Luke 1

1 Dear Theophilos: Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts

2 based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message.

3 Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative,

4 so that you might know how well-founded are the things about which you have been taught.

5 In the days of Herod, King of Y'hudah, there was a cohen named Z'kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.

6 Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of ADONAI blamelessly.

7 But they had no children, because Elisheva was barren; and they were both well along in years.

8 One time, when Z'kharyah was fulfilling his duties as cohen during his division's period of service before God,

9 he was chosen by lot (according to the custom among the cohanim) to enter the Temple and burn incense.

10 All the people were outside, praying, at the time of the incense burning,

11 when there appeared to him an angel of ADONAI standing to the right of the incense altar.

12 Z'kharyah was startled and terrified at the sight.

13 But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Z'kharyah; because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to name him Yochanan.

14 He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many people will rejoice when he is born,

15 for he will be great in the sight of ADONAI. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh even from his mother's womb.

16 He will turn many of the people of Isra'el to ADONAI their God.

17 He will go out ahead of ADONAI in the spirit and power of Eliyahu to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for ADONAI a people prepared."

18 Z'kharyah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man; my wife too is well on in years."

19 "I am Gavri'el," the angel answered him, "and I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to give you this good news.

20 Now, because you didn't believe what I said, which will be fulfilled when the time comes, you will be silent, unable to speak until the day these things take place."

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Z'kharyah; they were surprised at his taking so long in the Temple.

22 But when he came out unable to talk to them, they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple; speechless, he communicated to them with signs.

23 When his period of his Temple service was over, he returned home.

24 Following this, Elisheva his wife conceived, and she remained five months in seclusion, saying,

25 "ADONAI has done this for me; he has shown me favor at this time, so as to remove my public disgrace."

26 In the sixth month, the angel Gavri'el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin's name was Miryam.

28 Approaching her, the angel said, "Shalom, favored lady! ADONAI is with you!"

29 She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

30 The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God.

31 Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua.

32 He will be great, he will be called Son of Ha'Elyon. ADONAI, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David;

33 and he will rule the House of Ya'akov forever- there will be no end to his Kingdom."

34 "How can this be," asked Miryam of the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35 The angel answered her, "The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you, the power of Ha'Elyon will cover you. Therefore the holy child born to you will be called the Son of God.

36 "You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant!

37 For with God, nothing is impossible."

38 Miryam said, "I am the servant of ADONAI; may it happen to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

39 Without delay, Miryam set out and hurried to the town in the hill country of Y'hudah

40 where Z'kharyah lived, entered his house and greeted Elisheva.

41 When Elisheva heard Miryam's greeting, the baby in her womb stirred. Elisheva was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh

42 and spoke up in a loud voice, "How blessed are you among women! And how blessed is the child in your womb!

43 "But who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy!

45 Indeed you are blessed, because you have trusted that the promise ADONAI has made to you will be fulfilled."

46 Then Miryam said, "My soul magnifies ADONAI;

47 and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,

48 who has taken notice of his servant-girl in her humble position. For- imagine it!- from now on, all generations will call me blessed!

49 "The Mighty One has done great things for me! Indeed, his name is holy;

50 and in every generation he has mercy on those who fear him.

51 "He has performed mighty deeds with his arm, routed the secretly proud,

52 brought down rulers from their thrones, raised up the humble,

53 filled the hungry with good things, but sent the rich away empty.

54 "He has taken the part of his servant Isra'el, mindful of the mercy

55 which he promised to our fathers, to Avraham and his seed forever."

56 Miryam stayed with Elisheva for about three months and then returned home.

57 The time arrived for Elisheva to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son.

58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how good ADONAI had been to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 On the eighth day, they came to do the child's b'rit-milah. They were about to name him Z'kharyah, after his father,

60 when his mother spoke up and said, "No, he is to be called Yochanan."

61 They said to her, "None of your relatives has that name,"

62 and they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called.

63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise he wrote, "His name is Yochanan."

64 At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were a b'rakhah to God.

65 All their neighbors were awestruck; and throughout the hill country of Y'hudah, people talked about all these things.

66 Everyone who heard of them said to himself, "What is this child going to be?" For clearly the hand of ADONAI was with him.

67 His father Z'kharyah was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and spoke this prophecy:

68 "Praised be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people

69 by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer who is a descendant of his servant David.

70 It is just as he has spoken through the mouth of the prophets from the very beginning-

71 that we should be delivered from our enemies and from the power of all who hate us.

72 "This has happened so that he might show the mercy promised to our fathers- that he would remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath he swore before Avraham avinu

74 to grant us that we, freed from our enemies, would serve him without fear,

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 You, child, will be called a prophet of Ha'Elyon; you will go before the Lord to prepare his way

77 by spreading the knowledge among his people that deliverance comes by having sins forgiven

78 through our God's most tender mercy, which causes the Sunrise to visit us from Heaven,

79 to shine on those in darkness, living in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the paths of peace."

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until the time came for him to appear in public to Isra'el.

Luke 2

1 Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire.

2 This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria.

3 Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y'hudah,

5 to be registered, with Miryam, to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant.

6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth;

7 and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.

8 In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks,

9 when an angel of ADONAI appeared to them, and the Sh'khinah of ADONAI shone around them. They were terrified;

10 but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people.

11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.

12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough."

13 Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God:

14 "In the highest heaven, glory to God! And on earth, peace among people of good will!"

15 No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go over to Beit-Lechem and see this thing that has happened, that ADONAI has told us about."

16 Hurrying off, they came and found Miryam and Yosef, and the baby lying in the feeding trough.

17 Upon seeing this, they made known what they had been told about this child;

18 and all who heard were amazed by what the shepherds said to them.

19 Miryam treasured all these things and kept mulling them over in her heart.

20 Meanwhile, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen; it had been just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time for his b'rit-milah, he was given the name Yeshua, which is what the angel had called him before his conception.

22 When the time came for their purification according to the Torah of Moshe, they took him up to Yerushalayim to present him to ADONAI

23 (as it is written in the Torah of ADONAI, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to ADONAI")

24 and also to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the Torah of ADONAI.

25 There was in Yerushalayim a man named Shim'on. This man was a tzaddik, he was devout, he waited eagerly for God to comfort Isra'el, and the Ruach HaKodesh was upon him.

26 It had been revealed to him by the Ruach HaKodesh that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah of ADONAI.

27 Prompted by the Spirit, he went into the Temple courts; and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua to do for him what the Torah required,

28 Shim'on took him in his arms, made a b'rakhah to God, and said,

29 "Now, ADONAI, according to your word, your servant is at peace as you let him go;

30 for I have seen with my own eyes your yeshu'ah,

31 which you prepared in the presence of all peoples-

32 a light that will bring revelation to the Goyim and glory to your people Isra'el."

33 Yeshua's father and mother were marvelling at the things Shim'on was saying about him.

34 Shim'on blessed them and said to the child's mother, Miryam, "This child will cause many in Isra'el to fall and to rise, he will become a sign whom people will speak against;

35 moreover, a sword will pierce your own heart too. All this will happen in order to reveal many people's inmost thoughts."

36 There was also a prophet named Hannah Bat-P'nu'el, of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman- she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage

37 and had remained a widow ever since; now she was eighty-four. She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying.

38 She came by at that moment and began thanking God and speaking about the child to everyone who was waiting for Yerushalayim to be liberated.

39 When Yosef and Miryam had finished doing everything required by the Torah of ADONAI, they returned to the Galil, to their town Natzeret.

40 The child grew and became strong and filled with wisdom- God's favor was upon him.

41 Every year Yeshua's parents went to Yerushalayim for the festival of Pesach.

42 When he was twelve years old, they went up for the festival, as custom required.

43 But after the festival was over, when his parents returned, Yeshua remained in Yerushalayim. They didn't realize this;

44 supposing that he was somewhere in the caravan, they spent a whole day on the road before they began searching for him among their relatives and friends.

45 Failing to find him, they returned to Yerushalayim to look for him.

46 On the third day they found him- he was sitting in the Temple court among the rabbis, not only listening to them but questioning what they said;

47 and everyone who heard him was astonished at his insight and his responses.

48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked; and his mother said to him, "Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you!"

49 He said to them, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be concerning myself with my Father's affairs?"

50 But they didn't understand what he meant.

51 So he went with them to Natzeret and was obedient to them. But his mother stored up all these things in her heart.

52 And Yeshua grew both in wisdom and in stature, gaining favor both with other people and with God.

Luke 3

1 In the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius' rule; when Pontius Pilate was governor of Y'hudah, Herod ruler of the Galil, his brother Philip ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

2 with 'Anan and Kayafa being the cohanim g'dolim; the word of God came to Yochanan Ben-Z'kharyah in the desert.

3 He went all through the Yarden region proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven.

4 It was just as had been written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Yesha'yahu, "The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way for ADONAI! Make straight paths for him!

5 Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill leveled off; the winding roads must be straightened and the rough ways made smooth.

6 Then all humanity will see God's deliverance.'"

7 Therefore, Yochanan said to the crowds who came out to be immersed by him, "You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment?

8 If you have really turned from your sins, produce fruit that will prove it! And don't start saying to yourselves, 'Avraham is our father'! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones!

9 Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!"

10 The crowds asked Yochanan, "So then, what should we do?"

11 He answered, "Whoever has two coats should share with somebody who has none, and whoever has food should do the same."

12 Tax-collectors also came to be immersed; and they asked him, "Rabbi, what should we do?"

13 "Collect no more than the government assesses," he told them.

14 Some soldiers asked him, "What about us? What should we do?" To them he said, "Don't intimidate anyone, don't accuse people falsely, and be satisfied with your pay."

15 The people were in a state of great expectancy, and everyone was wondering whether perhaps Yochanan himself might be the Messiah;

16 so Yochanan answered them all, "I am immersing you in water, but he who is coming is more powerful than I- I'm not worthy to untie his sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire.

