The Easy Study Bible: The Gospels

By Trennis Killian

Now there is a Bible translation that is easy to read, understand, and study.

This translation is unique in that it is arranged in a diagram form, which allows for easy identification of each of the points being made in any passage.

Good for Bible Study, sermon preparation, or just easy reading for understanding the Bible.

The entire New Testament has now been released.

Look for the rest of the New Testament books or the whole New Testament in one volume.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trennis E. Killian
• Release date: Jul 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466030640

Trennis Killian

Trennis E. Killian has been an Army Medic, high school English teacher, pastor, hospital chaplain, crisis counselor, police chaplain, and pastoral counselor. All of these occupations have helped him to understand how men and women build and keep relationships. He also knows how they repair or destroy those relationships. He has also observed how people interact in all kinds of situations. They also give him firsthand knowledge of how people live and act within each of those types of situations. He writes in all of the following areas: Bible study, Self-Help, Crisis Preparation, and Christian oriented novels. To be able to write so many different kinds of books, he has spent years of intensive study of Greek, an earned doctorate in counseling, and worked in many different occupations. He writes all of his novels under the name T. E. Killian. Because of his varied education and experience, his characters take on the characteristics and personalities of people who work in all of the occupations he knows so well. Having been in many crisis situations over the past thirty plus years, he can write about them realistically. He and his wife, Ann, live in Black Canyon City, Arizona, where he writes fulltime.

Book preview

The Easy Study Bible translation, is the result of my twenty-six years in the Gospel Ministry, and from being a high school English teacher before that.

Many times over my early years as a pastor, I would grow frustrated in my efforts to teach the Bible for understanding to church members who didn't understand the basics of Hebrew and Greek. True, some passages jump out at anyone reading them, no matter which translation they use. My goal has always been that all who read the Bible would not only understand it the way God intended for them to, but also to be able to apply each truth to their lives. That, I think, takes greater understanding.

When I began teaching a Pastor's Sunday School Class in the early 1990s, I searched for a way to help my class understand better. I felt this was important since the class started out as a New Members Class. Too many new Christians become frustrated at their first attempts to study the Bible.

Well, the answer came to me from my English teacher background. Do you remember when you had to diagram sentences in your English classes? Please don't run away screaming yet! I know. They were usually painful experiences. I felt the same way when I was a student.

If you can get past the painful memories, please think about the finished product. Once you diagramed a long complicated sentence, it became much more clear to you. You could understand what was modifying what, and what the action was and what or who was causing it. In other words, it made the sentence much more understandable.

That is what I began to do with the Bible passages we studied in that class. I took the principles of the sentence diagram and adjusted it to fit verses of the Bible. Immediately, the whole class began to gain a better understanding of each passage we studied.

Over the years since then, I have used this method constantly, not only in small group studies, but also in church Bible studies with great success.

One benefit that I didn't expect is that this method helps tremendously in sermon preparation. When I begin to prepare a sermon, I take the focal passage and diagram it. This allows me to see how the verses naturally (the way I think God intended) fall into separate thoughts. Many times, this process will give me all the points of the outline without trying to make the passage say what it does not say.

Now, let's look at this project. Do we need another translation of the Bible? In a word, No!

I have long admired the Wycliffe Bible Translators whose goal is to translate the Bible into every language of the world so all will have the opportunity to read God's message to them. I've also admired the Gideons International whose goal is to place a Bible in every hand in the world.

My goal is a combination of the goals of the Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Gideons International. I want to take God's word and make it easier for everyone to read and understand.

Now, here is why we need a new translation of the Bible. Simply put, the major Bible publishers do not seem to be interested in a Bible version which is diagramed. Therefore, to avoid infringing on any existing copyrights, I had to start with my own translation.

You will find The Easy Study Bible translation to be as close to literal as possible while still preserving proper English grammatical structure. This is important to me. I find that many of the modern translations, especially ones that are more literal, are clumsy at best and grammatically inaccurate at worst.

James Free!

In order to give everyone an opportunity to sample the Easy Study Bible before purchasing it, the book of James will be available in E-Book version free. It will be available on my webpage, and other online distributors.

The book of James will soon be included in a new release, which will also contain 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

I want to hear from you as you use the Easy Study Bible translation. If you have suggestions, corrections, or any comments, please email me at [e-mail].

How to Use the Easy Study Bible

You may read the Easy Study Bible it the same way you would any other Bible. Each of the releases will have a paragraph version in the back of the book.

The Easy Study Bible is most effective when used as a study tool. This is where the structure of the diagram allows for better understanding of each passage that you study.

I will use James 4:7-8 to illustrate how to do several of the actions that were mentioned in the introduction.

⁷ Therefore,

submit to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw near to God

and He will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands,

sinners,

and purify your hearts

you double-minded.

First, if I were writing a sermon on this passage, I can immediately see the perfect three-point sermon in it.

I. Submit to God

II. Resist the Devil

III. Draw Near to God

Notice how easy that was. Next I would flesh out point II. a little.

II. Resist the Devil

He will flee from you

Next, point III.

III. Draw Near to God

He will draw near to you

How do we do this?

