1When Jesus had finished [speaking] these words, he departed from Galilee and arrived at the borders of Judea, beyond the Jordan. 2Great crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3The Pharisees came to him to test him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4Jesus answered, “Have you not read that he who made257 them from the beginning made them male and female,258 5and said, ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be attached to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’259 6And so, they are no longer two, but one flesh! Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one tear apart.”
7They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give our wife260 a bill of divorce and send her away?”
8Jesus replied, “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 9I tell you that whoever divorces his wife (except for reason of sexual immorality261) and marries another commits adultery;262 <and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”>
10His disciples said to him, “If this is the situation of the man with his wife, it is not advantageous to marry!”
11But Jesus said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying: only those to whom it is given. 12Certainly, there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb. There are also eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to receive this saying, let him receive it.”
The Lord blesses little children
13Then little children were brought to him so that he may lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples began to rebuke the people, 14but Jesus said, “Allow the little children and do not forbid them to come to me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.” 15He laid his hands on them, and departed from that place.
The rich young man—How to enter into eternal life
16Behold, a man came to him and asked, “Good263 teacher, what good thing shall I do in order to have eternal life?”
17Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?264 No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18The man asked him, “Which ones?”
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not bear false witness.’ 19’Honor your father and mother;’265 and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”266
20The young man then said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth! What do I still lack?”
21Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and you will have [a] treasure in heaven. Then come, and follow me!” 22But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad because he was a person with great possessions. 23Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen I say to you: it will be hard for someone who is rich to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! 24Indeed, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”
25When his disciples heard this, they were extremely astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?”
26Gazing at them, Jesus answered, “By human effort,267 this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!”
27Then Peter said, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”
28Jesus said to them, “Amen, I tell you that you who have followed me, at the regeneration,268 when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife,269 children, or lands for my Name’s sake will receive a hundred times [more] and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first!”
Laborers in the vineyard
- CT reads “created”
- Genesis 1:27
- Genesis 2:24
- Greek “her”
- Greek pornei,a. The Roman Catholic translation of this clause as “I am not speaking of an illicit marriage” (NJB) or “unless the marriage is unlawful” (NAB) is very unlikely.
- CT omits the end of verse (“and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”). There are significant variants on this verse. In particular, D.C. Parker, in his “The Living Text of the Gospels” (1997: 85-86) lays out eight different variant readings. Compare with 5:32 which does not have variants.
- CT omits “good”
- CT reads “Why do you ask me about what is good? [There] is [only] One [who] is good.”
- Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20
- Leviticus 19:18
- Greek para. avnqrw,poij tou/to avdu,nato,n evstin.. EOB follows the NJB understanding of this expression, but other common translations are “With men this is impossible” (KJV, NIV) or “For mortals it is impossible” (NRSV).
- Or “recreation, renewal of all things” (paliggenesi,a|)
- CT omits “wife” but compare Luke 18:29 where all manuscripts agree.
Text: The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible, New Testament (EOB). Used with permission.
