.^Rv OF P^mcEni:^
^iOGlCPl SE^^!!!^
BS 195.5 .M69 1913
Moffatt, James.
The New Testament
THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE
NEW TESTAMENT
A NEW TRANSLATION
BY
JAMES MOFFATT
D.D., D.LiTT.
YATES PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT GREEK AND EXEGESIS,
MANSFIELD COLLEGE, OXFORD
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
PREFACE
In his essay on Protestantism, de Quincey has a characteristic para-
graph upon the popular delusion that " every idea and word which exists,
or has existed, for any nation, ancient or modern, must have a direct
interchangeable equivalent in all other languages." No one who attempts
to translate any part of the New Testament is likely to remain very long
under such a delusion. Thus there is no exact English equivalent for
terms like Xoyos and fiva-ri^piov and BiKaLoanjvr). The first of these I have
simply transliterated once or twice ; ' Logos ' is at any rate less mis-
leading than ' Word ' would be to a modern reader. Even when an
equivalent can be got for some New Testament term like Wvrj or 'AiSiys,
it cannot be used invariably. I have kept " Gentiles " for edvrj in cases
where the contrast between Judaism and the outer world is prominent;
if Kipling's " Recessional " was intelligible to modern readers, " Gentiles "
here should not cause them undue difficulty. But now and then the Greek
term carries a sense which can only be represented by our " pagans " or
" heathen," and occasionally it is no more than " nations." This will
serve as an illustration of the difficulties which confront a translator.
But once the translation of the New Testament is freed from the influence
of the theory of verbal inspiration, these difficulties cease to be so formid-
able. I have tried not to sacrifice the spirit to the letter. It is true, as
de Quincey observes in the same essay, that " the great ideas of the Bible
protect themselves. The heavenly truths, by their own imperishableness,
defeat the mortality of languages with which for a moment they are
associated." Still, this is a victory in which even the camp-followers or
translators have a modest share. They can or they should further this
linguistic triumph. Hellenistic Greek has its own defects, from the point
of view of the classical scholar, but it is an eminently translatable
language, and the evidence of papyrology shows it was more flexible than
once was imagined. My intention, therefore, has been to produce a
PREFACE
version which will to some degree represent the gains of recent lexical
research and also prove readable. I have attempted to translate the New
Testament exactly as one would render any piece of contemporary
Hellenistic prose ; in this way, students of the original text may perhaps
be benefited. But I hope also that the translation may fall into the hands
of some who know how to freshen their religious interest in the meaning
of the New Testament by reading it occasionally in some unauthorized
English or foreign version, as well as into the hands of others who for
various reasons neglect the Bible even as an English classic. This is a
hope which, no doubt, is accompanied with some risks and fears. Every
translation has to face a double ordeal. Some of its readers know the
original, some do not, and both classes have to be met. " The English
reader," as Dr. Rouse remarks, " may be quite competent to judge of
a translation as literature and as intelligible or not intelligible, but he
cannot judge of its accuracy. The scholar alone can judge of its accuracy,
but (granting that he has literary taste) he knows the original too well to
be independent of it, and hence cannot judge of the impression which the
translation will make on the minds of those who are not scholars." If this
is true of Homer, it is three times true of the New Testament. Any new
translation starts under a special handicap. It appears to challenge in
every line the rhythm and diction of an English classic, and this irritates
many who have no knowledge of the original. The old, they say, is better.
They are indifferent to the changes which recent grammatical research
has necessitated in the translation of the aorist, the article, and the
particles, for example, even since the Revised Version of 1881 was made.
But intelligibility is more than associations, and to atone in part for
the loss of associations I have endeavoured to make the New Testament,
especially St. Paul's epistles, as intelligible to a modern English reader as
any version that is not a paraphrase can hope to make them.
This raises one of the numerous points of difficulty that beset the trans-
lator. How far is he justified in modernizing an Oriental book? How
far can he assume that certain turns of expression have become naturalized
in English by the Authorized Version itself? I have never seen any
satisfactory solution of this problem, and I have not been able to find one.
However, it is superfluous to discuss such matters at length. This is not
the place to develop any theories on the subject. What the general public
vi
PREFACE
cares for is a translator's practice rather than his principles, and students
can easily detect the latter, or the lack of them, in the former.
I wish only to add this caution, that a translator appears to be more
dogmatic than he really is. He must come down on one side of the fence
or on the other. He has often to decide on a rendering, or even on the
text of a passage, when his own mind is by no means clear and certain.
In a number of cases, therefore, when the evidence is conflicting, I must
ask scholars and students to believe that a line has been taken only after
long thought and only with serious hesitation.
The translation has been made from the text recently issued by Von
Soden of Berlin, but I have not invariably followed his arrangement and
punctuation. Wherever I have felt obliged to adopt a different reading,
this is noted at the foot of the page.
Quotations or direct reminiscences of the Old Testament are printed
in italics.
The books are arranged for the convenience of the general reader in
the order of the English Bible. This applies to the order of chapters as
well. Thus the last four chapters of Second Corinthians appear in their
usual canonical position instead of in what I believe to be their original
position between First and Second Corinthians. The only exception
I have made to this rule is in the case of some occasional transpositions
either of verses or of paragraphs, for example, in the case of the Fourth
Gospel, Any one who cares to look into the evidence for such changes
will find it in my Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament.
Lastly, it is right to add that I have not consulted any other version
of the New Testament in preparing this work, though probably echoes
and reminiscences have clung to one's mind. The only version I have
kept before me is the one I prepared thirteen years ago for my Historical
New Testament. But the present version is not a revision of that. It is
an independent work. I agreed to undertake it with sharp misgivings,
but I trust that the spirit and method of its composition may at any rate
do something to make some parts of the New Testament more intelligible
to some readers.
James Moffatt.
191S.
Til
CONTENTS
MATTHEW .
MARK
LUKE
JOHN
ACTS
ROMANS .
I. CORINTHIANS
II. CORINTHIANS
GALATIANS
EPHESIANS
PHILIPPIANS
COLOSSIANS
I. THESSALONIANS
II. THESSALONIANS
I. TIMOTHEUS
II. TIMOTHEUS
TITUS
PHILEMON
HEBREWS .
JAMES
rxm
1
43
, 113
. 145
. 187
. 205
. 223
. 234
. 240
. 246
. 250
. 254
. 258
. 261
. 266
. 270
. 272
. 273
, 286
ix
CONTENTS
PAOK
[. PETER . i
. 291
11. PETER .
. 296
I. JOHN .
. 299
II. JOHN .
, 304
III. JOHN .
. 305
JUDAS
. 306
-REVELATION
. 309
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
S. MATTHEW
1 The birth-roll of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abra-
ham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob
the father of Judah and his
3 brothers, Judah the father of Perez
and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the
father of Hezron, Hezron the father
4 of Aram, Aram the father of Amin-
adab, Aminadab the father of Nah-
shon, Nahshon the father of Sal-
5 mon, Salmon the father of Boaz
by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed
by Ruth, Obed the father of Jessai,
6 and Jessai the father of king David.
David was the father of Solomon
7 by Uriah's wife, Solomon the father
of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father
of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Je-
hoshaphat the father of Joram,
9 Joram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah
the father of Jotham, Jotham the
father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of
10 Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of
Manasseh, Manasseh the father of
Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah
and his brothers at the period of
12 the Babylonian captivity. After
the Babylonian captivity, Jecho-
niah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim, Elia-
14 kim the father of Azor, Azor the
father of Zadok, Zadok the father
of Achim, Achim the father of
15 Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan, Mat-
than the father of Jacob, Jacob 16
the father of Joseph, and Joseph
(to whom the virgin Mary was
betrothed) the father of Jesus, who
is called ' Christ.'
Thus all the generations from 17
Abraham to David number four-
teen, from David to the Babylonian
captivity fourteen, and from the
Babylonian captivity to Christ
fourteen.
The birth of Jesus Christ came 18
about thus. His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, but be-
fore they came together she was
discovered to be pregnant by the
holy Spirit. As Joseph her hus- 19
band was a just man but unwilling
to disgrace her, he resolved to
divorce her secretly; but after he 20
had planned this, there appeared
an angel of the Lord to him in
a dream saying, " Joseph, son of
David, fear not to take Mary your
wife home, for what is begotten in
her comes from the holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you will 21
call him ' Jesus,' for he will save
his people from their sins." All 22
this happened for the fulfilment of
what the Lord had spoken by the
prophet :
T'he maiden will conceive and 23
bear a son,
and his name will be called
Immanuel
(which may be translated, God is
with us). So on waking from sleep 24
Joseph did as the angel of the Lord
S. MATTHEW II
had commanded him ; he took his
25 wife home, but he did not Hve with
her as a husband till she bore a son,
whom he called Jesus.
2 Now when Jesus was born at
Bethlehem, belonging to Judaea,
in the days of king Herod, magi-
cians from the East arrived at
2 Jerusalem, asking, " Where is the
newly-born king of the Jews ? We
saw his star when it rose, and
we have come to worship him."
3 The news of this troubled king
Herod and all Jerusalem as
4 well; so he gathered all the high
priests and scribes of the people
and made inquiries of them
about where the messiah was
5 to be born. They told him, " In
Bethlehem belonging to Judaea :
for thus it is written by the
prophet :
6 And you Bethlehem, in Judah's
land,
You are not least among the
rulers of Judah :
For a ruler will come from
you,
Who will shepherd Israel my
people."
7 Then Herod summoned the magi-
cians in secret and ascertained
from them the time of the star's
8 appearance. He also sent them
to Bethlehem, telling them, " Go
and make a careful search for
the child, and when you have
found him report to me, so
that I can go and worship him
9 too." The magicians listened to
the king and then went their
way. And the star they had seen
rise went in front of them till it
stopped over the place where the
10 child was. When they caught sight
of the star they were intensely glad.
2
And on reaching the house they saw 11
the child with his mother Mary,
they fell down to worship him,
and opening their caskets they
offered him gifts of gold and frank-
incense and myrrh. Then, as they 12
had been divinely warned in a
dream not to return to Herod, they
went back to their own country by
a different road.
After they had gone, there ap- 13
peared an angel of the Lord to
Joseph in a dream, saying, " Rise,
take the child and his mother and
flee to Egypt ; stay there till I tell
you. For Herod is going to search
for the child and destroy him."
So he got up, took the child and his 14
mother by night, and went off to
Egypt, where he stayed until the 15
death of Herod. This was to fulfil
what the Lord had said by the
prophet : / called my Son from
Egypt.
Then Herod saw the magicians 16
had trifled with him, and he was
furiously angry; he sent and slew
all the male children in Bethlehem
and in all the neighbourhood who
were two years old or under, calcu-
lating by the time he had ascer-
tained from the magicians. Then 17
the saying was fulfilled which had
been uttered by the prophet Jere-
miah :
A cry was heard in Rama, 18
weeping and sore lamentation —
Rachel weeping for her children,
and inconsolable because they
are no more.
But when Herod died, there ap- 19
peared an angel of the Lord in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20
" Rise, take the child and his
mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child's
life are dead." So he rose, took 21
the child and his mother and went
S. MATTHEW III, IV
22 to the land of Israel ; but on hear-
ing that Archelaus reigned over
Judaea in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go there and, by
a divine injunction in a dream,
withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23 He went and settled in a town
called Nazaret, so that what had
been said by the prophets might
be fulfilled : ' He shall be called a
Nazarene.'
3 In those days John the Bapti t
came on the scene, jireaching in the
2 desert of Judaea, " Repent, the
3 Reign of heaven is near." (This
was the man spoken of by the
prophet Isaiah :
The voice of one who cries in the
desert,
* Make the way ready for the
Lord,
level the paths for him.^)
4 This John had his clothes made of
camel's hair, with a leather girdle
round his loins ; his food was locusts
5 and wild honey. Then Jerusalem
and the whole of Judaea and all the
Jordan-district went out to him
6 and got baptized by him in the
7 Jordan, confessing their sins. But
when he noticed a number of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming
for his baptism, he said to them,
" You brood of vipers, who told you
to Hee from the coming Wrath ?
8 Now produce fruit that answers to
9 your repentance, instead of pre-
suming to say to yourselves, ' We
have a father in Abraham,' I tell
you, God can raise up children for
10 Abraham from these stones ! The
axe is lying all ready at the root
of the trees ; any tree that is not
producing good fruit will be
cut down and thrown into the
fire.
I baptize you with water for 11
repentance,
but he who is coming after me
is mightier,
and I am not fit even to carry
his sandals ;
he will baptize you with the
holy Spirit and fire.
His winno wing-fan is in \is 12
hand,
he will clean out his threshin;^-
floor,
his wheat he will gather into
the granary,
but the straw he will burn with
fire unquenchable."
Then Jesus came on the scene 13
from Galilee, to get baptized by
John at the Jordan. John tried 14
to prevent him ; " I need to get
baptized by you," he said, " and
you come to me ! " But Jesus 15
answered him, " Come now, this
is how we should fulfil all our duty
to God." Then John gave in to
him. Now when Jesus had been 16
baptized, the moment he rose out
of the water, the heavens opened
and he saw the Spirit of God coming
down like a dove upon him. And 17
a voice from heaven said,
' This is my Son, the Beloved,
in him is my delight.'
Then Jesus was led into the 4
desert by the Spirit to be tempted
by the devil. He fasted fort 5'^ days 2
and forty nights and afterwards felt
hungry. So the tempter came up 3
and said to him, " If you are God's
Son, tell these stones to become
loaves." He answered, " It is 4
written,
Man is not to live on bread
alone,
hut on every word that issues
from the mouth of God."
3
S. MATTHEW V
5 Then the devil conveyed him to
the holy city and, placing him on
6 the pinnacle of the temple, said
to him, " If you are God's Son,
throw yourself down; for it is
written.
He will give his angeh charge of
you;
they will bear you on their liands,
lest you strike your foot against a
stone."
7 Jesus said to him, " It is written
again, You shall not tempt the Lord
8 your God." Once more the devil
conveyed him to an exceedingly
high mountain and showed him all
the realms of the world and their
9 grandeur ; he said, " I will give you
all that if you will fall down and
10 worship me." Then Jesus told
him, " Begone, Satan ! it is written.
You must zvorship the Lord your
11 God, and serve him alone." At
this the devil left him, and
angels came up and ministered to
him.
12 Now when Jesus heard that
John had been arrested, he with-
13 drew to Galilee ; he left Nazaret
and settled at Capharnahum beside
the lake, in the territory of Zebulun
14 and Naphtali — for the fulfilment
of what had been said by the
prophet Isaiah :
15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali
lying to the sea, across the
Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles !
16 The people ivho sat iii darkness
saw a great light,
yea light dawned on those who
sat in the land and the shadow
of death.
17 From that day Jesus began to
preach, saying, " Repent, the Reign
of heaven is near."
18 As he was walking along the
sea of Galilee he saw two brothers.
Simon (who is called Peter) and
his brother Andrew, casting a net
in the sea — for they were fisher-
men; so he said to them, " Come, 19
follow me, and I will make you
fish for men." And they dropped 20
their nets at once and followed
him. Then going on from there 21
he saw two other brothers, James
the son of Zebedaeus and his brother
John, mending their nets in the
boat beside their father Zebedaeus.
He called them, and they left the 22
boat and their father at once, and
went after him.
Then he made a tour through 23
the whole of Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, preaching the
gospel of the Reign, and healing
all the sickness and disease of the
people. The fame of him spread all 24
through the surrounding country,*
and people brought him all their
sick, those who suffered from all
manner of disease and pain, de-
moniacs, lunatics, and paralytics;
he healed them all. And he was 25
followed by great crowds from
Galilee and Decapolis and Jeru-
salem and Judaea and from across
the Jordan.
So when he saw the crowds, he 5
went up the hill and sat down ; his
disciples came up to him and he 2
opened his lips and began to teach
them. He said :
"Blessed are those who feel poor 3
in spirit !
the Realm of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the mourners ! 4
they will be consoled.
* I accept Blass's suggestion that "^vpiav
here is a corruption of ffwoplay (see Mark
i. 28), which is actually read by one
uncial manuscript r.
S. MATTHEW V
5 Blessed are the humble/
they will inherit tJie earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for goodness !
they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the mercii'ul !
they wiil find mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart !
they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers !
they will be ranked sons of
God.
10 Blessed are those who have been
persecuted for the sake of
goodness !
The Realm of heaven is theirs.
11 Blessed are you when men
denounce you and persecute you
and utter all manner of evil against
12 you for my sake; rejoice and
exult in it, for your reward is
rich in heaven; that is how they
persecuted the prophets before you.
13 You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt becomes insipid, what
can make it salt again ? After that
it is fit for nothing, fit only to be
thrown outside and trodden by the
feet of men.
14 You are the light of the world.
A town on the top of a hill cannot
15 be hidden. Nor do men light a
lamp to put it imder a bowl ; they
put it on a stand and it shines for
16 all in the house. So your light is
to shine before men, that they may
see the good you do and glorify
your Father in heaven.
17 Do not imagine I have come to
destroy the Law or the prophets ;
I have not come to destroy but to
18 fulfil. (I tell you truly, till heaven
and earth pass away not an iotn,
not a comma, will pass from the
Law until it is all in force. There-
fore
19 whoever relaxes a single one of
these commands, were it
even one of the least, and
teaches men so,
he will be ranked least in the
Realm of heaven ;
but whoever obeys them and
teaches them,
he will be ranked great in the
Realm of heaven.) For I 20
tell you, unless your goodness
excels that of the scribes and Phari-
sees, you will never get into the
Realm of heaven.
You have heard how the men of 21
old were told, ''Murder not :
whoever murders must come up
for sentence,*
whoever maligns liis brother must 22
come before the Sanhedrin,
whoever curses his brother must
go to the fire of Gehenna.'
But I tell you, whoever is angry
with his brother will be sentenced
by God. So if you remember, even 23
when you are offering your gift at
the altar, that your brother has any
grievance against you, leave your 24
gift at the very altar and go away ;
first be reconciled to your brother,
then come back and offer your gift.
Be quick and make terms with 25
your opponent, so long as you and
he are on the way to court, in case
he hands you over to the judge, and
the judge to the jailer, and you are
thrown into prison ; truly I tell 26
you, you will never get out till you
pay the last halfpenny of your debt.
You have heard how it used to 27
be said. Do not commit aduliery.
But I tell you, any one who even 28
looks with lust at a woman has
committed adultery with her al-
ready in his heart,
* I follow the suggestion that the
second and third clauses of ver. 22
should be restored to what seems to be
their original position as a rabbinic
comment upon the closing words of ver. 21.
5
S. MATTHEW VI
29 If your right eye is a hindrance
to you,
phick it out and throw it away :
better for you to lose one of j'^our
members
than to have all your body
thrown into Gehenna.
30 And if your right hand is a hind-
rance to you,
cut it off and throw it away :
better for you to lose one of your
members
than to have all your body
thrown into Gehenna.
31 It used to be said, Whoever
divorces his wife must give her a
32 divorce-certificate. But I tell you,
anyone who divorces his wife for
any reason except unchastity makes
her an adulteress, and whoever
marries a divorced woman commits
adultery.
33 Once again, you have heard how
the men of old were told, 'Fom 77iust
not forswear yourself but discharge
34 your vows to the Lord '. But I tell
you, you must not swear any oath,
neither by heaven,
for it is the throne of God,
35 nor by earth,
for it is the footstool of his feet.
nor by Jerusalem,
for it is the city of the great
King ;
36 nor shall you swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single
hair white or black.
37 Let what you say be simply
' yes ' or ' no ' ;
whatever exceeds that springs
from evil.
38 You have heard the saying, An
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
39 But I tell you, you are not to resist
an injury :
whoever strikes you on the right
cheek,
turn the other to him as well ;
whoever wants to sue you for 40
your shirt,
let him have your coat as well ;
whoever forces you to go one 41
mile,
go two miles with him ;
give to the man who begs from 42
you,
and turn not away from him
who wants to borrow.
You have heard the sajnng, ^You 43
must love your neighbour and hate
your enemy.' But I tell you, 44
love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you 45
may be sons of your Father in
heaven :
he makes his sim rise on the evil
and the good,
and sends rain on the just and
the unjust.
For if you love only those who 46
love you, what reward do
you get for that ?
do not the very taxgatherers
do as much?
and if you only salute your 47
friends, what is special about
that?
do not the very pagans do as
much ?
You must he perfect as your 48
heavenly Father is perfect.
Take care not to practise your 6
charity before men in order to
be noticed ; otherwise you get
no reward from your Father in
heaven. No,
When you give alms, 2
make no flourish of trumpets like
the hypocrites in the syna-
gogues and the streets,
so as to win applause from
men;
I tell you truly, they do get
their reward.
S. MATTHEW VI
3 When you give alms,
do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is
doing,
4 so as to keep your alms secret ;
then your Father who sees
what is secret will reward
you openly.*
5 Also, when you pray, you must not
be like the hypocrites,
for they like to stand and pray in
the synagogues and at the
street-corners,
so as to be seen by men ;
I tell you truly, they do get
their rcAvard.
6 When you pray,
go into your room and shut the
door,
pray to your Father who is in
secret,
and your Father who sees
what is secret will reward
you.
7 Do not pray by idle rote like
pagans,
for they suppose they will be
heard the more they say ;
8 you must not copy them ;
your Father knows your needs
before you ask him.
9 Let this be how you pray :
' our Father in heaven,
thy name be revered,
10 thy Reign begin,
thy will be done
on earth as in heaven !
11 give us to-day our bread for
the morrow,
12 and forgive us our debts
as we ourselves have for-
given our debtors,
13 and lead us not into tempta-
tion
but deliver us from evil.'
* Retaining ^v ry <pavsp<fi, which has
powerful support in the Old Latin and
Syriac versions.
For if you forgive men their tres- 14
passes,
then your heavenly Father will
forgive you ;
but if you do not forgive men, 15
your Father will not forgive your
trespasses either.
When you fast, 16
do not look gloomy like the hypo-
crites,
for they look woebegone to let
men see they are fasting ;
I tell you truly, they do get
their reward.
But when you fast, 17
anoint your head and wash your
face,
so that your fast may be seen 18
not by men but by your
Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees
what is secret will reward
you.
Store up no treasures for your- 19
selves on earth,
where moth and rust corrode,
where thieves break in and
steal :
store up treasures for yourselves 20
in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust
corrode,
where thieves do not break in
and steal.
For where your treasure lies, 21
your heart will lie there too.
The eye is the lamp of the body : 22
so, if your Eye is generous,
the whole of your body will be
illumined,
but if your Eye is selfish, 23
the whole of your body will be
darkened.
And if your very light turns dark,
then — what a darkness it is !
No one can serve two masters : 24
either he will hate one and love
the other.
S. MATTHEW VII
or else he will stand by the one
and despise the other —
you cannot serve both God and
Mammon.
25 Therefore I tell you,
do not trouble about what you
are to eat in life,
nor about what you are to
put on your body ;
surely life means more than food,
surely the body means more
than clothes !
26 Look at the wild birds ;
they sow not, they reap not,
they gather nothing in
granaries,
and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them.
Are you not worth more than
birds ?
27 Which of you can add an ell to
his height by troubling
about it ?
28 And why should you trouble
over clothing ?
Look how the lilies of the field
grow;
they neither toil nor spin,
29 and yet, I tell you, even Solo-
mon in all his grandeur
was never robed like one
of them.
30 Now if God so clothes the grass of
the field which blooms to-day and
is thrown to-morrow into the fur-
nace, will not he much more clothe
you ? O men, how little you trust
31 him ! Do not be troubled, then,
and cry, ' What are we to eat ? ' or
' what are we to drink ? ' or ' how
32 are we to be clothed ? ' (pagans
make all that their aim in life) for
your heavenly Father knows quite
33 well you need all that. Seek his
Realm and goodness, and all»Miati,
will be yours over and above.
34 So do not be troubled about to-
8
morrow ;
to-morrow will take care of
itself.
The day's own trouble is quite
enough for the day.
Judge not, that you may not be 7
judged yourselves;
for as you judge so you will be 2
judged,
and the measure you deal out to
others will be dealt out to
yourselves.
Why do you note the splinter in 3
your brother's eye and fail to see
the plank in your own eye ? How 4
can you say to your brother, ' Let
me take out the splinter from your
eye,' when there lies the plank in
your own eye ? You hypocrite ! 5
take the plank out of your own eye
first, and then you will see properly
how to take the splinter out of your
brother's eye.
Do not give dogs what is sacred 6
and do not throw pearls before
swine, in case they trample them
under foot and turn to gore
you.
Ask and the gift will be yours, 7
seek and you will find,
knock and the door will
open to you ;
for every one who asks receives, 8
the seeker finds,
the door is opened to any-
one who knocks.
Why, which of you, when asked 9
by his son for a loaf, will
hand him a stone ?
Or, if he asks a fish, will you 10
hand him a serpent ?
Well, if for all your evil you 11
know to give your children
what is good,
how much more will your
Father in heaven give good
gifts to those who ask him ?
S. MATTHEW VIII
12 Well then, whatever you would
like men to do to you, do just the
same to them ; that is the meaning
of the Law and the prophets.
13 Enter by the narrow gate :
for [the gate] is broad and the
road is \vide that leads to
destruction,
and many enter that way.
14 But the road that leads to
life is both narrow and
close,
and there are few who find
it.
15 Beware of false prophets; they
come to you with the garb of sheep
but at heart they are ravenous
16 wolves. You \NnIl know them by
their fruit; do men gather grapes
from thorns or figs from thistles ?
No,
17 every good tree bears soimd
fruit,
but a rotten tree bears bad
fruit ;
18 a good tree cannot bear bad
fi'uit,
and a rotten tree cannot bear
sound fruit.
20 So you will know them by their
19 fruit.* Any tree that does not
produce sound fruit will be cut
down and thrown into the fire.
21 It is not everyone who says to
me ' Lord, Lord ! ', who will get into
the Realm of heaven, biit he who
does the will of my Father in
22 heaven. Many will say to me at
that Day, ' Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name? did we
not cast out daemons in your name ?
did we not perform many miracles
23 in your name ? ' Then I will de-
clare to them, ' I never knew you ;
* Ver. 19 is repeated from iii. 10; to
preserve the proper sequence of thought,
it rnxist be placed after ver. 20 as a link
with the following paragraph.
depart from my presence, you workers
of iniquity.^
Now, everyone who listens to 24
these words of mine and acts upon
them will be like a sensible man
who built his house on rock. The 25
rain came down, the floods rose,
the winds blew and beat upon that
house, but it did not fall, for it was
founded on rock. And everyone 26
who listens to these words of mine
and does not act upon them will
be like a stupid man who built his
house on sand. The rain came 27
down, the floods rose, the winds
blew and beat upon that house,
and down it fell — with a mighty
crash."
When Jesus finished his speech, 28
the crowds were astounded at his
teaching; for he taught them like 29
an authority, not like their own
scribes.
CHAP.
When he came down from the 8
• hill, he was followed by large
; crowds. A leper came up and knelt 2
: before him, saying, " If you only
j choose, sir, you can cleanse me " ;
so he stretched his hand out and 3
touched him, with the words, " I
; do choose, be cleansed." And his
j leprosy was cleansed at once. Then 4
; .Jesus told him, " See, you are not
to say a word to anybody; away
and show yourself to the priest and
offer the gift prescribed by Moses,
' to notify men."
When he entered Capharnahum 5
an army-captain came up to him
and appealed to him, saying, " Sir, 6
my servant is lying ill at home with
paralysis, in terrible agony." He 7
replied, " I will come and heal him."
The captain answered, " Sir, I am 8
not fit to have you under my roof ;
only say the word, and my servant
will be cured. For though I am 9
9
S. MATTHEW VIII
a man under authority myself,
I have soldiers under me; I tell
one man to go, and he goes, I tell
another to come, and he comes,
I tell my servant, ' Do this,' and
10 he does it." When Jesus heard
that he marvelled ; " I tell you
truly," he said to his followers, " I
have never met faith like this any-
11 where even in Israel. Many, I tell
you, will come from east and west
and take their places beside Abra-
ham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Realm
12 of heaven, while the sons of the
Realm will pass * outside, into the
darkness; there men will wail and
13 gnash their teeth." Then Jesus
said to the captain, " Go ; as you
have had faith, your prayer is
granted." And the servant was
cured at that very hour.
14 On entering the house of Peter,
Jesus noticed his mother-in-law
15 was down with fever, so he touched
her hand; the fever left her and
she rose and ministered to him.
16 Now when evening came they
brought him many demoniacs, and
he cast out the spirits with a word
17 and healed all the invalids — that
the word spoken by the prophet
Isaiah might be fulfilled. He took
away our sicknesses and lie removed
our diseases.
18 When Jesus saw crowds round
him he gave orders for crossing
19 to the other side. A scribe came
up and said to him, " Teacher,
20 I will follow you anywhere " ; Jesus
said to him,
" The foxes have their holes,
the wild birds have their nests,
* Reading fleXeutrorrai with X*, the Old
Latin and Syriac versions, the Diatessaron,
etc. The variant eK^X-rtd'harovrai represents
a conventional term which would easily
be substituted for the less comnion ex-
pression,
10
but the Son of man has nowhere
to lay his head."
Another of the disciples said to him, 21
" Lord, let me go and bury my
father first of all " ; Jesus said to 22
him, " Follow me, and leave the
dead to bury their own dead."
Then he embarked in the boat, 23
followed by his disciples. Now a 24
heavy storm came on at sea, so that
the boat was buried under the
waves. He was sleeping. So they 25
went and woke him up, sajnng,
" Help, Lord, we are drowning ! "
He said to them, " Why are you 26
afraid? How little you trust
God ! " Then he got up and
checked the winds and the sea,
and there was a great calm. Men 27
marvelled at this; they said,
" What sort of man is this ? the
very winds and sea obey him ! "
When he reached the opposite 28
side, the country of the Gadarenes,
he was met by two demoniacs who
ran out of the tombs ; they were
so violent that nobody could
pass along the road there. They 29
shrieked, " Son of God, what
business have you with us ? Have
you come here to torture us before
it is time?" Now, some dis- 30
tance away, there was a large drove
of swine grazing, so the daemons 31
begged him saying, " If you are
going to cast us out, send us into
that drove of sw^ne." He said to 32
them, " Begone ! " So out they
came and went to the swine, and
the entire drove rushed down
the steep slope into the sea and
perished in the water. The herds- 33
men fled ; they went off to the
town and reported the whole affair
of the demoniacs. Then all the 34
toAvn came out to meet Jesus, and
when they saw him they begged
him to move out of their district.
S. MATTHEW IX
9 So he embarked in the boat
and crossed over to his own town.
2 There a paral}'tic was brought to
him, lying on a pallet ; and when
Jesus saw the faith of the bearers
he said to the paralytic, " Courage,
my son ! your sins are forgiven."
3 Some scribes said to themselves,
" The man is talking blasphemy ! "
4 Jesus saw what they were thinking
and said, " Why do you think evil
5 in your hearts ? Which is the
easier thing, to say, ' Your sins are
forgiven,' or to say, ' Rise and
6 walk ' ? But to let you see the Son
of man has power on earth to for-
give sins " — he then said to the
paralytic, " Get up, lift your pallet,
7 and go home." And he got up
8 and went home. The crowds who
saw it were awed and glorified
God for giving such power to
men.
9 As Jesus passed along from there,
he saw a man called Matthew sitting
at the tax-office; he said to him,
*' Follow me " ; and he rose and
followed him.
10 Jesus was at table indoors, and
many taxgatherers and sinners
had come to be guests with him
11 and his disciples. So when the
Pharisees saw this, they said to
his disciples, " Why does your
teacher eat with taxgatherers and
12 sinners ? " When Jesus heard it
he said, "Those who are strong
have no need of a doctor, but
13 those who are ill. Go and learn
the meaning of this word, / care
for mercy not for sacrifice. For I
have not come to call just men but
sanners."
14 Then the disciples of John came
up to him and said, " Why do
we and the Pharisees fast a great
deal, and your disciples do not
fast?"
Jesus said to them, 15
" Can friends at a wedding fast
so long as the bridegroom
is beside them?
A time will come when the bride-
groom is taken from them,
and then they will fast.
No one sews a piece of undressed 16
cloth on an old coat,
For the patch breaks away
from it,
and the tear is made worse :
nor do men pour fresh wine into 17
old wineskins,
otherwise the wineskins burst,
and the wine is spilt, the
wineskins are ruined.
They put fresh wine into fresh
wineskins,
and so both are preserved."
As he said this, an official came in 18
and knelt before him, saying, " My
daughter is just dead; do come
and lay your hand on her, and she
will live." So Jesus rose and went 19
after him accompanied by his dis-
ciples. Now a woman who had had 20
a hemorrhage for twelve years
came up behind him and touched
the tassel of his robe ; >vhat she 21
said to herself was this, " If I can
only touch his robe, I will recover."
Then he turned round and when 22
he saw her he said, " Courage, my
daughter, your faith has made you
well." Andthe woman was well from
that hour. Now when Jesus reached 23
the official's house and saw the flute-
players and the din the crowd were
making, he said, " Be off with you ; 24
the girl is not dead but asleep."
They laughed at him. But after 25
the crowd had been put out, he went
in and took her hand, and the girl
rose up. The report of this went 26
all over that country.
As Jesus passed along from there, 27
he was followed by two blind men
11
S. MATTHEW X
who shrieked, " Son of David, have
28 pity on us ! " When he went
indoors the blind men came up to
him, and Jesus asked them, " Do
you beUeve I can do this ? " They
29 said, " Yes, sir." Then he touched
their eyes and said, " As you
beheve, so your prayer is granted,"
30 and their eyes were opened. Jesus
sternly charged them, " See, nobodj'-
31 is to know of this." But they
went out and spread the news of
32 him all over that country. As
they went out, a dumb man was
brought to him, who was pos-
33 sessed by a daemon, and when the
daemon had been cast out, the
dumb man spoke. Then the
crowd marvelled ; they said, " Such
a thing has never been seen in
Israel ! " *
35 Then Jesus made a tour through
all the towns and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the
gospel of the Reign, and healing
36 every disease and complaint. As
he saw the crowds he was moved
with pity for them; they were
harassed and dejected, like sheep
37 without a shepherd. Then he said
to his disciples, " The harvest is
38 rich, but the labourers are few; so
pray the Lord of the harvest to send
labourers to gather his harvest."
10 And summoning his twelve dis-
ciples he gave them power over
unclean spirits, power to cast them
out and also to heal every disease
2 and every ailment. These are the
names of the twelve apostles : first
* Ver. 34 (' But the Pharisees said,
" He casts out daemons by the prince of
daemons" ') is to be omitted, -nnthD, Syr.*'"-,
the Old Latin, the Diatessaron, etc. It
is probably a later insertion from xii. 24
or Mark iii. 22, to prepare for xii. 24 f.
12
Simon (who is called Peter) and
Andrew his brother, James the
son of Zebedaeus and John his
brother, Philip and Bartholomew, 8
Thomas and Matthew the tax-
gatherer, James the son of Alphaeus
and Lebbaeus whose surname is
Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and 4
Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
These twelve men Jesus despatched 5
with the following instructions,
" Do not go among the Gentiles,
rather make your way to the lost 6
sheep of the house of Israel. And 7
preach as you go, tell men, ' The
Reign of heaven is near.' Heal 8
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
lepers, cast out daemons; give
without paying, as you have got
without paying; you are not to 9
take gold or silver or coppers in
your girdle, nor a wallet for the 10
road, nor two shirts, nor sandals,
nor stick — the workman deserves
his rations. Whatever town or 11
village you go into, find out a de-
serving inhabitant and stay with
him till you leave.
When you enter the house, salute 12
it;
if the household is deserving, 13
let your peace rest on it ;
but if the household is unde-
serving,
let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or 14
listen to your message, leave that
house or town and shake off the
very dust from your feet. I tell 15
you truly, on the day of judg-
ment it will be more bearable
for Sodom and Gomorra than for
that town. I am sending you 16
out like sheep among wolves; so
be wise like serpents and guileless
like doves. Beware of men, they 17
will hand you over to sanhedrins
and scourge you in their syna-
S. MATTHEW X
18 gogues, and you will be haled before
governors and kings for my sake —
it will be a testimony to them and
19 to the Gentiles. Now, when they
bring yon up for trial, do not trouble
yourselves about how to speak or
what to say; what you are to say
will come to you at the moment,
20 for you are not the speakers, it is
the Spirit of your Father that is
21 speaking through you. Brother
will betray brother to death, the
father will betray his child, children
will rise against their parents and
22 put them to death, and you will
be hated by all men on account of
my name ; but he will be saved who
holds out to the very end.
23 When they persecute you in one
town, flee to the next; truly I tell
you, you will not have covered the
towns of Israel before the Son of
man arrives.
24 A scholar is not above his teacher,
nor a servant above his lord ;
25 enough for the scholar to fare
like his teacher,
and the servant like his lord.
If men have called the master
of the house Beelzebul,
how much more will they mis-
call his servants !
26 Fear them not : —
nothing is veiled that will not
be revealed,
or hidden that will not be
known ;
27 what I tell you in the dark, you
must utter in the open,
what you hear in a whisper
you must proclaim on the
housetop.
28 Have no fear of those who kill
the body but cannot kill
the soul :
rather fear Him who can de-
stroy both soul and body
in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a 29
farthing ?
Yet not one of them will fall
to the ground unless your
Father wills it.
The very hairs on your head are 30
ail numbered ;
fear not, then, you are worth 31
far more * than spar-
rows !
Everyone who will acknowledge 32
me before men,
I will acknowledge him before
my Father in heaven ;
and whoever will disown me 33
before men,
I will disown him before my
Father in heaven.
Do not imagine I have come to 84
bring peace on earth ;
I have not come to bring peace
but a sword.
I have come to set a man against 35
his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-lazv against her
mother-in-law ;
Yes, a man's own household will 36
be his enemies.
He who loves father or mother 37
more than me
is not worthy of me ;
he who loves son or daughter
more than me
is not worthy of me :
he who will not take his cross and 38
follow after me
is not worthy of me.
