1 A t which time the myriads of the multitude having been gathered together, so as to tread upon one another, he began to say unto his disciples, first, `Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;

At that time thousands of people gathered together. There were so many that they walked on each other. Jesus spoke to His twelve followers first, saying, “Look out! Have nothing to do with the yeast of the proud religious law-keepers which is pretending to be something it is not.

2 a nd there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known;

For there is nothing covered up that will not be seen. There is nothing hidden that will not be known.

3 b ecause whatever in the darkness ye said, in the light shall be heard: and what to the ear ye spake in the inner-chambers, shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops.

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the light. What you have said in a low voice in a closed room will be spoken with a loud voice from the top of houses.

4 ` And I say to you, my friends, be not afraid of those killing the body, and after these things are not having anything over to do;

“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and then can do no more.

5 b ut I will show to you, whom ye may fear; Fear him who, after the killing, is having authority to cast to the gehenna; yes, I say to you, Fear ye Him.

I will tell you the one to be afraid of. Be afraid of Him Who has power to put you into hell after He has killed you. Yes, I say to you, be afraid of Him!

6 ` Are not five sparrows sold for two assars? and one of them is not forgotten before God,

“Are not five small birds sold for two small pieces of money? God does not forget even one of the birds.

7 b ut even the hairs of your head have been all numbered; therefore fear ye not, than many sparrows ye are of more value.

God knows how many hairs you have on your head. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many small birds.

8 ` And I say to you, Every one -- whoever may confess with me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess with him before the messengers of God,

“Also, I tell you, everyone who makes Me known to men, the Son of Man will make him known to the angels of God.

9 a nd he who hath denied me before men, shall be denied before the messengers of God,

But whoever acts as if he does not know Me and does not make Me known to men, he will not be spoken of to the angels of God. The Sin That Cannot Be Forgiven

10 a nd every one whoever shall say a word to the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven to him, but to him who to the Holy Spirit did speak evil, it shall not be forgiven.

“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 ` And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye may reply, or what ye may say,

When they take you to the places of worship and to the courts and to the leaders of the country, do not be worried about what you should say or how to say it.

12 f or the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that hour what it behoveth to say.'

The Holy Spirit will tell you what you should say at that time.”

13 A nd a certain one said to him, out of the multitude, `Teacher, say to my brother to divide with me the inheritance.'

One of the people said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the riches that our father left us.”

14 A nd he said to him, `Man, who set me a judge or a divider over you?'

Jesus said to him, “Friend, who has told Me to say who should get what?”

15 A nd he said unto them, `Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.'

Then Jesus said to them all, “Watch yourselves! Keep from wanting all kinds of things you should not have. A man’s life is not made up of things, even if he has many riches.” The Picture-Story of the Rich Fool

16 A nd he spake a simile unto them, saying, `Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well;

Then He told them a picture-story, saying, “The fields of a rich man gave much grain.

17 a nd he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where I shall gather together my fruits?

The rich man thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to put the grain.’

18 a nd he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and greater ones I will build, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things,

Then he said, ‘I know what I will do. I will take down my grain building and I will build a bigger one. I will put all my grain and other things I own into it.

19 a nd I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry.

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things put away in your building. It will be all you need for many years to come. Now rest and eat and drink and have lots of fun.”’

20 ` And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare -- to whom shall they be?

But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight your soul will be taken from you. Then who will have all the things you have put away?’

21 s o he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.'

It is the same with a man who puts away riches for himself and does not have the riches of God.” Jesus Teaches about the Cares of This Life

22 A nd he said unto his disciples, `Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on;

Jesus said to His followers, “Because of this, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you are going to eat. Do not worry about your body, what you are going to wear.

23 t he life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing.

Life is worth more than food. The body is worth more than clothes.

24 ` Consider the ravens, that they sow not, nor reap, to which there is no barn nor storehouse, and God doth nourish them; how much better are ye than the fowls?

Look at the birds. They do not plant seeds. They do not gather grain. They have no grain buildings for keeping grain. Yet God feeds them. Are you not worth more than the birds?

25 a nd who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?

“Which of you can make yourself a little taller by worrying?

26 I f, then, ye are not able for the least -- why for the rest are ye anxious?

If you cannot do that which is so little, why do you worry about other things?

27 ` Consider the lilies, how do they grow? they labour not, nor do they spin, and I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these;

Think how the flowers grow. They do not work or make cloth. Yet, I tell you, that King Solomon in all his greatness was not dressed as well as one of these flowers.

28 a nd if the herbage in the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow into an oven is cast, God doth so clothe, how much more you -- ye of little faith?

God puts these clothes on the grass of the field. The grass is in the field today and put into the fire tomorrow. How much more would He want to give you clothing? You have so little faith!

29 ` And ye -- seek not what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, and be not in suspense,

Do not give so much thought to what you will eat or drink. Do not be worried about it.

30 f or all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father hath known that ye have need of these things;

For all the nations of the world go after these things. Your Father knows you need these things.

31 b ut, seek ye the reign of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

Instead, go after the holy nation of God. Then all these other things will be given to you.

