The World English Bible (WEB) Part 81

11:4 Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 11:5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,* the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.* 11:6 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me."

11:7 As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the mult.i.tudes concerning John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 11:8 But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses.

11:9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'* 11:11 Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. 11:12 From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 11:14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. 11:15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

11:16 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions 11:17 and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance. We mourned for you, and you didn't lament.' 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."

11:20 Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn't repent. 11:21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 11:22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 11:23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades.

For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day. 11:24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you."

11:25 At that time, Jesus answered, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. 11:26 Yes, Father, for so it was well- pleasing in your sight. 11:27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

11:28 "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.

11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

12:1 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 12:2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, "Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."

12:3 But he said to them, "Haven't you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; 12:4 how he entered into the house of G.o.d, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?* 12:5 Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 12:6 But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 12:7 But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,'* you would not have condemned the guiltless. 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

12:9 He departed there, and went into their synagogue. 12:10 And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" that they might accuse him.

12:11 He said to them, "What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won't he grab on to it, and lift it out? 12:12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day." 12:13 Then he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 12:14 But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him. 12:15 Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great mult.i.tudes followed him; and he healed them all, 12:16 and commanded them that they should not make him known: 12:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

12:18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. 12:19 He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 12:20 He won't break a bruised reed. He won't quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory. 12:21 In his name, the nations will hope."* 12:22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 12:23 All the mult.i.tudes were amazed, and said, "Can this be the son of David?" 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."

12:25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 12:26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 12:27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out?

Therefore they will be your judges. 12:28 But if I by the Spirit of G.o.d cast out demons, then the Kingdom of G.o.d has come upon you. 12:29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

12:30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn't gather with me, scatters. 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.

12:33 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.

12:34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 12:35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure* brings out evil things. 12:36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

12:38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you."

12:39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 12:41 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.

12:42 The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. 12:43 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, pa.s.ses through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn't find it.

12:44 Then he says, 'I will return into my house from which I came out,'

and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

12:45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation."

12:46 While he was yet speaking to the mult.i.tudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 12:47 One said to him, "Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you."

12:48 But he answered him who spoke to him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" 12:49 He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother."

13:1 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.

13:2 Great mult.i.tudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the mult.i.tude stood on the beach. 13:3 He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 13:4 As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 13:5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. 13:6 When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 13:7 Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them: 13:8 and others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 13:9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

13:10 The disciples came, and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

13:11 He answered them, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. 13:12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. 13:13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don't see, and hearing, they don't hear, neither do they understand. 13:14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,

'By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive: 13:15 for this people's heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.'* 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 13:17 For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn't see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn't hear them.

13:18 "Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes, and s.n.a.t.c.hes away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. 13:20 What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; 13:21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

13:22 What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 13:23 What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty."

13:24 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 13:25 but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. 13:26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. 13:27 The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?'

13:28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?'

13:29 "But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

13:31 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; 13:32 which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches."

13:33 He spoke another parable to them. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened."

13:34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the mult.i.tudes; and without a parable, he didn't speak to them, 13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

"I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world."* 13:36 Then Jesus sent the mult.i.tudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field."

13:37 He answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 13:38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.

13:39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 13:40 As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. 13:41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, 13:42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth. 13:43 Then the righteous will s.h.i.+ne forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

13:44 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

13:45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 13:46 who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

13:47 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, 13:48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. 13:49 So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous, 13:50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth."

13:51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"

They answered him, "Yes, Lord."

13:52 He said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things."

13:53 It happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. 13:54 Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? 13:55 Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 13:56 Aren't all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?" 13:57 They were offended by him.

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house." 13:58 He didn't do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

14:1 At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 14:2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him." 14:3 For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 14:4 For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 14:5 When he would have put him to death, he feared the mult.i.tude, because they counted him as a prophet.

14:6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. 14:7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. 14:8 She, being prompted by her mother, said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer."

14:9 The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, 14:10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. 14:11 His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother.

14:12 His disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus. 14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the mult.i.tudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

14:14 Jesus went out, and he saw a great mult.i.tude. He had compa.s.sion on them, and healed their sick. 14:15 When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, "This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the mult.i.tudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food."