He who has found his life will 39
lose it,
and he who loses his life for my
sake will find it.
* The iroWwv of the text is either a
corruption of noWrp or, as Wellhausen
points out, a mistranslation of the Arai^oaic
equivalent for that. ' Tlie distinction is
qualitative, not quantitative.'
13
S. MATTHEW XI
40 He who receives you receives
me,
and he who receives me
receives Him who sent
me.
41 He who receives a prophet be-
cause he is a prophet,
will receive a proplict's re-
ward;
he who receives a good man be-
cause he is good,
will receive a good man's re-
ward.
42 And whoever gives one of these
little ones even a cup of
cold water because he is a
disciple,
I tell you, he will not lose his
reward."
11 After finishing these instruc-
tions to his twelve disciples, Jesus
removed from there to teach and
preach among their towns.
2 Now when John heard in prison
what the Christ was doing, he sent
3 his disciples to ask him, " Are you
the Coming One? Or are we to
4 look out for someone else ? " Jesus
answered them, " Go and report
to John what you hear and see :
5 the blind see, the lame walk, lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, and
6 the dead are raised.* And blessed
is he who is repelled by nothing
7 in me ! " As the disciples of John
went away, Jesus proceeded to
speak to the crowds about John :
" What did you go out to the
desert to see ?
A reed swayed by the wind ?
8 Come, what did you go out to
see?
* Omitting koX vrwxot evayyeXiCoyrai,
which seems a harmionistic interpolation
from Lulie vii. 22. Matthew never uses
14
A man arrayed in soft rai-
ment ?
The wearers of soft raiment
are in royal palaces.
Come, why did you go out? 9
To see a prophet ?
Yes, I tell you, and far more
than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is 10
written.
Here I send my messenger before
your face
to prepare the xoay for you.
I tell you truly, no one has 11
arisen among the sons of women
who is greater than John the Bap-
tist, and yet the least in the Realm
of heaven is greater than he is.
From the days of John the Baptist 12
till now the Realm of heaven suffers
violence, and the violent press into
it. For all the prophets and 13
the Law prophesied of it until
John : — if you care to believe it, 14
he is the Elijah who is to come.
He who has an ear, let him listen 15
to this.
But to what shall I compare 16
this generation? It is like chil-
dren sitting in the marketplace,
who call to their playmates,
' We piped to you and you would 17
not dance,
we lamented and you would
not beat your breasts.'
For John has come neither eat- 18
ing nor drinking,
and men say, ' He has a
devil ' ;
the Son of man has come eating 19
and drinking,
and men say, ' Here is a glut-
ton and a drunkard,
a friend of taxgatherers and
sinners ! '
Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindi-
cated by all that she
does."
S. MATTHEW XII
20 Then he proceeded to upbraid
the towns where his many miracles
had been performed, because they
21 would not repent. "Woe to you,
Khorazin ! Woe to you, Beth-
saida ! Had the miracles per-
formed in you been performed in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and
22 ashes. I tell you this, it will be
more bearable for Tyre and Sidon
on the day of judgment than for
23 you. And you, O Capharnahum !
Exalted to heaven F No, you xvill
sink to Hades, for if the miracles
performed in you had been per-
formed in Sodom, Sodom would
24 have lasted to this day. I tell you,
it will be more bearable for Sodom
on the day of judgment than for
you."
25 At that time Jesus spoke and
said, " I praise thee. Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, for hiding
all this from the wise and learned
and revealing it to the simple-
26 minded; yes. Father, I praise
thee that such was thy chosen
purpose.
27 All has been handed over to me
by my Father :
and no one knows the Son
except the Father —
nor does anyone know the
Father except the Son,
and he to whom the Son
chooses to reveal hira.
28 Come to me, all who are labour-
ing and burdened,
and I will refresh you.
29 Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in
heart,
and you will find your souls
refreshed ;
30 my yoke is kindly and my
burden hght,"
At that time Jesus walked one 12
sabbath through the cornfields,
and as his disciples were hungry
they started to pull some ears of
corn and eat them. When the 2
Pharisees noticed it, they said to
him, " Look at your disciples, they
are doing what is not allowed on
the sabbath." He rephed, " Have 3
you not read what David did when
he and his men were hungry, how 4
he went into the house of God, and
there they ate the loaves of the
Presence which neither he nor his
men were allowed to eat, but only
the priests ? Have you not read 5
in the Law that the priests in the
temple are not guilty when they
desecrate the sabbath? I tell 6
you. One is here who is greater
than the temple. Besides, if you 7
had known what this meant, /
care for mercy not for sacrifice,
you would not have condemned
men who are not guilty. For 8
the Son of man is Lord of the
sabbath."
Then he moved on from there and 9
went into their synagogue. Now 10
a man with a withered hand was
there; so in order to get a charge
against him they asked him, " Is
it right to heal on the sabbath ? "
He said to them, " Is there a man 11
of you with one sheep, who will not
catch hold of it and lift it out of a
pit on the sabbath, if it falls in?
And how much more is a man worth 12
than a sheep ? Thus it is right to do
a kindness on the sabbath." Then 13
he said to the man, " Stretch out
your hand." He stretched it out,
and it was quite restored, as sound
as the other. So the Pharisees with- 14
drew and plotted against him, to de-
stroy him; but as Jesus knew of 15
it he retired from the spot. Many
followed him, and he healed them
16
S. MATTHEW XII
16 all, charging them strictly not to
17 make him known — it was for the
fulfilment of what had been said by
the prophet Isaiah,
18 Here is my servant whom I have
chosen,
my Beloved in whom my soul
delights ;
I will invest him with my Spirit,
and he will proclaim religion to
the Gentiles.
19 He will not wrangle or shout,
no one will hear his voice in the
streets.
20 He will not break the bruised
reed,
he will not put out the smouldering
flax,
till he carries religion to victory :
21 and tJie Gentiles will hope in his
name.
22 Then a blind and dumb demoniac
was brought to him, and he healed
him, so that the dumb man spoke
23 and saw. And all the crowds were
amazed; they said, "Can this be
24 the Son of David ? " But when
the Pharisees heard of it they said,
" This fellow only casts out dae-
mons by Beelzebul the prince of
25 daemons." As Jesus knew what
they were thinking, he said to
them,
" Any realm divided against itself
comes to ruin,
any city or house divided
against itself will never
stand ;
26 and if Satan casts out Satan,
he is divided against him-
self;
how then can his realm
stand ?
27 Besides, if I cast out daemons
by Beelzebul,
by whom do your sons cast
them out?
Thus they will be your judges.
16
But if I cast out daemons by 28
the Spirit of God,
then the Reign of God has
reached you already.
Why, how can anj'^one enter the 29
strong man's house and plunder his
goods, unless he first of all binds the
strong man ? Then he can plunder
his house.
He who is not with me is against 30
me,
and he who does not gather
with me scatters.
I tell you therefore, men will be 31
forgiven any sin and blas-
phemy,
but they will not be forgiven
for blaspheming the Spirit.
Whoever says a word against the 32
Son of man will be forgiven,
but whoever speaks against
the holy Spirit will never
be forgiven,
neither in this world nor in
the world to come.
Either make the tree good and 33
its fruit good,
or make the tree rotten and
its fruit rotten ;
for the tree is known by its
fruit.
You brood of vipers, how can 3-i
you speak good when you
are evil?
For the mouth utters what the
heart is full of.
The good man brings good out of 35
his good store,
and the evil man brings evil
out of his store of evil.
I tell you, men vnW have to 36
account on the day of judgment
for every light word they utter;
for by your words you will be 37
acquitted,
and by your words you will be
condemned."
Then some of the scribes and 38
S. MATTHEW XIII
Pharisees said to him, " Teacher,
we would hke to have some
39 Sign from you." He replied to
them,
" It is an evil and disloyal genera-
tion that craves a Sign,
but no Sign will be given to
it except the Sign of the
prophet Jonah ;
40 for as Jonah xvas three days and
three nights in the belly of
the whole,
so the Son of man will be three
days and three nights in
the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Ninive will rise at
the judgment with this
generation and condemn
it;
for when Jonah preached they
did repent,
and here is One greater than
Jonah.
42 The queen of the South will rise
at the judgment with this
generation and condemn
it;
for she came from the ends of
the earth to listen to the
wisdom of Solomon,
and here is One greater than
Solomon.
43 When an unclean spirit leaves a
man, it roams through dry places
in search of refreshment and finds
44 none. Then it says, ' I will go back
to the house I left,' and when it
comes it finds the house vacant,
45 clean, and all in order. Then it
goes off to fetch seven other spirits
worse than itself; they go in and
dwell there, and the last state of
that man is worse than the first.
This is how it will be with the
present evil generation."
46 He was still speaking to the
crowds when his mother and
brothers came and stood out-
side; they wanted to speak to
him.* But he replied to the man 48
who told him this, " Who is
my mother? and who are my
brothers ? " Stretching out his 49
hand towards his disciples he said,
" Here are my mother and my
brothers ! Whoever does the will 50
of my Father in heaven, that is my
brother and sister and mother."
That same day Jesus went out 13
of the house and seated himself
by the seaside; but, as great 2
crowds gathered to him, he entered
a boat and sat down, while all the
crowd stood on the beach. He 3
spoke at some length W them in
parables, saying : "A sower went
out to sow, and as he sowed some 4
seeds fell on the road and the birds
came and ate them up. Some other 5
seeds fell on stony soil where they
had not much earth, and shot up at
once because they had no depth
of soil ; but when the sun rose they 6
got scorched and withered away
because they had no root. Some 7
other seeds fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up and choked
them. Some other seeds fell on 8
good soil and bore a crop, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, and some
thirtyfold. He who has an ear, 9
let him listen to this."
Then the disciples came up and 10
said to him, " Why do you speak
in parables?" He replied, " Be- 11
cause it is granted you to under-
* Ver. 47, which is rightly omitted by
J<*BL, the Old Latin and Syriac versions,
etc., has been interpolated by an early
copyist who wished to prepare for ver. 48
by using the material of Mark iii. 32. It
runs thus : " And a man said to him,
' Here are your mother and brothers
standing outside and wanting to speak to
you.' "
17
S. MATTHEW XIII
stand the open secrets of the Realm
of heaven, but it is not granted to
these people.
12 For he who has, to him shall more
be given and richly given,
but whoever has not, from him
shall be taken even what he
has.
13 This is why I speak to them
in parables, because for all their
seeing they do not see and for all
their hearing they do not hear
14 or understand. In their case the
prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled :
You will hear and hear but never
understand,
you zvill see and see but never
perceive.
15 For the heart of this people is
obtuse,
their ears are heavy of hearing,
their eyes they have closed,
lest they see with their eyes and
hear with their ears,
lest they understand with their
heart and turn again, and I
cure them.
16 But blessed are your eyes for they
see,
and your ears, for they hear !
17 I tell you truly, many prophets
and good men have longed
to see what you see,
but they have not seen it ;
and to hear what you hear,
but they have not heard it.
18 Now, listen to the parable of the
19 sower. When anyone hears the
word of the Realm and does not
understand it, the evil one comes
and snatches away what has been
sown in his heart ; that is the man
20 who is sown ' on the road.' As for
him who is sown ' on stony soil,' that
is the man who hears the word and
accepts it at once with enthusiasm ;
21 he has no root in himself, he does
not last, but when the word brings
18
trouble or persecution he is at
once repelled. As for him who is 22
sown ' among thorns,' that is the
man who listens to the word, but
the worry of the world and the
delight of being rich choke the word ;
so it proves unfruitful. As for him 23
who is sown ' on good soil,' that is
the man who hears the word and
understands it; he bears fruit,
producing now a hundredfold, now
sixty, and now thirtyfold."
He put another parable before 24
them. " The Realm of heaven,"
he said, " is like a man who sowed
good seed in his field, but while 25
men slept his enemy came and re-
sowed weeds among the wheat and
then went away. When the blade 26
sprouted and formed the kernel,
then the weeds appeared as well.
So the servants of the owner went 27
to him and said, ' Did you not sow
good seed in your field, sir? How
then does it contain weeds ? ' He 28
said to them, ' An enemy has done
this.' The servants said to him,
' Then would you like us to go and
gather them ? ' ' No,' he said, ' for 29
you might root up the wheat when
you were gathering the weeds. Let 30
them both grow side by side till
harvest; and at harvest-time I
will tell the reapers to gather the
weeds first and tie them in bundles
to be burnt, but to collect the wheat
in my granary.' "
He put another parable before 31
them. " The Realm of heaven,"
he said, " is like a grain of mustard-
seed which a man takes and sows
in his field. It is less than any seed 32
on earth, but when it grows up it is
larger than any plant, it becomes
a tree, so large that the wild birds
come and roost in its branches."
He told them another parable. 33
" The Realm of heaven," he said,
S. MATTHEW XIV
" is like dough which a woman took
and buried in three pecks of flour,
till all of it was leavened."
34 Jesus said all this to the crowds
in parables; he never spoke to
35 them except in a parable — to ful-
fil what had been said by the
prophet,
/ will open my mouth in parables,
I will speak out what has been
hidden since the foundation of
the world.
36 Then he left the crowds and went
indoors. And his disciples came up
to him saying, " Explain to us the
parable of the weeds in the field."
37 So he replied, " He who sows the
38 good seed is the Son of man ; the field
is the world ; the good seed means
the sons of the Realm; the weeds
39 are the sons of the evil one ; the
enemy who sowed them is the devil ;
the harvest is the end of the world,
40 and the reapers are angels. Well
then, just as the weeds are gathered
and burnt in the fire, so will it be
41 at the end of the world; the Son
of man will despatch his angels,
and they will gather out of his Realm
all who are hindrances and who
42 practise iniquity, and throw them
into the furnace of fire ; there men
will wail and gnash their teeth.
43 Then the just will shine like the
sun in the Realm of their Father.
He who has an ear, let him listen
to this.
44 The Realm of heaven is like
treasure hidden in a field ; the man
who finds it hides it and in his
delight goes and sells all he
possesses and buys that field.
45 Again, the Realm of heaven is
like a trader in search of fine pearls ;
46 when he finds a single pearl of high
price, he is off to sell all he possesses
and buy it.
47 Again, the Realm of heaven is
like a net which was thrown into the
sea and collected fish of every sort.
When it was full, they dragged it 48
to the beach and sitting down they
gathered the good fish into vessels
but flung away the bad. So will it 49
be at the end of the world. The
angels will go out and separate the
evil from among the just and 50
fling them into the furnace of fire ;
there men will wail and gnash their
teeth.
Have you understood all this ? " 51
They said to him, " Yes." So he 52
said to them, " Well then, every
scribe who has become a disciple
of the Realm of heaven is like a
householder who produces what
is new and what is old from his
stores."
Now when Jesus had finished 53
these parables he set out from there,
and went to his native place, where 54
he taught the people in the syna-
gogue till they were astounded.
They said " Where did he get all
this wisdom and these miraculous
powers ? Is this not the son of the 55
joiner? Is not his mother called
Mary, and his brothers James and
Joseph and Simon and Judas ? Are 56
not his sisters settled here among
us ? Then where has he got all
this ? " So they were repelled by 57
him. But Jesus said to them,
" A prophet never goes without
honour except in his native place
and in his home." There he could 58
not do many miracles owing to their
lack of faith.
CHAP.
At that time Herod the tetrarch 14
heard about the fame of Jesus.
And he said to his servants, " This 2
is John the Baptist ; he has risen
from the dead. That is why
miraculous powers are working
through him."
19
S. MATTHEW XIV
3 For Herod had arrested John
and bound him and put him in
prison on account of Ilcrodias
the wife of his brother Phihp,
4 since John had told him, " You
5 have no right to her." He was
anxious to kill him but he was
afraid of the people, for they held
6 John to be a prophet. However,
on Herod's birthday, the daughter
of Herodias danced in public to the
7 delight of Herod; whereupon he
promised with an oath to give her
8 whatever she wanted. And she, at
the instigation of her mother, said,
" Give me John the Baptist's head
9 this moment on a dish." The king
was sorry, but for the sake of his
oath and his guests he ordered it to
10 be given her ; he sent and had John
11 beheaded in the prison, his head
was brought on a dish and given
to the girl, and she took it to her
12 mother. His disciples came and
removed the corpse and buried him ;
then they went and reported it to
Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard it he withdrew
by boat to a desert place in private ;
but the crowds heard of it and fol-
14 lowed himonfootfromthe towns. So
when he disembarked he saw a large
crowd, and out of pity for them he
15 healed their sick folk. When even-
ing fell the disciples came up to him
and said, " It is a desert place and
the day is now gone; send off the
crowds to buy food for themselves in
16 the villages." But he said to them,
" They do not need to go away ; give
17 them some food yourselves." They
said, " We have only five loaves
18 with us and two fish." He said,
19 " Bring them here to me." Then
he ordered the crowds to recline on
the grass, and after taking the five
loaves and the two fish he looked up
to heaven, blessed them, and after
20
breaking the loaves handed them
to the disciples, and the disciples
handed them to the crowds. They 20
all ate and had enough; besides,
they picked up the fragments left
over and filled twelve baskets with
them. The men who ate numbered 21
about five thousand, apart from
the women and children.
Then he made the disciples em- 22
bark in the boat and cross before
him to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowds ; after he had 23
dismissed the crowds he went up
the hill by himself to pray. When
evening came he was there alone,
but the boat was in the middle of 24
the sea, buffeted by the waves (for
the wind was against them). In 25
the fourth watch of the night he
went to them, walking on the sea,
but when they saw him walking on 26
the sea they were terrified ; " It
is a ghost," they said and they
shrieked for fear. Then he spoke 27
to them at once; "Courage," he
said, " it is I, have no fear." Peter 28
answered him, " Lord, if it is really
you, order me to come to you on
the water." He said, " Come." 29
Then Peter got out of the boat and
walked over the water on his way
to Jesus ; but when he saw the 30
wind he was afraid and began to
sink. " Lord," he shouted, " save
me." Jesus at once stretched his 31
hand out and caught him, saying,
" How httle you trust me ! Why
did you doubt? " When they got 32
into the boat the wind dropped,
and the men in the boat worshipped 33
him, saying, " You are certainly
God's Son."
On crossing over they came to 34
land at Gennesaret. The men of 35
that place recognized him and sent
all over the surrounding country,
bringing him all who were ill and
S. MATTHEW XV
36 begging him to let them touch the
mere tassel of his robe — and all who
touched it got perfectly well.
15 Then Pharisees and scribes from
Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2 " Why do your disciples transgress
the tradition of the elders ? They
do not wash their hands when they
3 take their food." He replied,
" And whj^ do you transgress the
command of God with your tra-
4 ditions ? God said. Honour your
father and mother, and, He who
curses his father or mother is to
5 suffer death. But you say, who-
ever tells his father or mother,
' This money might have been at
your service but it is dedicated to
6 God,' need not honour his father
or mother. So you have repealed
the word of God to suit your own
7 tradition. You hypocrites ! Isaiah
made a grand prophecy about you
when he said,
8 This people honours me with their
lips,
hut their heart is far away from
me :
9 vain is their worship of me,
for the doctrines they teach are
hut human precepts."
10 Then he called the crowd and
said to them, " Listen, understand
this :
11 it is not what enters a man's
mouth that defiles him,
what defiles a man is what comes
out of his mouth."
12 Then his disciples came up and
said to him, " Do you know that
the Pharisees have taken offence
13 at what they hear you say ? " He
replied, " Any plant that my
heavenly Father has not planted
14 will be rooted up. Let them alone ;
they are blind guides of the blind,
and if one blind man leads another,
both of them will fall into a
pit." Peter answered, " Explain 15
this parable to us at anyrate."
He said, " And are you totally 16
ignorant ? Do you not see how all 17
that enters the mouth passes into
the belly and is then thrown out
into the drain, while what comes 18
out of the mouth comes from the
heart — and that is what defiles a
man. For out of the heart come 19
evil designs, murder, adultery,
sexual vice, stealing, false witness,
and slander. That is what defiles 20
a man; a man is not defiled by
eating with hands unwashed ! "
Going away from there Jesus 21
withdrew to the district of Tyre and
Sidon. And a woman of Canaan 22
came out of these parts and wailed,
" Have pity on me. Lord, O Son
of David ! My daughter is cruelly
possessed by a daemon." But he 23
made no answer to her. Then his
disciples came up and pressed him,
saying, " Send her away, she is wail-
ing behind us." He replied, " It 24
was only to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel that I was sent."
But she came and knelt before him, 25
saying, " Lord, do help me." He 26
replied, " It is not fair to take the
children's bread and throw it to
the dogs." " No, sir," she said, 27
" but even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their master's table." 28
At that Jesus replied, " O woman,
you have great faith ; your prayer
is granted as you wish." And from
that hour her daughter was cured.
Then Jesus removed from that 29
country and went along the sea of
Galilee; he went up the hillside
and sat there. And large crowds
came to him bringing the lame, the
blind, the dumb, the maimed, and 30
many others; they laid them at
21
S. MATTHEW XVI
SI his feet, and he healed them. This
made the crowd wonder, to see
dumb people speaking,* the lame
walking, and the blind seeing.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and
said, " I am sorry for the crowd ;
they have been three days with me
now, and they have nothing to eat.
I will not send them away starving,
in case they faint on the road."
33 The disciples said to him, " Where
are we to get loaves enough in a
desert to satisfy such a crowd ? "
34 Jesus said to them, " How many
loaves have you got ? " They said,
35 " Seven, and some little fish." So
he ordered the crowd to recline on
36 the ground. He took the seven
loaves and the fish and after giving
thanks he broke them and gave them
to the disciples, and the disciples to
37 the crowds. So the people all ate
and were satisfied, and they picked
up the fragments left over and
filled seven large baskets with them.
38 The men who ate numbered four
thousand, apart from the children
39 and the women. Then he sent the
crowd away, got into the boat and
went to the territory of Magadan.
CHAP.
16 Now the Pharisees and Saddu-
cees came up and, in order to tempt
him, asked him to show them a Sign
2 from heaven. He replied,
4 " It is an evil and disloyal genera-
tion that craves a Sign,
and no Sign shall be given to it
except the Sign of Jonah." f
Then he left them and went away.
* Leaving out the phrase kvWovs vytus
with X, the Latin version, the Old Syriac,
Origen, etc. Its insertion for harmonistic
reasons is more likely than its omission.
t Three uncials (C D W) of the fifth
century and several versions, including
the Latin and the Syriac (Vulgate), to-
22
When the disciples reached the 5
opposite side, they found they had
forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus 6
said to them, " See and beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees." They argued among 7
themselves, " But we have not
brought any bread ! " When Jesus 8
noted this he said, " How little trust
you have in me ! Why all this talk,
because you have brought no
bread ? Do you not understand 9
even yet ? Do you not remember
the five loaves of the five thousand
and how many baskets you took
up? And the seven loaves of the 10
four thousand and how many large
baskets you took up? Why do 11
you not see that I was not speak-
ing to you about bread ? No, be-
ware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and Sadducees." Then they real- 12
ized that what he told them to
beware of was not leaven J but
the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.
Now when Jesus came to the 13
district of Caesarea Philippi he
asked his disciples, " Wlio do people
say the Son of man is ? " They 14
told him, " Some say John the
Baptist, others Elijah, others Jere-
miah or one of the prophets." He 15
said to them, " And who do you
gether with the Diatessaron, insert at the
beginning of this answer the following :
" When evening comes, you say, ' It
will be fine,' for the sky is red; in
the morning you say, ' It will be
stormy to-day,' for the sky is red
and cloudy. You know how to
distinguish the look of the sky,
but you cannot read the signs of
the times."
The majority of the uncials, with the
Old Syriac and Origen, rightly omit the
passage as irrelevant to the original text.
I Omitting tu>v dprcov after C"A"?s with
strong support from the Old Latin and
Syriac versions.
S. MATTHEW XVII
16 say I am ? " So Simon Peter re-
plied, " You are the Christ, the Son
17 of the hving God." Jesus an-
swered him, " You are a blessed
man, Simon Bar-jona, for it was
my Father in heaven, not flesh and
blood, that revealed this to you.
18 Now I tell you, Peter is your name *
and on this rock I will build my
church; the powers of Hades shall
19 not succeed against it. I will give
you the keys of the Realm of
heaven ;
whatever you prohibit on earth
^vill be prohibited in heaven,
and whatever you permit on
earth ^vill be permitted in
heaven."
20 Then he forbade the disciples to
tell anyone he was the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began
to show his disciples that he had
to leave for Jerusalem and endure
great suffering at the hands of the
elders and high priests and scribes,
and be killed and raised on the
22 third day. Peter took him and
began to reprove him for it ; " God
forbid. Lord," he said, " This must
23 not be." But he turned and said
to Peter, " Get behind me, you
Satan ! Your outlook is not God's
24 but man's." Then Jesus said to
his disciples, " If anyone wishes
to come after me, let him deny
himself, take up his cross, and so
follow me ;
25 for whoever wants to save his
life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my
sake will find it.
26 What profit will it be if a man gains
the whole world and foi-feits his
* English fails to bring out the play on
the Greek word for " rock." The French
version reproduces it : " Et moi je te dis
aussi que tu es le Pierre, et but cette
pierre je batirai mon ^glise."
own soul? What will a man offer
as an equivalent for his soul ? For 27
the Son of man is coming in the
glory of his Father with his angels,
and then he will reward everyone
for what he has done. I tell you 28
truly, there are some of those stand-
ing here who will not taste death till
they see the Son of man coming
himself to reign."
Six days afterwards Jesus took 17
Peter, James and his brother John,
and led them up a high hill by them-
selves; in their presence he was 2
transfigured, his face shone like the
sun, and his clothes turned white
as light. Thc,re appeared to them 3
Moses and Elijah, who conversed
with Jesus. So Peter addressed 4
Jesus and said, " Lord, it is a good
thing we are here; if you like,
I will put up three tents here, one
for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah." He was still speaking 5
when a bright cloud overshadowed
them, and from the cloud a voice
said,
" This is my Son, the Beloved,
in him is my delight :
listen to him."
When the disciples heard the voice 6
they fell on their faces in terror;
but Jesus came forward and touched 7
them, saying, " Rise, have no fear."
And on raising their eyes they saw 8
no one except Jesus all alone. As 9
they went down the hill Jesus
ordered them, " Tell this vision to
nobody until the Son of man is raised
from the dead." The disciples in- 10
quired of him, " Then why do the
scribes say that Elijah has to come
first?" He replied, "Elijah will 11
come and restore all things. Nay, 12
I tell you Elijah has already come,
but they have not recognized him —
23
S. MATTHEW XVIII
they have worked their will on him.
And the Son of man will suffer at
their hands in the same way."
13 Then the disciples realized he was
speaking to them about John the
Baptist.
14 When they reached the crowd,
a man came up and knelt to him.
15 " Ah, sir," he said, " have pity on
my son; he is an epileptic and he
suffers cruelly, he often falls into
the fire and often into the water.
16 1 brought him to your disciples, but
17 they could not heal him." Jesus
answered, " O faithless and per-
verse generation, how long must I
still be with you ? How long have
I to bear with you ? Bring him here
18 to me." So Jesus checked the
daemon and it came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was
19 healed. Then the disciples came to
Jesus in private and said, " Why
20 could we not cast it out ? " He said
to them, "Because you have so little
faith. I tell you truly, if you had
faith the size of a grain of mustard-
seed, you could say to this hill,
' Move from here to there,' and re-
move it would; nothing would be
impossible for you."
22 When his adherents mustered in
Galilee Jesus told them, " The Son
of man is to be betrayed into the
23 hands of men, they will kill him,
but on the third day he will be
raised." They were greatly dis-
tressed at this.
24 When they reached Capharnahum,
the collectors of the temple-tax
came and asked Peter, " Does your
teacher not pay the temple-tax ? "
25 He said, " Yes." But when he went
indoors Jesus spoke first ; " Tell
me, Simon," he said, " from whom
do earthly kings collect customs or
taxes ? Is it from their o%\ti people
26 or from aliens? " " From aliens,"
24
he said. Then Jesus said to him,
" So their own people are exempt.
However, not to give any offence to 27
them, go to the sea, throw a hook in,
and take the first fish you bring up.
Open its mouth and you will find a
five-shilling piece; take that and
give it to them for me and for your-
self."
Chap.
At that hour the disciples came 18
and asked Jesus, " Who is greatest
in the Realm of heaven ? " So he 2
called a child, set it among them,
and said, " I tell you truly, unless 3
you turn and become like children,
you will never get into the Realm of
heaven at all. Whoever humbles 4
himself like this child, he is the
greatest in the Realm of heaven;
and whoever receives a little child 5
like this for my sake, receives me.
But whoever is a hindrance to one 6
of these little ones who believe in
me, better for him to have a great
mill-stone hung round his neck and
be sunk in the deep sea. Woe to the 7
world for hindrances ! Hindrances
have to come, but M^oe to the
man by whom the hindrance does
come !
If your hand or your foot is a 8
hindrance to you, cut it
off and throw it away;
better be maimed or crippled
and get into Life,
than keep both feet or hands
and be thrown into the
everlasting fire.
If your eye is a hindrance to you, 9
tear it out and throw it
away;
better get into Life with one eye
than keep your two eyes
and be thrown into the fire
of Gehenna.
See that you do not despise one 10
S. MATTHEW XIX
of these little ones ; for I tell you,
their angels in heaven always look
on the face of my Father in
heaven.
12 Tell me, if a man has a hundred
sheep and one of them strays, will
he not leave the ninety-nine sheep
on the hills and go in search of the
13 one that has strayed ? And if he
happens to find it, I tell you he re-
joices over it more than over the
ninety-nine that never went astray.
14 So it is not the will of your Father in
heaven that a single one of these
little ones should be lost.
15 If your brother sins, go and re-
prove him, as between you and him
alone. If he listens to you, then you
16 have won your brother over; but
if he will not listen, take one or two
others along with you, so that every
case may he decided on the evidence
17 of two or of three witnesses. If he
refuses to listen to them, tell the
church; and if he refuses to listen
to the church, treat him as a
18 pagan or a taxgatherer. I tell you
truly.
Whatever you prohibit on earth
will be prohibited in heaven,
and whatever you permit on
earth will be permitted in
heaven.
19 I tell you another thing : if
two of you agree on earth about
anything you pray for, it will be
done for you by my Father in
20 heaven. For where two or three
have gathered in my name, I am
there among them."
21 Then Peter came up and said to
him, " Lord, how often is my brother
to sin against me and be forgiven ?
22 Up to seven times ? " Jesus said to
him, " Seven times ? I say, seventy
23 times seven ! That is why the
Realm of heaven may be compared
to a king who resolved to settle
accounts with his servants. When 24
he began the settlement, a debtor
was brought in who owed him three
million pounds ; as he was unable 25
to pay, his master ordered him to
be sold, along with his wife and
children and all he had, in pay-
ment of the sum. So the servant 26
fell down and prayed him, ' Have
patience with me, and I will pay you
it all.' And out of pity for that 27
servant his master released him and
discharged his debt. But as that 28
servant went away, he met one of
his fellow-servants who owed him
twenty pounds, and seizing him by
the throat he said, ' Pay your
debt ! ' So this fellow-servant fell 29
down and implored him, saying,
' Have patience with me, and I
will pay you.' But he refused; 30
he went and had him thrown into
prison, till he should pay the debt.
Now when his fellow-servants saw 31
what had happened they were
greatly distressed, and they went
and explained to their master all
that had happened. Then his 32
master summoned him and said,
' You scoundrel of a servant ! I
discharged all that debt for you,
because you implored me. Ought 33
you not to have had mercy on your
fellow-servant, as I had on you ? '
And in hot anger his master handed 34
him over to the torturers, till he
should pay him all the debt. My 35
Father will do the same to you
unless you each forgive your brother
from the heart."
When Jesus finished saying this 19
he moved from Galilee and went to
the territory of Judaea that lies
across the Jordan. Large crowds fol- 2
lowed him and he healed them there.
Then the Pharisees came up to 3
S. MATTHEW XIX
tempt him. They asked, " Is it
right to divorce one's wife for any
4 reason ? " He replied, " Have you
never read that He who created them
male and female from the beginning
5 said,
Hence a man shall leave his father
and mother,
and cleave to his wife,
and the fair shall he one flesh ?
6 So they are no longer two, but one
flesh. What God has joined, then,
7 man must not separate." They said
to him, " Then why did Moses lay it
down that we were to divorce by
8 giving a separation-notice?" He said
to them, " Moses permitted you to
divorce your wives, on account of
the hardness of your hearts, but it
was not so from the beginning.
9 I tell you, whoever divorces his wife
except for unchastity and marries
another woman, commits adultery.
10 The disciples said to him, " If that
is a man's position with his wife,
11 there is no good in marrying." He
said to them, " True, but this truth
is not practicable for everyone,
it is only for those who have the
gift.
12 There are eunuchs who have been
eunuchs from their birth,
there are eunuchs who have been
made eunuchs by men,
and there are eunuchs who have
made themselves eunuchs for
the sake of the Realm of
heaven.
Let anyone practice it for whom
it is practicable."
18 Then children were brought to
him that he might lay his hands
on them and pray over them. The
14 disciples checked the people, but
Jesus said to them, " Let the
children alone, do not stop them
from coming to me : the Realm of
heaven belongs to such as these."
26
Then he laid his hands on them and 15
went upon his way.
Up came a man and said to him, 16
" Teacher, what good deed must
I do to inherit life eternal ? " He 17
said to him, " Why do you ask me
about what is good ? One alone
is good. But if you want to get
into Life, keep the commands."
" Which ? " he said. Jesus an- 18
swered, " The commands, you shall
not kill, you shall not commit adul-
tery, you shall not steal, you shall
not hear false witness, honour your 19
father and mother, and you must
love your neighbour as yourself."
The young man said, " I have 20
observed all these. What more is
wanting ? " Jesus said to him, " If 21
you want to be perfect, go and
sell your property, give the
money to the poor and you will
have treasure in heaven ; then come
and follow me." When the young 22
man heard that, he went sadly
away, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus said to his disciples, " I 23
tell you truly, it will be difficult
for a rich man to get into the
Realm of heaven. I tell you again, 24
it is easier for a camel to get
through a needle's eye than for
a rich man to get into the Realm
of heaven." When the disciples 25
heard this they were utterly
astounded ; they said, " Who then
can possibly be saved ? " Jesus 26
looked at them and said, " This is
impossible for men, but anything
is possible for God." Then Peter 27
replied, " Well, we have left our all
and followed you. Now what are
we to get ? " Jesus said to them, 28
" I tell you truly, in the new
world, when the Son of man shall
sit on the throne of his glory, you
who have followed me shall also sit
on twelve thrones to govern the
S. MATTHEW XX
29 twelve tribes of Israel. Everyone
who has left brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or
lands or houses for my name's
sake will get a himdred times as
much and inherit life eternal.
30 Many who are first shall be last,
and many who are last shall be first.
20 For the Realm of heaven is like
a householder who went out early
in the morning to hire labourers for
2 his vineyard ; and after agreeing
with the labourers to pay them a
shilling a day he sent them into
3 his vineyard. Then, on going out
at nine o'clock he noticed some
other labourers standing in the
4 marketplace doing nothing ; to them
he said, ' You go into the vine-
yard too, and I will give you
whatever M^age is fair.' So the}''
5 went in. Going out again at twelve
o'clock and at three o'clock, he did
6 the same thing. And when he
went out at five o'clock he came
upon some others who were stand-
ing ; he said to them, ' Why have
you stood doing nothing all the
7 day ? ' ' Because nobody hired
us,' they said. He told them,
' You go into the vineyard too.'
8 Now when evening came the master
of the vineyard said to his baihff,
' Summon the labourers and pay
them their wages, beginning with
the last and going on to the first.'*
9 When those who had been hired
about five o'clock came, they got
10 a shilling each. So when the first
labourers came up, they supposed
they would get more ; but they too
11 got each their shilling. And on
getting it they grumbled at the
12 householder. ' These last,' they
said, ' have only worked a single
hour, and yet you have ranked
* Note the connexion be( vreen this
parable {ver. 16) and six. 30.
them equal to us who have borne
the brunt of the day's work and
the heat ! ' Then he replied to one 13
of them, ' My man, I am not
wronging you. Did you not agree
with me for a shilling ? Take what 14
belongs to you and be off. I choose
to give this last man the same as
you. Can I not do as I please 15
with what belongs to me? Have
you a grudge because I am
generous ? ' So shall the last be 16
first and the first last."
Now as Jesus was about to go 17
up to Jerusalem he took the twelve
aside by themselves and said to
them as they were on the road,
" We are going up to Jerusalem, 18
and the Son of man will be betrayed
to the high priests and scribes ; they
will sentence him to death and 19
hand him over to the Gentiles to be
mocked and scourged and crucified ;
then on the third day he will be
raised."
Then the mother of the sons of 20
Zebedaeus came up to him with
her sons, praying him for a favour.
He said to her, " What do you 21
want ? " She said, " Give orders
that my two sons are to sit at
your right hand and at your left
in your Realm." Jesus replied, 22
" You do not know what you are
asking. Can you drink the cup I
am going to drink ? " They said
to him, " We can." " You shall 23
drink my cup," said Jesus, " but it
is not for me to grant seats at my
right hand and at my left; these
belong to the men for whom they
hixve been destined by mj''
Father." When the ten heard of 24
this, they were angry at the two
brothers, but Jesus called them 25
and said,
" You know the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them.
27
S. MATTHEW XXI
and their great men overbear
them :
26 not so with you.
Whoever wants to be great among
you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first
among you must be your
slave ;
28 just as the Son of man has not
come to be served but to
serve,
and to give his hfe as a ransom
for many."
29 As they were leaving Jericho
30 a crowd followed him, and when
two blind men who were sitting
beside the road heard Jesus was
passing, they shouted, " O Lord,
Son of David, have pity on us ! "
31 The crowd checked them and told
them to be quiet, but they shouted
all the louder, " O Lord, Son of
32 David, have pity on us ! " So
Jesus stopped and called them.
He said, " What do you want me
33 to do for you ? " " Lord," they
said, " we want our eyes opened."
34 Then Jesus in pity touched their
eyes, and they regained their sight
at once and followed him.
2 1 When they came near Jerusalem
and had reached Bethphage at
the Hill of Olives, then Jesus des-
2 patched two disciples, saying to
them, " Go to the village in front
of you and you will at once find
an ass tethered with a colt alongside
of her; untether them and bring
3 them to me. If anj'^one says any-
thing to you, you will say that the
Lord needs them; then he will at
4 once let them go." This took place
for the fulfilment of what had been
spoken by the prophet,
5 Tell the daughter of Sion,
' Here is your king coming to you,
28
He is gentle and mounted on an ass.
And on a colt the foal of a beast
of burden.^
So the disciples went and did as 6
Jesus told them ; they brought the 7
ass and the colt and put their
clothes on them. Jesus seated
himself on them, and the greater 8
part of the crowd spread their
clothes on the road, while others
cut branches from the trees and
strewed them on the road. And 9
the crowds who went in front of
him and who followed behind
shouted,
" Hosanna to the Son of David !
Blessed he he who comes in ike
Lord's naine !
Hosanna in high heaven ! ' '
When he entered Jerusalem the 10
whole city was in excitement over
him. " Who is this ? " they said,
and the crowds replied, " This is 11
the prophet Jesus from Nazaret
in Galilee ! " Then Jesus went 12
into the temple of God and drove
out all who were buying and sell-
ing inside the temple; he upset
the tables of the money-changers
and the stalls of those who sold
doves, and told them, " It is written, 13
My house shall he called a house of
prayer, but you make it a den of
robbers"
Blind and lame people came up 14
to him in the temple and he healed
them. But when the high priests 15
and scribes saw his wonderful deeds
and saw the children who shouted
in the temple, " Hosanna to the
Son of David ! " they were indig-
nant; they said to him, "Do you 16
hear what they are saying? "
" Yes," said Jesus, " have you
never read Thou hast brought praise
to perfection from the mouth of babes
and sucklings ? " Then he left 17
them and went outside the city
S. MATTHEW XXI
to Bethany, where he spent the
night.
18 In the morning as he came back
19 to the city he felt hungry, and
noticing a fig tree by the roadside
he went up to it, but found nothing
on it except leaves. He said to it,
" May no fruit ever come from you
after this ! " And instantly the
20 fig tree withered up. When the
disciples saw this they marvelled.
" How did the fig tree wither up in
21 an instant ? " they said. Jesus an-
swered, " I tell you truly, if you
have faith, if you have no doubt,
you will not only do what has been
done to the fig tree but even if you
say to this hill ' Take and throw
yourself into the sea,' it will be
22 done. All that ever you ask in
prayer you shall have, if you
believe."
23 ^Vhen he entered the temple,
the high priests and elders of
the people came up to him as
he was teaching, and said, " What
authority have you for acting in
this way? Who gave you this
24 authority ? " Jesus replied, " Well,
I will ask you a question, and if
you answer me, then I will tell
you what authority I have for
25 acting as I do. \VTiere did the
baptism of John come from?
From heaven or from men ? "
Now they argued to themselves,
" If we say, ' From heaven,' he
will say to us, ' Then why did
26 you not believe him ? ' And if
we say, ' From men,' we are
afraid of the crowd, for they all
hold that John was a prophet."
27 So they answered Jesus, " We do
not know." He said to them,
" No more will I tell you what
authority I have for acting as I do.
28 Tell me what you think. A man
had two sons. He went to the
first and said, ' Son, go and work
in the vineyard to-day ' ; he replied, 29
' I will go, sir,' but he did not go.
The man went to the second and 30
said the same to him; he replied,
' I will not,' but afterwards he
changed his mind and did go.
\Vhich of the two did the will of 31
the father?" They said, "The
last." Jesus said to them, " I
tell you truly, the taxgatherers
and harlots are going into the
Realm of God before you. For 32
John showed you the way to be
good and you would not believe
him; the taxgatherers and harlots
believed him, and even though you
saw that, you would not change
your mind afterwards and believe
him.
Listen to another parable. There 33
was a householder who planted a
vineyard, put a fence round it,
dug a wine-vat inside it, and built
a watchtotver : then he leased it to
vinedressers and went abroad.
When the fruit-season was near, 34
he sent his servants to the vine-
dressers to collect his fruit ; but 35
the vinedressers took his servants
and flogged one, killed another,
and stoned a third. Once more he 36
sent some other servants, more
than he had sent at first, and they
did the same to them. Afterwards 37
he sent them his son ; ' They will
respect my son,' he said. But 38
when the vinedressers saw his son
they said to themselves, ' Here is
the heir; come on, let us kill him
and seize his inheritance ! ' So 39
they took and threw him outside
the vineyard and killed him.
Now, when the owner of the 40
vineyard comes, what will he do
to these vinedressers ? " They 41
replied, " He will utterly destroy
the wretches and lease the vine-
29
S. MATTHEW XXII
yard to other vinedressers who will
give him the fruits in their season."
42 Jesus said to them, " Have you
never read in the scriptures,
Tlie stone that tJie builders rejected
is the chief stone now of the
corner :
this is the doing of the Lord,
and a wonder to our eyes ?
43 I tell you therefore that the Realm
of God will be taken from you and
given to a nation that bears the
fruits of the Realm.
44 Everyone who falls on this stone
will be shattered,
and whoever it falls upon \f\\\
be crushed."
45 When the high priests and Pharisees
heard these parables they knew
46 he was speaking about them ; they
tried to get hold of him, but they
were afraid of the crowds, as the
crowds held him to be a prophet.
22 Then Jesus again addressed them
2 in parables. " The Realm of
heaven," he said, " may be com-
pared to a king who gave a mar-
riage-banquet in honour of his son.
3 He sent his servants to summon
the invited guests to the feast,
4 but they would not come. Once
more he sent some other servants,
saying, ' Tell the invited guests,
here is my supper all prepared, my
oxen and fat cattle are killed,
everything is ready; come to the
5 marriage-banquet.' But they paid
no attention and went off, one to
his estate, another to his business,
6 while the rest seized his servants
and ill-treated them and killed
7 them. The king was enraged ; he
sent his troops and destroyed
those murderers and burned up
8 their city. Then he said to his
servants, ' The marriage-banquet
30
is all ready, but the invited guests
did not deserve it. So go to the 9
byeways and invite anyone you
meet to the marriage-banquet.'
And those servants went out on the 10
roads and gathered all they met,
bad and good alike. Thus the mar-
riage-banquet was supplied \\'ith
guests. Now when the king came 11
in to view his guests, he saw a man
there who was not dressed in a
wedding-robe. So he said to him, 12
' My man, how did you get in here
without a wedding-robe ? ' The
man was speechless. Then said 13
the king to his servants, ' Take him
hand and foot, and throw him
outside, out into the darkness ;
there men will wail and gnash their
teeth. For many are invited but 14
few are chosen,"
Then the Pharisees went and 15
plotted to trap him in talk. They 16
sent him their disciples with the
Herodians, who said, " Teacher,
we know you are sincere and that
you teach the Waj^ of God honestly
and fearlessly; you do not court
human favour. Tell us, then, 17
what you think about this. Is it
right to pay taxes to Caesar or
not ? " But Jesus detected their 18
malice. He said, " Why do you
tempt me, you hypocrites ? Show 19
me the coin for taxes." So they
brought him a sliilling. Then Jesus 20
said to them, " Whose likeness,
whose inscription is this ? "
" Caesar's," they said. Then he 21
told them, " Give Caesar what
belongs to Caesar, give God
what belongs to God." When 22
they heard that they marvelled ;
then they left him and went
away.
That same day some Sadducees 23
came up to him, men who hold
there is no resurrection. They
S. MATTHEW XXIII
24 put this question to him, " Teacher,
Moses said that if anyone dies with-
out children, his brother is to espouse
his wife and raise offspring for his
25 brother. Now there were seven
brothers in our number. The fii'st
married and died ; as he had no
children he left his wife to his
26 brother. The same happened with
the second and the third, down to
27 the seventh. After them all, the
28 woman died. Now at the resurrec-
tion whose wdf e will she be ? They
29 all had her." Jesus answered
them, " You go wrong because
you understand neither the scrip-
30 tures nor the power of God. At
the resurrection people neither
marry nor are married, they are
like the angels of God in heaven.
31 And as for the resurrection of the
dead, have you not read what was
32 said to you by God, / am the God
of Abraham and the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob? He is not a God
33 of dead people but of living." And
when the crowds heard it, they
were astounded at his teaching.
34 When the Pharisees heard he
had silenced the Sadducees, they
35 mustered their forces, and one of
them, a lawyer, put a question in
36 order to tempt him. " Teacher,"
he said, " what is the greatest
37 command in the LaAv ? " He replied,
'"''You must love the Lord your God
with your whole heart, with your
whole soul, and with your whole
38 mind. This is the greatest and
39 chief command. There is a second
like it : you must love your neigh-
40 bour as yourself. The whole Law
and the prophets hang upon these
two commands."
41 As the Pharisees had mustered,
Jesus put a question to them.
42 " Tell me," he said, " what you
think about the Christ. Whose
son is he? " They said to him,
" David's." He said to them,
" How is it then that David in the 43
Spirit calls him Lord ?
The Lord said to my Lord, * Sit at 44
my right hand,
till I put your enemies under
your feet.''
If David calls him Lord, how can 45
he be his son ? " No one could 46
make any answer to him, and
from that day no one ventured
to put another question to him.
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds 23
and to his disciples. " The scribes 2
and Pharisees sit on the seat of
Moses; so do whatever they tell 3
you, obey them, but do not do as
they do. They talk but they do
not act. They make up heavy 4
loads and lay them on men's
shoulders but they will not stir a
finger to remove them. Besides, 5
all they do is done to catch the
notice of men ; they make their
phylacteries broad, they wear large
tassels, they are fond of the best 6
places at banquets and the front
seats in the synagogues ; they like
to be saluted in the marketplaces 7
and to be called ' rabbi ' by men.
But you are not to be called 8
' rabbi,'
for One is your teacher, and
you are all brothers ;
you are not to call anyone 9
' father ' on earth,
for One is your heavenly
Father ;
nor must you be called ' leaders,' 10
for One is your leader, even
the Christ.
He v/ho is greatest among you 11
must be your servant.
Whoever uplifts himself will be 12
humbled,
31
S. MATTHEW XXIII
and whoever humbles himself
will be uplifted.
13 Woe to you, you impious scribes
and Pharisees !
you shut the Realm of heaven
in men's faces;
you neither enter yourselves,
nor will you let those enter
who are on the point of
entering.
15 Woe to you, you impious scribes
and Pharisees !
you traverse sea and land to
make a single proselyte,
and when you succeed you
make him a son of Ge-
henna twice as bad as
yourselves.
16 Woe to you, blind guides that
you are !
you say, ' Swear by the sanctu-
ary, and it means nothing ;
but swear by the gold of the
sanctuary, and the oath
is binding.'
17 You are senseless and blind !
for which is the greater,
the gold or the sanctuary that
makes the gold sacred ?
18 You say again, ' Swear by the
altar, and it means
nothing ;
but swear by the gift upon it,
and the oath is binding.'
19 You are blind ! for which is
the greater,
the gift or the altar that makes
the gift sacred ?
20 He who swears by the altar
swears by it and by all that
lies on it;
21 he who swears by the sanctuary
swears by it and by Him
who inhabits it;
22 he who swears by heaven
swears by the throne of God
and by Him who sits upon
it.
S2
Woe to you, you impious scribes 23
and Pharisees !
you tithe mint and dill and
cummin,
and omit the weightier matters
of the law,
justice and mercy and faith-
fulness ;
these latter you ought to have
practised — without omit-
ting the former.
Blind guides that you are, 24
filtering away the gnat and
swallowing the camel !
Woe to you, you irreligious 25
scribes and Pharisees !
you clean the outside of the
cup and the plate,
but inside they are filled
with your rapacity and
self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee ! first clean the 26
inside of the cup,
so that the outside may be
clean as well.
Woe to you, you irreligious scribes 27
and Pharisees !
you are like tombs white-
washed ;
they look comely on the out-
side,
but inside they are full of
dead men's bones and all
manner of impurity.
So to men you seem just, 28
but inside you are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity.
Woe to you, you irreligious 29
scribes and Pharisees ! You build
tombs for the prophets and
decorate the tombs of the just,
and you say ' If we had been living 30
in the days of our fathers, we
would not have joined them in
shedding the blood of the prophets.'
So you are witnesses against your- 31
selves, that you are sons of those
who killed the prophets ! And you 32
S. MATTHEW XXIV
will fill up * the measure that
33 your fathers filled. You serpents !
you brood of vipers ! how can you
escape being sentenced to Gehenna ?
34 This is why I will send you prophets,
wise men, and scribes, some of
whom you will kill and crucify,
some of whom you will flog in your
synagogues and persecute from
35 town to town ; it is that on you
may fall the punishment for all the
just blood shed on earth from
the blood of Abel the just down to
the blood of Zechariah the son of
Barachiah, whom you murdered
between the sanctuary and the
36 altar. I tell you truly, it Avill all
come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! slaying
the prophets and stoning those
who have been sent to you ! How
often I would fain have gathered
your children as a fowl gathers her
brood under her wings ! But you
38 would not have it ! See, your
39 House is left to you, desolate. For I
tell you, you will never see me again
till you say, Blessed be he zvho comes
in the Lord's name."
*24 So Jesus left the temple and went
on his way. His disciples came
forward to point out to him the
2 temple-buildings, but he replied
to them, " You see all this ? I
tell you truly, not a stone here will
be left upon another, without being
torn down."
3 So as he sat on the Hill of
Olives the disciples came up to him
in private and said, " Tell us, when
will this happen ? What will be
the sign of your arrival and of
4 the end of the world ? " Jesus re-
plied, " Take care that no one mis-
5 leads you ; for many will come in
♦ Reading irAtipdcrfrt with B, Syr.S'n.
my name, saying ' 1 am the Christ,'
and they will mislead many. You 6
will hear of wars and rumours of
wars ; see and do not be alarmed.
These have to come, but it is not the
end yet. For nation will rise against 7
nation, and realm against realm ;
there will be famines and earth-
quakes here and there. All that 8
is but the beginning of the trouble.
Then men will hand you over to 9
suffer affliction, and they will kill
you ; you will be hated by all the
Gentiles on account of my name.
And many will he repelled then, 10
they will betray one another and
hate one another. Many false 11
prophets will rise and mislead
many. And in most of you love 12
will grow cold by the increase of
iniquity ; but he will be saved 13
who holds out to the very end.
This gospel of the Reign will be 14
preached all over the wide world
as a testimony to all the Gentiles,
and then the end will come.
So when you see the appalling 15
Horror spoken of by the prophet
Daniel, standing erect in the holy
place (let the reader note this), then 16
let those who are in Judaea fly to
the hills ; a man on the housetop 17
must not go down to fetch what is in-
side his house, and a man in the field 18
must not turn back to get his coat.
Woe to women with child and to 19
women who give suck in those days !
Pray that you may not have to fly 20
in winter or on the sabbath, for 21
there will be sore misery then, such
as has never been from the beginning
of the world till now — no and never
shall be. Had not those days been 22
cut short, not a soul would be saved
alive; however, for the sake of
the elect, those days will be cut
short.
If anyone tells you at that time, 23
33
S. MATTHEW XXIV
* Here is the Christ ! ' or, ' there
he is ! ' do not beheve it ; for
24 false Christs and jalse prophets will
rise and bring forward great signs
and wonders, so as to mislead the
very elect, — if that were possible.
25 (I am telling you this beforehand.)
26 If they tell you, ' Here he is
in the desert,'
do not go out ;
* here he is in the chamber,'
do not believe it.
27 For like lightning that shoots
from east to west,
so will be the arrival of the
Son of man.
28 Wherever the body lies,
there will the vultures gather.
29 Immediately after the misery of
those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not yield her
light,
the stars will drop from heaven
and the orbs of the heavens xvill
be shaken.
80 Then the Sign of the Son of man
will appear in heaven ; then all
tribes on earth will wail, they will
see the Son of man coming on the
clouds of heaxwn with great power
31 and glory. He will despatch his
angels with a loud trumpet-call to
muster his elect from the four winds,
from the verge of heaven to the verge
of earth.
32 Let the fig tree teach you a
parable. As soon as its branches
turn soft and put out leaves, you
33 Icnow summer is at hand ; so,
whenever you see all this happen,
you may be sure He is at hand, at
the very door.
84 I tell you truly, the present
generation will not pass away till
85 all this happens. Heaven and
earth will pass away, but my woi*ds
will never pass away.
34
Now no one knows anything 36
about that day or hour, not even
the angels in heaven, but only the
Father. As were the days of Noah. 37
so will the arrival of the Son of man
be. For as in the days before the 38
deluge people ate and drank, mar-
ried and were married, till the day
Noah entered the ark ; and as they 89
knew nothing till the deluge came
and swept them all away; so
vnW the arrival of the Son of man
be.
Then there will be two men in 40
the field,
one will be taken and one will
be left ;
two women will be grinding at 41
the millstone,
one %vill be taken and one will
be left.
Keep on the M'atch then, for you 42
never know v.-hat day your Lord
will come. But be sure of this, 43
that if the householder had kno^vn
at what watch in the night the thief
was coming, he would have been
on the watch, he would not have
allowed his house to be broken into.
So be ready yourselves, for the Son 44
of man is coming at an hour you do
not expect.
Now where is the trusty and 45
thoughtful servant, whom his lord
and master has set over his house-
hold to assign them their supplies
at the proper time ? Blessed is that 46
servant if his lord and master finds
him so doing when he arrives ! I tell 47
you truly, he ^vill set him over all his
property. But if the* bad servant 48
says to himself, 'My lord and master
is long of coming,' and if he starts 49
to beat his fellow-servants and to
eat and drink with drunkards, that 50
servant's lord and master will arrive
* Omitting [iKuvos], a harmonistio
gloss from Luke xii. 45.
S. MATTHEW XXV
on a day when he does not expect
him and at an hour which he does
51 not know ; he will cut him in two
and assign him the fate of the hypo-
crites. There men will wail and
gnash their teeth.
25 Then shall the Realm of heaven
be compared to ten maidens who
took their lamps and went out to
meet the bridegroom and the bride.*
2 Five of them were stupid and five
3 were sensible. For although the
stupid took their lamps, they took
4 no oil with them, whereas the
sensible took oil in their vessels as
5 well as their lamps. As the bride-
groom was long of coming, they all
grew drowsy and went to sleep.
6 But at midnight the cry arose, ' Here
is the bridegroom ! Come out to
7 meet him ! ' Then all the maidens
rose and trimmed their lamps.
I 8 The stupid said to the sensible,
' Give us some of your oil, for our
'■■ 9 lamps are going out.' But the
sensible replied, ' No, there may
not be enough for us and for you.
Better go to the dealers and buy
10 for yourselves.' Now while they
were away bu3dng oil, the bride-
groom arrived ; those maidens who
were ready accompanied him to the
marriage-banquet, and the door
II was shut. Afterwards the rest of the
maidens came and said, ' Oh sir, oh
12 sir, open the door for us ! ' but he
replied, ' I tell you frankly, I do not
13 know you.' Keep on the watch
then, for you know neither the day
nor the hour.
* The words kuI rrji vv^i<pi)i are added
by D X*, the Latin and Syriac versions,
etc. Their omission may have been due
to the feeling of the later church that Jesus
as the Bridegroom ought alone to be
mentioned.
For the case is that of a man 14
going abroad, who summoned his
servants and handed over his
property to them; to one he 15
gave twelve hundred pounds,
to another fi^^e hundred, and to
another two hundred and fifty;
each got according to his capacity.
Then the man went abroad. The 16
servant who had got the twelve
hundred pounds at once went and
traded with them, making another
twelve hundred. Similarly the ser- 17
vant who had got the five himdred
pounds made another five hundred.
But the servant who had got tlie 18
two hundred and fifty pounds went
off and dug a hole in the ground
and hid his master's money. No-yy 19
a long time afterwards the master
of those servants came back and
settled accounts with them. Then 20
the servant who had got the twelve
hundred pounds came forward,
bringing twelve hundred more; he
said, ' You handed me twelv^e
hvmdred pounds, sir; here I have
gained another twelve hundred.'
His master said to him, ' Capital, 21
you excellent and trusty servant !
You have been trusty in charge of
a small sum, I will put you in charge
of a large sum. Come and share
your master's feast.' Then the 22
servant with the five hundred
pounds came forward. He said,
' You handed me five hvmdred
pounds, sir; here I have gained
another five hundred.' His master 23
said to him, ' Capital, you excellent
and trusty servant ! You have been
trusty in charge of a small sum,
I will put you in charge of a large
sum. Come and share your mas-
ter's feast.' Then the servant who 24
had got the two hundred and fifty
pounds came forward. He said,
' I knew you were a hard man, sir,
35
S. MATTHEW XXV
reaping where you never sowed
and gathering where you never
25 winnowed. So I was afraid ; I
went and hid your two hundred
and fifty pounds in the earth.
26 There's your money ! ' His master
said to him in reply, 'You rascal,
you idle servant ! You knew, did
you, that I reap where I have
never sowed and gather where
27 I have never winnowed ! Well
then, you should have handed
my money to the bankers and I
would have got my capital with
28 interest when I came back. Take
therefore the two hundred and fifty
pounds away from him, give it to
the servant who had the twelve
hundred.
29 For to everyone who has shall
more be given and richly
given ;
but from him who has nothing,
even what he has shall be
taken.
30 Throw the good-for-nothing servant
into the darkness outside; there
men will wail and gnash their
teeth.
31 When the Son of man comes in
his glory and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on the throne of his
32 glory, and all nations will be
gathered in front of him; he will
separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep
33 from the goats, setting the sheep
on his right hand and the goats on
34 his left. Then shall the King say
to those on his right, ' Come, you
whom my Father has blessed, come
into your inheritance in the realm
prepared for you from the founda-
tion of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you fed
me,
I was thirsty and you gave me
drink,
36
I was a stranger and you enter-
tained me,
I was unclothed and you 3G
clothed me,
I was ill and you looked after
me,
I was in prison and you visited
me.'
Then the just will answer, 37
' Lord, when did we see you
hungry and fed you ? or
thirsty and gave you drink ?
when did we see you a stranger 38
and entertain you? or un- i
clothed and clothed you?
when did we see you ill or in 39
prison and visit you ? '
The King will answer them, ' I tell 40
you truly, in so far as you did it to
one of these brothers of mine, even
to the least of them, you did it to
me.' Then he will say to those on 41
the left, ' Begone from me, you
accursed ones, to the eternal fire
which has been prepared for the
devil and his angels !
For I was hungry but you never 42
fed me,
I was thirsty but you never
gave me drink,
I was a stranger but you never 43
entertained me,
I was unclothed but you never
clothed me,
I was ill and in prison but you
never looked after me.'
Then they will answer too, ' Lord, 44
when did we ever see you hungry
or thirsty or a stranger or vmclothed
or ill or in prison, and did not
minister to you ? ' Then he will 45
answer them, ' I tell you truly, in
so far as you did not do it to one of
these, even the least of them, you
did not do it to me.'
So they will depart to eternal 46
punishment,
and the just to eternal life."
S. MATTHEW XXVI
26 When Jesus finished saying all
2 this he said to his disciples, " You
know the passover is to be held
two days after this, and the Son
of man will be delivered up to be
crucified."
3 Then the high priests and the
elders of the people met in the
palace of the high priest who was
4 called Caiaphas and took counsel
together to get hold of Jesus
by craft and have him put to
5 death. " Only," they said, " it
must not be during the festi-
val, in case of a riot among the
people."
6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany
in the house of Simon the leper, a
7 woman came up to him with an
alabaster flask of expensive perfume
which she poured over his head as
8 he lay at table. When the disciples
saw this they were angry. " What
is the use of this waste ? " they
9 said ; " the perfume might have
been sold for a good sum, and the
10 poor might have got that." But
Jesus was aware of what they said,
and he replied, " Why are you
annoying the woman? It is a
beautiful thing she has done to me.
11 The poor you always have beside
you, but you will not always have
12 me. In pouring this perfume on
my body she has acted in view of
13 my burial. I tell you truly, wher-
ever this gospel is preached through
all the world, men will speak of
what she has done in memory of
her."
14 Then one of the twelve called
Judas Iscariot went and said to the
15 high priests, "What will you give
me for betraying him to you ? "
And they weighed out for him thirty
16 silver 'pieces. From that moment
he sought a good opportunity to
betray him.
On the first day of unleavened 17
bread the disciples of Jesus came
up and said to him, " Where do you
want us to prepare for you to eat
the passover?" He said, " Go 18
into the city to so-and-so ; tell him
that the Teacher says, ' My time is
near, I will celebrate the passover
at your house with my disciples."
So the disciples did as Jesus had 19
told them and prepared the pass-
over. When evening came he lay 20
at table with the disciples, and as 21
they were eating he said, " One of
you is going to betray me.' They 22
were greatly distressed at this, and
each of them said to him, " Lord,
surely it is not me." He answered, 23
" One who has dipped his hand
into the same dish as myself is
going to betray me. The Son of 24
man goes the road that the scripture
has described for him, but woe to
the man by whom the Son of man
is betrayed ! Better that man had
never been born ! " Then Judas 25
his betrayer said, " Surely it is
not me. Lord ? " He said to him,
" Is it not ? "
As they were eating he took a 26
loaf and after the blessing he broke
it; then he gave it to the disciples
saying, " Take and eat this, it
means my body." He also took 27
a cup and after thanking God he
gave it to them saying, " Drink of
it, all of you ; this means my blood, 28
the new covenant-blood, shed for
many, to win the remission of their
sins. I tell you, after this I will 29
never drink this produce of the
vine till the day I drink it new
^\dth you in the Realm of my
Father."
After the hynm of praise they 30
went out to the Hill of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them, " You 81
will all be disconcerted over me
37
S. MATTHEW XXVI
to-night, for it is Avritten, / will
strike at the shepherd and tJie sheep
32 will he scattered. But after my
rising I will precede you to Galilee."
33 Peter answered, " Supposing they
are all disconcerted over you, I
34 will not be disconcerted." Jesus
said to him, " I tell you truly,
you will diso\vn me three times
this very night, before the cock
35 crows." Peter said to him, " Even
though I have to die with you,
I will never disown you." And
all the disciples said the same
thing.
36 Then Jesus came with them to
a place called Gethsemane, and he
told the disciples, " Sit here till I
37 go over there and pray." But he
took Peter and the two sons of
Zebedaeus along with him; and
when he began to feel distressed and
38 agitated, he said to them, " My
heart is sad, sad even to death ;
stay here and watch with me."
39 Then he went forward a little and
fell on his face prajang, " My
Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass me. Yet, not what I
40 will but what thou wilt." Then
he went to the disciples and found
them asleep; and he said to Peter,
" So the three of you could not
watch with me for a single hour?
41 Watch and pray, all of you, so that
you may not slip into temptation.
The spirit is eager but the flesh is
42 weak." Again he went away for
the second time and prayed, " My
Father, if this cup cannot pass
unless I drink it, thy will be done."
43 And when he returned he found
them asleep again, for their eyes
44 were heavy. So he left them and
went back for the third time,
praying in the same words as
45 before. Then he went to the
disciples and said to them, " Still
38
asleep? still resting? The hour is
near, the Son of man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners. Come, 46
get up and let us go. Here is my
betrayer close at liand ! " While 47
he was still speaking, up came
Judas, one of the twelve, accom-
panied by a large mob with swords
and clubs who had come from the
high priests and the elders of the
people. Now his betrayer had 48
given them a signal ; he said, " Who-
ever I kiss, that is the man." So 49
he went up at once to Jesus : " Hail,
rabbi ! " he said, and kissed him.
Jesus said, " My man, do your 50
errand." Then they laid hands
on Jesus and seized him. One of 51
his companions put out his hand,
drew his sword, and struck the
servant of the high priest, cutting
off his ear. Then Jesus said to 52
him, " Put your sword back into
its place; all who draw the sword
will die by the sword. What ! do 53
you think I cannot appeal to my
Father to furnish me at this moment
with over twelve legions of angels ?
Only, how couH.the scriptures be 54
fulfilled then — the scriptures that
say this must be so ? " At that 55
hour Jesus said to the crowds,
" Have you sallied out to arrest
me like a robber, with swords
and clubs ? Day after day I
sat in the temple teaching, and
you never seized me. How- 56
ever, this has all happened for
the fulfilment of the prophetic
scriptures ! "
Then all the disciples left him
and fled ; but those who had seized 57
JesuK took him away to the house
of Caiaphas the high priest, where
the scribes and elders had gathered.
Peter followed him at a distance 58
as far as the courtyard of the
high priest, and when he got inside
S. MATTHEW XXVII
he sat down beside the attendants
to see the end.
69 Now the high priests and the
whole of the Sanhedrin tried to
get false witness against Jesus, in
order to have him put to death ;
60 but they could find none, although
a number of false witnesses came
forward. Howeve' , two men came
61 forward at last ■ id said, " This
fellow declared, ' . can de^ tro}'' the
temple of God a i build i '. in three
62 days.' " So tb high ] iest rose
and said to h ' n, " Ha e you no
reply to ma > e ? \V1 .t of this
63 evidenje ag 'inst yo ? " Jesus
said n ■ ithing. Then t e high priest
addr.ssed buiii, " I ? Ijure you by
the living God, teP us if you are
thf Chris , the f- »n of God ! "
64 J' sus sa <i to hi, "Even so!
J?ut I ti i'i you, i future you will
see the ^ioii of I'lan seated at the
right hiihd of the t'ower, and coming
fi5 on the clouds of heaven." Then the
high priest tor<' his dress and cried,
" He has blaspiiem( d ! What more
evidence do we wint? Look, you
have heard his blasphemy for
66 yourselves ' ^Vbidt is your view? "
They replied, " He is doomed to
67 death." Then they spat in his
face and bufteted him, some of
them cuffing him and crying,
68 " Prophesy to us, you Christ !
tell us who struck you ! "
69 Now Peter was sitting outside
in the courtyard. A maidservant
came uj) and said to him, " You
were with Jesus the Galilean too."
70 But he denied it before them all.
" I do not know what you mean,"
71 he said. When he went out to
the gateway another maidservant
noticed him and said to those who
were there, " This fellow was with
72 Jesus the Nazarene." Again he
denied it ; he SAVore, " I do not
know the man." After a Httle 73
the bystanders came up and said
to Peter, " To be sure, you are one
of them too. Why, your accent
betrays you ! " At this he broke 74
out cursing and swearing, " I do
not know the man." At that
moment a cock crowed. Then 75
Peter remembered what Jesus had
said, that ' before the cock crows
you will disown me three times.'
And he went outside and wept
bitterly.
CHAJP.
When morning came, all the 27
high priests and the elders of the
people took counsel against Jesus,
so as to have him put to death.
After binding him, they led him 2
off and handed him over to Pilate
the governor.
Then Judas his betrayer saw 3
he was condemned, and repented;
he brought back the thirty silver
pieces to the high priests and elders,
saying, " I did wrong in betraying 4
innocent blood." " What does
that matter to us ? " they said, " it
is your affair, not ours ! " Then 5
he flung down the silver pieces in
the temple and went off and hung
himself. The high priests took the 6
money and said, " It would be
wrong to put this into the treasury,
for it is the price of blood." So 7
after consulting they bought with
it the Potter's Field, to serve as a
burying-place for strangers. That 8
is why the field is called to this
day " The Field of Blood." Then 9
the word spoken bjr the prophet
Jeremiah was fulfilled : and I took
the thirty silver pieces, the 'price of
him who had been priced, whom
they had priced and expelled from
the sons of Israel ; and I gave them 10
for the potter's field, as the Lord had
bidden me.
39
S. MATTHEW XXVII
1 1 Now Jesus stood before the gover-
nor, and the governor asked him,
" Are you the King of the Jews ? "
12 Jesus rephed, " Certainly." But
while he was being accused by
the high priests and elders, he
13 made no reply. Then Pilate said
to him, " Do you not hear all
14 their evidence against j^ou ? " But,
to Pilate's great astonishment, he
would not answer him a single
word.
15 At festival time the governor
was in the habit of releasing any
one prisoner whom the ci'owd
16 chose. At that time they had a
notorious prisoner called Jesus *
17 Bar- Abbas ; so, when they had
gathered, Pilate said to them,
" Who do you want released ?
Jesus Bar-Abbas or Jesus the so-
18 called 'Christ'?" (He knew
quite well that Jesus had been
19 delivered up out of envy. Besides,
when he was seated on the tribunal,
his wife had sent to tell him, " Do
nothing with that innocent man,
for I have suffered greatly to-day
20 in a dream about him.") But the
high priests and elders persuaded
the crowds to ask Bar-Abbas and
21 to have Jesus killed. The governor
said to them, " Which of the two
do you want me to release for
you ? " " Bar- Abbas," they said.
22 iPilate said, " Then what am I to
do with Jesus the so-called
' Christ ' ? " They all said, " Have
23 him crucified ! " " Why," said
Pilate, " what has he done wrong ? "
But they shouted on more fiercely
• Adding here and in the following
verse 'Irja-ovv with the Sinaitic (and
Palestinian) Syriac version, some good
minuscules, and manuscripts known to
Origen. The evidence is discussed in
Professor Burkitt's Evangelion da-
Mepharreahe, ii. 277 f.
40
than ever, " Have him crucified ! "
Now when Pilate saw that instead 24
of him doing any good a riot
was rising, he took some water
and washed his hands in presence
of the crowd, saying, " I am in-
nocent of this man's blood. It is
your affair ! " To this all the people 25
replied, " His blood be on us and
on our children!" Then he released 26
Bar- Abbas for them; Jesus he
scourged and handed over to be
crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor 27
took Jesus into the praetorium and
got all the regiment round him;
they stripped him and threw a 28
scarlet mantle round him, plaited 29
a crown of thorns and set it on his
head, put a stick in his hand, and
knelt before him in mockery, cry-
ing, "Hail, King of the Jews ! "
They spat on him, they took the 30
stick and struck him on the head,
and after making fun of him they 31
stripped him of the mantle, put
on his own clothes, and took him
off to be crucified. As they went 32
out they met a Cyrenian called
Simon, whom they forced to carry
his cross. When they came to a 33
place called Golgotha (meaning
the place of a skull), they gave him 34
a drink of wine mixed with bitters ;
but when he tasted it he would not
drink it. Then they crucified him, 35
distributed his clothes among them
by drawing lots, and sat down there 36
to keep watch over him. They 37
also put over his head his charge in
writing,
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE
JEWS.
Two robbers were also crucified with 38
him at that time, one on the
right hand and one on the left.
S. MATTHEW XXVII
39 Those who passed by scoffed at
him, nodding at him in derision
40 and calUng, " You were to destroy
the temple and build it in three
days ! Save yourself, if you are
God's Son ! Come down from the
41 cross ! " So, too, the high priests
made fun of him ^vith the scribes
42 and the elders of the people. " He
saved others," they said, " but he
cannot save himself ! He the
' King of Israel ' ! Let him come
down now from the cross ; then
43 we will believe in him ! His trust
is in God ? Let God deliver him
now ij He cares jar him ! He said
44 he was the Son of God ! " The
robbers who were crucified with
him also denounced him in the
same way.
45 Now from twelve o'clock to
three o'clock darkness covered all
46 the land, and about three o'clock
Jesus gave a loud cry, " Elei,
Elei, lema sabachthanei " (that is,
My God, my God, why hast thou
47 forsaken me). On hearing this
some of the bystanders said, " He
48 is calling for Elijah." One of
them ran off at once and took a
sponge, which he soaked in vinegar
and put on the end of a stick to
give him a drink. But the others
49 said, " Stop, let us see if Elijah
50 does come to save him ! " But
Jesus again uttei'ed a loud scream
51 and gave up his spirit. And the
curtain of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom, the earth
52 shook, the rocks were split, the
tombs were opened, and a number
of bodies of the saints who slept
53 the sleep of death rose up — they
left the tombs after his resurrection
and entered the holy city and
appeared to a number of people.
54 Now when the army-captain and
his men who were watching Jesus
saw the earthquake and all that
happened they were dreadfully
afraid ; they said, " This man was
certainly a son of God ! " There 55
were also a number of women
there looking on from a distance,
women who had followed Jesus
from Galilee and waited on him,
including Mary of Magdala, Mary 56
the mother of James and Joseph,
and the mother of the sons of
Zebedaeus.
Now when evening came, a rich 57
man from Arimathaca, called
Joseph, who had become a dis-
ciple of Jesus, went to Pilate 58
and asked him for the body of
Jesus. Pilate then ordered the
body to be handed over to him.
So Joseph took the body, wrapped 59
it in clean linen, and put it in his 60
new tomb, which he had cut in
the rock; then, after rolling a
large boulder to the opening of the
tomb, he went away.
Mary of Magdala and the other 61
Mary were there, sitting opposite
the tomb.
Next day (that is, on the day 62
after the Preparation) the high
priests and Pharisees gathered
round Pilate and said, " We re- 63
member, sir, that when this im-
postor was alive he said, ' I mil
rise after three days.' Now then, 64
give orders for the tomb to be
kept secure till the third day, in
case his disciples go and steal him
and then tell the people, ' He has
risen from the dead,' The end of
the fraud will then be worse than
the beginning of it." Pilate said 65
to them, " Take a guard of soldiers,
go and make it as secure as you
can." So off they went and made 66
the tomb secure by putting a seal
on the boulder and setting the
guard,
41
S. MATTHEW XXVni
CHAP.
