Then Jesus said to them, "But who do you men say that I am?" And Peter answered, " [You are] the Christ of God [i.e., God's specially chosen one]."

Then another person said [to Jesus], "Lord, I will become your follower, but first let me say goodbye to my family." [Note: There was the likelihood that family members might try to dissuade him from his commitment to follow the Lord].

Now after these things [happened] the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "seventy." This group would have been in addition to the twelve. See Luke 9:1], and sent them two by two on ahead of Him into every town and locality that He planned to visit.

And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Let peace be upon this household.'

and heal the sick people who live there. Say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

But whatever town you enter that does not welcome you, go out into its streets and say [to them],

And the man answered Him, [Deut. 6:5], "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind." And [Lev. 19:18 says], " [You must love] your neighbor just as [you love] yourself."

And He said to them, "When you pray you should say, 'Father, may your name be highly honored. May your kingdom come [to earth].

And Jesus said to His disciples, "Suppose one of you who has a friend would go to him at midnight and say to him, ' [Please] lend me three loaves of bread,

"When an evil spirit has been driven out of a man, it roams through desert regions trying to find rest, but [when it] cannot find any, it says [to itself], 'I will return to my house from which I came [i.e., the body of the person it dominated].'

[and] plotting to trap Him by something He might say.

And when people bring you in front of synagogue assemblies and rulers and authorities [i.e., for judgment], do not worry about how to speak or what you should say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say at that very time."

And I will say to myself, 'Soul, you have plenty of goods [i.e., grain and supplies] stored up for many years, [so], take it easy; eat, drink and have fun.'

And Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'A rainstorm is coming up,' and sure enough, it does.

And when there is a south wind blowing, you say, 'It is going to be a scorching day,' and sure enough, it is.

then you will begin to say, 'We used to eat and drink with you, and you taught in our streets.'

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.'

But they did not say anything. So, Jesus took hold of the [sick] man, and [after] healing him, sent him away.

Then the one who invited both of you will come [over] and say to you, 'Give this man your seat [at the table],' and then you will be embarrassed and have to move to the least important seat.

But when you are invited [i.e., to a wedding reception], go and recline at the least important seat, so that when the host comes [over to you], he will say, 'Friend, move up to a better seat.' Then you will be shown honor in front of everyone at the dinner table.

So therefore, every one of you who does not say 'goodbye' to everything he owns, cannot be my disciple.

And when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I found my sheep that was lost.'

I will get up and go to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against [the God of] heaven and against you.

And if he sins against you seven times a day and [then] comes to you seven times and says, 'I repent,' you should forgive him."

And the Lord said, "If you had faith as [small as] a mustard tree seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and replanted in the ocean,' and it would obey you.

"But which of you, whose slave is plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come and sit right down to eat'?

Would you not say to him instead, 'Prepare the food for my meal [first] and get ready to serve me until I have had enough to eat and drink and [then] afterward you can eat and drink [yourself]'?

So, you too, after you have done everything you were told to, should say, 'We are unworthy slaves. We have done [only] what we were supposed to do.'"

And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you should say, 'The Lord needs it.'"

And they discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say 'from heaven,' He will say 'Why [then] did you not believe him [i.e., believe his message]?'

But if we say 'from men,' all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."

He will come and kill those tenant farmers and will give the vineyard to other people." And when the people heard [Him say] this, they said, "May that never happen."

And they were not able to get hold of anything Jesus said in front of the people. And they marveled at His answer and did not say anything [further].

[Then] certain Sadducees came to Jesus (they are the ones who say there is no resurrection [of the dead]).

And Jesus said to them [i.e., the Pharisees. See Matt. 22:41], "How is it that they [i.e., the experts in the law of Moses. See Mark 12:35] can say that the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one] is the son of David?

for I will give you a mouth [i.e., the ability to speak properly] and wisdom [i.e., the knowledge of what to say], which none of your opponents will be able to resist or speak against.

Then you should say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?'

So, they all asked [Him], "Then are you the Son of God?" And He answered them, "You [are right to] say that I am [the Christ]."