Cleanse our hands

Purify our hearts

You can easily see how to continue from there.

Second, for those who want to get to the full meaning of the passage, they can easily answer the following questions from the diagram:

1. What is the subject of this passage?

Submission to God

2. How do we do this?

Resist the Devil

Draw near to God

3. What will be the result of this action?

The devil will flee from you.

God will draw near to you.

Do you get the idea? It's easy and fun to study the Bible, especially when you understand it better each time you do.

Try it out, and if you discover new and different ways to use the Easy Study Bible, please let me know so I can share them with others.

My webpage will have a whole section devoted to the Easy Study Bible, and one page will be dedicated to reader feedback. There will also be a page of Hints & Tips.

www.trenniskillian.com

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The Easy Study Bible Diagram of Matthew

Chapter One

¹ The record

of the genealogy

of Jesus Christ,

the Son of David,

the Son of Abraham,

From Abraham to David

² Abraham fathered Isaac,

Isaac fathered Jacob,

Jacob fathered Judah

and his brothers.

³ Judah fathered Perez and Zerah

by Tamar,

Perez fathered Hezron,

Hezron fathered Ram.

⁴ Ram fathered Amminadab,

Amminadab fathered Nahshon,

Hahshon fathered Salmon.

⁵ Salmon fathered Boaz

by Rahab,

Boaz fathered Obed

by Ruth,

Obed fathered Jesse.

⁶ Jesse fathered King David.

From David to the Babylonian Exile

David the king

fathered Solomon

by Uriah's wife.

⁷ Solomon fathered Rehoboam,

Rehoboam fathered Abijah,

Abijah fathered Asa.

⁸ Asa fathered Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat fathered Joram,

Jora fathered Uzziah.

⁹ Uzziah fathered Jotham,

Jotham fathered Ahaz,

Ahaz fathered Hezekiah.

¹⁰ Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,

Manasseh fathered Amon,

Amon fathered Josiah.

¹¹ Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers

at the time

of the deportation

to Babylon.

From the Exile to Christ

¹² After the deportation

to Babylon,

Jechoniah fathered Salathiel,

Salathiel fathered Zerubbabel.

¹³ Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,

Abiud fathered Eliakim,

Eliakim fathered Azor.

¹⁴ Azor fathered Zadok,

Zadok fathered Achim,

Achim fathered Eliud.

¹⁵ Eliud fathered Eleazar,

Eleazar fathered Matthan,

Matthan fathered Jacob.

¹⁶ Jacob fathered Joseph

the husband of Mary,

who gave birth to Jesus,

who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations

from Abraham to David

were fourteen,

and from David

until the deportation of Babylon,

fourteen generations,

and from the deportation of Babylon

to the Christ,

fourteen generations.

The Birth of Christ

¹⁸ The birth of Jesus Christ

was as follows:

When Mary,

His mother,

was promised in marriage

to Joseph,

she was found to be with child

by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Joseph,

her husband,

being righteous,

and not willing to disgrace her

thought to send her away secretly.

²⁰ But after he thought about these things,

an angel of the Lord

appeared to him in a dream

saying,

"Joseph, son of David,

do not fear to take Mary as your wife,

for what is in her

has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

²¹ She will bring forth a son

and you will name Him Jesus,

for He will save His people from their sins."

²² Now all this happened to fulfill

what was spoken by the Lord

through the prophet,

²³ "The virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son,

and they will call his name Immanuel,

which is translated,

'God is with us.'"

²⁴ Awakening from sleep,

Joseph did as the angel of the Lord ordered him

and took his wife,

²⁵ but did not know her

until she gave birth to a son.

And he named Him Jesus.

Chapter Two

The Magi

¹ After Jesus was born

in Bethlehem of Judea

in the days of Herod the king,

magi from the east,

arrived in Jerusalem,

² saying,

"where is He

who was born King of the Jews?

For we saw his star in the east

and came to worship Him.

³ When Herod

the King

heard this,

he was troubled,

and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴ Gathering together

all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

he asked them

where the Christ would be born.

⁵ They said to him,

"In Bethlehem of Judea

as it was written by the prophet:

⁶ But you, Bethlehem,

in the land of Judah

are in no wise least among the leaders of Judah,

for out of you

will come a shepherd

who will lead my people Israel."

⁷ Then, Herod

secretly called the magi

and asked them

the exact time the star appeared.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem,

and said,

"Go and search carefully

for the child.

When you have found him,

bring word back to me,

so that I may also come

and worship Him."

⁹ After hearing the king,

they went away,

and the star,

which they saw in the east,

went before them

until it stood over where the young child was.

¹⁰ When they saw the star,

they rejoiced

with exceedingly great joy.

¹¹ Entering the house,

they saw the child with Mary,

His mother,

and they fell down

and worshiped Him.

Then they opened their treasures

and offered Him gifts of

gold,

frankincense,

and myrrh.

¹² Having been warned in a dream

not to return to Herod,

they returned to their country

by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹³ Now, when they had gone,

behold, an angel of the Lord

appeared to Joseph in a dream,

saying,

"Rise.

