“A ·voice [cry; sound] was heard in Ramah [^Cthe sending point from which the Jews went into exile to Babylon; Jer. 40:1] ·of painful crying [weeping] and ·deep sadness [great mourning/lamentation]: Rachel ·crying [weeping] for her children. She refused to be comforted, because ·her children are dead [^Lthey are no more; Jer. 31:15].”

The ax ·is now ready to cut down [already lies at the root of] the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire [^Ca metaphor for judgment].

·He will come ready [^LThe winnowing fork is in his hand] to clean the grain, ·separating the good grain from the chaff [^Lto clear his threshing floor]. He will put ·the good part of the grain [^Lthe grain/wheat] into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with ·a fire that cannot be put out [never-ending/unquenchable fire; ^Ca metaphor for judgment, when Jesus will separate the righteous from the wicked].”

The Temptation of Jesus

Then the Spirit led Jesus [^Lup; out] into the ·desert [wilderness] to be tempted [or tested] by the devil.

The ·devil came to Jesus to tempt him [^Ltempter/tester came to Jesus], saying, “If you are the Son of God, ·tell [command] these rocks to ·become bread [turn into loaves].”

As Jesus was walking by ·Lake Galilee [^Tthe Sea of Galilee], he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were ·throwing [casting] a net into the lake because they were fishermen.

But I tell you, ·if you are [^Leveryone who is] angry with a brother or sister, you will be ·judged [subject to judgment]. ·If you say [^LWhoever says] ·bad things [“Fool!”; ^LRaca; ^Can Aramaic term of derision] to a brother or sister, you will be ·judged [subject/liable to judgment] by the ·council [Sanhedrin]. And if you call someone a ·fool [idiot; moron], you will be in danger of the fire of ·hell [^LGehenna; ^Ca valley outside of Jerusalem where in the OT period children were sacrificed to a pagan god; later used as a burning trash heap; a metaphor for hell].

If your right eye causes you to ·sin [^Lstumble], ·take [tear; gouge] it out and throw it away. [^LFor] It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into ·hell [^LGehenna; v. 22].

If your right hand causes you to ·sin [^Lstumble], cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into ·hell [^LGehenna; v. 22].

When you pray, you should go into your [private; inner] room and close the door and pray to your Father ·who cannot be seen [or who is in that secret place; or secretly; in private]. Your Father can see what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.

And ·do not cause us to be tempted [^Tlead us not into temptation; or do not put us to the test], but ·save [rescue; deliver] us from ·the Evil One [or evil].’ |The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.|

·Look at [Consider; Think of] the birds in the air. They don’t ·plant [sow] or ·harvest [reap] or ·store food in [gather into] barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And ·you know that you are [^Laren’t you…?] worth much more than the birds.

·God clothes [^LIf God clothes…?] the ·grass [wildflower] in the field, which is ·alive [here] today but tomorrow is thrown into the ·fire [^Lfurnace; oven]. ·So you can be even more sure that God will [Will he not much more…?] clothe you. ·Don’t have so little faith [or How little faith you have; ^TYou of little faith]!

The Way to Heaven Is Hard

“Enter through the narrow gate. [^LBecause] The gate is wide and the road is ·wide [broad; spacious; or easy] that leads to ·hell [^Ldestruction; ruin], and many people enter through that gate.

Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The officer answered, “Lord [or Sir], I ·am not worthy [do not deserve] for you to come into my house. You only need to ·command it [^Lsay the word], and my servant will be healed.

But ·those people who should be in [the heirs of; or the subjects of; ^Lthe sons of] the kingdom will be thrown ·outside into the darkness [into the outer darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [^Lthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; ^Cmetaphors for agony and torment].”

Jesus Calms a Storm

Jesus got into a boat, and his ·followers [disciples] ·went with [^Lfollowed] him.

The demons begged Jesus, “If you ·make us leave these men [^Ldrive/cast us out], please send us into that herd of pigs [^Critually unclean animals].”

Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons ·left [came out of] the men and went into the pigs. Then [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the whole herd rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the ·lake [sea] and ·were drowned [^Ldied in the waters].

The herdsmen ·ran away [fled] and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the ·men who had demons [demon-possessed men; demoniacs].

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

Jesus got into a boat and went back across the ·lake [sea] to his own town.

Also, people never pour new wine into old ·leather bags [wineskins]. Otherwise, the ·bags [wineskins] will ·break [burst; ^Cbecause the fermenting wine expands], the wine will spill, and the ·wine bags [wineskins] will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into ·new [fresh] ·wine bags [wineskins]. Then both ·will continue to be good [are preserved].”

Jesus continued along with the ·leader [ruler; official] and went into his house. There he saw the ·funeral musicians [^Lpipe/flute players] and ·many people crying [a noisy crowd].

After the crowd had been ·thrown [sent; put] out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she ·stood up [arose].