simon\add* invited Jesus to eat a meal with him. So Jesus went to the man's house and reclined \add to eat\add*.
\v 37 There was a woman in that city \add who many people knew had been\add* a prostitute [EUP]. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house. So she went there, taking a stone jar that contained perfume.
\v 38 \add As they were reclining to eat\add*, the woman stood behind \add Jesus, at his\add* feet. As she was crying \add because she was sorry for her sins, her tears fell on Jesus' feet\add*. Then she wiped his feet with her hair, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume.
\v 39 When the Pharisee who had invited \add Jesus\add* saw that, he thought within himself, “\add Prophets know about other people's lives\add*, \add so\add* if Jesus were a prophet, he would have known who this woman is who is touching him, and what kind of a person she is. He would have known that she is a prostitute! [EUP]”
\v 40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, there is something I want to tell you \add (sg)\add*.” He replied, “Teacher, what is it?”
\v 41 Jesus replied, “Two people owed some money to a man who \add earned money by\add* lending \add it to others\add*. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty silver coins.
\v 42 Neither of them was able to pay back \add what he owed\add*, so the man \add very kindly\add* said that they did not have to pay back anything. So, which of those two men will love that man more?”
\v 43 Simon replied, “I think that the one who owed the most money and did not have to pay it back \add will love him more\add*.” Jesus said to him, “That is correct.”
\v 44 Then he turned toward the woman, and said to Simon, “◄Think about \add what\add* this woman \add has done\add*!/Do you \add (sg)\add* see \add what\add* this woman \add has done\add*?► [RHQ] When I entered your house, you \add did not follow our custom of welcoming guests by\add* giving me any water \add to wash\add* my feet, but this woman has wet my feet with her tears and then wiped them with her hair!
\v 45 You did not \add follow our custom of greeting by\add* kissing me, but since I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet!
\v 46 You did not \add follow our custom of welcoming guests by\add* anointing my head with \add olive\add* oil, but she has anointed my feet with fragrant perfume.
\v 47 So I will tell you that even though she has sinned very much, she has been forgiven {\add I\add* have forgiven her}. \add By what she has done she has shown that\add* she loves \add me\add* very much. But a person who has \add sinned\add* just a little bit, but whom \add I\add* have forgiven, will love \add me just a little bit\add*.”
\v 48 Then he said to the woman, “You have been forgiven {\add I have\add* forgiven \add you\add*} \add for\add* your sins.”
\v 49 Then those who were eating with him said among themselves, “◄This man must \add think that he is God!/\add*Who does this man \add think that he\add* is [RHQ]►, saying that he can forgive \add people for\add* their sins?”
\v 50 But Jesus said to the woman, “Because you have trusted [PRS] \add in me, God\add* has saved you \add from the guilt of your sins\add*. May \add God\add* give you inner peace as you go!”
\c 8
\s1 The list of women who helped Jesus.
\sr Luke 8:1-3
\p
\v 1 Soon after that, Jesus went, along with his twelve  \add disciples\add*, through various cities and villages. As they went, he was telling people the good message about how God wants ◄to have complete control/to rule► [MET] \add over their lives\add*.
\v 2 Some women from whom he had expelled evil spirits and healed of diseases also  \add went with him\add*. These included Mary, the woman from Magdala  \add village\add*, from whom  \add he had expelled\add* seven evil spirits;
\v 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who was one of  \add King\add* Herod  \add Antipas'\add* officials; Susanna; and many others. They were providing some of their own funds  \add to help Jesus and his disciples\add*.
\s1 The story about four different kinds of soil.
\sr Luke 8:4-8
\p
\v 4 A great crowd of people came to Jesus from many towns. Then he told them this parable:
\v 5 “A man went out  \add to his field\add* to sow  \add some\add* seeds. As he was scattering them over the soil, some  \add of the seeds\add* fell on the path. Then  \add people\add* walked on those seeds, and birds ate them.
\v 6 Some  \add of the seeds\add* fell on rock  \add on which there was a thin layer of\add* moist  \add soil\add*. As soon as the seeds grew, the plants dried up because they had no moisture.
\v 7 Some  \add of the seeds\add* fell on  \add ground that contained roots of\add* thorny  \add weeds\add*. The thorny weeds grew  \add together\add* with the young plants, and  \add they\add* crowded out  \add the plants\add*.
\v 8 But some of the seeds fell on good soil and grew  \add well\add*. \add Each seed later\add* produced a hundred  \add grains\add*.” Then Jesus shouted to them, “If you want to understand [MTY] this, you must consider  \add carefully what I have just said\add*!” 
\s1 Jesus explained that the story represented different ways people respond to his teaching.
\sr Luke 8:9-15
\p
\v 9 Jesus' disciples  \add later\add* asked him about the meaning of the parable  \add he had just told\add*.
\v 10 He said, “God is revealing to you what he did not reveal before, about  \add how he wants to\add* rule [MET] \add over people's lives\add*. But when I am telling other people about  \add these things, I tell them\add* only in parables. The result will be  \add like a prophet predicted long ago:\add*
\q They will see  \add what I am doing\add*, but will not perceive  \add what it means\add*. They will hear  \add what I am saying\add*, but will not understand  \add it\add*.
\p
\v 11 So this is the meaning of that parable: The seeds  \add represent\add* God's message.
\v 12 \add Some people are like\add* the path on which some of  \add the seeds fell\add*. When these people hear God's message, the devil comes and causes them to forget what they have heard. As a result, they do not believe it and will not be saved {\add God\add* will not save them}.
\v 13 \add Some people are like\add* the  \add soil with\add* rock  \add underneath\add*. When they hear  \add God's\add* message, they accept it joyfully. \add But because it does not penetrate deeply\add* [MET] \add into their inner beings\add*, they believe it for  \add only\add* a  \add short\add* time. \add They are like the plants that\add* did not have  \add deep\add* roots. When difficult things happen to them, they stop believing  \add God's message\add*.
\v 14 \add Some people are like\add* the  \add soil that had roots of\add* thorny  \add weeds\add* in it. They are people who accept  \add God's message\add*, but later on they worry about things, and try to become rich, and enjoy  \add things that give them\add* a lot of pleasure. So they do not become  \add spiritually\add* mature.
\v 15 But  \add some people are like\add* the good soil. They hear  \add God's\add* message and accept it. They  \add become\add* good, honest people, and they continue doing things  \add that please God\add* [MET].”
\s1 Jesus explained the need to make his truth clear to others.
\sr Luke 8:16-18
\p
\v 16 “After people light a lamp, they do not cover it with a basket or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, so that those who enter  \add the house\add* can see  \add things from\add* its light [MET]. \add Similarly, you must tell God's truth to others so that they can know what I can do for them\add*.
\v 17 \add God wants to\add* make clear all  \add of his truth\add* that was not evident previously. \add He intends\add* that all of  \add the truth\add* that  \add he\add* had not revealed before be told openly {that  \add his people\add* openly tell  \add others\add* all  \add of the truth\add* that  \add he\add* has not revealed before}.
\v 18 So listen carefully  \add to what I tell you\add*, because  \add God\add* will enable those who accept  \add my truth\add* to  \add understand even\add* more. But  \add God\add* will cause those who do not accept  \add my truth\add* to not understand even  \add the little\add* that they think they have  \add understood\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told them that some people are as dear to him as his own relatives.
\sr Luke 8:19-21
\p
\v 19 \add One day Jesus'\add* mother and his  \add younger\add* brothers came to see him, but they could not get near him because there was a large crowd  \add around him in the house\add*.
\v 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and your  \add younger\add* brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
\v 21 He replied, “Those who hear God's message and obey it are  \add as dear to me\add* [MET] as my mother and my brothers.”
\s1 Jesus calmed a storm.
\sr Luke 8:22-25
\p
\v 22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, “Let's go  \add around to\add* the other side of the lake.” So they started to go.
\v 23 As they were sailing, he fell asleep. A big windstorm came down on the lake. Soon the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.
\v 24 They woke him up. They said  \add to him\add*, “Master! Master! We  \add (inc)\add* are going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and told the waves to be calm. The wind stopped blowing and the waves calmed down. \add The lake\add* became calm.
\v 25 He said to them, “◄I  \add am disappointed that\add* you did not trust me  \add to help you\add*!/Why did you not trust me  \add to help you\add*?►” [RHQ] They were afraid. They were also amazed. They said to each other, “◄What kind of man is this?/This man is not like ordinary men!► [RHQ] He  \add not only commands people, but\add* when he commands the wind and the water, they also obey him!”
\s1 Jesus expelled many demons from a man.
\sr Luke 8:26-39
\p
\v 26 Jesus and his disciples arrived at the region near Gerasa, a  \add town\add* which  \add was on the eastern\add* side of Lake  \add Galilee\add*.
\v 27 \add There was\add* a man  \add in that region\add* in whom demons lived. \add He was\add* from the town  \add of Gerasa\add*. (OR, \add In that area there was\add* a man  \add from that town\add* whom demons controlled.) For a long time he had not worn clothes. He did not live in a house. Instead, he lived in burial caves.
\v 28-29 Many times  \add demons\add* attacked him. He was guarded {\add People\add* tried to guard him} \add so that he would not injure others\add*. Chains were fastened {They fastened chains} on his hands and shackles on his feet, but he would break the chains and shackles. Then he would be sent away by the demons {the demons would send him away} to the desolate area.
\p When Jesus stepped out of the boat onto the shore, the man saw him. He  \add ran to Jesus\add* and prostrated himself before him. Then Jesus commanded, “You evil spirit, come out of that man!” But it  \add did not leave immediately. Instead, it\add* caused the man to shout very loudly, “Jesus, Son of the great God in heaven, since we  \add (inc)\add* have nothing in common, \add leave me alone\add* [RHQ]! I beg you, do not torture me  \add now\add*!” 
\v 30 \add In order to expel the demon more easily\add*, Jesus asked  \add the demon\add*, “What is your  \add (sg)\add* name?” He replied, “My name is Crowd/Mob.” \add He said that\add* because many demons had entered that man.
\v 31 \add The demons\add* kept begging  \add Jesus\add* that he would not command them to go into the deep place  \add where God punishes demons\add*.
\v 32 There was a large herd of pigs ◄grazing/rooting for food► on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus that he allow them to enter the pigs. So he did.
\v 33 The demons left the man and entered the pigs. Then the herd  \add of pigs\add* rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
\p
\v 34 When the men who were taking care of the pigs saw what happened, they ran! They told people inside the town and outside the town what had happened.
\v 35 So people went out to see what had happened. When they came to where Jesus was, they saw that the man from whom Jesus had  \add expelled\add* the demons was sitting at the feet of Jesus, \add listening to him\add*. He had clothes on, and his mind was normal again. Then those people became afraid  \add because they thought that he would destroy more of their property\add* (OR, \add because they realized that he must be very powerful\add*).
\v 36 The people who had seen what happened told those  \add who had just arrived\add* how  \add Jesus\add* had healed the man whom demons were controlling  \add before\add*.
\v 37 Then  \add those people and\add* many other people [HYP] from the area near Gerasa asked Jesus to leave their area. They were very afraid of  \add what else Jesus would do to them\add*. So  \add Jesus and the disciples\add* got into the boat to go back across the lake.
\v 38 The man from whom he had  \add expelled\add* the demons begged him saying, “\add Please\add*, let me go with you!” But  \add Jesus refused. Instead\add*, he said to him,
\v 39 “\add No\add*, go home and tell people how much God has done for you!” Then he sent him away. So he went away and told people throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him.
\s1 Jesus caused a young girl to become alive again and healed a woman who had been bleeding for years.
\sr Luke 8:40-56
\p
\v 40 When  \add Jesus and the disciples\add* returned  \add to Capernaum\add*, a crowd of people who had been waiting for him welcomed him.
\v 41 Just then a man named Jairus, who was one of the leaders ◄of the synagogue/of the Jewish meeting place► \add there\add*, came near and prostrated himself at Jesus' feet. He pleaded with Jesus, “Please come to my house  \add and heal my daughter\add*, 
\v 42 because my only daughter, who is about twelve years old, is dying!”
\p As Jesus went with him, many people crowded close to Jesus.
\v 43 Then a woman came near. She had been suffering from constant  \add vaginal\add* [EUP] bleeding for twelve years, but she could not be healed by anyone {no one could heal her}.
\v 44 She came behind  \add Jesus\add* and touched the edge of his robe  \add in order to be healed\add*. At once her bleeding stopped.
\v 45 Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When everyone said that they had not touched him, Peter said, “Lord, there is a great crowd of people around you  \add (sg)\add* and crowding against you, \add so any one of them might have touched you\add*!” 
\v 46 But Jesus said, “\add I know that\add* someone  \add deliberately\add* touched me, \add because\add* my power has healed someone  \add who touched me\add*.”
\v 47 When the woman realized that she could not prevent  \add Jesus\add* (OR, \add people\add*) from knowing that  \add she was healed\add*, her body began to shake. \add She was afraid that because she had disobeyed the law that a woman with such a condition should not touch others, Jesus might scold her for doing that\add*. She prostrated herself before him. As the other people were listening, she told why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately.
\v 48 \add Jesus\add* said to her, “◄Ma'am/My dear woman►, because you believed [PRS] \add that I could heal you, I\add* have healed you. Go  \add from here, and may you experience God's\add* peace  \add within you\add*.”
\p
\v 49 While he was still talking  \add to her\add*, a man from Jairus' house came and said to him, “Your daughter has died. So ◄it is useless that you bother the teacher any longer  \add by urging him to go to your house\add*!/why do you bother the teacher any longer  \add by urging him to go to your house\add*?► [RHQ]”
\v 50 But when Jesus heard that, he said to Jairus, “Do not think that there is nothing more that can be done. Just believe that  \add I can help her. If you(sg) do that\add*, she will live again.”
\v 51 When they arrived outside the house, he allowed only Peter, John, James, and the girl's mother and father to go in the house with him.
\v 52 All the people  \add there\add* were crying and beating their breasts  \add to show that they were sad\add*. But, \add knowing that he would cause the girl to live again\add*, he said to them, “Stop crying! She is not dead! She is  \add just\add* sleeping [MET]!”
\v 53 The people laughed at him, because they knew that  \add the girl\add* was dead.
\v 54 But  \add Jesus\add* took hold of her hand and called to her, saying, “Child, get up!”
\v 55 At once her spirit returned  \add to her body\add* and she got up. Jesus told  \add them\add* to give her something to eat.
\v 56 Her parents were amazed, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone  \add else yet\add* what had happened.
\c 9
\s1 Jesus sent out his apostles to teach and heal people.
\sr Luke 9:1-6
\p
\v 1 \add One day\add* Jesus summoned his twelve \add apostles\add*, and gave them power to expel all \add kinds of\add* demons and to heal \add people with\add* diseases. He gave them authority to do that.
\v 2 \add Before\add* he sent them out to heal people and to tell people \add what it meant to let\add* God ◄rule/have complete control \add over\add*► \add their lives\add*,
\v 3 he said to them, “Do not take things for your journey. Do not take a walking stick or a \add traveler's\add* bag or food or money. Do not take ◄an extra shirt/extra clothes►.
\v 4 Whenever you enter some house \add to lodge there\add*, stay in that house until you leave that town.
\v 5 \add In towns\add* where the people do not welcome you, \add you should not continue to stay there. Just\add* leave those towns. And as you leave, shake off the dust from your feet. \add Do that to\add* warn them \add that God will punish them for rejecting your message\add*.”
\v 6 Then they left and traveled through many villages. Everywhere \add they went\add*, they told people God's good message and healed sick people.
\s1 Herod was uncertain about who was doing these miracles.
\sr Luke 9:7-11
\p
\v 7 Herod \add Antipas\add*, the ruler of \add that\add* district, heard about the things that \add Jesus and his disciples\add* were doing. \add He had previously commanded his soldiers to execute John the Baptizer, so now\add* he was perplexed, because some people were saying that John had become alive again \add and was doing those miracles\add*.
\v 8 Others were saying that \add the prophet\add* Elijah had appeared \add again as had been prophesied\add*. Others were saying that one of the \add other\add* former prophets had become alive again \add and was doing those miracles\add*.
\v 9 But Herod said, “\add It cannot be John who is doing these things\add*, \add because\add* I \add commanded my soldiers to\add* cut off his head. So who is \add this man\add* that I am hearing these things about?” And he kept wanting to see \add Jesus\add*.
\p
\v 10 When the apostles returned \add from traveling to various towns\add*, they told Jesus the things that they had done. Then he took them and they went by themselves \add by boat\add* to a town called Bethsaida.
\v 11 But when the crowds \add of people who had been with Jesus\add* found out about that, they followed him \add on land. When they got to where he was\add*, he welcomed them. He taught them about how God is going to some day ◄rule as king/have complete control \add over people's lives\add*►. He also healed the sick people.
\s1 Jesus fed over 5,000 people miraculously.
\sr Luke 9:12-17
\p
\v 12 Late in the afternoon the twelve \add apostles\add* came to him and said, “This is a place where nobody lives, so dismiss the people so that they can go to the surrounding villages and other places where they can get some food and find places to stay.”
\v 13 But he said to them, “\add No\add*, you \add yourselves\add* give them something to eat!” They replied, “We \add (exc)\add* have only five small loaves and two \add cooked\add* fish. Are you \add (sg)\add* going to \add give\add* us \add the money\add* to go somewhere and buy food for all these people?”
\v 14 There were about five thousand men \add there\add*. He replied to the disciples, “\add No\add*, \add just\add* tell the people to sit down. Tell them to sit in groups, with about fifty people in each group.”
\v 15 After they told the people that, they all sat down.
\v 16 Then he took the five small loaves and the two fish. He looked up towards heaven and thanked \add God for them\add*. Then he broke them \add into pieces\add* and gave them to the disciples so that they would distribute them to the crowd.
\v 17 All \add the people in the crowd\add* ate until they all had enough to eat. Then \add the disciples\add* collected twelve baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over!
\s1 After Peter expressed his belief that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection.
\sr Luke 9:18-27
\p
\v 18 \add One day\add* Jesus was praying in a place where only the disciples were with him. He asked them, “The crowds \add of people\add*, who do they say that I \add really\add* am?”
\v 19 They replied, “\add Some people say that you are\add* John the Baptizer, \add who has come back to life again\add*. Others say that you are \add the prophet\add* Elijah, \add who has returned from heaven as God promised\add*. Others say that you are one of the \add other\add* prophets who lived long ago, who has come back to life again.”
\v 20 He asked them, “What about you \add (pl)\add*? Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You \add (sg)\add* are the Messiah, who \add has come from\add* God.”
\v 21 Then Jesus warned them strongly not to tell that to anyone \add yet\add*.
\v 22 Then he said, “\add Even though I am\add* the one who came from heaven, it is necessary that I suffer very much. It is also necessary that I be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws {that the \add Jewish\add* elders and the chief priests and the men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws will reject me}. It is necessary that I be killed {that \add people\add* will kill me}. Then on the third day \add after that\add*, I will become alive again.”
\p
\v 23 Then he said to all of them, “If any one \add of you\add* wants to be my disciple, you must not do \add only\add* what you yourself desire \add to do\add*. \add Specifically\add*, you must be willing each day [MET] \add to let others hurt you and disgrace you. That is like what is done to criminals who are forced\add* to carry [MET] crosses \add to the place where they will be executed\add*. \add That is what anyone who wants to\add* be my disciple \add must do\add*.
\v 24 You must do that, 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 because of being my \add disciples\add* will live \add forever with me\add*.
\v 25 People might get everything that \add they want\add* in this world, but ◄they are really gaining nothing if they do not get eternal life by \add becoming my disciples\add*!/are they really gaining anything if they do not get eternal life by \add becoming my disciples\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 26 Those who reject my message \add and\add* refuse to say that \add they belong\add* to me, \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will also refuse to say that \add they belong to me\add* when I come back with the holy angels, and have the glorious brightness that my Father has.
\v 27 But listen carefully! Some of you \add (pl)\add* who are here now will see God ruling [MET] \add in many powerful ways\add*. You will see it before you die!”