Take the child with His mother,

flee into Egypt,

and be there until I tell you,

for Herod

is about to seek the child

to destroy Him.

¹⁴ Having risen,

he took the child and His mother

by night

and went into Egypt.

¹⁵ He was there

until the death of Herod,

that what the Lord spoke

through the prophet

might be fulfilled,

Out of Egypt, I called my Son.

Herod Kills the Children

¹⁶ Then Herod,

seeing that he had been tricked by the magi,

was greatly enraged

and he put to death

all the boys in Bethlehem

and in all its borders,

from two years old and under,

according to the time

which he had determined from the magi.

¹⁷ Then

what was spoken

through Jeremiah the prophet

was fulfilled,

¹⁸ "A voice was heard in Ramah

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and would not be comforted,

because they were no more."

The Move to Nazareth

¹⁹ But when Herod died,

behold, an angel of the Lord

appeared in a dream

to Joseph

in Egypt,

²⁰ saying,

"Arise,

take the child and His mother,

and go into the land of Israel,

for those

who sought the child's life

are dead."

²¹ So he rose,

took the child and His mother,

and came into the land of Israel.

²² But when he heard

that Archaelaus ruled over Judea

instead of His father Herod,

he was afraid to go there.

Being divinely warned in a dream,

he withdrew

to the region of Galilee.

²³ He came and lived

in a city called Nazareth

to fulfill

what was spoken through the prophets

that he will be called a Nazarene.

Chapter Three

John the Baptist

¹ Now, in those days,

John the Baptist came,

preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

² saying,

"Repent,

for the kingdom of heaven

has come near."

³ For this is the one spoken of

by Isaiah the prophet,

saying,

"A voice crying in the wilderness,

'Prepare the way of the Lord.

Make His paths straight.'"

⁴ John, himself,

had a garment

made from camel's hair

with a leather belt around his waist,

and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then Jerusalem

was going out to him,

and all Judea

and all the country around the Jordan,

⁶ and they were baptized by him

in the Jordan River,

as they confessed their sins.

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees

coming to his baptism,

he said to them,

"Brood of vipers,

who warned you to flee

from the coming wrath?"

⁸ Therefore,

produce fruit worthy of repentance,

⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves,

'We have Abraham as our father.'

For I say to you

that God is able

to raise up children of Abraham

from these stones.

¹⁰ The ax

is already being applied

to the root of the trees.

Therefore, every tree

not producing good fruit

is cut down

and cast into the fire.

¹¹ I baptize you with water

to repentance,

but the One coming after me

is mightier than I,

I am not fit

to carry His sandals.

He will baptize you

with the Holy Spirit

and with fire.

¹² His winnowing fan

is in His hand,

and He will thoroughly purge

His thrashing floor

and gather His wheat

into the barn.

But he will burn the chaff

with unquenchable fire."

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee

to the Jordan

to John

to be baptized by him.

¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him,

saying,

"I need to be baptized by you,

and you come to me?"

¹⁵ But Jesus answered him,

"Permit it now,

thus it is proper

for us

to fulfill all righteousness."

Then he allowed Him.

¹⁶ After being baptized,

Jesus came up immediately

from the water

and the heavens

were opened

to Him,

and He saw

the Spirit of God

descending as a dove,

and coming upon Him.

¹⁷ A voice from heaven said,

"This is my beloved Son

in whom I have found delight.

Chapter Four

The Temptation of Jesus

¹ Then Jesus was led up

into the wilderness,

by the Spirit,

to be tempted by the devil.

² Having fasted forty days and nights,

He was hungry.

³ The tempter came to Him

and said,

"If you are the Son of God,

command that these stones become loaves.

⁴ But He answered,

"It has been written,

'Man shall not live on bread alone,

but by every word

that comes out of the mouth of God."

⁵ Then the devil took Him to the holy city,

and stood him

on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶ and said to Him,

"If you are the Son of God,

cast yourself down.

For it is written,

'He will order His angels concerning you,

and they shall bear you up in their hands

lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

⁷ Jesus said to him,

"Again, it has been written,

'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

⁸ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain

and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world

and their glory,

⁹ and said to Him,

" I will give to You all these things,

if You will fall down and worship me."

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him,

"Get away, Satan.

For it is written,

'You shall worship the Lord your God

and serve Him only.'"

¹¹ Then the devil left Him,

and angels came

and ministered to Him.

Ministry in Galilee

¹² When He heard

that John had been arrested,

He withdrew into Galilee.

¹³ He left Nazareth,

and went

to live in Capernaum by the sea,

in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

¹⁴ to fulfill what was said

through Isaiah, the prophet,

¹⁵ "Land of Zebulun

and Land of Naphtali,

along the sea,

beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

¹⁶ The people sitting in darkness

saw a great light,

and for those sitting in the land

and shadow of death,

a light has dawned."

¹⁷ From then on,

Jesus began to proclaim and to say,

"Repent;

for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

The First Disciples

¹⁸ Walking by the sea of Galilee

Jesus saw two brothers,

Simon called Peter,

and Andrew his brother,

casting a large net into the sea,

for they were fishermen,

¹⁹ He said to them,

"Follow Me

and I will make you fishers of men."