Then they will begin to say to the mountains [Hosea 10:8], 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us [up].'

[Immediately] their eyes were opened [i.e., they were given insight] so they could recognize Him. And [just then] He disappeared from their view [Note: The Greek says, "became invisible," suggesting that He vanished miraculously].

So, they asked him [again], "[Then], who are you? We need to take back an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

[When] the two disciples heard him say that, they began following Jesus.

The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and say to him, "We have found the Messiah (which means Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one])."

Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain [i.e., Mt. Gerizim, which was visible from where they were sitting]; but you say that Jerusalem is the place where people should worship [God]."

And He gave His Son authority to carry out judgment [upon mankind] because He is the Son of man [Note: The Greek actually says "a son of man"].

Every person [Note: The Greek says, "every thing"] whom the Father gives me will [eventually] come to me [i.e., for salvation]; and I will never turn away that person who comes to me.

And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

Does not Scripture say [Micah 5:2] that the Christ will come as the descendant of King David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"

Now in the law, Moses required us to stone such people [to death], so what do you say [should be done with her]?"

I have many things to say about you and [many] judgments to pass on you. However, God, who sent me, is truthful and I am telling the world [only] the things I have heard from Him."

They replied to Him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be set free'?"

Jesus answered them, "If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worthless. [But] it is my Father who honors me [and] you say He is your God.

Now you people have not known Him [i.e., to be your Lord], but I know Him. And if I should say, 'I do not know Him,' I would be a liar like you. But I [do] know Him, and I obey His message.

So, they said to the [former] blind man again, "What do you have to say about the man, since [you say] he restored your sight?" The man replied, "He is a prophet."

and asked them, "Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How [is it] then, that he can now see?"

Some Pharisees, who were with Jesus, heard [Him say] these things, and replied, "Are we blind, too?"

how can you people say to Him, whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, 'You are speaking abusively [i.e., about God],' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? He is the One whom the Father set apart [i.e., for His service] and sent into the world.

Now he did not say this on his own [i.e., he was not aware of the significance of his words], but since he was head priest that year, he was prophesying [i.e., predicting] that Jesus should die for the nation.

Now he did not say this because he cared about poor people, but because he was in charge of the money bag, and being a thief, he used to steal from it.

"Now my heart is distressed; and what shall I say [i.e., to God]? 'Father, bring me safely through this time.' But, this is the reason I came [to earth]; to [go through] such a time.

Then the crowd replied to Him, "We have heard from [the writings of] the law of Moses that the Christ will live forever; so how can you say, 'The son of man must be lifted up [i.e., to die]?' Who is this son of man?"

For I did not speak from myself [i.e., on my own authority], but the Father Himself, who sent me, has ordered me what to say and speak.

And I know that [obeying] His commandments [leads to] never ending life. So, the things which I say are what the Father has told me [to say]."

"I am not talking about all of you; for I know the ones I have chosen [i.e., which of the twelve apostles would be faithful]. But let the Scripture [Psa. 41:9] be fulfilled [that says], 'The person who eats with me has [viciously] turned against me.'

Jesus replied to him, "Have I been with you men all this time, and [still] you do not know me, Philip? The person who has seen me, has [also] seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Do you not believe that I am in [fellowship with] the Father, and the Father is in [fellowship with] me? The words which I say to you do not originate with me, but it is the Father, who lives in me, who does His work [in me].

You should believe me [when I say] that I am in [fellowship with] the Father, and the Father is in [fellowship with] me. Or else believe me for the sake of the deeds themselves that I perform.

I will not abandon you [Note: The Greek says, "leave you orphans"]; I will come [back] to you.

You heard me say to you, 'I am going away and I am returning to you.' If you [really] loved me, you would have been happy that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

At that time you will ask Him [i.e., for things in prayer], in my name; I do not say that I will ask the Father for you,

Then when Pilate heard [them say] this, he brought Jesus outside [again] and sat down on the judge's bench at a place called 'The Stone Pavement,' but in the Hebrew language is called 'Gabbatha.'

And another Scripture says [Zech. 12:10], "People will look at him whom they [had] pierced."

Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.'

[Deut. 18:19 says], 'And it will be [at that time] that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be completely destroyed [spiritually] from among [God's] people.'

And when they saw the healed man standing there with Peter and John, there was nothing they could say [to refute the obvious miracle].

And so now I say, hold off your accusations and let these men alone, for if their planning and effort is [merely] of human origin, it will be defeated,

Then they enlisted men to say [i.e., to testify falsely against Stephen, verse 13], "We heard him criticizing Moses and [even] God."

They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses,

[Hab. 1:5 says], "Look, you people who despise [God], and be amazed [at what He can do] and be destroyed [for rejecting Him]; for I [i.e., God] will accomplish such a work during your days that you will not believe [it could happen, even] if someone told you about it."

Also certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers approached him for discussion. Some asked, "What will this know-it-all have to say?" Others said, "He seems to be advocating [a belief in] some different gods." [They said this] because he was proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection [of the dead].

Since no one can [really] say anything against these things, just calm down and do not do anything foolish.

saying, [Isa. 6:9-10], 'Go to these people and say, you will hear all right, but you will not understand [what you hear]. You will see all right, but you will not perceive [what you see].

Now we [Jews] know that God's judgment against people who practice such things [i.e., the Gentiles] is according to truth. [Note: Some use "You say," at the beginning of the sentence, making it an assertion of the Jews which Paul sets about to answer].

You say that a person should not commit adultery [i.e., sexual unfaithfulness to their mate], [but] do you commit adultery? You [claim to] hate idols, [but] do you rob [their] temples? [Note: It is difficult to determine how the Jews were doing this. Perhaps they were guilty of the "spirit" of idolatry by devoting their efforts and affections to material things instead of to God].

Now if our wrongdoing serves to emphasize more clearly that God does what is right, what should we say about that? Is God being unjust for sending [His] wrath [on the world]? (I am raising a human objection).

And why should we not say, "Let us do what is wrong so something good will come from it," as some people slanderously claim that we are saying? These people deserve to be condemned.

[Psa. 5:9 says], "Their throats are like open graves [i.e., they are foul-mouthed]. They have spoken deceitfully." [Psa. 90:3 says], "There is snake venom under their lips [i.e., their words are deadly]."

[Psa. 10:7 says], "Their speech is full of cursing and bitterness."

[Isa. 59:7ff says], "Their feet [take them where they] are quick to commit murder.

[Psa. 36:1 says], "They do not view God with reverence."

Now we [all] know that everything the law says applies to those who are under [obligation to obey] that law, [Note: Here "the law" appears to refer to the Old Testament Scriptures generally, since Psalms and Isaiah are quoted. See verses 10-18]. This is so that the mouth of every objector may be stopped [i.e., from making excuses for his sin], and thereby bring the entire world under God's judgment [i.e., both Jews and Gentiles].

What should we say then [about what] our forefather Abraham discovered?

For what does the Scripture say? [Gen. 15:6 says], "And Abraham believed God, so God considered him righteous."

What shall we say, then? Should we continue sinning so that more of God's unearned favor will [have to] be shown?

What shall we say then? Is the law of Moses sinful? Certainly not! For I would not have known what sin was if it had not been for the law. For [example]; I would not have known [what it meant] to covet [i.e., have a strong desire for what belongs to someone else] except that the law said [Ex. 20:17], "You must not covet."

For you did not receive the Holy Spirit, to enslave you again to fear, [Note: Some translators take "Holy Spirit" here to be "spirit," making the verse say "you did not receive the spirit of slavery"], but you received the Holy Spirit [who produces] sonship, so we can call out, "Abba", [which means] "Father."

Neither are all [Jewish] people children [of God], [simply] because they are Abraham's descendants. But [Gen. 21:12 says], "It is through Isaac that you [i.e., Abraham] will have descendants."

What shall we say then? Is God guilty of wrongdoing? Certainly not!

But you [i.e., probably an objecting Jew] will say to me, "Why does God still find fault [with people]? For who can [successfully] resist what God wants to do?"