Then they asked Him, "Why did Moses command us to give a written divorce charge, and in this way to divorce a wife?"

He said to them, "Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this.

The disciples said to him, "If this is the case of a man with his wife, it would be better not to marry!"

But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this saying but [those] to whom it has been given.

For there are eunuchs who were born as such from [their] mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves [eunuchs] for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept [this], let him accept [it]."

Then some little children were brought to Jesus so he could pray and place His hands on them [i.e., to bestow a blessing on them]. But His disciples spoke harshly to the people [for doing this].

Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.”

He said to him, What? And Jesus said, this; You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not testify falsely;

And the young man, hearing, this word, went away sorrowing, - for he was holding large possessions.

At this, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you that a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

So [when] the disciples heard [this], they were extremely amazed, saying, "Then who can be saved?"

But Jesus looked at [them] [and] said to them, "With human beings this is impossible, but with God all [things] [are] possible."

And every person who has left his house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children or property, for my name's sake [i.e., to become a servant of the Lord], will receive [back] a hundred times as much [in this life] and will [also] inherit never ending life.

When he had agreed with the workers [on wages] for the usual farm laborer's pay for a day's work, he [then] sent them to work in his vineyard. [Note: The coin mentioned here would amount to $60-$84 in 1994, based on $5-$7 an hour for a twelve hour day. This coin also forms the basis for calculating all other monetary references in the New Testament].

Take [what is] yours and go! But I want to give to this last [person] [the same] as [I gave] to you also.

And He says to them, You shall indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right, and on my left, this is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.

And [when] the ten heard [this], they were indignant concerning the two brothers.

It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

As they [i.e., the twelve apostles and Jesus] were leaving Jericho [Note: This was a town about eighteen miles northeast of Jerusalem], a huge crowd followed them.

And when they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] approached Jerusalem and came close to Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives [Note: This was about three-fourths of a mile east of Jerusalem], Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,

And, if any one says anything to you, you are to say this-- 'The Master wants them'; and he will send them at once."

Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

And the crowds that walked ahead and followed behind Him shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David. [Note: The Syriac word 'Hosanna' originally meant 'save now' but came to be used as an expression of welcome, praise, blessing or acclamation]. May He, who comes in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."

And [when] he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?"

And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee!"

and asked Him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus answered them, "Yes. Did you never read this, 'Out of the mouths of little children, yea, of infants, you have perfect praise'?"

He then left them and went out of the city [of Jerusalem] to Bethany [Note: This was a small village near Bethphage] and stayed there [i.e., probably at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. See John 11:1].

And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, he came to it, and saw nothing on it but leaves only; and he said to it, Let there be no fruit from you from this time forward for ever. And straight away the fig-tree became dry and dead.

When His disciples saw this, they marvelled, saying, "How could the fig tree wither up so suddenly?"

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will do not only [what was done to] the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea," it will happen!

And [after] he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him [while he] was teaching, saying, "By what authority are you doing these [things]? And who gave you this authority?"

From where was the baptism of John--from heaven or from men?" And they began to discuss [this] among themselves, saying, "If we say 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

They began discussing this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask us, "Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, "From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet."

"What say ye to this? A certain man had two sons, and came to the elder and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.'

The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 'I will, sir,' but did not go.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.

Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes?

For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.

Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.

But they paid no attention [and] went away--this one to his own field, that one to his business.

when the king was informed of this, he was greatly incensed, and having order'd his forces to march, he put those murderers to death, and laid their city in ashes.

Upon this the Pharisees withdrew, and consulted how they might insnare him in his discourse.

Give us, then, your opinion of this: Is it right to give tax to Caesar, or not?

Show me the coin used for paying taxes." And they brought to Him a coin [Note: This coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

And he said to them, Whose is this image and name on it?

And [when they] heard [this], they were astonished, and they left him [and] went away.

On the same day some Sadducees, who claim that there is no resurrection, came up to Him, and asked this question:

now if there be another life after this, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all married her.

for in the other life after this, there will be no such thing as marriage; but they will be as the angels of God in heaven.

And [when] the crowds heard [this], they were amazed at his teaching.

In the mean time one of them, a Doctor of the law, to try him, started this question, master,

And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great command.

This is the first and greatest rule.

And a second like it is this, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself.

Now while the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus asked them this question,

They love to recline at the head place at dinner tables [Note: This referred to the practice of lying down on their left side on a couch next to the dinner table, and leaning on their left elbow, while eating with their right hand], and to occupy the principal seats in the synagogues.

They love the [special] greetings they receive at the open shopping markets and to be addressed as 'Rabbi' [Note: This word signified 'great' or 'master'].

But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation.

But woe to you, scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye devour widows' houses, and praying long in pretence. Because of this ye will receive greater condemnation.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

In this way also, ye indeed outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside ye are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

For this reason, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them you will put to death and put on the cross, and to some of them you will give blows in your Synagogues, driving them from town to town;

[This will be done] so that on you may fall the guilt for shedding on the ground the blood of all those innocent people, from the blood of righteous Abel to that of Barachiah's son Zachariah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the Altar [i.e., in the Temple area].

Truly I say to you, All these things will come on this generation

For I say to you, You will not see me from this time till you say, A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus said to them, observe this vast structure, I tell you for certain, there shall not be any part of it left standing, but it shall be all thrown into ruins.

While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to Him by themselves, and said, "Tell us when this is to take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age."

Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.

But all this is but the beginning of the agonies.

But the one who endures to the end--this person will be saved.

And this good news of the kingdom will be given through all the world for a witness to all nations; and then the end will come.

When, then, you see in the holy place the unclean thing which makes destruction, of which word was given by Daniel the prophet (let this be clear to the reader),

[Also], the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], is not to take any of the belongings from his house as he comes down [to flee].

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, nor shall be.

You see, I have told you [all this] ahead of time.

Wherever there is a dead body, [you can expect to see] vultures gathered there. [Note: This may mean that such a significant event as the coming of Christ would surely not go unnoticed].

"But immediately after the terrible trouble of those days, [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light. The stars will fall from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on the earth].

And He will send out His angels [i.e., as messengers] with the sound of a great trumpet [See I Thess. 4:16] to gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, [even] from throughout the whole world. [Note: See Mark 13:27, which suggests this thought by its use of 'earth' and 'sky']

this may be illustrated by a comparison taken from a fig-tree: when the branches become tender, and push out their leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

so, whenever you see all this happen, you may be sure He is at hand, at the very door.

Truly I say to you, This generation will not come to an end till all these things are complete.

They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be:

Two women will be grinding grain at a millstone [Note: This was a hand-operated device where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken, while the other one will be left.

But be certain of this, that if the master of the house had had knowledge of the time when the thief was coming, he would have been watching, and would not have let his house be broken into.

For this [reason] you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think [he will come].

Happy will that servant be whom his master, when he comes home, shall find doing this.

He gave one servant five talents [Note: This 'talent' was a large sum of money in the form of a certain weight of silver. It was the equivalent of sixty years of a farm laborer's wages, or about $750,000 in income]. He gave two talents to another servant and one talent to another. He gave to each one an amount in keeping with his ability [to invest it wisely], and then left on his trip.

And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

and the king will reply, I declare unto you, your having done this for one of the least of these my brethren, is the same thing as doing it for me.

to this he will reply, I declare unto you, your not doing this for one of the least of these, is the same thing as not doing it for me.

When Jesus had ended this discourse, He said to His disciples,

"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

About this time the chief priests, and the elders of the people, assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

but they said, this must not be done on the feastday, for fear the people rise.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease,

And [when] the disciples saw [it] they were indignant, saying, "{Why} this waste?

For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor!"