Night Watch Devotion

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
⁹ Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (ESV)

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.
¹ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
⁸ Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹ The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (ESV)

¹ Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!
² For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
³ Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
¹ O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
² you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;
³ for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
⁴ You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!
⁵ Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
⁶ For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
⁷ But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us.
⁸ In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
⁹ But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies.
¹⁰ You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
¹¹ You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.
¹² You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
¹³ You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
¹⁴ You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
¹⁵ All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
¹⁶ at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
¹⁷ All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant.
¹⁸ Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;
¹⁹ yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
²¹ would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
²² Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
²³ Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
²⁴ Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
²⁵ For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
²⁶ Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.
¹ My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
² You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
³ Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!
⁴ In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
⁵ Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you.
⁶ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
⁷ you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
⁸ your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
⁹ daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
¹⁰ Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house,
¹¹ and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
¹² The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.
¹³ All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
¹⁴ In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.
¹⁵ With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
¹⁶ In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
¹⁷ I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever. (ESV)

¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (ESV)

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
² “Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right?
³ Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
⁴ For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God’s eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you,
⁶ and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
⁷ “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
⁸ It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.
¹⁰ If he passes through and imprisons and summons the court, who can turn him back?
¹¹ For he knows worthless men; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
¹² But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!
¹³ “If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him.
¹⁴ If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
¹⁵ Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear.
¹⁶ You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
¹⁷ And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security.
¹⁹ You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor.
²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.” (ESV)

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
²² For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
²⁷ And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
²⁹ and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (ESV)

¹ All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
² Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
³ But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
⁴ So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
⁷ And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
¹² But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
¹³ And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,
¹⁶ saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

¹ Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
² Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home,
³ along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”),
⁴ and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”).
⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
⁶ And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,”
⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.
⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
¹¹ Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”
¹² And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
¹³ The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
¹⁴ When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?”
¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
¹⁶ when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.”
¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.
¹⁸ You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
¹⁹ Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,
²⁰ and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
²¹ Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
²² And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
²³ If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
²⁵ Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
²⁶ And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country. (ESV)

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
³ the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
⁴ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
⁷ And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
¹² The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
¹³ And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
¹⁶ Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
²² And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
²⁴ “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”
²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
²⁷ And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
³ Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
⁹ Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. (ESV)

¹ And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
² And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”
⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
¹⁰ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,
¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.
¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!
²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
³² And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,
³³ saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
³⁵ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
³⁶ And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
³⁸ Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
⁴² And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
⁴⁶ And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁸ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”
⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
² and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”
⁴ And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
⁵ And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
⁶ And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
⁸ And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
¹¹ And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
¹² On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
¹³ And 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 it was not the season for figs.
¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
¹⁵ And 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 the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
¹⁹ And when evening came they went out of the city.
²⁰ As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
²² And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
²³ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
²⁷ And 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,
²⁸ and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”
²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
³³ 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.”

¹ And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
² When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
⁴ Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.
⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
⁸ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
¹² And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
¹³ And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
¹⁵ But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
¹⁶ And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
¹⁸ And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
²¹ And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
²² And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
²⁸ And 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?”
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
³⁵ And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
³⁶ David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
³⁷ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
³⁸ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

¹ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
³ And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.
⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.
⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
⁹ “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
¹⁵ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out,
¹⁶ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
¹⁷ And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
¹⁸ Pray that it may not happen in winter.
¹⁹ For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.
²⁰ And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.
²² For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
²³ But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
³⁰ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
³² “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
³³ Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
³⁵ Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (ESV)