17 He has with him his winnowing fork to clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the straw with unquenchable fire!"

18 And with many other warnings besides these he announced the Good News to the people.

19 But Yochanan also denounced Herod the regional governor for taking as his own wife Herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the other wicked things Herod had done;

20 whereupon Herod added this to the rest: he locked up Yochanan in prison.

21 While all the people were being immersed, Yeshua too was immersed. As he was praying, heaven was opened;

22 the Ruach HaKodesh came down on him in physical form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you."

23 Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. It was supposed that he was a son of Yosef who was of Eli,

24 of Mattat, of Levi, of Malki, of Yannai, of Yosef,

25 of Mattityahu, of Amotz, of Nachum, of Hesli, of Naggai,

26 of Machat, of Mattityahu, of Shim'i, of Yosef, of Yodah,

27 of Yochanan, of Reisha, of Z'rubavel, of Sh'altiel, of Neri,

28 of Malki, of Addi, of Kosam, of Elmadan, of Er,

29 of Yeshua, of Eli'ezer, of Yoram, of Mattat, of Levi,

30 of Shim'on, of Y'hudah, of Yosef, of Yonam, of Elyakim,

31 of Mal'ah, of Manah, of Mattatah, of Natan, of David,

32 of Yishai, of 'Oved, of Bo'az, of Salmon, of Nachshon,

33 of Amminadav, of Admin, of Arni, of Hetzron, of Peretz, of Y'hudah,

34 of Ya'akov, of Yitz'chak, of Avraham, of Terach, of Nachor,

35 of S'rug, of Re'u, of Peleg, of 'Ever, of Shelah,

36 of Keinan, of Arpakhshad, of Shem, of Noach, of Lemekh,

37 of Metushelach, of Hanokh, of Yered, of Mahalal'el, of Keinan,

38 of Enosh, of Shet, of Adam, of God.

Luke 4

1 Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

2 for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.

3 The Adversary said to him, "If you are the Son of God, order this stone to become bread."

4 Yeshua answered him, "The Tanakh says, 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"

5 The Adversary took him up, showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world,

6 and said to him, "I will give you all this power and glory. It has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I choose.

7 So if you will worship me, it will all be yours."

8 Yeshua answered him, "The Tanakh says, 'Worship ADONAI your God and serve him only.'"

9 Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, jump from here!

10 For the Tanakh says, 'He will order his angels to be responsible for you and to protect you.

11 They will support you with their hands, so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.'"

12 Yeshua answered him, "It also says, 'Do not put ADONAI your God to the test.'"

13 When the Adversary had ended all his testings, he let him alone until an opportune time.

14 Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside.

15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected him.

16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,

17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha'yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

18 "The Spirit of ADONAI is upon me; therefore he has anointed me to announce Good News to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned and renewed sight for the blind, to release those who have been crushed,

19 to proclaim a year of the favor of ADONAI."

20 After closing the scroll and returning it to the shammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.

21 He started to speak to them: "Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!"

22 Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, "Can this be Yosef's son?"

23 Then Yeshua said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me this proverb- '"Doctor, cure yourself!" We've heard about all the things that have been going on over in K'far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!'

24 Yes!" he said, "I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his home town.

25 It's true, I'm telling you- when Eliyahu was in Isra'el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows;

26 but Eliyahu was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Tzarfat in the land of Tzidon.

27 Also there were many people with tzara'at in Isra'el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na'aman the Syrian."

28 On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury.

29 They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off.

30 But he walked right through the middle of the crowd and went away.

31 He went down to K'far-Nachum, a town in the Galil, and made a practice of teaching them on Shabbat.

32 They were amazed at the way he taught, because his word carried the ring of authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, who shouted in a loud voice,

34 "Yaah! What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!"

35 But Yeshua rebuked it: "Be quiet, and come out of him!" The demonic spirit threw the man down in the middle of the crowd and came out of him, having done him no harm.

36 They were all astounded and said to one another, "What kind of teaching is this? Why, he gives orders with power and authority to the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

37 And reports about him went out through the whole surrounding district.

38 Leaving the synagogue, he went to Shim'on's house. Shim'on's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him to do something for her.

39 So, standing over her, he rebuked the fever; and it left her. She immediately got up and began helping them.

40 After sunset, all those who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Yeshua, and he put his hands on each one of them and healed them;

41 also demons came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But, rebuking them, he did not permit them to say that they knew he was the Messiah.

42 When day had come, he left and went away to a lonely spot. The people looked for him, came to him and would have kept him from leaving them.

43 But he said to them, "I must announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too- this is why I was sent."

44 He also spent time preaching in the synagogues of Y'hudah.

Luke 5

1 One day, as Yeshua was standing on the shore of Lake Kinneret, with the people pressing in around him in order to hear the word of God,

2 he noticed two boats pulled up on the beach, left there by the fishermen, who were cleaning their nets.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Shim'on, and asked him to put out a little way from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Shim'on, "Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch."

5 Shim'on answered, "We've worked hard all night long, Rabbi, and haven't caught a thing! But if you say so, I'll let down the nets."

6 They did this and took in so many fish that their nets began to tear.

7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both boats to the point of sinking.

8 When he saw this, Shim'on Kefa fell at Yeshua's knees and said, "Get away from me, sir, because I'm a sinner!"

9 For astonishment had seized him and everyone with him at the catch of fish they had taken,

10 and likewise both Ya'akov and Yochanan, Shim'on's partners. "Don't be frightened," Yeshua said to Shim'on, "from now on you will be catching men- alive!"

11 And as soon as they had beached their boats, they left everything behind and followed him.

12 Once, when Yeshua was in one of the towns, there came a man completely covered with tzara'at. On seeing Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged him, "Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

13 Yeshua reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing! Be cleansed!" Immediately the tzara'at left him.

14 Then Yeshua warned him not to tell anyone. "Instead, as a testimony to the people, go straight to the cohen and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moshe commanded."

15 But the news about Yeshua kept spreading all the more, so that huge crowds would gather to listen and be healed of their sicknesses.

16 However, he made a practice of withdrawing to remote places in order to pray.

17 One day when Yeshua was teaching, there were P'rushim and Torah-teachers present who had come from various villages in the Galil and Y'hudah, also from Yerushalayim; and the power of ADONAI was with him to heal the sick.

18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. They wanted to bring him inside and lay him in front of Yeshua,

19 but they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd. So they went up onto the roof and lowered him on his mattress through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, right in front of Yeshua.

20 When Yeshua saw their trust, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."

21 The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim began thinking, "Who is this fellow that speaks such blasphemies? Who can forgive sin except God?"

22 But Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, answered, "Why are you turning over such thoughts in your hearts?

23 Which is easier to say? 'Your sins are forgiven you'? or 'Get up and walk'?

24 But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic, "I say to you: get up, pick up your mattress and go home!"

25 Immediately, in front of everyone, he stood up, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.

26 Amazement seized them all, and they made a b'rakhah to God; they were awestruck, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."

27 Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, "Follow me!"

28 He got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Levi gave a banquet at his house in Yeshua's honor, and there was a large group of tax-collectors and others at the table with them.

30 The P'rushim and their Torah-teachers protested indignantly against his talmidim, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?"

31 It was Yeshua who answered them: "The ones who need a doctor aren't the healthy but the sick.

32 I have not come to call the 'righteous,' but rather to call sinners to turn to God from their sins."

33 Next they said to him, "Yochanan's talmidim are always fasting and davvening, and likewise the talmidim of the P'rushim; but yours go on eating and drinking."

34 Yeshua said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them?

35 The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and when that time comes, they will fast."

36 Then he gave them an illustration: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; if he does, not only will the new one continue to rip, but the piece from the new will not match the old.

37 Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins too will be ruined.

38 On the contrary, new wine must be put into freshly prepared wineskins.

39 Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don't want new; because they say, 'The old is good enough.'"

Luke 6

1 One Shabbat, while Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields, his talmidim began plucking the heads of grain, rubbing them between their hands and eating the seeds.

2 Some of the P'rushim said, "Why are you violating Shabbat?"

3 Yeshua answered them, "Haven't you ever read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

4 He entered the House of God and took and ate the Bread of the Presence"- which no one is permitted to eat but the cohanim.

5 "The Son of Man," he concluded, "is Lord of Shabbat."

6 On another Shabbat, when Yeshua had gone into the synagogue and was teaching, a man was there who had a shriveled hand.

7 The Torah-teachers and P'rushim watched Yeshua carefully to see if he would heal on Shabbat, so that they could accuse him of something.

8 But he knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Come up and stand where we can see you!" He got up and stood there.

9 Then Yeshua said to them, "I ask you now: what is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or destroying it?"

10 Then, after looking around at all of them, he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, his hand was restored.

11 But the others were filled with fury and began discussing with each other what they could do to Yeshua.

12 It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

13 When day came, he called his talmidim and chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries:

14 Shim'on, whom he named Kefa; Andrew, his brother; Ya'akov; Yochanan; Philip; Bar-Talmai;

15 Mattityahu; T'oma; Ya'akov Ben-Halfai;

16 Shim'on, the one called the Zealot; Y'hudah Ben-Ya'akov; and Y'hudah from K'riot, who turned traitor.

17 Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his talmidim was there with great numbers of people from all Y'hudah, Yerushalayim and the coast around Tzor and Tzidon; they had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases.

18 Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being healed;

19 and the whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power kept going out from him, healing everyone.

20 He looked at his talmidim and said: "How blessed are you poor! for the Kingdom of God is yours.

21 "How blessed are you who are hungry! for you will be filled. "How blessed are you who are crying now! for you will laugh.

22 "How blessed you are whenever people hate you and ostracize you and insult you and denounce you as a criminal on account of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad when that happens; yes, dance for joy! because in heaven your reward is great. For that is just how their fathers treated the prophets.

24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already had all the comfort you will get!

25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will go hungry! "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and cry!