²⁰ Immediately, they left their nets

and followed Him.

²¹ Going on from there,

He saw two other brothers,

James the son of Zebedee

and John his brother,

in the boat

with Zebedee, their father,

mending their nets,

and He called them.

²² Immediately, they left the boat

and their father

and followed Him.

Ministry

²³ Jesus was going throughout Galilee

teaching in their synagogues

and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom

and healing every disease and sickness

among the people.

²⁴ The report went out about Him

throughout Syria.

So they brought to Him

all who were ill,

those suffering various diseases and pains,

the demon possessed, epileptics and paralytics,

and He healed them.

²⁵ Large crowds followed Him

from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem,

and Judea beyond the Jordan.

Chapter Five

The Sermon on the Mount

¹ When He saw the crowds,

He went up on the mountain

and after He sat down,

His disciples came to Him.

² He opened His mouth to teach them,

saying,

The Beatitudes

³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

⁴ Blessed are the mourning,

for they shall be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are the hungering and thirsting

after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall find mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those having been persecuted

for the sake of righteousness,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

¹¹ Blessed are you

when they insult you

and persecute you

and falsely say every wicked word

against you,

because of Me.

¹² Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward in heaven is great.

For in this way,

they persecuted the prophets before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt becomes tasteless,

how will it become salty?

It is good for nothing

but to be thrown out

and trampled on

by men.

¹⁴ You are the light of the world.

A city situated on a hill

cannot be hidden.

¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp

and put it under a basket,

but upon a lampstand

and it shines for all the house.

¹⁶ Let your light shine before men,

so that they may see your good works,

and may glorify your Father in heaven.

Christ Fulfills the Law

¹⁷ Do not think

that I came to abolish the law or the prophets.

I did not come to abolish,

but to fulfill.

¹⁸ For truly,

I say to you,

until heaven and earth pass away,

not one letter or one stroke

will pass from the law

until all is accomplished.

¹⁹ Then, whoever breaks one

of the least of these commandments

and teaches others to do so,

will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But, whoever will practice

and teach these

will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ For I say to you

that unless your righteousness

surpasses the scribes and Pharisees,

you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart

²¹ You have heard that it was said to the ancients,

'You shall not commit murder,'

and 'Whoever shall commit murder

shall be liable to the judgment.'

²² But I say to you

that everyone who is angry with his brother

will be liable to judgment.

Whoever shall say to his brother,

'Empty Headed',

will be liable to the Sanhedrin,

but whoever will say,

'Fool,'

will be liable to the fire of hell.

²³ Therefore,

if you are offering your gift at the altar,

and there remember

that your brother has something against you,

²⁴ leave your gift there

before the altar,

and go away.

First be reconciled to your brother,

and then come offer your gift.

²⁵ Agree with your opponent quickly,

while you are on the way with him,

lest your opponent deliver you to the judge,

and the judge deliver you to the officer,

and you be thrown into prison.

²⁶ Truly, I say to you,

you will not come out of there

until you pay the last cent.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ You have heard that it was said,

'You shall not commit adultery.'

²⁸ But I say to you

that everyone looking upon a woman

to lust after her,

has already committed adultery with her

in his heart.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble,

pluck it out and throw it from you,

for it is better for you

that one of your members should perish

than for your whole body

to be thrown into hell.

³⁰ If your right hand causes you to stumble,

cut it off and throw it from you.

It is better for you

that one of your members should perish

than the whole body

be thrown into hell.

Divorce

³¹ It was said

that whoever divorces his wife

must give her a certificate of divorce.

³² But, I say to you

that everyone who divorces his wife

except for adultery,

causes her to commit adultery,

and whoever marries a divorced woman,

commits adultery.

Oaths

³³ Again, you have heard that it was said

to the ancients,

'You shall not break your oaths,

bu t you shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'

³⁴ But, I say to you

not to swear at all,

neither by heaven,

because it is the throne of God,

³⁵ nor by the earth,

because it is the footstool of His feet,

nor by Jerusalem,

because it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ Neither should you swear

by your head,

because you are not able

to make one hair white or black.

³⁷ But let your word 'yes' be 'yes'

and your 'no' be 'no.'

Anything more than this is evil.

Go the Second Mile

³⁸ You have heard that it was said,

'An eye for an eye

and a tooth for a tooth.'

³⁹ But I say to you

not to resist evil,

but whoever strikes you

on your right cheek,

turn the other to him also.

⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you

and take away your tunic,

give him your cloak also.

⁴¹ Whoever forces you

to go one mile,

go two with him.

⁴² Give to the one who asks you

and do not turn away

from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

⁴³ You have heard that it was said,

'You shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.'

⁴⁴ But I say to you,

'Love your enemies,

and pray for those

who persecute you,

⁴⁵ so that you may be sons

of your Father in Heaven.

For He causes His sun

to rise on the evil and good,

and sends rain

on the righteous and unrighteous.

⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you,

what reward do you have,

the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷ If you only greet your brothers,

what do you do extraordinary?

