The Hobbit Chapter 1 This is a thrilling moment for us at Reach More Now. Ray has read aloud all seven books of “The Chronicles of Narnia” and the thirty books of “Left Behind – The Kids.” He’s also had so many requests to finish Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins final book in their 16 book series of Left Behind – “Kingdom Come” – that he is going to complete that book too.
Now Ray introduces still another amazing four book series – “The Hobbit” which will be followed by his reading the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. They say a book is always better than any movie made from it. You can be the judge of that.
Genesis 25:7 thru 26:35 Isaac and Rebekah (Amplified Bible) Isaac and Rebekah have a beautiful love story in Genesis 24, but Rebekah was unable to have a baby. The Jewish people at that time would have believed God had put a curse on her because that’s what barrenness of a wife meant in their minds. When she finally did become pregnant, she suffered physically during her pregnancy. When she prayed and asked God why she was suffering, he told her that up fight it already started between her coming to children.
Isaac made the common mistake of giving favored to one son over the other. In the home where either a husband or wife does this is going to increase the friction between the children with each other. Jacob and Esau grew up this way.
A birthright was sacred. It was given to the eldest son in each family. To trade it for a bowl of stew showed how unconcerned Esau was about godly things.
Join Ray now for this passage of the Old Testament.
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Genesis 25:7 thru 26:35 Isaac and Rebekah (Amplified Bible)
v1 Now the snake was the most clever among all the wild animals that the *Lord God had made. The snake said this to the woman: ‘Did God say that you can eat the fruit from all the trees in the garden?’
v2 This is how the woman answered the snake. ‘We can eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. v3 But God said, “You must not eat the fruit from a certain tree. That tree is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it, otherwise you will die.” ’
v4 But the snake replied to the woman, ‘You will not die. v5 But when you eat the fruit, your eyes will open. God knows that. You will be like God and you will know right things and wrong things.’
v6 So the woman saw that the fruit was good to eat. And she saw that it was lovely to look at. She also thought that it would make her wise. She then took some fruit and she ate it. She also gave some fruit to her husband and he ate it. v7 Then their eyes opened. They realised that they were naked. They sewed together leaves from a fig tree to cover themselves. (Figs are sweet fruit with many seeds.)
v8 The man and woman heard God walk in the garden in the cool evening. They hid away from God. They hid among the trees in the garden. v9 But the *Lord God called aloud to the man. God said, ‘Where are you?’
v10 The man said, ‘I heard you in the garden. And I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.’
v11 God said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten the fruit that I told you not to eat?’
v12 The man replied, ‘You gave the woman to me so that she would be my partner. She gave the fruit to me and I ate.’
v13 Then the *Lord God said to the woman, ‘What have you done?’ The woman replied, ‘The snake tempted me and I ate.’
v14 The *Lord God said this to the snake: ‘Out of all the *cattle and wild animals, you are the animal that I *curse. You shall move on your stomach and you shall eat dust all your life. v15 I will make you and the woman enemies. Your *descendants and her *descendants will be enemies. The woman’s *descendant will badly hurt you, and you will hurt him a little.’
v16 God told the woman that she would have a lot of pain when she was *pregnant. And she would have a lot of pain when she had a baby. She would want her husband’s love, but he would rule over her.
v17 God told Adam, ‘You listened to what your wife said. You ate the fruit from the tree that I told you not to eat from. Now, because you have not obeyed me, the ground has a *curse. You will work hard all your life in order to get food from it.
v18 You will find thorns and thistles there. (Both are wild plants with sharp points along them.) You will eat wild plants.
v19 You will *sweat in order to grow food. That will happen until you die. And then people will bury you. I made you from the dust, and you will again be dust.’
v20 The man called his wife Eve. She would be the mother of all those that would live. That is why he gave her that name.
v21 And the *Lord God made clothes out of skin for Adam and Eve. They wore the clothes. v22 Then the *Lord God said, ‘Now, the man has become like us. He knows good things and evil things. Now, he might reach forward with his hand. Then he might pick fruit from the tree that makes people live. And then he might eat that fruit, and so he would live for always.’ v23And so the *Lord God sent the man out of the garden that was in Eden. God sent him out for always. God had made the man out of the soil. And now God told him to work with the soil.v24 God forced the man to go out. Then God put *cherubim to guard the garden in Eden. They were at the east side of the garden. There was a sword with them and flames were coming from it. The sword moved in all directions to guard every way to the tree. That is, the tree that makes people live.
