The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven^(A)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,^(B) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.^{(C) 4} Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.^{(D) 5} And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.^(E)

Causing to Stumble

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.^{(F) 7} Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!^{(G) 8} If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,^(H) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble,^(I) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.^(J)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep^(K)

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels^(L) in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ^[11] [a]

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dealing With Sin in the Church

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault,^(M) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[d](N) 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;^(O) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.^(P)

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be^[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[f] loosed in heaven.^(Q)

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them^(R) by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”^(S)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?^(T) Up to seven times?”^(U)

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[g](V)

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like^(W) a king who wanted to settle accounts^(X) with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[h] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay,^(Y) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold^(Z) to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.^(AA) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”^(AB)

Divorce^(AC)

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,^(AD) he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them^(AE) there.

³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife^(AF) for any and every reason?”

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’^{[j](AG) 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’^[k]?^{(AH) 6} So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷ “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”^(AI)

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”^(AJ)

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.^{(AK) 12} For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

The Little Children and Jesus^(AL)

¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them^(AM) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs^(AN) to such as these.”^{(AO) 15} When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God^(AP)

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life^(AQ)?”^(AR)

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”^(AS)

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,^(AT) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[l](AU) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[m]”^(AV)

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,^(AW) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,^(AX) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(AY) Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich^(AZ) to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”^(BA)

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!^(BB) What then will there be for us?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,^(BC) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.^{(BD) 29} And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[n] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.^{(BE) 30} But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.^(BF)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy^(A)(B)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law^(C) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^(D)

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see:^(E) They make their phylacteries^[a](F) wide and the tassels on their garments^(G) long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^{(H) 7} they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.^(I)

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(J) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(K) 12} For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(L)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(M) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(N) [14] [b]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(O) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(P) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(Q) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(R) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(S) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(T) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(U) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(V)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(W) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(X) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(Y) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(Z) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(AA) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(AB) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(AC) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(AD) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(AE) what your ancestors started!^(AF)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(AG) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^{(AH) 34} Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(AI) others you will flog in your synagogues^(AJ) and pursue from town to town.^{(AK) 35} And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(AL) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(AM) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(AN) 36} Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(AO)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(AP) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(AQ) and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.^{(AR) 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[c]”^(AS)

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times^(AT)

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;^(AU) every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^(AV) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming^(AW) and of the end of the age?”^(AX)

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.^{(AY) 5} For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.^{(AZ) 6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^(BA) There will be famines^(BB) and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted^(BC) and put to death,^(BD) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.^{(BE) 10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets^(BF) will appear and deceive many people.^{(BG) 12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^{(BH) 14} And this gospel of the kingdom^(BI) will be preached in the whole world^(BJ) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place^(BK) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^[d](BL) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop^(BM) go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{(BN) 20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.^(BO)

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect^(BP) those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^{(BQ) 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^(BR) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning^(BS) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming^(BT) of the Son of Man.^{(BU) 28} Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.^(BV)

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[f] will mourn^(BX) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,^(BY) with power and great glory.^{[g] 31} And he will send his angels^(BZ) with a loud trumpet call,^(CA) and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[h] is near, right at the door.^{(CB) 34} Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.^{(CC) 35} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^(CD)

The Day and Hour Unknown^(CE)(CF)

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[i] but only the Father.^{(CG) 37} As it was in the days of Noah,^(CH) so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,^(CI) up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.^{(CJ) 40} Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.^{(CK) 41} Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.^(CL)

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.^{(CM) 43} But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,^(CN) he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready,^(CO) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,^(CP) whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.^{(CQ) 47} Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.^{(CR) 48} But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.^{(CS) 50} The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(CT)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like^(CU) ten virgins who took their lamps^(CV) and went out to meet the bridegroom.^{(CW) 2} Five of them were foolish and five were wise.^{(CX) 3} The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.^(CY)

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’^(CZ)

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.^(DA) And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’^(DB)

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.^(DC)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold^(DD)

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,^(DE) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[j] each according to his ability.^(DF) Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.^{(DG) 20} The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(DH) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(DI) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(DJ) 30} And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(DK)

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes^(DL) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.^{(DM) 32} All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate^(DN) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.^{(DO) 33} He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom^(DP) prepared for you since the creation of the world.^{(DQ) 35} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,^{(DR) 36} I needed clothes and you clothed me,^(DS) I was sick and you looked after me,^(DT) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’^(DU)

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’^(DV)

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,^(DW) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire^(DX) prepared for the devil and his angels.^{(DY) 42} For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’^(DZ)

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.^(EA)”^(EB)

The Plot Against Jesus^(EC)

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,^(ED) he said to his disciples, ² “As you know, the Passover^(EE) is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled^(EF) in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,^{(EG) 4} and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.^{(EH) 5} “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot^(EI) among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany^(EJ)(EK)

⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany^(EL) in the home of Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹ “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you,^[k](EM) but you will not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.^{(EN) 13} Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus^(EO)

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot^(EP)—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.^{(EQ) 16} From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper^(ER)(ES)(ET)

¹⁷ On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(EU) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”^(EV)

¹⁸ He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time^(EW) is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

²⁰ When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”^(EX)

²² They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

²³ Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.^{(EY) 24} The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.^(EZ) But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵ Then Judas, the one who would betray him,^(FA) said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”^(FB)

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it^(FC) and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup,^(FD) and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the^[l] covenant,^(FE) which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.^{(FF) 29} I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you^(FG) in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.^(FH)

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(FI)

³¹ Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,^(FJ) for it is written:

³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”^(FL)

³³ Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”^(FM)

³⁵ But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you,^(FN) I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

Gethsemane^(FO)

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee^(FP) along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow^(FQ) to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”^(FR)

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup^(FS) be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”^(FT)

⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me^(FU) for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.^(FV) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”^(FW)

⁴³ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour^(FX) has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus Arrested^(FY)

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas,^(FZ) one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!”^(GA) and kissed him.