28 At the close of the sabbath, as
the first day of the week was
dawning, Mary of Magdala and
the other Mary went to look at the
2 tomb. But a great earthquake
took place ; an angel of the
Lord came down from heaven and
went and rolled away the boulder
3 and sat on it. His appearance
was like lightning and his raiment
4 white as snow. For fear of him
the sentries shook and became like
5 dead men ; but the angel addressed
the women, saying, " Have no
fear; I know you are looking for
6 the crucified Jesus. He is not here,
he has risen, as he told you he
would. See, here is the place
7 where he lay. Now be quick and
go to his disciples, tell them he has
risen from the dead and that ' he
precedes you to Galilee; you will
see him there.' That is my
8 message for you." Then they ran
quickly from the tomb in fear and
great joy, to announce the news
9 to his disciples. And Jesus him-
self met them, saying, ' Hail ! '
So they went up to him and caught
hold of his feet and worshipped
10 him; then Jesus said to them,
" Have no fear ! Go and tell my
brothers to leave for Galilee ; they
will see me there."
While they were on their way, 11
some of the sentries went into the
city and reported all that had taken
place to the high priests, who, 12
after meeting and conferring with
the elders, gave a considerable sum
of money to the soldiers and told
them to say that " his disciples 13
came at night and stole him when
we were asleep." " If this comes 14
to the ears of the governor," they
added, " we will satisfy him and
see that you have no trouble about
the matter." So the soldiers took 15
the money and followed their
instructions ; and this story has
been disseminated among the Jews
dowTi to the present day.
Now the eleven disciples went 16
to Galilee, to the hill where Jesus
had arranged to meet them. When 17
they saw him they worshipped him,
though some were in doubt. Then 18
Jesus came forward to them and
said, " Full authority has been
given to me in heaven and on
earth; go and make disciples of all 19
nations, baptize them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the
holy Spirit, and teach them to obey 20
all the commands I have laid on
you. And I will be with you all
the time, to the very end of the
world."
42
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
S. MARK
1 The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ [the Son of God].
2 As it is written in the prophet
Isaiah,
Here I send my messenger before
your face
to -prepare the way for you :
3 the voice of one who cries in the
desert,
* Make the way ready for the
Lord,
level the paths for him ' —
4 John appeared baptizing in the
desert and preaching a baptism of
repentance for the remission of
5 sins ; and the whole of Judaea
and all the people of Jerusalem
went out to him and got baptized
by him in the Jordan river, confess-
6 ing their sins. John was dressed
in camel's hair, with a leather
girdle roimd his loins, and he ate
7 locusts and wild honey. He an-
nounced,
" After me one who is mightier
will come,
and I am not fit to stoop and
untie the string of his
sandals :
8 I have baptized you with water,
but he will baptize you with
the holy Spirit."
9 Now it was in those days that
Jesus arrived from Nazaret in
Galilee and got baptized in the
10 Jordan by John. And the moment
he rose from the water he saw the
heavens cleft and the Spirit coming
down upon him like a dove;
11 then said a voice from heaven.
' Thou art my Son, the Beloved,
in thee is my delight.'
Then the Spirit drove him imme- 12
diately into the desert, and in 13
the desert he remained for forty
days, while Satan tempted him;
he was in the company of wild
beasts, but angels ministered to
him.
After John had been arrested 14
Jesus went to Galilee preaching
the gospel of God; he said, "The 15
time has now come, God's reign
is near : repent and believe in the
gospel."
Now as he passed along the sea 16
of Galilee he saw Simon and
Simon's brother Andrew netting
fish in the sea — for they were
fishermen ; so Jesus said to them, 17
" Come, follow me and I will make
you fish for men." At once they 18
dropped their nets and went after
him. Then going on a little further 19
he saw James the son of Zebedaeus
and his brother John ; they too
were in their boat, mending their
nets; he called them at once, and 20
they left their father Zebedaeus in
the boat with the crew and went to
follow him.
They then entered Capharnahum. 21
As soon as the sabbath came, he at
once began to teach in the syna-
gogue ; and they were astoimded 22
at his teaching, for he taught them
like an authority, not like the
scribes. Now there was a man 23
with an unclean spirit in their
synagogue, who at once shrieked
43
S. MAKK II
24 out, " Jesus of Nazaret, what busi-
ness have you with us ? Have you
come to destroy us ? We know
who you are, you are God's holy
25 One." But Jesus checked it ; " Be
quiet," he said, " come out of him."
26 And after convulsing him the un-
clean spirit did come out of him
27 with a loud cry. Then they were
all so amazed that they discussed
it together, saying, "Whatever
is this ? " " It's new teaching
with authority behind it ! " " He
orders even unclean spirits ! "
" Yes, and they obey him ! "
28 So his fame at once spread in
all directions through the whole
of the surrounding country of
Galilee.
29 On leaving the synagogue they
went straight to the house of
Simon and Andrew, accompanied
30 by James and John. Simon's
mother-in-law was in bed with
fever, so they told him at once
81 about her, and he went up to her
and taking her hand made her
rise ; the fever left her at once and
32 she ministered to them. Now
when evening came, when the sun
set, they brought him all who were
ill or possessed by daemons —
33 indeed the whole town was gathered
34 at the door — and he cured many
who were ill with various diseases
and cast out many daemons; but
as the daemons knew him he would
not let them say anything. Then
35 in the early morning, long before
daylight, he got up and went away
out to a lonely spot. He was
36 praj-ing there when Simon and his
37 companions himted him out and
discovered him; they told him,
" Everybody is looking for you,"
38 but he said to them, " Let us go
somewhere else, to the adjoining
country-towns, so that I may preach
44
there as well ; that is why I came
out here." And he went preach- 39
ing in their synagogues throughout
the whole of Galilee, casting out
daemons.
A leper came to him beseeching 40
him on bended knee, saying, " If
you only choose, you can cleanse
me ; " so he stretched his hand out 41
in pity and touched him saying,
" I do choose, be cleansed." And 42
the leprosy at once left him and he
was cleansed. Then he sent him 43
off at once with the stern charge,
" See, you are not to say a v/ord to 44
anybody ; away and show yourself
to the priest and offer what Moses
prescribed for your cleansing, to
notify men." But he went off and 45
proceeded to proclaim it aloud and
spread news of the affair both far
and wide. The result was that
Jesus could no longer enter any
town openly ; he stayed outside in
lonely places, and people came to
him from every quarter.
When he entered Capharnahum 2
again after some days it was re-
ported that he was at home, and 2
a large number at once gathered, till
there was no more room for them,
not even at the door. He was speak-
ing the word to them, when a 3
paralytic was brought to him ; four
men carried him, and as they could 4
not get him near Jesus on account
of the crowd they tore up the roof
under which he stood and through
the opening they lowered the pallet
on which the paralytic lay. When 5
Jesus saw their faith, he said to
the paralytic, " My son, your sins
are forgiven." Now there were 6
some scribes sitting there who
argued in their hearts, " What does 7
the man mean by talking like this ?
S. MARK II
It is blasphemy ! Who can forgive
8 sins, who but God alone? " Con-
scious at once that they were
arguing to themselves in this way,
Jesus asked them, " Why do you
9 argue thus in your hearts ? Which
is the easier thing, to tell the para-
lytic, ' Your sins are forgiven,' or
to tell him, ' Rise, lift your pallet,
10 and walk ' ? But to let you see
the Son of man has power on earth
to forgive sins " — he said to the
11 paralytic, " Rise, I tell you, hft
12 your pallet, and go home." And
he rose, lifted his pallet at once,
and went off before them all ; at
this they were all amazed and
glorified God saying, " We never
saw the like of it ! "
13 Then he went out again by the
seaside, and all the crowd came to
14 him and he taught them. As he
passed along he saw Levi the son
of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-
office ; he said to him, " Follow
me," and he rose and followed him.
15 Now Levi was at table in his own
house, and he had many tax-
gatherers and sinners as guests
along with Jesus and his disciples
— for there were many of them
16 among his followers. So when
some scribes of the Pharisees saw
he was eating with taxgatherers
and sinners they sa'd to his dis-
ciples, " Why does he eat and
drink with taxgatherers and
17 sinners? " On hearing this, Jesus
said to them,
" Those who are strong have no
need of a doctor, but those
who are ill :
I have not come to call just men
but sinners."
18 As the disciples of John and
of the Pharisees were observing
a fast, people came and asked
him, " Why do John's disciples
and the disciples of the Pharisees
fast, and your disciples do not
fast ? " Jesus said to them, 19
" Can friends at a wedding fast
while the bridegroom is be-
side them ?
As long as they have the
bridegroom beside them
they cannot fast.
A time will come when the bride- 20
groom is taken from them;
then they will fast, on that
day.
No one stitches a piece of un- 21
dressed cloth on an old
coat,
otherwise the patch breaks
away, the new from the
old,"
and the tear is m.ade worse :
no one pours fresh wine into old 22
wineskins,
otherwise the wine will burst
the wineskins,
and both wine and wineskins
are ruined." *
Now it happened that he was 23
passing through the cornfields on
the sabbath, and as the disciples
made their way through they began
to pull the ears of corn. The 24
Pharisees said to him, " Look at
what they are doing on the sabbath!
That is not allowed." He said to 25
them, " Have you never read what
David did when he was in need and
hungry, he and his men ? He 26
went iaito the house of God
(Abialhar was high priest then)
and ate the loaves of the Presence
wliich no one except the priests i.s
allowed to eat, and also shared thcru
with his followers." And he said 27
to them,
* Omitting aWa olvov v4ov fis aaKohs
Kaivovs, a harmonistic addition from the
parallel passage in Luke v. 38 and
Matthew ix. 17.
45
S. MARK III
" The sabbath was made for man,
not man for the sabbath :
28 so that the Son of man is Lord
even over the sabbath."
3 Again he entered a synagogue.
Now a man was there whose hand
2 was withered, and they watched
to see if he would heal him on the
sabbath, so as to get a charge
3 against him. He said to the man
with the withered hand, " Rise
4 and come forward ; " then he asked
them, "Is it right to help or to
hurt on the sabbath, to save life
or to kill ? " They were silent.
5 Then glancing round him in anger
and vexation at their obstinacy
he told the man, " Stretch out
your hand." He stretched it out
and his hand was quite restored.
6 On this the Pharisees withdrew
and at once joined the Herodians
in a plot against him, to destroy
him.
7 Jesus retired with his disciples
to the sea, and a large number of
people from Galilee followed him;
also a large number came to him
8 from Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea,
the other side of the Jordan, and
the neighbourhood of Tyre and
Sidon, as they had heard of his
9 doings. So he told his disciples to
have a small boat ready; it was
to prevent him being crushed by
10 the crowd, for he healed so many
that all who had complaints were
pressing on him to get a touch of
11 him. And whenever the unclean
spirits saw him they fell down
before him, screaming, " You are
12 the Son of God ! " But he charged
them strictly and severely not to
make him known.
13 • Then he went up the hillside
and simimoned the men he wanted,
46
and they went to him. He ap- 14
pointed twelve to be with him,
also that he might despatch them to
preach with the power of casting 15
out daemons ; there was Simon, 16
whom he surnamed Peter, James 17
the son of Zebedaeus and John
the brother of James (he surnamed
them Boanerges, or " Sons of
thunder "), Andrew, Philip, Bar- 18
tholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
James the son of Alphaeus, Thad-
daeus, Simon the zealot, and Judas 19
Iscariot who betrayed hijn.
Then they went indoors, but the 20
crowd gathered again, 'so that it
was impossible even to have a
meal. And when his family heard 21
this, they set out to get hold of
him, for what they said was, " He
is out of his mind." But the 22
scribes who had come down from
Jerusalem said, " He has Beelze-
bul," and " It is by the prince of
daemons that he casts out
daemons." So he called them 23
and said to them by way of
parable, " How can Satan cast out
Satan ?
If a realm is divided against itself, 24
that realm cannot stand :
if a household is divided against 25
itself,
that household cannot stand :
and if Satan has risen against 26
himself and is divided,
he cannot stand, he comes
to an end.
No one can enter the strong man's 27
house and plunder his goods un-
less first of all he binds the strong
man ; then he can plunder his
house. I tell you truly, 28
the sons of men shall be forgiven
all their sins,
and all the blasphemies they
may utter,
but whoever blasphemes 29
S. MARK IV
against the holy Spirit is
never forgiven,
he is guilty of an eternal sin."
80 (This was because they said, " He
81 has an unclean spirit.") Then
came his mother and his brothers,
and standing outside they sent to
32 call him ; there was a crowd sitting
round him, and he was told,
" Here are your mother and
brothers and sisters wanting you
33 outside." He replied, " Who are
my mother and my brothers? "
34 And glancing at those who were
sitting round him in a circle he
said, " There are my mother and
35 my brothers ! Whoever does the
will of God, that is my brother and
sister and mother."
4 Once more he proceeded to
teach by the seaside, and a huge
crowd gathered round him; so he
entered a boat on the sea and sat
down, while all the crowd stayed
' 2 on shore. He gave them many
lessons in parables, and said to them
in the course of his teaching :
3 " Listen, a sower went out to sow,
4 and as he sowed it chanced that
some seed fell on the road, and the
5 birds came and ate it up ; some
other seed fell on stony soil where
it had not much earth, and it shot
up at once because it had no depth
6 of earth, but when the sun rose it
got scorched and withered away,
because it had no root; some
7 other seed fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up and choked it,
8 so it bore no crop ; some other seed
fell on good soil and bore a crop
that sprang up and grew, yielding
at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a
9 hundredfold." He added, "Any-
one who has ears to hear, let him
listen to this."
When he was by himself his 10
adherents and the tAvelve asked him
about the parables, and he said 11
to them : " The open secret of
the Realm of God is granted
to you, but these outsiders get
everything by way of parables, so
that
for all their seeing they may not 12
'perceive,
and for all their hearifig they may
not understand,
lest they turn and he forgiven.''''
And he said to them, " You do 13
not understand this parable ? Then
how are you to understand the
other parables? The sower sows 14
the word. As for those ' on the 15
road,' when the seed is sown there —
as soon as they hear it, Satan at
once comes and carries off the word
sown within them. Similarly those 16
who are sown ' on stony soil ' are
the people who on hearing the
word accept it * with enthusiasm ;
but they have no root in themselves, 17
they do not last; the next thing is
that when the word brings trouble
or persecution, they are at once
repelled. Another set are those 18
who are sown ' among thorns ' ;
they listen to the word, but the 19
worries of the world and the delight
of being rich and all the other
passions come in to choke the word ;
so it proves unfruitful. As for 20
those who were sown ' on good soil,'
these are the people who listen to
the word and take it in and bear
fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty,
and a hundredfold."
He also said to them, 21
♦ Omitting tld^s with D, the Sinaitio
Syriac, some manuscripts of the Old
Latin, etc. The tendency waa to add
Mark's tvOvs rather than omit it, especially
when it oeouiTed as here in the Matthew-
parallel (aciii. 20).
47
S. MARK V
" Is a lamp brought to be placed
under a bowl or a bed V
Is it not to be placed upon the
stand ?
22 Nothing is hidden except to be
disclosed,
nothing concealed except to be
revealed.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let
24 him listen to this." Also he said
to them, " Take care Avhat you
hear; the measure you deal out
to others will be dealt out to
yourselves, and you will receive
extra.
25 For he who has, to him shall more
be given ;
while as for him who has not,
from him shall be taken
even what he has."
26 And he said, " It is with the
Realm of God as when a man has
27 sown seed on earth ; he sleeps at
night and rises by day, and the seed
sprouts and shoots up — he knows
28 not how. (For the earth bears
crops by itself, the blade first,
the ear of corn next, and then the
29 grain full in the ear.) But when-
ever the crop is ready, he has the
sickle put in at once, as harvest
30 has come." He said also,
" To what can we compare the
Realm of God ?
how are we to put it in a parable ?
31 It is like a grain of mustard-
seed — less than any seed on earth
32 when it is sown on earth; but
once sown it springs up to be larger
than any plant, throwing out such
big branches that the wild birds
33 can roost under its shadow." In
many a parable like this he spoke
the word to them, so far as they
34 could listen to it; he never spoke
to them except by way of parable,
but in private he explained every-
thing to his own disciples.
48
That same day when evening 35
came he said to them, " Let us
cross to the other side ; "so, leaving 36
the crowd, they took him just as
he was in the boat, accompanied by
some other boats. But a heavy 37
squall of wind came on, and the
waves splashed into the boat, so
that the boat filled. He was 38
sleeping on the cushion in the stern,
so they woke him up saying,
" Teacher, are we to drown for all
you care? " And he woke up, 39
checked the wind, and told the sea,
" Peace, be quiet." The wind fell
and there was a great calm.
Then he said to them, " Why are 40
you afraid like this ? Why not
have faith ? " But they were over- 41
awed and said to each other,
" Whatever can he be, when the
very wind and sea obey him."
Then they reached the opposite 5
side of the sea, the country of the
Gerasenes. And as soon as he 2
stepped out of the boat a man from
the tombs came to meet him, a man
with an unclean spirit who dwelt 3
among the tombs ; by this time
no one could bind him, not even
with a chain, for he had often been 4
bound with ifetters and chains and
had snapped the chains and broken
the fetters — nobody could tame
him. All night and day among 5
the tombs and the hills he shrieked
and gashed himself Nvith stones.
On catching sight of Jesus from 6
afar he ran and knelt before him,
shrieking aloud, " Jesus, son of 7
God most High, what business
have you with me ? By God, I
adjure you, do not torture me."
(For he had said, " Come out of 8
the man, you unclean spirit.")
Jesus asked him, " Wliat is your 9
S. MARK V
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
name?" "Legion," he said,
" there is a host of us." And they
begged him earnestly not to send
them out of the country. Now a
large drove of swine was grazing
there on the hillside ; so the
spirits begged him saying, " Send
us into the swine, that we may
enter them." And Jesus gave
them leave. Then out came the
unclean spirits and entered the
s"wine, and the drove rushed doAvn
the steep slope into the sea (there
were about two thousand of them)
and in the sea they were drowned.
The herdsmen fled and reported
it to the town and the hamlets.
So the people came to see what
had happened, and when they
reached Jesus they saw the hmatic
sitting down, clothed and in his
sober senses — the man who had
been possessed by ' Legion.' That
frightened them. And those who
had seen it related to them what had
happened to the lunatic and the
swine. Then they began begging
Jesus to leave their district. As he
was stepping into the boat the
lunatic begged that he might
accompany him; but he said,
" Go home to your o^vn people,
and report to them all the Lord
has dorie for you and how he took
pity on you." So he went off and
began to proclaim throughout
Decapolis all that Jesus had done
for him; it made everyone
astonished.
Now when Jesus had crossed in
the boat to the other side again, a
large crowd gathered round him;
so he remained beside the sea.
A president of the synagogije called
Jairus came up, and on catching
sight of him fell at his feet with
earnest entreaties. " My little girl
is dying," he said, " do come and
lay your hands on her that sfie may
recover and live." So Jesus went 24
away with him. Now a large
crowd followed him; they pressed
round him. And there was a 25
woman who had had a hemorrhage
for twelve years — she had suffered 26
a great deal under a number of
doctors and had spent all her
means but was none the better;
in fact she was rather worse. She 27
heard about Jesus, got behind him
in the crowd, and touched his
robe ; " if I can touch even his 28
clothes," she said to herself, " I
will recover." And at once the 29
hemorrhage stopped, and she felt
in her body that she was cured of
her complaint. Jesus was at once 80
conscious that some healing virtue
had passed from him, so he turned
round in the crowd and asked,
" Who touched my clothes ? " His 31
disciples said to him, " You see the
crowd are pressing round you, and
yet you ask, ' Who touched me ? ' "
But he kept looking round to see 32
who had done it, and the woman, 33
knowing what had happened to
her, came forward in fear and
trembling and fell down before
him, telling him all the truth. He 34
said to her, " Daughter, your faith
has made you well ; go in peace
and be free from your complaint."
He was still speaking when a 35
message came from the house of
the synagogue-president, " Your
daughter is dead. Why trouble
the teacher to come any further ? "
But Jesus ignored the remark 36
and told the president, " Have no
fear, only believe." He would not 37
allow anyone to accompany him
except Peter and James and John
the brother of James. So they 38
reached the president's house, where
he saw a din of people wailing
49
S. MARK VI
39 and making shrill lament ; and on
entering he asked them, " Why
make a noise and wail ? The child
40 is not dead but asleep." They
laughed at him. However, he put
them all outside and taking the
father and mother of the child as
well as his companions he went
in to where the child was lying;
41 then he took the child's hand and
said to her, " Talitha koum " —
which may be translated, " Little
girl, I am telling you to rise."
42 The girl got up at once and began
to walk (she was twelve years old);
and at once they were lost in utter
43 amazement. But he strictly for-
bade them to let anyone know
about it, and told them to give her
something to eat.
6 Leaving there he went to his
native place, followed by his dis-
2 ciples. WTien the sabbath came,
he began to teach in the syna-
gogue, and the large audience was
astounded. " Where did he get
all this ? " they said. " What is
the meaning of this wisdom he
is endowed with? And these
miracles, too, that his hands per-
3 form ! Is this not the joiner, the
son of Mary and the brother of
James and Joses and Judas and
Simon ? Are not his sisters settled
here among us ? " So they were
4 repelled by him. Then Jesus said
to them, " A prophet never goes
without honour except in his native
place and among his kinsfolk and
5 in his home." There he could not
do any miracle, beyond laying his
hands on a few sick people and
6 curing them. He was astonished
at their lack of faith.
Then he made a tour round the
7 villages, teaching. And summon-
60
ing the twelve he proceeded to
send them out two by two ; he
gave them power over the unclean
spirits, and ordered them to take 8
nothing but a stick for the journey,
no bread, no wallet, no coppers in
their girdle; they were to wear 9
sandals, but not to put on two
shirts, he said. Also, he told 10
them, " Wherever you enter a
house, stay there till you leave
the place. And if any place will 11
not receive you and the people will
not listen to j^ou, shake off the
very dust under your feet when you
leave as a warning to them."
So thej'^ went out and preached 12
repentance ; also they cast out 13
a number of daemons and cured
a number of sick people by anoint-
ing them with oil.
NoAv this came to the hearing of 14
king Herod, for the name of Jesus
had become well knowTi ; people
said,* " John the Baptizer has risen
from the dead, that is why miracu-
lous powers are working through
him; " others said, " It is Ehjah," 15
others again, " It is a prophet, like
one of the old prophets." But 16
when Herod heard of it he said,
" John has risen, the John I be-
headed." For this Herod had sent 17
and arrested John and bound him
in prison on account of his marriage
to Herodias the wife of his brother
Phihp; John had told Herod, 18
" You have no right to your
brother's wife." Herodias had a 19
grudge against him; she wanted
him killed but she could not manage
it, for Herod stood in awe of John, 20
knowing he was a just and holy
man ; so he protected John — he
was greatly exercised when he
listened to him, still he was glad
* Reading e\fyov with B D and the
Old Latin.
S. MARK VI
21
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
32
33
84
to listen to hivn. Then came a
holida}'', when Herod held a feast
on his birthday for his chief
officials and generals and the not-
ables of Galilee. The daughter of
Herodias went in and danced to
them, and Herod and his guests
were so delighted that the king
said to the girl, " Ask anything
you like and I will give you it."
He swore to her, " I will give you
whatever you want, were it the
half of my realm." So .she went
out and said to her mother,
"What am I to ask?" "John
the Baptizer's head," she answered.
Then she hurried in at once and
asked the king, saying, " I want
you to give me this very moment
John the Baptist's head on a
dish." The king was very vexed,
but for the sake of his oaths and
his guests he did not like to dis-
appoint her; so the king at once
sent one of the gviard ^vith orders
to bring his head. The man went
and beheaded him in the prison,
brought his head on a dish, and
gave it to the girl; and the girl
gave it to her mother. When his
disciples heard of it they went and
fetched his body and laid it in a
tomb.
Now the apostles gathered to
meet Jesus and reported to him
all they had done and taught.
And he said to them, " Come away
to some lonely spot and get a little
rest " (for there were many people
coming and going, and they could
get no time even to eat). So they
went away privately in the boat
to a lonely spot. However a
number of people who saw them
start and recognized them, got to
the place before them by hurrying
there on foot from all the towns.
So when Jesus disembarked he saw
a large crowd, and out of pity for
them, as they were like sheep
without a shepherd, he proceeded
to teach them at length. Then, 35
as the day was far gone, his
disciples came up to him, saying,
" It is a desert place and the day
is now far gone ; send them off to 36
the farms and villages round about
to buy some food for themselves."
He replied, " Give them some food, 37
yourselves." They said, " Are we
to go and buy ten povmds' worth of
food and give them that to eat ? "
He said, " How many loaves have 38
you got ? Go and see." When
they found out they told him,
" Five, and two fish." Then he 39
gave orders that they were to make
all the people lie down in parties
on the green grass ; so they ar- 40
ranged themselves in groups of
a hundred and of fifty. And he 41
took the five loaves and the two
fish, and looking up to heaven he
blessed them, broke the loaves
in pieces which he handed to
the disciples to set before them,
and divided the two fish among
them all. They all ate and had 42
enough ; besides, the fragments of 43
bread and of fish which were
picked up filled twelve baskets.
(The number of men who ate the 44
loaves was five thousand.)
Then he made the disciples at 45
once embark in the boat and cross
before him towards Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd ;
and after saying goodbye to them 46
he went up the hill to pray. Now 47
when evening came the boat was
in the middle of the sea, and he was
on the land alone ; but when he 48
saw them buffeted as they rowed
(for the wind was against them)
he went to them about the fourth
watch of the night walking on the
61
S. MARK VII
49 sea. He meant to pass them, but
when they saw him walking on the
sea they thought it was a ghost
50 and shrieked aloud — for they all
saw him and were terrified. Then
he spoke to them at once;
" Courage," he said, " it is I, have
51 no fear." And he got into the
boat beside them, and the wind
dropped. They were utterly as-
52 tounded, for they had not under-
stood the lesson of the loaves ;
their minds were dull.
53 On crossing over they came to
land at Gennesaret and moored to
54 the shore. And when they had
disembarked, the people at once
55 recognized Jesus ; they hurried
round all the district and proceeded
to carry the sick on their pallets
wherever they heard that he
56 was ; whatever village or town or
hamlet he went to, they would lay
their invalids in the marketplace,
begging him to let them touch even
the tassel of his robe — and all who
touched him recovered.
7 Now the Pharisees gathered
to meet him, with some scribes
who had come from Jerusalem.
2 They noticed that some of his
disciples ate their food with
' common ' (that is, unwashed)
3 hands. (The Pharisees and all the
Jews decline to eat till they wash
their hands up to the wrist, in
obedience to the tradition of the
4 elders ; they decline to eat what
comes from the market till they
have washed it ; and they have a
number of other traditions to keep
about washing cups and jugs and
5 basins and beds.) Then the Phari-
sees and scribes put this question
to him, " Why do your disciples
not follow the tradition of the
62
elders ? Why do they take their
food with ' commoai ' hands ? " He
said to them, " Isaiah made a grand 6
prophecy about you hypocrites —
as it is written.
This people honours me with their
lips,
hut their heart is far away from
me :
vain is their worship of me, 7
for the doctrines they teach are
but human precepts.
You drop what God commands 8
and hold to human tradition.
Yes, forsooth," he added, " you 9
set aside what God commands, so
as to maintain your own tradition.
Thus, Moses said, Honour your 10
father and mother, and, He who
curses his father or mother is to
suffer death. But you say that II
if a man tells his father or mother,
' This money might have been at
your service, but it is Korban '
(that is, dedicated to God), he is 12
exempt, so you hold, from doing
anything for his father or mother.
That is repealing the word of God 13
in the interests of the tradition
which you keep up. And you do
many things like that." Then he 14
called the crowd to him again
and said to them, " Listen to
me, all of you, and imderstand
this : —
nothing outside a man can defile 15
him by entering him ;
it is what comes from him that „
defiles him. «
If anyone has ears to hear, let 16
him listen to this."
Now when he went indoors away 17
from the crowd, his disciples asked
him the meaning of this parabolic
saying. He said to them, " So you 18
do not understand, either ? Do you
not see how nothing outside a man
can defile him by entering him?
S. MARK VIII
19 It does not enter his heart but
his belly and passes from that into
the drain " (thus he pronounced
20 all food clean). " No," he said,
" it is what comes from a man, that
21 is what defiles him. From within,
from the heart of man, the designs
22 of evil come : sexual vice, stealing,
murder, adultery, lust, malice,
deceit, sensuality, envying, slander,
23 arrogance, recklessness, all these
evils issue from within and they
defile a man."
24 Leaving there, he went away to
the territory of Tyre and Si don.
He went into a house and wished
no one to know of it, but he could
25 not escape notice ; a woman heard
of him, whose daughter had an
unclean spirit, and she came and
26 fell at his feet (the woman was a
pagan, of Syro-phoenician birth)
begging him to cast the daemon out
27 of her daughter. He said to her,
" Let the children be satisfied first
of all; it is not fair to take the
children's bread and throw it to
28 the dogs." She answered him,
" No, sir, but under the table the
dogs do pick up the children's
29 crumbs." He said to her, " Well,
go your way; the daemon has
left your daughter, since you have
30 said that." So she went home
and found the child lying in
bed and the daemon gone from
her.
31 He left the territory of Tyre
again and passed through Sidon
to the sea of Galilee, crossing the
32 territory of Decapolis. And a deaf
man who stammered was brought
to him, with the request that he
33 would lay his hand on him. So
taking him aside from the crowd
by himself, he put his fingers into
the man's ears, touched his tongue
34 with saliva, and looking up to
heaven with a sigh he said to him,
" Ephphatha " (which means,
Open). Then his ears were at 35
once opened and his tongue freed
from its fetter — he began to speak
correctly. Jesus forbade them to 36
tell anyone about it, but the more
he forbade them the more eagerly
they made it public ; they were 37
astounded in the extreme, saying,
" How splendidly he has done every-
thing ! He actually makes the
deaf hear and the dumb speak ! "
In those days, when a large 8
crowd had again gathered and
when they had nothing to eat, he
called his disciples and said to
them, " I am sorry for the crowd ; 2
they have been three days with
me now, and they have nothing
to eat. If I send them home 3
without food they will faint on the
road. Besides, some of them have
come a long way." His disciples 4
replied, "Where can one get loaves
to satisfy them in a desert spot
like this ? " He asked them, " How 5
many loaves have you got ? "
They said, " Seven." So he or- 6
dered the crowd to recline on the
ground, and taking the seven
loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to
serve out. They served them out
to the crowd, and as they also had 7
a few small fish, he blessed them
too and told the disciples to serve
them out as well. So the people 8
ate and were satisfied, and they
picked up seven baskets of fragments
which were left over. (There were 9
about four thousand of them.)
Then he sent them away, embarked 10
at once in the boat with his
disciples, and went to the district
of Dalmanutha.
63
S. MARK VIII
11 Now the Pharisees came out and
started to argue with him, asking
him for a Sign from heaven, by
12 way of tempting him. But he
sighed in spirit and said,
" Why does this generation de-
mand a Sign ?
I tell you truly, no Sign shall
be given this generation."
13 Then he left them, embarked again,
and went away to the opposite
side.
14 They had forgotten to bring any
bread, and had only one loaf with
15 them in the boat. So he cautioned
them, " See and beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees and the
leaven of Herod." " Leaven ? "
16 they argued to themselves, " we
17 have no bread at all." He noted
this and said to them, " Why do
you argue you have no bread ? Do
you not see, do you not understand,
even yet? Are you still dull of
heart ?
18 You have eyes, do you not
see?
you have ears, do you not
hear?
19 Do you not remember how many
baskets full of fragments you picked
up when I broke the five loaves
for the five thousand ? " They
20 said, " Twelve." " And how many
basketfuls of fragments did you
pick up when I broke the seven
loaves for the seven thousand ? "
21 They said, " Seven." " Do you
not understand now? " he said.
22 Then they reached Bethsaida.
A blind man was brought to him
with the request that he would
23 touch him. So he took the blind
man by the hand and led him out-
side the village ; then, after spitting
on his eyes, he laid his hands on
him and asked him, " Do you see
24 anything ? " He began to see and
61
said, " I can make out people, for
I see them as large as trees, mov-
ing." At this he laid his hands on 25
his eyes once more, and the man
stared in front of him; he was
quite restored and saw everything
distinctly. And Jesus sent him 26
home, saying, " Do not go even
into the village."
Then Jesus and liis disciples set 27
off for the villages of Caesarea
Philippi ; and on the road he
inquired of his disciples, " Who do
people say I am ? " " John the 28
Baptist," thc}^ told him, " though
some say Elijah and others say
you are one of the prophets."
So he inquired of them, " And 29
who do you say I am ? " Peter
replied, " You are the Christ."
Then he forbade them to tell any- 30
one about him. And he proceeded 31
to teach them that the Son of
man had to endure great suffering,
to be rejected by the elders and
the high priests and the scribes, to
be killed and after three days to
rise again ; he spoke of this quite 32
freely. Peter took him and began
to reprove liim for it, but he turned 33
on him and noticing his disciples
reproved Peter, telhng him, " Get
behind me, you Satan ! Your out-
look is not God's but man's."
Then he called the crowd to him 34
with his disciples and said to them,
" If anyone wishes to follow me,
let him deny himself, take up his
cross, and so follow me;
for whoever wants to save his 35
life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for
my sake and the gospel's
will save it.
WTiat profit is it for a man to gain 36
the whole world and to forfeit his
soul ? What could a man offer as 37
an equivalent for his soul ?
S. MARK IX
88 Whoever is ashamed of me and my
words in this disloyal and sinful
generation, the Son of man mil be
ashamed of him when he comes in
the glory of his Father with the
holy angels.
9 "I tell you truly," he said,
" there are some of those standing
here who will not taste death till
they see the coming of God's Reign
with power."
2 Six days afterwards Jesus took
Peter, James and John, and led
them up a high hill by themselves
alone; in their presence he was
3 transfigured, and his clothes glis-
tened white, vivid white, such as
no fuller on earth could bleach them.
4 And Elijah along with Moses ap-
peared to them, and conversed
5 with Jesus. So Peter addressed
Jesus, saying, " Rabbi, it is a good
thing we are here; let us put up
three tents, one for you, one for
6 Moses, and one for Elijah " (for
he did not know what to say, they
7 were so terrified). Then a cloud
came overshadowing them, and
from the cloud a voice said, " This
is my Son, the Beloved, listen to
8 him." And suddenly looking
round they saw no one there except
9 Jesus all alone beside them. As
they went down the hill, he forbade
them to tell anyone what they had
seen, till such time as the Son of
10 man rose from the dead. This
order they obeyed, debating with
themselves what ' rising from the
11 dead ' meant. So they put this
question to him, " Why do the
Pharisees and scribes say that
Elijah has to come first?" He
12 said to them, " Elijah does come
first, to restore all things ; but what
is written about the Son of man
as well ? This, that he is to endure
great suffering and be rejected.
As for Elijah, I tell you he has 13
come already, and they have done
to him whatever they pleased —
as it is written of him." When 14
they reached the disciples they saw
a large crowd round them, and
some scribes arguing with them.
On seeing him the whole crowd 15
was thunderstruck and ran to greet
him. Jesus asked them, " What 16
are you discussing with them ? "
A man from the crowd answered 17
him, " Teacher, I brought my son
to you ; he has a dumb spirit,
and whenever it seizes him it throws 18
him down, and he foams at the
mouth and grinds his teeth. He
is wasting away with it; so I told
your disciples to cast it out, but
they could not." He answered 19
them, " O faithless generation, how
long must I still be with j^ou ? how
long have I to bear ^vith you ?
Bring him to me." So they brought 20
the boy to him, and when the spirit
saw Jesus it at once convulsed the
boy; he fell on the ground and
rolled about foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked his father, " How long 21
has he been like this ? " " From 22
childhood," he said ; " it has thrown
him into fire and water many a
time, to destroy him. If you can
do anything, do help us, do have
pity on us." Jesus said to him, 23
" ' If you can ' ! Anything can be
done for one who believes." At 24
once the father of the boy cried
out, " I do believe ; help my un-
belief." Now as Jesus saw that a 25
crowd was rapidly gathering, he
checked the unclean spirit. " Deaf
and dumb spirit," he said, " leave
him, I command you, and never
enter him again." And it did 26
come out, after shrieking aloud
and convulsing him violently. The
child turned like a corpse, so that
55
S. MARK IX
most people said, " he is dead " ;
27 but, taking his hand, Jesus raised
28 him and he got up. WTien he
went indoors his disciples asked
him in private, " ^Vhy could we
29 not cast it out?" He said to
them, "Nothing can make this
kind come out but prayer and
fasting."
30 On leaving there they passed
through Galilee. He did not want
anyone to know of their journey,
31 for he was teaching his disciples,
telling them that the Son of man
would be betrayed into the hands
of men, that they would kill him,
and that when he was killed he
would rise again after three days.
32 But they did not understand what
he said, and they were afraid to
ask him what he meant.
33 Then they reached Capharnahum.
And when he got into the house
he asked them, " What were you
arguing about on the road ? "
34 They said nothing, for on the road
they had been disputing about
which of them was the greatest.
35 So he sat down and called the
twelve. " If anyone wants to be
first," he said to them, " he must
be last of all and the servant
36 of all." Then he took a httle
child, set it among them, and
putting his arms round it said to
them,
37 " Whoever receives one of these
little ones in my name
receives me,
and whoever receives me receives
not me but him who sent
me."
38 John said to him, " Teacher, we
saw a man casting out daemons in
your name ; but he does not follow
us, and so we stopped him." Jesus
S9 said, " Do not stop him ; no one
who performs any miracle in my
, 56
name will be ready to speak evil
of me. He who is not against us 40
is for us.
Whoever gives you a cup of 41
water because you belong to Christ,
I tell you truly, he shall not miss
his reward.
And whoever is a hindrance to 42
one of these little ones who believe,
it were better for him to have a
great millstone hung round his
neck and be thrown into the
sea.
If your hand is a hindrance to 43
you, cut it off :
better be maimed and get into
Life,
than keep your two hands
and go to Gehenna, to the
fire that is never quenched.
If your foot is a hindrance to you, 45
cut it off :
better get into Life a cripple,
than keep your two feet and
be thrown into Gehenna.
If your eye is a hindrance to you, 47
tear it out :
better get into God's Realm
with one eye,
than keep your two eyes
and be thro^vn into
Gehenna,
where their worm never dies 48
and the fire is never put
out.