26 "Woe to you when people speak well of you, for that is just how their fathers treated the false prophets!

27 Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this: "Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29 "If someone hits you on one cheek, offer the other too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.

30 "If someone asks you for something, give it to him; if someone takes what belongs to you, don't demand it back.

31 "Treat other people as you would like them to treat you.

32 What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them.

33 What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that.

34 What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha'Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

36 Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.

37 "Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. "Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38 Give, and you will receive gifts- the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!"

39 He also told them a parable: "Can one blind man lead another blind man? Won't they both fall into a pit?

40 A talmid is not above his rabbi; but each one, when he is fully trained, will be like his rabbi.

41 So why do you see the splinter in your brother's eye, but not notice the log in your own eye?

42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the splinter from your eye,' when you yourself don't see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye!

43 "For no good tree produces bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit.

44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit- figs aren't picked from thorn bushes, nor grapes from a briar patch.

45 The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart.

46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord! Lord!' but not do what I say?

47 Everyone who comes to me, hears my words and acts on them- I will show you what he is like:

48 he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn't shake it, because it was constructed well.

49 And whoever hears my words but doesn't act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!"

Luke 7

1 When Yeshua had finished speaking to the people, he went back to K'far-Nachum.

2 A Roman army officer there had a servant he regarded highly, who was sick to the point of death.

3 Hearing about Yeshua, the officer sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he come and heal his servant.

4 They came to Yeshua and pleaded earnestly with him, "He really deserves to have you do this,

5 for he loves our people- in fact, he built the synagogue for us!"

6 So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof-

7 this is why I didn't presume to approach you myself. Instead, just give a command and let my servant recover.

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

9 Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Isra'el have I found such trust!"

10 When the messengers got back to the officer's house, they found the servant in good health.

11 The next day Yeshua, accompanied by his talmidim and a large crowd, went to a town called Na'im.

12 As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, "Don't cry."

14 Then he came close and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers halted. He said, "Young man, I say to you: get up!"

15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Yeshua gave him to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us," and, "God has come to help his people."

17 This report about him spread throughout all Y'hudah and the surrounding countryside.

18 Yochanan's talmidim informed him of all these things. Then Yochanan called two of his talmidim

19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for someone else?"

20 When the men came to him, they said, "Yochanan the Immerser has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come? Or should we keep looking- for someone else?'"

21 Right then he was healing many people of diseases, pains and evil spirits, and giving sight to many who were blind.

22 So he answered them by saying, "Go, tell Yochanan what you have been seeing and hearing: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara'at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor-

23 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!"

24 When the messengers from Yochanan had gone, Yeshua began speaking to the crowds about Yochanan: "What did you go out into the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze?

25 No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? But people who dress beautifully and live in luxury are found in kings' palaces.

26 Nu, so what did you go out to see? A prophet! Yes, and I tell you he's much more than a prophet.

27 This is the one about whom the Tanakh says, 'See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'

28 I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!"

29 All the people who heard him, even the tax-collectors, by undergoing Yochanan's immersion acknowledged that God was right;

30 but the P'rushim and the Torah-teachers, by not letting themselves be immersed by him, nullified for themselves God's plan.

31 "Therefore," said the Lord, "how can I describe the people of this generation? What are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling to one another, 'We made happy music, but you wouldn't dance! We made sad music, but you wouldn't cry!'

33 For Yochanan has come not eating bread and not drinking wine; and you say, 'He has a demon!'

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, 'Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!'

35 Well, the proof of wisdom is in all the kinds of people it produces."

36 One of the P'rushim invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the Parush and took his place at the table.

37 A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume,

38 stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

39 When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner."

40 Yeshua answered, "Shim'on, I have something to say to you." "Say it, Rabbi," he replied.

41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other.

42 When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?"

43 Shim'on answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "Your judgment is right," Yeshua said to him.

44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim'on, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house- you didn't give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair!

45 You didn't give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet!

46 You didn't put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet!

47 Because of this, I tell you that her sins- which are many!- have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little."

48 Then he said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."

49 At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, "Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?"

50 But he said to the woman, "Your trust has saved you; go in peace."

Luke 8

1 After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve,

2 and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses- Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out;

3 Yochanah the wife of Herod's finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him.

4 After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable:

5 "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up.

6 Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture.

7 Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

8 But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!"

9 His talmidim asked him what this parable might mean,

10 and he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.

11 "The parable is this: the seed is God's message.

12 The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it.

13 The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root- they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize.

14 As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life's gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures.

15 But what fell in rich soil- these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.

16 "No one who has lit a lamp covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed; no, he puts it on a stand; so that those coming in may see the light.

17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing is covered up that will not be known and come out into the open.

18 Pay attention, then, to how you hear! For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he seems to have will be taken away."

19 Then Yeshua's mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd.

20 It was reported to him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you."

21 But he gave them this answer: "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's message and act on it!"

22 One day Yeshua got into a boat with his talmidim and said to them, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake."

23 So they set out; and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat began to fill up with water, putting them in great danger.

24 They went and woke him, saying, "Rabbi! Rabbi! We're about to die!" He woke up, rebuked the wind and the rough water; and they calmed down, so that it was still.

25 Then he said to the talmidim, "Where is your trust?" Awestruck, they marveled, asking one another, "Who can this be, that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?"

26 They sailed on and landed in the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite the Galil.

27 As Yeshua stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons came to meet him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; and he lived, not in a house, but in the burial caves.

28 Catching sight of Yeshua, he screamed, fell down in front of him and yelled, "Yeshua! Son of God Ha'Elyon! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't torture me!"

29 For Yeshua had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often taken hold of him- he had been kept under guard, chained hand and foot, but had broken the bonds and been driven by the demon into the desert.

30 Yeshua asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he said, because many demons had entered him.

31 They begged Yeshua not to order them to go off into the Bottomless Pit.

32 Now there was a herd of many pigs, feeding on the hill; and the demons begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them permission.

33 The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, whereupon the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the town and in the country;

35 and the people came out to see for themselves. They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting- dressed and in his right mind- at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened.

36 Those who had seen it told how the formerly demonized man had been delivered.

37 Then all the people of the Gerasene district asked him to leave them, for they had been seized with great fear. So he boarded the boat and returned.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might go with him; but Yeshua sent him away, saying,

39 "Go back to your home and tell how much God has done for you." He went away proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Yeshua had done for him.

40 When Yeshua got back, the crowd welcomed him; for they were all expecting him.

41 Then there came a man named Ya'ir who was president of the synagogue. Falling at Yeshua's feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house;

42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old; and she was dying. As he went, with the crowds on every side virtually choking him,

43 a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

44 came up behind him and touched the tzitzit on his robe; instantly her hemorrhaging stopped.

45 Yeshua asked, "Who touched me?" When they all denied doing it, Kefa said, "Rabbi! The crowds are hemming you in and jostling you!"

46 But Yeshua said, "Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out of me."

47 Seeing she could not escape notice, the woman, quaking with fear, threw herself down before him and confessed in front of everyone why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.

48 He said to her, "My daughter, your trust has saved you; go in peace."

49 While Yeshua was still speaking, a man came from the synagogue president's house. "Your daughter has died," he said. "Don't bother the rabbi any more."

50 But on hearing this, Yeshua answered him, "Don't be afraid! Just go on trusting, and she will be made well."

51 When he arrived at the house, he didn't allow anyone to go in with him except Kefa, Yochanan, Ya'akov and the child's father and mother

52 All the people were wailing and mourning for her; but he said, "Don't weep; she hasn't died, she's sleeping."

53 They jeered at him, since they knew she had died.

54 But he took her by the hand, called out, "Little girl, get up!"

55 and her spirit returned. She stood up at once, and he directed that something be given her to eat.

56 Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Luke 9

1 Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases;

2 and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal.

3 He said to them, "Take nothing for your trip- neither a walking stick nor a pack, neither bread nor money; and don't have two shirts.

4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and go out from there.

5 Wherever they don't welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them."

6 They set out and went through village after village, healing and announcing the Good News everywhere.

7 Herod the governor heard about all that was going on and was perplexed, because it was said by some that Yochanan had been raised from the dead,

8 by others that Eliyahu had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.

9 Herod said, "I had Yochanan beheaded, so who is this about whom I keep hearing such things?" And he began trying to see him.

10 On their return, the emissaries detailed to Yeshua what they had done. Then, taking them with him, he withdrew by himself to a town called Beit-Tzaidah.

11 But the crowds found out and followed him. Welcoming them, he went on to speak to them about the Kingdom of God and to heal those who needed to be healed.

12 The day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they can go and get lodging and food in the towns and farms around here, because where we are is a remote place."

13 But he said to them, "Give them something to eat, yourselves!" They said, "We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish- unless we ourselves are supposed to go and buy food for all these people!"

14 (For there were about five thousand men.) He said to his talmidim, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

15 They did what he told them and had them all sit down.

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah, broke the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute to the crowd.

17 Everyone ate as much as he wanted; and they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces.

18 Once when Yeshua was praying in private, his talmidim were with him; and he asked them, "Who are the crowds saying I am?"

19 They answered, "Yochanan the Immerser; but others say Eliyahu, and others that some prophet of long ago has risen."

20 "But you," he said to them, "who do you say I am?" Kefa answered, "The Mashiach of God!"

21 However, he, warning them, ordered them to tell this to no one,

22 adding, "The Son of Man has to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and he has to be put to death; but on the third day, he has to be raised to life."

23 Then to everyone he said, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him say 'No' to himself, take up his execution-stake daily and keep following me.

24 For whoever tries to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life on my account will save it.

25 What will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but destroys or forfeits his own life?

26 For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and of the holy angels.

27 I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God."

28 About a week after Yeshua said these things, he took Kefa, Yochanan and Ya'akov with him and went up to the hill country to pray.

29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed; and his clothing became gleaming white.

