English Standard Version  
Chapter 21
The Triumphal Entry
1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
andOr even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12And Jesus entered the templeSome manuscripts add of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,
16and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.
19And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
21And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
22And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
29And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
30And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.
31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servantsGreek bondservants; also verses 35, 36 to the tenants to get his fruit.
35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;Greek the head of the corner
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”Some manuscripts omit verse 44
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Chapter 22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
1And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,
2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,
3and sent his servantsGreek bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10 to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
6while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
7The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
9Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’
10And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
12And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his talk.
16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.Greek for you do not look at people's faces
17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
21They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
23The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,
24saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’
25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
26So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
27After them all, the woman died.
28In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
29But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
31And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:
32‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
33And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Great Commandment
34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38This is the great and first commandment.
39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Whose Son Is the Christ?
41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
43He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
46And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Chapter 23
Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
3so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,Some manuscripts omit hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
5They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
7and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbiRabbi means my teacher, or my master; also verse 8 by others.
8But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.Or brothers and sisters
9And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.
11The greatest among you shall be your servant.
12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation
14
15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hellGreek Gehenna; also verse 33 as yourselves.
16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
19You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
22And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
28So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
34Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
35so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
36Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Lament over Jerusalem
37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
38See, your house is left to you desolate.
39For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
 
 

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