^aNow when they drew near to Jerusalem, to ^bBethphage and Bethany, at ^cthe Mount of Olives, Jesus ▼

▼Greek he

sent ^etwo of his disciples

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,

and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, ^fon which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it,

And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing, untying that colt?’

And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.

And many ^gspread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ^h“Hosanna! ⁱBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

‘Hosanna! ▼

▼A Hebrew expression meaning ‘Save!’ which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 10

’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ▼

▼Psalm 118:25,26

Blessed is ^lthe coming ^mkingdom of ⁿour father ^oDavid! ^pHosanna ^qin the highest!”

‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’
‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

^rAnd he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, ^she went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

^tOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^uhe was hungry.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

^vAnd seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^wit was not the season for figs.

Seeing in the distance a fig-tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.

And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it.

^xAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^ythe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^zpigeons.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves,

And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.

and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^aa‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^abyou have made it a den of robbers.”

And as he taught them, he said, ▼

▼Isaiah 56:7

‘Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it “a den of robbers”. ▼

▼Jer. 7:11

’

And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^aewere seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^afall the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

^agAnd when evening came they ▼

▼Some manuscripts he

went out of the city.

When evening came, Jesus and his disciples ▼

▼Some early manuscripts came, Jesus

went out of the city.

^ajAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig-tree withered from the roots.

And Peter remembered and said to him, ^ak“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig-tree you cursed has withered!’

And Jesus answered them, “Have ^alfaith in God.

‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.

And whenever ^avyou stand praying, ^awforgive, ^axif you have anything against anyone, so that ^ayyour Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” ▼

▼Some manuscripts add verse 26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’ [

^baAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,

They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him.

and they said to him, ^bb“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”

‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you authority to do this?’

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus replied, ‘I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^bd‘Why then did you not believe him?’

They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will ask, “Then why didn’t you believe him?”

But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— ^bethey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^bfa prophet.

But if we say, “Of human origin” …’ (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

So they answered Jesus, ‘We don’t know.’

Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’

^bgAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^bha vineyard ^biand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^bjleased it to tenants and ^bkwent into another country.

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall round it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

‘He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, “They will respect my son.”

‘But the tenants said to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.”

So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

‘What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

^caHave you not read ^cbthis Scripture:

^cc“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ▼

▼Greek  the head of the corner

Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

‘ “The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes” ▼

▼Psalm 118:22,23

?’

And ^cfthey were seeking to arrest him ^cgbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^chleft him and went away.

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

^ciAnd they sent to him some of ^cjthe Pharisees and some of ^ckthe Herodians, to ^cltrap him in his talk.

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.

And they came and said to him, “Teacher, ^cmwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For ^cnyou are not swayed by appearances, ▼

▼Greek  you do not look at people’s faces

but truly teach ^cpthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay ^cqtaxes to ^crCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”

They came to him and said, ‘Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the poll-tax ▼

▼A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens

to Caesar or not?

But, knowing ^cttheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why ^cuput me to the test? Bring me ^cva denarius ▼

▼A  denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

and let me look at it.”

Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’

And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

They brought the coin, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’

‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.

Jesus said to them, ^cx“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’

And they were amazed at him.

And ^cySadducees came to him, ^czwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^daif a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man ▼

▼Greek his brother

must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.

Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.

And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.

And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.

In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.

In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

At the resurrection ▼

▼Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,

whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?’

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because ^ddyou know neither the Scriptures nor ^dethe power of God?

Jesus replied, ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!’

^dmAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^dn‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^dothe Lord is one.

‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ▼

▼Or the Lord our God is one Lord

And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^dvhe is one, and ^dwthere is no other besides him.

‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.

And to love him with all the heart and with all ^dxthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^dyis much more than all ^dzwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^eaAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

^ebAnd as ^ecJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^edthe Christ is the son of David?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?

David himself, ^eein the Holy Spirit, declared,

^ef“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies ^egunder your feet.”’

David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

‘ “The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.’” ▼

▼Psalm 110:1

David himself calls him Lord. So ^eihow is he his son?” And the great throng ^ejheard him gladly.

David himself calls him “Lord”. How then can he be his son?’

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

^ekAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces

As he taught, Jesus said, ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the market-places,

^emwho devour widows’ houses and ^enfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.’

^eoAnd he sat down opposite ^epthe treasury and watched the people ^eqputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

And a poor widow came and put in two ^ersmall copper coins, which make a penny. ▼

▼Greek  two lepta, which make a kodrantes; a kodrantes (Latin quadrans) was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence.

And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^etthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^eupoverty has put in everything she had, all ^evshe had to live on.”

They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’

^ewAnd as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’

And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^exThere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’

And as he sat on ^eythe Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^ezPeter and James and John and ^faAndrew asked him ^fbprivately,

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,

“Tell us, ^fcwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?’

And Jesus began to say to them, ^fd“See that no one leads you astray.

Jesus said to them : ‘Watch out that no one deceives you.

For ^fination will rise against nation, and ^fjkingdom against kingdom. There will be ^fkearthquakes in various places; there will be ^flfamines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

‘You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.

And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.

Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

^fxAnd you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^fyBut the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

‘When you see “the abomination that causes desolation” ▼

▼Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11

standing where it ▼

▼Or he

does not belong – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out.

Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.

How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!

Pray that this will not take place in winter,

because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now – and never to be equalled again.

‘If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” or, “Look, there he is!” do not believe it.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

But ^grbe on guard; ^gsI have told you all things beforehand.

So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

‘But in those days, following that distress,

‘ “the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” ▼

▼Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

‘At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

And then ^gzhe will send out the angels and ^hagather ^hbhis elect from ^hcthe four winds, from ^hdthe ends of the earth ^heto the ends of heaven.

And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

‘Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it ▼

▼Or he

is near, right at the door.

Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

^hiHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^hjmy words will not pass away.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Be on guard! Be alert ▼

▼Some manuscripts alert and pray

! You do not know when that time will come.

It’s like a man going away: he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

‘Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or at dawn.

If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

And what I say to you I say to all: ^ieStay awake.”

What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’