[God even knows] the number of hairs on your head [Note: The average full head of hair has approximately 25,000 hairs]. [So], do not be afraid, for you are [much] more valuable than many sparrows.

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

But if anyone says before men that he has no knowledge of me, I will say that I have no knowledge of him before the angels of God.

and whoever shall say a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but to him that speaks injuriously against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

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

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Then He told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive.

So he began to think to himself, "What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?

So if you can't do a small thing like that, why worry about other things?

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

"So stop concerning yourselves about what you will eat or what you will drink, and stop being distressed,

for it is enough that the Gentiles are so concern'd about these things: as for you, your father is acquainted with all your wants.

But seek God's Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that when he comes and knocks they may immediately open the door for him.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

So be ready: for the Son of man is coming at a time when you are not looking for him.

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

But the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

"I have come to bring fire to the earth. [Note: This means division within families. See verses 51-53] And how I wish that fire were already started [i.e., so I could complete my mission sooner]!

I have a baptism to be baptized with, and what stress I am under until it's completed!

Think ye that I have come to give peace in the earth? Nay, I say to you, but rather division:

The father shall take part against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the step-mother against her daughter-in-law, and the son's wife against her mother-in-law.

And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.

For as you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to come to a settlement with him on the way, so that he will not drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you into prison.

I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite.

No, I say to you, but if ye repent not, ye shall all perish in the same manner.

No, I say to you, but if ye repent not, ye shall all perish in like manner.

so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’

and if indeed it may bear fruit -- ;and if not so, thereafter thou shalt cut it off.'

And he saw before him a woman who for eighteen years had suffered from weakness owing to her having an evil spirit in her. She was bent double, and was wholly unable to raise herself.

And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work ought to be done; so come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

But the Lord's reply to him was, "Hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his bullock or his ass from the stall and lead him to water?

So, should not this woman, being a daughter [i.e., descendant] of Abraham, whom Satan has bound [with this disease] for eighteen years, have been released from this bondage on the Sabbath day?"

As he said this, his opponents all felt ashamed; but all the people rejoiced to see all the wonderful things that he was doing.

So this led Him to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

It’s like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through the entire mixture.”

So he went about among the towns and villages, teaching and making his way toward Jerusalem.

Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" So he said to them,

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

You see, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.

At that time, certain Pharisees came to him and said, Go away from this place, because Herod's purpose is to put you to death.

And he said unto them, Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected.

But I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it's not possible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And there He saw a certain man suffering from dropsy [Note: This is a condition in which the tissues of the body retain too much fluid].

So Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"

They gave Him no answer; so He took hold of the man, cured him, and sent him away.

And he gave teaching in the form of a story to the guests who came to the feast, when he saw how they took the best seats; saying to them,

"When somebody invites you to a wedding reception, do not recline at the head of the table [Note: See Matt. 23:6], for maybe someone more honorable than you has been invited by the host.

And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.

After listening to this teaching, one of His fellow guests said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall feast in God's Kingdom."

And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

And another person said, 'I just bought five teams of oxen and I need to go and test them out, so please excuse me [from attending the supper].'

And another said, I have been married, and so I am not able to come.

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

“‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’

Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests].

For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Now great crowds were traveling with Him. So He turned and said to them:

so he turned and said to them, If any man come to me, and does not comparatively hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple.

For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?

in order that, having laid the foundation of it, and not being able to finish it, all who see it do not begin to mock at him,

and say, "This person started a building but couldn't finish it.'

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

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Salt is good; but if the salt have lost it's savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

It's suitable neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People throw it away. Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!"

And so the Pharisees and scribes continually grumbled, and said, "This fellow is welcoming notorious sinners, and even eating with them."

So He told them this parable:

And when he finds it, he places it on his shoulders [i.e., to return it], and is so glad.

and when he comes home, call his friends and neighbours together, and say to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, that was lost?

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins [each one equal to a day’s wages] and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

"And when she has found it, she calls together her woman friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.'

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

He went on to say, "There was a man who had two sons.