\s1 Jesus talked with Moses and Elijah.
\sr Luke 9:28-36
\p
\v 28 About a week after \add Jesus\add* said those things, he took Peter, James, and \add James' brother\add* John and led them up a mountain so that he could pray \add there\add*.
\v 29 As he was praying, his face appeared very different to them. His clothes became as bright as lightning.
\v 30-31 Suddenly, two men appeared who had the brightness \add of heaven\add* surrounding them. They were \add prophets who had lived long ago\add*, Moses and Elijah. They started talking with Jesus about how he \add would accomplish what God had planned when he died\add* [EUP] \add very soon\add* in Jerusalem.
\v 32 Peter and the other \add disciples\add* who were with him were sound asleep. When they woke up, they saw \add Jesus'\add* brightness. They also saw the two men standing with him.
\v 33 As \add Moses and Elijah\add* were starting to leave Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here! Allow us to make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!” But he really did not realize what he was saying.
\v 34 As he was saying that, a \add bright\add* cloud appeared and covered them. The disciples were afraid as the cloud surrounded them.
\v 35 \add God\add* [MTY/EUP] spoke to them from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son. He is the one whom \add I\add* have chosen \add to do a great work for me\add*. \add So\add* you must listen to him!”
\v 36 After \add God\add* [MTY/EUP] finished saying that, \add the three disciples\add* saw that only Jesus was there. They did not tell anyone what they had seen until much later.
\s1 Jesus expelled a demon from a boy.
\sr Luke 9:37-43a
\p
\v 37 The next day, after they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd \add of people\add* met Jesus.
\v 38 Then a man from the crowd exclaimed, “Teacher, I plead with you, \add do something to help\add* my son! He is my only child!
\v 39 At various times an evil spirit suddenly seizes him and \add causes\add* him to scream. The evil spirit shakes him violently and causes him to foam at the mouth. It does not leave until my child is completely exhausted.
\v 40 I pleaded with your disciples \add who were here\add* for them to expel \add the evil spirit\add*, but they were not able to do it!”
\v 41 Jesus replied \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\add* What you \add think\add* is perverted! How long must I be with you \add before you are able to do what I do\add* [RHQ]? \add How long must I\add* endure your \add lack of faith\add*?” \add Then he said to the boy's father\add*, “Bring your \add (sg)\add* son here \add to me\add*!”
\v 42 While they were bringing the boy to Jesus, the demon attacked the boy, threw him to the ground, and shook him severely. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he returned him to his father's \add care\add*.
\v 43 All the people \add there\add* were amazed at the great \add power\add* of God.
\s1 Jesus predicted his arrest.
\sr Luke 9:43b-45
\p While they were all amazed at all the miracles \add Jesus\add* was doing, he said to his disciples,
\v 44 “Think carefully [MTY] about what I am about to tell you: \add Even though I am\add* the one who came from heaven, \add I will soon\add* be handed over to the authorities (OR, my enemies) {\add someone\add* is about to enable [MTY] my enemies to seize me}.”
\v 45 But \add the disciples\add* did not understand what he was saying; \add God\add* prevented them from understanding it, so that they would not know \add yet\add* what he meant. And they were afraid to ask him about \add what he had said\add*.
\s1 Jesus told his disciples who is really great in God's sight.
\sr Luke 9:46-48
\p
\v 46 The disciples began to argue among themselves about which one of them would be the greatest \add when Jesus became king\add*.
\v 47 But Jesus perceived what they were thinking. So he brought a young child to his side.
\v 48 He said to \add the disciples\add*, “Those who, because they \add love\add* me, (OR, because they want to behave like me) welcome a little child ◄\add like\add* this one/\add as\add* I \add would\add*► [MTY], \add God considers that\add* [MET] they are welcoming me. And those who welcome me, \add God considers\add* that [MET] they are welcoming him, the one who sent me. Remember that those among you who think of themselves as being very unimportant will be the ones \add whom God considers\add* to be great.”
\s1 Jesus told them not to forbid others from expelling demons.
\sr Luke 9:49-50
\p
\v 49 John replied to \add Jesus\add*, “Master, we \add (exc)\add* saw a man who was expelling demons, \add claiming\add* that \add he had\add* authority from you [MTY] to do that. So we told him to stop doing it, because he is not one of us \add disciples\add*.”
\v 50 But Jesus said to him \add and the other disciples\add*, “Do not tell him not to \add do that\add* Remember that those who are not opposing you are trying to \add achieve the same goals that\add* you are!”
\s1 People in a Samaritan town refused to welcome Jesus.
\sr Luke 9:51-56
\p
\v 51 When it was almost time for \add God\add* to take him up to heaven, \add Jesus\add* firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem.
\v 52 He sent some messengers to go ahead of him, and they entered a village in Samaria \add district\add* to prepare for him [SYN] \add to go there\add*.
\v 53 But \add the Samaritans did not like the Jews because of their insisting that it was necessary to go to Jerusalem to worship God. So\add*, because Jesus had firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem, they would not let him come \add to their village\add*.
\v 54 When two of his disciples, James and John, heard about that, they said, “Lord, do you \add (sg)\add* want us \add (exc)\add* to pray that \add God\add* will send fire down from heaven, \add as the prophet Elijah did long ago\add*, and destroy those people?”
\v 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them \add for saying that\add*.
\v 56 So they went to a different village.
\s1 Jesus told three people what it would cost them if they became his disciples.
\sr Luke 9:57-62
\p
\v 57 As Jesus and the disciples were walking along the road, one man said to him, “I will go with you \add (sg)\add* wherever you go!”
\v 58 \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 am\add* the one who came from heaven, I do not have a home where I can sleep!”
\v 59 Jesus told another man, “Come with me!” But the man said, “Lord/Sir, let me go \add home\add* first. \add After\add* my father \add dies\add* I will bury him, \add and then I will come with you\add*.”
\v 60 But Jesus said to him, “\add God considers that those who do not have eternal life are\add* dead [MET]. Let those people \add do the work of\add* burying people who die. As for you, go and tell people about how God wants ◄to rule/to have complete control \add over\add*► \add people's lives\add*!”
\v 61 Someone else said, “Lord, I will come with you and be your disciple, but first let me go home to say goodbye to my relatives.”
\v 62 Jesus said to him, “Anyone who is plowing his field should not look back \add to see what he has done. He must look forward to what is ahead. Similarly\add*, \add anyone who continues to be concerned about his family and other things he has left behind\add* is not fit \add to serve me and tell others about how\add* God wants to rule [MTY] \add people's lives\add*.”
\c 10
\s1 Jesus instructed seventy-two other disciples before sending them out.
\sr Luke 10:1-12
\p
\v 1 After that, the Lord \add Jesus\add* appointed seventy-two other \add people\add*. He \add prepared to\add* send them out, two-by-two, to every town and village where he [SYN] intended to go.
\v 2 He said to them, “The \add people who are ready to receive my message\add* are like a field \add of\add* [MET] \add grain\add* that is ready for \add people\add* to harvest {to be harvested}. But there are not many people \add to bring them to God\add*. 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 fields \add to gather the\add* harvest.
\v 3 Start going; but \add remember that\add* I am sending you \add (pl)\add* out \add to tell my message to people who will try to get rid of you. You will be\add* like lambs among wolves.
\v 4 Do not take along \add any money in\add* a purse. Do not take a traveler's bag. Do not take \add extra\add* sandals. Do not \add spend a lot of time\add* greeting people along the way.
\v 5 Whenever you enter a house \add to lodge there\add*, first say to those people, ‘May \add God give inner\add* peace to \add you people\add* [MTY] \add in\add* this house!’
\v 6 If people who \add live\add* there \add are ◄desiring to have\add*/worthy of receiving► \add God's\add* peace, they will experience the \add inner\add* peace that you are \add offering them\add*. If people who \add live\add* there \add are not desiring to have God's\add* peace, you \add will experience God's inner\add* peace, \add but they will not\add*.
\v 7 \add If they welcome you\add*, stay in that same house \add until you leave that village\add*. Do not move around from one house to another. Eat and drink whatever they provide for you. A worker deserves to get pay [MET] \add from the people for whom he works, so you deserve to receive food and a place to stay from the people to whom you go\add*.
\v 8 Whenever you enter a town and the people \add there\add* welcome you, eat what is provided {what \add they\add* provide} for you.
\v 9 Heal the people there who are sick. Tell them, ‘It is almost \add time for\add* God to send his king to rule [MET] \add your lives\add*.’
\v 10 But if you enter a town whose \add people\add* do not welcome you, go into its \add main\add* streets and say,
\v 11 ‘\add Because you have refused to hear our message, we(exc) will not only leave\add*, we will also shake off the dust of your town that clings to our sandals, to warn you \add that God will reject/punish you\add*. But \add we want you to know that\add* it is almost \add the time when\add* God will start to rule!’
\v 12 I will tell you this: On the [MTY] \add final\add* day when \add God judges everyone\add*, he will punish the wicked people [MTY] who long ago lived in Sodom, \add the city that he destroyed because its people were so wicked\add*. But he will punish \add even\add* more severely the people [MTY] of that town \add who refused to hear your message\add*!”
\s1 Jesus warned the unbelievers in three towns.
\sr Luke 10:13-16
\p
\v 13 “There will be terrible \add punishment\add* for \add you people who live in\add* [MTY] Chorazin and Bethsaida \add cities\add* I did great miracles in your cities \add to show God's power, 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 Tyre and Sidon \add cities\add*, the wicked people who lived there would have long ago \add shown that they were sorry for their sins by\add* sitting on the ground wearing coarse cloth and putting ashes on their heads.
\v 14 \add But they did not have the opportunity that you have, so when God punishes people, he will punish the wicked people who lived in\add* Tyre and Sidon, but he will punish you more severely \add because you did not pay attention to my message\add*
\v 15 \add I also have something to say to\add* you \add people who live in\add* Capernaum \add city\add*. ◄Do not \add think that you will be honored\add* {\add that God\add* will honor you} in heaven!/Do you \add think that you will be honored\add* {\add that God\add* will honor you} in heaven?► [RHQ] \add That will not happen! On the contrary\add*, \add after you die, God\add* will send you down to the place where \add sinful people\add* will be punished \add forever\add*!”
\p
\v 16 \add Jesus also said to the disciples, “God will consider that\add* those who listen to your \add message\add* are listening to me, and that those who reject your \add message\add* are rejecting me. And \add he will consider that\add* those who reject me are rejecting \add God\add*, the one who sent me.”
\s1 Jesus commented on their ministry after the seventy-two returned.
\sr Luke 10:17-24
\p
\v 17 The seventy-two \add people whom Jesus appointed went and did as he told them to\add*. When they returned, they were very joyful. They said, “Lord, \add people did what we(exc) told them to do! But\add* demons also obeyed us when by your \add (sg)\add* authority [MTY] \add we commanded them to leave people\add*!”
\v 18 He replied, “\add When those demons were obeying you, because God had enabled you to defeat them, it was as though\add* [MET] I saw Satan fall from heaven \add as suddenly and quickly\add* as lightning \add strikes\add*
\v 19 Listen! I have given you authority so that if you oppose evil spirits [MET] \add they will not hurt you\add*. I have given you authority to defeat our enemy, \add Satan\add*. Nothing shall hurt you.
\v 20 But \add although\add* you can rejoice that evil spirits obey you, you should rejoice \add more\add* that your names have been written {that \add God\add* has written your names} in heaven, \add because you will be with God forever\add*.”
\p
\v 21 At that time the Holy Spirit caused \add Jesus\add* to be very happy. He said, “Father, you \add (sg)\add* rule over \add everything in\add* heaven and \add on\add* the earth! Some \add people think that they are\add* wise \add because\add* they are well-educated. But I thank you that you have prevented them from \add knowing\add* these things. \add Instead\add*, you have revealed them to \add people who accept your truth as readily\add* [MET] \add as\add* little children \add do\add*. Yes, Father, \add you have done that\add* because it seemed good to you \add to do\add* so.”
\v 22 \add Jesus also said to the 72 disciples\add*, “\add God\add*, my Father, has revealed to me all \add I need to know and the power I need for my work\add*. Only my Father knows who I \add really\add* am. Furthermore, only I and those \add people\add* to whom I wish to reveal him know what \add God\add* my Father is \add like\add*.”
\p
\v 23 Then when his disciples were alone with him, he turned toward them and said, “\add God\add* is pleased with you [SYN] who have seen \add the things that I have done\add*!
\v 24 I want you to know that many prophets and kings \add who lived long ago\add* desired to see the things that you are seeing \add me do\add*, but those things did not \add happen\add* then. They longed to hear the things that you have been hearing \add me say\add*, but \add I\add* did not \add reveal them\add* then.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we must show our love to everyone, even ones we do not like to associate with.
\sr Luke 10:25-37
\p
\v 25 \add One day as Jesus was teaching people\add*, a man who had studied carefully the laws that \add God gave Moses\add* was there. He wanted to ask Jesus a difficult question. So he stood up and asked, “Teacher, what shall I do in order to live \add with God\add* forever?”
\v 26 Jesus said to him, “You \add (sg)\add* have read [RHQ] what \add Moses\add* has written in the laws that \add God gave him\add*. What did Moses write about that?”
\v 27 The man replied, “\add He wrote that\add* we \add (inc)\add* must love the Lord our God in our ◄inner beings/hearts►. \add We must show that\add* by what we feel and by what we do and by what we think. \add He\add* also \add wrote that we must love\add* people that we come in contact with as much as \add we love\add* ourselves.”
\v 28 Jesus replied, “You \add (sg)\add* have answered \add your question\add* correctly. If you do all that \add continually\add*, you will live \add with God forever\add*.”
\p
\v 29 But the man wanted to defend \add the way\add* he \add acted toward people that he came in contact with\add* (OR, to defend why he \add had asked a question that Jesus answered so simply\add*). So he said to Jesus, “Which people that I come in contact with \add should I love\add*?”
\v 30 Jesus replied \add by telling him this illustration\add*: “A \add Jewish\add* man was once going down along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Bandits attacked him. They took away \add most of\add* the man's clothes \add and everything else that he had\add*, and they beat him until he was almost dead. Then they left him.
\v 31 It happened that a \add Jewish\add* priest was going along that road. When he saw that man, \add instead of helping him\add*, he passed by on the other side \add of the road\add*.
\v 32 Similarly, a man who worked in the temple \add in Jerusalem\add* came to that place and saw the man. But he also passed by on the other side \add of the road\add*.
\v 33 Then a man from Samaria \add province\add* came along that road to where the man was lying. \add People from Samaria despise Jews. But\add* when he saw that man, he pitied him.
\v 34 He went close to him and put some \add olive\add* oil and wine on the wounds \add to help heal them\add*. He wound strips of cloth \add around the wounds\add*. He placed the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn and took care of him.
\v 35 The next morning he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you \add (sg)\add* spend more than this amount \add to care for him\add*, I will pay you back when I return.’”
\v 36 Then Jesus said, “Three people \add saw\add* the man whom bandits attacked. Which one of them \add acted in a loving way toward\add* that man?”
\v 37 The man who studied the Scriptures replied, “The one who acted mercifully toward him.” Jesus said to him, “You \add (sg)\add* go and act like that \add toward\add* everyone whom \add you can help\add*!”
\s1 Jesus rebuked Martha for being too concerned about household chores.
\sr Luke 10:38-42
\p
\v 38 As Jesus and his disciples continued to travel, they entered a village \add near Jerusalem\add*. A woman whose name was Martha invited them to come to her house.
\v 39 Her \add younger\add* sister, whose name was Mary, was sitting near Jesus. She was listening to what he was teaching.
\v 40 But Martha was very much concerned about preparing \add the meal\add*. She went to Jesus and said, “Lord, ◄do you not care that my sister has left me to prepare everything by myself?/you do not seem to care that my sister has left me to prepare everything by myself!► [RHQ] Tell her that she should help me!”
\v 41 But the Lord replied, “Martha, Martha, you \add (sg)\add* are very worried about many things.
\v 42 But only one thing is truly necessary, and that is, \add to listen to what I am teaching\add*. Mary has decided to \add do that\add*, and that is better. \add The blessing that she is receiving from doing that\add* will not be taken away from her {No one will take away from her \add the blessing that she is receiving from doing that\add*}.”
\c 11
\s1 Jesus taught his disciples various things about prayer.
\sr Luke 11:1-13
\p
\v 1 One day Jesus was somewhere praying. When he finished \add praying\add*, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us \add what to say when\add* we \add (exc)\add* pray, as John \add the Baptizer\add* taught his disciples!”
\v 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say \add things like this\add*: ‘Father, we want you \add (sg)\add* [MTY] to be honored/revered. \add We want people to let you(sg)\add* [MTY, MET] rule over their lives.
\v 3 Give us \add (exc)\add* each day the food [SYN] that we need.
\v 4 Forgive us \add for\add* the wrong things that we have done, because we forgive people for the wrong things that they do to us. Do not let us do wrong things when we are tempted {\add someone or something\add* tempts us}.’”
\p
\v 5 Then he said to them, “Suppose that one of you goes to the house of a friend at midnight. Suppose that you \add (sg) stand outside and\add* call out to him, ‘My friend, please lend me three buns!
\v 6 Another friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived \add at my house\add*, but I have no food \add ready\add* to give to him!’
\v 7 Suppose that he answers you from inside \add the house\add*, ‘Do not bother me! The door has been locked {\add We(exc)\add* have locked the door} and all my family are in bed. \add So\add* I cannot get up and give you \add (sg)\add* anything!’
\v 8 I will tell you that even if he does not \add want to\add* get up and give you \add any food\add*, to avoid being ashamed \add for not helping you\add* because you are his friend (OR, if without being ashamed you continue asking him to do that), he certainly will get up and give you whatever you need.
\v 9 So I tell you this: Keep asking \add God for what you need\add*. If you do that, \add he\add* will give it to you \add (pl)\add*. Confidently keep expecting \add God to give you the things that you need\add*, and \add he\add* will give them to you [MET]. \add It will be like\add* looking for what you need and finding it. Keep on \add praying urgently to God. Then God will answer you. It will be like\add* knocking \add on a door\add*. And \add God\add* will open \add the way\add* for you \add to get what you pray for\add*.
\v 10 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 urgently praying for\add*.
\v 11 If one of you had a son who asked you \add (sg)\add* for a fish \add to eat\add*, ◄you \add (sg)\add* certainly would not give him a \add poisonous\add* snake instead!/would you give him a \add poisonous\add* snake instead?► [RHQ]
\v 12 If he asked you for an egg, ◄you \add (sg)\add* certainly would not give him a scorpion!/would you give him a scorpion?► [RHQ]
\v 13 Even though you people are evil, you know how to give good things to your children. So your Father in heaven will certainly \add give good things\add* to those who ask him, \add including\add* giving the Holy Spirit, \add who is the best gift\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught people various things about demons.
\sr Luke 11:14-28
\p
\v 14 \add One day there was a man there who, because a demon controlled him\add* [MTY], was unable to speak. After \add Jesus expelled\add* the demon, the man \add began to\add* talk. \add Most of\add* the people \add there\add* were amazed.
\v 15 But some of them said, “It is Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, who enables \add this man\add* to expel demons!”
\v 16 Other \add people there\add* asked him to perform a miracle \add to prove ◄he was the Messiah/that he had come\add* from God► [MTY/EUP]. They wanted to trap him \add into not being able to perform a miracle or into doing something ridiculous\add*.
\v 17 But he knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “If \add the people in\add* one nation fight against each other, their nation will be destroyed {\add they\add* will destroy their nation}. If \add the people in\add* [MTY] one house are divided, they will cease to remain as one \add family\add*.
\v 18 \add Similarly\add*, if Satan \add and his demons\add* were fighting against each other, ◄his rule over them would \add certainly\add* not last!/how would his rule over them last?► [RHQ] \add I say this\add* because you are saying that I am expelling demons by \add the power of\add* the ruler of \add his own demons\add*
\v 19 Furthermore, if \add it is true that\add* Satan enables me to expel demons, \add is it also true that\add* your disciples \add who\add* expel demons \add do so\add* by \add Satan's\add* power [RHQ]? \add No, that is not true\add*. So they will show that you \add are not thinking logically\add*.
\v 20 But because it is by the power [MTY] of God \add that I expel demons\add*, I am showing you \add that the power of\add* God to [MET] rule \add people's lives\add* has come to you.”
\p
\v 21 Then, \add to show that by expelling evil spirits he was making it clear that he was much more powerful than Satan, Jesus said\add* [MET], “When a strong man who has many weapons guards his own house, no one can steal the things in his house.
\v 22 But when someone else who is stronger attacks that man and subdues him, he is able to take away the weapons in which the man trusted. Then he can take from that man's house anything he \add wants to\add*.
\v 23 \add No one can be neutral\add*. Those who do not help me \add are opposing\add* me, and those who do not gather \add people to become\add* my \add disciples\add* are causing \add those people\add* to go away \add from me\add*.”
\p
\v 24 \add Then Jesus said this\add*: “\add Sometimes when\add* an evil spirit leaves someone, it wanders around in desolate areas seeking \add someone in whom it can\add* rest. If it does not find anyone, it says \add to itself\add*, ‘I will return to the person in whom I used to live!’
\v 25 So it goes back and finds that \add the Spirit of God is not in control of that person's life. The person's life is like\add* a house that has been {that someone has} swept clean and everything put {put everything} in order, \add but a house that is empty\add*.
\v 26 Then \add this evil spirit\add* goes and gets seven other spirits that are \add even\add* more evil than it is. They \add all\add* enter \add that person\add* and \add begin\add* living there. \add So\add*, \add although\add* that person's condition \add was bad\add* before, it became much worse.”
\p
\v 27 When Jesus said that, a woman who was listening called out \add to him\add*, “\add God is\add* pleased with the woman who gave birth to you \add (sg)\add* and let you nurse \add at her breasts\add*!”
\v 28 But he replied, “God \add is\add* much more pleased with those who hear his message and obey it!”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the people for wanting more miracles.
\sr Luke 11:29-36
\p
\v 29 When the group of people around \add Jesus\add* got larger, he said, “\add Many of\add* you people who have been observing my ministry are evil. You want \add me to perform\add* a miracle \add to prove that I have come from God\add*, but the only miracle that \add I\add* will perform for you is one \add like happened to\add* Jonah.
\v 30 \add After Jonah was inside a huge fish for three days, God performed\add* a miracle \add to bring\add* Jonah \add back to life again. Jonah went and testified about that\add* to the people in Nineveh \add city. God will perform\add* a similar miracle \add for me\add*, the one who came from heaven. \add When you people have seen that miracle, you will believe my message\add*.
\v 31 \add The\add* queen from \add Sheba\add*, \add far\add* south \add of Israel, who lived long ago\add*, traveled a long distance to hear Solomon speak \add many\add* wise things. But now \add I, 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*. Therefore, at the time when \add God\add* judges \add all people\add*, the queen from \add Sheba\add* will stand there, \add along\add* with you people, and will condemn you.
\v 32 The people who lived in Nineveh \add city\add* turned from their sinful ways when Jonah preached to them. But now I, who am greater than Jonah, have come \add and preached to you\add*, \add but you have not turned from your sinful ways\add*. Therefore, at the time when God judges \add all people\add*, the people who lived in Nineveh will stand there with you and condemn you.”
\p
\v 33 \add Then, to show them that they did not need more miracles, but that they needed only to understand better what he had already told them, he said to them\add* [MET], “People who light a lamp do not then hide it, or put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so that those who enter \add the house\add* can see \add things from\add* its light. \add Similarly, I have not concealed God's truth. I have revealed it to you\add*.
\v 34 Your eyes [MET] are like a lamp for your body, because they enable you to see things. If your eyes are healthy, you are able to see everything well [MET]. \add Similarly, if you(sg) accept my teaching, you will be able to know all that God wants you to know\add*. But if your eyes are bad, you are not able to see anything. It is like being in darkness [MET]. \add And similarly, if you(pl) do not accept what I teach, you will not be able to know all the things that God wants you to know\add*.
\v 35 Therefore, \add you(pl) do not need to see more miracles. You need to think carefully about what I have already\add* told you, so that the things that you have heard from others do not cause you to remain in spiritual darkness [MET].
\v 36 If you \add live completely according to God's truth, you will be able to know everything that God wants you to know. It will be like\add* being in a room with a lamp shining brightly, enabling you to see everything clearly.”
\s1 Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for only pretending to be good.
\sr Luke 11:37-54;Matthew 23:1-36;Mark 12:38-40
\p
\v 37 While Jesus finished saying those things, a Pharisee invited him to eat a meal with him. So Jesus went to \add his house\add* and ate with him.
\v 38 The Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not follow the Pharisees' ritual by washing his hands before eating. \add The Pharisees washed their hands in a certain way to be cleansed from anything that might have contaminated them. They were afraid that God might reject them if they\add* had \add touched something unacceptable to God\add*.
\v 39 The Lord \add Jesus\add* said to Him, “You Pharisees are \add concerned about things that are outside your bodies, not with what is in your\add* ◄\add inner beings/hearts\add*► [MET]. You wash the outside of cups and dishes \add before you eat because you think that doing that will make you acceptable to God\add*, but within yourselves you are very greedy and wicked.
\v 40 You foolish people! \add God\add* is concerned about things that are outside \add our bodies\add*, but ◄he is certainly also concerned about our inner \add beings\add*!/isn't he also concerned about our hearts?► [RHQ]
\v 41 Give \add money\add* to those who are poor. \add Give according to what you know within\add* your ◄inner beings\add /hearts \add*► \add that you should give\add*. Then you \add will be surprised to realize that\add* you will be acceptable \add to God without having to perform all those rituals about washing\add*.
\p
\v 42 But there will be terrible punishment for you Pharisees! You give to God a tenth of \add all you produce, even\add* the various herbs that you grow, but you do not \add remember that you must act\add* justly \add toward others\add* and love God! It is good to \add give a tenth of your income to God\add*, but you ought to do these other things also!
\v 43 There will be terrible punishment for you Pharisees, because you like \add to sit in\add* the best seats in our worship places \add so that people will think highly of you\add*, and you like people to greet you \add respectfully\add* in the marketplaces.
\v 44 There will be terrible punishment for you, because you are like ground where there is no marker \add to indicate that there is a\add* grave \add underneath\add*. People walk there, but they cannot see \add what is rotten down below\add* [MET]! \add Similarly, people who see you do not realize how polluted you are within yourselves\add*.”
\p
\v 45 One of those who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws replied, “Teacher, by saying this you \add (sg)\add* are criticizing us \add also\add*!”
\v 46 Jesus said, “It will be terrible also for you who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws! You require people \add to obey many rules that are difficult to obey\add* [MET]. \add That is like making them\add* carry heavy burdens on their backs. But you yourselves do not obey the laws \add that you require others to obey\add*. (OR, you do not do anything to help \add others to obey the laws\add*.)
\v 47 There will be terrible punishment for you! You decorate the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed, \add but you do not live according to what the prophets taught\add*.
\v 48 So you are declaring that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you \add are not honoring them! You just\add* decorate their tombs!
\v 49 So God, who is very wise [PRS], said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles \add to you Jews\add*. \add You\add* will kill some of them and cause some of them to suffer greatly.
\v 50 \add As a result, I\add* will consider that many of you people \add who have observed my Son's ministry\add* will be guilty [MTY] \add of murder, as if you had\add* killed all the prophets that other people have killed, from the time I created the world,
\v 51 starting from \add Adam's son Cain\add* killing \add his brother\add* Abel and continuing until they killed the prophet Zechariah \add in the holy place\add* between the altar and the temple.’ Yes, what I am saying \add is true\add* [MTY]. \add God\add* will punish you people who have observed my ministry whom \add he\add* considers to be guilty [MTY] for \add killing\add* all those prophets!
\v 52 There will be terrible punishment for you men who teach the \add Jewish\add* laws, because you have \add not let people\add* know \add God's truth\add* [MET]! \add It is as though you are\add* taking away a key \add to a house\add*. You are not going into \add the house\add* yourselves, and you are not letting other people enter it, either.”
\p
\v 53 After Jesus finished saying those things, he left there. Then the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and the Pharisees began to act in a very hostile way toward him. They tried to make him say what he thought about many things.
\v 54 They kept waiting for him to say something \add wrong\add* for which they could accuse him.
\c 12
\s1 Jesus warned the people not to be like the Pharisees.
\sr Luke 12:1-3
\p
\v 1 While they were doing that, many thousands of people gathered \add around Jesus\add*. There were so many that they were stepping on each other. Then he said to his disciples, “Beware of \add becoming\add* hypocrites \add like\add* the Pharisees. Their \add evil influence\add* [MET] \add spreads to others like\add* yeast \add spreads its influence in dough\add*.
\v 2 People will not be able to continue concealing the things that \add they or other\add* people try to conceal now. \add God\add* will \add some day\add* cause the things that are hidden now to be known {\add everyone\add* to know the things that they hide now}.
\v 3 All the things that you say in the dark \add secretly, some day\add* will be heard {people will hear them} in the daylight. The things you have whispered [SYN] among yourselves in your rooms will be proclaimed {\add people\add* will proclaim them} publicly.”
\s1 Jesus told them not to be afraid to tell others of their faith in him.
\sr Luke 12:4-12
\p
\v 4 “My friends, listen \add carefully\add* Do not be afraid of people who \add are able to\add* kill you, but after they kill you, there is nothing more that they can do \add to hurt you\add*
\v 5 But I will warn you about the one that you should truly be afraid of. You should be afraid of \add God\add*, because he not only has \add the power to\add* cause people to die, he has the power to throw them into hell afterward! Yes, he is truly the one that you should be afraid of!
\v 6 \add Think about\add* the sparrows. \add They have so little value\add* that \add you\add* can [RHQ] buy five of them for only two small coins. But not one of them is ever forgotten by God {God never forgets one of them}!
\v 7 You are more valuable \add to God\add* than many sparrows. So do not be afraid \add of what people can do to you God\add* even knows how many hairs there are on each of your heads, \add so that if you(sg) lose one hair, he knows about it. So nothing bad can happen to you without his knowing it\add*.
\p
\v 8 I want to tell you also that if people, \add without being afraid, are willing to\add* tell others \add that they are my disciples\add*, \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will acknowledge before \add God that they are my disciples\add*. \add I will do that while\add* God's angels listen.
\v 9 But if they \add are\add* afraid to say in front of others that they are \add my disciples\add*, \add I\add* will say while God's angels listen, that they are not \add my disciples\add*.
\v 10 \add I will tell you\add* also that \add God is willing to\add* forgive people who say bad things about me, the one who came from heaven, but \add he\add* will not forgive anyone who says evil things about what the Holy Spirit \add does\add*.
\v 11 \add So\add* when people ask you in Jewish worship houses and in the presence of rulers and other authorities \add about your trusting in me\add*, do not worry about how you will answer them \add when they accuse you\add*. Do not worry about what you should say,
\v 12 because the Holy Spirit will tell you at that very time what you should say.”
\s1 Jesus warned them about being greedy.
\sr Luke 12:13-21
\p
\v 13 Then one of the people in the crowd said to \add Jesus\add*, “Teacher, tell my \add older\add* brother to divide my father's property and give me \add the part that belongs\add* to me!”
\v 14 But Jesus replied to him, “Man, ◄no one appointed me in order that I would settle \add matters when people are\add* disputing about property!/did anyone appoint me in order that I would settle \add matters when people are\add* disputing about property?► [RHQ]”
\v 15 Then he said to the whole crowd, “Guard yourselves very carefully, in order that you do not desire other people's things in any way! No one can make his life secure by \add obtaining\add* many possessions.”
\p
\v 16 Then he told them this illustration: “There was a certain rich man in whose fields abundant crops grew.
\v 17 \add So\add* he said \add to himself\add*, ‘I do not know what to do, because I do not have any place \add big enough\add* to store all my crops!’
\v 18 Then he said to himself, ‘\add I know\add* what I will do! I will tear down my grain bins and then build larger ones! Then I will store all my wheat and other goods in \add the big new bins\add*.
\v 19 \add Then\add* I will say to myself [SYN], “Now I have plenty of things stored up. \add They will last\add* for many years. \add So now\add* I will take life easy. I will eat and drink \add all that I want to\add* and be happy \add for a long time\add*!”’
\v 20 But God said to him, ‘You foolish \add man\add* Tonight you will die! ◄Then all \add the goods\add* you have saved up \add for yourself\add* will \add belong to someone else, not to\add* you!/Do you think that you \add will benefit from\add* all that you have stored up for yourself?► [RHQ]’”
\p
\v 21 \add Then Jesus ended this illustration by saying\add*, “That is what will happen to those who store up goods just for themselves, but who do not value the things \add that\add* God \add considers\add* valuable.”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples not to worry about the things that they need.
\sr Luke 12:22-34
\p
\v 22 Then \add Jesus\add* said to his disciples, “So I want to tell you this: Do not worry about \add things you need\add* in order to live. Do not worry about \add whether you will have enough food\add* to eat or \add enough clothes\add* to wear.
\v 23 It is important to have sufficient food and clothing, but ◄the way you conduct your lives is more important./is not the way you conduct your lives more important?► [RHQ]
\v 24 Think about the birds: They do not plant \add seeds\add*, and they do not harvest \add crops\add*. They do not have rooms or buildings in which to store crops. But God provides food for them. \add And\add* you are certainly much more valuable than birds. \add So God will certainly provide what you need!\add*
\v 25 ◄There is not a one of you who can add a little bit to how long he lives by worrying about it!/Is there any of you who can add a little bit to how long he lives by worrying about it?► [RHQ]
\v 26 That is a small thing to do. So since you cannot do that, ◄you certainly should not worry about other things that \add you need to have in order to live!\add*/why do you worry about other things that \add you need to have in order to live\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 27 Think about the way that flowers grow \add in the fields\add*. They do not work \add to earn money\add*, and they do not make their own clothes. But I tell you that \add even though King\add* Solomon, \add who lived long ago, wore very beautiful clothes\add*, his clothes were not as beautiful as one of those \add flowers\add*.
\v 28 God makes the flowers beautiful, but they grow in the fields for only a short time. Then \add they are cut at the same time that the other grass\add* is cut, and thrown into an oven \add to be burned to make heat for baking\add* bread. \add So they really are not worth very much. But you are very precious to\add* God, \add and he\add* will \add care for you\add* much more \add than he cares for the grass by filling it with beautiful flowers\add*. So he will certainly provide clothes for you, who \add live much longer than the grass. Why\add* [RHQ] \add do you\add* trust him so little?
\v 29 Do not always be concerned about having enough to eat and drink, and do not be worrying about those things.
\v 30 The people who do not know God are always worried about such things. But your Father \add in heaven\add* knows that you need those things, \add so you should not worry about them\add*.
\v 31 Instead, be concerned about letting \add God\add* completely direct \add your life\add*. Then \add he\add* will also give you enough of the things \add you need\add*.
\p
\v 32 \add You who are my disciples are like a\add* small flock of sheep, \add and I am like your shepherd\add*. So you should not be afraid. Your Father \add in heaven\add* wants to let you rule with him \add in heaven\add*.
\v 33 \add So now\add* sell the things that you own. Give \add the money that you get for those things\add* to poor people. \add If you do that, it will be as though\add* you are providing for yourselves purses that will not wear out, and \add God will give\add* you a treasure in heaven that will always be safe. There, no thief can come near \add to steal it\add*, and no termite can destroy it.
\v 34 Remember that \add the things\add* that you \add think are the most\add* valuable are \add the things\add* that you will be constantly concerned about.”
\s1 Jesus told them that they should be ready for his return.
\sr Luke 12:35-48
\p
\v 35 “Be always ready \add for doing God's work\add* [MET], like \add people\add* who have put on their work clothes and are ready \add during the day\add*, with their lamps burning all night.
\v 36 Be \add ready for me to return\add* [MET], like servants who are waiting for their master to return after being at a wedding feast \add for several days\add*. They are \add waiting to\add* open the door for him and \add start working for him again\add* as soon as he arrives and knocks at the door.
\v 37 If those servants are awake when he returns, \add he will\add* be very pleased with them. I will tell you this: He will put on \add the kind of clothes\add* that servants wear and tell them to sit down, and he will serve them a meal.
\v 38 \add Even\add* if he comes between midnight and sunrise, if he finds that his servants are \add awake and\add* ready \add for him\add*, he will be very pleased with them.
\v 39 But you must also remember this: If owners of a house knew what time the thief was coming, they \add would stay awake and\add* would not allow the house to be broken into \add and their goods to be stolen\add* {\add the thief\add* to break into the house \add and steal their goods\add*}.
\v 40 Similarly, you must be ready \add for me to return\add*, because \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will come \add again\add* at a time when you do not expect \add me to come\add*.”
\p
\v 41 Peter said, “Lord, are you \add (sg)\add* speaking this illustration \add only\add* for us or for everyone \add else also\add*?”
\v 42 The Lord replied, “\add I am saying it for you and for anyone else\add* [MET, RHQ] who is like a faithful and wise manager in his master's house. His master appoints him to \add supervise affairs in his house\add* and to give all the \add other\add* servants their food at the proper time. \add Then he leaves on a long trip\add*.
\v 43 If the servant is doing that work when his master returns, \add his master\add* will be very pleased with him.
\v 44 I tell you this: His master will appoint him to supervise all of his affairs \add permanently\add*.
\v 45 But that servant might say to himself, ‘My master \add has been away\add* for a long time, \add so he probably will\add* not return soon \add and find out what I am doing\add*.’ \add Then he might\add* start to beat the \add other\add* servants, both male and female ones. \add He might also start\add* to eat \add a lot of food\add* and get drunk.
\v 46 \add If he does that, and if\add* his master returns on a day that he does not know about, at a time when the servant does not expect him, then his master will ◄cut him into two pieces/punish him severely► [HYP] and put him \add in the place where he puts all\add* those who do not \add serve him\add* faithfully.
\v 47 Every servant who knows what his master wants him to do but who does not get himself ready and does not do what his master desires will be beaten severely {\add The master\add* will beat severely every servant who knows what his master wants him to do but who does not get himself ready and does not do what his master desires}.
\v 48 But every \add servant\add* who did not know \add what his master wanted\add* him to do, and who did things for which he deserved to be punished, will be beaten lightly {\add the master\add* will beat lightly every \add servant\add* who did not know \add what his master wanted\add* him to do and did the things for which he deserved that \add his master\add* would beat him}. \add God will treat his people similarly, because he\add* expects a lot from those people whom \add he\add* has allowed \add to understand a lot\add*. People who entrust things \add to others' care\add* expect those people \add to care for those things\add* very well. Similarly, \add God\add* expects a lot from those people whom he has allowed \add to understand a lot\add*. Furthermore, he expects the most from people to whom he has given the most \add ability\add*.”
\s1 Jesus warned them that they would face opposition even within their own families.
\sr Luke 12:49-53
\p
\v 49 “I came to earth to bring \add trials\add* [MET], \add which will separate and purify you as\add* fire \add purifies metal\add* (OR, to cause judgment/divisions). I wish that the time when \add you\add* will be purified {when \add God\add* will purify you} (OR, when divisions will be caused {to cause divisions among people}) had already begun.
\v 50 I must soon suffer [IDM] greatly. I am distressed, and I will continue to be distressed until my suffering is finished.
\v 51 Do you think that as a result of my coming to earth people will live together peacefully? No! I must tell you, \add that is not what will happen! Instead, people\add* will be divided.
\v 52 Because some people in one house \add will believe in me and some will not\add*, they will be divided. Three people in one house \add who do not believe in me\add* will oppose two \add who do believe\add*, or two \add who do not believe in me\add* will oppose three \add who do believe\add*.
\v 53 A man will oppose his son, or a son will oppose his father. A woman will oppose her daughter, or a woman will oppose her mother. A woman will oppose her daughter-in-law, or a woman will oppose her mother-in-law.”
\s1 Jesus told the people that they needed to settle their relationship with God before it was too late.
\sr Luke 12:54-59
\p
\v 54 He \add also\add* said to the crowds, “\add In this country\add*, when you see a \add dark\add* cloud forming in the west, you immediately say ‘It is going to rain!’ and that is what happens.
\v 55 \add In this region\add*, when the wind blows from the south, you say, ‘It is going to be a very hot day!’ and that is what happens.
\v 56 You hypocrites! By observing the clouds and the wind, you are able to discern what is happening regarding \add the weather\add*. It is disgusting that you are not able to discern \add what God is doing\add* at this present time [RHQ]!
\p
\v 57 ◄Each of you ought to determine now what is the right thing for you to do, \add while you still have time to do that\add*!/Why cannot each of you determine what is the right \add thing for you to do now while you still have time to do that\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 58 \add If you do not do that, God will punish you\add* [MET]. \add It will be like what happens when\add* someone takes one of you to court, saying that you \add (sg)\add* have done something very bad. You should try to settle things with him while you are still on the way to the court. If he forces you to go to the judge, the judge will decide that you are guilty and put you into the hands of the court officer. Then that officer will put you in prison.
\v 59 I tell you that if you go to prison, you will never get out, \add because you will never be able to\add* pay every bit \add of what the judge says you owe\add* [MET]. \add Similarly, you ought to settle accounts with God before you die, too\add*.”
\c 13
\s1 Jesus warned the people that God would punish them if they did not turn from their sinful lives.
\sr Luke 13:1-5
\p
\v 1 Some people who were \add listening to Jesus\add* at that time told him about some people from Galilee \add district who had gone to Jerusalem\add*. Pilate, \add the Roman governor\add*, had \add ordered soldiers to\add* kill them [MTY] while they were offering sacrifices \add in the Temple there\add*.
\v 2 Jesus replied to them, “Do you think \add that this happened to those\add* people from Galilee \add because\add* they were more sinful than all the other people from Galilee?
\v 3 I assure you, \add that was\add* not \add so!\add* But instead of \add being concerned about them, you need to remember that God\add* will similarly punish you \add eternally\add* if you do not turn from your sinful behavior.
\v 4 Or, \add consider\add* the eighteen people who died when the tower at Siloam \add outside Jerusalem\add* fell on them. Do you think \add that this happened to them because\add* they were more sinful than all the other people who lived in Jerusalem?
\v 5 I assure you, \add that was\add* not so! But instead, you \add need to realize that God\add* will similarly punish you \add eternally\add* if you do not turn from your sinful behavior!”
\s1 Jesus warned that he would punish the Jews for not showing that they appreciated God's blessings.
\sr Luke 13:6-9
\p
\v 6 Then Jesus told them this illustration \add to show how God would treat the Jews, whom he continually blessed, but who did not do things that please him\add*: “A man planted a fig tree on his farmland. ◄Each year\add /Many times\add*► he came to it looking for figs, but there were no figs.
\v 7 Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look \add here\add* I have been looking for fruit on this fig tree every year for the past three years, but there have been no figs. Cut it down! ◄It is just using up the nutrients in the soil for nothing!/Why should it continue using up the \add nutrients in\add* the soil \add for nothing\add*?► [RHQ]’
\v 8 But the man replied to the owner, ‘Sir, leave it here for another year. I will dig around it and put manure around it.
\v 9 If it bears fruit next year, we \add (inc)\add* will allow it to keep growing. If it does not bear fruit next year, you \add (sg)\add* can cut it down.’”
\s1 Jesus told a synagogue leader that he was being hypocritical regarding working on the Sabbath.
\sr Luke 13:10-17
\p
\v 10 One ◄Sabbath/Jewish day of rest►, \add Jesus\add* was teaching people in one of the Jewish meeting places.
\v 11 There was a woman there whom an evil spirit [MTY] had crippled for eighteen years. She was always bent over; she could not stand up straight.
\v 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over to him. He said to her, “Woman, \add I am\add* freeing you \add (sg)\add* from your illness!”
\v 13 He put his hands on her. Immediately she stood up straight, and she praised God!
\v 14 But the man in charge ◄of the synagogue/of the meeting place► was angry because Jesus had healed her ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day►. \add He considered that healing was doing work\add*. So he said to the people, “There are six days \add each week\add* in which \add our Jewish\add* laws permit people to work. \add If you need healing\add*, those are the days to come ◄\add to the synagogue/to the meeting place\add*► and be healed. Do not come on our Jewish day of rest!”
\v 15 Then the Lord replied to him, “You \add (sg) and your fellow religious leaders are\add* hypocrites! ◄On the Sabbath/On the our Jewish day of rest►, \add just like on every other day\add*, ◄each of you unties his ox or donkey, and then leads it from the food trough to where it can drink water./does not each of you untie his ox or donkey, and then lead it from the food trough to where it can drink water?► [RHQ] \add That is work, too!\add*
\v 16 This woman \add is more important than an animal; she is a Jew\add*, descended from Abraham! But Satan has \add kept her\add* [MET] \add crippled\add* for eighteen years, \add as though\add* he had tied her \add and not let her escape!\add* So ◄it is certainly right that she be freed {that \add I\add* free her}, \add even if this\add* is a Sabbath day!/was it not right that she be freed {that \add I\add* free her}, \add even if this\add* is a Jewish rest day?► [RHQ]”
\v 17 After he said that, all the people \add there\add* who opposed him were ashamed. But all the \add other\add* people \add there\add* were happy about all the wonderful things he was doing.
\s1 Jesus gave two illustrations about God's rule over people's lives.
\sr Luke 13:18-21;Matthew 13:31-33;Mark 4:30-32
\p
\v 18 Then he said, “◄I will tell you how \add the number of people who let\add* God rule [MET] \add their lives will increase\add*./Do you know how \add the number of people who let\add* God rule [MET] \add their lives will increase\add*?► [RHQ] I will tell you what I can compare it to.
\v 19 It is like a \add tiny\add* mustard seed that a man planted in his field. It grew until it became \add big, like\add* a tree. It was \add so big that\add* birds built nests in its branches.”
\p
\v 20 Then he said, “I will tell [RHQ] you something else, to illustrate how the people who let God rule [MET] \add their lives can influence their society more and more\add*.
\v 21 It is like \add a little bit of\add* 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 warns that not all people who think that they will go to heaven will go there.
\sr Luke 13:22-30;Matthew 7:13-14,21-23
\p
\v 22 \add Jesus\add* continued traveling, along \add with the disciples\add*, through various towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem. As they went, he was teaching \add the people\add*.
\v 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will there be only a few people who are saved {whom \add God\add* saves}?” He replied to them, “\add There will not be many, because\add* the way \add to heaven\add* [MET] is \add like\add* a narrow door.
\v 24 \add Therefore, try hard\add* to enter that narrow doorway, because I tell you that many people will try to enter \add heaven by some other way\add*, but they will not be able to get in.
\v 25 \add God is like\add* the owner of a house. \add Some day\add* he will lock the door. Then \add some of\add* you will begin to stand outside the door and knock. You will say, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘\add No, I will not open it, because\add* I do not know you, and I do not know where you are from!’
\v 26 Then you will say, ‘◄\add You must have forgotten that/Surely you know us, because\add*► [RHQ] we \add (exc)\add* ate \add meals\add* with you \add (sg)\add*, and you taught \add people\add* in the streets of our \add towns!\add*’
\v 27 But he will say, ‘\add I tell you again\add*, I do not know you, and I do not know where you are from. You \add are\add* wicked people! Get away from here!’”
\v 28 Then Jesus continued by saying, “\add From where God will send you\add*, you will see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the distance. All the prophets \add who lived long ago will also be there\add*, in the kingdom where God \add is ruling\add*. But you will be outside, crying and grinding your teeth \add because you will have severe pain!\add*
\v 29 Furthermore, many \add non-Jewish\add* people will \add be inside\add*. There will be ones who have come from \add lands to\add* the north, east, south, and west. They will be feasting in ◄that place where God is ruling/God's kingdom►.
\v 30 Think about this: Some people whom others do not \add consider\add* important \add now, God will make\add* them very important \add then\add*, and some people whom \add others consider\add* very important \add now, God will make\add* to be not important \add then\add*.”
\s1 Jesus stated that it was necessary for him as a prophet to die in Jerusalem.
\sr Luke 13:31-35;Matthew 23:37-39
\p
\v 31 At that very time, some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Leave this area, because \add the ruler\add* Herod \add Antipas\add* wants to kill you \add (sg)\add*!”
\v 32 He replied to them, “Herod is [MET] \add as cruel as\add* a fox, \add but also as insignificant as a fox\add*. \add So I do not worry about him\add*. But \add to show him that no one can harm me until it is the time and place God has determined\add*, go tell him this \add message from me\add*: ‘Listen! I am expelling demons and performing miracles today, and \add I will continue doing\add* it for a short time. After that, I will finish my work.
\v 33 But I must continue my trip \add to Jerusalem\add* during the coming days, because \add they killed many other\add* prophets there, and \add since I am also a prophet\add*, no other place is appropriate for people to kill \add me\add*.’”
\p
\v 34 \add Then Jesus said\add*, “O \add people of\add* [MTY] Jerusalem [APO]! You killed the prophets \add who lived long ago, and you killed others\add*, whom \add God\add* sent to you, \add by throwing\add* stones \add at them\add*. Many times I wanted to gather you together \add to protect you\add* [SIM] like a hen gathers her young chicks under her wings. But you did not want \add me to do that\add*.
\v 35 So listen to this: Your city [MTY] (OR, your temple) is going to be abandoned (OR, God will no longer protect it). I will [MTY] also tell you this: I \add will enter your city only once more. After that\add*, you will not see me until the time when \add I return and\add* you say \add about me\add*, ‘God is truly pleased with this man who comes with God's authority [MTY]!’”
\c 14
\s1 Jesus told the Jewish leaders that they were being hypocritical about not helping people on the Sabbath.
\sr Luke 14:1-6
\p
\v 1 One ◄Jewish day of rest/Sabbath day►, Jesus went to eat [SYN] at the house of an important Pharisee. Some  \add men who studied the Jewish\add* laws and other Pharisees who were there were watching him carefully  \add to see if he would do something for which they could accuse him\add*.
\v 2 Unexpectedly, there was a man in front of Jesus whose arms and legs were swollen.
\v 3 Jesus said to them, “Is it permitted in  \add our(inc)\add* Jewish laws to heal  \add someone\add* ◄on our Jewish rest day/on the Sabbath►, or not?”
\v 4 \add They knew that their laws permitted it, but they thought that healing was work, which they thought was wrong to do\add* ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day► (OR, \add  they knew that their laws permitted it, but they did not want to admit it\add*). So they did not reply. Then Jesus put his hands on the man and healed him. Then he told him to go  \add home\add*.
\v 5 Then he said to the rest of them, “If you had a son or an ox that fell into a well on a ◄Sabbath/our day of rest►, would you immediately  \add work to\add* pull him out, \add or would you(sg) let him stay there until the next day\add*?” 
\v 6 \add They knew that they would immediately work to pull him out, even on their day of rest, so they could not justly say that Jesus did wrong by healing the man on that day. So\add* they said nothing to reply to Jesus.
\s1 Jesus taught that we should not try to make ourselves seem important.
\sr Luke 14:7-11
\p
\v 7 Jesus noticed that those people who had been {whom  \add the Pharisee\add* had} invited  \add to the meal\add* chose  \add to sit in\add* the places where important  \add people usually sit\add*. Then he gave  \add this advice\add* to them:
\v 8 “When one of you  \add (sg)\add* is invited by someone {someone invites one of you  \add (sg)\add*} to a wedding feast, do not sit in a place where important people sit. Perhaps the man  \add giving the feast\add* has invited a man more important than you  \add (sg)\add*.
\v 9 \add When that man comes\add*, the man who invited both of you will come to you  \add (sg)\add* and say to you, ‘Let this man take your seat!’ Then you  \add (sg)\add* will have to take the most undesirable seat, and you will be ashamed.
\v 10 Instead, when you are invited {\add someone\add* invites one of you} \add to a feast\add*, go and sit in the most undesirable seat. Then when the man who invited everyone comes, he will say to you  \add (sg)\add*, ‘Friend, sit in a better seat!’ Then all the people who are eating with you  \add (sg)\add* will see that he is honoring you.
\v 11 Also, \add remember this\add*:  \add God\add* will humble those who exalt themselves. And  \add he\add* will exalt those who humble themselves.”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should share with others who cannot repay us.
\sr Luke 14:12-14
\p
\v 12 \add Jesus\add* also said to  \add the Pharisee\add* who had invited him to the meal, “When you  \add (sg)\add* invite people to a midday or evening meal, do not invite your friends or your family or your other relatives or your rich neighbors. They can later invite you  \add (sg) for a meal\add*. In that way they will repay you.
\v 13 Instead, when you  \add (sg)\add* give a feast, invite poor  \add people\add*, crippled  \add people\add*, lame  \add people\add*, or blind  \add people\add*.
\v 14 They will be unable to repay you. \add But God will bless you! He\add* will repay you  \add at the time\add* when  \add he causes\add* righteous people to become alive again.”
\s1 Jesus taught that many Jews would reject God's invitation to come to him.
\sr Luke 14:15-24
\p
\v 15 One of those who were eating with him heard him say that. He said to Jesus, “God  \add has truly\add* blessed  \add us Jews\add* who will eat  \add with the Messiah\add* when he starts to rule!”
\v 16 But  \add to show that many Jews whom God had invited would not accept God's invitation\add* [MET], Jesus replied to him, “One time a man  \add decided\add* to prepare a large feast. He invited many people to come.
\v 17 When it was the day for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those who had been {whom he had} invited, ‘Come  \add now\add* because everything is ready!’
\v 18 But  \add when the servant did that\add*, all of the people  \add whom he had invited\add* began to say why they did not want to come. The first  \add man the servant went to\add* said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go there and see it. Please  \add ask your master to\add* forgive me for not coming!’
\v 19 Another person said, ‘I have just bought five pair of oxen, and I must go to examine them. Please  \add ask your master to\add* forgive me for not coming!’
\v 20 Another person said, ‘I have just been married. So I cannot come.’
\v 21 So the servant returned to his master and reported what  \add everyone had said\add*. The owner of the house was angry  \add because the reasons they gave for not\add* coming were ridiculous. He said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city  \add and find\add* poor and crippled and blind and lame  \add people, and bring\add* them here into  \add my house\add*!’
\v 22 \add After the servant went and did that\add*, he  \add came back and\add* said, ‘Sir, I have done what you  \add (sg)\add* told me to do, but there is still room  \add for more people\add*.’
\v 23 \add So\add* his master said to him, ‘Then go  \add outside the city\add*. Search for people along the highways. Search also along the narrow roads with hedges beside them  \add where homeless people may be staying\add*. Strongly urge the people in those places to come to  \add my house\add*. I want it to be full of  \add people\add*!’”
\v 24 \add Then Jesus said\add*, “I tell you  \add (pl)\add* this: Very few of you  \add Jewish\add* people will enjoy my feast, even though  \add I\add* invited you  \add first to eat it with me when I become king\add*.”
\s1 Jesus warned that it would be difficult to be his disciple.
\sr Luke 14:25-33
\p
\v 25 Large groups of people were traveling with  \add Jesus\add*. He turned and said to them,
\v 26 “If anyone comes to me who loves his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters  \add more than\add* [HYP] \add he loves me\add*, he cannot be my disciple. He must even love me more than he loves his own life!
\v 27 \add People who are ready to execute a prisoner make\add* him carry his cross [MET] \add to the place where others will nail him\add* on it. Only those who are willing  \add to allow others to hurt them and disgrace them\add* like that because of being my disciples, and who are willing to obey what I teach, can be my disciples.
\v 28 \add I will illustrate\add* [MET]. If one of you desired to build a ◄tower/big house►, ◄you would surely first sit down and determine how much it would cost!/would you not first sit down and determine how much it would cost?► [RHQ] Then you would determine whether you had enough money to complete it.
\v 29 \add If you did not do that\add*, if you laid the foundation and were not able to finish  \add the rest of the tower\add*, everyone who saw it would make fun of you.
\v 30 They would say, ‘This man started to build  \add a tower\add*, but he was not able to finish it!’
\v 31 Or, if a king decided to  \add send his army to\add* war against another king, ◄he would surely first sit down  \add with those who\add* advised  \add him\add*./would he not first sit down  \add with those who\add* advised  \add him\add*?► [RHQ] They would determine whether  \add his army\add*, which had only ten thousand soldiers, could defeat the  \add other army\add*, which had twenty thousand soldiers, and was about to attack his  \add army\add*.
\v 32 If he  \add decided\add* that his army could not  \add defeat that army\add*, he would send messengers to  \add the other king\add* while the other army was still far away. He would tell the messengers to say to that king, ‘What things must I do to have peace with your country?’
\v 33 So, similarly, if any one of you does not first decide that you  \add (sg)\add* are  \add willing to\add* give up all that you have, you cannot be my disciple.”
\s1 Jesus warned about losing our usefulness to God.
\sr Luke 14:34-35
\p
\v 34 \add Jesus also said, “You are like\add* [MET] salt, which is useful  \add to put on food\add*. But ◄salt certainly cannot be made {\add you\add* certainly cannot make salt} to taste salty again if it stops tasting salty!/can salt be made {can  \add you\add* make salt} to taste salty again if it quits tasting salty?► [RHQ]
\v 35 \add If salt does not taste salty anymore\add*, it is not good for the soil or even for the manure heap. \add People\add* throw it away. \add The same thing will happen to you if you become useless to God\add*. If you want to understand what I just said [IDM], you must consider  \add carefully\add* what you have heard!”
\c 15
\s1 Jesus taught that God is pleased when people turn from their sinful behavior.
\sr Luke 15:1-10
\p
\v 1 Many [HYP] tax collectors and \add others whom people considered to be\add* habitual sinners kept coming to him to listen to him teach.
\v 2 The Pharisees and men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws \add who were there\add* [SYN] began to grumble, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and he also \add defiles himself by eating\add* with them!”
\v 3 So Jesus told them this parable:
\v 4 “Suppose that one of you had a hundred sheep. If one of them were lost, ◄you \add (sg)\add* would certainly leave the ninety-nine sheep in the pastureland, and go and search for the one lost sheep until you found it./would you not leave the ninety-nine sheep in the pastureland, and go and search for the one lost sheep until you found it?► [RHQ]
\v 5 When you \add (sg)\add* found it, you would lay it on your shoulders and be happy.
\v 6 When you brought it home, you would call together your friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’
\v 7 I tell you \add (pl)\add* that similarly \add God\add* will be very happy about each and every sinner who turns from doing evil. God does not \add need to\add* be happy about ninety-nine people who \add think that they\add* are [IRO] righteous and think that they do not need to turn from doing evil.
\p
\v 8 Or, suppose that a woman has ten \add very valuable\add* silver coins. If she loses one of them, ◄she will certainly light a lamp and sweep the floor and search carefully until she finds it!/will she not light a lamp and sweep the floor and search carefully until she finds it?► [RHQ]
\v 9 When she finds it, she will call together her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Be happy with me, \add because\add* I have found the coin that I lost!’
\v 10 I tell you that similarly the angels will be happy about \add even just\add* one sinner who turns from doing evil.”
\s1 Jesus taught the Jewish leaders that they also ought to be glad when people turn from their sinful ways.
\sr Luke 15:11-32
\p
\v 11 Then \add he told them this parable to compare what the Pharisees and teachers of the Jewish law thought about those who turn from their sinful behavior with what God thinks about such people\add*. He said, “A certain man had two sons.
\v 12 One day the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, \add I do not want to wait until you(sg) die\add*. Give me now the share of your property that belongs to me!’ So the man divided his property between his two sons.
\v 13 A few days later, the younger son \add sold his share\add*. He gathered his money and other things together and went to a country far away. There he spent all his money foolishly in reckless/wild living.
\v 14 After he had spent all his money, there was a great famine throughout that country. And soon he did not have enough \add food to\add* eat.
\v 15 So he went to one of the landowners in that area and asked for work. The man sent him to work taking care of the pigs in his field.
