“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

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

The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests.

But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’

When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’

But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”

For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”