¹⁷ Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them privately up a high mountain. ² And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ Then Moses and Elijah also appeared before them, talking with him. ⁴ So Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my one dear Son, in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. ¹² And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ¹⁵ and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to heal him.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that moment. ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” ²⁰ He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.”

²² When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed.

²⁴ After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes—from their sons or from foreigners?” ²⁶ After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

¹⁸ At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² He called a child, had him stand among them, ³ and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! ⁴ Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.

⁶ “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹² What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. ¹⁹ Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰ For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

²¹ Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!

²³ “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed 10,000 talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. ²⁶ Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ ²⁷ The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ²⁹ Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. ³¹ When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. ³² Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! ³³ Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

⁸⁹ A well-written song by Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing continually about the Lord’s faithful deeds;

to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness.

² For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established;

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.”

³ The Lord said,

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

⁴ ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” (Selah)

⁵ O Lord, the heavens praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly.

⁶ For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings,

⁷ a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly,

and more awesome than all who surround him?

⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

⁹ You rule over the proud sea.

When its waves surge, you calm them.

¹⁰ You crushed the Proud One and killed it;

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

¹¹ The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains.

¹² You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

¹³ Your arm is powerful,

your hand strong,

your right hand victorious.

¹⁴ Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne.

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule.

¹⁵ How blessed are the people who worship you!

O Lord, they experience your favor.

¹⁶ They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated by your justice.

¹⁷ For you give them splendor and strength.

By your favor we are victorious.

¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Then you spoke through a vision to your faithful followers and said:

“I have placed a young hero over a warrior;

I have raised up a young man from the people.

²⁰ I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king.

²¹ My hand will support him,

and my arm will strengthen him.

²² No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him;

a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.

²³ I will crush his enemies before him;

I will strike down those who hate him.

²⁴ He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love,

and by my name he will win victories.

²⁵ I will place his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers.

²⁶ He will call out to me,

‘You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me.’

²⁷ I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

²⁸ I will always extend my loyal love to him,

and my covenant with him is secure.

²⁹ I will give him an eternal dynasty

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.

³⁰ If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

³¹ if they break my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

³² I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club,

their sin by inflicting them with bruises.

³³ But I will not remove my loyal love from him

nor be unfaithful to my promise.

³⁴ I will not break my covenant

or go back on what I promised.

³⁵ Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,

I will never deceive David.

³⁶ His dynasty will last forever.

His throne will endure before me, like the sun;

³⁷ it will remain stable, like the moon.

His throne will endure like the skies.” (Selah)

³⁸ But you have spurned and rejected him;

you are angry with your chosen king.

³⁹ You have repudiated your covenant with your servant;

you have thrown his crown to the ground.

⁴⁰ You have broken down all his walls;

you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.

⁴¹ All who pass by have robbed him;

he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.

⁴² You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious

and all his enemies to rejoice.

⁴³ You turn back his sword from the adversary

and have not sustained him in battle.

⁴⁴ You have brought to an end his splendor

and have knocked his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵ You have cut short his youth

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

⁴⁶ How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever?

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

⁴⁷ Take note of my brief lifespan.

Why do you make all people so mortal?

⁴⁸ No man can live on without experiencing death

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. (Selah)

⁴⁹ Where are your earlier faithful deeds, O Lord,

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David?

⁵⁰ Take note, O Lord, of the way your servants are taunted

and of how I must bear so many insults from people.

⁵¹ Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps.

⁵² The Lord deserves praise forevermore!

We agree! We agree!