\v 16 \add Because he was very hungry\add*, he would have been glad to eat the bean pods that the pigs ate. But no one gave him anything.
\v 17 Finally he thought clearly about what he had done. He said to himself, ‘All of my father's hired servants have plenty of food! They have more [SYN] than they can eat, but here I am dying because I do not have anything to eat [HYP]!
\v 18 So I will leave here and go back to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God [MTY, EUP] and against you \add (sg)\add*.
\v 19 I am no longer worthy to be called {of \add you\add* calling me} your son. Just hire me to be like one of the other hired servants.”’
\v 20 So he left there and went back to his father's house. But while he was still some distance from the house, his father saw him. He pitied him. He ran to his son and embraced him and kissed him \add on the cheek\add*.
\v 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God [MTY/EUP] and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called {of \add you\add* calling me} your son.’
\v 22 But his father said to his servants, ‘Go quickly and bring to me the best robe \add in the house!\add* Then put it on my son. Put a ring on his finger \add to show that I am honoring him again as my son!\add* Put sandals on his feet \add to show that I do not consider him as a slave!\add*
\v 23 Then bring the fat calf and kill it \add and cook it\add* We \add (inc)\add* must eat and celebrate,
\v 24 because this is my son! \add It is as though\add* [MET] he was dead and is alive again! \add It is as though\add* he was lost and now has been found!’ So they did that, and they all began to celebrate.
\p
\v 25 While all that was happening, his older son was out \add working\add* in the field. When he came near to the house, he heard \add people playing\add* music and dancing.
\v 26 He called one of the servants and asked what was happening.
\v 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your \add younger\add* brother has come \add home\add* Your father has \add told us to\add* kill the fat calf \add to celebrate\add* because your brother has returned safe and healthy.’
\v 28 \add But\add* the older brother was angry. He refused to enter \add the house\add*. So his father came out and pleaded with him \add to come in\add*.
\v 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Listen to me! For many years I have worked for you like a slave. I always obeyed everything you told me to do. But you never even gave me a young goat, so that I could \add kill it and cook it and\add* celebrate with my friends.
\v 30 But this son of yours spent all the \add money he got from\add* what you gave him. He spent it \add to pay for sleeping with\add* prostitutes! Now he has returned home, \add but it is not fair that\add* you have told your \add servants\add* to kill the fat calf \add and cook it\add* for him!’
\v 31 But his father said to him, ‘My son, you have always been with me, and all my property \add that I did not give to your brother\add* has been yours.
\v 32 But \add it is as though\add* [MET] your brother was dead and is alive again! \add It is as though\add* he was lost and now he has been found! So it is appropriate for us to be happy and celebrate!’”
\c 16
\s1 Jesus taught that we should handle our money in ways that are pleasing to God.
\sr Luke 16:1-13
\p
\v 1 \add Jesus\add* also said to his disciples, “Once there was a rich man who had a household manager. \add One day\add* he was told {\add someone\add* told him} that \add the manager\add* was managing the rich man's money badly.
\v 2 So he summoned \add the manager\add* and said to him, ‘◄It is terrible what they are saying about you \add (sg)\add*!/Is it true what they are saying about you \add (sg)\add* [RHQ]?► Give me a written account of \add the funds\add* you have been managing, because you can no longer be my \add household\add* manager!’
\v 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘My master is going to dismiss me from my work, so ◄I do not know what to do./what shall I do [RHQ]?► I am not strong enough to \add work by\add* digging ditches, and I am ashamed to beg \add for money\add*.’
\v 4 \add Suddenly he had an idea\add*. ‘I know what I will do, so that people will take me into their houses \add and provide for me\add* after I am dismissed {after my master dismisses me} from my work!’
\v 5 So \add one by one\add* he summoned the people who owed his master money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you \add (sg)\add* owe my master?’
\v 6 The man replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and sit down and quickly change it to 400 \add gallons!\add*’
\v 7 He said to another man, ‘How much do you owe?’ The man replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and change it to eight hundred \add bushels\add*!’ \add He did similar things for the others who owed his master money\add*.
\v 8 When his master \add heard what the manager had done\add*, he admired the dishonest manager for the clever thing he had done. \add The truth\add* is that the ungodly people in this world act more wisely toward other people than godly people [MET] act.
\v 9 \add So\add* I tell you \add (pl)\add* this: Use the money that you have \add here\add* on earth to help others so that they will become your friends. Then when \add you die and\add* you cannot \add take\add* any money with you, \add God and his angels\add* will welcome you into a home \add in heaven\add* that will last forever.
\p
\v 10 People who faithfully manage small \add matters\add* will also faithfully manage important \add matters\add*. People who are dishonest in \add the way they handle\add* small \add matters\add* will be dishonest \add in the way they handle\add* important \add matters\add*.
\v 11 So if you have not faithfully handled the money that \add God has given you here\add* on earth, ◄he will certainly not allow you to possess the true \add spiritual\add* riches \add in heaven!\add*/would he allow you to possess the true \add spiritual\add* riches \add in heaven\add*?► [RHQ]
\v 12 And if you have not faithfully managed things that belong to other people, ◄\add God\add* will certainly not allow you to receive \add treasures in heaven that\add* would belong to you!/would God allow you to receive \add treasures in heaven that\add* would belong to you?► [RHQ]
\v 13 No servant is able to serve two \add different\add* bosses \add at the same time. If he tried to do that\add*, he would hate one of them and love the other one, or he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one. \add Similarly\add*, you cannot \add devote your life\add* to worshipping God and \add worshipping\add* money and material goods \add at the same time\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that God's laws are permanent.
\sr Luke 16:14-18
\p
\v 14 There were some Pharisees \add there\add*. They loved \add to acquire\add* money. When they heard Jesus say that, they ridiculed him.
\v 15 But he said to them, “You try to make other people think that you are righteous, but God knows your ◄inner beings/hearts►. \add So he will reject you. Keep in mind that many\add* things that people think are important, God thinks are detestable.
\p
\v 16 The laws that \add God gave Moses\add* and what the prophets [MTY] \add wrote\add* were ◄\add in effect/what you needed to obey\add*► until John \add the Baptizer\add* came. Since then \add I\add* have been preaching about how God wants to \add rule people's lives in a new way\add*, and many people are \add accepting that message and\add* very eagerly asking God to control \add their lives. But that does not mean that God has abolished the laws that he established previously\add*.
\v 17 \add All of God's\add* laws, \add even those that seem\add* insignificant, are more permanent than heaven and earth.
\p
\v 18 \add For example, 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. He also \add considers that\add* any man who marries a woman who has been divorced by her husband {whose husband has divorced her} is \add also\add* committing adultery.”
\s1 Jesus warned what would happen to those who did not share their possessions with poor people.
\sr Luke 16:19-31
\p
\v 19 \add Jesus also said\add* [MET], “Once there was a rich man who wore \add expensive\add* purple and linen \add garments\add*. He ate luxuriously every day.
\v 20 And every day a poor man whose name was Lazarus was laid {\add some people also\add* laid a poor man whose name was Lazarus} at the gate of the rich man's \add house\add*. Lazarus' body was covered with sores.
\v 21 He \add was so hungry that he\add* wanted to eat the scraps \add of food\add* that fell from the table where the rich man \add ate\add*. Furthermore, \add to make things worse\add*, dogs came and licked his sores.
\v 22 \add Eventually\add* the poor man died. Then he was taken by the angels {the angels took him} to \add start feasting\add* next to his \add great ancestor\add* Abraham. The rich man also died, and his body was buried {\add some people\add* buried his body}.
\v 23 In the place where dead people wait \add for God to judge them\add*, he was suffering great pain. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, and he saw Lazarus sitting close to Abraham.
\v 24 So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, I am suffering very much in this fire! So \add please\add* pity me, and send Lazarus \add here\add* so that he can dip his finger in water \add and touch\add* my tongue to cool it!’
\v 25 But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that while you \add (sg)\add* were alive \add on earth\add* you enjoyed \add many\add* good things. But Lazarus was miserable. Now \add it is fair that\add* he is happy here, and you are suffering.
\v 26 Besides that, there is a huge ravine between you \add (sg)\add* and us. So those who want to go from here to where you \add (sg)\add* are, are not able to. Furthermore, no one can cross from there to where we \add (exc)\add* are.’
\v 27 Then the rich man said, ‘If that is so, father \add Abraham\add*, I ask you \add (sg)\add* to send \add Lazarus\add* to my father's house.
\v 28 I have five brothers \add who live there\add*. Tell him to warn them \add to turn away from their sinful behavior so that\add* they do not also come to this place, where \add we(exc)\add* suffer great pain!’
\v 29 But Abraham replied, ‘\add No, I will not do that, because your brothers\add* are able to \add go to the Jewish meeting places where the priests\add* read what Moses and the prophets \add wrote\add*. They should listen to what Moses and the prophets [MTY] \add wrote\add*!’
\v 30 But the rich man replied, ‘No, father Abraham, \add that will not be enough\add* But if someone from those who have died goes back to them \add and warns them\add*, they will turn from their sinful behavior.’
\v 31 \add Abraham\add* said to him, ‘No! If they do not listen to \add what\add* [MTY] Moses and the prophets [MTY] \add wrote\add*, even if someone would rise from among the dead \add and go and warn them\add*, they would not be convinced {he could not convince them} \add that they should turn from their sinful behavior\add*.’”
\c 17
\s1 Jesus warned about God punishing those who cause others to sin.
\sr Luke 17:1-4
\p
\v 1 \add One day Jesus\add* said to his disciples, “Things that will tempt \add people\add* to sin are certain to happen, but it will be terrible for anyone who causes them to happen!
\v 2 Suppose you caused one of these people who \add do not believe in me very strongly\add* to sin. If a huge stone was fastened {someone fastened a huge stone} around your neck and you were thrown {and threw you} into the sea, \add you would consider that a severe punishment, but God will punish\add* you even more severely \add if you cause someone to sin!\add*
\v 3 Be careful \add how you act\add*. If you \add know about\add* a fellow believer who sins, you \add (sg)\add* should rebuke him. If he \add says that he\add* is sorry for having sinned \add and asks you to forgive him\add*, forgive him.
\v 4 Even if he sins against you \add (sg)\add* seven times in one day, if he comes to you each time and says, ‘I am sorry for what I did’, you must continue forgiving him.”
\s1 Jesus taught them what big things they could accomplish if they had true faith.
\sr Luke 17:5-6
\p
\v 5 \add One day\add* the apostles said to the Lord, “Help us to trust \add in you\add* (OR, \add in God\add*) more strongly!”
\v 6 The Lord replied, “Mustard \add seeds 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 that God \add will do what you ask him to, you will be able to do anything\add*. You could \add even\add* say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself out \add with your roots\add* and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you!”
\s1 Jesus taught that we should serve God faithfully without expecting to be thanked.
\sr Luke 17:7-10
\p
\v 7 \add Jesus also said\add*, “Suppose that one of you had a servant who was plowing \add your fields\add* or taking care of your sheep. After he comes into the house from the field, you \add (sg)\add* would not say [RHQ], ‘Sit down and eat immediately!’
\v 8 Instead, you would say to him, ‘Put on your apron and prepare a meal for me! Then serve it to me so that I can eat and drink it! Afterwards you \add (sg)\add* can eat and drink.’
\v 9 ◄You will not thank your servant for doing the work that he had been told {you had told him} to do!/Would you thank your servant because he did the work that he had been told {you had told him} to do?► [RHQ]
\v 10 Similarly, when you \add (pl)\add* have done everything that \add God\add* has told you to do, you should say, ‘We \add (inc)\add* are not worthy \add of God thanking us\add* {\add being thanked\add*}. We are only God's servants. We have only done the things that he told us to do.’”
\s1 Jesus healed ten lepers, but only a non-Jewish one thanked him.
\sr Luke 17:11-19
\p
\v 11 As \add Jesus and his disciples\add* were walking along the road to Jerusalem, they were going through \add the region\add* between Samaria and Galilee \add districts\add*.
\v 12 As they entered one village, ten lepers came near the road. \add Because lepers were not permitted to come near other people\add*, they stood at some distance
\v 13 and called out, “Jesus, Master, pity us \add and heal us\add*!”
\v 14 When he saw them, he said \add to them\add*, “Each of you should go and show yourself to a priest \add in Jerusalem so that he can see if you are healed\add*.” As they were going \add there\add*, they were healed.
\v 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God loudly.
\v 16 He \add came to Jesus\add*, prostrated himself at Jesus' feet, and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan, \add not a Jew\add*.
\v 17 Then Jesus said, “\add I\add* healed ten \add lepers\add* ◄I am disappointed that the other nine did not come back!/Where are the other nine?► [RHQ]
\v 18 I am disappointed [RHQ] that this non-Jewish man was the only one who returned to thank God; none of the others came back to me!”
\v 19 Then he said to the man, “Get up and continue on your journey. \add God\add* [PRS] \add has saved you and\add* healed you \add (sg)\add* because you trusted \add in me\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught that God's rule is within our lives.
\sr Luke 17:20-21
\p
\v 20 \add One day\add* Jesus was asked by \add some\add* Pharisees [SYN] {\add some\add* Pharisees [SYN] asked \add Jesus\add*}, “When is God \add going\add* to rule as king?” He replied, “God's ruling [MET] is not something people will be able to see with their eyes.
\v 21 And people will not be able to say, ‘Look! He is \add ruling\add* here!’ Or ‘He is \add ruling\add* there!’ because, \add contrary to what you think\add*, God's ruling is within people's inner beings (OR, is already happening among you).”
\s1 Jesus told his disciples that without warning he would return and judge people.
\sr Luke 17:22-37
\p
\v 22 \add Jesus\add* said to his disciples, “There will be a time when you will want to see \add me\add* [MTY], the one who came from heaven, \add ruling powerfully\add*. But you will not see that.
\v 23 \add Some\add* people will say to you, ‘Look, \add the Messiah\add* is over there!’ or \add they will say\add* ‘Look, he is here!’ When they say that, do not believe them. Do not follow them \add to go see the Messiah\add*.
\v 24 Because when the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, \add everyone can see it. Similarly\add* [SIM], at the time [MTY] when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, come back again, \add everyone will see me\add*.
\v 25 But before that happens, I must suffer in many ways (OR, very much). And I will be rejected by people {people will reject me}, \add even though\add* they \add have observed me doing good for people\add*.
\v 26 But when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, \add come again, people\add* will be doing things just like people were doing at the time when [MTY] Noah \add lived\add*.
\v 27 \add At that time\add* people ate and drank \add as usual\add*, and they got married \add as usual\add*, up until the day when Noah \add and his family\add* entered the big boat. But then the flood came and destroyed all those \add who were not in the boat\add*.
\v 28 Similarly, when Lot \add lived in Sodom city, people there\add* ate and drank \add as usual\add*. They bought things and they sold things. They planted \add crops\add* and they built \add houses as usual\add*.
\v 29 But on the day that Lot \add and his family\add* left Sodom, fire and \add burning\add* sulfur came down from the sky and destroyed all those \add who stayed in the city\add*.
\v 30 Similarly, when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, return to earth \add people will be unprepared\add* (OR, \add enjoying normal life\add*)
\v 31 On that day, those who are outside their houses, with all the things that they own inside \add the houses\add*, must not go \add inside\add* to take them away, \add because there will not be enough time to do that\add*. Similarly, those who are working in a field must not turn back \add to get anything\add*; \add they must flee quickly\add*.
\v 32 Remember Lot's wife! \add Because she turned back and wanted to get some of her things from Sodom, she died immediately and became a pillar of salt\add*.
\v 33 Anyone who wants to hold onto his life \add and his possessions\add* will not \add receive eternal\add* life. But anyone who is \add willing to\add* die \add for my sake\add* will live \add eternally\add*.
\v 34 I tell you this: On the night \add when I return\add*, there will be two people \add sleeping\add* in one bed. The one \add who believes in me\add* will be taken {\add God\add* will take the one \add who believes in me\add*} \add to heaven\add*, and the other one will be left \add behind and punished\add* {and \add he\add* will leave the other one \add behind and punish him\add*}.
\v 35-36 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left {\add God\add* will take one and leave the other} \add behind\add*.”
\v 37 \add His disciples\add* said to him, “Lord, where \add will this happen\add*?” He replied to them, “Wherever there is an animal carcass, the vultures will gather \add to eat it\add* [MET]. \add Similarly, wherever there are people who are spiritually dead, God will punish them\add*.”
\c 18
\s1 Jesus taught about continuing to believe that God will answer prayer.
\sr Luke 18:1-8
\p
\v 1 \add Jesus\add* told \add his disciples\add* a parable to teach them that they always ought to pray confidently and not be discouraged \add if God does not immediately answer their prayers\add*.
\v 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not revere God, and did not care about people, either.
\v 3 There was a widow in that city who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Please decide what is just \add in the dispute between me and\add* the man who is opposing me \add in court!’\add*
\v 4 For a long time the judge refused \add to help her\add*. But later he said to himself, ‘I do not revere God and I do not care about people,
\v 5 but this widow keeps bothering me! So I will \add judge her case and show\add* that she is right. \add If I do not do that\add*, she will exhaust me by continually coming to me!’”
\v 6 Then the Lord \add Jesus\add* said, “\add Even though\add* the judge was not a righteous man, think carefully about what he said!
\v 7 \add Similarly\add*, ◄God will certainly show that \add what you\add* have done has been right!/will God not show that \add what you\add* have done has been right?► [RHQ] He will do this for you whom he has chosen. \add He will do this for you\add* who pray earnestly to him night and day, asking him to \add help you\add*. He may delay \add helping you\add*.
\v 8 But I tell you, \add some day\add* he will show that what you did was right, and he will do it quickly. But when \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, return to earth, ◄there may not be \add many people who will still\add* be trusting \add that I will vindicate them\add* (OR, who will still be trusting in me)./will there be \add many people who will still\add* be trusting \add that I will vindicate them\add* (OR, who will still be trusting in me)?► [RHQ]”
\s1 Jesus taught about not thinking that we are better than others in God's sight.
\sr Luke 18:9-14
\p
\v 9 \add Jesus\add* also told a parable \add to warn\add* people who mistakenly thought that they were doing things that made them acceptable to God. Besides, they also despised other people.
\v 10 \add He said this\add*: “Two men went up to the Temple \add in Jerusalem\add* to pray. One was a Pharisee. The other was a tax collector.
\v 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed silently, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men. \add Some\add* extort money \add from others\add*; some treat others unjustly; some commit adultery. \add I do not do such things. And I am certainly not\add* like this tax collector \add who cheats people!\add*
\v 12 \add Our law says that we(exc) should\add* ◄fast/abstain from food► \add once a week\add*, \add but I do more than that. I\add* fast twice a week! I give \add you\add* ten percent of all that I earn!’
\v 13 But the tax collector stood far \add from the other people in the Temple courtyard because he felt very unworthy\add*. He would not even look up toward heaven. Instead, he beat on his chest \add to show that he was sorry for his sin\add*. He said, ‘God, I am a sinner; be merciful to me \add and forgive me\add*!’”
\v 14 \add Then Jesus said\add*, “I tell you \add (pl)\add* that as the tax collector went home, the record of his sins was erased {\add God\add* erased the record of his sins}, not that of the Pharisee. \add Remember this\add*: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled {\add God\add* will humble all those who exalt themselves}, but those who humble themselves will be exalted {\add he\add* will exalt those who humble themselves}.”
\s1 Jesus taught about accepting God's rule in our lives as easily as little children do.
\sr Luke 18:15-17
\p
\v 15 \add One day when many people were coming to Jesus\add*, they were also bringing small children. They wanted him to put his hands on \add the children and bless them\add*. When the disciples saw that, they rebuked \add those who were bringing them\add*.
\v 16 But Jesus called the children \add to come to him\add*. He said, “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 ruling \add their lives\add*.
\v 17 Note this: Those who do not \add trustingly\add* allow God to direct \add their lives\add*, as children \add do\add*, will not enter the [MET] place where God rules.”
\s1 Jesus taught that rich people do not easily let God rule their lives.
\sr Luke 18:18-30;Matthew 19:16-29;Mark 10:17-30
\p
\v 18 A \add Jewish\add* leader asked \add Jesus\add*, “Good teacher, what shall I do in order to have eternal life?”
\v 19 Jesus said to him, “Only God is good! No one \add else\add* is good! ◄So you(sg) should consider carefully what \add you are implying by\add* calling me good!/\add Do you realize that you are implying that I am God by\add* calling me good?► [RHQ]
\p
\v 20 \add But to answer your question\add*, you \add (sg)\add* know the commandments that \add God gave Moses. He commanded such things as\add* ‘do not commit adultery, do not commit murder, do not steal, do not testify falsely \add about what you have seen or heard\add*, honor your father and mother.’”
\v 21 The man said, “I have obeyed all those \add commandments\add* ever since I was young. \add So\add* ◄\add there must be something else I have not done./is that enough\add*?►”
\v 22 When Jesus heard \add him say\add* that, he replied to him, “There is one thing that you \add (sg)\add* have not \add done\add* yet. Sell all that you own. Then 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 23 The man went away sad when he heard that, because he was very rich \add and he did not want to give everything away\add*.
\v 24 Jesus looked at him \add as the man left\add*, and he said, “It is very difficult for those who are wealthy \add to decide\add* to let God rule [MET] their \add lives\add*.
\v 25 \add You would say\add* that 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 26 \add The Jews thought that God favored rich people, so they thought that if God did not save rich people he would not save others, either\add*. So \add one of the disciples\add* who heard him say that replied, “If that is so, it seems that no one will be saved {\add that God\add* will not save anyone} [RHQ]!”
\v 27 But he said, “It is impossible for people \add to save themselves\add*. But \add God can save them, because\add* God can do anything!”
\v 28 Then Peter said, “\add You know that we(exc) have left\add* everything we had and have become your disciples [RHQ]. \add So what about us?\add* (OR, \add So will God accept/save us?\add*”)
\v 29 He said to them, “Keep this in mind: Those who have left \add their\add* homes, \add their\add* wives, \add their\add* brothers, \add their\add* parents, \add their\add* children, \add or any other family members\add*, \add to tell others\add* about how God wants to rule [MET] \add people's lives\add*,
\v 30 will receive in this life many times as much \add as they left\add*. And in the future age they will ◄be living eternally \add with God/\add*have eternal life►.”
\s1 Jesus again predicted his death and resurrection.
\sr Luke 18:31-34;Matthew 20:17-19;Mark 10:32-34
\p
\v 31 \add Jesus\add* took the twelve \add disciples\add* to a place by themselves and said to them, “Listen carefully! We \add (inc)\add* are \add now\add* going up to Jerusalem. \add While we are there\add*, everything that has been written by the prophets {that the prophets have written} about \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, will be fulfilled {will occur}.
\v 32 I will be put {\add My enemies\add* will put me} into the hands of non-Jews. \add The non-Jews\add* will make fun of me and mistreat me and spit on me.
\v 33 They will whip me, and \add then\add* they will kill me. But on the third day \add after that\add* I will become alive again.”
\v 34 But \add the disciples\add* did not understand any of those things that \add he said\add*. They were prevented {\add Something\add* prevented them} from understanding the meaning of what \add he\add* was telling \add them\add*.
\s1 Jesus healed a blind man.
\sr Luke 18:35-43
\p
\v 35 As \add Jesus and his disciples\add* came near to Jericho \add city\add*, a blind man was sitting beside the road. \add He was\add* begging \add for money\add*.
\v 36 When he heard the crowd \add of people\add* passing by, he asked someone, “What is happening?”
\v 37 They told him, “Jesus, \add the man\add* from Nazareth \add town\add*, is passing by.”
\v 38 He shouted, “Jesus, \add you who are Messiah\add* descended from \add King\add* David, pity me!”
\v 39 Those who were \add walking\add* at the front \add of the crowd\add* scolded him \add and\add* told him to be quiet. But he shouted more loudly, “You who are the \add Messiah\add* descended from \add King\add* David, pity me!”
\v 40 Jesus stopped and told \add people\add* to bring the man to him. When \add the blind man\add* came near, Jesus asked him,
\v 41 “What do you \add (sg)\add* want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, enable me to see \add again\add*!”
\v 42 Jesus said to him, “\add Then\add* see! Because you have trusted [PRS] \add in me\add*, \add I\add* have healed you!”
\v 43 Immediately he was able to see. And he went with \add Jesus\add*, praising God. And when all the people who were \add going with him\add* saw it, they also praised God.
\c 19
\s1 Zacchaeus changed his way of life after talking with Jesus.
\sr Luke 19:1-10
\p
\v 1 They entered Jericho and were going through the \add city\add*.
\v 2 There was a man \add there\add* named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, who was rich.
\v 3 He tried to see Jesus, but he was very short and there was a big crowd of people \add near Jesus\add*. So he was not able to see him.
\v 4 So he ran further ahead \add along the road\add* that Jesus was walking on. He climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus.
\v 5 When Jesus got there, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because \add God wants\add* me to go \add with you(sg)\add* to your house and stay there \add tonight!\add*”
\v 6 So he came down quickly. \add He took Jesus to his house\add* and welcomed him joyfully.
\v 7 The people \add who saw Jesus go there\add* grumbled saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!”
\v 8 Then Zacchaeus stood up \add while they were eating\add* and said to the Lord \add Jesus\add*, “Lord, I want you \add (sg)\add* to know that I am going to give half of what I own to poor people. And as for the people whom I have cheated, I will pay them back four times the amount \add I have gotten from them by cheating\add*.”
\v 9 Jesus said to him, “Today \add God\add* has forgiven [PRS] \add you and the other people in\add* [MTY] this house, because you \add (sg)\add* also \add have shown that you have trusted in God as\add* your ancestor Abraham \add did\add*.
\v 10 Remember this: \add I\add*, the one who came from heaven, came to seek and save \add people like you(sg)\add* who have \add gone astray from God, just like a shepherd who searches for his\add* lost \add sheep\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught about being willing to take risks in using what he has given us.
\sr Luke 19:11-27;Matthew 25:14-30
\p
\v 11 They were coming near to Jerusalem, and the people who were \add going with Jesus\add* who heard him say these things thought that as soon as \add he got to Jerusalem\add* he would become their king.
\v 12 \add So\add* he told them this parable: “A prince prepared to go to a distant country in order that \add the Emperor\add* would make him a king. \add He intended\add* to return later.
\v 13 \add Before he left\add*, he summoned ten of his servants. He gave each of them a coin worth three months' wages. He said to them, ‘Do business with these coins until I return!’ \add Then he left\add*.
\v 14 But \add many of\add* his fellow-citizens hated him. So they sent some messengers after him to tell \add the Emperor\add*, ‘We \add (exc)\add* do not want this man to be our king!’
\v 15 But \add the Emperor\add* made him king anyway. \add Later\add* the \add new king\add* returned. Then he commanded that the servants to whom he had given the coins should be summoned {that someone should summon the servants to whom he had given the coins}. He wanted to know how much they had gained by doing business with the coins.
\v 16 The first man came \add to him\add* and said, ‘Sir, with your one coin \add I\add* have earned ten more \add coins\add*!’
\v 17 He said to this man, ‘\add You are a\add* good servant! \add You have\add* done \add very\add* well! Because you have \add handled\add* faithfully a small amount \add of money, I will give you\add* authority \add to rule\add* ten cities.’
\v 18 Then the second servant came and said, ‘Sir, with your one coin \add I\add* have earned five more \add coins\add*!’
\v 19 He said to that servant similarly, ‘\add Good! I will give you authority to rule\add* five cities.’
\v 20 Then another servant came. He said, ‘Sir, here is your coin. I wrapped it in a napkin and put it away, \add so that nothing would happen to it\add*.
\v 21 I did that \add because\add* I was afraid \add of what you would do to me if the business failed. I know\add* you are a man who does not do foolish things with your money. You \add even\add* take \add from others money\add* that does not really belong to you, \add like a farmer who\add* harvests grain \add from another man's field\add* where he did not \add even\add* do the planting.’
\v 22 He said to that servant, ‘You wicked servant! I will condemn you by the very words [MTY] that you \add have just now spoken\add* ◄You know that I do not \add do foolish things with my money\add*./Did you not know that I do not \add do foolish things with my money\add*?► [RHQ] \add You said\add* that I \add even\add* take \add from others money\add* that does not really \add belong to me\add*, \add like a farmer who\add* harvests grain \add from another man's field\add* where he did not \add even\add* do the planting.
\v 23 So ◄you should at least have given my money to money lenders!/why did you not \add at least\add* give my money to bankers?► [RHQ] Then \add when I returned\add* I could have collected that amount plus the interest \add it would have earned!\add*’
\v 24 Then \add the king\add* said to those who were standing near, ‘Take the coin from him and give it to \add the servant\add* who has ten coins!’
\v 25 They protested, ‘But Sir, he already has ten \add coins\add*!’
\v 26 \add But the king said\add*, ‘I tell you this: To the people who \add use well what\add* they have \add received\add*, more will be given {\add I\add* will give more}. But from the people who \add do\add* not \add use well what they have received\add*, even what they \add already\add* have will be taken away {\add I\add* will take away even what they already have}.
\v 27 Now, \add as for\add* those enemies of mine who did not want me to rule over them, bring them here and execute them while I am watching!’”
\s1 Jesus entered Jerusalem humbly, but like a king.
\sr Luke 19:28-40;Matthew 21:1-9;Mark 11:1-10;John 12:12-15
\p
\v 28 After \add Jesus\add* said those things, he \add continued on the road\add* up to Jerusalem, going ahead of the disciples.
\v 29 When they got near Bethphage and Bethany \add villages\add*, near the hill that is called {that they call} Olive \add Tree\add* Hill,
\v 30 he said to two of \add his\add* disciples, “Go to the village just ahead \add of you\add*. As you \add two\add* enter \add it\add*, you will see a young animal that no one has ever ridden that has been {someone has} tied up. Untie it and bring it \add to me\add*.
\v 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say \add to him\add*, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
\v 32 \add So\add* the \add two disciples\add* went \add to the village\add* and found the \add animal\add*, just like he had told them.
\v 33 As they were untying it, its owners said to them, “Why are you two untying that young animal?”
\v 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” \add So the owners said that they could take it\add*.
\v 35 The \add two disciples\add* brought \add the animal\add* to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the animal's back \add for him to sit on\add* and helped Jesus get on it.
\v 36 Then as he rode along, \add others\add* spread their cloaks on the road \add to honor him\add*.
\v 37 As they came near \add to Jerusalem\add*, on the road that descends from Olive \add Tree\add* Hill, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God loudly for all the great miracles that they had seen \add Jesus do\add*.
\v 38 They were saying things like, “May the Lord \add God\add* bless our king who comes representing [MTY] him!” “May there be peace \add between God\add* in heaven \add and us his people\add*!” “May \add everyone\add* praise God!”
\v 39 Some of the Pharisees who were in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples \add for saying things like that!\add*”
\v 40 He replied, “I tell you this: If these people would be silent, the stones themselves would shout \add to praise me!\add*”
\s1 Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
\sr Luke 19:41-44
\p
\v 41 When \add Jesus\add* came near \add to\add* Jerusalem and saw the city, he cried about \add its people\add*.
\v 42 He said, “\add My disciples know what they need to do\add* to have peace \add with God\add*; I wish that even today \add the rest of\add* you people knew it. But now you are unable to know [MTY] it.
\v 43 I want you to know this: Soon \add your enemies\add* will come and will set up a barricade around your \add city\add*. They will surround \add the city\add* and attack \add it\add* on all sides.
\v 44 They will \add break through\add* the walls \add and\add* destroy everything. They will smash you and your people/children. \add When they finish destroying everything\add*, there will not be one stone left on top of another. \add All this will happen\add* because you did not recognize the time when God sent his \add Messiah\add* to \add save\add* you!”
\s1 Jesus expelled the merchants from the Temple courtyard and taught there.
\sr Luke 19:45-48
\p
\v 45 \add Jesus entered Jerusalem and\add* went into the Temple \add courtyard\add*. He saw in that place the people who were selling \add things\add*,
\v 46 and he began to chase them out. He said to them, “It has been written {\add A prophet\add* wrote} \add in the Scriptures that God said\add*, ‘\add I want\add* my house to be a place where people pray’; but you bandits have made it a cave where you can \add hide\add*!”
\p
\v 47 Each day \add during that week Jesus\add* was teaching people in the Temple \add courtyard\add*. The chief priests and the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws and \add other Jewish\add* leaders tried to find a way to kill him.
\v 48 But they did not find any way to do it, because all the people there listened eagerly to him \add and would have resisted them if they had tried to hurt him\add*.
\c 20
\s1 Jesus refused to answer their question about his authority.
\sr Luke 20:1-8
\p
\v 1 One day \add during that week Jesus\add* was teaching the people in the Temple \add courtyard\add* and telling them \add God's\add* good message. As he was doing that, the chief priests, the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws, and \add other Jewish\add* elders came to him.
\v 2 They said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do things \add like you did here yesterday\add*?”
\v 3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me,
\v 4 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 [MTY/EUP] or from people?”
\v 5 They discussed this among themselves. They said, “\add If we(inc) say\add*, ‘\add It was\add* from God [MTY/EUP],’ he will say to us, ‘\add Then\add* ◄you should have believed John's \add message\add*!/why did you not believe what John preached?► [RHQ]’
\v 6 But if we say, ‘It was \add from\add* people,’ the people \add here\add* will \add kill us by\add* throwing stones at us, because they \add all\add* believe that John was a prophet \add from God\add*.”
\v 7 So they replied, “We \add (exc)\add* do not know where \add John got his authority\add*.”
\v 8 Then Jesus said to them, “\add Because you did not answer my question\add*, I will not tell you who authorized me to do those things \add here yesterday\add*.”
\s1 Jesus told a parable about how God would punish those who reject him.
\sr Luke 20:9-18
\p
\v 9 Then Jesus told the people this parable \add to illustrate what God would do to the Jews who rejected the former prophets and himself\add*: “A \add certain\add* man planted a vineyard. He rented the vineyard to some men \add to care for it and to give him some of the grapes in return\add*. Then he went to another country and stayed there several years.
\v 10 When it was \add time to\add* harvest the grapes, he sent a servant to the men who were taking care of the vineyard. He expected that they would give him some of the grapes that the vineyard had produced. But \add after the servant arrived\add*, they beat him and they did not give him any grapes. They \add just\add* sent him away.
\v 11 \add Later\add*, \add the owner\add* sent another servant. But they beat him and mistreated him \add also\add*. They sent him away without giving him any grapes.
\v 12 \add Still later, the owner\add* sent another servant. That one they wounded and threw him out \add of the vineyard\add*.
\v 13 So the owner of the vineyard said to himself, ‘◄I do not know what to do!/What shall I do?► [RHQ]’ \add Then he had an idea. He said to himself\add*, ‘I will send my son, \add whom I\add* love \add very much\add*. Perhaps they will respect him \add and give him my share of the grapes\add*.’
\v 14 \add So he sent his son\add*, but when the men who were caring for the vineyard saw him \add coming\add*, they said to each other, ‘Here \add comes\add* the man who will \add some day\add* inherit \add the vineyard\add* Let's kill him so that this vineyard will be ours!’
\v 15 So they dragged him outside the vineyard and they killed him. So ◄I will tell you what the owner of the vineyard will do to them!/do you know what the owner of the vineyard will do to them?► [RHQ]
\v 16 He will come and kill those men who were taking care of the vineyard. Then he will arrange for other people to take care of it.” When they heard that, they said, “\add We would\add* not do anything like those wicked men did!”
\v 17 But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “You can say that, \add but think about\add* the meaning of these words that are written {which \add a prophet\add* wrote} [RHQ] \add in the Scriptures\add*,
\q1 The men who were building a house rejected a certain stone. But others put that same stone in its proper place, and it has become the most important stone in the building [MET].
\p
\v 18 \add That stone represents me, the Messiah\add*, and those who reject me are \add like people who fall on this stone\add*. Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces {This stone will break to pieces everyone who falls on it}, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
\s1 Jesus foiled their attempts to trap him when they asked a question about paying taxes.
\sr Luke 20:19-26
\p
\v 19 The chief priests and the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws realized that he was accusing them when he told the parable \add about what those wicked men did\add*. So they immediately tried to find a way to seize [MTY] him, but \add they did not seize him, because\add* they were afraid of \add what\add* the people \add there would do if they did that\add*.
\v 20 So they watched him carefully. They also hired ◄spies/secret agents► who pretended to be sincere. \add But\add* they really wanted to get him to say something for \add which they could accuse\add* him. They wanted to be able to turn him over to the authority of the governor \add of the province. But they also knew that the Jews were disgusted with having to pay taxes to the government\add*.
\v 21 \add So\add* one of them asked him, “Teacher, we \add (exc)\add* know that you \add (sg)\add* speak and teach what is right. You tell the truth even if important people do not like it. You teach truthfully what God wants us to do.
\v 22 \add So tell us what you think about this matter\add*: Is it right that we pay taxes to the Roman government [MTY], or not?”
\v 23 But he knew that they were trying to trick him \add to get him into trouble, either with the Jews, who hated to pay those taxes, or with the Roman government\add*. So he said to them,
\v 24 “Show me a \add Roman\add* coin. \add Then tell me\add* whose picture \add they have\add* put on it. And \add tell me whose\add* name is on it.” They \add showed him a coin and\add* said, “It has the picture and name of Caesar, \add the head of the Roman government\add*.”
\v 25 He said to them, “In that case, give to the government [MTY] what they \add require\add*, and give to God what he \add requires\add*.”
\v 26 While the people were there, the \add spies\add* were unable to find fault with him for what he said. They were amazed at his answer. So they said nothing.
\s1 Jesus foiled their attempt to trap him with a question that they asked him about the resurrection.
\sr Luke 20:27-40
\p
\v 27 Some Sadducees came to \add Jesus\add*. They are a Jewish sect who do not believe that people will become alive again after they die.
\v 28 They \add wanted to\add* ask \add Jesus\add* a question \add in order to discredit the idea that dead people will live again\add*. One of them said \add to him\add*, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us \add Jews\add* that if a man who has a wife but no children dies, his brother should marry the \add dead man's\add* widow so that she can have a child by him. People \add will consider\add* that the child is the descendant of the man \add who died\add*, \add and in that way the dead man will have descendants\add*.
\v 29 Well, there were seven boys in one family. The oldest one married a woman, but he and his wife did not bear any children. Later he died.
\v 30 The second \add brother followed this law and married the widow, but the same thing happened to him\add*.
\v 31 Then the third \add brother\add* married her, \add but the same thing happened again\add*. All seven \add brothers, one by one, married that woman\add*, \add but\add* they had no children, and \add one by one\add* they died.
\v 32 Afterwards, the woman died, too.
\v 33 Therefore, \add if it is true that there will be a time\add* when dead people will become alive again, whose wife \add do you think that woman\add* will be \add then\add*? ◄\add Keep in mind that she was married to all seven brothers!/It will be impossible to decide because\add* she was married to all seven brothers!► [RHQ]”
\v 34 Jesus replied to them, “Men who live here in this world take wives, or are given wives \add by their parents\add* {their \add parents\add* choose wives \add for them\add*}.
\v 35 But the men whom God considers worthy of \add being in heaven after\add* they become alive again will not be married.
\v 36 \add You need to know also that\add* they cannot die anymore, because they will be \add immortal\add* [SIM] like angels. \add The fact that God has caused\add* them to be alive again \add will show\add* that they are God's children.
\v 37 But \add as to people\add* becoming alive again after they die, Moses wrote something about that. In the place where \add he wrote about\add* the \add burning\add* bush, he mentions the Lord as being the God whom Abraham \add worships\add* and the God whom Isaac \add worships\add* and the God whom Jacob \add worships\add*.
\v 38 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(inc) know their spirits were still alive!\add* All \add people\add* whose \add spirits\add* are alive \add again after they die continue to live to honor him\add*!”
