And already the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not produce good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire.

Every tree which does not yield good fruit is cut down and thrown aside for burning.

and the heavy rain falls, the swollen torrents come, and the winds blow and beat against the house; yet it does not fall, for its foundation is on rock.

And every one who hears these my teachings and does not act upon them will be found to resemble a fool who builds his house upon sand.

For I myself am also under authority, and have soldiers under me. To one I say 'Go,' and he goes, to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this or that,' and he does it."

The Pharisees noticed this, and they inquired of His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with the tax-gatherers and notorious sinners?"

and any one who does not take up his cross and follow where I lead is not worthy of me.

and blessed is every one who does not stumble and fall because of my claims."

"All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father, nor does any one fully know the Father except the Son and all to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

When a man hears the Message concerning the Kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil one comes and catches away what has been sown in his heart. This is he who has received the seed by the road-side.

"So the farmer's men come and ask him, "'Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed on your land? Where then does the darnel come from?'

These are the things which defile the man; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile."

After their arrival at Capernaum the collectors of the half-shekel came and asked Peter, "Does not your Teacher pay the half-shekel?"

And if he succeeds in finding it, in solemn truth I tell you that he rejoices over it more than he does over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.

"How then," He asked, "does David, taught by the Spirit, call Him Lord, when he says,

and said, "I have sinned, in betraying to death one who is innocent." "What does that matter to us?" they replied; it is your business."

And all were amazed and awe-struck, so they began to ask one another, "What does this mean? Here is a new sort of teaching--and a tone of authority! And even to foul spirits he issues orders and they obey him!"

"Why does this man use such words?" they said; "he is blaspheming. Who can pardon sins but One--that is, God?"

because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and passes away ejected from him?" By these words Jesus pronounced all kinds of food clean.

Why, what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

"Elijah," He replied, "does indeed come first and reforms everything; but how is it that it is written of the Son of Man that He will endure much suffering and be held in contempt?

where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out.

In solemn truth I tell you that no one who does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will by any possibility enter it."

Nor does any one pour new wine into old wine-skins. Otherwise the new wine would burst the skins, the wine itself would be spilt, and the skins be destroyed.

Nor does any one after drinking old wine wish for new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

For I too am a man obedient to authority, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this or that,' and he does it."

And blessed is every one who does not stumble and fall because of my claims."

"When any one lights a lamp, he does not cover it with a vessel or hide it under a couch; he puts it on a lampstand, that people who enter the room may see the light.

At times a spirit seizes him and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him, and makes him foam at the mouth, and does not leave him till it has well-nigh covered him with bruises.

"Rabbi," replied John, "we have seen a man making use of your name to expel demons; and we forbad him, because he does not come with us."

"Go to the Law," said Jesus; "what is written there? how does it read?"

If after that it bears fruit, well and good; if it does not, then you shall cut it down.'"

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?

"If any one is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

No one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

"Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not sit down first and calculate the cost, asking if he has the means to finish it? --

Or what king, marching to encounter another king in war, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand?

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

"Which of you men, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in their pasture and go in search of the lost one till he finds it?

"Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully till she finds it?

Does he thank the servant for obeying his orders?

Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, He answered, "The Kingdom of God does not so come that you can stealthily watch for it.

I tell you in solemn truth that, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will certainly not enter it."

He looked at them and said, "What then does that mean which is written, "'The Stone which the builders rejected has been made the cornerstone'?

"Show me a shilling; whose likeness and inscription does it bear?" "Caesar's," they said.

But when you hear of wars and turmoils, be not afraid; for these things must happen first, but the end does not come immediately."

No, nor does Herod; for he has sent him back to us; and, you see, there is nothing he has done that deserves death.

He who trusts in Him does not come up for judgement. He who does not trust has already received sentence, because he has not his trust resting on the name of God's only Son.

For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned.

But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.

For He whom God has sent speaks God's words; for God does not give the Spirit with limitations."

"In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that the Son can do nothing of Himself--He can only do what He sees the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does in like manner.

The Father indeed does not judge any one, but He has entrusted all judgement to the Son,

"In most solemn truth I tell you that he who listens to my teaching and believes Him who sent me, has the Life of the Ages, and does not come under judgement, but has passed over out of death into Life.

They kept asking, "Is not this man Joseph's son? Is he not Jesus, whose father and mother we know? What does he mean by now saying, 'I have come down out of Heaven'?"