Everyone has to be consecrated* 49
by the fire of disciphne.
Salt is excellent : 50
but if salt is tasteless, how are
you to restore its flavour?
* The Greek word aXto-e^o-eraj literally
means ' salted,' the metaphor being
taken from the custom of using salt in
sacrifices (cp. e.g. Levit. ii. 13; Josephus,
Antiquities, iii. 9. 1). " There is fire to
be encountered afterwards if not now;
how much better to face it now and by
self-sacrifice insure against the future "
(Professor Menzies).
S. MARK X
Let there be ' salt between you ' ;
be at peace Avith one another."
10 Then he left and went to the
territory of Judaea over the Jordan.
Crowds gathered to him again, and
again he taught them as usual.
2 Now some Pharisees came up and
asked him if a man was allowed
to divorce his ^^dfe. This was to
3 tempt him. So he replied, " What
did Moses lay down for you ? "
4 They said, " Moses permitted a man
to divorce her by writing out a
5 separation notice." Jesus said to
them, " He wrote you that com-
mand on account of the hardness
6 of your hearts. But from the
beginning, when God created the
world,
Male and female. He created them :
7 hence a man shall leave his father
and mother,
8 and the pair shall be one flesh.
So they are no longer two, but one
9 flesh. What God has joined, then,
10 man must not separate." Indoors,
the disciples again asked him about
11 this, and he said to them, " Who-
ever divorces his ■wife and marries
another woman is an adulterer to
12 the former, and she is an adulteress
if she divorces her husband and
marries another man,"
13 Now people brought children for
him to touch them, and the
14 disciples cheeked them; but Jesus
was angry when he saw this, and he
said to them, " Let the children
come to me, do not stop them : the
Realm of God belongs to such as
15 these. I tell you truly, whoever
will not submit to the Reign of God
like a child will never get into it
16 at all." Then he put his arms
round them, laid his hands on them
and blessed them.
As he went out on the road a man 17
ran up and knelt down before him.
" Good teacher," he asked, " what
must I do to inherit life eternal ? "
Jesus said to him, " WTiy call me 18
' good ' ? No one is good, no one
but God. You know the com- 19
mands : do not commit adultery,
do not kill, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, do not defraud, honour
your father and mother.''' " Teach- 20
er," he said, " I have observed all
these commands from my youth."
Jesus looked at him and loved him. 21
" There is one thing you want,"
he said ; " go and sell all you have ;
give the money to the poor and
you will have treasure in heaven ;
then come and follow me." But 22
his face fell at that, and he went
sadly away, for he had great
possessions. Jesus looked round 23
and said to his disciples, "How
difficult it is for those who have
money to get into the Realm
of God ! " The disciples were 24
amazed at what he said ; so he
repeated, " My sons, how difficult
it is [for those who rely on money]
to get into the Realm of God ! It 25
is easier for a camel to get through
a needle's eye than for a rich man to
get into the Realm of God." They 26
were more astounded than ever ;
they said to themselves, " Then who
ever can be saved ? " Jesus looked 27
at them and said, " For men it is
impossible, but not for God : any-
thing is possible for God." Peter 28
began, " Well, we have left our
all and followed you." Jesus said, 29
" I tell you truly, no one has left
home or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or
lands for my sake and for the sake
of the gospel, who does not get a 30
hundred times as much — in this
present world homes, brothers,
67
S. MARK XI
sisters, mothers, cliildren and lands,
together with persecutions, and in
the world to come life eternal.
31 Many who are first will be last, and
many who are last will be first."
82 They were on the way up to
Jerusalem, Jesus walking in front
of them; the disciples were in
dismay and the companj'' who
followed M^ere afraid. So once
again he took the twelve aside and
proceeded to tell them what was
33 going to happen to himself. " We
are going up to Jerusalem," he
said, " and the Son of man will be
betrayed to the higfa priests and
scribes ; they will sentence him to
death and hand him over to the
^34 Gentiles, who will mock liim, spit
on him, scourge him, and kill him ;
then after three days he will rise
again."
85 James and John, the sons of
Zebedaeus, came up to him saying,
" Teacher, we want you to do what-
86 ever we ask you." So he said,
" What do you want me to do for
37 you ? " They said to him, " Give
us seats, one at your right hand
and one at your left hand, in your
38 glory." Jesus said, " You do not
know what you are asking. Can
you drink the cup I have to drink,
or undergo the baptism I have to
89 undergo ? " They said to him,
" We can." Jesus said, " You
shall drink the cup I have to drink
and undergo the baptism I have
40 to undergo ; but it is not for me to
grant seats at my right or my left
hand — these belong to the men for
whom they have been destined."
41 Now when the ten heard of this,
they burst into anger at James and
42 John ; so Jesus called them and said,
" You know the so-called rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over
them,
68
and their great men overbear
them :
not so with you. 43
Whoever wants to be great among
you must be your servant,
and whoever of you wants to be 44
first must be your slave ;
for the Son of man himself has 45
not come to be served but
to serve,
and to give his life as a ran-
som for many."
Then they reached Jericho ; and 46
as he was leaving Jericho with his
disciples and a considerable crowd,
the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, the
blind beggar who sat beside the
road, heard it was Jesus of Nazaret. 47
So he started to shout, " Son of
David ! Jesus ! have pity on me."
A number of the people checked him 48
and told him to be quiet, but he
shouted all the more, " Son of
David, have pity on me ! " Jesus 49
stopped and said, " Call him."
Then they called the blind man and
told him, " Courage ! Get up, he
is calling you." Thromng off his 50
cloak he jumped up and went to
Jesus. Jesus spoke to him and 51
said, " What do you want me to do
for you?" The blind man said,
" Rabboni, I want to regain my
sight." Then Jesus said, " Go, 52
your faith has made you well ; "
and he regained his sight at once
and followed Jesus along the road.
Now when they came near Jeru- 1 1
salem, near Bethphage and Beth-
any, at the Hill of Olives, he des-
patched two of his disciples, saying 2
to them, " Go to the village in front
of you. As soon as you enter it
you will find a colt tethered, on
which no one has ever sat; un-
tether it and bring it here. If any- 8
S. MARK XI
one asks you, * Why are you doing
that ? ' say, ' The Lord needs it,
and he will send it back immedi-
4 ately.' " Off they went and found
a colt tethered outside a door in the
5 street. They untethered it; but
some of the bystanders said to them,
" What do you mean by untethering
0 that colt? " So they answered as
Jesus had told them, and the men
7 allowed them to go. Then they
brought the colt to Jesus, and when
thc}'^ had put their clothes on it
8 Jesus seated himself. Many also
spread their clothes on the road,
while others strewed leaves cut
9 from the fields ; and both those in
front and those who followed
shouted,
" Hosanna !
Blessed be he who comes in the
Lord's name !
10 Blessed be the Reign to come,
our father David's reign.
Hosanna in high heaven ! "
11 Then he entered Jerusalem, en-
tered the temple, and looked round
at everything ; but as it was late
he went away with the twelve to
Bethany.
12 Next day, when they had left
13 Bethany, he felt hungry, and
noticing a fig tree in leaf some
distance away he went to see if he
could find anything on it ; but when
he reached it he found nothing but
leaves, for it was not the time for
14 figs. Then he said to it, " May no
one ever eat fruit from you after
this ! " The disciples heard him
say it.
15 Then they came to Jerusalem,
and entering the temple he started
to drive out those who were buying
and selling inside the temple; he
upset the tables of the money-
changers and the stalls of those who
16 sold doves, and would not allow any-
one to carry a vessel through the
temple ; also he taught them. " Is 17
it not written," he asked, " My
house shall he allied a house of prayer
for all nations ? You have made it
a den of robbers.''^ This came to 18
the ears of the high priests and
scribes, and they tried to get him
put to death, for they were afraid of
him. But the multitude were all
astounded at his teaching. And 19
when evening came he went out-
side the city.
Now as they passed in the morn- 20
ing they noticed the fig tree had
withered to the root. Then Peter 21
remembered. " Rabbi," he said,
" there is the fig tree you cursed,
all withered ! " Jesus answered 22 #
them, " Have faith in God ! I tell 23
you truly, whoever says to this hill,
' Take and throw yourself into the
sea,' and has not a doubt in his
mind but believes that what he
says will happen, he will have it
done. So I tell you, whatever you 24
pray for and ask, believe you have
got it and you shall have it. Also, 25
whenever you stand up to pray, if
you have anything against anybody,
forgive him, so that your Father
in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses."
Once more they came to Jeru- 27
salem. And as he was walking
within the temple the high priests
and scribes and elders came and
asked him, " What authority have 28
you for acting in this way? Who
gave you authority to act in this
way?" Jesus said to them, "129
am going to ask you a ques-
tion. Answer this, and I will tell
you what authority I have for
acting as I do. What about the 30
baptism of John? Was it from
heaven or from men ? " Now they 31
argued to themselves, " [What are
59
S. MARK XII
32 we to say ?] If we say, ' From
heaven,' he will ask, ' Then why
did you not believe him.' No, let
us say, From men " — but they
were afraid of the people, for the
people all held John had been really
33 a prophet. So they replied to Jesus,
" We do not know." Jesus said to
them, " No more will I tell you
what authority I have for acting
as I do."
12 Then he proceeded to address
them in parables. " A man planted
a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a
trough for the zvinepress, and built a
tower ; then he leased it to vine-
2 dressers and went abroad. When
the season came round he sent a
servant to the vinedressers to collect
from the vinedressers some of the
3 produce of the vineyard, but they
took and flogged him and sent him
4 off with nothing. Once more he
sent them another servant; him
they knocked on the head and in-
5 suited. He sent another, but they
killed him. And so they treated
many others ; some they flogged
6 and some they killed. He had still
one left, a beloved son ; he sent
him to them last, saying, ' They
7 will respect my son.' But these
vinedressers said to themselves,
' Here is the heir ; come on, let us
8 kill him, and the inheritance will
be our own.' So they took and
killed him, and threw him outside
9 the vineyard. Now what will the
owner of the vinej^ard do ? He
will come and destroy the vine-
dressers, and he will give the vine-
10 yard to others. Have you not even
read this scripture ? —
The stone that the builders rejected
is the chief stone now of the
corner :
60
this is the doing of the Lord, 11
and a toonder to our eyes.^'
Then they tried to get hold of him, 12
but they were afraid of the crowd.
They knew he had meant the
parable for them.
So they left him and went away.
But they sent some of the Pharisees 13
and Herodians to him for the pur-
pose of catching him with a ques-
tion. They came up and said to 14
him, " Teacher, we know you are
sincere and fearless ; j^ou do not
court human favour, you teach the
Way of God honestly. Is it right to
pay taxes to Caesar or not ? Are 1 5
we to pay, or are we not to pay ? "
But he saw their trick and said to
them, " Why tempt me ? Bring
me a shilling. Let me see it."
So they brought one. He said, 16
" Whose likeness, whose inscription
is this ? " " Caesar's," they said.
Jesus said to them, " Give Caesar 17
what belongs to Caesar, give God
what belongs to God." He aston-
ished them.
Sadducees, men who hold there 18
is no resurrection, also came up and
put a question to him. " Teacher," 19
they said, " Moses has written this
law for us, that if a man's brother
dies leaving a wife but no child, his
brother is to take the rooman arid raise
offspring for his brother. Now there 20
were seven brothers. The first
married a wife and died leaving
no offspring : the second took her 21
and died without leaving any off-
spring : so did the third : none of 22
the seven left any offspring. Last
of all the woman died too. At the 23
resurrection, when they rise, "whose
wife will she be ? She was wife to
the seven of them." Jesus said to 24
them, " Is this not where you go
wrong ? — you understand neither
the scriptures nor the power of God.
S. MARK XIII
25 When people rise from the dead
they neither marry nor arc married,
they are hke the angels in heaven.
26 As for the dead being raised, have
you not read in the book of Moses,
at the passage on the Bush, how
God said to him, / am the God of
Abraham and the God of Isaac and
27 the God of Jacob ? He is not the
God of dead people but of living.
You are far wrong."
28 Then a scribe came up, who had
listened to the discussion. Knowing
Jesus had given them an apt answer,
he put this question to him, " What
is the chief of all the commands ? "
29 Jesus repUed, " The chief one is :
Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is
30 one Lord, and you must love the Lord
your God with your whole heart,
with your whole soul, with your
whole mind, and with your whoU
31 strength. The second is this : You
must love your neighbour as yourself.
There is no other command greater
32 than these." The scribe said to him,
" Right, teacher ! You have truly
said, He is One, and there is none
33 else but Him. Also, to love him
with the whole heart, with the whole
understanding, and with the whole
strength, and to love one's neigh-
bour as oneself — that is far more
than all holocausts and sacrifices."
34 Jesus noted his intelligent answer
and said to him, " You are not far
off the Realm of God." After that
no one ventured to put any more
questions to him.
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple
he asked, " How can the scribes say
that the Christ is David's son?
36 David himself said in the holy
Spirit,
The Lord said to my Lord, ' Sit at
my right hand,
till I put your enemies under your
feet.'
David here calls him Lord. Then 37
how can he be his son ? "
Now the mass of the people lis-
tened with delight to him. And in 38
the course of his teaching he said,
" Beware of the scribes ! They
like to walk about in long robes, to
get saluted in the marketplaces, to
secure the front seats in the syna- 39
gogues and the best places at
banquets ; they prey upon the 40
property of widows and offer long
unreal prayers. All the heavier
will their sentence be ! "
Sitting down opposite the treas- 41
ury, he watched the people putting
their money into the treasury. A
number of the rich were putting in
large sums, but a poor widow came 42
up and put in two little coins
amounting to a halfpenny. And 43
he called his disciples and said to
them, " I tell you truly, this poor
widow has put in more than all
who have put their money into the
treasury ; for they have all put in 44
a contribution out of their surplus,
but she has given out of her needi-
ness all she possessed, her whole
living."
CHAP.
As he went out of the temple one 1 3
of his disciples said to him, " Look,
teacher, what a size these stones
and buildings are ! " Jesus said to 2
him, " You see these great build-
ings ? Not a stone shall be left
on another, without being torn
down."
And as he sat on the Hill of Olives 3
opposite the temple, Peter and
James and John and Andrew asked
him in private, " Tell us, when is this 4
to happen ? What will be the sign
for all this to be accomplished? "
So Jesus began : " Take care that 5
no one misleads you : — many will 6
come in my name saying, ' I am he,'
S. MARK XIII
7 and mislead many. And when you
hear of wars and rumours of war,
do not be alarmed; these have to
8 come, but it is not the end yet. For
nation will rise against nation, and
realm against realm ; there will be
earthquakes here and there, and
famines too. All that is but the
9 beginning of the trouble. Look
to yourselves. Men will hand you
over to Sanhedrins and you will
be flogged in synagogues and
brought before governors and kings
for my sake, to testify to them.
10 (Ere the end, the gospel must be
11 preached to all nations.) Now
when they carry you off to trial, do
not worry beforehand about what
you are to say ; say whatever comes
to your lips at the moment, for he
who speaks is not you but the holy
12 Spirit. Brother will betray brother
to death, the father will betray his
child, children will rise against
IS their parents and kill them, and
you will be hated by all men on
account of my name ; but he will be
saved who holds out to the very
end.
14 But whenever you see the ap-
palling Horror standing where he
has no right to stand (let the reader
note this), then let those who are
15 in Judaea fly to the hills; a man
» on the housetop must not go down
into the house or go inside to fetch
16 anything out of his house, and a
man in the field must not turn
17 back to get his coat. Woe to
women with child and to women
who give suck in those days !
18 Pray it may not be winter when
19 it comes, for those days will be
days of misery, the like of which has
never been from the beginning of
God's creation until noiv — no and
20 never shall be. Had not the Lord
cut short those days, not a soul
62
would be saved alive; but he has
cut them short for the sake of the
elect whom he has chosen.
If anyone tells you at that time, 21
' Look, here is the Christ,' or, ' Look,
there he is,' do not believe it ; for 22
false Christs and false prophets will
rise and perform signs and wonders
to mislead the elect if they can.
Now take care ! I am telling you 23
of it all beforehand.
But when that misery is past, 24
in those days,
the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not yield her
light,
the stars zvill drop from heaven, 25
and the orbs of the heavens will
be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of man 26
coming in the clouds with great
power and glory. Then he will 27
despatch his angels and muster the
elect from the four \nnds, from
the verge of earth to the verge of
heaven.
Let the fig tree teach you a 28
parable. As soon as its branches
turn soft and put out leaves, you
know summer is at hand ; so, when- 29
ever you see this happen, you may
be sure He is at hand, at the very
door.
I tell you truly, the present 30
generation will not pass away till
all this happens. Heaven and earth 31
will pass away, but my words
never.
Now no one knows anything 32
about that day or hour, not even
the angels in heaven, not even the
Son, but only the Father. Take 33
care, keep awake; you never know
the time. It is like a man leaving 34
his house to go abroad ; he puts his
servants in charge, each with his
work to do, and he orders the por-
ter to keep watch. Watch then, 35
S. MARK XIV
for you never know when the Lord
of the House will come, in the late
evening or at midnight or at cock-
36 crow or in the morning. Watch,
in case he comes suddenly and finds
37 you asleep. Watch : I say it to you,
and I say it to all."
14 The passover and the festival of
unleavened bread fell two days
later ; so the high priests and scribes
were trying how to get hold of
him by craft and have him put
2 to death. " Only," they said,
" it must not be during the fes-
tival ; that would mean a popular
riot."
3 Now when he was at Bethany in
the house of Simon the leper, lying
at table, a woman came up with an
alabaster flask of pure nard perfume,
which had cost a great sum; the
flask she broke and poured the per-
4 fume over his head. This angered
some of those present. " What
was the use of wasting perfume like
5 this ? This perfume might have
been sold for over three hundred
shillings, and the poor might have
got that." So they upbraided her.
6 But Jesus said, " Let her alone.
Why are you annoying her? She
has done a beautiful thing to me.
7 The poor you always have beside
you, and you can be kind to them
whenever you want; but you will
8 not always have me. She has done
all she could — she has anticipated
the perfuming of my body for
9 burial. I tell you truly, v/herever
the gospel is preached all over the
world, men will speak of what she
has done in memory of her."
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the
twelve, went to the high priests to
11 betray him to them. They were
delighted to hear it, and promised
to pay him for it. Meantime he
sought a good opportunity for be-
traying him.
On the first day of unleavened 12
bread (the day when the paschal
lamb was sacrificed) his disciples
said to him, " Where do you want
us to go and prepare for you to eat
the passover? " So he despatched 13
two of his disciples, telling them,
" Go into the city and you will
meet a man carrying a water- jar;
follow him, and whatever house he 14
goes into, tell the owner that the
Teacher says, ' Where is my room,
that I may eat the passover there
with my disciples ? ' He will show 1 5
you a large room upstairs, with
couches spread, all ready; prepare
the passover for us there." The 16
disciples went away into the city
and found it was as he had told
them. So they prepared the pass-
over, and when evening fell he 17
arrived along with the twelve. As 18
they were at table eating, Jesus
said, " Truly I tell you, one of you
is going to betray me, one who is
eating with me." They got dis- 19
tressed at this, and they said to
him one after another, " Surely not
me ? " " One of the twelve," he 20
told them, " one who is dipping into
the same dish as I am. The Son of 21
man goes the road that the scripture
has described for him, but woe to
the man by whom the Son of man
is betrayed ! Better that man
had never been born ! " And as 22
they were eating he took a loaf and
after the blessing he broke and gave
it to them, saying, " Take this, it
means my body." He also took a 23
cup and after thanking God he gave
it to them, and they all drank of it ;
he said to them, " This means my 24
covenant-blood which is shed for
many ; truly I tell you, I will never 25
63
S. MARK XIV
drink the produce of the vine again
till the day I drink it new within
the Realm of God."
26 After the hymn of praise they
went out to the Hill of Olives.
27 Jesus said to them, " You will all
be disconcerted, for it is written :
/ will strike at the shepherd and the
28 sheep will he scattered. But after
my rising I will precede you to
29 Galilee." Peter said to him,
" Though all are disconcerted, I
30 will not be." Jesus said to him,
" I tell you truly, to-day you will
disown me three times, this very
night, before the cock crows
31 twice." But he persisted, " Though
I have to die with you, I will never
disown you." And they all said
the same.
32 Then they came to a place
called Gethsemane, and he told
his disciples, " Sit here till I pray."
33 But he took Peter and James and
John along with him ; and as he
began to feel appalled and agitated,
34 he said to them, "M^ heart is sad,
sad even to death; stay here and
35 watch." Then he went forward a
little and fell to the earth, praying
that the hour might pass away
36 from him, if possible. " Abba,
Father," he said, " Thou canst do
anything. Take this cup away
from me. Yet, not what I will but
37 what thou wilt." Then he came
and found them asleep; so he said
to Peter, "Are you sleeping, Simon ?
Could you not watch for a single
38 hour ? Watch and pray, all of you,
so that you may not slip into
temptation. The spirit is eager
39 but the flesh is weak." Again he
went away and prayed in the same
40 words as before; then he returned
and found them once more asleep,
for their eyes were heavy. They
did not know what to say to him.
64
Then he came for the third time and 41
said to them, " Still asleep ? still
resting ? No more of that ! The
hour has come, here is the Son of
man betrayed into the hands of
sinners. Come, get up, here is my 42
betrayer close at hand." At that 43
very moment, while he was still
speaking, Judas [Iscariot] one of
the twelve came up accompanied
by a mob with swords and clubs
who had come from the high priests
and scribes and elders. Now his 44
betrayer had given them a signal;
he said, " Whoever I kiss, that is
the man. Seize him and get him
safely away." So when he arrived 45
he at once went up to him and said,
" Rabbi [rabbi]," and kissed him.
Then they laid hands on him and 46
seized him, but one of the by- 47
standers drew his sword and struck
the servant of the high priest, cutting
off his ear. Jesus turned on them, 48
saving, " Have you sallied out to
arrest me like a robber, with swords
and clubs ? Day after day I was 49
beside you in the temple teaching,
and you never seized me. How-
ever, it is to let the scriptures be
fulfilled."
Then they left him and fled, all 50
of them ; one young man did follow 51
him, with only a linen sheet thrown
round his body, but when the 52
[young] men seized him he fled
away naked, leaving the sheet be-
hind him.
They took Jesus away to the 53
high priest, and all the high priests
and scribes and elders went with
him. Peter followed him at a dis- 54
tance till he got inside the court-
j^ard of the high priest, where he
sat down with the attendants to
warm himself at the fire.
Now the high priests and the 55
whole of the Sanhedrin tried to get
S. MARK XV
evidence against Jesus, in order to
have him put to death; but they
56 could find none, for while many
bore false witness against him their
57 evidence did not agree. Some got
up and bore false witness against
58 him, saying, " We heard him say,
' I will destroy this temple made
by hands, and in three days I will
build another temple not made by
59 hands.' But even so the evidence
60 did not agree. So the high priest
rose in their midst and asked Jesus,
" Have you no reply to make ? What
about this evidence against you ? "
61 He said nothing and made no
answer. Again the high priest put
a question to him. " Are you the
Christ? " he said, " the Son of the
62 Blessed ? " Jesus said, " I am.
And, what is more, you will see
the Son of man sitting at the right
hand of the Power and coming with
63 the clouds of heaven." Then the
high priest tore his clothes and
cried, " What more evidence do we
64 want ? You have heard his blas-
phemy for yourselves. What is
your ..ifiind*? " ' y.liey condemned
him, all*of them, to the doom of
65 death ; and some of them started
to spit on him and to blindfold
him and buffet him, asking
him, " Prophesy." The attend-
ants treated him to cuffs and
slaps.
66 Now as Peter was downstairs in
the courtyard, a maidservant of the
high priest came along, and when
67 she noticed Peter warming himself
she looked at him and said, " You
were with Jesus of Nazaret too,"
68 But he denied it. " I do not know,"
he said, " I have no idea what you
mean." Then he went outside into
the passage. The cock crowed.
69 Again the maidservant who had
noticed him began to tell the by-
standers, " That fellow is one of
them." But he denied it again. 70
After a little the bystanders once
more said to Peter, " To be sure,
you are one of them. Why, you
are a Galilean ! " * But he broke 71
out cursing and swearing, "I do
not know the man you mean," At 72
that moment the cock crowed for
the second time. Then Peter re-
membered how Jesus had told him,
" Before the cock crows twice you
will disown me thrice ; " and he
burst into tears.
Immediately morning came, the 15
high priests held a consultation
with the elders and scribes and all
the Sanhedrin, and after binding
.Jesus they led him off and handed
him over to Pilate. Pilate asked 2
him, " Are you the king of the
Jews ? " He replied, " Certainly."
Then the high priests brought many 3
accusations against him, and once
more Pilate asked him, " Have you 4
no reply to make? Look at all
their charges against you." But, 5
to the astonishment of Pilate, Jesus
answered no more. Now at festi- 6
val time he used to release for them
some prisoner whom they begged
from him. (There was a man 7
called Bar-Abbas in prison, among
the rioters who had committed
murder during the insurrection.)
So the crowd pressed up and started 8
to ask him for his usual boon.
Pilate replied, " Would you like 9
me to release the king of the Jews
for you ? " (For he knew the high 10
priests had handed him over out
of envy.) But the high priests 11
stirred up the crowd to get him to
release Bar- Abbas for them instead.
Pilate asked them again, "And what 12
• Omitting [kuI t) \oAia ffov 6/xutdC(i].
65
S. MARK XV
am I to do with your so-called King
13 of the Jews ? " Whereupon they
shouted again, " Crucify him."
14 " Why," said Pilate, "what has he
done wrong? " But they shouted
more fiercely than ever, " Crucify
15 him ! " So, as Pilate wanted to
satisfy the crowd, he released Bar-
Abbas for them ; Jesus he handed
over to be crucified, after he had
scourged him.
16 The soldiers took him inside the
courtyard (that is, the praetorium)
and got all the regiment together;
17 then they dressed him in purple,
put on his head a crown of thorns
18 which they had plaited, and began
to salute him with, " Hail, O king
19 of the Jews ! " They struck him on
the head with a stick and spat upon
him and bent their knees to him in
20 homage. Then, after making fun
of him, they stripped off the purple,
put on his own clothes, and took
21 nim away to crucify him. They
forced Simon a Cyrenian who was
passing on his way from the country
(the father of Alexander and Rufus)
22 to carry his cross, and they led him
to the place called Golgotha (which
23 means the place of a skull). They
offered him wine flavoured Avith
myrrh, but he would not take it.
24 Then they crucified liim and dis-
tributed his clothes among them-
selves, drawing lots for them to de-
25 cide each man's share. It was nine
in the morning when they cruci-
26 fied him. The inscription bearing
his charge was :
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They also crucified two robbers
along with him, one at his right and
29 one at his left. Those who passed
by scoffed at him, nodding at him
in derision and calling, " Ha ! You
were to destroy the temple and
66
build it in three days ! Come down 30
from the cross and save yourself ! "
So, too, the high priests made fun of 31
him to themselves with the scribes ;
" he saved others," they said, " but
he cannot save himself ! Let ' the 32
Christ,' ' the king of Israel ' come
down now from the cross ! Let us
see that and we will believe ! "
Those who were crucified with him
also denounced him.
When twelve o'clock came, dark- 33
ness covered the whole land till
three o'clock, and at three o'clock 34
Jesus gave a loud cry, " Eloi, Eloi,
lema sahachthanei " (which means.
My God, my God, why hast thou for-
saken me?) On hearing this some 35
of the bystanders said, " Look, he
is calling for Elijah." One man ran 36
off, soaked a sjDonge in vinegar, and
put it on the end of a stick to give ^
him a drink, saying, " Come on, ]
let us see if Elijah does , come to
take him down ! " But Jesus gave 37
a loud cry and expired. And the 38
curtain of the temple was torn in
two, from top to bottom. Now 39
when the army-captain who stood
facing him saw that he expired in
this way, he said, " This man was
certainly a son of God." There 40
were some women also watching at a
distance, among them Mary of Mag-
dala, Mary the mother of James the
younger and of Joses, and Salome,
women who had followed him when 41
he was in Galilee and waited on
him, besides a number of other
women who had accompanied him
to Jerusalem.
By this time it was evening, and 42
as it was the day of Preparation
(that is, the day before the sabbath)
Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor 43 -
of good position who himself was
on the outlook for the Reign of
God, ventured to go to Pilate and
S. MARK XVI
44 ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate
was surprised that he was dead
already ; he summoned the captain
and asked if he had been dead
45 some time, and on ascertaining
this from the captain he bestowed
46 the corpse on Joseph. He, after
buying a linen sheet, took him
down and swathed him in the
linen, laying him in a tomb which
had been cut out of the rock and
rolling a boulder up against the
47 opening of the tomb. Now Mary
or Magdala and Mary the mother
of Joses noted where he was laid.
CHAP.
16 And when the sabbath had
passed Mary of Magdala, Mary
the mother of James, and Salome
bought some spices in order to go
2 and anoint him ; and very early on
the first day of the week they went
3 to the tomb, at sunrise. They said
to themselves, " Who will roll away
the boulder for us at the opening
of the tomb? " (for it was a very
4 large boulder).* But when they
looked they saw the boulder had
5 been rolled to one side, and on enter-
ing the tomb they saw a youth
sitting on the right dressed in a
white robe. They were bewildered,
6 but he said to them, " Do not be
bewildered. You are looking for
Jesus of Nazaret, who was cruci-
fied ? He has risen, he is not here.
That is the place where he was laid.
7 Go you and tell his disciples and
Peter, ' He precedes you to Galilee ;
you will see him there, as he told
8 you.' " And they fled out of the
tomb, for they were seized with
terror and beside themselves. They
• Transposing the second
ver. 4 to the end of ver. 3.
clause of
said nothing to anyone, for they
were afraid of — .f
(a)
Now after he rose early on the 9
first day of the week, he appeared
first to Mary of Magdala out of
whom he had cast seven daemons.
She went and reported it to those 10
who had been with him, as they
mourned and wept; but although 11
they heard he was alive and had
been seen by her they would not
believe it. After this he appeared 12
in another form to two of them as
they were walking on their way
to the country. They too went 13
and reported it to the rest, but they
would not believe them either.
Afterwards he appeared at table 14
to the eleven themselves and re-
proached them for their unbelief
and dulness of mind, because they
had not believed those who saw him
risen. [Butthey excused themselves,
saying, " This age of lawlessness
and unbelief lies under the sway
of Satan, who will not allow what
lies under the unclean spirits | to
understand the truth and power of
God ; therefore," they said to Christ,
" reveal your righteousness now."
Christ answered them, " The limit
of years for Satan's power has now
expired, but other terrors are at
hand. I was delivered to death on
behalf of sinners, § that they might
return to the truth and sin no more,
t The following appendix represents a
couple of Becond century attempts to
complete the gospel. The passage within
brackets in the first of these epilogues
originally belonged to it, but was excised
for some reason at an early date. Jerome
quoted pswt of it, but the full text has
only been discovered quite recently in
codex W, the Freer uncial of the gospels.
X Or, the unclean things that lie under
the control of spirits.
§ The Greek is obscure at this point.
67
S. MARK XVI
that they might inherit that glory
of righteousness which is spiritual
15 and imperishable in heaven."] And
he said to them, "Go to all the
world and preach the gospel to
every creature :
16 he who believes and is baptized
shall be saved,
but he who will not believe shall
be condemned.
17 And for those who believe, these
miracles will follow :
they will cast out daemons in
my name,
they will talk in foreign tongues,
18 they will handle serpents,
and if they drink any deadly
poison it will not hurt them ;
they will lay hands on the sick
and make them well."
Then after speaking to them the 19
Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven
and sat down at the right hand of God,
while they went out and preached 20
everywhere, the Lord working with
them and confirming the word by
the miracles that endorsed it.
(fe)
But they gave Peter and his com-
panions a brief account of all that
had been enjoined. And after
that, Jesus himself sent out by
means of them from east to west
the sacred and imperishable mes-
sage of eternal salvation.
68
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
S. LUKE
CHAP.
1 Inasmuch as a number of writers
have essayed to draw up a narrative
of the established facts in our
2 rehgion exactly as these have been
handed down to us by the original
eyewitnesses who were in the
3 service of the Gospel Message, and
inasmuch as I have gone carefully
over them all myself from the very
beginning, I have decided, O Theo-
philus, to write them out in order
4 for your excellency, to let you know
the solid truth of what you have
been taught.
5 In the days of Herod king of
Judaea there was a priest called
Zechariah, who belonged to the
division of Abijah; he had a wife
who belonged to the daughters of
Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both just in the sight
of God, blameless in their obedience
to all the commands and regula-
7 tions of God; but they had no
child, for Elizabeth was barren.
Both of them were advanced in
years.
8 Now while he was officiating
before God in the due course of his
9 division, it fell to him by lot, as
was the custom of the priesthood,
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord
10 and burn incense, the mass of the
people all remaining in prayer out-
11 side at the hour of incense. And
an angel of the Lord appeared to
him, standing on the right side of
12 the altar of incense. When Zech-
ariah saw him he was troubled,
and fear fell on him ; but the angel 13
said to him, " Fear not, Zechariah,
your prayer has been heard ; your
wife Elizabeth will bear a son to
you, and you must call his name
John.
It will be joy and gladness for 14
you,
and many will rejoice over his
birth :
for he will be great in the sight 15
of the Lord,
he wiU drink neither wine nor
strong drink,
he will be filled with the holy
Spirit from his very birth ;
he will turn many of the sons 16
of Israel to the Lord their
God,
he will go in front of Him with 17
the spirit and power of
to turn the hearts of fathers to
their children,
turning the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just,
to make a people ready and
prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah said to the angel, " But 18
how am I to be sure of this ? I
am an old man myself, and my
wife is advanced in years." The 19
angel replied, " I am Gabriel, I
stand before God; I have been
sent to speak to you and to tell you
this good news. But you will be 20
silent and imable to speak till the
day this happens, because you have
S. LUKE I
not believed what I told you; it
will be accomplished, for all that,
in due time."
21 Now the people were waiting for
Zechariah and wondering that he
stayed so long inside the sanctuary.
22 When he did come out he could not
speak to them, so they realized
that he had seen a vision in the
sanctuary ; he made signs to them
23 and remained dumb. Then, after
his term of service had elapsed, he
went home.
24 After those days his wife Eliza-
beth conceived; and for five
months she concealed herself.
25 " The Lord has done this for me."
she said, " he has now deigned
to remove m}'^ reproach among
men."
26 In the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent by God to a town
27 in Galilee, to a maiden who was
betrothed to a man called Joseph,
belonging to the house of David.
The maiden's name was Mary.
28 The angel went in and said to her,
" Hail, O favoured one ! the Lord
29 be with you ! " At this she was
startled; she thought to herself,
whatever can this greeting mean?
30 But the angel said to her, " Fear
not, Mary, you have found favour
31 with God. You are to conceive
and bear a son, and you must call
his name Jesus.
32 He will be great, he will be called
the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give
him the throne of David his
father ;
33 he will reign over the house of
Jacob for ever,
and to his reign there will be
no end."
34 "How can this be? " said Mary
to the angel, " I have no husband."
35 The angel answered her, " The holy
70
Spirit will come upon you, the
power of the Most High will over-
shadow you ; thus what is born
will he called holy. Son of God.
Look, there is your kinswoman 36
Elizabeth ! Even she has con-
ceived a son in her old age, and she
who was called barren is now in her
sixth month ; for with God nothing 37
is ever impossible." Mary said, 38
" I am here to serve the Lord. Let
it be as you have said." Then the
angel went away.
In those days Mary started with 39
haste for the hill-country, for a
town of Judah ; she entered the 40
house of Zechariah and saluted
Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth 41
heard the salutation of Mary the
babe leapt in her womb. Then
Elizabeth was filled with the holy
Spirit; she called out with a loud 42
cry,
" Blessed among women are you,
and blessed is the fruit of your
womb !
What have I done to have the 43
mother of my Lord come to me?
Why, as soon as the sound of your 44
salutation reached my ears, the
babe leapt for joy within my
womb. And blessed is she who 45
believed that the Lord's words to
her would be fulfilled." Then 46
Mary said
" My soul magnifies the Lord,
my spirit has joy in God my 47
Saviour :
for he has considered the humili- 48
ation of his servant.
From this time forth all genera-
tions will call me blessed,
for He who is Mighty has done 49
great things for me.
His name is holy,
his mercy is on generation after 50
generation,
for those who reverence him.
S. LUKE II
51 He has done a deed of might
with his arm,
he has scattered the proud with
their purposes,
52 princes he has dethroned and the
poor he has uplifted,
53 he has satisfied the hungry ivith
good things and sent the rich
away empty.
54 He has succoured his servant
Israel,
mindful of his mercy —
55 as he promised our fatliers,
to have mercy on Abraham and
his 0^ spring for ever."
56 Mary stayed with her about three
months and then returned home.
57 Now the time for Ehzabeth's
dehvery had elapsed, and she gave
58 birth to a son. When her neigh-
bours and kinsfolk heard of the
Lord's great mercy to her they re-
59 joiced with her, and on the eighth
day came to circumcise the child.
They were going to call it by the
60 name of its father Zechariah, but
the mother told them, " No, the
61 child is to be called John." They
said to her, " None of your family is
62 called by that name." Then they
made signs to the father, to find out
what he wanted the child to be
63 called, and he asked for a writing-
tablet and wrote down, " His name
is John," to the astonishment of all.
64 Instantly his mouth M'as opened, his
tongue loosed, and he spoke out
65 blessing God. Then fear fell on
all their neighbours, and all these
events were talked of through the
whole of the hill-country of Judaea.
66 All who heard of it bore it in mind ;
they said, " Whatever will this
child become? " For the hand of
the Lord was indeed with him.
67 And Zechariah his father was
filled with the holy Spirit; he
prophesied in these words.