30 Suddenly there were two men talking with him- Moshe and Eliyahu!

31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke of his exodus, which he was soon to accomplish in Yerushalayim.

32 Kefa and those with him had been sound asleep; but on becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33 As the men were leaving Yeshua, Kefa said to him, not knowing what he was saying, "It's good that we're here, Rabbi! Let's put up three shelters- one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu."

34 As he spoke, a cloud came and enveloped them. They were frightened as they entered the cloud;

35 and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!"

36 When the voice spoke, Yeshua was alone once more. They kept quiet- at that time they told no one anything of what they had seen.

37 The next day, as they were coming down out of the hill country, a large crowd met him.

38 Suddenly a man in the crowd shouted, "Rabbi! Look at my son, I beg you, because he's my only child!

39 What happens is this: a spirit seizes him, and suddenly it lets out a shriek and throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty will it leave him. It's destroying him!

40 I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn't."

41 "Perverted people, without any trust!" Yeshua answered, "How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."

42 Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a fit. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

43 All were struck with amazement at the greatness of God. While they were all marvelling at everything Yeshua was doing, he said to his talmidim,

44 "Listen very carefully to what I'm going to say. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."

45 But they didn't understand what he meant by this. It had been concealed from them so that they would not grasp its meaning, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

46 An argument arose among the talmidim as to which of them might be the greatest.

47 But Yeshua, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a child, stood him beside himself,

48 and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all- this is the one who is great."

49 Yochanan responded, "Rabbi, we saw someone expelling demons in your name; and we stopped him because he doesn't follow you along with us."

50 Yeshua said to him, "Don't stop such people, because whoever isn't against you is for you."

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up into heaven, he made his decision to set out for Yerushalayim.

52 He sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village in Shomron to make preparations for him.

53 However, the people there would not let him stay, because his destination was Yerushalayim.

54 When the talmidim Ya'akov and Yochanan saw this, they said, "Sir, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?"

55 But he turned and rebuked them.*

56 And they went on to another village.

57 As they were traveling on the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

58 Yeshua answered him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own."

59 To another he said, "Follow me!" but the man replied, "Sir, first let me go away and bury my father."

60 Yeshua said, "Let the dead bury their own dead; you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!"

61 Yet another said, "I will follow you, sir, but first let me say good-by to the people at home."

62 To him Yeshua said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God."

Luke 10

1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy other talmidim and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.

2 He said to them, "To be sure, there is a large harvest. But there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the Harvest that he speed workers out to gather in his harvest.

3 Get going now, but pay attention! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

4 Don't carry a money-belt or a pack, and don't stop to shmoose with people on the road.

5 "Whenever you enter a house, first say, 'Shalom!' to the household.

6 If a seeker of shalom is there, your 'Shalom!' will find its rest with him; and if there isn't, it will return to you.

7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for a worker deserves his wages- don't move about from house to house.

8 "Whenever you come into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put in front of you.

9 Heal the sick there, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you.'

10 But whenever you enter a town and they don't make you welcome, go out into its streets and say,

11 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off as a sign against you! But understand this: the Kingdom of God is near!'

12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for S'dom than for that town.

13 "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Beit-Tzaidah! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tzor and Tzidon, they would long ago have put on sackcloth and ashes as evidence that they had changed their ways.

14 But at the Judgment it will be more bearable for Tzor and Tzidon than for you!

15 "And you, K'far-Nachum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Sh'ol!

16 "Whoever listens to you listens to me, also whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me."

17 The seventy came back jubilant. "Lord," they said, "with your power, even the demons submit to us!"

18 Yeshua said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

19 Remember, I have given you authority; so you can trample down snakes and scorpions, indeed, all the Enemy's forces; and you will remain completely unharmed.

20 Nevertheless, don't be glad that the spirits submit to you; be glad that your names have been recorded in heaven."

21 At that moment he was filled with joy by the Ruach HaKodesh and said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated, yet revealed them to ordinary people. Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.

22 "My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

23 Then, turning to the talmidim, he said, privately, "How blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing!

24 Indeed, I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them."

25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, "Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?"

26 But Yeshua said to him, "What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?"

27 He answered, "You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself."

28 "That's the right answer," Yeshua said. "Do this, and you will have life."

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, "And who is my 'neighbor'?"

30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: "A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead.

31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.

33 "But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.

34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35 The next day, he took out two days' wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I'll pay you back when I return.'

36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the 'neighbor' of the man who fell among robbers?"

37 He answered, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Yeshua said to him, "You go and do as he did."

38 On their way Yeshua and his talmidim came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home.

39 She had a sister called Miryam who also sat at the Lord's feet and heard what he had to say.

40 But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, "Sir, don't you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?"

41 However, the Lord answered her, "Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things!

42 But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won't be taken away from her."

Luke 11

1 One time Yeshua was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of the talmidim said to him, "Sir, teach us to pray, just as Yochanan taught his talmidim."

2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, May your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come.

3 Give us each day the food we need.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive everyone who has wronged us. And do not lead us to hard testing.'"

5 He also said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend; and you go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

6 because a friend of mine who has been travelling has just arrived at my house, and I have nothing for him to eat.'

7 Now the one inside may answer, 'Don't bother me! The door is already shut, my children are with me in bed- I can't get up to give you anything!'

8 But I tell you, even if he won't get up because the man is his friend, yet because of the man's hutzpah he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 "Moreover, I myself say to you: keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who goes on asking receives; and he who goes on seeking finds; and to him who continues knocking, the door will be opened.

11 "Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake?

12 or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion?

13 So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!"

14 He was expelling a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke; and the people were astounded.

15 But some of them said, "It is by Ba'al-Zibbul"- the ruler of the demons- "that he expels the demons."

16 And others, trying to trap him, demanded from him a sign from Heaven.

17 But he, knowing what they were thinking, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, with one house collapsing on another.

18 So if the Adversary too is divided against himself, how can his kingdom survive? I'm asking because you claim it is by Ba'al-Zibbul that I drive out the demons.

19 If I drive out demons by Ba'al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges!

20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!

21 "When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house, his possessions are secure.

22 But when someone stronger attacks and defeats him, he carries off all the armor and weaponry on which the man was depending, and divides up the spoils.

23 Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering.

24 "When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest. On finding none, it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'

25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.

26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there- so that in the end the person is worse off than he was before."

27 As Yeshua was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice to call out, "How blessed is the mother that gave birth to you and nursed you from her breast!"

28 But he said, "Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"

29 As the people crowded around him, Yeshua went on to say, "This generation is a wicked generation! It asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it- except the sign of Yonah.

30 For just as Yonah became a sign to the people of Ninveh, so will the Son of Man be for this generation.

31 The Queen of the South will appear at the Judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, and what is here now is greater than Shlomo.

32 The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned to God from their sins when Yonah preached, and what is here now is greater than Yonah.

33 "No one who has kindled a lamp hides it or places it under a bowl; rather, he puts it on a stand, so that those coming in may see its light.

34 The lamp of your body is the eye. When you have a 'good eye,' [that is, when you are generous,] your whole body is full of light; but when you have an 'evil eye,' [when you are stingy,] your body is full of darkness.

35 So take care that the light in you is not darkness!

36 If, then, your whole body is filled with light, with no part dark, it will be wholly lighted, as when a brightly lit lamp shines on you."

37 As Yeshua spoke, a Parush asked him to eat dinner with him; so he went in and took his place at the table;

38 and the Parush was surprised that he didn't begin by doing n'tilat yadayim before the meal.

39 However, the Lord said to him, "Now then, you P'rushim, you clean the outside of the cup and plate; but inside, you are full of robbery and wickedness.

40 Fools! Didn't the One who made the outside make the inside too?

41 Rather, give as alms what is inside, and then everything will be clean for you!

42 "But woe to you P'rushim! You pay your tithes of mint and rue and every garden herb, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You have an obligation to do these things- but without disregarding the others!

43 "Woe to you P'rushim, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces!

44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it."

45 One of the experts in Torah answered him, "Rabbi, by saying these things you are insulting us also."

46 Yeshua said, "Woe to you Torah experts too! You load people down with burdens they can hardly bear, and you won't lift a finger to help them!

47 "Woe to you! You build tombs in memory of the prophets, but your fathers murdered them!

48 Thus you testify that you completely approve of what your fathers did- they did the killing, you do the building!

49 Therefore the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and emissaries; they will kill some and persecute others';

50 so that on this generation will fall the responsibility for all the prophets' blood that has been shed since the world was established,

51 from the blood of Hevel to the blood of Z'kharyah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the responsibility for it will fall on this generation!

52 "Woe to you Torah experts! For you have taken away the key of knowledge! Not only did you yourselves not go in, you also have stopped those who were trying to enter!"

53 As Yeshua left that place, the Torah-teachers and the P'rushim began to oppose him bitterly and to provoke him to express his views on all sorts of subjects,

54 laying traps to catch him in something he might say.

Luke 12

1 Meanwhile, as a crowd in the tens of thousands gathered so closely as to trample each other down, Yeshua began to say to his talmidim first, "Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P'rushim, by which I mean their hypocrisy.

2 There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not become known.

3 What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.

4 "My friends, I tell you: don't fear those who kill the body but then have nothing more they can do.

5 I will show you whom to fear: fear him who after killing you has authority to throw you into Gei-Hinnom! Yes, I tell you, this is the one to fear!

6 Aren't sparrows sold for next to nothing, five for two assarions? And not one of them has been forgotten by God.

7 Why, every hair on your head has been counted! Don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

8 "Moreover, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.

9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before God's angels.

10 Also, everyone who says something against the Son of Man will have it forgiven him; but whoever has blasphemed the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven.

11 "When they bring you before the synagogues and the ruling powers and the authorities, don't worry about how you will defend yourself or what you will say;

12 because when the time comes, the Ruach HaKodesh will teach you what you need to say."

