The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Part 4

(29)He said: Nay, lest while ye gather up the darnel, ye root up the wheat with them. (30)Let both grow together until the harvest. And in time of harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the darnel, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

(31)Another parable he put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field. (32)Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.

(33)Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

(34)All these things Jesus spoke to the mult.i.tudes in parables; and without a parable he spoke nothing to them; (35)that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying:

I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.

(36)Then having sent away the mult.i.tudes[13:36], he went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying: Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field. (37)And answering he said to them:

He that sows the good seed is the Son of man. (38)The field is the world. The good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the darnel are the sons of the evil one, (39)and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. (40)As therefore the darnel are gathered up and are burned with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. (41)The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of offense, and those who do iniquity, (42)and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be the wailing, and the gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth! (43)Then will the righteous s.h.i.+ne forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears to hear, let him hear[13:43].

(44)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and concealed; and for joy thereof[13:44], he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

(45)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking goodly pearls; (46)and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

(47)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, cast into the sea, and gathering together of every kind. (48)Which, when it was filled, they drew up upon the beach, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. (49)So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will go forth, and will separate the wicked from among the just, (50)and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be the wailing, and the gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth!

(51)Did ye understand all these things? They say to him, Yea, Lord.

(52)And he said to them: Therefore every scribe, instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure new and old.

(53)And it came to pa.s.s, when Jesus finished these parables, that he departed thence. (54)And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue; so that they were astonished, and said: Whence has this man this wisdom, and the miracles? Is not this the carpenter's son? (55)Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, and Joseph[13:55], and Simon, and Judas? (56)And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then has this man all these things? (57)And they were offended at him. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.

(58)And he did not many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

XIV.

AT that time Herod the tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus. (2)And he said to his servants: This is John the Immerser; he is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers[14:2] work in him.

(3)For Herod laid hold of John, and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, the wife of Philip, his brother. (4)For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her. (5)And though desiring to put him to death, he feared the mult.i.tude, because they held him as a prophet. (6)But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

(7)Whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatever she should ask. (8)And she, being urged on by her mother, says: Give me here, on a platter, the head of John the Immerser. (9)And the king was sorry; but for the sake of the oath, and of those who reclined at table with him, he commanded it to be given. (10)And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. (11)And his head was brought on a platter, and was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. (12)And his disciples came and took up the body, and buried it; and they went and reported it to Jesus.

(13)And when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from thence by s.h.i.+p, into a desert place apart. And the mult.i.tudes hearing of it, followed him on foot from the cities. (14)And going forth he saw a great mult.i.tude, and had compa.s.sion on them, and he healed their sick.

(15)And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying: The place is desert, and the time is already pa.s.sed away; dismiss the mult.i.tudes, that they may go away into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. (16)But Jesus said to them: They need not go away; give ye them to eat. (17)And they say to him: We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. (18)He said: Bring them hither to me.

(19)And he commanded that the mult.i.tudes should lie down on the gra.s.s, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the mult.i.tudes. (20)And they all ate, and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

(21)And they who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

(22)And straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the s.h.i.+p, and to go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the mult.i.tudes.

(23)And having dismissed the mult.i.tudes, he went up into the mountain apart to pray; and when evening was come, he was there alone. (24)But the s.h.i.+p was already in the midst of the sea, vexed by the waves; for the wind was contrary. (25)And in the fourth watch of the night he went to them, walking on the sea. (26)And the disciples, seeing him walking on the sea, were troubled, saying: It is a spectre. And they cried out for fear. (27)But straightway Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid. (28)And Peter answering him said: Lord, if it is thou, bid me come to thee on the water. (29)And he said: Come. And coming down from the s.h.i.+p, Peter walked on the water, to go to Jesus. (30)But seeing the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me.

(31)And immediately Jesus, stretching forth his hand, took hold of him, and said to him: Thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

(32)And when they had entered into the s.h.i.+p, the wind ceased. (33)And those in the s.h.i.+p came and wors.h.i.+ped him[14:33], saying: Of a truth, thou art the Son of G.o.d.

(34)And pa.s.sing over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. (35)And the men of that place, knowing him, sent out into all that country round, and brought to him all that were diseased (36)and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched were made whole.