32 ` Fear not, little flock, because your Father did delight to give you the reign;

Do not be afraid, little flock. Your Father wants to give you the holy nation of God.

33 s ell your goods, and give alms, make to yourselves bags that become not old, a treasure unfailing in the heavens, where thief doth not come near, nor moth destroy;

Sell what you have and give the money to poor people. Have money-bags for yourselves that will never wear out. These money-bags are riches in heaven that will always be there. No robber can take them and no bugs can eat them there.

34 f or where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.

Your heart will be wherever your riches are. Jesus Says to Watch and Be Ready for His Second Coming Be Ready for His Second Coming

35 ` Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning,

“Be ready and dressed. Have your lights burning.

36 a nd ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him.

Be like men who are waiting for their owner to come home from a wedding supper. When he comes and knocks on the door, they will open it for him at once.

37 ` Happy those servants, whom the lord, having come, shall find watching; verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and will cause them to recline (at meat), and having come near, will minister to them;

Those servants are happy when their owner finds them watching when he comes. For sure, I tell you, he will be dressed and ready to care for them. He will have them seated at the table.

38 a nd if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find so, happy are those servants.

The owner might come late at night or early in the morning. Those servants are happy if their owner finds them watching whenever he comes.

39 ` And this know, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief doth come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through;

But understand this, that if the owner of a house had known when the robber was coming, he would have been watching. He would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

40 a nd ye, then, become ye ready, because at the hour ye think not, the Son of Man doth come.'

You must be ready also. The Son of Man is coming at a time when you do not think He will come.” Faithful Servants and Servants Who Are Not Faithful

41 A nd Peter said to him, `Sir, unto us this simile dost thou speak, or also unto all?'

Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this picture-story to us or to all the people?”

42 A nd the Lord said, `Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the lord shall set over his household, to give in season the wheat measure?

The Lord said, “Who is the faithful and wise servant his owner made boss over the others? He is the one who is to have food ready at the right time.

43 H appy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so;

That servant is happy who is doing his work when the owner comes.

44 t ruly I say to you, that over all his goods he will set him.

For sure, I tell you, he will make him boss over all he has.

45 ` And if that servant may say in his heart, My lord doth delay to come, and may begin to beat the men-servants and the maid-servants, to eat also, and to drink, and to be drunken;

“But what if that servant says to himself, ‘The owner will not be coming soon,’ and then beats the other servants and eats and drinks and gets drunk?

46 t he lord of that servant will come in a day in which he doth not look for, and in an hour that he doth not know, and will cut him off, and his portion with the unfaithful he will appoint.

The owner of that servant will come on a day and at an hour when he is not looking for him. He will cut him in pieces and will put him with those who do not believe.

47 ` And that servant, who having known his lord's will, and not having prepared, nor having gone according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes,

“The servant who knew what the owner wanted done, but did not get ready for him, or did not do what he wanted done, will be beaten many times.

48 a nd he who, not having known, and having done things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few; and to every one to whom much was given, much shall be required from him; and to whom they did commit much, more abundantly they will ask of him.

But the servant who did not know what his owner wanted done, but did things that would be reason to be beaten, will be beaten only a few times. The man who receives much will have to give much. If much is given to a man to take care of, men will expect to get more from him. Men Are Divided When They Follow Christ

49 ` Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled?

“I have come to bring fire down to the earth. I wish it were already started!

50 b ut I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I pressed till it may be completed!

I have a baptism to go through. How troubled I am until it is over!

51 ` Think ye that peace I came to give in the earth? no, I say to you, but rather division;

Do you think I came to bring peace on the earth? I tell you, no! I came to divide.

52 f or there shall be henceforth five in one house divided -- three against two, and two against three;

From now on there will be five in one house divided. Three will be against two and two will be against three.

53 a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'

The father will be against the son. The son will be against the father. The mother will be against the daughter. The daughter will be against the mother. The mother-in-law will be against the daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law will be against the mother-in-law.”

54 A nd he said also to the multitudes, `When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;

Then Jesus also said to the people, “When you see a cloud coming in the west, you say at once, ‘It is going to rain.’ And it does.

55 a nd when -- a south wind blowing, ye say, that there will be heat, and it is;

When you see the wind blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day.’ And it is.

56 h ypocrites! the face of the earth and of the heaven ye have known to make proof of, but this time -- how do ye not make proof of ?

You who pretend to be someone you are not, you know all about the sky and the earth. But why do you not know what is happening these days?

57 ` And why, also, of yourselves, judge ye not what is righteous?

Why do you not know for yourselves what is right?

58 f or, as thou art going away with thy opponent to the ruler, in the way give diligence to be released from him, lest he may drag thee unto the judge, and the judge may deliver thee to the officer, and the officer may cast thee into prison;

When a person says you are wrong and takes you to court, try to make it right with him as you go, or he will take you to the head of the court. Then he will take you to the police and you will be put in prison.

59 I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till even the last mite thou mayest give back.'

I tell you, you will not be let out of prison until you have paid the last piece of money of the fine.”