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Rabbi, tell my brother to share with me the property we inherited."

14 But Yeshua answered him, "My friend, who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you?"

15 Then to the people he said, "Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns."

16 And he gave them this illustration: "There was a man whose land was very productive.

17 He debated with himself, 'What should I do? I haven't enough room for all my crops.'

18 Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my wheat and other goods there.

19 Then I'll say to myself, "You're a lucky man! You have a big supply of goods laid up that will last many years. Start taking it easy! Eat! Drink! Enjoy yourself!"'

20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night you will die! And the things you prepared- whose will they be?'

21 That's how it is with anyone who stores up wealth for himself without being rich toward God."

22 To his talmidim Yeshua said, "Because of this I tell you, don't worry about your life- what you will eat or drink; or about your body- what you will wear.

23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

24 Think about the ravens! They neither plant nor harvest, they have neither storerooms nor barns, yet God feeds them. You are worth much more than the birds!

25 Can any of you by worrying add an hour to his life?

26 If you can't do a little thing like that, why worry about the rest?

27 Think about the wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread; yet, I tell you, not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.

28 If this is how God clothes grass, which is alive in the field today and thrown in the oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you! What little trust you have!

29 "In other words, don't strive after what you will eat and what you will drink- don't be anxious.

30 For all the pagan nations in the world set their hearts on these things. Your Father knows that you need them too.

31 Rather, seek his Kingdom; and these things will be given to you as well.

32 Have no fear, little flock, for your Father has resolved to give you the Kingdom!

33 Sell what you own and do tzedakah- make for yourselves purses that don't wear out, riches in heaven that never fail, where no burglar comes near, where no moth destroys.

34 For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also.

35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,

36 like people waiting for their master's return after a wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him without delay.

37 Happy the slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes! Yes! I tell you he will put on his work clothes, seat them at the table, and come serve them himself!

38 Whether it is late at night or early in the morning, if this is how he finds them, those slaves are happy.

39 "But notice this: no house-owner would let his house be broken into if he knew when the thief was coming.

40 You too, be ready! For the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him."

41 Kefa said, "Sir, are you telling this parable for our benefit only or for everyone's?"

42 The Lord replied, "Nu, who is the faithful and sensible manager whose master puts him in charge of the household staff to give them their share of food at the proper time?

43 It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes.

44 Yes, I tell you he will put him in charge of all he owns.

45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is taking his time coming,' and starts bullying the men- and women-servants, and eating and drinking, getting drunk,

46 then his master will come on a day when the servant isn't expecting him, at a time he doesn't know in advance; his master will cut him in two and put him with the disloyal.

47 Now the servant who knew what his master wanted but didn't prepare or act according to his will, will be whipped with many lashes;

48 however, the one who did what deserves a beating, but didn't know, will receive few lashes. From him who has been given much, much will be demanded- from someone to whom people entrust much, they ask still more.

49 "I have come to set fire to the earth! And how I wish it were already kindled!

50 I have an immersion to undergo- how pressured I feel till it's over!

51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace in the Land? Not peace, I tell you, but division!

52 For from now on, a household of five will be divided, three against two, two against three.

53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 Then to the crowds Yeshua said, "When you see a cloud-bank rising in the west, at once you say that a rainstorm is coming;

55 and when the wind is from the south, you say there will be a heat wave, and there is.

56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky- how is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

57 Why don't you decide for yourselves what is the right course to follow?

58 If someone brings a lawsuit against you, take pains to settle with him first; otherwise he will take the matter to court, and the judge will turn you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you in jail.

59 I tell you, you won't get out of there till you have paid the last penny!"

Luke 13

1 Just then, some people came to tell Yeshua about the men from the Galil whom Pilate had slaughtered even while they were slaughtering animals for sacrifice.

2 His answer to them was, "Do you think that just because they died so horribly, these folks from the Galil were worse sinners than all the others from the Galil?

3 No, I tell you. Rather, unless you turn to God from your sins, you will all die as they did!

4 "Or what about those eighteen people who died when the tower at Shiloach fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Yerushalayim?

5 No, I tell you. Rather, unless you turn from your sins, you will all die similarly."

6 Then Yeshua gave this illustration: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit but didn't find any.

7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'Here, I've come looking for fruit on this fig tree for three years now without finding any. Cut it down- why let it go on using up the soil?'

8 But he answered, 'Sir, leave it alone one more year. I'll dig around it and put manure on it.

9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; if not, you will have it cut down then.'"

10 Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat.

11 A woman came up who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years; she was bent double and unable to stand erect at all.

12 On seeing her, Yeshua called her and said to her, "Lady, you have been set free from your weakness!"

13 He put his hands on her, and at once she stood upright and began to glorify God.

14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant that Yeshua had healed on Shabbat, spoke up and said to the congregation, "There are six days in the week for working; so come during those days to be healed, not on Shabbat!"

15 However, the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Each one of you on Shabbat- don't you unloose your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him off to drink?

16 This woman is a daughter of Avraham, and the Adversary kept her tied up for eighteen years! Shouldn't she be freed from this bondage on Shabbat?"

17 By these words, Yeshua put to shame the people who opposed him; but the rest of the crowd were happy about all the wonderful things that were taking place through him.

18 So he went on to say, "What is the Kingdom of God like? With what will we compare it?

19 It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds flying about nested in its branches."

20 Again he said, "With what will I compare the Kingdom of God?

21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose."

22 Yeshua continued traveling through town after town and village after village, teaching and making his way toward Yerushalayim.

23 Someone asked him, "Are only a few people being saved?"

24 He answered, "Struggle to get in through the narrow door, because- I'm telling you!- many will be demanding to get in and won't be able to,

25 once the owner of the house has gotten up and shut the door. You will stand outside, knocking at the door and saying, 'Lord! Open up for us!' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from!'

26 Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you! you taught in our streets!'

27 and he will tell you, 'I don't know where you're from. Get away from me, all you workers of wickedness!'

28 You will cry and grind your teeth when you see Avraham, Yitz'chak, Ya'akov and all the prophets inside the Kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside.

29 Moreover, people will come from the east, the west, the north and the south to sit at table in the Kingdom of God.

30 And notice that some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last."

31 Just at that moment, some P'rushim came up and said to Yeshua, "Get out and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you!"

32 He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Pay attention: today and tomorrow I am driving out demons and healing people, and on the third day I reach my goal.'

33 Nevertheless, I must keep travelling today, tomorrow and the next day; because it is unthinkable that a prophet should die anywhere but in Yerushalayim.

34 "Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!

35 Look! God is abandoning your house to you! I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI!'"

Luke 14

1 One Shabbat Yeshua went to eat in the home of one of the leading P'rushim, and they were watching him closely.

2 In front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid.

3 Yeshua spoke up and asked the Torah experts and P'rushim, "Does the Torah allow healing on Shabbat or not?"

4 But they said nothing. So, taking hold of him, he healed him and sent him away.

5 To them he said, "Which of you, if a son or an ox falls into a well, will hesitate to haul him out on Shabbat?"

6 And to these things they could give no answer.

7 When Yeshua noticed how the guests were choosing for themselves the best seats at the table, he told them this parable:

8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, don't sit down in the best seat; because if there is someone more important than you who has been invited,

9 the person who invited both of you might come and say to you, 'Give this man your place.' Then you will be humiliated as you go to take the least important place.

10 Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the least important place; so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Go on up to a better seat.' Then you will be honored in front of everyone sitting with you.

11 Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."

12 Yeshua also said to the one who had invited him, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives or rich neighbors; for they may well invite you in return, and that will be your repayment.

13 Instead, when you have a party, invite poor people, disfigured people, the crippled, the blind!

14 How blessed you will be that they have nothing with which to repay you! For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

15 On hearing this, one of the people at the table with Yeshua said to him, "How blessed are those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God!"

16 But he replied, "Once a man gave a banquet and invited many people.

17 When the time came for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, 'Come! Everything is ready!'

18 But they responded with a chorus of excuses. The first said to him, 'I've just bought a field, and I have to go out and see it. Please accept my apologies.'

19 Another said, 'I've just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to test them out. Please accept my apologies.'

20 Still another said, 'I have just gotten married, so I can't come.'

21 The slave came and reported these things to his master. "Then the owner of the house, in a rage, told his slave, 'Quick, go out into the streets and alleys of the city; and bring in the poor, the disfigured, the blind and the crippled!'

22 The slave said, 'Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.'

23 The master said to the slave, 'Go out to the country roads and boundary walls, and insistently persuade people to come in, so that my house will be full.

24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet!'"

25 Large crowds were traveling along with Yeshua. Turning, he said to them,

26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my talmid.

27 Whoever does not carry his own execution-stake and come after me cannot be my talmid.

28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Don't you sit down and estimate the cost, to see if you have enough capital to complete it?

29 If you don't, then when you have laid the foundation but can't finish, all the onlookers start making fun of you

30 and say, 'This is the man who began to build, but couldn't finish!'

31 "Or again, suppose one king is going out to wage war with another king. Doesn't he first sit down and consider whether he, with his ten thousand troops, has enough strength to meet the other one, who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

32 If he hasn't, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to inquire about terms for peace.

33 "So every one of you who doesn't renounce all that he has cannot be my talmid.

34 Salt is excellent. But if even the salt becomes tasteless, what can be used to season it?

35 It is fit for neither soil nor manure- people throw it out. Those who have ears that can hear, let them hear!"

Luke 15

1 The tax-collectors and sinners kept gathering around to hear Yeshua,

2 and the P'rushim and Torah-teachers kept grumbling. "This fellow," they said, "welcomes sinners- he even eats with them!"

3 So he told them this parable:

4 "If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn't he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?

5 When he does find it, he joyfully hoists it onto his shoulders;

6 and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Come, celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep!'

7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns to God from his sins than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

8 "Another example: what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one of these valuable coins, won't light a lamp, sweep the house and search all over until she finds it?

