and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. ¹  Then ²  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on ³  you will be catching people.” ⁴ 

Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹  comes and takes away the word ²  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ³  and be saved.

saying, “The Son of Man must suffer ¹  many things and be rejected by the elders, ²  chief priests, and experts in the law, ³  and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” ⁴ 

Jesus replied, ¹  “A man was going down ²  from Jerusalem ³  to Jericho, ⁴  and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat ⁵  him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. ⁶ 

“When an unclean spirit ¹  goes out of a person, ²  it passes through waterless places ³  looking for rest but ⁴  not finding any. Then ⁵  it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ⁶ 

Meanwhile, ¹  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ³  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁴  which is hypocrisy. ⁵ 

Then ¹  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ²  all types of greed, ³  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Then the Lord answered him, ¹  “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, ²  and lead it to water? ³ 

Then ¹  shouldn’t ²  this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan ³  bound for eighteen long ⁴  years, be released from this imprisonment ⁵  on the Sabbath day?”

But one after another they all ¹  began to make excuses. ²  The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, ³  and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ ⁴ 

“Beware ¹  of the experts in the law. ²  They ³  like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings ⁴  in the marketplaces and the best seats ⁵  in the synagogues ⁶  and the places of honor at banquets.

So ¹  Jesus went with them. When ²  he was not far from the house, the centurion ³  sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, ⁴  for I am not worthy ⁵  to have you come under my roof.

On that same occasion ¹  Jesus ²  rejoiced ³  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ⁴  you, Father, Lord ⁵  of heaven and earth, because ⁶  you have hidden these things from the wise ⁷  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ⁸