This chapter is a very important chapter because it helps us to understand the Bible’s message. Before the events in this chapter, the world was perfect. People had not *sinned. They obeyed God. And they were friends of God. Everything changed after the events in this chapter.
Satan (the devil) used a snake to test the first people (called Adam and Eve). Satan told them that they should not trust God’s words. And Satan encouraged them not to obey God.
The results of their action were terrible. They were afraid and they tried to hide from God. They could not continue their friendship with God.
But, even afterwards, God was kind to them. He killed an animal so that they could cover their bodies. And he made a promise to Eve that seems to refer to Jesus. *Sin has been a real problem for every person who has ever lived. Because of *sin, our world is not perfect. Because of *sin, we have many troubles. But Jesus came to free us from our *sins. When he died, he suffered the punishment for our *sins. We need to confess our *sins to God. And we need to invite God into our lives. Then we shall be friends of God.
Notes on the verses
Verse 1 God had made the snake. But *Satan was using it to do something against God’s command. The snake was able to talk to the woman. That shows that it was not an ordinary snake. There was only one tree whose fruit God had forbidden the woman to eat. But the snake made her want that fruit. The snake made her think that God was not speaking the truth. It made her think that God did not care about her and Adam.
Verse 3 The woman spoke as if God had given a very strict command. She said that God had ordered her and Adam, ‘Do not even touch it (the fruit).’ But God had not said that.
Verse 4 The snake then denied what God had said. The snake said, ‘You will not die.’
Verse 5 ‘Your eyes will open’. Writers in the Bible often say that. It does not mean that we cannot see things round us now. It means that we do not understand about God. The woman was greedy. She wanted the fruit and she wanted to be like God. However, God had made the woman like himself already. God had given power to her and her husband, so that they had power over everything else. The woman could have sent the snake away.
Verse 7 ‘Their eyes opened’. *Sin affects all parts of us. Adam and Eve were not actually blind before. But now they saw that they had done something wrong. In other words, they understood it with their mind. They ate the fruit with their bodies, because they were not obeying God with their mind. Then they felt ashamed because they were naked.
Adam and Eve suffer because they *sinned, 3:8-24
Verse 8 The writer described the garden very well. Before Adam and Eve ate that fruit, they had liked to meet God. But we can imagine how Adam and Eve then hid from God. However, people cannot really hide from God, although they may try!
Verse 12 Adam blamed his wife Eve. And Adam even blamed God, because God had given Eve to him!
Verse 13 Eve blamed the snake. People are afraid to say, ‘I did it. I *sinned.’
Verse 14 God punished the snake first.
Verse 15 Next, God punished *Satan, who had seemed to be like the snake. In the original *Hebrew text, God said that the woman’s ‘seed’ (*descendant) would ‘bruise *Satan’s head’. That means that Jesus would hurt *Satan badly. But *Satan’s ‘seed’ (*descendant) would only ‘hurt Jesus’ *heel’. In other words, he would annoy Jesus. But he would not hurt Jesus seriously. Here, the writer uses a different word. It means only ‘hurt in some way’. It does not have the special meaning ‘bruise’.
Verse 16 Next, God explained to the woman the results of her *sin. She would suffer pain. Even the happy time when she had a baby would cause pain. But a woman would still desire a husband and children. And, of course, in verse 15, God had promised that the woman would receive something good by her *descendant or child. Her *descendant would oppose the devil. Her *descendant would free people from the devil’s power, like someone who uses his foot to break a snake’s head. Jesus was the woman’s *descendant. And he did these things when he died for us (Galatians 4:4-5).
There is a special promise to women in 1 Timothy 2:15. This verse says, ‘God will save women during the birth of a child if they continue to trust him. He will do that if they continue to love him. He will do it if they are holy and modest.’
Verse 17 God explained to Adam the results of his *sin. Adam would have to work hard for his food.