" Blessed he the Lord the God of 68
Israel,
for he has cared for his people
and wrought them redemp-
tion ;
he has raised up a strong saviour 69
for us
in the house of his servant
David —
as he promised of old by the lips 70
of his prophets —
to save us from our foes and from 71
the hand of all ivho hate us,
to deal mercifully with our fathers 72
and to he mindful of his holy
covenant,
of the oath he swore to Abraham 73
our father,
that freed from fear and from 74
the hand of our foes
we should worship him in holi- 75
ness and uprightness
all our days within his presence.
And 5'^ou, my child, will be called 76
a prophet of the Most High ;
for you will go in front of the
Lord to make his ways ready,
to bring his people the knowledge 77
of salvation
through the remission of their
sins —
by the tender mercy of our God, 78
who will make the Dawn visit
us from on high,
to shine on those who sit in dark- 79
ness and in the shadow of
death,
to guide our steps into the way
of peace."
And the child grew, he became 80
strong in the Spirit and remained
in the desert till the day when he
made his appearance before Israel.
Now in those days an edict was 2
issued by Caesar Augustus for a
census of the whole world. (This 2
71
S. LUKE II
was the first census, and it took
place when Quirinius was governor
3 of Syria.) So everyone went to
be registered, each at his o^vn town,
4 and as Joseph belonged to the
house and family of David he went
up from Gaiilee to Judaea, from
the town of Nazarct to David's
5 town called Bethlehem, to be
registered along with Mary his wife.
6 She was pregnant, and while they
were there the days elapsed for her
7 delivery ; she gave birth to her
firstborn son, and as there was no
room for them inside the khan she
wrapped him up and laid him in a
8 stall for cattle. There were some
shepherds in the district who were
out in the fields keeping guard over
9 their flocks by night ; and an angel
of the Lord flashed upon them, the
glory of the Lord shone all round
them. They were terribly afraid,
10 but the angel said to them, " Have
no fear. This is good news I am
bringing you, news of a great joy
that is meant for all the People.
11 To-day you have a saviour born
in the town of David, the Lord
12 messiah. And here is a proof for
you : you will find a baby wrapped
up and lying in a stall for cattle."
13 Then a host of heaven's army
suddenly appeared beside the angel
extolling God and saying,
14 " Glory to God in high heaven,
and peace on earth for men whom
he favours ! "
15 Now when the angels had left them
and gone away to heaven, the
shepherds said to one another,
" Let us be off to Bethlehem to see
this thing that the Lord has told
16 us of." So they made haste and
discovered Mary and Joseph and
the baby lying in the stall for cattle.
17 When they saw this they told
people about the word which had
72
been spoken to them about the
child ; all who heard it were 18
astonished at the story of the
shepherds, and as for Mary, she 19
treasured it all up and mused upon
it. Then the shepherds went away 20
back, glorifying and extolling God
for all they had heard and seen as
they had been told they would.
When the eight days had passed 21 ,
for his circumcision, he was named
Jesus — the name given by the
angel before he had been conceived
in the womb.
When the daj^s for their purifica- 22
tion in terms of the Mosaic law had
elapsed, they brought him up to
.Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord (as it is written in the law of 23
the Lord : every male that opens the
womb must be considered consecrated
to the Lord) and also to offer the 24
sacrifice prescribed in the law of the
Lord, a pair of turtledoves or txvo
young pigeons. No^v there was a 25
man in Jerusalem called Symeon,
an upright and devout man, who
was on the outlook for the Con-
solation of Israel. The holy Spirit
was upon him ; indeed it had been 26
revealed to him by the holy Spirit
that he was not to see death before
he had seen the Lord messiah.
By an inspiration of the Spirit he 27
came to the temple, and when the
parents of the child Jesus carried
him in to perform the customary
regulations of the law for him,
then Symeon took him in his arms, 28
blessed God, and said,
" Now, Master, thou canst let thy 29
servant go,
and go in peace, as thou didst
promise ;
for mine eyes have seen thy saving 30
power
which thou hast prepared before 31
the face of all the peoples,
S. LUKE III
32 to he a light of revelation for the
Gentiles
and a glory fo thy people IsraeV*
33 His father and mother were as-
tonished at these words about him,
34 but Symeon blessed them, and to
his mother Mary he said, " This
child is destined for the downfall
as well as for the rise of many a one
in Israel ; destined to be a Sign for
man's attack — to bring out the
35 secret aims of many a heart. And
your own soul will be pierced by a
spear."
36 There was also a prophetess,
Hannah the daughter of Phanuel,
who belonged to the tribe of Asher ;
she was advanced in years, having
lived seven j^ears with her husband
37 after her girlhood and having been
a widow for eighty-four years. She
was never away from the temple;
night and day she worshipped,
38 fasting and praying. Now at that
very hour she came up, and she
offered praise to God and spoke of
him to all who were on the out-
look for the redemption of Jeru-
salem.
39 ^ATien they had finished all the
regulations of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, to their
40 own town of Nazaret. And the
child grew and became strong; he
was filled with wisdom, and the
41 grace of God was on him. Every
year his parents used to travel to
Jerusalem at the passover festival ;
42 and when he was twelve years old
they went up as usual to the festi-
43 val. After spending the full num-
ber of days they came back, but
the boy Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem. His parents did not
44 know of this ; they supposed he
was in the caravan and travelled
on for a day, searching for him
among their kinsfolk and acquaint-
ances. Then, as they failed to find 45
him, they came back to Jerusalem
in search of him. Three days later 46
they found him in the temple,
seated among the teachers, listen-
ing to them and asking them
questions, till all his hearers were 47
amazed at the intelligence of his
ovm answers. When his parents 48
saw him they were astounded, and
his mother said to him, " My son,
why have you behaved like this to
us ? Here have your father and I
been looking for you anxiously ! "
" ^Vlw did you look for me? " he 49
said, " Did you not know I had to
be at my Father's house? " But 50
they did not understand w^hat he
said. Then he went down along 51
with them to Nazaret, and did as
they told him. His mother treas-
ured up everything in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and 52
in stature, and in favour with God
and man.
Now in the fifteenth year of the 3
reign of Tiberius Caesar, when
Pontius Pilate was governor of
Judaea, Herod being tetrarch of
Galilee, Philip his brother tetrarch
of the country of Ituraea and
Trachonitis, and Lysias tetrarch
of Abilene, during the high priest- 2
hood of Annas and Caiaphas the
word of God came to John the son
of Zechariah in the desert; and
he went into all the Jordan-district 3
preaching a baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins — as it is 4
written in the book of the sayings
of the prophet Isaiah,
The voice of one who cries in the
desert,
' Make the way ready for the Lord,
level the paths f»r him.
73
S. LUKE III
5 Every valley shall be filled up,
every hill and mound laid low,
the crooked made straight,
the rough roads smooth ;
6 so shall all flesh see the saving
power of God.'
7 To the crowds who came out to get
baptized by him John said, " You
brood of vipers, who told you to
flee from the coming Wrath?
8 Well, produce fruits that answer
to your repentance, instead of
beginning to say to yourselves,
' We have a father in Abraham.'
I tell you, God can raise up children
for Abraham from these stones !
9 The axe is lying all ready at the
root of the trees ; any tree that is
not producing good fruit will be
cut down and thrown into the
fire."
10 The crowds asked him, " Then
11 what are we to do ? " He replied,
" Let everyone who possesses two
shirts share with him who has none,
and let him who has food do like-
12 wise." Taxgatherers also came to
get baptized, and they said to him,
" Teacher, what are we to do ? "
13 He said to them, " Never exact
14 more than your fixed rate." Sol-
diers also asked him, " And what
are we to do ? " He said to them
" Never extort money, never lay
a false charge, but be content \vith
your pay."
15 Now as people's expectations
were roused and as everybody
thought to himself about John,
16 " Can he be the Christ ? " John said
to them all,
" I baptize you with water,
but after me one who is mightier
will come,
and I am not fit to untie the
string of his sandals ;
he will baptize you -with the holy
Spirit and fire.
74
His winnowing-fan is in his hand 17
to purge his threshing-floor,
to gather the wheat into his
granary
and burn the straw with fire
unquenchable."
Thus with many another appeal he 18
preached the gospel to the people.
But Herod the tetrarch, who had 19
been reproved by him for Herodias
his brother's wife as well as for
all the wickedness that he, Herod,
had committed, crowned all by 20
shutting John up in prison.
Now when all the people had 21
been baptized and when Jesus had
been baptized and was praying,
heaven opened and the holy Spirit 22
descended in bodily form like a
dove upon him; and a voice came
from heaven,
" Thou art my son, the Beloved,
to-day have I become thv
father." *
At the outset Jesus was about 23
thirty years of age ; he was the son,
as people supposed, of Joseph, the
son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the 24
son of Levi, the son of Mdchi, the
son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
the son of Mattathias, the son of 25
Amos, the son of Nahum, the son
of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son 26
of Maath, the son of Mattathias,
the son of Semein, the son of
Josech, the son of Joda, the son of 27
Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son
of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, 28
the son of Addi, the son of Kosam,
the son of Elmadam, the son of
Er, the son of Jesus, the son of 29
Eliezer, the son of Jo rim, the son of
Matthat, the son of Symeon, the 30
* Reading ^-yotf ffij/xepoy yfyiwriKi. ff€,
with D, the Old Latin, Jiistin, Clement,
Tyconius, etc. In the other MSS it has
been altered, for harmonistic reasons.
S. LUKE IV
son of Judas, the son of Joseph,
the son of Jonam, the son of Elia-
31 kim, the son of Melea, the son of
Menna, the son of Mattatha, the
son of Nathan, the son of David,
32 the son of Jessai, the son of Jobed,
the son of Boaz, the son of Sala,
33 the son of Nahshon, the son of
Aminadab, the son of Admin, the
son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the
34 son of Perez, the son of Judah, the
son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the
son of Abraham, the son of Terah,
35 the son of Nachor, the son of Serug,
the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the
36 son of Eber, the son of Sala, the
son of Kainan, the son of Arphaxad,
the son of Shem, the son of Noah,
37 the son of Lamech, the son of
Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the
son of Jared, the son of Maleleel,
38 the son of Kainan, the son of Enos,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.
4 From the Jordan Jesus came back
full of the holy Spirit, and for forty-
days he was led by the Spirit in
2 the desert, while the devil tempted
him. During these days he ate
nothing, and whcm they were over
3 he felt hungry. The devil said to
him, " If you are God's son, tell
4 this stone to become a loaf." Jesus
replied to him, " It is written, Man
5 is not to live on bread alone." Then
he lifted Jesus up and showed him
all the realms of the universe in a
6 single instant ; and the devil said
to him, " I will give you all their
power and grandeur, for it has
been made over to me and I can
7 give it to anyone I choose. If you
will worship before me, then it will
8 all be yours." Jesus answered
him, " It is written, You must
worship) the Lord your God, and serve
him alone." Then he brought him 9
to Jerusalem and placing him on
the pinnacle of the temple said to
him, " If you are God's son, throw
yourself down from this; for it is 10
written,
He will give his angels charge of
you,
and w
They will hear you on their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a
stone."
Jesus answered him, " It has been 12
said, You shall not tempt the Lord
your God." And after exhaust- 13
ing every kind of temptation the
devil left him till a fit opportunity
arrived.
Then Jesus came back in the 14
power of the Spirit to Galilee, and
the news of him spread over all the
surrounding country. He taught 15
in their synagogues and was glori-
fied by all. Then he came to 16
Nazaret, where he had been brought
up, and on the sabbath he entered
the synagogue as was his custom.
He stood up to read the lesson and 17
was handed the book of the prophet
Isaiah; on opening the book he
came upon the place where it was
written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon 18
me :
for he has consecrated me to preach
the gospel to the poor,
he has sent me to proclaim release
for captives
and recovery of sight for the
blind,
to set free the oppressed,
to proclaim the Lord's year of 19
favour.
Then, folding up the book, he 20
handed it back to the attendant and
sat down. The eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him, and 21
he proceeded to tell them that
7a
S. LUKE V
" To-day, this scripture is fulfilled
22 in your hearing." All spoke well
of lum and marvelled at the gracious
words that came from his lips ; they
said, " Is this not Joseph's son ? "
23 So he said to them, " No doubt
you will repeat to me this proverb,
' Doctor, cure yourself ! ' ' Do here
in your own country all we have
heard you did in Capharnahum.' "
24 He added, " I tell you truly, no
prophet is ever welcome in his
25 native place. I tell you for a fact,
In Israel there were many widows
during the days of Elijah,
when the sky was closed for
three years and six months,
when a great famine came
over all the land :
26 yet Elijah was not sent to any
of these,
but only to a widow woman
at Zarephath in Sidon.
27 And in Israel there were many
lepers in the time of the
prophet Elisha,
yet none of these was cleansed,
but only Naaman the Syrian."
28 When they heard this, all in the
synagogue were filled with rage ;
29 they rose up, put him out of the
town^and brought him to the brow
of the hill on which their town was
built, in order to hurl him down.
80 But he made his way through them
and went off.
31 Then he went down to Caphar-
nahum, a town of Galilee, and on
the sabbath he taught the people;
32 they were astounded at his teach-
ing, for his word came with
33 authority. Now in the synagogue
there was a man possessed by the
spirit of an unclean daemon, who
34 shrieked aloud, " Ha ! Jesus of
Nazaret, what business have you
with us ? Have you come to destroy
us? I know who you are, you
76
are God's holy One ! " But Jesus 35
checked it, saying, '* Be quiet, come
out of him." And after throwing
him down before them the daemon
did come out of him without doing
him any harm. Then amazement 36
came over them all ; they talked
it over among themselves, say-
ing, " What does this mean ? He
orders the unclean spirits with
authority and power, and they
come out ! " And a report of him 37
spread over all the surrounding
country.
When he got up to leave the 38
synagogue he went to the house of
Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was
laid up with a severe attack of
fever, so they asked him about her ;
he stood over her and checked the 39
fever, and it left her. Then she
instantly got up and ministered
to them. At sunset all who had 40
any people ill with any sort of
disease brought them to him; he
laid his hands on everyone and
healed them. From many people 41
daemons were also driven out,
clamouring aloud, " You are God's
son ! " But he checked them and
refused to let them say anything,
as they knew he was the Christ.
When day broke he went away out 42
to a lonely spot, but the crowds
made inquiries about him, came
to where he was, and tried to keep
him from leaving them. He an- 43
swered them, " I must preach the
glad news of the Reign of God to
the other towns as well, for that is
what I was sent to do." So he 44
went preaching through the syna-
gogues of Judaea.
Now as the crowd were pressing 5
on him to listen to the word of God,
he saw, as he stood beside the lake 2
S. LUKE V
of Gcimesaret, tsvo boats on the
shore of the hike; the rishcrinen
had disembarked and were washing
3 their nets. So he entered one of
the boats, which belonged to Simon,
and asked him to push out a httle
from the land. Then he sat down
and taught the people from the
4 boat. When he stopped speaking,
he said to Simon, " Push out to the
deep water and lower your nets
5 for a take." Simon replied, " Mas-
ter, we worked all night and got
nothing! However, I will lower
6 the nets at your command." And
when they did so, they enclosed a
huge shoal of fish, so that their nets
7 began to break. Then they made
signals to their mates in the other
boat to come and assist them. They
came and filled both the boats, till
8 they began to sink. But when
Simon Peter saw it he fell at the
knees of Jesus, crying, " Lord,
9 leave me ; I am a sinful man." For
amazement had seized him and all
his companions at the take of fish
10 they had caught ; as was the case
with James and John, the sons of
Zebedaeus, who were partners of
Simon. Then said Jesus to Simon,
" Have no fear ; from now your
11 catch will be men." Then they
brought the boats to land, and
leaving all they followed him.
12 When he was in one of their
towns there was a man full of
leprosy who, on seeing Jesus, fell
on his face and besought him, " If
you only choose, sir, you can
13 cleanse me." So he stretched his
hand out and touched him, with
the words, " I do choose, be
cleansed." And the leprosy at
14 once left him. Jesus ordered him
not to say a word to anybody, but
to " Go off and show yourself to
the priest, and offer whatever
Moses prescribed for your cleansing,
to notify men." But the news of 15
him spread abroad more and more ;
large crowds gathered to hear him
and to be healed of their com-
plaints, while he kept in lonely 16
places and prayed.
One day he was teaching, and 17
near him sat Pharisees and doctors
of the Law who had come from
every village of Galilee and Judaea
as well as from Jerusalem. Now
the power of the Lord was present
for the work of healing. Some men 18
came up carrying a man who was
parah^sed ; they tried to carry him
inside and lay him in front of Jesus,
but when they could not find any 19
means of getting him in, on account
of the crowd, they climbed to the
top of the house and let him down
through the tiles, mattress and all,
among the people in front of Jesus.
When he saw their faith he said, 20
" Man, your sins are forgiven you."
Then the scribes and Pharisees 21
began to argue, " Who is this
blasphemer ? W ho can forgive sins,
who but God alone ? " Conscious 22
that they 'were arguing to them-
selves, Jesus addressed them, say-
ing, " Why argue in your hearts ?
Which is the easier thing, to say, 23
' Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,
' Rise and walk ' ? But to let you 24
see the Son of man has power on
earth to forgive sins " — he said to
the paralysed man, " Rise, I tell
you, lift your mattress and go
home." Instantly he got up be- 25
fore them, lifted what he had been
lying on, and went home glorifying
God. And all were seized with 26
astonishment; they glorified God
and were filled with awe, saying,
" We have seen incredible things
to-day."
On going outside after this he 27
77
S. LUKE VI
noticed a taxgatherer called Levi
sitting at the tax-office and said
28 to him, " Follow me " ; he rose,
left everything and followed him.
29 Levi held a great banquet for him
in his house; there was a large
company present of taxgatherers
and others who were guests along
30 ^vith them. But the Pharisees and
their scribes complained to his dis-
ciples, " Why do you eat and drink
with taxgatherers and sinners ? "
31 Jesus replied to them,
" Healthy people have no need of
a doctor, but those who are ill :
32 I have not come to call just men
but sinners to repentance."
33 They said to him, " The disciples
of John fast frequently and offer
prayers, as do the disciples of the
Pharisees; but your adherents eat
34 and drink." Jesus said to them,
" Can you make friends at a wed-
ding fast while the bridegroom
is beside them ?
35 A time will come when the bride-
groom is taken from them, and
then they will fast at that time."
36 He also told them a parable :
" No one tears a piece from a new
cloak and sews it on an old
cloak ;
otherwise he will tear the new
cloak,
and the new piece will not
match with the old.
37 No one pours fresh wine into old
wineskins ;
otherwise the fresh wine will
burst the wineskins,
the wine will be spilt and
the wineskins ruined.
88 No, fresh wine must be poured
into new wineskins.
39 Besides, no one wants new wine
[immediately] after drink-
ing old ;
' The old,' he says, ' is better.' "
78
One sabbath it happened that 6
as he was crossing the cornfields
his disciples pulled some ears of
corn and ate them, rubbing them
in their hands. Some of the Phari- 2
sees said, " Why are you doing
what is not allowed on the sab-
bath ? " But Jesus answered them 3
" And have you never read what
David did when he and his men
were hungry? He went into the 4
house of God, took the loaves of the
Presence and ate them, giving them
to his men as well — bread that no
one is allowed to eat except the
priests." And he said to them, 5
" The Son of man is lord even over
the sabbath."
Another sabbath he happened to G
go into the synagogue and teach.
Now a man was there who had
his right hand withered, and the 7
scribes and Pharisees watched to
see if he would heal on the sabbath,
so as to discover some charge
against him. He knew what was 8
in their minds ; so he told the man
with the withered hand, " Rise and
stand forward." He rose and
stood before them. Then Jesus 9
said to them, " I ask you, is it
right on the sabbath to help or to
hurt, to save life or to kill ? " And 10
glancing round at them all in anger
he said to the man, " Stretch out
your hand." He did so, and his
hand was quite restored. This 11
filled them with fury, and they
discussed what they could do to
Jesus.
It was in these days that he went 12
off to the hillside to pray. He
spent the whole night in prayer
to God, and when day broke he 13
summoned his disciples, choosing
twelve of them, to whom he gave the
name of ' apostles ' : Simon (to 14
whom he gave the name of Peter),
S. LUKE VI
Andrew his brother, James, John,
15 Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Al-
phaeus, Simon (who was called
16 'the Zealot '), Judas the son of
James, and Judas Iscariot (who
17 turned traitor). With them he
came down the hill and stood on
a level spot. There was a great
company of his disciples with him,
and a large multitude of people
from all Judaea, from Jerusalem,
and from the coast of Tyre and
Sidon, who had come to hear him
and to get cured of their diseases.
18 Those who were annoyed with
19 unclean spirits also were healed.
Indeed the whole of the crowd
made efforts to touch him, for
power issued from him and cured
20 everybody. Then, raising his eyes
he looked at his disciples and
said :
" Blessed are you poor !
the Realm of God is yours.
21 Blessed are you who hunger to-
day !
you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep to-
day !
you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men will
hate you,
when they will excommunicate
you and denounce you
and defame you as wicked
on account of the Son of
man;
23 rejoice on that day and leap
for joy !
rich is your reward in
heaven —
for their fathers did the
very same to the pro-
phets.
24 But woe to you rich folk !
you get all the comforts you
will ever get.
Woe to you who have your fill 25
to-day !
you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh to-day !
you will wail and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak 26
well of you !
that is just what their fathers
did to the false prophets.
I tell you, my hearers, 27
love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you :
bless those who curse you, 28
pray for those who abuse
you.
If a man strikes you on the 29
one cheek,
offer him the other as well :
if anyone takes your coat,
do not deny him your shirt
as well ;
give to anyone who asks you, 30
and do not ask your goods
back from anyone who has
taken them.
As you would like men to do 31
to you,
so do to them.
If you love only those who 32
love you, what credit is
that to you ?
Why, even sinful men love
those who love them.
If you help only those who 33
help you, what merit is
that to you ?
Why, even sinful men do that.
If you only lend to those from 34
whom you hope to get
something, what credit is
that to you ?
Even sinful men lend to one
another, so as to get a fair
return.
No, you must love your ene- 35
mics and help them,
you must lend to them without
expecting any return ;
79
S. LUKE VII
then you will have a rich
reward,
you will be sons of the Most
High-
for he is kind even to the
ungrateful and the evil.
36 Be merciful,
as your Father is merciful.
37 Also, judge not, and you will
not be judged yourselves :
condemn not, and you will not
be condemned :
pardon, and you will be par-
doned yourselves :
88 give, and you will have ample
measure given you —
they will pour into your lap
measure pressed down,
shaken together, and run-
ning over ;
for the measure you deal out
to others will be dealt back
to yourselves."
39 He also told them a parabolic
w^ord :
" Can one blind man lead an-
other ?
will they not both fall into
a pit?
40 A scholar is not above his
teacher :
but if he is perfectly trained
he will be like his teacher.
41 Why do you note the splinter
in your brother's eye and fail to
see the plank in your own eye?
42 How dare you say to your brother,
' Brother, let me take out the
splinter that is in your eye,' and
you never notice the plank in your
own eye ? You hypocrite ! take
the plank out of your own eye
first, and then you will see properlj'
to take out the splinter in your
brother's eye.
43 No sound tree bears rotten fruit,
nor again does a rotten tree
bear sound fruit :
80
each tree is known by its 44
fruit.
Figs are not gathered from thorns,
and grapes are not plucked
from a bramble-bush.
The good man produces good 45
from the good stored in his
heart,
and the evil man evil from his
evil :
for a man's mouth utters what
his heart is full of.
Why call me, ' Lord, Lord ! ' 46
and obey me not ? Everyone who 47
comes to me and listens to my
words and acts upon them, I will
show you whom he is like. He i.s 48
like a man engaged in building a
house, who dug deep down and
laid his foundation on the rock;
when a flood came, the river dashed
against that house but could not
shake it, for it had been well built.
He who has listened and has not 49
obeyed is like a man who has built
a house on the earth with no
foundation ; the river dashed
against it and it collapsed at once,
and the ruin of that house was
great."
When he had finished what he 7
had to say in the hearing of the
people, he went into Capharnahum.
Now there was an army-captain 2
who had a servant ill whom he
valued very highly. This man was
at the point of death ; so, when the 3
captain heard about Jesus, he sent
some Jewish elders to him, asking
him to come and make his servant
well. When they reached Jesus 4
they asked him earnestly to do
tliis. " He deserves to have this
favour from you," they said, " for 5
he is a lover of our nation ; it was
he who built our synagogue." So 6
S. LUKE VII
Jesus went with them. But he
was not far from the house when
the captain sent some friends to
tell him, " Do not trouble yourself,
sir, I am not fit to have you under
7 my roof, and so I did not consider
myself fit even to come to you.
Just say the w^ord, and let my
8 servant be cured. For though I
am a man under authority myself,
I have soldiers under me; I tell
one man to go, and he goes, I tell
another to come, and he comes,
I tell my servant, ' Do this,' and
9 he does it." When Jesus heard
this he marvelled at him, and
turning to the crowd that followed
he said, " I tell you, I have never
met faith like this anywhere even
10 in Israel." Then the messengers
went back to the house and found
the servant was quite well.
11 It was shortly afterwards that
he made his way to a town called
Nain, accompanied by his disciples
12 and a large crowd. Just as he was
near the gate of the town, there
was a dead man being carried out ;
he was the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow. A large
crowd from the town were with
13 her. And when the Lord saw her,
he felt pity for her and said to her,
14 " Do not weep." Then he went
forward and touched the bier; the
bearers stopped, and he said,
" Young man, I bid you rise."
15 Then the corpse sat up and began
to speak; and Jesus gave him
16 back to his mother. All were
seized wdth awe and glorified God.
" A great prophet has appeared
among us," they said, " God has
17 visited his people." And this story
of Jesus spread through the whole
of Judaea and all the surrounding
country.
18 John's disciples reported all this
a
to him. So John summoned two 19
of his disciples and sent them to
ask the Lord, " Are you the
Coming One? Or are we to look
out for someone else ? " When 20
the men reached Jesus they said,
" John the Baptist has sent us to
you to ask if you are the Coming One
or if we are to look out for someone
else ? " Jesus at that moment was 21
healing many people of diseases
and complaints and evil spirits ;
he also bestowed sight on many
bUnd folk. So he replied, " Go and 22
report to John what you have seen
and heard ; that the blind see, the
lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, and
to the poor the gospel is preached.
And blessed is he who is repelled 23
by nothing in me ! " When John's 24
messengers had gone, he proceeded
to speak to the crowds about John :
" What did you go out to the
desert to see ?
A reed swayed by the wind ?
Come, what did you go out to 25
see?
A man arrayed in soft robes ?
Those who are gorgeously
dressed and luxurious live
in royal palaces.
Come, what did you go out to 26
see ? A prophet ?
Yes, I tell you, and far more
than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written, 27
Here I send my messenger before
your face,
to prepare the way for you.
I tell you, among the sons of 28
women there is none greater than
John, and yet the least in the Realm
of God is greater than he is." (On 29
hearing this all the people and
the taxgatherers aclcnowledged the
justice of God, as they had been
baptized with the baptism of John ;
81
S. LUKE VIII
30 but the Pharisees and lawyers, who
had refused his baptism, frustrated
God's purpose for themselves.)
31 " To what then shall I compare
the men of this genera-
tion ?
What are they like ?
32 Like children sitting in the
marketplace and calling to one
another,
' We piped to you and you
would not dance,
we lamented and you would
not weep.'
83 For John the Baptist has
come, eating no bread and
drinking no wine,
and you say, ' He has a
devil ' ;
84 the Son of man has come
eating and drinking,
and you say, ' Here is a
glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of taxgatherers
and sinners ! '
85 Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindi-
cated by all her children."
36 One of the Pharisees asked him
to dinner, and entering the house
of the Pharisee he reclined at table.
37 Now there was a woman in the
town who was a sinner, and when
she found out that Jesus was at
table in the house of the Pharisee
she brought an alabaster flask of
38 perfume and stood behind him at
his feet in tears ; her tears began
to wet his feet, so she wiped them
with the hair of her head, pressed
kisses on them, and anointed them
39 with the perfume. When his host
the Pharisee noticed this, he said
to himself, "If he was a prophet
he would know what sort of a
woman this is who is touching him ;
40 for she is a sinner." Then Jesus
addressed him. " Simon," he said,
" I have something to say to you."
82
" Speak, teacher," he said. " There 41
was a moneylender who had two
debtors ; one owed him fifty
pounds, the other five. As they 42
were unable to pay, he freely for-
gave them both. Now which of
them will love him most ? " "I 43
suppose," said Simon, " the man
who had most forgiven." " Quite
right," he said. Then turning to 44
the woman he said to Simon, " You
see this woman ? WTien I came
into your house,
you never gave me water for my
feet,
while she has wet my feet
with her tears and wiped
them with her hair ;
you never gave me a kiss, 45
while ever since she came in
she has kept pressing kisses
on my feet ;
you never anointed my head with 46
oil,
while she has anointed my
feet with perfume.
Therefore I tell you, many as her 47
sins are, they are forgiven, for
her love is great; whereas he to
whom little is forgiven has but
little love." And he said to her, 48
" Your sins are forgiven." His 49
fellow guests began to say to them-
selves, " Who is this, to forgive
even sins ? " But he said to the 50
woman, " Your faith has saved
you; go in peace."
CHAP.
Shortly afterwards he went 8
travelling from one town and village
to another preaching and telling
the good news of the Reign of God ;
he was accompanied by the twelve
and by some women who had been 2
healed of evil spirits and illnesses,
Mary called Magdalene (out of
whom seven daemons had been
S. LUKE VIII
8 driven), Joanna the wife of Chuza
the chancellor of Herod, Susanna,
and a number of others, who
ministered to him out of their
4 means. As a large crowd was
gathering and as people were re-
sorting to him from town after
town, he addressed them in a
5 parable. " A sower went out to
sow his seed. And as he sowed,
some seed fell on the road and
was trampled down,
and the wild birds ate it
6
up:
some other seed dropped on the
rock,
but it withered away when it
sprang up because it had no
moisture ;
7 some other seed fell among
thorns,
and the thorns sprang up along
with it and choked it;
8 some other seed fell on sound
soil,
and springing up bore a crop,
a hundredfold."
\Mien he said this he called out,
" He who has an ear, let him listen
9 to this." The disciples questioned
him about the meaning of the
10 parable ; so he said, " It is granted
you to understand the open secrets
of the Reign of God, but the others
get it in parables, so that
for all their seeing they may not
see,
and for all their hearing they may
not understand.
11 This is what the parable means.
12 The seed is the word of God. Those
' on the road ' are people who hear ;
but then the devil comes and
carries off the word from their
heart, that they may not believe
i3 and be saved. Those ' on the
rock ' are people who on hearing
the word welcome it with enthu-
siasm, but they have no root; they
believe for a while and fall away in
the hour of trial. As for the seed 11
that fell among thorns, that means
people who hear but who go and get
choked with worries and money and
the pleasures of life, so that they
never ripen. As for the seed in 15
the good soil, that means those
who hear and hold fast the word in
a good and sound heart and so bear
fruit stedfastly.
No one lights a lamp and hides 16
it under a vessel or puts it
below the bed :
he puts it on a stand so that
those M^ho come in can see
the light.
For nothing is hidden that will 17
not be disclosed,
nothing concealed that will
not be known and revealed.
So take care how you listen ; 18
for he who has, to him shall
more be given,
while as for him who has not,
from him shall be taken even
what he thinks he has."
His mother and brothers reached 19
him but they were unable to join
him for the crowd. Word was 20
brought to him that " your mother
and brothers are standing outside ;
they wish to see you," But he 21
answered, "My mother and brothers
are those who listen to the word of
God and obey it."
It happened on one of these days 22
that he embarked in a boat alone
with his disciples and said to them,
" Let us cross to the other side of
the lake." So they set sail. Dur- 23
ing the voyage he fell asleep. But
when a gale of wind came down
on the lake and they were being
swamped and in peril, they went 24
and woke him up. " Master,
master," they cried, " we are
83
S. LUKE VIII
drowning ! " So he woke up and
checked the wind and the surf;
they ceased and there was a calm.
25 Then he said to them, " Where is
your faith ? " They marvelled in
awe, saying to one another, " What-
ever can he be? He gives orders
to the very winds and water, and
26 they obey him ! " They put in
at the country of the Gerasenes, on
27 the shore facing Galilee. As he
stepped out on land he was met by
a man from the town who had
daemons in him; for a long while
he had worn no clothing, and he
stayed not in a house but among
28 the tombs. On catching sight of
Jesus he shrieked aloud and prayed
him with a loud cry, " Jesus, son of
God most High, what business have
you with me ? Do not torture me,
29 I beg of you." (For he had charged
the unclean spirit to come out of
the man. Many a time when it had
seized hold of him, he had been
fastened secure in fetters and
chains, but he would snap his bonds
and be driven by the daemon into
30 the desert.) So Jesus asked him,
" What is your name ? " "Legion,"
he said, for a number of daemons
31 had entered him. And they begged
him not to order them off to the
32 abyss. Now a considerable drove
of swine was grazing there on the
hillside, so the daemons begged him
for leave to enter them. He gave
33 them leave, and the daemons came
out of the man and went into the
swine; the drove rushed down the
steep slope into the lake and were
34 suffocated. When the herdsmen
saw what had occurred they fled
and reported it to the town and the
35 hamlets. The people came out to
see what had occurred and when
they reached Jesus they discovered
the man whom the daemons had
84
left, seated at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and sane. That frightened
them. They got a report from 86
those who had seen how the lunatic
was cured, and then all the inhabi- 37
tants of the surrounding country
of the Gerasenes asked him to leave
them, they were so seized with
terror. He embarked in the boat
and went back. The man whom 38
the daemons had left begged that
he might accompany him. Jesus,
however, sent him away, saying,
" Go home and describe all that 39
God has done for you." So he went
off to proclaim through the whole
town all that Jesus had done for
him.
On his return Jesus was welcomed 40
by the crowd ; they were all looking
out for him. A man called Jairus 41
came, who was a president of the
synagogue, and falling at the feet
of Jesus entreated him to come
to his house, for he had an only 42
daughter about twelve years old
and she was dying. As Jesus went
the crowds kept crushing him, and 43
a woman who had had a hemorrhage
for twelve years * which no one
could cure, came up behind him and 44
touched the tassel of his robe. Her
hemorrhage instantly ceased. Jesus 45
said, "Who touched me?" As
everyone denied it, Peter and his
companions said, " Master, the
crowds are all round you pressing
hard ! " Jesus said, " Somebody did 46
touch me, for I felt power had passed
from me." So when the woman saw 47
she had not escaped notice she
came trembling, and falling down
before him she told before all the
people why she had touched him and
how she had been instantly cured.
" Daughter," he said toifcer, " your 48
• Omitting larpo7s irpoeravaXdiracra SXov
jhv fij'ov with BD arm. Syr.*"- sah.
S. LUKE IX
faith has made you well; depart
49 in peace." He was still speaking
when someone came from the house
of the synagogue-president to say,
" Your daughter is dead. Do not
trouble the teacher any further."
50 But when Jesus heard it he said to
him, " Have no fear, qnly believe
51 and she will get well." When he
reached the house he would not
allow anyone to come in with him
except Peter and .James and John,
and the child's father and mother.
52 Everyone was weeping and bewail-
ing her, but he said, " Stop weep-
ing; she is not dead but asleep."
53 They laughed at him, knowing that
54 she was dead. But he took her
hand and called to her, " Rise, little
55 girl." And her spirit returned, she
got up instantly, and he ordered
them to give her something to eat.
56 Her parents were amazed, but he
charged them not to tell anyone
what had happened.
9 Calling the twelve together he
gave them power and authority over
all daemons as well as to heal
2 diseases. He sent them out to
preach the Reign of God and to cure
3 the sick. And he told them, " Take
nothing for the journey, neither
stick nor wallet nor bread nor silver,
4 and do not carry two shirts. What-
ever house you go into, stay there
5 and leave from there. Whoever
will not receive you, leave that
town and shake off the very dust
from your feet as a testimony
6 against them." So they went out
from village to village preaching the
gospel and healing everywhere.
7 When Herod the tetrarch heard
all that was going on, he was quite
at a loss ; for some said that John
8 had risen from the dead, some that
Elijah had appeared, and others
that one of the ancient prophets
had arisen. Herod said, " John I 9
beheaded. But who is this, of
whom I hear such tales? " And
he made efforts to see him.
Then the apostles came back and 10
described all they had done to Jesus.
He took them and retired in private
to a town called Bethsaida, but the 11
crowds learned this and followed
him. He welcomed them, spoke
to them of the Reign of God, and
cured those who needed to be
healed. Now as the day began 12
to decline the twelve came up to
him and said, " Send the crowd
off to lodge in the villages and
farms around and get provisions
there, for here , we are in a desert
place." He said to them, " Give 13
them some food yourselves."
They said, " We have only got five
loaves and two fish. Unless —
are we to go and buy food for the
whole of this people?" (There 14
were about five thousand men of
them.) He said to his disciples,
" Make them lie down in rows of
about fifty." They did so, and made 15
them all lie down. Then taking the 16
five loaves and the two fish and
looking up to heaven he blessed
them, broke them in pieces and
handed them to the disciples to set
before the crowd. And they all 17
ate and had enough. What they
had left over was picked up, twelve
baskets full of fragments.
• t'Now it happened that while he 18
was praying by himself his disciples
were beside him. So he inquired of
them, " Who do the crowds say I
am ? " They replied, " John the 19
Baptist, though some say Elijah
and some say that one of tlie
ancient prophets has arisen." <» He"^20
said to them, *' And x^Yio do you
; 86
S. LUKE IX
say I am ? " Peter replied, " The
21 Christ of God." Then he forbade
them strictly to tell this to any-
22 one. The Son of man, he said, has
to endure great suffering, to be
rejected by the elders and high
priests and scribes, to be killed,
and on the third day to be raised.
23 He said to all, " If anyone wishes
to come after me, let him deny him-
self, take up his cross day after
day, and so follow me ;
24 for whoever wants to save his life
^vill lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my
sake, he will save it.
25 What profit will it be for a man to
gain the whole world and lose or
26 forfeit himself ? For whoever is
ashamed of me and my words, of
him will the Son of man be ashamed
when he comes in his glory and in
the glory of the Father and of the
27 holy angels. I tell you plainly,
there are some of those standing
here who will not taste death till
they see the Reign of God."
