But as the crowds thronged together, he began to say, This generation is a wicked generation: it seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it but the sign of Jonas.

For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.

The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is unclouded, your whole body, also, is lit up; but, as soon as your eye is diseased, your body, also, is darkened.

If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

You fools! Didn't the one who made the outside make the inside as well?

But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

"But it is too bad for you Pharisees! For you give a tenth of your mint, rue and every [other] herb [Note: These were small garden plants used for seasoning or medicine] and [yet] neglect [demonstrating] justice and the love of God [toward others]. But you should have done these things and not neglected to do the other things [as well].

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

And one of the teachers of the law, answering, said to him, Master, in saying this, you give a bad name to us as to them.

And he said, A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for while other men are crushed under the weight of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one finger to them.

As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build [their tombs]!

And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

Laying traps for him, so as to seize upon anything that he might say.

At 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;

Because, as many things as, in the darkness, ye have said, in the light, shall be heard; and, what to the ear ye spake, in the chambers, shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

As for you, my friends, be not afraid of those, who can kill the body, and after that can effect nothing more.

Are not five sparrows sold [i.e., in the market as food] for two coins? [Note: The coins here amount to just over one hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $8 in 1994]. Yet in the presence of God, not a [single] one of them is forgotten.

and whoever shall cast a reflection upon the son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but as for him, that shall blaspheme the holy spirit, it shall not be forgiven.

And when they bring you into the synagogues, and to rulers and authorities, take no thought as to how or what thing you shall answer, or what you shall say.

But he said to him, Man, who established me as a judge or a divider over you?

Then He told them a story, as follows: "A certain rich man's lands yielded bountifully.

And he began to ask himself 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?

But God said to the man 'Fool! This very night your life is being demanded; and as for all you have prepared--who will have it?'

Jesus said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; or about your body, as to what you will wear.

So if you are not even able to do a very little thing [such as that], why are you worried about the rest?

Consider the lilies how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I say unto you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

But if God so [beautifully] dresses the grass in a field, which is [green] today, and [then] tomorrow [dries up and] is thrown into the oven [i.e., as fuel], will He not do even more in providing your clothing, you people with such little faith?

And ask not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither climb ye up on high:

For though the nations of the world pursue these things, as for you, your Father knows that you need them.

Instead, be concerned about his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you as well.

" [And], do not be afraid, little flock [Note: Jesus refers to His small band of disciples as sheep following Him as their Shepherd], for your Father was pleased to give you the kingdom.

Be ready, dressed as for a journey, with your lights burning.

Be like people who are waiting for their master to return from a wedding. As soon as he arrives and knocks, they will open the door for him.

Whether it is late at night, or in the early morning that he comes, if he finds all as it should be, then happy are they.

Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”

that slave's master will return on a day that he least expects, and at an hour unknown [to him]. And [that master] will whip him to shreds and will turn him over to suffer the same fate as unfaithful servants receive.

And that servant who knew his master’s will, and yet did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will be beaten with many lashes [of the whip],

But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

O false ones! the face of the earth and the heaven is clear to you; how is it that the signs of these times are not as clear to you?

When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as well!

No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!"

And, he, answering, saith unto him - Sir! let it alone this year also, until such time as I dig about it, and throw in manure, -

As He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,

As soon as Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disease!"

But the official of the synagogue became angry because Jesus had healed [someone] on the Sabbath day. [Note: This was viewed as a violation of proper Sabbath day observance by certain Jews who interpreted the law of Moses with narrow legalism]. So, the official said to the crowd, "There are six days [in the week] for people to work. Therefore, you should come to be healed on one of them, and not on the Sabbath day."

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

And this woman, daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan had bound for no less than eighteen years, was she not to be loosed from this chain because it is the Sabbath day?"

And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame: and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

Then Jesus taught in one town and village after another as he made his way to Jerusalem.

And one said to him, Sir, are such as are to be saved few in number? But he said unto them,

As soon as the Master of the house shall have risen and shut the door, and you have begun to stand outside and knock at the door and say, "'Sir, open the door for us' --"'I do not know you,' He answers; 'you are no friends of mine.'

And He will say [i.e., the Lord is represented as saying this in the judgment. See Matt. 7:23; 8:11-12], 'I tell you, I do not know where you came from, [so] go away from me, all you people who have done sinful things.'

There, will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as soon as ye see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and, yourselves, being thrust forth outside.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

This led Jesus to ask the lawyers and Pharisees, "Is it allowable to cure people on the Sabbath?"

And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

And they could not answer Him again as to these things.

Then, when He noticed that the invited guests chose the best seats, He used this as an illustration and said to them,

For every person who exalts himself [as important] will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted [as important]."

Then Jesus went on to say to the man who had invited him: "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not ask your friends, or your brothers, or your relations, or rich neighbors, for fear that they should invite you in return, and so you should be repaid.

But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind;

Then you will be blessed; for as they have no means of repaying you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

And they all {alike} began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field, and {I must} go out to look at it. I ask you, consider me excused.'

And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.'

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can't be my disciple.

Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

and if not so -- he being yet a long way off -- having sent an embassy, he doth ask the things for peace.

Just as no one of you who does not detach himself from all that belongs to him can be a disciple of mine.

And as soon as he cometh home he calleth together his lovers, and neighbours saying unto them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'

And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

So he summoned one of the servants and began asking what this [celebration] meant.

But he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

And he said also to his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and he was accused to him as wasting his goods.

And he called him, and said to him: What is this that I hear of you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer act as steward.

Then the property manager said to himself, What am I going to do since my master is taking away my job? I am not strong enough to dig [i.e., as a farm laborer], and I am too ashamed to beg.

I know what I will do, so that, as soon as I am turned out of my stewardship, people may welcome me into their homes.'

so he sent for every one of his master's debtors in private, he ask'd the first, how much do you owe my master?

And his master commended the dishonest steward as having acted prudently: for the men of this world are as to their affairs wiser than the children of light.

"But I charge you, so to use the wealth which is ever tempting to dishonesty as to win friends who, when it fails, shall welcome you to the tents that never perish.

"The person who is trustworthy in regard to very small matters, [such as material possessions] is also [likely to be] trustworthy in regard to large matters, [such as spiritual values], and the person who does not do what is right in very small matters is also not [likely] to do what is right in large ones.

No person can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he will cling to the one [i.e., as a close friend] and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and material things [at the same time].'"

And He said to them, "You are people who claim to be just in the eyes of [other] people, but God knows [what is in] your hearts. For that which is held up as most important among people [i.e., fame or fortune ?] is disgusting in the eyes of God.

"Every person who divorces his wife and marries another woman becomes sexually unfaithful to her [i.e., because he is still regarded by God as married to his first wife. See Matt. 19:9]. And the person who marries someone who has been divorced by her husband commits sexual sin with her [i.e., because she is still rightfully married to her first husband].

And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.

“‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

So he said, 'Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father's house,

for I have five brothers; let him bear testimony to them, that they may not come to this place of torture as well.'

It is profitable to him if the millstone of an ass were placed about his neck, and he cast into the sea, rather than he should offend one of these little ones.

Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him [that is, give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled].”

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

But which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him as soon as he cometh from the field, Come and sit down to table?

Doth he hold it as a favour from that servant, that he did the things which were ordered him? I think not.