Do not the Gentiles do the same?

⁴⁸ Therefore,

you are to be perfect,

as your Father in heaven

is perfect.

Chapter Six

Giving

¹ Beware of practicing your righteousness before men

to be seen by them.

Otherwise, you will not have reward

from your Father in heaven.

² Therefore,

when you give to the poor,

do not sound a trumpet before you,

as the hypocrites do

in the synagogues and in the streets

that they may have praise from men.

Truly, I say to you,

they have their reward.

³ But when you give to the poor,

do not let your left hand know

what your right hand is doing,

⁴ so that your giving may be in secret,

and your Father

who sees in secret will reward you.

Praying

⁵ When you pray,

you are not to be like the hypocrites,

for they love to pray

standing in the synagogues

and on the street corners

so that they may be seen by men.

Truly, I say to you,

that they have their reward.

⁶ But when you pray,

go into your private room,

shut your door, and pray

to your Father in secret,

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

⁷ When you pray,

do not use meaningless repetition

as the heathens do,

for they think that they will be heard

for their many words.

⁸ Therefore,

do not be like them,

for your Father knows what you need

before you ask Him.

The Model Prayer

⁹ Therefore,

you should pray this way:

'Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰ Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day

our daily bread.

¹² Forgive us our debts

as we also forgive our debtors;

¹³ Do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one,

for Yours is the kingdom

and the power

and the glory forever,

Amen.

¹⁴ For if you forgive others their offenses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others,

neither will your Father forgive you.

Fasting

¹⁶ When you fast,

do not do like the hypocrites,

for they disfigure their appearance

so they may appear

to men

to be fasting.

Truly, I say to you,

they have their reward.

¹⁷ But when you fast,

anoint your head

and wash your face,

¹⁸ so that you do not appear fasting

to men,

but to your Father in secret,

and your Father

who sees in secret

will reward you.

Possessions

¹⁹ Do not store treasures for yourselves on earth

where moth and rust spoils,

and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁰ But store for yourselves

treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust spoils,

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

²¹ For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.

²² The eye is the lamp of the body.

If your eye is good,

the whole body will be full of light.

²³ But if your eye is bad,

your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light in you is darkness,

how great is that darkness.

²⁴ No one is able to serve two masters,

either he will hate the one

and love the other,

or he will be devoted to one,

and despise the other.

You are not able

to serve God

and wealth.

Anxiety

²⁵ For this reason,

I say to you,

do not be anxious for your life,

what you should eat,

and what you should drink;

nor for what you should wear

on your body.

Is not life more than food

and the body more than clothing?

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air,

they do not sow

nor do they reap,

nor do they gather into barns,

and your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth much more than they?

²⁷ Which of you

by being anxious

is able

to add a cubit

to his stature?

²⁸ And why are you anxious

about clothing?

Observe how the lilies of the field grow.

They do not labor

nor do they spin.

²⁹ Yet I say to you

that not even Solomon in all his glory

was clothed as one of these.

³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field,

being here today,

and tomorrow thrown into the furnace,

how much more will He do for you,

you of little faith?

³¹ Therefore,

do not be anxious,

saying,

'What will we eat?'

or 'What will we drink?'

or 'What will we wear?'

³² For the Gentiles

eagerly

seek after all these things,

and your heavenly Father knows

that you need all of these things.

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God

and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ Therefore,

do not be anxious about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Chapter Seven

Judging

¹ Do not judge

so that

you will not be judged.

² For with the judgment you judge,

you will be judged,

and with the measure you measure,

it will be measured to you.

³ Why do you look at the speck

in the your brother's eye,

but do not notice the beam

in your own eye?

⁴ Or how can you say

to your brother,

'Let me take the speck from your eye,'

and the beam is in your eye!

⁵ Hypocrite,

first take the beam

out of your eye,

then you will see clearly

to take the speck

out of your brother's eye.

⁶ Do not give what is holy

to the dogs

nor cast your pearls

before pigs,

lest they should trample them with their feet,

and turn and tear you to pieces.

Persistence

⁷ Keep asking,

and it will be given to you.

Keep seeking,

and you will find.

Keep knocking,

and it will be opened to you.

⁸ For everyone who asks

receives,

and the one who seeks

finds,

and to the one who knocks,

the door will be opened.

⁹ What man among you

who if his son should ask for bread,

will give him a stone?

¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish

will give him a snake?

¹¹ If you then,

being evil,

know how to give good gifts

to your children,

how much more will your Father in heaven

give good things

to those who ask Him?

¹² Therefore,

whatever you want others to do for you,

do also for them,

for this is the law and the prophets.

Entering the Kingdom

¹³ Enter through the narrow gate.

For the gate is wide

and the road is broad

that leads to destruction,

and many are entering through it.

¹⁴ For the gate is narrow

and the way leading to life is narrow,

and few are finding it.

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets

who come to you in sheep's clothing,

but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered

from thornbushes,

or figs

from thistles?

¹⁷ So every good tree

produces good fruit,

but the bad tree

produces bad fruit.

¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit

nor a bad tree produce good fruit.

