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Jonah’s Anger

4But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. ²He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. ³And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ ⁴And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ ⁵Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

6 The Lord God appointed a bush,^* and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. ⁷But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. ⁸When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

Jonah Is Reproved

9 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ ¹⁰Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’

³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
   and I will observe it to the end.
³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
   and observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments,
   for I delight in it.
³⁶ Turn my heart to your decrees,
   and not to selfish gain.
³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
   give me life in your ways.
³⁸ Confirm to your servant your promise,
   which is for those who fear you.
³⁹ Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
   for your ordinances are good.
⁴⁰ See, I have longed for your precepts;
   in your righteousness give me life.

⁴¹ Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
   your salvation according to your promise.
⁴² Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
   for I trust in your word.
⁴³ Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
   for my hope is in your ordinances.
⁴⁴ I will keep your law continually,
   for ever and ever.
⁴⁵ I shall walk at liberty,
   for I have sought your precepts.
⁴⁶ I will also speak of your decrees before kings,
   and shall not be put to shame;
⁴⁷ I find my delight in your commandments,
   because I love them.
⁴⁸ I revere your commandments, which I love,
   and I will meditate on your statutes.

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
   in which you have made me hope.
⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my distress,
   that your promise gives me life.
⁵¹ The arrogant utterly deride me,
   but I do not turn away from your law.
⁵² When I think of your ordinances from of old,
   I take comfort, O Lord.
⁵³ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
   those who forsake your law.
⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs
   wherever I make my home.
⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
   and keep your law.
⁵⁶ This blessing has fallen to me,
   for I have kept your precepts.

⁵⁷ The Lord is my portion;
   I promise to keep your words.
⁵⁸ I implore your favour with all my heart;
   be gracious to me according to your promise.
⁵⁹ When I think of your ways,
   I turn my feet to your decrees;
⁶⁰ I hurry and do not delay
   to keep your commandments.
⁶¹ Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
   I do not forget your law.
⁶² At midnight I rise to praise you,
   because of your righteous ordinances.
⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you,
   of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
   teach me your statutes.

⁶⁵ You have dealt well with your servant,
   O Lord, according to your word.
⁶⁶ Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
   for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷ Before I was humbled I went astray,
   but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸ You are good and do good;
   teach me your statutes.
⁶⁹ The arrogant smear me with lies,
   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
⁷⁰ Their hearts are fat and gross,
   but I delight in your law.
⁷¹ It is good for me that I was humbled,
   so that I might learn your statutes.
⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me
   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ²‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” ⁵But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” ¹⁰Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹²and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.’

The Question about Paying Taxes

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ ²¹They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ ²²When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

The Question about the Resurrection

23 The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection;^* and they asked him a question, saying, ²⁴‘Teacher, Moses said, “If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.” ²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. ²⁶The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷Last of all, the woman herself died. ²⁸In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.’

29 Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels^* in heaven. ³¹And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ³²“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.’ ³³And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ ³⁷He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

The Question about David’s Son

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴²‘What do you think of the Messiah?^* Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ ⁴³He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit^* calls him Lord, saying,
⁴⁴ “The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
   until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
⁴⁵If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ ⁴⁶No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.