Monday, April 26

18Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.

19And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again.' Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, 'How did the fig tree wither away so soon?'

21So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.

22And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'

23Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, 'By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?'

24But Jesus answered and said to them, 'I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:

25The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?'

26And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.'

27So they answered Jesus and said, 'We do not know.'

28And He said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 'But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'

29He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.

30Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go.

31Which of the two did the will of his father?'

32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. They said to Him, 'The first.'

33'Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Jesus said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

34Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.

35And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

36Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.

37Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

38But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'

39So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40'Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?'

41They said to Him, 'He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.'

42Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?'

43Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

1Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of the captivity by the River Chebar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

2On the fifth day of the month, in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity,

3the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me.

4I looked, and behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud was in it, with a surrounding brightness and fire flashing forth from it. In its midst was something like the appearance of amber in the middle of the fire, and a brightness in it.

5In the midst, there was as it were the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance, and the likeness of a man upon them.

6Each had four faces, and each had four wings.

7Their legs were straight, and their feet were winged. There were sparks like gleaming brass, and their wings were light.

8The hand of a man was underneath their wings on their four sides.

9The faces of those four did not turn as they proceeded, and they went with each face opposite the other.

10This was the likeness of their faces: the face of a man, the face of a lion on the right side of the foursome, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.

11Their wings were spread out above them. Each had two wings joined together, and two wings covered up their bodies.

12Each went straight forward wherever the spirit was going, and did not turn back.

13In the midst of the living creatures there was an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures. There was the brightness of fire, and out of the fire lightning came forth.

14I looked and behold, there was one wheel on the earth next to each living creature with its four faces.

15The appearance of the wheels was like the appearance of beryl, and each of the four had one likeness; and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.

16They went on their four sides, and did not turn when they went.

17Neither did their backs turn, and they were high. I saw them, and the backs of all four were full of eyes all around.

18When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

19Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go. The living creatures went, and the wheels went with them, for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

20When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures came to a stop, the wheels stopped; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up with them, for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

1Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:

2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5All those who were the seed of Jacob were seventy-five persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already).

6Now Joseph died, as well as all his brothers and all that generation.

7Then the children of Israel increased and multiplied, became numerous, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8But there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.

9Then he said to his nation, 'Look, the race of the children of Israel is a great multitude and is stronger than we;

10come, let us outwit them, lest they multiply, and it happen in the event of war that they also join our enemies and fight against us and so escape out of the land.'

11Therefore he set taskmasters over them to afflict them in their works; and they built for Pharaoh strong cities—Pithom and Raamses and On, which is Heliopolis.

12But the more they humbled them, the more they multiplied and grew; and the Egyptians greatly abhorred the children of Israel.

13So the Egyptians tyrannized the children of Israel by force.

14They made their lives bitter with hard labor—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their labor in which they made them serve was by violence.

15Then the king of the Egyptians spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;

16and he said, 'When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see they are about to give birth, if it is a male, then you shall kill him; but if a female, let her live.'

17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.

18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this thing and saved the male children alive?'

19Thus the midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the women of Egypt; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.'

20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.

1There was a man in the land of Ausitis whose name was Job. That man was true, blameless, righteous, and God-fearing, and he abstained from every evil thing.

2Now he had seven sons and three daughters,

3and his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys in the pastures. Moreover he possessed a very large number of house servants. His works were also great on the earth, and that man was the most noble of all the men of the East.

4His sons would visit one another and prepare a banquet every day, and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

5When the days of their drinking were ended, Job sent and purified them; and he rose early in the morning and offered sacrifices for them according to their number, as well as one calf for the sins of their souls. For Job said, 'Lest my sons consider evil things in their mind against God.' Therefore Job did this continually.

6Then as it so happened one day that behold, the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil also came with them.

7The Lord said to the devil, 'Where did you come from?' So the devil answered the Lord and said, 'I came here after going about the earth and walking around under heaven.'

8Then the Lord said to him, 'Have you yet considered my servant Job, since there is none like him on the earth: a blameless, true, and God-fearing man, and one who abstains from every evil thing?'

9So the devil answered and said before the Lord, 'Does Job worship the Lord for no reason?

10Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his cattle have increased in the land.

11But stretch out Your hand and touch all he has, and see if he will bless You to Your face.'

12Then the Lord said to the devil, 'Behold, whatever he has I give into your hand; but do not touch him.' Thus the devil went out from the Lord.

3Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'

4And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you.

5For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9'Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.

10And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

11Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

12And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

13But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15'Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' (whoever reads, let him understand),

16'then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

18And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

19But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

20And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

23'Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.

24For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

25See, I have told you beforehand.

26'Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.

27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

29'Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32'Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

33So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!

34Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.