\p
\v 39 Some of the men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws replied, “Teacher, you \add (sg)\add* have answered very well!”
\v 40 After that, they no longer dared to ask him any more questions \add like that to try to trap him\add*.
\s1 Jesus showed them that the Messiah must be greater than King David.
\sr Luke 20:41-44;Matthew 22:41-45;Mark 12:35-37
\p
\v 41 \add Later\add* he said to them, “◄I will show you (OR, prove to you) that people \add are wrong who\add* say that the Messiah is \add merely\add* a descendant of \add King\add* David!/Why do people say that the Messiah is \add merely\add* a descendant of \add King\add* David?► [RHQ]
\v 42 Because David himself wrote in the book of Psalms \add about the Messiah\add*,
\q God said to my Lord,
\q Sit \add here beside me\add* on my right, \add where I will highly honor you(sg)\add* [MTY].
\v 43 \add Sit here\add* while I completely defeat your enemies.
\p
\v 44 King David calls \add the Messiah\add* ‘\add my\add* Lord’! So ◄\add the Messiah\add* cannot be \add just someone\add* descended from \add King\add* David!/how can the Messiah be \add just\add* someone descended from \add King\add* David?► [RHQ] \add What I just said proves that he is much greater than David, isn't that right?\add*”
\s1 Jesus warned them not to show off like the teachers of the Jewish laws did.
\sr Luke 20:45-47;Matthew 23:1-36;Mark 12:38-40
\p
\v 45 While all the \add other\add* people were listening, \add Jesus\add* said to his disciples,
\v 46 “Beware that \add you do not act like\add* the men who teach our \add Jewish\add* laws. They like to put on long robes and walk around \add to make people think that they are very important\add*. \add They\add* also like \add people to\add* greet them \add respectfully\add* in the marketplaces. They like \add to sit in\add* the most important places in the Jewish meeting places. At dinner parties \add they like to sit in\add* the seats where the most honored people sit.
\v 47 They swindle [MET] the houses \add and property\add* of widows. \add Then\add* they pretend they are good, as they pray \add long\add* prayers \add publicly. God\add* will \add certainly\add* punish them very severely.”
\c 21
\s1 Jesus taught that God commends people who give to him sacrificially.
\sr Luke 21:1-4
\p
\v 1 \add Jesus\add* looked up \add from where he was sitting\add* and saw rich people putting their gifts into the \add offering\add* boxes \add in the Temple courtyard\add*.
\v 2 He also saw a poor widow putting in two \add small\add* copper coins.
\v 3-4 He said \add to his disciples\add*, “The truth is that these rich people have a lot of money, \add but\add* they gave \add only a small part of it\add*. But this woman, who is very poor, has put in all the money that she had to pay for the things she needs! So \add God considers that\add* [HYP] this poor widow has put more money into the box than all the others.”
\s1 Jesus warned them about the terrible things that will happen before he returns.
\sr Luke 21:5-19
\p
\v 5 Some \add of Jesus' disciples\add* talked about the Temple. \add They commented about\add* the beautiful stones \add used in building the Temple\add* and the other decorations that \add people\add* had given, decorations \add that were on the walls\add*. But he said,
\v 6 “\add I want to tell you something about\add* these things that you are looking at. \add They will be destroyed\add* {\add Foreign invaders will\add* destroy \add these buildings\add*} \add completely\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.”
\p
\v 7 \add Later\add* they asked him, “Teacher, when will that happen? What will happen to indicate that the things \add you(sg) just told us\add* are about to happen?”
\v 8 He said, “\add All that I will say is\add*, be sure that you are not deceived {that they do not deceive \add you\add*} \add about these things\add* Many \add people\add* will come and say ◄that I \add sent them\add*/that they have my authority► [MTY]. They will say, ‘I am \add the Messiah\add*!’ They will also \add say\add* ‘It is now the time \add when God will begin to rule\add*!’ Do not follow them \add to become their disciples\add*
\v 9 Also, whenever you hear about wars and riots, do not be terrified. 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 \add the world\add* will end right away!”
\p
\v 10 Then he said to them, “\add Groups in various\add* countries will fight each other, and \add various\add* governments \add will also fight\add* against each other.
\v 11 There will be \add big\add* earthquakes, and in various places there will be famines and plagues. \add People will see\add* things that will terrify them. There will also be unusual things happening in the sky.
\v 12 But before all these things happen, \add some of\add* you will be persecuted and arrested {people will persecute you and arrest you} [MTY]. \add Some of\add* you will be put {They will put \add some of\add* you} \add on trial\add* in the places where you gather to worship, and \add you will be thrown\add* into prison. You will be put on trial {\add They\add* will put you on trial} in front of high government authorities because you are my [MTY] \add disciples\add*.
\v 13 That will be a time for you to tell \add them about me\add*.
\v 14 So determine within yourselves not to be thinking before that happens what you will say to defend yourselves,
\v 15 because I will make you wise [HEN] so that you will \add know\add* what to say. As a result, none of your enemies will be able to oppose what you say or ◄refute you/show that you are wrong►.
\v 16 \add And there will also be other evil things that will happen\add*: Even your parents and brothers and \add other\add* relatives and friends \add who do not believe in me\add* will ◄betray you/help your enemies to seize you►. They will kill some of you.
\v 17 \add In general\add*, most people will [HYP] hate you because \add you believe in\add* me [MTY].
\v 18 But your souls will be absolutely safe [IDM].
\v 19 By enduring \add all these things people will do to you\add*, you will preserve your \add eternal\add* life [SYN].”
\s1 Jesus predicted that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
\sr Luke 21:20-24
\p
\v 20 “But when you see that Jerusalem has been surrounded by the armies of \add your enemies\add*, you will know that it is the time for \add this city\add* to be completely destroyed {\add them\add* to completely destroy \add this city\add*}.
\v 21 At that time those \add of you\add* who are in Judea \add district\add* must flee to the \add higher\add* hills. Those who are in this city must leave \add quickly\add*. Those who are in the nearby countryside must not go back into the city \add to get any of their possessions before they flee\add*.
\v 22 \add You must obey what I tell you\add* because, in order that all the things that are written \add in the Scriptures\add* will be fulfilled, \add God\add* will very severely punish \add the people who stay in this city\add*.
\v 23 \add I feel\add* very sorry for women \add in this city\add* 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! I\add* feel sorry \add because\add* the people in this \add land\add* will suffer greatly [MTY] \add when God punishes them\add*.
\v 24 Many of them will be killed {Their enemies will kill many of them} with swords. \add Others will be captured\add* and taken {They will capture \add others\add* and take them} to [HYP] \add other\add* countries. Non-Jewish people will trample over Jerusalem until the time \add that God has determined for them to rule the city\add* is ended.”
\s1 Jesus told them about the frightening things that will happen before he returns.
\sr Luke 21:25-28
\p
\v 25 “There will also be strange things that will \add happen to\add* the sun, the moon, and the stars. In \add many\add* nations on the earth, \add people\add* will be very frightened, and they will be anxious \add when they hear\add* the ocean roaring and \add see the huge\add* waves.
\v 26 People will faint because they will be afraid as they wait for what will happen in the world. \add They will be afraid\add* because the powerful \add objects\add* in the sky will be shaken {shake}.
\v 27 Then they will see \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, coming in a cloud powerfully and very gloriously.
\v 28 So when these things that \add I have just now described\add* begin to happen, stand up \add straight and\add* be brave, because it will be close to the time when \add God\add* will free you \add from all suffering\add*.”
\s1 Jesus taught them how to know when his return was near.
\sr Luke 21:29-33
\p
\v 29 \add Then\add* he told them this parable: “Think about the fig tree, and all the \add other\add* trees.
\v 30 As soon as you see their leaves beginning to sprout, you know that summer is near.
\v 31 Similarly, when you see these things that \add I have just described\add* happening, you will know that it is almost time for God to \add truly\add* rule as king.
\v 32 Keep this in mind: All the things that \add I have just now described\add* will happen before all the people who have observed the things that I have done have died.
\v 33 \add You can be certain that these things\add* that I have told \add you\add* about will happen. That they will happen is more \add certain\add* than that the earth and sky will continue to exist.”
\s1 Jesus taught them how to be ready for his return.
\sr Luke 21:34-38
\p
\v 34 “But be on guard. Do not be getting drunk with carousing or let yourselves be distracted by worries \add concerning\add* your lives [SYN] {or let worries \add concerning\add* your lives [SYN] distract you}. \add If you do wrong things like these, you may be suddenly surprised by my return\add* [MTY], like a trap \add suddenly catches an animal in it\add*.
\v 35 \add You need to know that my return will surprise\add* everyone all over the earth.
\v 36 So be ready at all times. Pray that you will be able to endure without being afraid of all these \add difficult\add* things that will happen, so that you will then stand \add confidently\add* before me, the one who came from heaven.”
\p
\v 37 Each day \add during that week Jesus\add* taught the people in the Temple \add courtyard in Jerusalem\add*. But at night he \add and his disciples\add* left \add the city\add* and stayed on Olive \add Tree\add* Hill.
\v 38 Early \add each\add* morning many people came to the Temple \add courtyard\add* to listen to him.
\c 22
\s1 Judas agreed to put Jesus into his enemies' hands.
\sr Luke 22:1-6
\p
\v 1 It was now almost time to celebrate the festival of Unleavened Bread, which  \add began with\add* the Passover feast.
\v 2 The chief priests and the men who taught the  \add Jewish\add* laws were seeking a way to kill Jesus. \add But they wanted to do it secretly\add*, because they were afraid that if  \add they did not do\add* it secretly, the people  \add might riot\add*.
\p
\v 3 Then  \add even though\add* Judas, who was called  \add the man from\add* Kerioth  \add village\add*, was one of the twelve  \add disciples\add*, Satan entered him.
\v 4 He went and conferred with the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guards. He discussed with them how he could enable them to seize  \add Jesus\add*.
\v 5 They were pleased  \add that he wanted to do that\add*. They offered to give him money  \add for doing it\add*.
\v 6 So he agreed, \add and they gave him the money\add*. Then he tried to find an opportunity to enable them to seize  \add Jesus\add* when there was no crowd around him.
\s1 Jesus arranged for his disciples to prepare the Passover meal.
\sr Luke 22:7-13
\p
\v 7 Then the day during the  \add first part of the week-long festival\add* of Unleavened Bread came, \add the day\add* when  \add the\add* lambs  \add for the\add* Passover  \add celebration\add* had to be killed.
\v 8 So Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the meal for the Passover  \add celebration\add*.”
\v 9 They replied to him, “Where do you  \add (sg)\add* want us to prepare it?”
\v 10 He said to the  \add two of\add* them, “Listen carefully. When you  \add two\add* enter the city, a man who is carrying a  \add large\add* jar of water will meet you. Follow him. \add When\add* he enters  \add a house\add*, 
\v 11 tell the owner of the house, ‘\add Our\add* teacher says  \add that we(exc) should\add* ask  \add you(sg) to please\add* show  \add us\add* the room that  \add he arranged with you\add* where he can eat the Passover  \add meal\add* with  \add us\add*, his disciples [RHQ].’
\v 12 He will show you a large room that is on the upper  \add floor of the house\add*. It will be all set up  \add for a meal\add*. Prepare the meal for us there.”
\v 13 So  \add the two disciples\add* went  \add into the city\add*. They found everything to be just like  \add Jesus\add* had told them. So they prepared  \add the meal for\add* the Passover  \add celebration there\add*.
\s1 Jesus told them how they should remember his death for them.
\sr Luke 22:14-23
\p
\v 14 When it was time [MTY] \add to eat the meal\add*, Jesus  \add came and\add* sat down with the  \add twelve\add* apostles.
\v 15 He said to them, “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover  \add meal\add* with you before I suffer  \add and die\add*.
\v 16 I want you to know that I will not eat  \add the Passover meal\add* again until all those whose lives God rules completely realize  \add what it represents\add*.”
\v 17 Then he took a cup  \add of wine\add* and thanked  \add God for it\add*. Then he said, “Take this, and each of you drink some of it.
\v 18 I want you to know that  \add from now on\add* I will not drink wine until God makes me king.”
\v 19 Then he took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke it  \add into pieces\add* and gave it to them  \add to eat\add*. He said, “This  \add bread represents\add* my body, which  \add I\add* am about to sacrifice for you. Keep on  \add eating bread\add* this way  \add regularly\add* to remember what I  \add have done for you\add*.”
\v 20 Similarly, after  \add they had eaten\add* the meal, he took  \add another\add* cup  \add of wine\add*. He said, “\add The wine in\add* [MTY] this cup  \add represents\add* my blood, which will soon flow  \add from my body when I die\add*. \add With\add* this blood  \add I will sign\add* the new agreement  \add that God is making with\add* you.
\v 21 But  \add note that\add* the one [SYN] who will enable my enemies to seize me is eating right here with me!
\v 22 \add It is certain that I\add*, the one who came from heaven, will die, because that is what  \add God\add* has planned. But there will be terrible punishment for the man who will ◄betray me/enable my enemies to seize me►!”
\v 23 Then they began to ask one another, “Which of us would do such a thing?”
\s1 Jesus taught them that they should imitate him by serving each other humbly.
\sr Luke 22:24-30
\p
\v 24 \add The apostles\add* began to argue among themselves, saying, “Which one of us  \add will be\add* the greatest  \add when Jesus becomes king\add*?” 
\v 25 So Jesus said to them, “The kings of the non-Jews  \add enjoy\add* showing that they are powerful. \add Yet\add* they give  \add themselves\add* the title, ‘ones who help the people.’
\v 26 But you should not be like them! Instead, those who  \add want God to consider them\add* the greatest should  \add act as though they\add* were the youngest, \add since the youngest are expected to serve the older ones\add*. Whoever is a leader should be one who serves  \add the others\add*.
\v 27 Keep in mind who is the most important one [RHQ]. It is certainly the one who  \add just sits\add* at the table, not [RHQ] those who serve  \add the meal\add*. But I, \add your leader\add*, have been  \add an example for you\add* by serving you  \add while I have been\add* among you.
\p
\v 28 You are the ones who have stayed with me during all my troubles.
\v 29 So now, just like my Father has appointed me to rule as a king, I am appointing you
\v 30 so that you can sit and eat  \add and rule\add* [MET] with me when I become king. You will sit on thrones to judge the people of the twelve tribes of Israel.”
\s1 Jesus predicted that Peter would say that he did not know Jesus.
\sr Luke 22:31-34
\p
\v 31 “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has asked  \add God to let him test you, and God has permitted him to do it. Satan wants to cause you to suffer distress\add* (OR, \add distress you\add*) \add so that you will not believe/trust in me anymore/longer. He wants to shake you, just like a man shakes wheat in a sieve\add* [MET].
\v 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that you will not completely stop believing in me. So when you  \add (sg)\add* restore your relationship with me, help your fellow apostles  \add to trust in me more\add*!” 
\v 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you  \add (sg)\add* if they put you in prison, or even to die with you!”
\v 34 Jesus replied, “Peter, I want you  \add (sg)\add* to know that this night, before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you do not know me!”
\s1 Jesus warned his disciples that they would soon face opposition.
\sr Luke 22:35-38
\p
\v 35 Then  \add Jesus\add* asked all of them, “After I sent you out  \add to other villages, and you went\add* without taking any money or a  \add traveling\add* bag or  \add extra\add* sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They replied, “\add That's right\add*, \add we(exc) did\add* not  \add lack\add* anything.”
\v 36 Then, \add to show them that now many people would oppose them\add*, (OR, \add to show them that they needed to be prepared to protect themselves\add*,) he said to them, “Now  \add things will be different. So\add* whoever among you has some money should take it with him. Likewise, he should take a carrying bag. Whoever does not have a sword should sell his coat and buy a sword.
\v 37 Because, I now tell you, \add something must happen to me to fulfill these words that a prophet\add* wrote: ‘He was treated {They treated him} as  \add though he were\add* a criminal.’ Do not forget that everything that is {that they have} written about me  \add in the Scriptures\add* must be fulfilled.”
\v 38 The disciples said, “Lord, look! We  \add (exc)\add* have two swords!” \add Realizing that they did not understand the meaning of what he said\add*, he replied to them, “That is enough  \add talk about swords!\add*”
\s1 Jesus prayed alone intensely.
\sr Luke 22:39-46
\p
\v 39 As  \add Jesus\add* left  \add the city\add*, he went, as he usually did, to Olive  \add Tree\add* Hill. His disciples went with him.
\v 40 When he came to the place  \add where he often spent the night\add*, he said to them, “Pray that  \add God will help you\add* whenever something tempts you.”
\v 41 Then he went from them a distance of about thirty meters/yards. (OR, as far as someone can throw a stone.) He knelt and prayed,
\v 42 “\add My\add* Father, if you are willing  \add to do it\add*, permit that I do not  \add have to undergo\add* these terrible things that  \add are about to happen to me\add* [MTY]. But do not do what I want. Instead, do what you want.”
\v 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and caused him to become stronger.
\v 44 He was greatly distressed. So he prayed more earnestly. His sweat fell down on the ground as though it was large drops of blood.
\v 45 When he got up from praying, he returned to his disciples. He found that they were sleeping. They were exhausted because they were very sorrowful.
\v 46 He  \add woke them and\add* said to them, “◄I am disappointed that you are sleeping!/Why are you sleeping?► [RHQ] Get up! Pray that  \add God will help you\add* whenever you are tempted {when something  \add like this\add* tempts you}!”
\s1 Jesus' enemies captured him.
\sr Luke 22:47-53
\p
\v 47 While  \add Jesus\add* was still speaking, a crowd  \add came to him\add*. Judas, \add even though he was\add* one of the twelve  \add disciples\add*, was leading them. He came close to Jesus and kissed him  \add on the cheek to signal to those with him which one was Jesus\add*.
\v 48 Jesus said to him, “Judas, ◄I am disappointed that it is by kissing me that you are enabling  \add my enemies\add* to seize  \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven!/is it by kissing me  \add as though you loved me\add* that you are enabling  \add my enemies\add* to seize  \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven?► [RHQ]”
\v 49 When the  \add disciples\add* who were around Jesus realized what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we  \add (exc)\add* strike  \add them\add* with our swords?”
\v 50 One of them  \add drew his sword and\add* struck the servant of the high priest  \add to kill him, but only\add* cut off his right ear.
\v 51 But Jesus said, “Do not  \add do\add* any more of that!” He touched the  \add servant's\add* ear and healed him.
\v 52-53 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the Temple guards, and the  \add Jewish\add* elders who had come to  \add seize\add* him, “◄It is ridiculous that you have come  \add here\add* with swords and clubs to capture [MTY] me, as  \add if I were\add* a bandit!/Why have you come here with swords and clubs to capture [MTY] me, as if I were a bandit?► [RHQ] Day after day  \add I was with you\add* in the Temple  \add courtyard\add*, \add and\add* you did not seize me! But this is the time [MTY] when  \add God is allowing\add* you  \add to do what you want\add*. It is also the time [MTY] when God is allowing  \add Satan, who rules\add* [MTY] \add in\add* the darkness, \add to do what he wants\add*.”
\s1 Peter said three times that he did not know Jesus.
\sr Luke 22:54-62
\p
\v 54 They seized  \add Jesus\add* and led him away. They brought him to the high priest's house. Peter followed  \add them\add* at a distance.
\v 55 They kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together. Peter sat among them.
\v 56 As the light  \add from the fire\add* shone  \add on his face, a\add* female servant saw him and looked intently at him. She said, “This man was also with  \add the man whom they have arrested\add*!” 
\v 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him!”
\v 58 A little later someone else saw Peter and said, “You  \add (sg)\add* also are one of those who  \add were with\add* the man  \add they arrested\add*!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not  \add one of them\add*!” 
\v 59 About an hour later someone else said emphatically  \add about Peter\add*, “\add The way\add* that this man  \add speaks shows that he\add* is from Galilee  \add district\add*. Certainly this man was also with the man whom  \add they arrested, who is from Galilee\add*!” 