¹⁹ Every tree

not producing good fruit is cut down

and cast into the fire.

²⁰ So then, you will know them

by their fruits.

²¹ Not everyone

who says to me,

'Lord, Lord,'

will enter the kingdom of heaven,

but the one who does the will

of My Father in heaven.

²² Many will say to me

on that day,

'Lord, Lord,

did we not prophesy

in Your name,

and cast out demons

in Your name,

and perform many miracles

in Your name?'

²³ Then I will declare to them,

'I never knew you.

Depart from me,

you who practice lawlessness.'

The Two Foundations

²⁴ Therefore,

everyone who hears these words of Mine,

and does them,

I will compare him

to a sensible man

who built his house on the rock.

²⁵ The rain came down,

the floods came,

and the winds blew,

and pounded that house,

and it did not fall,

for its foundation

was on the rock.

²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine

and does not do them,

will be like a foolish man,

who built his house on the sand.

²⁷ The rain came down,

the floods came,

and the winds blew,

and pounded that house,

and it fell,

and great was the fall!"

²⁸ When Jesus had finished these words,

the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

²⁹ for He was teaching them

as one having authority,

and not as their scribes.

Chapter Eight

Cleansing a Leper

¹ When He came down from the mountain,

large crowds followed Him.

² A leper came

and bowed down before Him,

saying,

"Lord if you are willing,

you can make me clean."

³ Jesus stretched out His hand,

touched him

and said,

"I am willing,

be cleansed."

Immediately,

his leprosy was cleansed.

⁴ Jesus said to him,

"See that you tell no one,

but go show yourself to the priest,

and offer the gift

that Moses commanded

for a testimony to them."

The Centurion's Servant

⁵ When Jesus entered Capernaum

a centurion came to Him

pleading with Him,

⁶ saying,

"Lord, my servant is lying at home

paralyzed, suffering terribly."

⁷ Jesus said to him,

I will come and heal him.

⁸ The centurion said,

"Lord,

I am not worthy

that you should come under my roof,

but only speak a word

and my servant will be healed.

⁹ For I am also a man under authority,

having soldiers under me.

I say to this one,

'Go,' and he goes,

and to another,

'Come,' and he comes,

and to my servant,

'Do this,' and he does it."

¹⁰ When Jesus heard,

He marveled, and said

to those following,

"Truly, I say to you,

I have not found anyone

with such great faith in Israel.

¹¹ But I say to you,

that many will come

from east and west

and will recline

with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

in the kingdom of heaven.

¹² But the sons of the kingdom

will be thrown into the outer darkness.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion,

"Go,

and it will be done

as you have believed."

And his servant was healed that moment.

Peter's Mother-in-Law

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter's house,

He saw his mother-in-law

lying in bed with a fever.

¹⁵ He touched her hand,

and her fever left her,

and she got up

and served Him.

¹⁶ When evening came,

they brought many who were demon possessed,

and He cast the spirits out with a word,

and healed all who were ill.

¹⁷ So that what was spoken

by Isaiah the prophet

might be fulfilled,

saying,

"He took our sicknesses

and bore our diseases."

Following Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the great crowds around Him,

he gave orders

to go to the other side.

¹⁹ A scribe came to Him and said,

"Teacher,

I will follow you wherever you go."

²⁰ Jesus said to him,

"The foxes have holes,

and the birds of the air

have nests,

but the Son of Man

has nowhere

to lay His head."

²¹ Another of His disciples

said to Him,

"Lord,

let me go and bury my father first."

²² But Jesus said to him,

"Follow me

and allow the dead to bury their own dead."

Calming the Sea

²³ When He entered the boat,

His disciples followed Him.

²⁴ A great storm arose on the sea,

so that the boat was covered by waves,

but Jesus was sleeping.

²⁵ They came to Him

and woke Him,

saying,

"Lord, save us,

we are perishing."

²⁶ He said to them,

"Why are you fearful,

you of little faith?"

Then he got up

and rebuked the winds

and the sea,

and there was a great calm.

²⁷ The men marveled

and said,

"What kind of man is this

that even the winds

and the sea

obey Him?"

The Gadarene Demoniacs

²⁸ When He came to the other side,

to the country of the Gadarenes,

two demon-possessed men came out

of the tombs.

They were so violent

that no one could pass that way.

²⁹ They cried out,

saying,

"What have You to do with us,

Jesus, Son of God?

Did you come here

to torment us

before the time?

³⁰ Now, there was a large herd of pigs

at a distance.

³¹ The demons begged Him

saying,

"If you cast us out,

send us into the herd of pigs."

³² He said to them,

Go.

And they came out,

went into the herd of pigs,

and the herd of pigs

rushed down the cliff into the sea

and died in the waters.

³³ But the herders fled into the city

and told everything,

including what had happened

to the demon-possessed men.

³⁴ All the city went out to meet Jesus,

and when they saw Him,

they urged Him to depart from their region.

Chapter Nine

The Paralytic Is Healed

¹ Getting into the boat,

He crossed over

and came to His own city.

² They brought a paralytic to Him

lying on a bed.