9 And when she does find it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Come, celebrate with me, because I have found the drachma I lost.'

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among God's angels when one sinner repents."

11 Again Yeshua said, "A man had two sons.

12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.' So the father divided the property between them.

13 As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living.

14 But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.

15 "So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

16 He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any.

17 "At last he came to his senses and said, 'Any number of my father's hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death!

18 I'm going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you;

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers."'

20 So he got up and started back to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly.

21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son-'

22 but his father said to his slaves, 'Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet;

23 and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it. Let's eat and have a celebration!

24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he's alive again! He was lost, but now he has been found!' And they began celebrating.

25 "Now his older son was in the field. As he came close to the house, he heard music and dancing.

26 So he called one of the servants and asked, 'What's going on?'

27 The servant told him, 'Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.'

28 But the older son became angry and refused to go inside. "So his father came out and pleaded with him.

29 'Look,' the son answered, 'I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends.

30 Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!'

31 'Son, you are always with me,' said the father, 'and everything I have is yours.

32 We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life- he was lost but has been found.'"

Luke 16

1 Speaking to the talmidim, Yeshua said: "There was a wealthy man who employed a general manager. Charges were brought to him that his manager was squandering his resources.

2 So he summoned him and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, for you can no longer be manager.'

3 "'What am I to do?' said the manager to himself. 'My boss is firing me, I'm not strong enough to dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to go begging.

4 Aha! I know what I'll do- something that will make people welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job here!'

5 "So, after making appointments with each of his employer's debtors, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my boss?'

6 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. 'Take your note back,' he told him. 'Now, quickly! Sit down and write one for four hundred!'

7 To the next he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. 'Take your note back and write one for eight hundred.'

8 "And the employer of this dishonest manager applauded him for acting so shrewdly! For the worldly have more sekhel than those who have received the light- in dealing with their own kind of people!

9 "Now what I say to you is this: use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it gives out, you may be welcomed into the eternal home.

10 Someone who is trustworthy in a small matter is also trustworthy in large ones, and someone who is dishonest in a small matter is also dishonest in large ones.

11 So if you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who is going to trust you with the real thing?

12 And if you haven't been trustworthy with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what ought to belong to you?

13 No servant can be slave to two masters, for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money."

14 The P'rushim heard all this, and since they were money-lovers, they ridiculed him.

15 He said to them, "You people make yourselves look righteous to others, but God knows your hearts; what people regard highly is an abomination before God!

16 Up to the time of Yochanan there were the Torah and the Prophets. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is pushing to get in.

17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the Torah to become void.

18 Every man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and a man who marries a woman divorced by her husband commits adultery.

19 "Once there was a rich man who used to dress in the most expensive clothing and spent his days in magnificent luxury.

20 At his gate had been laid a beggar named El'azar who was covered with sores.

21 He would have been glad to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table; but instead, even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

22 In time the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Avraham's side; the rich man also died and was buried.

23 "In Sh'ol, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Avraham far away with El'azar at his side.

24 He called out, 'Father Avraham, take pity on me, and send El'azar just to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, because I'm in agony in this fire!'

25 However, Avraham said, 'Son, remember that when you were alive, you got the good things while he got the bad; but now he gets his consolation here, while you are the one in agony.

26 Yet that isn't all: between you and us a deep rift has been established, so that those who would like to pass from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

27 "He answered, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house,

28 where I have five brothers, to warn them; so that they may be spared having to come to this place of torment too.'

29 But Avraham said, 'They have Moshe and the Prophets; they should listen to them.'

30 However, he said, 'No, father Avraham, they need more. If someone from the dead goes to them, they'll repent!'

31 But he replied, 'If they won't listen to Moshe and the Prophets, they won't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!'"

Luke 17

1 Yeshua said to his talmidim, "It is impossible that snares will not be set. But woe to the person who sets them!

2 It would be to his advantage that he have a millstone hung around his neck and he be thrown into the sea, rather than that he ensnare one of these little ones.

3 Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 Also, if seven times in one day he sins against you, and seven times he comes to you and says, 'I repent,' you are to forgive him."

5 The emissaries said to the Lord, "Increase our trust."

6 The Lord replied, "If you had trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this fig tree, 'Be uprooted and replanted in the sea!' and it would obey you.

7 If one of you has a slave tending the sheep or plowing, when he comes back from the field, will you say to him, 'Come along now, sit down and eat'?

8 No, you'll say, 'Get my supper ready, dress for work, and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking; after that, you may eat and drink.'

9 Does he thank the slave because he did what he was told to do? No!

10 It's the same with you- when you have done everything you were told to do, you should be saying, 'We're just ordinary slaves, we have only done our duty.'"

11 On his way to Yerushalayim, Yeshua passed along the border country between Shomron and the Galil.

12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara'at met him. They stood at a distance

13 and called out, "Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!"

14 On seeing them, he said, "Go and let the cohanim examine you!" And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God,

16 and fell on his face at Yeshua's feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron.

17 Yeshua said, "Weren't ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

18 Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

19 And to the man from Shomron he said, "Get up, you may go; your trust has saved you."

20 The P'rushim asked Yeshua when the Kingdom of God would come. "The Kingdom of God," he answered, "does not come with visible signs;

21 nor will people be able to say, 'Look! Here it is!' or, 'Over there!' Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you."

22 Then he said to his talmidim, "The time is coming when you will long to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

23 People will say to you, 'Look! Right here!' or, 'See! Over there!' Don't run off, don't follow them,

24 because the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one horizon to the other.

25 But first he must endure horrible suffering and be rejected by this generation.

26 "Also, at the time of the Son of Man, it will be just as it was at the time of Noach.

27 People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot- people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built;

29 but the day Lot left S'dom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

31 On that day, if someone is on the roof with his belongings in his house, he must not go down to take them away. Similarly, if someone is in the field, he must not turn back-

32 remember Lot's wife!

33 Whoever aims at preserving his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will stay alive.

34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed- one will be taken and the other left behind.

35 There will be two women grinding grain together- one will be taken and the other left behind."

36 *

37 They asked him, "Where, Lord?" He answered, "Wherever there's a dead body, that's where the vultures gather."

Luke 18

1 Then Yeshua told his talmidim a parable, in order to impress on them that they must always keep praying and not lose heart.

2 "In a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected other people.

3 There was also in that town a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me a judgment against the man who is trying to ruin me.'

4 For a long time he refused; but after awhile, he said to himself, 'I don't fear God, and I don't respect other people;

5 but because this widow is such a nudnik, I will see to it that she gets justice- otherwise, she'll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!'"

6 Then the Lord commented, "Notice what this corrupt judge says.

7 Now won't God grant justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Is he delaying long over them?

8 I tell you that he will judge in their favor, and quickly! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find this trust on the earth at all?"

9 Also, to some who were relying on their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else, he told this parable:

10 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Parush and the other a tax-collector.

11 The Parush stood and prayed to himself, 'O God! I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity- greedy, dishonest, immoral, or like this tax-collector!

12 I fast twice a week, I pay tithes on my entire income,...'

13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!'

14 I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."

15 People brought him babies to touch; but when the talmidim saw the people doing this, they rebuked them.

16 However, Yeshua called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me, and stop hindering them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

17 Yes! I tell you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it at all!"

18 One of the leaders asked him, "Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?"

19 Yeshua said to him, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good but God!

20 You know the mitzvot- 'Don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't give false testimony, honor your father and mother,...'"

21 He replied, "I have kept all these since I was a boy."

22 On hearing this Yeshua said to him, "There is one thing you still lack. Sell whatever you have, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"

23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.

24 Yeshua looked at him and said, "How hard it is for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!

25 It's easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!"

26 Those who heard this asked, "Then who can be saved?"

27 He said, "What is impossible humanly is possible with God."

28 Kefa said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you."

29 Yeshua answered them, "Yes! I tell you that everyone who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

30 will receive many times as much in the 'olam hazeh, and in the 'olam haba eternal life."

31 Then, taking the Twelve, Yeshua said to them, "We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where everything written through the prophets about the Son of Man will come true.

32 For he will be handed over to the Goyim and be ridiculed, insulted and spat upon.

33 Then, after they have beaten him, they will kill him. But on the third day he will rise."

34 However, they understood none of this; its meaning had been hidden from them, and they had no idea what he was talking about.

35 As Yeshua approached Yericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging.

36 When he heard the crowd going past, he asked what it was all about;

37 and they told him, "Yeshua from Natzeret is passing by."

38 He called out, "Yeshua! Son of David! Have pity on me!"

39 Those in front scolded him in order to get him to shut up, but he shouted all the louder, "Son of David! Have pity on me!"

40 Yeshua stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he had come, Yeshua asked him,

41 "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said, "Lord, let me be able to see."

42 Yeshua said to him, "See again! your trust has healed you!"

43 Instantly he received his sight and began following him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they too praised God.

Luke 19

1 Yeshua entered Yericho and was passing through,

2 when a man named Zakkai appeared who was a chief tax-collector and a wealthy man.

3 He was trying to see who Yeshua was; but, being short, he couldn't, because of the crowd.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed a fig tree in order to see him, for Yeshua was about to pass that way.

5 When he came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zakkai! Hurry! Come down, because I have to stay at your house today!"

6 He climbed down as fast as he could and welcomed Yeshua joyfully.

7 Everyone who saw it began muttering, "He has gone to be the house-guest of a sinner."

8 But Zakkai stood there and said to the Lord, "Here, Lord, I am giving half of all I own to the poor; and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much."

9 Yeshua said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, inasmuch as this man too is a son of Avraham.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."

11 While they were listening to this, Yeshua went on to tell a parable, because he was near Yerushalayim, and the people supposed that the Kingdom of God was about to appear at any moment.

12 Therefore he said, "A nobleman went to a country far away to have himself crowned king and then return.

13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten manim [a maneh is about three months' wages] and said to them, 'Do business with this while I'm away.'