\v 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you  \add (sg)\add* are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
\v 61 The Lord  \add Jesus\add* turned around and looked right at Peter. Then Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him, “This night, before the rooster crows, you  \add (sg)\add* will deny three times  \add that you know\add* me.”
\v 62 And he went out  \add of the courtyard\add* and cried very sorrowfully.
\s1 The soldiers made fun of Jesus.
\sr Luke 22:63-65
\p
\v 63 The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him.
\v 64 They put a blindfold on him and  \add beat him again. Then\add* they said to him, “\add Because you(sg) say\add* [IRO] that you are a prophet, \add prove it by\add* telling us who it was that struck you!”
\v 65 They said many other evil things about him, insulting him.
\s1 The Jewish leaders asked Jesus about his identity.
\sr Luke 22:66-71
\p
\v 66 At dawn  \add the next morning\add*, many of the  \add Jewish\add* leaders gathered together. The group included the chief priests and the men who taught the  \add Jewish\add* laws. They took Jesus to the Jewish Council. There they said to him,
\v 67 “If you  \add (sg)\add* are the Messiah, tell us!” But he replied, “If I tell you that, you will not believe me.
\v 68 If I ask you  \add what you think about the Messiah\add*, you will not answer me.
\v 69 But some day you will see  \add me\add*, the one who came from heaven, sitting next to almighty God and ruling [MTY]!”
\v 70 Then they all said, “If that is so, are  \add you(sg) saying that\add* you are ◄the Son of God/the Man who is also God►?” He said to them, “\add Yes\add*, it is just like you say [MTY].”
\v 71 Then they said  \add to each other\add*, “◄We  \add (inc)\add* certainly do not need any more people to testify  \add against him\add*!/Why should we ask for any more people to testify  \add against him\add*?► [RHQ]” We ourselves have heard him say [MTY] \add that he is equal with God!\add*
\c 23
\s1 They accused Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor.
\sr Luke 23:1-5
\p
\v 1 Then the whole group got up and took him to Pilate, \add the Roman governor\add*.
\v 2 They began to accuse him, saying, “We \add (exc)\add* have determined that this fellow has caused political trouble in our country. He has been \add telling people that they should\add* not pay taxes to the Roman government [MTY]. Also, he says that he is the Messiah, a king!”
\v 3 Pilate asked him, “Do you \add (sg) claim that you are\add* the King of the Jews?” He replied, “\add It is\add* as you have \add just\add* now said.”
\v 4 Pilate said to the chief priests and \add the rest of\add* the crowd, “I do not conclude that this man is guilty of any crime.”
\v 5 But they kept insisting, saying, “He is inciting the people \add to riot!\add* He has been teaching his \add ideas\add* throughout all of Judea \add district\add*. He started \add doing it\add* in Galilee \add district\add* and now he is doing it here!”
\s1 After Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, Jesus refused to answer Herod's questions.
\sr Luke 23:6-12
\p
\v 6 When Pilate heard that, he asked, “Is this man from Galilee \add district\add*?”
\v 7 When they told him that Jesus was \add from Galilee, which was the district\add* that Herod \add Antipas\add* ruled, \add he told them\add* to take Jesus to Herod \add Antipas\add*, because Herod was in Jerusalem at that time.
\v 8 \add So they did\add*. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very happy. He \add had heard about Jesus\add*, and he had been hoping for a long time that he could see Jesus perform a miracle.
\v 9 So he asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus did not reply \add to any of them\add*.
\v 10 The chief priests and men who taught the \add Jewish\add* laws stood near him, accusing him very strongly.
\v 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ◄made fun of/ridiculed► \add Jesus\add*. They put gorgeous clothes on him \add to mock him as being a king\add*. Then Herod sent him back to Pilate.
\v 12 Until that time Herod and Pilate had been very hostile to each other, but that very day they became friends.
\s1 Pilate was unsuccessful in his efforts to set Jesus free.
\sr Luke 23:13-25
\p
\v 13 Pilate then gathered together the chief priests and other \add Jewish\add* leaders and the crowd \add that was still there\add*.
\v 14 He said to them, “You brought this man to me, saying that he had caused trouble among the people. But \add I want you to know that\add* after having examined him while you were listening, I do not conclude that he is guilty of any of the things that you are accusing him about.
\v 15 \add Obviously\add* Herod did not \add conclude that\add* either, because he sent him back to me \add without punishing him\add*. \add So it\add* is clear that this man has not done anything for which we \add (inc)\add* should kill him.
\v 16-17 So I will \add have my soldiers\add* whip him and then release him.”\f + Pilate had to release one prisoner for the people during the Passover festival each year.\f*
\v 18 But the whole crowd shouted, “Execute this man! Release Barrabas for us \add (exc)\add*!”
\v 19 Barrabas was a man who had tried to persuade people in the city to rebel \add against the Roman government. While doing that\add*, he had murdered \add someone\add*. So he had been put {they had put him} in prison, \add where he was waiting for them to execute him\add*.
\v 20 Because Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he tried to persuade the crowd again.
\v 21 But they kept shouting, “\add Command your soldiers to\add* kill him by nailing him to a cross!/Have him crucified!”
\v 22 He \add spoke to them\add* a third time and asked them, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have concluded that he has done nothing for which he deserves to die. So I will \add have my soldiers\add* whip him and then release him.”
\v 23 But they kept insisting. They shouted loudly that \add Jesus\add* should be nailed {that \add Pilate\add* should \add have his soldiers\add* nail \add Jesus\add*} to a cross. Finally, because they continued to shout [PRS] \add so loudly\add*,
\v 24 Pilate decided to do what they requested.
\v 25 The man who had been {whom they had} put in prison because he had rebelled \add against the government\add* and who had murdered \add someone\add*, he released! That was the man whom the crowd had asked him \add to release\add*. He put Jesus into the hands \add of the soldiers\add*, to do what \add the crowd\add* wanted.
\s1 The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross.
\sr Luke 23:26-31
\p
\v 26 As the soldiers were taking \add Jesus\add* away, they seized a man named Simon, \add who was\add* from Cyrene \add city in Africa\add*. He was returning \add to Jerusalem\add* from out in the countryside. They \add took from Jesus the cross that he had been carrying. Then\add* they put it on Simon's shoulders, and \add told him to\add* carry it behind Jesus.
\v 27 A large crowd followed Jesus. The crowd included many women who were beating their breasts \add to show how sad they were\add*, and wailing for him.
\v 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, do not cry for me! Instead, cry because of \add what is going to happen to\add* yourselves and your children!
\v 29 I want you to know that there will soon be a time when people will say, ‘Women [SYN] who have never borne children or nursed babies are fortunate!’
\v 30 Then, \add in order that they will not have to suffer greatly when their enemies destroy this city\add*, people who are left in the city will say to the mountains, ‘Fall down on us!’ And people will say to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
\v 31 \add I am innocent\add* [MET]. \add I am like\add* a living tree \add that people do not try to burn. But the people of Jerusalem deserve that their enemies punish them. They are like\add* dry wood that is ready to \add burn\add*. So if they \add nail me to the cross\add*, ◄\add their enemies\add* will certainly do much worse things to them!/what worse things will God do to them?► [RHQ]”
\s1 The things that happened when Jesus died.
\sr Luke 23:32-49
\p
\v 32 Two other men who were criminals were also being led away {\add The soldiers\add* also led away two other men who were criminals}. They were going to be executed {\add The soldiers\add* were going to execute them} \add with Jesus\add*.
\v 33 When they came to the place which is called ❛The Skull❜, they nailed \add Jesus\add* to a cross \add after removing his clothes\add*. They did the same thing to the two criminals. They put one at the right \add side of Jesus\add* and one at his left \add side\add*.
\v 34 Jesus said, “\add My\add* Father, forgive them, because they do not realize \add whom\add* they are doing \add this to\add*.” Then \add the soldiers\add* divided his clothing by gambling with something like dice, \add to decide which piece of clothing each one would get\add*.
\v 35 Many people stood nearby, watching. And the \add Jewish\add* leaders ◄made fun of/ridiculed► \add Jesus\add*, saying, “He \add said\add* [IRO] \add that he\add* saved other people! If he is the Messiah, the one God has chosen, he should save himself!”
\v 36 The soldiers also ridiculed him because he \add claimed to be a king\add*. They came up to him and offered him some sour wine.
\v 37 They said to him, “If you \add (sg)\add* are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
\v 38 \add They\add* also \add fastened on the cross\add* above his head a sign \add that stated\add* why \add they\add* were nailing him to the cross. \add But all it said was\add*, ❛This is the King of the Jews❜.
\p
\v 39 One of the criminals who was hanging \add on a cross\add* began to insult him, saying, “You \add (sg) said that you\add* are the Messiah, so \add you must be powerful!\add* So save yourself, and save us, too!”
\v 40 But the other \add criminal\add* rebuked him, saying, “◄You \add (sg)\add* should be afraid of God \add punishing you\add*!/Are you not afraid of God \add punishing you\add*?► [RHQ] They are punishing him \add and us\add* similarly.
\v 41 They have justly decided that we \add (inc) two\add* must die. They are punishing us as we deserve \add for the evil things that we did\add*. But this man has done nothing wrong!”
\v 42 Then he said, “Jesus, \add please\add* remember me \add and take care of me\add* when you become king!”
\v 43 Jesus replied, “I want you \add (sg)\add* to know that today you \add (sg)\add* will be with me in the place where everyone is happy!” (OR, that today you will be with me in Paradise!)
\p
\v 44 \add Then it\add* was about noontime. It became dark over the whole land, \add and it stayed dark\add* until three o'clock in the afternoon.
\v 45 There was no light from the sun. Then the \add thick\add* curtain \add that closed off the most holy place\add* in the Temple split into two pieces. \add That signified that ordinary people could now go into the presence of God\add*.
\v 46 \add As that happened\add*, Jesus shouted loudly, “Father, I put my spirit into your care [MTY]!” When he said that, he stopped breathing [EUP] \add and died\add*.
\p
\v 47 When the officer \add who supervised the soldiers who were executing Jesus\add* saw what happened, he praised God \add for the way Jesus died\add*, saying, “\add I am\add* sure that this man had done nothing wrong!”
\v 48 When the crowd of people who had gathered to see those events saw what happened, they returned \add to their homes\add*, beating their breasts \add to show that they were sorrowful\add*.
\v 49 All of Jesus' friends, including the women who had come with him from Galilee \add district\add*, stood at a distance and saw all that happened.
\s1 Joseph and others buried Jesus while some women watched.
\sr Luke 23:50-56
\p
\v 50 There was a man named Joseph who \add came there\add*. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea. He was a good and a righteous man, and he was a member of the \add Jewish\add* Council.
\v 51 But he had not agreed with the other Council \add members\add* when they decided \add to kill Jesus\add* and when they \add planned how to\add* do it. He was waiting expectantly for \add the time when\add* God \add would send\add* his king to begin to rule.
\v 52 He went to Pilate and asked \add Pilate to permit him\add* to \add take\add* Jesus' body \add and bury it. After Pilate allowed him to do that\add*,
\v 53 he \add and some others\add* took \add Jesus' body\add* down \add from the cross\add*. They wrapped it in a linen cloth. Then they put his body in a tomb that he had \add hired others to\add* dig out of a rock \add cliff\add*. No one had ever put a body in it before.
\v 54 \add They had to do it quickly because\add* that was \add Friday\add*, the day when \add people\add* prepared \add things for the Jewish day of rest\add*. ◄The Sabbath/The day of rest► was about to start \add at sunset, so they had to finish burying his body before sunset\add*.
\v 55 The women who had come with \add Jesus\add* from Galilee \add district\add* followed \add Joseph and the men who were with him\add*. They saw the tomb, and they saw how the men laid \add Jesus'\add* body \add inside it, and saw the men roll a huge stone across the entrance\add*.
\v 56 Then the women returned to the houses \add where they were staying. The following evening\add* they prepared spices and ointments to put \add on Jesus' body\add*, but ◄on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day► they rested, according to what \add Moses\add* had commanded.
\c 24
\s1 Some women discovered that Jesus had become alive again.
\sr Luke 24:1-12
\p
\v 1 Before dawn on Sunday those women went to the tomb. They took with them the spices that they had prepared \add to put on Jesus' body\add*.
\v 2 They discovered that the stone had been rolled away from \add the entrance to\add* the tomb.
\v 3 They went in the tomb, but the body of the Lord Jesus was not there!
\v 4 They did not know what to think about that. Then suddenly two men stood by them wearing bright shining clothes!
\v 5 The \add women\add* were frightened. As they prostrated themselves on the ground, the two men said to them, “◄You should not be seeking someone who is alive in \add a place where they bury\add* dead people!/Why are you seeking in \add a place where they bury\add* dead people someone who is alive?► [RHQ]
\v 6 He is not here; he has ◄become alive again/risen from the dead►! Remember that while he was still with you in Galilee \add district\add* he said to you,
\v 7 ‘\add Even though I\add* am the one who came from heaven, \add someone\add* will enable sinful men to seize [MTY] me. They will \add kill me by\add* nailing me to a cross. But on the third day \add after that\add*, I will become alive \add again\add*.’”
\v 8 The \add women\add* remembered that he had said that.
\v 9 So they left the tomb and went to the eleven \add apostles\add* and his other \add disciples\add* and told them those things.
\v 10 The ones who kept telling those things to the apostles were Mary from Magdala \add village\add*, Joanna, Mary who was the mother of James, and the other women \add who were\add* with them.
\v 11 But they thought that what the women \add said\add* was nonsense. They did not believe what the women said.
\v 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb \add anyway\add*. He stooped down \add and looked inside\add*. He saw the linen cloths \add in which Jesus' body had been wrapped\add*. \add The cloths were\add* by themselves (OR, \add He did not see\add* anything else). So, wondering what had happened, he went to where he was staying.
\s1 Jesus appeared to two disciples as they were walking to Emmaus.
\sr Luke 24:13-35
\p
\v 13 That same day two of \add Jesus' disciples\add* were walking to a village named Emmaus. It was about ◄seven miles/eleven kilometers► from Jerusalem.
\v 14 They were talking with each other about all the things that had happened \add to Jesus\add*.
\v 15 While they were talking and discussing those things, Jesus himself approached them and started walking with them.
\v 16 But they were prevented {\add something\add* prevented them} from recognizing [MTY] him.
\v 17 \add Jesus\add* said to them, “What have you two been talking about while you were walking?” They stopped, and their faces looked very sad.
\v 18 One of them, whose name was Cleopas, said, “◄You \add (sg)\add* must be the only person who is visiting Jerusalem \add for the Passover festival\add* who does not know the events that have happened there in recent days!/Are you the only person who is visiting Jerusalem \add for the Passover festival\add* who does not know the events that have happened there in recent days?► [RHQ]”
\v 19 He said to them, “What events?” They replied, “\add The things that happened\add* to Jesus, \add the man\add* from Nazareth, who was a prophet. Many people saw him \add perform\add* great miracles, and God \add enabled him\add* to teach wonderful \add messages!\add*
\v 20 But our chief priests and leaders handed him over \add to the Roman authorities. The authorities\add* sentenced him to die, and they killed him by nailing him to a cross.
\v 21 We \add (exc)\add* were hoping that he was the one who would free \add us\add* Israelites \add from our enemies\add* But \add this does not seem possible now, because\add* three days have \add already\add* passed since that happened.
\v 22 On the other hand, some women from our group amazed us. Early this morning they went to the tomb,
\v 23 but Jesus' body was not there! They came \add back\add* and said that they had seen some angels in a vision. The angels said that he was alive!
\v 24 Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb. They saw that things were exactly as the women had reported. But they did not see \add Jesus\add*.”
\v 25 He said to them, “\add You two\add* foolish \add men You are so\add* slow to believe all that the prophets have written \add about the Messiah!\add*
\v 26 ◄\add You should certainly have known that\add* it was necessary that the Messiah should suffer all those things \add and die\add*, and then enter his glorious \add home in heaven\add*!/Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer all those things \add and die\add*, and then enter his glorious \add home in heaven\add*?► [RHQ]”
\v 27 Then he explained to them all the things that \add the prophets\add* had written in the Scriptures about himself. He started with what Moses [MTY] \add wrote\add* and then explained to them what all the \add other\add* prophets \add wrote\add*.
\p
\v 28 They came near to the village to \add which the two men\add* were going. He indicated that he would go further,
\v 29 but they urged him \add to not do that\add*. They said, “Stay with us \add tonight\add*, because it is late in the afternoon and it will soon be dark.” So he went in \add the house\add* to stay with them.
\v 30 When they sat down to eat, he took some bread and \add asked God to\add* bless it. He broke it and gave \add some pieces\add* to them.
\v 31 And then \add God\add* enabled them to recognize [MTY] him. But \add immediately\add* he disappeared!
\v 32 They said to each other, “\add While we were walking\add* along the road and he talked with us and \add enabled\add* us \add (exc)\add* to understand the Scriptures, we \add became so excited that it was as though\add* [MET] a fire was burning within us [RHQ]! \add We should not stay here; we should go tell others what happened!\add*”
\v 33 So they left immediately and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven \add apostles\add* and others who had gathered together with them.
\v 34 They told \add those two men\add*, “It is true that the Lord has become alive again, and he has appeared to Simon/Peter!”
\v 35 Then those two \add men\add* told \add the others\add* what had happened \add as they were walking\add* along the road. They also \add told them how\add* they both recognized him as he broke some bread \add for them\add*.
\s1 Jesus appeared to many of his disciples and taught them more and gave them other instructions.
\sr Luke 24:36-49
\p
\v 36 As they were saying that, Jesus himself \add suddenly\add* appeared among them. He said to them, “\add May God give\add* you \add inner\add* peace!”
\v 37 They were startled and afraid, \add because\add* they thought that they were seeing a ghost!
\v 38 He said to them, “◄You should not be alarmed!/Why are you alarmed?► [RHQ] And ◄you should not be doubting \add that I am alive\add*/Jesus!/why are you doubting \add that I am alive\add*/Jesus?► [RHQ]
\v 39 Look at \add the wounds in\add* my hands and my feet! You can touch me and see \add my body\add*. Then you can see that it is really I myself. \add You can tell that I am really alive\add* because ghosts do not have bodies, as you see that I have!”
\v 40 After he said that, he showed them \add the wounds in\add* his hands and his feet.
\v 41 They were joyful and amazed, \add but\add* they still did not believe \add that he was really alive\add* (OR, \add that he was the one that they were seeing\add*). \add So\add* he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
\v 42 \add So\add* they gave him a piece of broiled fish.
\v 43 While they were watching, he took it and ate it.
\p
\v 44 Then he said to them, “\add I will repeat\add* what I told you while I was still with you: Everything that was written about me by Moses and the \add other\add* prophets [MTY] and in the Psalms must be fulfilled!”
\v 45 Then he enabled them to understand \add the things that had been written about him in\add* the Scriptures.
\v 46 He said to them, “This is what they wrote: That the Messiah would suffer \add and die\add*, but on the third day after that he would become alive again.
\v 47 \add They\add* also \add wrote that the message\add* must be preached {\add that his followers\add* must preach \add the message\add*} \add everywhere that people\add* must turn from their sinful ways for \add God\add* to forgive their sins. \add They wrote that his followers should preach that message, claiming\add* his authority [MTY]. They wrote that they should start \add preaching\add* it in Jerusalem and then \add go and\add* preach it to all ethnic groups.
\v 48 You \add apostles\add* must tell people that you know that those things \add that happened to me\add* are true.
\v 49 And I want you to know that I will send the \add Holy Spirit\add* [MTY] to you, as my Father promised that \add he would do\add*. But you must stay in this city until God fills you with the power \add of his Spirit\add*.”
\s1 Jesus left his disciples and returned to heaven.
\sr Luke 24:50-53
\p
\v 50 Then \add Jesus\add* led them outside \add the city\add* until they came near Bethany \add village\add*. There he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
\v 51 As he was doing that, he left them \add and went up to heaven\add*.
\v 52 They worshipped him. And then they returned to Jerusalem very joyfully.
\v 53 Each day [SYN] they went into the Temple \add courtyard\add*, and spent a lot of time praising God.