Chapter 17

Instructions

1 He said to His disciples, “aIt is inevitable that 1stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!

2 “aIt 1would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.

3 “1Be on your guard! aIf your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 “And if he sins against you aseven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ 1forgive him.”

5 aThe apostles said to bthe Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 And athe Lord said, “If you 1had faith like ba mustard seed, you would say to this cmulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would 2obey you.

7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and 1sit down to eat’?

8 “But will he not say to him, ‘aPrepare something for me to eat, and properly 1clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and 2afterward you 3may eat and drink’?

9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?

10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”

Ten Lepers Cleansed

11 While He was aon the way to Jerusalem, bHe was passing 1between Samaria and Galilee.

12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who astood at a distance met Him;

13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, aMaster, have mercy on us!”

14 When He saw them, He said to them, “aGo and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, aglorifying God with a loud voice,

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a aSamaritan.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?

18 “1Was no one found who returned to agive glory to God, except this foreigner?”

19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; ayour faith 1has made you well.”

20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees aas to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with 1bsigns to be observed;

21 nor will athey say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is 1in your midst.”

Second Coming Foretold

22 And He said to the disciples, “aThe days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

23 “aThey will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.

24 “aFor just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part 1of the sky, shines to the other part 1of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

25 “aBut first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 “aAnd just as it happened bin the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:

27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “1It was the same as happened in athe days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and 1brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be 1just the same on the day that the Son of Man ais revealed.

31 “On that day, the one who is aon the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.

32 “aRemember Lot’s wife.

33 “aWhoever seeks to keep his 1life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

34 “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

35 “aThere will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.

36 [“1aTwo men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]

37 And answering they * said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “aWhere the body is, there also the 1vultures will be gathered.”