Warnings, Woes & Fear Not

¹⁴And he was casting out a devil, and it a devil out of a man, and he was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil had gone out, the dumb spoke, and the people wondered. ¹⁵But some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. ¹⁶And others, tempting testing him, sought of him a sign from Heaven. ¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And a house divided cannot stand, but falls. ¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you say I cast out devils through Beelzebub. ¹⁹And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out out devils? Therefore shall they be your judges. ²⁰But if I, with the finger of God, cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, armed, keeps his palace, his goods are in peace. ²²But when one stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his goods. ²³He that is not with me is against me, and he who gathers not with me, scatters. ²⁴When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, it walks through dry places seeking rest, and finding none, it says, I will return into my house from which I came out. ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and garnished. ²⁶Then goes he, and takes to him the evil spirit and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there, and the last end of that man is worse than the first.

²⁷And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said unto him, Blessed is the womb which bore you, and the breasts which you have sucked. ²⁸But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that And he said, Yea, and blessed are all they who hear the word of God and keep it.

²⁹When the people had gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them but the sign of Jonah the prophet; ³⁰for as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹The queen of the south shall rise up in the day of judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the outermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. ³²The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the day of judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

³³No man, when he has lit a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light. ³⁴The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness. ³⁶If your whole body therefore is full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle lightens a room and does give you light in all the room.

³⁷And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee implored him to dine with him, and he went in and sat down to a meal. ³⁸And when the Pharisee saw it him, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner. ³⁹And the Lord said unto him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. ⁴⁰Ye fools, did not he that O fools, did not he who made that which is without make that which is within also? ⁴¹But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. if you would rather give alms of such things as you have, and observe to do all things which I have commanded you, then would your inward parts be clean also. ⁴²But I say unto you, woe be unto you Pharisees, for you tithe mint, and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God. These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. ⁴³Woe unto you Pharisees, for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. ⁴⁴Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees — hypocrites; for you are graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them who walk over are not aware of them.

⁴⁵Then answered one of the lawyers and said unto him, Master, thus saying, you reproach us also. ⁴⁶And he said, Woe unto you also, you lawyers lawyers also, for you lade lead men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷Woe unto you, for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸Truly you bear witness that you endorse the deeds of your fathers, for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. ⁴⁹Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute, ⁵⁰that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation — ⁵¹from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple. Truly I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation. ⁵²Woe unto you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge, the fullness of the scriptures. You enter not in yourselves into the kingdom, and them that those who were entering in, you hindered. ⁵³And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to be angry and to urge vehemently, endeavoring to provoke him to speak of many things, ⁵⁴lying in wait for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

¹In the meantime, when there had gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, ²for there is nothing covered which shall not be revealed, neither hidden which shall not be known. ³Therefore, whatever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear, in closets, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

⁴And I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

⁸Also I say unto you, whoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. ⁹But he who denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Now his disciples knew that he said this because they had spoken evil against him before the people, for they were afraid to confess him before men. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, He knows our hearts, and he speaks to our condemnation, and we shall not be forgiven. ¹⁰And whosoever But he answered them and said unto them, Whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man and repents, it shall be forgiven him. But unto him who blasphemes against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him. ¹¹And again I say unto you, they shall bring you unto the synagogues and before magistrates and powers. When they do this, take no thought how or what thing you shall answer, or what you shall say, ¹²for the holy ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say.