"Does this seem incredible to you? What then if you were to see the Son of Man ascending again where He was before?

It is impossible for the world to hate you; but me it does hate, because I give testimony concerning it that its conduct is evil.

The Jews were astonished. "How does this man know anything of books," they said, "although he has never been at any of the schools?"

Jesus answered their question by saying, "My teaching does not belong to me, but comes from Him who sent me.

"Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?"

Now a slave does not remain permanently in his master's house, but a son does.

The father whose sons you are is the Devil; and you desire to do what gives him pleasure. *He* was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth--for there is no truth in him. Whenever he utters his lie, he utters it out of his own store; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

This led some of the Pharisees to say, "That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." "How is it possible for a bad man to do such miracles?" argued others.

We know that God does not listen to bad people, but that if any one is a God-fearing man and obeys Him, to him He listens.

"In most solemn truth I tell you that the man who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs over some other way, is a thief and a robber.

The hired servant--one who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep--no sooner sees the wolf coming than he leaves the sheep and runs away; and the wolf worries and scatters them.

"Does it not stand written in your Law," replied Jesus, "'I said, you are gods'?

"Are there not twelve hours in the day?" replied Jesus. "If any one walks in the daytime, he does not stumble--because he sees the light of this world.

But if a man walks by night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him."

"Yet a little while," He replied, "the light is among you. Be faithful to the light that you have, for fear darkness should overtake you; for a man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

He who sets me at naught and does not receive my teachings is not left without a judge: the Message which I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

"Any one who has lately bathed," said Jesus, "does not need to wash more than his feet, but is clean all over. And you my disciples are clean, and yet this is not true of all of you."

That Spirit the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him, because He remains by your side and is in you.

He who has no love for me does not obey my teaching; and yet the teaching to which you are listening is not mine, but is the teaching of the Father who sent me.

Continue in me, and let me continue in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself--that is, if it does not continue in the vine--so neither can you if you do not continue in me.

If any one does not continue in me, he is like the unfruitful branch which is at once thrown away and then withers up. Such branches they gather up and throw into the fire and they are burned.

No longer do I call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all that I have heard from the Father I have made known to you.

Some of His disciples therefore said to one another, "What does this mean which He is telling us, 'A little while and you do not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?"

"My kingdom," replied Jesus, "does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my subjects would have resolutely fought to save me from being delivered up to the Jews. But, as a matter of fact, my kingdom has not this origin."

How then does each of us hear his own native language spoken by them?

So the Twelve called together the general body of the disciples and said, "It does not seem fitting that we Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and minister at tables.

Yet the Most High does not dwell in buildings erected by men's hands. But, as the Prophet declares,

GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men.

But, when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is uncondemned?"

When the natives saw the creature hanging to his hand, they said to one another, "Beyond doubt this man is a murderer, for, though saved from the sea, unerring Justice does not permit him to live."

coming upon the soul of every man and woman who deliberately does wrong--upon the Jew first, and then upon the Gentile;

whereas glory, honour and peace will be given to every one who does what is good and right--to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.

Circumcision does indeed profit, if you obey the Law; but if you are a Law-breaker, the fact that you have been circumcised counts for nothing.

All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one."

This declaration of blessedness, then, does it come simply to the circumcised, or to the uncircumcised as well? For Abraham's faith--so we affirm--was placed to his credit as righteousness.

and now it is no longer I that do these things, but the sin which has its home within me does them.

But if I do that which I desire not to do, it can no longer be said that it is I who do it, but the sin which has its home within me does it.

Abandonment to earthly things is a state of enmity to God. Such a mind does not submit to God's Law, and indeed cannot do so.

You, however, are not devoted to earthly, but to spiritual things, if the Spirit of God is really dwelling in you; whereas if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, such a one does not belong to Him.

"Why then does God still find fault?" you will ask; "for who is resisting His will?"

To what conclusion does this bring us? Why, that the Gentiles, who were not in pursuit of righteousness, have overtaken it--a righteousness, however, which arises from faith;

But what does it say? "The Message is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart;" that is, the Message which we are publishing about the faith--

How then does the matter stand? It stands thus. That which Israel are in earnest pursuit of, they have not obtained; but God's chosen servants have obtained it, and the rest have become hardened.

For God does not repent of His free gifts nor of His call;

For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant--an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers.