Job 23-24
New King James Version
Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments
23 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Even today my (A)complaint is bitter;
[a]My hand is listless because of my groaning.
3 (B)Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
6 (C)Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 “Look,(D) I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But (E)He knows the way that I take;
When (F)He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 (G)My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the (H)commandment of His lips;
(I)I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my [b]necessary food.
13 “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever (J)His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is (K)appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.
15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
16 For God (L)made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
17 Because I was not (M)cut off [c]from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
2 “Some remove (P)landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They (Q)take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the (R)poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They (S)spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And (T)huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without (U)clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 (V)The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 (W)The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
(X)Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he [d]disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
(Y)They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat [e]consume the snow waters,
So [f]the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
(Z)He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he [g]preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.
22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet (AA)His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are [h]taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”
Mark 11-12
New King James Version
The Triumphal Entry(A)
11 Now (B)when they drew near Jerusalem, to [a]Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
4 So they went their way, and found [b]the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”
6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 (C)And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna!
(D)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes [c]in the name of the Lord!
(E)Hosanna in the highest!”
11 (F)And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
The Fig Tree Withered(G)
12 (H)Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 (I)And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
And His disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple(J)
15 (K)So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold (L)doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, (M)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a (N)‘den of thieves.’ ”
18 And (O)the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because (P)all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree(Q)
20 (R)Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For (S)assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, (T)whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Forgiveness and Prayer(U)
25 “And whenever you stand praying, (V)if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 [d]But (W)if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Jesus’ Authority Questioned(X)
27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. (Y)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, “By what (Z)authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The (AA)baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for (AB)all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers(AC)
12 Then (AD)He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to [e]vinedressers and went into a far country. 2 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant, [f]and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5 And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, (AE)beating some and killing some. 6 Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those [g]vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and (AF)killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
(AG)‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 (AH)And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?(AI)
13 (AJ)Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and [h]care about no one; for You do not [i]regard the person of men, but teach the (AK)way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their (AL)hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17 And Jesus answered and said to them, [j]“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to (AM)God the things that are God’s.”
And they marveled at Him.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?(AN)
18 (AO)Then some Sadducees, (AP)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: 19 “Teacher, (AQ)Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. 22 So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. 23 Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
24 Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore [k]mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but (AR)are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead, that they (AS)rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, (AT)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly [l]mistaken.”
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?(AU)
28 (AV)Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, [m]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the [n]first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The [o]first of all the commandments is: (AW)‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall (AX)love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [p]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: (AY)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than (AZ)these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, (BA)and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, [q]with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, (BB)is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
(BC)But after that no one dared question Him.
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?(BD)
35 (BE)Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said (BF)by the Holy Spirit:
(BG)‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37 Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his (BH)Son?”
And the common people heard Him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes(BI)
38 Then (BJ)He said to them in His teaching, (BK)“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, (BL)love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the (BM)best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 (BN)who devour widows’ houses, and [r]for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Two Mites(BO)
41 (BP)Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money (BQ)into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two [s]mites, which make a [t]quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that (BR)this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, (BS)her whole livelihood.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:1 M Bethsphage
- Mark 11:4 NU, M a
- Mark 11:10 NU omits in the name of the Lord
- Mark 11:26 NU omits v. 26.
- Mark 12:1 tenant farmers
- Mark 12:4 NU omits and at him they threw stones
- Mark 12:7 tenant farmers
- Mark 12:14 Court no man’s favor
- Mark 12:14 Lit. look at the face of men
- Mark 12:17 Pay
- Mark 12:24 Or deceived
- Mark 12:27 Or deceived
- Mark 12:28 NU seeing
- Mark 12:28 foremost
- Mark 12:29 foremost
- Mark 12:30 NU omits the rest of v. 30.
- Mark 12:33 NU omits with all the soul
- Mark 12:40 for appearance’ sake
- Mark 12:42 Gr. lepta, very small copper coins
- Mark 12:42 A Roman coin
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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