Seeing their faith,

Jesus said to the paralytic,

"Be of good courage, son,

your sins have been forgiven."

³ Some of the scribes said to themselves,

This Man blasphemes.

⁴ Jesus,

knowing their thoughts

said,

"Why do you think evil in your hearts?

⁵ Which is easier,

to say,

'You have been forgiven',

or to say,

'Arise and walk?'

⁶ But so you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins" –

then He said to the paralytic,

"Arise,

take up your bed

and go to your house."

⁷ He got up

and went home.

⁸ When the crowds saw,

they marveled,

and glorified God,

who had given such authority to men.

The Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there,

He saw a man named Matthew

sitting at the tax office,

and He said to him,

Follow Me.

He arose and followed Him.

¹⁰ While He was reclining in the house,

behold many tax collectors and sinners came

and were eating with Jesus

and His disciples.

¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this,

they said,

"Why is your Teacher eating with

tax collectors and sinners?"

¹² But when Jesus heard,

He said to them,

"Those who are healthy

have no need of a physician,

but those who are sick.

¹³ Go and learn what this means,

'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,'

for I did not come

to call the righteous

but sinners

to repentance."

Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John

came to Him,

saying,

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,

but your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁵ Jesus said to them,

"Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn

while the bridegroom is with them?

But the days will come

when the bridegroom

will be taken away from them.

¹⁶ No one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth

on an old garment,

for the patch pulls away from the garment

and a worse tear results.

¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine

into old skins,

otherwise the skins burst,

the wine pours out,

and the skins will be ruined,

but they put new wine

into new skins

and both are preserved."

Raising a Girl from the Dead

¹⁸ While He spoke these things to them,

a ruler came

and bowed down to Him,

saying,

"My daughter just died,

but come lay Your hand upon her

and she will live."

¹⁹ Jesus and His disciples got up

and followed him.

²⁰ A woman having had a flow of blood

for twelve years

came up behind

and touched the hem of His garment.

²¹ For she was saying to herself,

"If I only touch His garment,

I will be healed."

²² But Jesus turned, saw her and said,

"Be of good courage, daughter,

your faith has healed you."

And the woman was healed

from that moment.

²³ When Jesus came into the house of the ruler,

and saw the flute players

and the crowd making noise,

²⁴ He said to them,

"Leave,

for the girl has not died,

but sleeps,"

and they laughed at Him.

²⁵ But when the crowd had been put outside,

He entered and took her by the hand,

and the girl rose.

²⁶ And the report went out

into all that land.

Healing the Blind

²⁷ As Jesus was passing from there,

two blind men followed him

crying out,

"Have mercy on us,

Son of David.

²⁸ When He entered the house,

the blind men came to Him

and Jesus said to them,

Do you believe that I am able to do this?

They said to Him,

Yes, Lord.

²⁹ Then He touched their eyes,

saying,

"Let it be done to you

according to your faith."

³⁰ And their eyes were opened

and Jesus strictly charged them,

See that no one knows.

³¹ But they went out and made it known

about Him

in all that land.

Driving Out a Demon

³² As they were going out,

a mute, demon-possessed man

was brought to Him.

³³ When the demon was cast out,

the mute man spoke,

and the crowds marveled

saying,

"Nothing like this has ever been seen

in Israel."

³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying,

"He casts out demons

by the ruler of the demons."

Lord of the Harvest

³⁵ Jesus went about all the cities and villages

teaching in their synagogues,

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,

and healing every kind of disease

and every sickness among the people.

³⁶ Seeing the crowds,

He felt compassion for them,

because they were weary and scattered

like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷ Then He said to His disciples,

"The harvest is great,

but the workers are few.

³⁸ Therefore,

request the Lord of the harvest

that he may send out workers

into His harvest."

Chapter Ten

Commissioning the Twelve

¹ Summoning His twelve disciples,

He gave them authority

over unclean spirits,

to cast them out,

and to heal every disease and sickness.

² The names of the twelve apostles are:

First, Simon, called Peter,

and Andrew his brother;

James the son of Zebedee

and his brother John;

³ Philip

and Bartholomew;

Thomas

and Matthew the tax collector;

James the son of Alpheus,

and Thaddeaus;

⁴ Simon the Zealot,

and Judas Iscariot,

who also betrayed Him.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out

after commanding them:

"Do not go by way of the Gentiles,

and do not enter a city of the Samaritans,

⁶ but rather go

to the lost sheep

of the house of Israel.

⁷ As you go, proclaim,

'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'

⁸ Heal the sick,

cleanse the lepers,

raise the dead,

cast out demons.

Freely you received,

freely give.

⁹ Do not acquire gold,

or silver,

or money

for your belts,

¹⁰ nor a provision bag

for your journey,

nor two shirts,

nor sandals,

nor a walking stick,

for the worker is worthy of his food.

¹¹ Whatever city or village you enter,

inquire who in it is worthy,

and there remain until you leave.

¹² When entering the house,

greet it.

¹³ If indeed the house is worthy,

let your peace come upon it.

But if it is not worthy,

let your peace return to you.

¹⁴ Whoever will not receive you,

nor hear your words,

when you go out of that house

or that city,

shake the dust off your feet.