14 But his countrymen hated him, and they sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to rule over us.'

15 "However, he returned, having been made king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned in his business dealings.

16 The first one came in and said, 'Sir, your maneh has earned ten more manim.'

17 'Excellent!' he said to him. 'You are a good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in a small matter, I am putting you in charge of ten towns.'

18 The second one came and said, 'Sir, your maneh has earned five more manim;

19 and to this one he said, 'You be in charge of five towns.'

20 "Then another one came and said, 'Sir, here is your maneh. I kept it hidden in a piece of cloth,

21 because I was afraid of you- you take out what you didn't put in, and you harvest what you didn't plant.'

22 To him the master said, 'You wicked servant! I will judge you by your own words! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, taking out what I didn't put in and harvesting what I didn't plant?

23 Then why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then, when I returned, I would have gotten it back with interest!'

24 To those standing by, he said, 'Take the maneh from him and give it to the one with ten manim.'

25 They said to him, 'Sir, he already has ten manim!'

26 But the master answered, 'I tell you, everyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.

27 However, as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence!'"

28 After saying this, Yeshua went on and began the ascent to Yerushalayim.

29 As he approached Beit-Pagei and Beit-Anyah, by the Mount of Olives, he sent two talmidim,

30 instructing them, "Go into the village ahead; on entering it, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

31 If anyone asks why you are untying it, tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"

32 Those who were sent went off and found it just as he had told them.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

34 and they said, "Because the Lord needs it."

35 They brought it to Yeshua; and, throwing their robes on the colt, they put Yeshua on it.

36 As he went along, people carpeted the road with their clothing;

37 and as he came near Yerushalayim, where the road descends from the Mount of Olives, the entire band of talmidim began to sing and praise God at the top of their voices for all the powerful works they had seen:

38 "Blessed is the King who is coming in the name of ADONAI!" "Shalom in heaven!" and "Glory in the highest places!"

39 Some of the P'rushim in the crowd said to him, "Rabbi! Reprimand your talmidim!"

40 But he answered them, "I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones will shout!"

41 When Yeshua had come closer and could see the city, he wept over it,

42 saying, "If you only knew today what is needed for shalom! But for now it is hidden from your sight.

43 For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you, encircle you, hem you in on every side,

44 and dash you to the ground, you and your children within your walls, leaving not one stone standing on another- and all because you did not recognize your opportunity when God offered it!"

45 Then Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and began driving out those doing business there,

46 saying to them, "The Tanakh says, 'My House is to be a house of prayer,' but you have made it into a den of robbers!"

47 Every day he taught at the Temple. The head cohanim, the Torah-teachers and the leaders of the people tried to find a way of putting an end to him;

48 but they couldn't find any way of doing it, because all the people were hanging onto his every word.

Luke 20

1 One day, as Yeshua was teaching the people at the Temple, making known the Good News, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers, along with the elders, came up to him

2 and said, "Tell us, what s'mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s'mikhah?"

3 He answered, "I too will ask you a question. Tell me,

4 the immersion of Yochanan- was it from Heaven or from a human source?"

5 They discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From Heaven,' he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'

6 But if we say, 'From a human source,' all the people will stone us, because they're convinced that Yochanan was a prophet."

7 So they answered, "We don't know where it came from."

8 Yeshua said to them, "Then I won't tell you by what s'mikhah I do these things."

9 Next Yeshua told the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to tenant-farmers and went away for a long time.

10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the crop from the vineyard; but the tenants beat him up and sent him away empty-handed.

11 He sent another servant; they beat him too, insulted him and sent him away empty-handed.

12 He sent yet a third; this one they wounded and threw out.

13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my son, whom I love; maybe they will respect him.'

14 But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir; let's kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours!'

15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

16 He will come and put an end to those tenants and give the vineyard to others!" When the people heard this, they said, "Heaven forbid!"

17 But Yeshua looked searchingly at them and said, "Then what is this which is written in the Tanakh, 'The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?

18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!"

19 The Torah-teachers and the head cohanim would have seized him at that very moment, because they knew that he had aimed this parable at them, but they were afraid of the people.

20 So they kept a close watch on the situation. They sent spies who hypocritically represented themselves as righteous, so that they might seize hold of something Yeshua said, as an excuse to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.

21 They put to him this sh'eilah: "Rabbi, we know that you speak and teach straightforwardly, showing no partiality but really teaching what God's way is.

22 Does Torah permit us to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?"

23 But he, spotting their craftiness, said to them,

24 "Show me a denarius! Whose name and picture does it have?" "The Emperor's," they replied.

25 "Then," he said to them, "give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give God what belongs to God!"

26 They were unable to trap him by anything he said publicly; indeed, amazed at his answer, they fell silent.

27 Some Tz'dukim, who say there is no resurrection, came to Yeshua

28 and put to him a sh'eilah: "Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man's family line.

29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless,

30 then the second

31 and third took her, and likewise all seven, but they all died without leaving children.

32 Lastly, the woman also died.

33 In the Resurrection, which one's wife will she be? For all seven were married to her."

34 Yeshua said to them, "In this age, men and women marry;

35 but those judged worthy of the age to come, and of resurrection from the dead, do not get married,

36 because they can no longer die. Being children of the Resurrection, they are like angels; indeed, they are children of God.

37 "But even Moshe showed that the dead are raised; for in the passage about the bush, he calls ADONAI 'the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov.'

38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living- to him all are alive."

39 Some of the Torah-teachers answered, "Well spoken, Rabbi."

40 For they no longer dared put to him a sh'eilah.

41 But he said to them, "How is it that people say the Messiah is David's son?"

42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

43 'ADONAI said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."'

44 David thus calls him 'Lord.' So how can he be David's son?"

45 Within the hearing of all the people, Yeshua said to his talmidim,

46 "Watch out for the kind of Torah-teachers that like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces, the kind that like to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,

47 the kind that swallow up widows' houses while making a show of davvening at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!"

Luke 21

1 Then Yeshua looked up, and as he watched the rich placing their gifts into the Temple offering-boxes,

2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small coins.

3 He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

4 For they, out of their wealth, have contributed money they could easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given all she had to live on."

5 As some people were remarking about the Temple, how beautiful its stonework and memorial decorations were, he said,

6 "The time is coming when what you see here will be totally destroyed- not a single stone will be left standing!"

7 They asked him, "Rabbi, if this is so, when will these events take place? And what sign will show that they are about to happen?"

8 He answered, "Watch out! Don't be fooled! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time has come!' Don't go after them.

9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, don't panic. For these things must happen first, but the end will not follow immediately."

10 Then he told them, "Peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other,

11 there will be great earthquakes, there will be epidemics and famines in various places, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from Heaven.

12 But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons; and you will be brought before kings and governors. This will all be on account of me,

13 but it will prove an opportunity for you to bear witness.

14 So make up your minds not to worry, rehearsing your defense beforehand;

15 for I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no adversary will be able to resist or refute.

16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends; some of you they will have put to death;

17 and everyone will hate you because of me.

18 But not a hair of your head will be lost.

19 By standing firm you will save your lives.

20 "However, when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then you are to understand that she is about to be destroyed.

21 Those in Y'hudah must escape to the hills, those inside the city must get out, and those in the country must not enter it.

22 For these are the days of vengeance, when everything that has been written in the Tanakh will come true.

23 What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress in the Land and judgment on the people.

24 Some will fall by the edge of the sword, others will be carried into all the countries of the Goyim, and Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the Goyim until the age of the Goyim has run its course.

25 "There will appear signs in the sun, moon and stars; and on earth, nations will be in anxiety and bewilderment at the sound and surge of the sea,

26 as people faint with fear at the prospect of what is overtaking the world; for the powers in heaven will be shaken.

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with tremendous power and glory.

28 When these things start to happen, stand up and hold your heads high; because you are about to be liberated!"

29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, Indeed, all the trees.

30 As soon as they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves that summer is near.

31 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you are to know that the Kingdom of God is near!

32 Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before it has all happened.

33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

34 "But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap!

35 For it will close in on everyone, no matter where they live, throughout the whole world.

36 Stay alert, always praying that you will have the strength to escape all the things that will happen and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."

37 Yeshua spent his days at the Temple, teaching; while at night he went out and stayed on the hill called the Mount of Olives.

38 All the people would rise with the dawn to come and hear him at the Temple courts.

Luke 22

1 But the festival of Matzah, known as Pesach, was approaching;

2 and the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers began trying to find some way to get rid of Yeshua, because they were afraid of the people.

3 At this point the Adversary went into Y'hudah from K'riot, who was one of the Twelve.

4 He approached the head cohanim and the Temple guard and discussed with them how he might turn Yeshua over to them.

5 They were pleased and offered to pay him money.

6 He agreed and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Yeshua without the people's knowledge.

7 Then came the day of matzah, on which the Passover lamb had to be killed.

8 Yeshua sent Kefa and Yochanan, instructing them, "Go and prepare our Seder, so we can eat."

9 They asked him, "Where do you want us to prepare it?"

10 He told them, "As you're going into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters,

11 and say to its owner, 'The Rabbi says to you, "Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the Pesach meal with my talmidim?"'

12 He will show you a large room upstairs already furnished; make the preparations there."

13 They went and found things just as Yeshua had told them they would be, and they prepared for the Seder.

14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table,

15 and he said to them, "I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die!

16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God."

17 Then, taking a cup of wine, he made the b'rakhah and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves.

18 For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the 'fruit of the vine' until the Kingdom of God comes."

19 Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b'rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, "This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me."

20 He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, "This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.

21 "But look! The person who is betraying me is here at the table with me!

22 The Son of Man is going to his death according to God's plan, but woe to that man by whom he is being betrayed!"

23 They began asking each other which of them could be about to do such a thing.

24 An argument arose among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

25 But Yeshua said to them, "The kings of the Goyim lord it over them; and those in authority over them are given the title, 'Benefactor.'

