Night Watch Devotion

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
⁴ Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (ESV)

Of David.
¹ Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
² Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!
³ Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!”
⁴ Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!
⁷ For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
⁸ Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction!
⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
¹¹ Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know.
¹² They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
¹³ But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
¹⁴ I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
¹⁵ But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing;
¹⁶ like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.
¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!
¹⁸ I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.
¹⁹ Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
²⁰ For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit.
²¹ They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
²² You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!
²³ Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord!
²⁴ Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!
²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, our heart’s desire!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
²⁶ Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!
²⁷ Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
²⁸ Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. (ESV)

¹ Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
⁴ In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
⁶ He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
⁷ His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹ he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
¹² Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
¹⁶ The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

To the choirmaster. Of David.
¹ In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, Flee like a bird to your mountain,
² for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
³ if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
⁴ The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
⁵ The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶ Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
⁷ For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
¹ Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
² Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
³ May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
⁵ “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
⁶ The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
⁷ You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. (ESV)

¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. (ESV)

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
⁷ The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
⁸ And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
⁹ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?
¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
¹² And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
¹⁵ and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. (ESV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)
¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (ESV)

¹ “But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words.
² Behold, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks.
³ My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely.
⁴ The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
⁵ Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand.
⁶ Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
⁷ Behold, no fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy upon you.
⁸ “Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words.
⁹ You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
¹⁰ Behold, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy,
¹¹ he puts my feet in the stocks and watches all my paths.’
¹² “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man.
¹³ Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of man’s words’?
¹⁴ For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds,
¹⁶ then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,
¹⁷ that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man;
¹⁸ he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
¹⁹ “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones,
²⁰ so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.
²¹ His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out.
²² His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death.
²³ If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him,
²⁴ and he is merciful to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;
²⁵ let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
²⁶ then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness.
²⁷ He sings before men and says: ‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.
²⁸ He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.’
²⁹ “Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man,
³⁰ to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life.
³¹ Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
³² If you have any words, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.
³³ If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

¹ Then Elihu answered and said:
² “Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know;
³ for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.
⁴ Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.
⁵ For Job has said, ‘I am in the right, and God has taken away my right;
⁶ in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
⁷ What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,
⁸ who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men?
⁹ For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’
¹⁰ “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
¹¹ For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
¹² Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
¹³ Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world?
¹⁴ If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
¹⁵ all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
¹⁶ “If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.
¹⁷ Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
¹⁸ who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
¹⁹ who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
²⁰ In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
²¹ “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
²² There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.
²³ For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
²⁴ He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.
²⁵ Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
²⁶ He strikes them for their wickedness in a place for all to see,
²⁷ because they turned aside from following him and had no regard for any of his ways,
²⁸ so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted—
²⁹ When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man?—
³⁰ that a godless man should not reign, that he should not ensnare the people.
³¹ “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
³² teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
³³ Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.
³⁴ Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say:
³⁵ ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.’
³⁶ Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men.
³⁷ For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.” (ESV)

¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,
³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
⁶ and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
⁷ and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
⁹ And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.
¹¹ The greatest among you shall be your servant.
¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
²¹ And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
²² And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
²⁸ So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
³⁰ saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
³⁴ Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
³⁵ so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
³⁶ Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
³⁷ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
³⁸ See, your house is left to you desolate.
³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (ESV)

²⁵ With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁶ with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁷ For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
²⁸ For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
²⁹ For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³⁰ This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?—
³² the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
³³ He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
³⁶ You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. (ESV)

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”
¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower:
¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
³³ He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.
³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,
⁵⁴ and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

¹ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,
² and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
³ For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
⁴ because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
⁵ And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,
⁷ so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”
⁹ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.
¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
¹¹ and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
¹² And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
¹⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”
¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.”
¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
³³ And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
³⁴ And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick
³⁶ and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

¹ Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
⁴ For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”
⁶ he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
⁸ “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
⁹ in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:
¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
¹³ He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
¹⁵ But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”
¹⁶ And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
¹⁷ Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
²¹ And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
²⁹ Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.
³⁰ And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
³¹ so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
³² Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
³³ And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”
³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
³⁵ And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
³⁶ he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
³⁹ And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

¹ And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
² He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.
⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”
⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?
⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
¹² Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (ESV)