¹⁵ Truly I say to you,

it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah

in the day of judgment

than for that city.

Prediction of Persecutions

¹⁶ Behold, I send you out as sheep

in the midst of wolves.

Therefore,

be wise as serpents

and innocent as doves.

¹⁷ But beware of men,

for they will hand you over to councils

and scourge you in their synagogues.

¹⁸ You will even

be brought before governors and kings

because of Me,

for a testimony to them

and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹ But when they hand you over,

do not be anxious

about how or what you are to say.

For it will be given you in that hour

what you are to say.

²⁰ For you are not speaking,

but the Spirit of your Father

speaking through you.

²¹ Brother will betray brother to death,

and a father

his child;

and children

will rise up against parents

and put them to death.

²² You will be hated by all

because of My name,

but those enduring to the end will be saved.

²³ But when they persecute you

in this city,

flee to another;

for truly I say to you,

you will not finish going

through the cities of Israel

until the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ A disciple is not above his teacher,

nor a slave above his master.

²⁵ It is enough

for the disciple

that he become like his teacher,

and the slave like his master.

If they have called the head of the house

Beelzebul,

how much more the members

of his household!

Fearing God

²⁶ Therefore

do not fear them,

for there is nothing concealed

that will not be revealed,

and hidden

that will not be known.

²⁷ What I tell you

in the darkness,

speak in the light.

What you hear

in your ear,

proclaim upon the housetops.

²⁸ Do not fear

those who kill the body,

but are not able to kill the soul.

Rather, fear Him

who is able

to destroy

both soul and body

in hell.

²⁹ Are not two sparrows

sold for a penny?

And not one

of them will fall

to the ground

without your Father's will.

³⁰ But the very hairs of your head

are all numbered.

³¹ Therefore,

you should not fear;

you are more valuable

than many sparrows.

Acknowledging Christ

³² Therefore,

everyone who confesses Me

before men,

I will also confess him

before My Father in heaven.

³³ But whoever denies Me

before men,

I will also deny him

before My Father in heaven.

³⁴ Do not think

that I came to bring peace on the earth.

I did not come to bring peace,

but a sword.

³⁵ For I came to 'set a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;'

³⁶ and 'a man's enemies will be his household.'

³⁷ He who loves father or mother

more than Me

is not worthy of Me.

He who loves son or daughter

more than Me

is not worthy of Me.

³⁸ He who does not take his cross

and follow after Me

is not worthy of Me.

³⁹ He who has found his life

will lose it,

and he who has lost his life

for Me

will find it.

Receiving Him

⁴⁰ He who receives you

receives Me,

and he who receives Me

receives Him who sent Me.

⁴¹ He who receives a prophet

in the name of a prophet

will receive a prophet's reward;

and he who receives a righteous man

in the name of a righteous man

will receive a righteous man's reward.

⁴² And whoever gives a cup

of cold water

to one

of these little ones

in the name

of a disciple,

truly I say to you,

he will not lose his reward."

Chapter Eleven

John's Followers Question Jesus

¹ When Jesus had finished giving commands

to His twelve disciples,

He departed from there

to teach and preach

in their cities.

² Now when John heard

in prison

of the works of Christ,

he sent two

of his disciples,

³ and said to Him,

"Are You the Coming One,

or are we to wait for another?"

⁴ Jesus answered them,

"Go to John

and report what you hear and see:

⁵ the blind receive sight

and the lame walk,

lepers are cleansed

and the deaf hear,

the dead are raised up,

and the poor have the good news preached

to them.

⁶ Blessed is he

who is not offended

by Me."

⁷ As these men were going away,

Jesus began to say

to the crowds

concerning John,

"What did you go out into the wilderness to see?

A reed shaken by the wind?

⁸ But what did you go out to see?

A man dressed in fine clothing?

Those who wear fine clothing

are in kings' palaces!

⁹ But what did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Yes,

I say to you,

and more than a prophet.

¹⁰ For this is the one whom it is written,

'Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.'

¹¹ Truly I say to you,

there has not arisen anyone

among those born of women

greater than John the Baptist.

But the least in the kingdom of heaven

is greater than he.

¹² From the days of John the Baptist

until now,

the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,

and the violent take it by force.

¹³ For all the prophets and the Law

prophesied

until John.

¹⁴ If you are willing to accept it,

he is Elijah

who is to come.

¹⁵ He who has ears to hear,

let him hear.

An Unresponsive Generation

¹⁶ But to what shall I compare this generation?

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces,

and calling out to their friends,

¹⁷ and saying,

'We played the flute for you,

and you did not dance.

We mourned to you,

and you did not mourn.'

¹⁸ For John came

neither eating nor drinking,

and they say,

'He has a demon!'

¹⁹ The Son of Man came

eating and drinking,

and they say,

'Behold, a gluttonous man

and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

Yet wisdom is vindicated

by her deeds."

²⁰ Then He began to denounce the cities

in which most of His miracles were done,

because they had not repented.

²¹ "Woe to you, Chorazin!

Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon

which occurred in you,

they would have repented

in sackcloth and