The ¹  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ²  choke the word, ³  so it produces nothing.

“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. ¹ 

He told them, “You will drink my cup, ¹  but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ²  and believe him.

The ¹  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ²  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

“You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over ¹  to councils ²  and beaten in the synagogues. ³  You will stand before governors and kings ⁴  because of me, as a witness to them.

Fear ¹  seized them all, and they began to glorify ²  God, saying, “A great prophet ³  has appeared ⁴  among us!” and “God has come to help ⁵  his people!”

Consider the ravens: ¹  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds ²  them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!

And if ¹  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²  which is here ³  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ⁴  how much more ⁵  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

But the one who did not know his master’s will ¹  and did things worthy of punishment ²  will receive a light beating. ³  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁴  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁵  even more will be asked. ⁶ 

So ¹  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ²  three years ³  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁴  I find none. Cut ⁵  it down! Why ⁶  should it continue to deplete ⁷  the soil?’

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins ¹  and loses ²  one of them, ³  does not light a lamp, sweep ⁴  the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?

But ¹  Jesus ²  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ³  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ⁴  among men is utterly detestable ⁵  in God’s sight.

“Would any one of you say ¹  to your slave ²  who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? ³ 

He ¹  said, “Watch out ²  that you are not misled. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ³  and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them!

and said to him, “Everyone ¹  serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper ²  wine when the guests ³  are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!”

When I was with them I kept them safe ¹  and watched over them ²  in your name ³  that you have given me. Not one ⁴  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ⁵  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ⁶ 

Now in those ¹  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ²  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ³  against the native Hebraic Jews, ⁴  because their widows ⁵  were being overlooked ⁶  in the daily distribution of food. ⁷ 

So the twelve ¹  called ²  the whole group ³  of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. ⁴ 

Although they fully know ¹  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ²  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ³