Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah (now he was sixteen years old) and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He built Elath and returned it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. And the name of his mother was Yecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. And he began to seek God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And whenever he sought Yahweh God made him have success.

And he went out and made war against the Philistines, and he broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who were living in Gur-Baal and Meunim. And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame went out to the boundary of Egypt, for he became very strong. And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he strengthened them. And he built towers in the desert and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the Shephelah and on the plain, along with farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. And Uzziah had troops trained and ready for war in divisions according to the number of their enrollment at the hand of Jeuel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah of the king’s commanders. The whole number of the heads of the families for mighty warriors of strength was two thousand six hundred. And under their hand were army troops numbering three hundred and seven thousand five hundred who could make war with power and strength to help the king against an enemy. And Uzziah prepared small shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the whole army. And he made siege machines in Jerusalem designed by skillful men to be set upon the towers and upon the corners to shoot arrows and large slingstones. And his fame went out far, for he helped marvelously, for he was strong.

But on account of his strength his heart grew proud unto destruction. And he acted unfaithfully against Yahweh his God and went into the temple of Yahweh to offer an incense offering on the altar. And Azariah the priest, along with eighty strong priests with him, went in after him. And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but it is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God." Then Uzziah, his censer in hand to burn incense, became angry. And when he became angry with the priests, then leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of Yahweh at the altar of incense. When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he was leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him. So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son was over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

Now the remainder of the words of Uzziah, from the first to the last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote them. And Uzziah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the burial field which belonged to the kings, because, they said, "He was leprous." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done—only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and he did much restoration on the wall of Ophel. And he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built forts and towers in the wooded places. Now he fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave to him in that year one hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand measures of barley. This is what the Ammonites rendered to him, as well as in the second and third year. And Jotham strengthened himself, for he established his ways before Yahweh his God.

Now the remainder of the words of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And Jotham slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Ahaz became king in his place.

For the music director, upon stringed instruments. Of David.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. And after coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. And when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. And when they received it, they began to complain against the master of the house, saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave to you also. Is it not permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ Thus the last will be first and the first last."

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him and flog him and crucify him, and on the third day he will be raised."

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling down she asked something from him. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

And when the ten heard this, they were indignant concerning the two brothers. But Jesus called them to himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them. It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

And as they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they called out, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they called out all the more, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" And Jesus stopped, called them, and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to him, "Lord, that our eyes be opened!" And having compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.