Verse 18 The garden in Eden was a nice one, which God designed for Adam. But Adam would not continue to live in that kind of garden.
Verse 19 Adam would have to prepare his own garden.
Verse 20 Eve means ‘someone that gives life’.
Verse 21 In this verse, we see how God showed Adam to *sacrifice animals because of *sin. That was like a picture (or a special description). It showed what Jesus would suffer. People would kill Jesus too, like the animals. He, too, had to suffer because of people’s *sin.
Skin from an animal would protect people better than leaves protected them. (Look at verse 7.) Also, an animal’s skin was warmer than leaves.
Verse 22 Jesus suffered because of people’s *sin. So he knew what *sin was like. People had started to *sin. And *sin causes people to suffer. *Sin is very bad for people. So God did not want people to eat fruit from the tree that makes people live. That was because they would then always live in that bad state. So they would always continue to suffer terribly.
Verse 23 The *cherubim were God’s special servants that guarded *holy things and *holy places. Later, someone sewed a design onto the curtain that people put in the *Temple. In that design, there were pictures that showed *cherubim. When Jesus died, God tore that curtain into two pieces (Matthew 27:51). That action has a special meaning for us. It means that we can now come to God because of Jesus.
And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a[a]wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to [b]vine-growers and went on a journey.2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.9 What will the [c]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief cornerstone; 11 This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the [d]people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.
13 Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.14 They *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [e]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it [f]lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [g]denarius to look at.”16 They brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they[h]were amazed at Him.
18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying,19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should[i]marry the wife and raise up children to his brother.20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.21 The second one [j]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise;22 and so[k]all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also.23 In the resurrection,[l]when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For [m]all seven had married her.”24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [n]understand the Scriptures or the power of God?25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.26 But [o]regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?27 He is not the God [p]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [q]foremost of all?”29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him;33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that [r]the Christ is the son of David?36 David himself said [s]in the Holy Spirit,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd [t]enjoyed listening to Him.
38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places,39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting [u]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.42 A poor widow came and put in two [v]small copper coins, which amount to a [w]cent.43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [x]the contributors to the treasury;44 for they all put in out of their [y]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [z]all she had to live on.”
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples,2 and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he[a]will send it back here.”4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it.5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.7 They *brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
15 Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [b]doves;16 and He would not permit anyone to carry [c]merchandise through the temple.17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ [d]den.”18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
19 When evening came, [e]they would go out of the city.
20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.21 Being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.25 Whenever you stand praying,forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.26 [[f]But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.”31 They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’32 But[g]shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.33 Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Nor[h]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Getting up, He *went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.
2 SomePharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to [a]divorce a wife.3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”4 They said, “Moses permitted a manto write a certificate of divorce and[b]sendheraway.”5 But Jesus said to them, “[c]Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.6 But from the beginning of creation, Godmade them male and female.7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother[d],8 and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
10 In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again.11 And He *said to them,“Whoever [e]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;12 and if she herself [f]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”
13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.19 You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”22 But at these words [g]he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “[h]Then who can be saved?”27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.”29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,30 [i]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [j]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.31 But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be [k]delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will [l]hand Him over to the Gentiles.34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
35 [m]James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”37 They said to Him, “[n]Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.40 But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with [o]James and John.42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His[p]life a ransom for many.”
46 Then they *came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “[q]Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has[r]made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,
“I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.
“If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”
And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”
And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”
And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people.
They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.
And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.
And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
“HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.”
And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.
Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”
Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”
They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”
And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
“For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
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The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they [a]carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders;4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they[b]cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the [c]washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)5 The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread withimpure hands?”6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 7 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to[d]be put to death’;11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, [e]given to God),’12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.16 [[f]If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and [g]is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, [h]fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, [i]envy, slander,
24 Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre[k]. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; [l]yet He could not escape notice.25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.26 Now the woman was a [m]Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [n]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”29 And He said to her, “Because of this[o]answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”30 And going back to her home, she found the child [p]lying on the bed, the demon having left.
31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.32 They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him.33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”35 And his ears were opened, and the [q]impediment of his tongue [r]was removed, and he began speaking plainly.36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.37 They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