28 It was about eight days after he
said this, when he took Peter, John,
and James, and went up the hillside
29 to pray. While he was praying the
appearance of his face altered and
his dress turned dazzling white.
30 There were two men conversing
31 with him, Moses and Elijah, who
appeared in a vision of glory and
said he must go through with his
death and departure at .Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and his companions had
been overpowered with sleep, but
on waking up they saw his glory
and the two men who were standing
33 beside him. When they were part-
ing from him, Peter said to Jesus,
" Master, it is a good thing we are
here ; let us put up three tents, one
for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah " (not knowing what he was
86
saying). As he spoke, a cloud came 34
and overshadowed them. They
were awestruck as they passed into
the cloud, but a voice came from 35
the cloud, " This is my Son, my
Chosen one ; listen to him." When 36
the voice ceased they found them-
selves alone with Jesus. And in
those days they kept silence and
told nobody anything of what they
had seen. ^ - - .
Next day when they came down 37
the hill a large crowd met him.
" Teacher," shouted a man from 38
the crowd, " look at my son, I beg
of you, for he is my only boy, and a 39
spirit gets hold of him till he sud-
denly shrieks ; it convulses him till
he foams ; indeed it will hardly leave
off tearing him to pieces. I begged 40
your disciples to cast it out, but
they could not." Jesus answered, 41
" O faithless and perverse genera-
tion, how long must I still be with
you and bear with you? Fetch
your son here." Before the boy 42
could reach JTesus tUs, daemon
dashed him down^and convulsed
him, but Jesus checked the unclean
spirit, cured the boy, and handed
him back to his father. And all 43
were astounded at this grand display
of God. But while all marvelled
at all he did, he said to his disciples,
" Let these words sink into your 44
ears : ' the Son of man is to be be-
trayed into the hands of men.' "
But they did not understand this 45
saying — indeed it was kept a secret
from them, to prevent them from
fathoming it — and they were afraid
to ask him about this saying.
I ' A dispute arose among them as 46
to which of them was the greatest.
Jesus knew the dispute that occu- 47
pied their minds, so he took hold
of a little child and set it by his
side ; then he said to them, 48
S. LUKE X
** Whoever receives this Httle
child in my name receives
me,
and whoever receives me
receives him who sent
me.
For it is the lowliest of you
all who is great."
49 John said to him, " Master, we
saw a man casting out daemons in
your name, but we stopped him
because he is not a follower of
50 ours." Jesus said to him, " Do not
stop him; he who is not against
you is for you."
51 As the time for his assumption
was now due, he set his face for
52 the journey to Jerusalem. He sent
messengers in front of him. They
went and entered a Samaritan
village to make preparations for
53 him, but the people would not re-
ceive him because his face was
turned in the direction of Jeru-
54 salem. So when the disciples
James and John saw this, they
said, " Lord, will you have us bid
iire come down from heaven and
55 consume them ? " But he turned
56 and checked them. Then they
57 journeyed to another village. And
as they journeyed along the road
a man said to him, " I will follow
58 you anywhere." Jesus said to
him,
" The foxes have their holes,
the wild birds have their
nests,
but the Son of man has
nowhere to lay his
head."
59 He said to another man, " Follow
me " ; but he said, " Let me go and
60 bury my father first of all." Jesus
said to him, " Leave the dead to
bury their own dead ; you go and
spread the news of the Reign of
61 God." Another man also said to
him, " I will follow you. Lord. But
let me first say good-bye to my
people at home. Jesus said to 62
him, " No one is any use to the
Reign of God who puts his hand to
the plough and then looks behind
him."
After that the Lord commis- 10
sioned other seventy disciples,
sending them in front of him two
by two to every town and place
that he intended to visit himself.
He said to them, " The harvest 2
is rich, but the labourers are few;
so pray the Lord of the harvest
to send labourers to gather his
harvest. Go your way; I am 3
sending you out like lambs among
wolves. Carry no purse, no wallet, 4
no sandals. Do not stop to salute
anybody on the road. Whatever 5
house you enter, first say, ' Peace
be to this household ! ' Then, if 6
there is a soul there breathing peace,
your peace will rest on him ; other-
wise it will come back to you.
Stay at the same house, eating 7
and drinking what the people pro-
vide (for the workman deserves his
wages); you are not to shift from
one house to another. Wherever 8
you are received on entering any
town, eat what is provided for you,
heal those in the town who are ill, 9
and tell them, ' The Reign of God
is nearly on you.' But wherever 10
you are not received on entering
any town, go out into the streets
of the town and cry, ' The very dust 11
of your city that clings to us we
wipe off from our feet as a protest.
But mark this, the Reign of God
is near ! ' I tell you, on the great 12
Day it will be more bearable for
Sodom than for that town. Woe 13
to you, Khorazin I woe to you,
87
S. LUKE X
Bethsaida ! Had the miracles per-
formed in you been performed in
Tyre and Sidon, they would long
ago have been sitting penitent in
14 sackcloth and ashes. But it will
be more bearable for Tyre and
Sidon at the judriment than for
15 you. And you, O Capharn^ihum !
Exalted to heaven ? No, you will
sink to Hades !
16 He who listens to you listens to
me,
he who rejects you rejects
me,
and he who rejects me rejects
him who sent me."
17 The seventy came back with
joy. " Lord," they said, " the
very daemons obey us in your
18 name." He said to them, " Yes,
I watched Satan fall from heaven
19 like a flash of lightning. I have
indeed given you the power of
treading on serpents and scorpions
and of trampling down all the <
power of the Enemy ; nothing shall
20 injure you. Only,
do not rejoice because the spirits
obey you :
rejoice because your names
are enrolled in heaven."
21 He thrilled ^nth joy at that hour
in the holy Spirit, saying, " I praise
thee, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, for concealing this from
the "v^nse and learned and reveal-
ing it to the simple-minded ; yes.
Father, I praise thee that such
was thy chosen purpose." Then
turning to the disciples he said,
22 " All has been handed over to me ,
by my Father :
and no one knows who the
Son is except the Father,
or who the Father is except
the Son,
and he to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him,"
88
Then turning to the disciples he
said privately,
" Blessed are the eyes that see 23
what you see !
For I tell you many prophets 24
and kings have desired to
see what you see,
but they have not seen it;
and to hear what you hear,
but they have not heard
it."
Now a lawyer got up to tempt 25
him. " Teacher," he said, " what
am I to do to inherit life eternal ? "
He said to him, " What is written 26
in the law? What do you read
there ? " He replied, " You must 27
love the Lord your God with your
whole heart, zvith your whole soul,
with your whole strength, and with
your whole mind. Also your neigh-
bour as yourself " " A right an- 28
swer ! " said Jesus ; " do tfiat and
you will live." Anxious to make 29
an excuse for himself, however,
he said to Jesus, " But who is my
neighbour?" Jesus rejoined, " A 30
man going down from Jerusalem
to Jericho fell among robbers who
stripped and belaboured him and
then went off leaving him half-dead.
Now it so chanced that a priest was 31
going down the same road, but on
seeing him he went past on the
opposite side. So did a Levite 32
who came to the spot; he went
and looked at him but he passed
on the opposite side. However a 33
Samaritan traveller came to where
he was and felt pity when he saw
him ; he went to him, bound his 3 I
wounds up, pouring oil and wine
into them, mounted him on his
own steed, took him to an inn,
and attended to him. Next morn- 35
ing he took out a couple of shillings
and gave them to the innkeeper,
saying, ' Attend to him, and if you
S. LUKE XI
are put to any extra expense I
will refund you on my way back.'
36 Which of these three men, in your
opinion, proved a neighbour to
the man who fell among the rob-
37 bers? " He said, " The man who
took pity on him." Jesus said to
him, " Then go and do the same."
38 In the course of their journey
he entered a certain village, and a
woman called IMartha welcomed
39 him to her house. She had a sister
called Mary, who seated herself at
the feet of the Lord to listen to his
40 talk. Now Martha was so busy
attending to them that she grew
worried ; she came up and said,
" Lord, is it all one to you that
my sister has left me to do all the
work alone ? Come, tell her to
41 lend me a hand." The Lord an-
swered her, "Martha, Martha,*
42 Mary has chosen the best dish,
and she is not to be dragged away
from it."
1 1 He was praying at a certain
place, and when he stopped one
of his disciples said to him, " Lord,
teach us to pray, as John taught
2 his disciples." He said to them,
" When you pray, say, Father,
thy name be revered,
thy Reign begin ;
3 give us our bread for the mor-
row day by day,
4 and forgive us our sins
for we do forgive everyone
who has offended us;
and lead us not into tempta-
tion."
* Omitting, with D, Syr.S'n- and the
majority of the old Latin manuscripts
fitpiixvas . . . XP^'" (^ adding 6opu^a^ri).
I translate fxtpiSa by ' dish,' to bring
out the point and play of the saying.
Jesus means that Mary has chosen well in
selecting the nourishment of his teaching.
And he said to them, " Suppose 5
one of you has a friend, and you
go to him at midnight and say to
him, ' Friend, let me have three
loaves ; for a friend of mine travel- 6
ling has come to my house and I
have nothing to set before him.'
And suppose he answers from the 7
inside, ' Don't bother me ; the
door is locked by this time, and
my children are in bed with me.
I can't get up and give you any-
thing.' I tell you, though he will 8
not get up and give you anything
because you are a friend of his,
he will at least rise and give you
whatever you want because you
persist. So I tell you, 9
ask and the gift will be yours,
seek and you will find,
knock and the door will
open to you;
for everyone who asks receives, 10
the seeker finds,
the door is opened to anyone
who knocks,
AV^hat father among you, if asked 11
by his son for a loaf, will
hand him a stone ?
Or, if asked for a fish, will hand
him a serpent instead of
a fish?
Or, if asked for an egg, will he 12
hand him a scorpion?
Well, if for all your evil you 13
know to give your children
what is good,
how much more ^vill your
Father give the holy
Spirit from heaven to
those who ask him ? "
He was casting out a dumb 14
daemon, and when the daemon
had gone out the dumb man spoke.
The crowds marvelled, but some of 15
them said, " It is by Beelzebul
the prince of daemons that he
casts out daemons." Others by IG
89
S. LUKE XI
way of temptinff him demanded
he should give tnem a Sign from
17 heaven. He knew what they were
thinking about, so he said to them,
" Any realm divided against it-
self comes to ruin,
house after house falls down ;
18 and if Satan is divided against
himself,
how can his realm stand ?
You say I am casting out
daemons by Beelzebul ?
19 If I cast out daemons by Beel-
zebul,
by whom do your sons cast
them out?
Thus they will be your judges.
20 But if it is by the finger of God
that I cast daemons out,
then the Reign of God has
reached you already.
21 When the strong man in armour
guards his homestead, his property
22 is undisturbed ; but when a
stronger man attacks and conquers
him, he seizes the panoply on which
he relied and divides up the spoil.
23 He who is not with me is against
me,
and he who does not gather
with me scatters.*
24 When an unclean spirit leaves a
man, it roams through dry places
in search of refreshment. As it
finds none, then it says, ' I will go
25 back to the house I left,' and when
it comes it finds the house clean
26 and in order. Then it goes off to
fetch seven other spirits worse than
itself; they go in and dwell there,
and the last state of that man is
worse than the first."
27 While he was saying this a
woman shouted to him out of the
crowd, " Blessed is the womb that
* Omitting fit, which von Soden
inserts within bracket (from NL 33 and a
few other authorities.
90
bore you, and the breasts you
sucked ! " But he said, " Blessed 28
rather are those who hear and who
observe the word of God ! "
As the crowds were thronging 20
to him, he proceeded to say,
" This is an evil generation : it
demands a Sign,
but no Sign will be given to
it except the Sign of
Jonah ;
for as Jonah was a Sign to the 30
Ninivites,
so shall the Son of man be
to this generation.
The queen of the South will 31
rise at the judgment
with the men of this
generation and condemn
them;
for she came from the ends
of the earth to listen to
the wisdom of Solomon,
and here is One greater
than Solomon.
The men of Ninive will rise at 32
the judgment with this
generation and condemn
it;
for when Jonah preached
they did repent,
and here is One greater
than Jonah.
No one lights a lamp to put it 83
in a cellar or under a
bowl,
but on a stand, so that those
who come in can see the
light.
Your eye is the lamp of the 84
body :
when your eye is sound,
then the whole of your body
has light,
but if your eye is diseased,
then your body is darkened.
(Look ! perhaps your very 35
light is dark.)
S. LUKE XII
36 So if your whole body has Hght,
without any corner of it in dark-
ness, it will be lit up entirely, as
when a lamp lights you with its
rays."
37 When he finished speaking a
Pharisee asked him to take a meal
in his house ; so he went in and lay
38 down at table. The Pharisee was
astonished to see that he had not
39 washed before the meal, but the
Lord said to him,
" You Pharisees do clean the
outside of the cup and the
plate,
but your inner life is filled
with rapacity and malice.
40 Foolish men ! did not He who
made the outside make the
inside of things too ?
41 Better cleanse * what is within ;
then nothing will be un-
clean for you.
42 But woe to you Pharisees !
you tithe mint and rue and
every vegetable,
but justice and the love of
God you disregard;
these latter you ought to
have practised — without
omitting the former.
48 Woe to you Pharisees !
you love the front bench in
the synagogues
and salutations in the
marketplaces.
44 Woe to you !
you are like unsuspected
tombs ;
men walk over them un-
awares."
• The ordinary text SSre iKfTj/xoffvvriv
(" give alms ") represents the Aramaic
zakki. But the Aramaic dakki (" purify "
or " cleanse ") suits the context better,
and Wellhausen plausibly suggests that
Luke has confused " these two verbs
which differ very httle in sound and
originally are identical."
One of the lawyers said to him, 45
" Teacher, when you say this you
are insulting us as well." He 46
said,
" And woe to you lawyers ! you
load men with irksome
burdens,
and you will not put a single
finger to their burdens.
Woe to you ! you build tombs 47
for the prophets whom
your own fathers killed :
thus you testify and con- 48
sent to what your fathers
did,
for they killed and you build.
This is why the Wisdom of God 49
said, ' I will send them prophets
and apostles, some they will kill
and some they will persecute ' ;
it was that the blood of all the 50
prophets shed from the founda-
tion of the world might be charged
upon this generation, from the 51
blood of Abel down to the blood
of Zeehariah who was slain be-
tween the altar and the House of
God — yes, I tell you, it will all be
charged upon this generation.
Woe to you lawyers ! you 52
have taken the key that
unlocks the door of know-
ledge ;
you have not entered your-
selves,
and you have stopped those
who were entering."
After he had gone away the scribes 53
and Pharisees commenced to follow
him up closely and cross-question
him on many points, lying in am- 54
bush to catch a word from his lips.
Meanwhile as the crowd was 12
gathering in its thousands till they
trod on one another, he proceeded
to say to his disciples first of all,
91
S. LUKE XII
*' Be on your guard against the
leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy.
2 Nothing is hidden that will not
be revealed,
or concealed that will not be
made known.
3 So all you utter in the dark will
be heard in the light,
and what you whisper in
chambers will be proclaimed
on the housetops.
4 I tell you, my friends,
have no fear of those who kill
the body but after that can
do no more ;
5 I will show you whom to fear —
fear Him who after he has killed
has power to cast you into
Gehenna. .
Yes, I tell you, fear Him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for
two fartliings ?
Yet not one of them is for-
gotten by God.
7 But the very hairs on your head
are all numbered;
fear not, you are worth far
more * than sparrows.
8 I tell you, whoever acknow-
ledges me before men,
the Son of man will acknow-
ledge him before the angels
of God;
9 and he who disowns me before
men
will be disowned before the
angels of God.
10 Everyone also who says a word
against the Son of man will
be forgiven for it,
but he who blasphemes against
the holy Spirit will never be
forgiven.
11 When they bring you before
synagogues and the magistrates and
authorities, do not trouble your-
• See above, on p. 13.
92
selves about how to defend your-
selves or what to say, for the holy 12
Spirit will teach you at that hour
what you should say."
A man out of the crowd said to 13
him, " Teacher, tell my brother
to give me my share of our in-
heritance " ; but he said to him, 14
" Man, who made me a judge or
arbitrator over your affairs ? "
Then he said to them, " See and 15
keep clear of covetousness in every
shape and form, for a man's life is
not part of his possessions because
he has ample wealth." And he 16
told them a parable. " A rich
man's estate bore heavy crops.
So he debated, ' What am I to do ? 17
I have no room to store my crops.'
And he said, ' This is what I will do. 18
I will pull down my granaries and
build larger ones, where I can store
all my produce and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, " Soul, 19
you have ample stores laid up for
many a year; take your ease, eat,
drink and be merry." ' But God 20
said to him, ' Foolish man, this
very night your soul is wanted;
and who will get all you have pre-
pared ? ' So fares the man who 21
lays up treasure for himself instead
of gaining the riches of God." To 22
his disciples he said, " Therefore I
tell you,
do not trouble about what you
are to eat in life,
nor about what you are to
put on your body;
life is something more than 23
food,
and the body is something
more than clothes.
Look at the crows ! they neither 24
sow nor reap,
no storehouse or granary have
they,
and yet God feeds them.
S. LUKE XII
How much more are you worth
than birds ?
25 Which of you can add an ell to
his height by troubling about
it?
26 and if you cannot manage even
this, why trouble over other
things ?
27 Look how the lilies neither spin
nor weave;
and yet, I tell you, even Solo-
mon in all his grandeur was
never robed like one of
them.
28 Now if God so clothes grass which
blooms to-day in the field and is
thrown to-morrow into the furnace,
will he not much more clothe you ?
O men, how little you trust him !
29 So do not seek food and drink and
30 be worried ; pagans make food and
drink their aim in life, but your
Father knows quite well you need
31 that; only seek his Realm, and
it will be yours over and above.
32 Fear not, you little flock, for your
Father is delighted to give you the
Realm.
33 Sell what you possess and give it
away in alms,
make purses for yourselves
that never wear out :
get treasure in heaven that
never fails,
that no thief can get at, no
moth destroy.
34 For where your treasure lies,
your heart will lie there too.
35 Keep your loins girt and your
36 lamps ht, and be Hke men who
are expecting their lord and master
on his return from a marriage-
banquet, so as to open the door
for him at once when he comes
37 and knocks. Blessed are those
servants whom the lord and master
finds awake when he comes ! I tell
you truly, he will gird himself,
make them recline at table, and
come forward to wait on them.
Whether he comes in the second or 38
the third watch of the night and
finds them thus alert, blessed are
they ! Be sure that if the house- 39
holder had known at what hour
the thief was coming,* he would
not have allowed his house to be
broken into. So be ready your- 40
selves, for the Son of man is coming
at an hour you do not expect."
Peter said, " Lord, are you telling 41
this parable for us, or is it for all
and sundry?" The Lord said, 42
" Well, where is the trusty,
thoughtful steward whom the lord
and master will set over his estab-
lishment to give out suppHes at
the proper time ? Blessed is that 43
servant if his lord and master finds
him so doing when he arrives ! I 44
tell you plainly, he will set him oyer
all his property. But if that serv- 45
ant says to himself, ' My lord and
master is long of arriving,' and if
he starts to beat the menservants
and maidservants, to eat and drink
and get drunk, that servant's lord 46
and master will arrive on a day
when he does not expect him and
at an hour which he does not know ;
he will cut him in two and assign
him the fate of unbelievers.
The servant who knew his lord 47
and master's orders and did
not prepare f for them,
will receive many lashes ;
whereas he who was ignorant 48
and did what deserves a
beating,
will receive few lashes.
* Omitting [iypriyopvaey &v, koI], a
harmonistic glo83 from Matthew xxiv. 43.
t Omitting ?; Troi-n<ras with L, tlie majority
of the old Latin manuscripts, the Syriao
and Armenian versions, etc. The ordinary
text is complete.
93
S. LUKE XIII
He who has much given him
will have much required from
him,
and he who has much entrusted
to him
will have all the more de-
manded of him.
49 I have come to throw fire on
earth.
Would it were kindled already !
50 I have a baptism to undergo.
How I am distressed till it is all
over !
51 You think I am here to make
peace on earth ?«
No, I tell you, it is dissen-
sion.
52 After this there will be five at
issue in one house,
three divided against two and
two against three,
53 father against son and so7i against
father,
mother against daughter and
daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-
in-law and daughter-in-law
against mother-in-law."
54 And to the crowds he said,
" When you see a cloud rise in
the west,
you say, ' There is a shower
coming,'
and so it is :
55 when you feel the south wind
blow,
you say, ' There will be
heat,'
and so it is.
56 You hypocrites, you know how
to decipher the look of
earth and sky ;
how is it you cannot de-
cipher the meaning of
this era ?
57 And why do you not yourselves
68 settle what is right? Thus, when
you go before the magistrate with
94
your opponent, do your utmost to
get quit of him on the way there,
in case he hales you before the
judge; then the judge will hand
you over to the jailer and the jailer
will throw you in prison. I tell 59
you, you will never get out till you
pay the last farthing of your debt."
It was at this time that some 13
people came to tell him about the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had
mingled with their sacrifices. But 2
he replied to them,
"Do you think, because they
suffered this, that these
Galileans were worse
sinners than the rest of
the Galileans?
I tell you, no ; 8
unless you repent you will
all perish as they did.
Or those eighteen men killed 4
by the fall of the tower
at Siloam ? —
Do you think they were worse
offenders than the rest
of the residents in Jeru-
salem ?
I tell you, no ; 5
unless you repent you will
all perish as they did."
And he told this parable. " A man 6
had a fig tree planted in his vine-
yard ; he came in search of fruit on
it but he found none. So he said to 7
the vinedresser, ' Here have I come
for three years in search of fruit on
this fig tree without finding any;
cut it down, why should it take up
space ? ' But the man replied, 8
' Leave it for this year, sir, till I
dig round about it and put in
manure. Then it may bear fruit 9
next year. If not, you can have
it cut down.' "
When he was teaching in one of 10
S. LUKE XIII
the synagogues on the sabbath,
11 there was a woman who for eighteen
years had suffered weakness from
an evil spirit ; indeed she was bent
double and quite unable to raise
12 herself. Jesus noticed her and
called to her, " Woman, you are
13 released from your weakness." He
laid his hands on her and instantly
she became erect ;;nd glorified God.
14 But the president of the synagogue
was annoyed at Jesus healing on
the sabbath, and he said to the
crowd, " There are six days for
work to be done ; come during
them to get healed, instead of on
15 the sabbath." The Lord rephed
to him, " You hypocrites, does not
each of you untether his ox or ass
from the stall on the sabbath and
16 lead it away to drink ? And this
woman, a daughter of Abraham,
bound by Satan for all these
eighteen years, was she not to be
freed from her bondage on the
17 sabbath?" As he said this all
his opponents were put to shame,
but all the crowd rejoiced over
18 all his splendid doings. So he
said,
" What is the Reign of God like ?
to what shall I compare it ?
19 It is like a grain of mustard-seed
which a man took and put into
his orchard, where it grew up and
became a tree, and the wild birds
20 roosted in its branches." He added,
" To what shall I compare the
21 Reign of God ? It is like dough
which a woman took and buried
in three pecks of flour, till all of it
was leavened."
22 On he went teaching from one
toAvn and village to another, as he
23 made his way to Jerusalem. A
man said to him, " Is it only a few,
sir, who are saved ? " So he said
24 to them, " Strive to get in through
the narrow door, for I tell you
many will try to get in and not be
able, once the master of the House 25
has got up and closed the door.
You may stand outside and knock
at the door, crying, ' Lord, open
for us,' but he will answer you, ' I
do not know where you come from.'
You will then proceed to say, ' But 26
we ate and drank in your presence,
and you taught in our streets ! ' ' I 27
tell you,' he will say, ' I do not
know where you come from; be-
gone every one of you, you evildoers.''
There you will wail and gnash 28
your teeth, to see Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob and all the prophets inside
the Realm of God and yourselves
thrown out. Yes, and people will 29
come from east and west and north
and south to their places at the
feast within the Realm of God.
Some are last who will be first, 30
and some are first who will be
last."
Just then some Pharisees came 31
up to tell him, " Get away from
here, for Herod intends *1;o kill
you." " Go and tell that fox," he 32
rephed, " I cast out daemons and
perform cures to-day and to-
morrow, and on the third day I
complete my task ! But I must 33
journey on, to-day, to-morrow, and
the next day; it would never do
for a prophet to perish except in
Jerusalem ! O Jerusalem, Jeru- 34
salem, slaying the prophets and
stoning those who have been sent to
you ! How often I would fain have
gathered your children as a fowl
gathers her brood under her wings !
But you would not have it ! See, 35
your House is left to yourselves. I
tell you, you will never see me till
the day comes when you say
Blessed he he who comes in the Lord's
name."
96
S. LUKE XIV
OHAP.
14 Now when he entered the house
of a ruler who belonged to the
Pharisees to take a meal, they
2 watched hini closely. In front of
him there was a man who had
3 dropsy ; so Jesus asked the lawyers
and Pharisees, " Is it right to heal
4 on the sabbath or not ? " They
held their peace. Then Jesus took
hold of the man and cured him and
5 sent him off. " Which of you,"
he said to them, " when an ass or
an ox has fallen into a well, will
not pull him out at once upon the
6 sabbath day ? " This they could
7 not dispute. He also told a parable
to the guests, when he observed how
they picked out the best places.
8 " When anyone invites you to a
marriage-banquet," he said, " never
lie down in the best place, in case
a more distinguished guest than
9 yourself has been invited ; then
the host will tell you, ' Make room
for him,' and you will proceed in
shame to take the lowest place.
10 No, when you are invited, go and
recline fln the lowest place, so that
when your host comes in he will
tell you, ' Move higher up, my
friend.' Then you will be honoured
before your fellow guests.
11 For everyone who uplifts him-
self will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself
wll be uplifted."
12 He also said to his host, " When
yoTi give a dinner or supper, do not
ask your friends or your brothers or
your relatives or your rich neigh-
bours, in case they invite you back
13 again and you get repaid. No,
when you give a banquet, invite the
poor, the maimed, the lame, and
14 the blind. Then you will be
blessed ; for as they have no meajis
of repaying you, you will be re-
paid at the resurrection of the
90
just." Hearing this, one of his 15
fellow guests said to him, " Blessed
is he who feasts in the Realm of
God ! " Jesus said to him, " There 16
was a man who was giving a large
supper, to which he had invited a
number of guests. At the hour 17
for supper he sent his servant to
tell the guests, ' Come, things are
all ready.' But they all alike pro- 18
ceeded to dechne. The first said
to him, ' I have bought a farm and
I am obliged to go and look at it.
Pray consider me excused.' The 19
second said, ' I have bought five
pair of oxen and I am going to try
them. Pray consider me excused.'
Another said, ' I have married a 20
wife; that is why I cannot come.'
The servant went and reported this 21
to his master. Then the master of
the house was enraged, and said to
his servant, ' Quick, go out to the
streets and lanes of the town and
bring in the poor, the maimed, the
blind, and the lame.' When the 22
servant announced, ' Your order
has been carried out, sir, but there
is still room,' the master said to the 23
servant, ' Go out to the roads and
hedges and make people come
in, to fill up my house. For 24
I tell you that not one of those
who were invited shall taste my
supper.' "
There were large crowds travel- 25
ling with him; so he turned and
said to them,
" If anyone comes to me and 26
does not hate his father and mother
and wife and children and brothers
and sisters, aye and his own life,
he cannot be a disciple of
mine ;
whoever does not carry his o^vn 27
cross and come after me,
he cannot be a disciple of
mine.
S. LUKE XV
28 For which of you wants to build
a tower and does not first sit down
to calculate the expense, to see if
he has enough money to complete
29 it ? — in case, after he has laid the
foundation and then is unable to
finish the building, all the spec-
tators start to make fun of him,
SO saying, ' This fellow started to build
31 but he could not finish it.' Or
what king sets out to fight against
another king without first sitting
down to deliberate whether with
ten thousand men he can encounter
the king who is attacking him with
32 twenty thousand ? If he cannot,
when the other is still at a distance
he will send an embassy to do
homage to him.
S3 So with everyone of you who will
not part with all his goods —
he cannot be a disciple of
mine.
34 Salt is excellent indeed : but if
salt becomes insipid, what will
35 restore its flavour? It is no use
for either soil or dunghill, it is flung
out. He who has an ear let him
listen to this."
15 Now the taxgatherers and sinners
were all approaching him to listen
2 to him, but the Pharisees and the
scribes complained, " He welcomes
sinners and eats along with them ! "
3 So he told them this parable :
4 " Which of you with a hundred
sheep, if he loses one, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one till he
5 finds it ? When he finds it he
puts it on his shoulders ^vith joy,
6 and when he gets home he gathers
his friends and neighbours : 'Re-
joice with me,' he says to them,
* for I have found the sheep I
7 lost.' So, I tell you, there will be
joy in heaven over a single sinner
who repents more than over ninety-
nine good people who do not need
to repent. Or again, suppose a 8
woman has ten shillings. If she
loses one of them, does she not
light a lamp and scour the house
and search carefully till she finds
it ? And when she finds it she 9
gathers her women-friends and
neighbours, saying, ' Rejoice with
me, for I have found the shilling
I lost.' So, I tell you, there is 10
joy in the presence of the angels
of God over a single sinner who
repents."
He also said : " There was a 11
man who had two sons, and the 12
yoin^.ger said to his father, ' Father,
give me the share of the property
that falls to me.' So he divided
his means among them. Not 13
many days later the younger son
sold off everything and went abroad
to a distant land, where he squan-
dered his means in loose living.
After he had spent his all, a severe 14
famine set in throughout that land,
and he began to feel in want ; so 15
he went and attached himself to a
citizen of that land, who sent him
to his fields to feed swine. And 16
he was fain to fill his belly with
the pods the swine were eating;
no one gave him anything. But 17
when he came to his senses he
said, ' How many hired men of
my father have more than enough
to eat, and here am I perishing of
hunger ! I will be up and off to 18
my father, and I will say to him,
" Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you ; I don't 19
deserve to be called your son any
more; only make me like one of
your hired men." ' So he got up 20
and went off to his father. But
when he was still far away his
97
S. LUKE XVI
father saw him and felt pity for him
and ran to fall upon his neck and
21 kiss him. The son said to him,
' Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you ; I don't
deserve to be called your son any
22 more.' But the father said to his
servants, ' Quick, bring the best
robe and put it on him, give him a
ring for his hand and sandals for
23 his feet, and bring the fatted calf,
kill it, and let us eat and be merry ;
24 for my son here was dead and he
has come to life, he was lost and he
is found.' So they began to make
25 merry. Now his elder son was out
in the field, and as he came near the
house he heard music and dancing ;
26 so, summoning one of the servants,
27 he asked what this meant. The
servant told him, ' Your brother
has arrived, and your father has
killed the fatted calf because he has
got him back safe and sound.'
28 This angered him, and he would not
go in. His father came out and
29 tried to appease him, but he re-
plied, ' Look at all the years I
have been serving you ! I have
never neglected any of your orders,
and yet you have never given me
so raiuch as a kid, to let me make
30 merry with my friends. But as
soon as this son of yours arrives,
after having wasted your means
with harlots, you kill the fatted
31 calf for him ! ' The father said to
him, ' My son, j'-ou and I are always
32 together, all I have is yours. We
could not but make merry and
rejoice, for your brother here
was dead and has come to life
again, he was lost but he has been
found.' "
16 He also said to the disciples :
" There was a rich man who had
98
a factor, and this factor, he found,
was accused of misapplying his
property. So he summoned him 2
and said, ' What is this I hear
about you? Hand in your ac-
counts; you cannot be factor any
longer.' The factor said to himself, 3
' What am I to do now that my
master is taking the factorship
away from me? I am too weak
to dig, I am ashamed to beg. Ah, 4
I know what I will do, so that
people will welcome me to their
houses when I am deposed from
the factorship.' So he summoned 5
every single one of his master's
debtors. He asked the first, ' How
much are you owing to my master ? '
' A hundred barrels of oil.' he said. 6
The factor told him, ' Here is your
bill; sit down at once and enter
fifty barrels.' Then he asked 7
another, ' And how much do you
owe ? ' 'A hundred quarters of
wheat,' he said. ' Here is your
bill,' said the factor, ' just enter
eighty.' Well, the master praised 8
the dishonest factor for looking
ahead ; for the children of this
world look further ahead in dealing
with their own generation than
the children of Light. And I tell 9
you, use mammon, dishonest as
it is, to make friends for your-
selves, so that when you die * they
may welcome you to the eternal
abodes.
He who is faithful with a trifle 10
is also faithful with a large
trust,
and he who is dishonest with
a trifle is also dishonest with
a large trust.
So if you are not faithful with 11
dishonest mammon,
* Reading ^KXiirrjTe or f-cAeCirrjTe with K<»,
the biilk of the Latin manuscripts, the
Harklean Syriac, etc.
S. LUKE XVII
12
13
how can yon ever be trusted
v.-ith true Riches ?
And if you are not faithful with
what belongs to another,
how can you ever be given
what is your own ?
No servant can serve two
masters :
either he will hate the one and
love the other,
or else he will stand by the one
and despise the other —
you cannot serve both God and
Mammon."
I Now the Pharisees who were
fond of money heard all this, and
I they sneered at him. So he told
them, " You are the people who
get men to think you are good,
but God knows what your hearts
are ! What is lofty in the view of
man is loathsome in the eves of
God.
The Law and the prophets lasted
till John ; since then the good news
of the Realm of God is preached,
and anyone presses in. Yet it is
easier for heaven and earth to pass
away than for an iota of the Law
to lapse.
Anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman
commits adultery, ^
and he who marries a divorcM
woman commits adultery.
There was a rich man, clad in
purple and fine linen, who lived
sumptuously every day. Outside
his door lay a poor man called
Lazarus ; he was a mass of ulcers,
and fain to eat up the crumbs that
fell from the rich man's table.
(The very dogs used to come and
lick his ulcers.) Now it happened
that the poor man died, and he was
carried by the angels to Abraham's
bosom. The rich man died too,
and was buried. And as he was
being tortured in Hades he raised
his eyes and saw Abraham far away
with Lazarus in his bosom; so he 24
called out, ' Father Abraham, take
pity on me, send Lazarus to dip his
fingertip in water and cool my
tongue, for I am in anguish in these
flames.' But Abraham said, ' Re- 25
member, my son, you got all the
bliss when you were alive, just as
Lazarus got the ills of life; he is
in comfort now, and you are in
anguish. Besides all that, a great 26
gulf yawns between us and you, to
keep back those who want to cross
from us to you and also those who
want to pass from you to us.' Then 27
he said, ' Well, father, I beg you to
send him to my father's house, for 28
I have five brothers; let him bear
testimony to them, that they may
not come to this place of torture as
well.' ' They have got Moses and 29
the prophets,' said Abraham, ' they
can listen to them.' 'No, father 30
Abraham,' he said, ' but if someone
only goes to them from the dead,
they will repent.' He said to him, 31
' If they will not listen to Moses
and the prophets, they will not be
convinced, not even if one rose
from the dead."
CHAP.
To his disciples he said, " It is 17
inevitable that hindrances should
feome, but woe to the man by whom
the^^ come; it would be well for 2
him to have a millstone hung rovmd
his neck and be flung into the sea,
rather than prove a hindrance to
orje of these little ones ! Take heed 3
to yourselves. If your brother sins,
check him, and if he repents forgive
him. Even if he sins against you
seven times in one day and turns
to you seven times saying, ' I re-
pent,' you must forgive him." The
99
4
S. LUKE XVII
apostles said to the Lord, " Give
6 us more faith ! " The Lord said,
" If you had faith the size of a
grain of mustard-seed, you would
say to this mulberry tree, 'Be up-
rooted and planted in the sea,' and
7 it would obey you. Which of
you, with a servant out plough-
ing or shepherding, will say to him
when he comes in from the field,
' Come at once and take your place
8 at table ' ? Will the man not
rather say to him, ' Get something
ready for my supper ; gird yourself
and wait on me till I eat and drink ;
then you can eat and drink your-
9 self ' ? Does he thank the servant
10 for doing his bidding? Well, it is
the same with you ; when you have
done all you are bidden say, ' We
are but servants ; ♦ we have only
done our duty.' "
11 Now it happened in the course of
his journey to Jerusalem that he
passed between Samaria and Gali-
12 lee. On entering one village he was
met by ten lepers who stood at a
13 distance and lifted up their voice,
saying, " Jesvis, master, have pity
14 on us." Noticing them he said,
" Go and show yourselves to the
priests." And as they went away
15 they were cleansed. Now one of
them turned back when he saw he
was cured, glorifying God wth a
16 loud voice; and he fell on his face
at the feet of Jesus and thanked
him. The man was a Samaritan.
17 So Jesus said, " Were all the ten not
cleansed ? Where are the other
18 nine ? Was there no one to return
and give glory to God except this
19 foreigner? " And he said to him,
* Omitting axp^'ioi with Syr.Sin. fol-
lowed by most recent editors. The
emphasis falls on the simple fact of being
slaves, not on any distinction between
good and bad slavea.
100
"Get up and go, your faith has
made you well."
On being asked by the Pharisees 20
when the Reign of God was com-
ing, he answered them, " The
Reign of God is not coming as you
hope to catch sight of it ; no one 21
will say, ' Here it is ' or ' There it
is,' for the Reign of God is now in
your midst." To his disciples he 22
said, " There will come days when
you will long and long in vain to
have even one day of the Son of
man. Men will say, ' See, here he 23
is ! ' ' See, there he is ! ' but
do not go out or run after
them,
for like lightning that flashes 24
from one side of the sky to
the other,
so will the Son of man be on
his own day.
But he must first endure great 25
suffering and be rejected by the
present generation. And just as it 26
was in the days of Noah, so will it
be in the days of the Son of man ;
they were eating, drinking, marry- 27
ing and being married, till the day
Noah entered the ark — then came
the deluge and destroyed them all.
