Matthew 17-19

English Standard Version Anglicised

The Transfiguration

17 ^(A)And after six days Jesus took with him ^(B)Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was ^(C)transfigured before them, and ^(D)his face shone like the sun, and ^(E)his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^(F)Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, ^(G)a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^(H)a voice from the cloud said, ^(I)“This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased; ^(J)listen to him.” ⁶ When ^(K)the disciples heard this, ^(L)they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and ^(M)touched them, saying, “Rise, and ^(N)have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

^9 (O)And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^(P)“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^(Q)that first Elijah must come?” ¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^(R)he will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^(S)did to him whatever they pleased. ^(T)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ^13 (U)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

^14 (V)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵ said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is ^(W)an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to your disciples, and ^(X)they could not heal him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^(Y)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^(Z)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus ^(AA)rebuked the demon,^[b] and it^[c] came out of him, and ^(AB)the boy was healed instantly.^{[d] 19} Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, ^(AC)“Because of your little faith. For ^(AD)truly, I say to you, ^(AE)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^(AF)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and ^(AG)nothing will be impossible for you.”^[e]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22 (AH)As they were gathering^[f] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(AI)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24 (AJ)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(AK)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(AL)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(AM)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ And when he said, “From others”, Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ However, not to give offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[g] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(AN)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^(AO)turn and ^(AP)become like children, you ^(AQ)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4 (AR)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the ^(AS)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5 (AT)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶ but ^(AU)whoever causes one of these ^(AV)little ones who believe in me to sin,^[h] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷ “Woe to the world for ^(AW)temptations to sin!^{[i] (AX)}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^(AY)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8 (AZ)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^(BA)the eternal fire. ^9 (BB)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^(BC)hell^[j] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise ^(BD)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^(BE)their angels always ^(BF)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{[k] 12 (BG)}What do you think? ^(BH)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So ^(BI)it is not the will of my^[l] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15 (BJ)“If your brother sins against you, ^(BK)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^(BL)gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^(BM)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(BN)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(BO)let him be to you as ^(BP)a Gentile and ^(BQ)a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, ^(BR)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[m] in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you ^(BS)agree on earth about anything they ask, ^(BT)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are ^(BU)gathered in my name, ^(BV)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^(BW)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(BX)As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.^[n]

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^(BY)to settle accounts with his servants.^{[o] 24} When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^(BZ)ten thousand ^(CA)talents.^{[p] 25 (CB)}And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^(CC)to be sold, with his wife and ^(CD)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant^{[q] (CE)}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^(CF)forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^(CG)denarii,^[r] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 (CH)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ^34 (CI)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{[s] (CJ)}until he should pay all his debt. ^35 (CK)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^(CL)from your heart.”

Teaching About Divorce

19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ^(CM)Galilee and ^(CN)entered ^(CO)the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And ^(CP)large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ And Pharisees came up to him and ^(CQ)tested him by asking, ^(CR)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” ⁴ He answered, ^(CS)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ^(CT)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(CU)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^(CV)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to him, ^(CW)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Because of your ^(CX)hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (CY)And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”^[t]

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But he said to them, ^(CZ)“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^(DA)those to ^(DB)whom it is given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^(DC)for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13 (DD)Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^(DE)rebuked the people, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, ^(DF)“Let the little children ^(DG)come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

^16 (DH)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^(DI)have ^(DJ)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^(DK)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(DL)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honour your father and mother, and, ^(DM)You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, ^(DN)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^(DO)perfect, go, ^(DP)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(DQ)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22 (DR)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^(DS)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24 (DT)Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(DU)the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus ^(DV)looked at them and said, ^(DW)“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷ Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^(DX)we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{[u] (DY)}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^(DZ)will also sit on twelve thrones, ^(EA)judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29 (EB)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold^[v] and will ^(EC)inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But ^(ED)many who are ^(EE)first will be last, and the last first.