Matthew 11 (New American Standard)

John's Questions

1 ¹When Jesus had finished ^agiving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there ²to teach and ^bpreach in their cities. 2 ³Now when ⁴John, ^cwhile imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, "Are You ⁵the ^dExpected One, or shall we look for someone else ?" 4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see : 5 ⁶the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ⁷POOR HAVE THE ^eGOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6 "And blessed is he ^fwho ⁸does not ^gtake offense at Me."

Jesus' Tribute to John

7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into ⁹the wilderness to see ? A reed shaken by the wind ? 8 "^hBut what did you go out to see ? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' ⁱpalaces ! 9 "^jBut what did you go out to see ? ¹⁰A prophet ? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 "This is the one about whom it ^kis written, '¹¹BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER ^lAHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' 11 "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist ! Yet the one who is ^mleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 "¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven ⁿsuffers violence, and violent men ^otake it by force. 13 "For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ¹³Elijah who ^pwas to come. 15 "¹⁴He who has ears to hear, ^qlet him hear. 16 "But to what shall I compare this generation ? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance ; we sang a dirge, and you did not ^rmourn.' 18 "For John came neither ¹⁵eating nor ¹⁶drinking, and they say, '¹⁷He has a demon !' 19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^sdrunkard, ¹⁸a friend of tax collectors and ^tsinners !' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

The Unrepenting Cities

20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His ^u19miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 "²⁰Woe to you, Chorazin ! Woe to you, ²¹Bethsaida ! For if the ^vmiracles had occurred in ²²Tyre and ²³Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in ^w24sackcloth and ashes. 22 "Nevertheless I say to you, ²⁵it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in ²⁶the day of judgment than for you. 23 "And you, ²⁷Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will ²⁸descend to ²⁹Hades ; for if the ^xmiracles had occurred in ³⁰Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 "Nevertheless I say to you that ³¹it will be more tolerable for the land of ³²Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."

Come to Me

25 ³³At that ^ytime Jesus said, "I praise You, ³⁴Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ³⁵You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 "Yes, ³⁶Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 "³⁷All things have been handed over to Me by My Father ; and no one knows the Son except the Father ; nor does anyone know the Father ³⁸except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 "³⁹Come to Me, all ^zwho are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and ⁴⁰learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ⁴¹YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For ⁴²My yoke is ^aaeasy and My burden is light."