XV.

THEN there come to Jesus the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem, saying: (2)Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. (3)And he answering said to them: Why do ye also transgress the commandment of G.o.d, for the sake of your tradition? (4)For G.o.d commanded, saying[15:4]: Honor thy father and mother; and he that curses father or mother, let him surely die. (5)But ye say: Whoever says to his father or his mother, It is a gift, whatever thou mightest be profited with from me, (6)shall not honor his father or his mother; and ye made the word of G.o.d[15:6] of no effect, for the sake of your tradition.

(7)Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying:

(8)This people honor me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

(9)But in vain they wors.h.i.+p me, Teaching as doctrines commandments of men.

(10)And calling to him the mult.i.tude, he said to them: Hear, and understand: (11)Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

(12)Then came to him his disciples, and said to him: Knowest thou that the Pharisees, when they heard the saying, were offended? (13)And he answering said: Every plant, which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. (14)Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.

(15)And Peter answering said to him: Explain to us this parable.

(16)And he said: Are ye also even yet without understanding? (17)Do ye not yet understand, that whatever enters into the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the drain? (18)But the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.

(19)For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false-witnessings, blasphemies. (20)These are the things that defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defiles not the man.

(21)And Jesus, going forth from thence, withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. (22)And behold, a woman of Canaan, coming out from those borders, cried to him, saying: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is grievously possessed with a demon. (23)But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying: Dismiss her; because she cries after us. (24)But he answering said: I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

(25)But she came and bowed down to him, saying: Lord, help me. (26)But he answering said: It is not good to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs. (27)And she said: Yea, Lord; for the dogs also eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table. (28)Then Jesus answering said to her: O woman, great is thy faith; be it done to thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

(29)And departing from thence, Jesus came near to the sea of Galilee; and going up into the mountain, he sat down there. (30)And great mult.i.tudes came to him, having with them lame, blind dumb, maimed, and many others, and laid them down at his feet, and he healed them; (31)so that the mult.i.tudes wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the G.o.d of Israel.

(32)And Jesus, having called to him his disciples, said: I have compa.s.sion on the mult.i.tude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I will not dismiss them fasting, lest they faint in the way. (33)And his disciples say to him: Whence should we have so many loaves in the wilderness, as to fill so great a mult.i.tude? (34)And Jesus says to them: How many loaves have ye? And they said: Seven, and a few little fishes. (35)And he commanded the mult.i.tudes to lie down on the ground. (36)And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the mult.i.tude. (37)And they all ate, and were filled. And they took up of the fragments that remained seven baskets full. (38)And they who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. (39)And dismissing the mult.i.tudes, he entered into the s.h.i.+p, and came into the borders of Magdala.

XVI.

AND the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, and tempting desired him to show them a sign from heaven. (2)And he answering said to them: When it is evening, ye say: Fair weather! for the sky is red. (3)And in the morning: A storm to-day! for the sky is red and lowering. Ye know how to discern the face of the sky, but can ye not the signs of the times?

(4)An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed.

(5)And coming to the other side, his disciples forgot to take bread.

(6)And Jesus said to them: Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (7)And they reasoned among themselves, saying: Because we took no bread! (8)And Jesus knowing it said: Ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye took no bread? (9)Do ye not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? (10)Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? (11)How is it that ye do not understand, that I spoke not to you of bread?

But, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees! (12)Then they understood, that he did not bid them beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

(13)And having come into the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, saying: Who do men say that the Son of man is[16:13]?

(14)And they said: Some, John the Immerser; and others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

(15)He says to them: But who do ye say that I am? (16)And Simon Peter answering said: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d.

(17)And Jesus answering said to him: Happy art thou, Simon Bar-jonah[16:17]; for flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. (18)And I also say to thee, that thou art Peter[16:18a], and upon this rock I will build my church[16:18b]; and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. (19)And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

(20)Then he charged his disciples, that they should tell no one that he is the Christ.

(21)From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death, and rise on the third day.

(22)And Peter taking him aside began to rebuke him, saying: Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be to thee. (23)But he turned and said to Peter: Get thee behind me, Satan[16:23]; thou art an offense to me; for thou thinkest not the things of G.o.d, but those of men.