26 But not so with you! On the contrary, let the greater among you become like the younger, and one who rules like one who serves.

27 For who is greater? The one reclining at the table? or the one who serves? It's the one reclining at the table, isn't it? But I myself am among you like one who serves.

28 "You are the ones who have stayed with me throughout my trials.

29 Just as my Father gave me the right to rule, so I give you an appointment,

30 namely, to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Isra'el.

31 "Shim'on, Shim'on, listen! The Adversary demanded to have you people for himself, to sift you like wheat!

32 But I prayed for you, Shim'on, that your trust might not fail. And you, once you have turned back in repentance, strengthen your brothers!"

33 Shim'on said to him, "Lord, I am prepared to go with you both to prison and to death!"

34 Yeshua replied, "I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me."

35 He said to them, "When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.

36 "But now," he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don't have a sword, sell your robe to buy one.

37 For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, 'He was counted with transgressors,' has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose."

38 They said, "Look, Lord, there are two swords right here!" "Enough!" he replied.

39 On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives; and the talmidim followed him.

40 When he arrived, he said to them, "Pray that you won't be put to the test."

41 He went about a stone's throw away from them, kneeled down and prayed,

42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, let not my will but yours be done."

43 There appeared to him an angel from heaven giving him strength,

44 and in great anguish he prayed more intensely, so that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

45 On rising from prayer and coming to the talmidim, he found them sleeping because of their grief.

46 He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you won't be put to the test!"

47 While he was still speaking, a crowd of people arrived, with the man called Y'hudah (one of the Twelve!) leading them. He came up to Yeshua to kiss him,

48 but Yeshua said to him, "Y'hudah, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

49 When his followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we use our swords?"

50 One of them struck at the slave of the cohen hagadol and cut off his right ear.

51 But Yeshua answered, "Just let me do this," and, touching the man's ear, he healed him.

52 Then Yeshua said to the head cohanim, the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come to seize him, "So you came out just as you would to the leader of a rebellion, with swords and clubs?

53 Every day I was there with you in the Temple court, yet you didn't arrest me. But this is your hour- the hour when darkness rules."

54 Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the cohen hagadol. Kefa followed at a distance;

55 but when they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Kefa joined them.

56 One of the servant girls saw him sitting in the light of the fire, stared at him and said, "This man also was with him."

57 But he denied it: "Lady, I don't even know him."

58 A little later, someone else saw him and said, "You're one of them too"; but Kefa said, "Man, I am not!"

59 About an hour later, another man asserted emphatically, "There can be no doubt that this fellow was with him, because he too is from the Galil!"

60 But Kefa said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" And instantly, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Kefa; and Kefa remembered what the Lord had said, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."

62 And he went outside and cried bitterly.

63 Meanwhile, the men who were holding Yeshua made fun of him. They beat him,

64 blindfolded him, and kept asking him, "Now, 'prophesy'! Who hit you that time?"

65 And they said many other insulting things to him.

66 At daybreak, the people's council of elders, including both head cohanim and Torah-teachers, met and led him off to their Sanhedrin,

67 where they said, "If you are the Mashiach, tell us." He answered, "If I tell you, you won't believe me;

68 and if I ask you, you won't answer.

69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be sitting at the right hand of HaG'vurah,"

70 They all said, "Does this mean, then, that you are the Son of God?" And he answered them, "You say I am."

71 They said, "Why do we need additional testimony? We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!"

Luke 23

1 With that, the whole Sanhedrin got up and brought Yeshua before Pilate,

2 where they started accusing him. "We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah- a king!"

3 Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And he answered him, "The words are yours."

4 Pilate said to the head cohanim and the crowds, "I find no ground for a charge against this man."

5 But they persisted. "He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Y'hudah- he started in the Galil, and now he's here!"

6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was from the Galil;

7 and when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who at that time happened to be in Yerushalayim too.

8 Herod was delighted to see Yeshua, because he had heard about him and for a long time had been wanting to meet him; indeed, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.

9 He questioned him at great length, but Yeshua made no reply.

10 However, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers stood there, vehemently pressing their case against him.

11 Herod and his soldiers treated Yeshua with contempt and made fun of him. Then, dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.

12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; previously they had been enemies.

13 Pilate summoned the head cohanim, the leaders and the people,

14 and said to them, "You brought this man before me on a charge of subverting the people. I examined him in your presence and did not find the man guilty of the crime you are accusing him of.

15 And neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, he has not done anything that merits the death penalty.

16 Therefore, what I will do is have him flogged and release him."

17 *

18 But with one voice they shouted, "Away with this man! Give us Bar-Abba!"

19 (He was a man who had been thrown in prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.)

20 Pilate appealed to them again, because he wanted to release Yeshua.

21 But they yelled, "Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!"

22 A third time he asked them, "But what has this man done wrong? I haven't found any reason to put him to death. So I'm going to have him flogged and set free."

23 But they went on yelling insistently, demanding that he be executed on the stake; and their shouting prevailed.

24 Pilate decided to grant their demand;

25 he released the man who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder, the one they had asked for; and Yeshua he surrendered to their will.

26 As the Roman soldiers led Yeshua away, they grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Shim'on, who was on his way in from the country. They put the execution-stake on his back and made him carry it behind Yeshua.

27 Large numbers of people followed, including women crying and wailing over him.

28 Yeshua turned to them and said, "Daughters of Yerushalayim, don't cry for me; cry for yourselves and your children!

29 For the time is coming when people will say, 'The childless women are the lucky ones- those whose wombs have never borne a child, whose breasts have never nursed a baby!

30 Then They will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'

31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what is going to happen when it's dry?"

32 Two other men, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him.

33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to a stake; and they nailed the criminals to stakes, one on the right and one on the left.

34 Yeshua said, "Father, forgive them; they don't understand what they are doing." They divided up his clothes by throwing dice.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him. "He saved others," they said, "so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!"

36 The soldiers too ridiculed him; they came up, offered him vinegar

37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!"

38 And there was a notice over him which read, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

40 But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same punishment as he is.

41 Ours is only fair; we're getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong."

42 Then he said, "Yeshua, remember me when you come as King."

43 Yeshua said to him, "Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-'Eden."

44 It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole Land until three o'clock in the afternoon;

45 the sun did not shine. Also the parokhet in the Temple was split down the middle.

46 Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit." With these words he gave up his spirit.

47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, "Surely this man was innocent!"

48 And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts.

49 All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.

50 There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik;

51 and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin's motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God.

52 This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua's body.

53 He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.

54 It was Preparation Day, and a Shabbat was about to begin.

55 The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it.

56 Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments. On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;

Luke 24

1 but the next day, while it was still very early, they took the spices they had prepared, went to the tomb,

2 and found the stone rolled away from the tomb!

3 On entering, they discovered that the body of the Lord Yeshua was gone!

4 They were standing there, not knowing what to think about it, when suddenly two men in dazzlingly bright clothing stood next to them.

5 Terror-stricken, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. The two men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?

6 He is not here; he has been raised. Remember how he told you while he was still in the Galil,

7 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be executed on a stake as a criminal, but on the third day be raised again'?"

8 Then they remembered his words;

9 and, returning from the tomb, they told everything to the Eleven and to all the rest.

10 The women who told the emissaries these things were Miryam of Magdala, Yochanah, Miryam the mother of Ya'akov, and the others in their circle.

11 But the emissaries didn't believe them; in fact, they thought that what they said was utter nonsense!

12 However, Kefa got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw only the burial cloths and went home wondering what had happened.

13 That same day, two of them were going toward a village about seven miles from Yerushalayim called Amma'us,

14 and they were talking with each other about all the things that had happened.

15 As they talked and discussed, Yeshua himself came up and walked along with them,

16 but something kept them from recognizing him.

17 He asked them, "What are you talking about with each other as you walk along?" They stopped short, their faces downcast;

18 and one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only person staying in Yerushalayim that doesn't know the things that have been going on there the last few days?"

19 "What things?" he asked them. They said to him, "The things about Yeshua from Natzeret. He was a prophet and proved it by the things he did and said before God and all the people.

20 Our head cohanim and our leaders handed him over, so that he could be sentenced to death and executed on a stake as a criminal.

21 And we had hoped that he would be the one to liberate Isra'el! Besides all that, today is the third day since these things happened;

22 and this morning, some of the women astounded us. They were at the tomb early

23 and couldn't find his body, so they came back; but they also reported that they had seen a vision of angels who say he's alive!

24 Some of our friends went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they didn't see him."

25 He said to them, "Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke!

26 Didn't the Messiah have to die like this before entering his glory?"

27 Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh concerning himself.

28 They approached the village where they were going. He made as if he were going on farther;

29 but they held him back, saying, "Stay with us, for it's almost evening, and it's getting dark." So he went in to stay with them.

30 As he was reclining with them at the table, he took the matzah, made the b'rakhah, broke it and handed it to them.

31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he became invisible to them.

32 They said to each other, "Didn't our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the Tanakh to us?"

33 They got up at once, returned to Yerushalayim and found the Eleven gathered together with their friends,

34 saying, "It's true! The Lord has risen! Shim'on saw him!"

35 Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the matzah.

36 They were still talking about it when- there he was, standing among them!

37 Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost.

38 But he said to them, "Why are you so upset? Why are these doubts welling up inside you?

39 Look at my hands and my feet- it is I, myself! Touch me and see- a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see I do."

40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

41 While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, "Have you something here to eat?"

42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

43 which he took and ate in their presence.

44 Yeshua said to them, "This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled."

45 Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh,

46 telling them, "Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day;

47 and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim.

48 You are witnesses of these things.

49 Now I am sending forth upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been equipped with power from above."

50 He led them out toward Beit-Anyah; then, raising his hands, he said a b'rakhah over them;

51 and as he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.

52 They bowed in worship to him, then returned to Yerushalayim, overflowing with joy.

53 And they spent all their time in the Temple courts, praising God.