Or just as it was in the days of Lot ; 28
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting and building, but on 29
the day that Lot left Sodom it rained
fire and brimstone from heaven and
destroyed them all. So will it be on 30
the day the Son of man is revealed.
On that day, if a man is on the 31
housetop and his goods inside the
house, he must not go down to fetch
them out; nor must a man in the
field turn hack (remember Lot's 32
wife).
Whoever tries to secure his life 33
will lose it,
and whoever loses it will preserve
it.
S. LUKE XVIII
34 On that night, I tell you,
there will be two men in the one
bed,
the one will be taken and the
other left ;
35 two women will be grinding to-
gether,
the one will be taken and the
other left."
.37 They asked him, "Where, Lord?"
And he said to them,
" Where the body is lying,
there the vultures will
gather."
18 He also told them a parable
about the need of always praying
2 and never losing heart. " In a
certain town," he said, " there was
a judge who had no reverence for
God and no respect even for man.
3 And in that town there was a widow
who used to go and appeal to him
for ' Justice against my opponent ! '
4 For a while he would not, but after-
wards'he said to himself, ' Though
I have no reverence for God and no
5 respect even for man, still, as this
widow is bothering me, I will see
justice done to her — not to have
her for ever coming and pestering
6 me.' Listen," said the Lord, " to
7 what this unjust judge says ! And
will not God see justice done to his
elect who cry to him by day and
night ? Will he be tolerant to their
8 opponents ? I tell you, he will
quicldy see justice done to his elect !
And yet, when the Son of man
does come, will he find faith on
earth ? "
9 He also told the following parable
to certain persons who were sure of
their own goodness and looked down
10 upon everybody else. " Two men
went up to pray in the temple ; one
was a Pharisee and the other was a
taxgatherer. The Pharisee stood 11
up and prayed by himself as follows ;
' I thank thee, O God, I am not like
the rest of men, thieves, rogues,
and immoral, or even like yon tax-
gatherer. Twice a Aveek I fast; 12
on all my income I pay tithes.'
But the taxgatherer stood far away 13
and would not lift even his eyes to
heaven, but beat his breast, saying,
' O God, have mercy on me for my
sins ! ' I tell you, he went home 14
accepted by God rather than the
other man ;
for everyone who uplifts himself
will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself
will be uplifted."
Now people even brought their 15
infants for him to touch them;
when the disciples noticed it they
checked them, but Jesus called for 16
the infants. " Let the children
come to me," he said, "do not stop
them : the Realm of God belongs
to such as these. I tell you truly, 17
whoever will not submit to the
Reign of God like a child will never
get into it at all."
Then a ruler asked him, " Good 18
teacher, what am I to do to inherit
life eternal ? " Jesus said to him, 19
" Why call me ' good ' ? No one is
good, no one but God. You know 20
the commands : do not commit
adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do
not bear false witness, honour your
father and mother." He said, " I 21
have observed all these commands
from mj^ youth." When Jesus 22
heard this he said to him, " You
lack one thing more ; sell all you
have, distribute the money among
the poor and you will have treasure
in heaven; then come and follow
me." But when he heard that he 23
was vexed, for he was extremely
rich. So Jesus looked at him and 24
101
S. LUKE XIX
said, " How difficult it is for those
who have money to enter the Realm
25 of God ! Why, it is easier for a
camel to get through a needle's eye
than for a rich man to get into the
26 Realm of God." His hearers said,
" Then whoever can be saved ? "
27 He said, " What is impossible for
men is possible for God." Peter
28 said, " Well, we have left our homes
and followed you ! " He said to
29 them, " I tell you truly, no one has
left home or wife or brothers or
parents or children for the sake of
30 the Realm of God, who does not
receive ever so much more in this
present world, and in the world to
31 come life eternal." Then he took
the twelve aside and told them,
" We are going up to Jerusalem,
and all the predictions of the
prophets regarding the Son of man
32 will be fulfilled ; he will be
betrayed to the Gentiles, mocked,
33 illtreated, and spat on ; they will
scourge him and kill him, but he will
rise again on the third day."
34 However, they did not under-
stand a word of this ; indeed the
saying was hidden from them,
and they did not know what he
meant.
35 As he approached Jericho, it
chanced that a blind man was seated
36 beside the road begging. When
he heard the crowd passing he in-
37 quired what was the matter, and
they told him that Jesus the
38 Nazarene was going by. So he
shouted, " Jesus, Son of David,
39 have pity on me ! " The people
in front checked him and told him
to be quiet, but he shouted all the
more, " Son of David, have pity on
40 me ! " So Jesus stopped and or-
dered them to bring him, and asked
41 him when he approached, " What
do vou want me to do for you? "
102'
" Lord," he said, " I want to regain
my sight." And Jesus said to him, 42
" Regain your sight, your faith has
made you well." Instantly he 43
regained his sight and followed him,
glorifying God. And all the people
gave praise to God when they saw
this.
Then he entered Jericho. And 19
as he passed through it, there was a 2
man called Zacchaeus, the head of
the taxgatherers, a wealthy man,
who tried to see what Jesus was 3
like ; but he could not, on account of
the crowd — for he was small of
stature. So he ran forward and 4
climbed into a sycomore tree to get
a sight of him, as he was to pass
that road. But when Jesus reached 5
the spot he looked up and said to
him, " Zacchaeus, come down at
once, for I must stay at your house
to-day." He came down at once 6
and welcomed him gladly. But 7
when they saw this, everyone began
to mutter that he had gone to be
the guest of a sinner. So Zacchaeus 8
stopped and said to the Lord, " I
will give the half of all I have. Lord,
to the poor, and if I have cheated
anybody I will give him back four
times as much." And Jesus said 9
of him, " To-day salvation has come
to this house, since Zacchaeus here
is a son of Abraham. For the Son 10
of man has come to seek and save
the lost." He went on to tell a 11
parable in their hearing, as he was
approaching Jerusalem and as they
imagined God's Reign would in-
stantly come into view. " A noble- 12
man,'" he said, " went abroad to
obtain royal power for himself and
then return. He first called his 13
ten serv^ants, giving them each a
five-pound note, and telling them,
A
S. LUKE XIX
' Trade with this till I come back.'
14 Now his people hated him and sent
envoys after him to say, ' We object
to him having royal power over us.'
15 However he secured the ro5''al power
and came home. Then he ordered
the servants to be called who had
been given the money, that he might
find out what business they had
16 done. The first came up saying,
' Your five pounds has made
17 other fifty, sir.' ' Capital,' he
said, ' you excellent servant ! be-
cause you have proved trustworthy
in a trifle, you are placed over
18 ten towns.' Then the second came
and said, ' Your five povmds has
19 made twenty-five, sir.' To him
he said, ' And you are set over
20 five toAvns.' Then the next came
and said, ' Here is your five
pounds, sir; I kept it safe in
21 a napkin, for I was afraid of
you, you are such a hard man —
picking up what you never put
down, and reaping what you
never sowed.' He replied, ' You
22 rascal of a servant, I will con-
\act you by what you have said
yourself. You knew, did you,
that I was a hard man, picking up
what I never put down, and reap-
23 ing what I never sowed ! Why then
did you not put my money into
the bank, so that I could have
got it with interest when I came
24 back ? ' Then he said to the by-
standers, ' Take the five pounds
from him and give it to the man
25 with fifty.' ' Sir,' they said, ' he
26 has fifty already ! ' 'I tell you,
to everyone who has shall more
be given,
but ff-om him who has nothing,
even what he has shall be
taken.
27 And now for these enemies of mine
who objected to me reigning over
them — bring them here and slay
them in my presence.'"
With these words he went forward 28
on his way up to Jerusalem. When 29
he was near Bethphage and Bethany
at the hill called the Olive-Orchard,
he despatched two of his disciples,
saying, " Go to the village in front, 30
and on entering it you Avill find a
colt tethered on which no one ever
has sat ; untether it and bring •
it. If anyone asks you, ' Why are 31
you untethering it ? ' this is what
you will say, ' The Lord needs it.' "
The messengers went off and found 32
the colt exactly as he had told them.
As they were untethering it, the 33
owners said to them, " Why are
you untethering the colt ? " And 34
they said, " Because the Lord needs
it." So they brought it to Jesus, 35
and throwing their clothes on the
colt they mounted Jesus upon it.
As he went forward they spread 36
their clothes under him on the
road, and as he was now close to 37
the descent from the Hill of Olives
all the multitude of the disciples
started joyfully to praise God with
a loud voice for all * they had
seen, saying, 38
" Blessed be the king who comes in
the Lord's name !
Peace in heaven and glory in the
High places ! "
Some Pharisees in the crowd said 39
to him, " Check your disciples,
teacher." But he replied, " I tell 40
you, if they were to keep quiet,
the very stones would shout."
And when he saw the city, as he 41
approached, he wept over it, saying, 42
" Would that you too knew even to-
day on what your peace depends !
But no, it is hidden from you ! A 43
* Omitting Swdfxfoiv with the old
Syriac version, which presex'ves the ori-
ginal text irepl TTcivroiiy elooy Kijovres.
103
S. LUKE XX
time is coming for you when your
enemies will throw up ramparts
round you and encircle you and
44 besiege you on every side and
raze you and your children within
you to the ground, leaving not
one stone upon another within
you — and all because you would
not understand when God was
45 visiting you." Then he went into
the temple and proceeded to drive
46 out those who were selling. " It
is written," he told them, " my
house shall be a house of prayer, but
you have made it a den of robbers.'^
47 Day after day he taught within
the temple. The high priests and
scribes tried to have him put to
death, and so did the leaders of the
48 people, but they could not discover
what was to be done, for the whole
of the people hung upon his lips.
20 One day, when he was teaching
the people in the temple and preach-
ing the gospel, up came the priests
and scribes along with the elders.
2 " Tell us," they said, " what
authority you have for acting in
this way ? Who was it that gave
3 5'ou this authority ? " He answered
them, " Well, I will ask you a ques-
4 tion. Tell me, did the baptism of
John come from heaven or from
5 men ? " Now they reasoned to them-
selves, " If we say, ' From heaven,'
he will ask, ' Why did you not be-
6 lieve him ? ' And if we say, ' From
men,' the whole of the people will
stone us, for they are convinced
7 John was a prophet." So they
answered that they did not know
8 where it came from. Jesus said
to them, " No more will I tell you
what authority I have for acting
as I do."
9 Then he proceeded to tell the
104
people the following parable. *' A
man planted a vineyard, leased it
to vinedressers, and went abroad
for some time. When the season 10
came round he sent a servant to
the vinedressers to receive part
of the produce of the vineyard,
but the vinedressers flogged him
and sent him off with nothing. He 11
proceeded to send another servant,
and they flogged him too, insulted
him and sent him off with nothing.
Then he sent still a third, but this 12
one they wounded and threw out-
side. Said the owner of the vine- 13
yard, 'What shall I do? I will
send my beloved son ; perhaps
they will respect him.' But when 14
the vinedressers saw him, they
argued to themselves, ' Here is the
heir, let us kill him so that the
inheritance may be ours.' And they 15
threw him outside the vineyard
and killed him. Now what will
the owner of the vineyard do to
them ? He will come and kill these 16
vinedressers and give the vineyard
to others." When they heard that
they said, " God forbid ! " But 17
he looked at them and said, " Then
what does this scripture mean ? —
The stone that the builders rejected
is the chief stone now of the
corner.
Everyone who falls on that stone 18
will be shattered,
and whoever it falls upon will
be crushed."
At that hour the scribes and high 19
priests tried to lay hands on him,
but they were afraid of the people.
They knew he had meant this
parable for them. So watching 20
their chance they sent spies who
pretended to be honest persons in
order to seize on what he said and
get him handed over to the authority
and jurisdiction of the governor.
S. LUKE XXI
21 They put this question to him,
" Teacher, we know you are straight
in what you say and teach, you do
not look to human favour but teach
22 the Way of God honestly. Is it
right for us to pay tribute to Caesar
23 or not ? " But he noted their
24 knavery and said to them, " Show
me a shilling. Whose likeness
and inscription does it bear ? "
25 " Caesar's," they replied. " Well
then," he said to them, "give Caesar
what belongs to Caesar, give God
26 what belongs to God." So they
could not seize on what he said
before the people, and marvelling
at his reply they said nothing.
27 Some of the Sadducees came up,
who deny any resurrection, and put
28 a question to him. " Teacher,"
they said, " Moses has written
this law for us, that if a man's
married brother dies and is childless,
his brother is to take the woman
and raise o^ spring for his brother.
29 Well, there were seven brothers.
The first married a wife and died
30 childless. The second and the third
31 took her, as indeed all the seven did,
dying and leaving no children.
32 Afterwards the woman died too.
33 Now at the resurrection whose wife
will she be? She was wife to the
34 seven of them." Jesiis said to
them, " People in this world marry
35 and are married, but those who
are considered worthy to attain
yonder world and the resurrection
from the dead neither marry nor
36 are married, for they cannot die any
more ; they are equal to angels
and by sharing in the resurrection
37 they are sons of God. And that the
dead are raised has been indicated
by Moses in the passage on the
Bush, when he calls the Lord ' God
of Abraham and God of Isaac and God
88 of Jacob.'' God is not a God of dead
people but of living, for all live to
him." Some of the scribes de- 39
clared, " Teacher, that was a fine
answer ! " They no longer dared 40
to put any question to him. But 41
he said to them, " How can people
say that the Christ is David's son ?
Why, David himself says in the 42
book of psalms.
The Lord said to my Lord, ' Sit at
my right hand,
till 1 put your enemies under 43
your feet.^
David then calls him Lord. So 44
how can he be his son ? " And in 45
the hearing of all the people he said
to his disciples, " Beware of the 46
scribes ! They like to walk about
in long robes, they are fond of
getting saluted in the market-
places, of securing the front seats
in the synagogues and the best
places at banquets ; they prey upon 47
the property of widows and offer
long unreal prayers. All the heavier
will their sentence be ! "
Looking up he saw the rich 21
putting their gifts into the
treasury, and noticed a poor 2
widow putting two little coins
in. He said, " I tell you plainly, 3
this poor widow has put in
more than them all; for these 4
people all contributed out of their
surplus, but she has given out of her
neediness all her living."
Some were speaking of the temple 5
with its ornamentation of splendid
stones and votive gifts, but he said,
" As for what you see, there are days 6
coming when not a stone will be
left upon another, without being
torn down." So they asked him,
" Teacher, and when will this 7
happen ? What will be the sign
for this to take place ? " He said, 8
105
S. LUKE XXI
" Take care that you are not
misled; for many ^vill come in
my name saying, ' I am he ' and
* the time is near ' — do not go after
9 them. And when you hear of wars
and disturbances, do not be scared ;
these have to come first, but the end
10 is not at once." Then he said
to them, '"''Nation zvill rise against
nation, and realm against realm,
11 there will be great earthquakes
with famine and pestilence here and
there, there will be awful portents
12 and great signs from heaven. But
before all that men will lay hands
on you and persecute you, handing
you over to synagogues and prisons ;
you will be dragged before kings
and governors for the sake of my
13 name. That will turn out an oppor-
14 tunity for you to bear witness. So
resolve to yourselves that you will
not rehearse your defence before-
15 hand, for I will give you words and
wisdom that not one of your oppo-
nents will be able to meet or refute.
16 You will be betrayed by your very
parents and brothers and kinsmen
and friends, and some of you will
17 be put to death. You will be hated
18 by all on account of my name ; but
not a hair of your head will perish.
19 Hold out stedfast and you win your
souls.
20 But whenever you see Jerusalem
surroimded by armies, then be sure
her desolation is not far away.
21 Then let those who are in Judaea
fly to the hills, let those v.-ho are
in the city escape, and let not those
who are in the country come in
22 to the city; for these are the days
of the divine Vengeance, in fulfilment
of all that is written in scripture.
23 Woe to women with child and to
women who give suck in those days,
for sore anguish will come upon
the land and Wrath on this people;
106
they will fall by the edge of the 24
sword, they will be carried prisoners
to all nations, and Jerusalem will
be under the heel of the Gentiles till
the period of the Gentiles expires.
And there will be signs in sun and 25
moon and stars, while on earth the
nations will be in dismay with
bewilderment at the roar of sea and
waves, men swooning with panic 26
and foreboding of what is to befall
the universe. For the orbs of the
heavens will be shaken, and then 27
they will see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great
glory. But when these things begin 28
to happen, look up and raise your
heads, for j'our release is not far
distant." And he told them a par- 29
able. " Look at the fig tree and
indeed all the trees ; as soon as they 30
put out their leaves, you can see for
yourselves that summer is at hand.
So, whenever you see all this hap- 31
pen, be sure the Reign of God is
at hand.
I tell you truly, the present 32
generation will not pass away till
all this happens. Heaven and 33
earth will pass away, but my
words never.
Take heed to yourselves in case 34
your hearts get overpowered by
dissipation and drunkenness and
worldly anxieties, and so that
Day catches you suddenly like a
trap. For it will come upon all 35
dwellers on the face of all the
earth. From hour to hour keep 36
awake, praying that you may suc-
ceed in escaping all these dangers to
come and in standing before the
Son of man."
By day he taught in the temple, 37
but at night he went outside the city
and passed the night on the hill
called the Olive-Orchard. And all 88
the people used to come early in the
S. LUKE XXII
morning to listen to him in the
temple.
CHAP.
22 Now the feast of rmleavened
bread which is called the passover
2 was near. The high priests and
scribes were trying how to get him
put to death (for they were afraid
3 of the people), and Satan entered
Judas called Iscariot, a member of
4 the twelve, who went off to discuss
with the high priests and com-
manders how he could betray him
5 to them. They were delighted and
6 agreed to pay him for it. He
assented to this and sought a
good opportunity for betraying him
to them in the absence of the
crowd.
7 Then came the day of unleavened
bread when the paschal lamb had to
8 be sacrificed. So Jestis despatched
Peter and John, saying, " Go and
prepare the passover for us that
9 we may eat it." They asked him,
" Where do you want us to prepare
10 it ? " He said to them, " When you
enter the city you will meet a man
carrying a water-jar : follow him to
11 the house he enters, and tell the
owner of the house, ' The Teacher
asks you. Where is the room in which
I can eat the passover with my
12 disciples ? ' Then he will show you
a large room upstairs with couches
spread ; make your preparations
13 there." They went off and found
it was as he had told them. So
14 they prepared the passover, and
when the hour came he took his
place, with the apostles beside
15 him. He said to them, " I have
longed eagerly to eat this pass-
16 over with you before I suffer, for I
tell you I will never rat the passover
again till the folfilmeul of it in the
17 lleign of God." And he took a
cup which was handed to him, gave
thanks to God and said, " Take this
and distribute it among your-
selves, for I tell you I will never 18
drink the produce of the vine again
till such time as God's Reign comes."
Then he took a loaf and after thank- 19
ing God he broke it and gave it to
them, saying, "This means my body
given up for yoiu- sake ; do this
in memory of me." So too he gave 20
them the cup after supper, saying,
" This cup means the new covenant
ratified by my blood shed for your
sake. But the hand of my betrayer 21
is on the table beside me ! The Son 22
of man moves to his end indeed as
it has been decreed, but woe to the
man by whom he is betrayed ! "
And they began to discuss among 23
themselves which of them could
possibly be going to do such a
thing. A quarrel also rose among 24
them as to which of them could
be considered the greatest. But 25
Jesus said to them,
" The kings of the Gentiles rule
over them,
and their authorities take the
name of ' Benefactor ' :
not so with you. 26
He who is greatest among you
must be like the youngest,
and he who is chief like a
servant.
Which is the greatest, guest or 27
servant ? Is it not the
guest ?
But I am among you as a
servant.
It is you who have stood by me 28
through my trials ; so, even as my 29
Father has assigned me royal power,
I assign you the right of eating and 30
drinking at my table in my Realm
and of sitting on thrones to rule tlie
twelve tribes of Israel. Simon, 31
Simon, Satan has claimed the right
107
S. LUKE XXII
82 to sift j^ou all like wheat, but I have
prayed that your own faith may
not fail. And you in turn must
be a strength to your brothers."
.33 " Lord," he said, " I am ready to
go with you to prison and to death."
Si Jesus said, " I tell you, Peter, the
cock will not crow to-day before
you have three times denied that
35 you know me." And he said to
them, " When I sent you out with
neither purse nor wallet nor san-
dals, did you want for anything? "
" No," they said, " for nothing."
36 Then he said to them, " But he who
has a purse must take it now, and
the same with a wallet; and he
who has no sword must sell his
37 coat and buy one. For I tell you,
this word of scripture must be ful-
filled in me : he was classed among
criminals. Yes, there is an end to
38 all that refers to me." " Lord,"
they said, " here are two swords ! "
" Enough ! Enough ! " he an-
swered.
39 Then he went outside and made
his way to the Hill of Olives, as
he was accustomed. The disciples
40 followed him, and when he reached
the spot he said to them, " Pray
that you may not slip into tempta-
41 tion." He withdrew about a
stone's throw and knelt in prayer,
42 saying, " Father, if it please thee,
take this cup away from me. But
43 thy will, not mine, be done." [And
an angel from heaven appeared to
44 strengthen him ; he fell into an
agony and prayed with greater
intensity, his sweat dropping to the
45 ground lilce clots of blood.] Then
rising from prayer he went to the
disciples, only to find them asleep
46 from sheer sorrow. He said to
them, " Why are you sleeping ?
Get up and pray that you may
47 not slip into temptation." While
108
he was still spealdng there came a
mob headed by the man called
Judas, one of the twelve. He
approached in order to kiss Jesus,
but Jesus said to him, " Judas ! 48
would you betray the Son of man
with a kiss?" Now when the 49
supporters of Jesus saw what was
going to happen, they said, " Lord,
shall we strike with our swords? "
And one of them did strike the 50
servant of the high priest, cutting
off his right ear. Jesus said, " Let 51
me do this at least," and cured him
by touching his ear. Then he said 52
to the high priests and commanders
of the temple and elders who had
appeared to take him, " Have you
sallied out to arrest me like a roblDcr,
with swords and clubs ? Day after 53
day I was beside you in the temple,
and you never stretched a hand
against me. But this is your hour
and the dark Power has its waj^"
Then they arrested him and led 54
him away inside the house of the
high priest. Peter followed at a
distance and sat down among some
people who had lit a fire in the court- 55
yard and were sitting round it.
A maidservant who noticed him 56
sitting by the fire took a long look
at him and said, " That fellow w'as
with him too." But he disowned
him, saying, " Woman, I know 57
nothing about him." Shortly 58
afterwards another man noticed
him and said, " Why, you are one
of them ! " " Man," said Peter,
" I am not." About an hour had 59
passed when another man insisted,
" That fellow really was with him.
Why, he is a Galilean ! " " Man," 60
said Peter, " I do not know what
you mean." Instantly, just as he
was speaking, the cock crowed;
the Lord turned round and looked 61
at Peter, and then Peter remem-
i
S. LUKE XXIII
bered what the Lord had told him,
that ' Before cock-crow to-day
5'ou will disown me three times.'
62 And he went outside and wept
bitterly.
63 Meantime the men who had Jesus
in custody flogged him and made
64 fun of him ; blindfolding him they
would ask him, " Prophesy, tell
65 us who struck you ? " And many
another insult they uttered against
him.
66 When day broke, the elders of
the people all met along with the
high priests and scribes, and had
him brought before their Sanhedrin.
67 They said to him, " Tell us if you
are the Christ." He said to them,
" You will not believe me if I tell
68 you, and you will not answer me
69 when I put a question to you. But
after this the Son of man will be seated
at God's right hand of power."
70 " Are you the Son of God then ? "
they all said. " Certainly," he
replied, " I am." So they said,
71 " What more evidence do we need ?
We have heard it from his own lips."
23 Then the whole body of them
2 rose and led him to Pilate. They
proceeded to accuse him, saying,
" We have discovered this fellov/
perverting our nation, forbidding
tribute being paid to Caesar, and
alleging he is king messiah."
3 Pila,te asked him, " Are you the
king of the Jews ? " He replied,
4 " Certainly." And Pilate said to
the high priests and the crowds, " I
cannot find anything criminal
5 about him." But they insisted,
" He stirs up the people by teaching
all over Judaea. He started from
6 Galilee and now he is here." When
Pilate heard that, he asked if the
7 man was a Galilean, and ascertain-
ing that he came under the juris-
diction of Herod, he remitted him
to Herod, who himself was in
Jerusalem during those days.
Herod was greatly delighted to see 8
Jesus ; he had long wanted to see
him, because he had heard about
him and also because he hoped to
see him perform some miracle.
But though he put many questions 9
to him, Jesus gave him no answer.
Meanwhile the high priests and 10
scribes stood and accused him with
might and main. Then Herod and 11
his troops scoffed at him and made
fun of him, and after arraying him
in a bright robe he remitted him to
Pilate. Herod and Pilate, became 12
friends that day — previously they
had been at enmity.
Then summoning the high priests 13
and rulers and the people, Pilate
said to them, " You brought me this 14
man as being an inciter to rebellion
among the people. I have examined
him before you and found nothing
criminal about him, for all your
accusations against him. No, nor 15
has Herod, for he has remitted him
to us. He has done nothing, you
see, that calls for death ; so I shall 16
release him with a whipping."* 18
But they shouted one and all,
" Away with him ! Release Bar-
Abbas for us ! " (This was a man 19
who had been put into prison on
account of a riot which had taken
place in the city and also on a charge
of murder.) Again Pilate addressed 20
them, for he wanted to release Jesus,
but they roared, " To the cross, 21
to the cross with him ! " He asked 22
them a third time, " But what crime
has he committed? I have found
nothing about him that deserves
Omitting [aviyKtiv Ss elxey airoKveip
aiiTois KaTa iopr'ijv »Va] as an explanatory
and harmoniatic gloss.
109
S. LUKE XXIII
death; so I shall release him with
23 a whipping." But they loudly
urged their demand that he should
be crucified, and their shouts carried
24 the day. Pilate gave sentence that
their demand was to be carried
25 out; he released the man they
wanted, the man who had been
imprisoned for riot and murder,
and Jesus he handed over to their
will.
26 As they led him off they caught
hold of Simon a Cyrenian on his way
from the country and laid the cross
27 on him to carry after Jesus. He
was followed bj'^ a large multitude
of the people and also of women
who beat their breasts and lamented
28 him ; but Jesus turned to them
and said, " Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me but weep for your-
29 selves and for your children ! For
there are days coming when the cry
will be,
' Blessed are the barren,
the wombs that never have
borne
and the breasts that never have
suckled ! '
30 Then will people say to tlie moun-
tains, ' Fall on us ! ' and to
the hills, ' Cover m*.'
31 For if this is what they do when
the wood is green,
what will they do when the
wood is dry ? "
32 Two criminals were also led out
33 with him to be executed, and when
they came to the place called The
Skull they crucified him there with
the criminals, one at his right and
34 one at his left. Jesus said, " Father,
forgive them, they do not know
what they ar3 doing." Then they
distributed his clothes among them-
85 selves by drawing lots. The people
stood and looked on, and even
the rulers sneered at him, saying,
110
" He saved others, let him save him-
self, if he is the Christ of God, the
Chosen One ! " The soldiers made 36
fun of him too by coming up and
handing him vinegar, sa^dng, " If 37
you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself." (For there was an 38
inscription over him in Greek and
Roman and Hebrew characters,
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.)
One of the criminals who had been 39
hung also abused him, saying, " Are
you not the Christ? Save your-
self and us as well." But the other 40
checked him, saying, " Have you
no fear even of God ? You are
suffering the same punishment as
he. And we suffer justly; we are 41
getting what we deserve for our
deeds. But he has done no harm."
And he added, " Jesus, do not for- 42
get me when you come to reign."
" I tell you truly," said Jesus, " you 43
will be in paradise with me this very
day."
By this time it was about twelve 44
o'clock, and darkness covered the
whole land till three o'clock, owing 45
to an eclipse of the sun ; the cur-
tain in the middle of the temple
was torn in two. Then with a loud 46
cry Jesus said, " Father, / trust my
spirit to thy hands," and with these
words he expired. When the army- 47
captain saw what had happened,
he glorified God, saying, " This man
was really innocent." And when 48
all the crowds who had collected
for the sight saw what had happened
they turned away beating their
breasts. As for his acquaintances, 49
they were all standing at a distance
to look on, with the women who
had accompanied him from Galilee.
Now there was a man called 50
Joseph, a member of council but
a good and just man who had not 51
S. LUKE XXIV
voted for their plan of action ; he
belonged to Arimathaea, a Jewish
town, and he was on the outlook for
52 the Reign of God. This Joseph went
to Pilate and asked him for the body
53 of Jesus. He then took it down,
wrapped it in linen, and put it in
a tomb cut out of the rock, where no
54 one had yet been buried. It was
the day of the Preparation and the
55 sabbath was just dawning. So the
women who had accompanied him
from Galilee and who had followed
Joseph, noted the tomb and the
56 position of the body; then they
went home and prepared spices and
perfumes.
CHAP.
24 On the sabbath they rested in
obedience to God's command, but
on the first day of the week at early
dawn they took the spices they had
?repared and went to the tomb,
he boulder they found rolled away
3 from the tomb, but when they went
inside they could not find the body
4 of the Lord Jesus. They were
puzzling over this, when two men
flashed on them in dazzling raiment.
5 They were terrified and bent their
faces to the ground, but the men
said to them, " Why do you look
among the dead for him who is
6 alive ? He is not here, he has risen.
Remember how he told you when
7 he was still in Galilee that the Son
of man had to be betrayed into the
hands of sinful men and be crucified
I 8 and rise on the third day." Then
they remembered what he had said,
9 and turning away from the tomb
they reported all this to the eleven
10 and all the others. (It was Mary
of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the
mother of James who with the rest
of the women told this to the
11 apostles.) But this story of the
women seemed in their opinion to
be nonsense; they would not
believe them. Peter did get up 12
and run to the tomb, but when he
looked in he saAV nothing except
the hnen bandages; so he went
away home wondering what had
happened.
That very day two of them were 13
on their way to a village called
Emmaus about seven miles from
Jerusalem. They were conversing 14
about all these events, and during 15
their conversation and discussion
Jesus himself approached and
walked beside them, though they IG
were prevented from recognizing
him. He said to them, " What is IT
all this you are debating on your
walk?" They stopped, looking
downcast, and one of them, called 18
Cleopas, answered him, " Are you
a lone stranger in Jerusalem, not
to know what has been happening
there ? " " What is that ? " he said 19
to them. They replied, " All about
Jesus of Nazaret ! To God and
all the people he was a prophet
strong in action and utterance,
but the high priests and our rulers 20
delivered him up to be sentenced
to death and crucified him. Our 21
OAvn hope was that he would be the
redeemer of Israel ; but he is dead,
and that is three days ago ! Though 22
some women of our number gave us
a surprise ; they were at the tomb
early in the morning and could not 23
find his body, but they came to tell
us they had actually seen a %'ision
of angels who declared he was alive.
Some of our company did go to the 24
tomb and found things exactly as
the women had said, but they did
not see him." He said to them, 25
" O foolish men, with hearts so slow
to believe, after all the prophets
have declared ! Had not the Christ 26
111
S. LUKE XXIV
to suffer thus and so enter his
27 glory ? " Then he began with
Moses and all the prophets and
interpreted to them the passages
referring to himself throughout the
28 scriptures. Now they approached
the village to which they were going.
He pretended to be going further
29 on, but they pressed him, saying,
" Stay with us, for it is getting
towards evening and the day has
now declined." So he went in to
30 stay with them. And as he lay at
table with them he took the loaf,
blessed it, broke it and handed it
SI to them. Then their eyes were
opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another,
" Did not our hearts glow within
us when he was talking to us on
the road, opening up the scriptures
33 for us ? " So they got up and re-
turned that very hour to Jerusalem,
where they found the eleven and
34 their friends all gathered, who told
them that the Lord had really risen
and that he had appeared to Simon.
35 Then they related their own ex-
perience on the road and how they
had recognized him when he broke
36 the loaf. Just as they were speak-
ing He stood among them [and said
37 to them, " Peace to you ! "] They
were scared and terrified, imagining
it was a ghost they saw; but he
38 said to them, " Why are you upset ?
Why do doubts invade your mind ?
Look at my hands and feet. It 39
is I ! Feel me and see ; a ghost
has not flesh and bones as you see
I have." [With these words he 40
showed them his hands and feet.]
Even yet they could not believe it 41
for sheer joy; they were lost in
wonder. So he said to them, " Have
you any food here? " And when 42
they handed him a piece of broiled
fish, he took and ate it in their 43
presence. Then he said to them, 44
" When I was still with you this is
what I told you, that whatever is
written about me in the law of Moses
and the prophets and the psalms
must be fulfilled." Then he opened 45
their minds to understand the scrip-
tures. " Thus," he said, " it is 46
written that the Christ has to suffer
and rise from the dead on the third
day, and that repentance and the 47
remission of sins must be preached
in his name to all nations, beginning
from Jerusalem. To this you must 48
bear testimony. And I will send 49
down on you what my Father has
promised ; wait in the city till you
are endued with power from on
high." He led them out as far as 50
Bethany; then, lifting his hands,
he blessed them. And as he blessed 51
them he parted from them [and was
carried up to heaven]. They wor- 52
shipped him and returned with great
joy to Jerusalem, where they spent
all their time within the temple, 5"
blessinff God.
112
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
S. JOHN
OHAF.
1
The Logos existed in the very
beginning,
the Logos was with God,
the Logos was divine.
2 He was with God in the very
beginning :
3 through him all existence came
into being,
no existence came into being
apart from him.
4 In him life lay,
and this life was the Light for
men :
5 amid the darkness the Light
shone,
but the darkness did not master
it.
6 A man appeared, sent by God,
7 whose name was John : he came
for the purpose of witinessing, to
bear testimony to the Light, sq that
all men might believe by means of
8 him. He was not the Light ; it
was to bear testimony to the
9 Light that he appeared. The real
Light, which enlightens every jnai^
was coming then into the w^orld :
10 he entered the world —
the world which existed through
him —
yet the world did not recognize
him;
11 he came to what was his own,
yet his own folk did not
welcome him.
12 On those who have accepted him,
however, he has conferred the right
of being children of God, that is,
on those who believe in his Name,
13 who owe this birth of theirs to
God, not to human blood, nor to
any impulse of the flesh or of man.
So the Logos became flesh and 14
tarried among us; we have seen
his glory — glory such as an only
son enjoys from his father — seen
it to be full of grace and reality.
(John testified to him with the cry, 15
' This was he of whom I said, my
successor has taken precedence of
me, for he preceded me.') For 16
we have all been receiving grace
after grace from his fulness; while 17
the Law was given through Moses,
grace and reality are ours through
Jesus Christ. Nobody has ever 18
seen God, but God has been un-
folded by the divine One, the only
Son,* who lies upon the Father's
breast.
Now here is John's testimony. 19
When the Jews of Jerusalem
despatched priests and Levites to
ask bim, "Who are you?" he 20
fraiTkly confessed — he did not deny
it, he frankly confessed, " I am not
the Christ." They asked him, 21
"Then what are you? Elijah?"
He said, " i am not." " Are you
the Prophet ? " "No," he an-
swered. " Then who are you*? " 22
they said ; " tell us, so that we can
give some answer to those who sent
us. What have you to say for
yourself?" He said, "I am 2«
'■ /■"
* Although ee6s (' the divine due ')
is probably more original than theig^Sriank
reading vios, ^ovoy^vhs (see ver^^^H),
requires some such pi'riphrasia in
to bring out its full meaning herfi.
113
S. JOHN I
the voice of one who cries in the
desert,
' level the way for the Lord ' —
24 as the prophet Isaiah said." Now
it was some of the Pharisees who
25 had been sent to him ; so they*
asked him, saying, " Then why are
you baptizing people, if you are
neither the Christ nor Elijah nor
26 the Prophet? " " I am baptizing
with water," John replied, " but
my successor is among you, One
27 whom you do not recognize, and I
am not fit to untie the thong of
28 his sandal." This took place at
Bethany on the opposite side of the
Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 Next day he observed Jesus com-
ing towards him and exclaimed,
" Look, there is the lamb of God,
who is to remove the sin of the
30 world ! That is he of whom I
said, ' The man who is to succeed
me has taken precedence of me, for
31 he preceded me.' I myself did not
recognize him; I only came to
baptize with water, in order that
he might be disclosed to Israel."
32 And John bore this testimony also :
" I saw the Spirit descend hke a
dove from heaven and rest on him.
33 I myself did not recognize him, but
He who sent me to baptize with
water told me, ' He on whom you
see the Spirit descending and rest-
ing, that is he who baptizes with the
84 holy Spirit.' Now I did see it, and
I testify that he is the Son of God."
35 Next day again John was stand-
36 ing with two of his disciples ; he
gazed at Jesus as he walked about,
and said, " Look, there is the lamb
37 of God ! " The two disciples heard
jT-Avhat he said and went after Jesus.
*^8 Now Jesus turned, and when he
observed them coming after him, he
asked them, "What do you want ?"
-They rephed, "Rabbi" (which
114
may be translated, * teacher '),
"where are you staying?" He
said to them, " Come and see." 39
So they went and saw where he
stayed, and stayed "vvith him the
rest of that day — it was then about
four in the afternoon. One of the 40
two men who heard what John said
and went after Jesus was Andrew,
the brother of Peter. In the morn- 41
ing* he met his brother Simon and
told him, " We have found the
messiah " (which may be translated,
' Christ '). He took him to Jesus; 42
Jesus gazed at him and said, " You
are Simon, the son of John ? Your
name is to be Cephas " (meaning
' Peter ' or ' rock ').
Next day Jesus determined to 43
leave for Galilee; there he met
Philip and told him, " Follow me."
Now Philip belonged to Bethsaida, 44
the same town as Andrew and
Peter; he met Nathanael and told 45
him, " We have found him whom
Moses wrote about in the Law,
and also the prophets — it is Jesus,
the son of Joseph, who comes
from Nazaret." " Nazaret ! " said 46
Nathanael, " can anything good
come out of Nazaret ? " " Come
and see," said Philip. Jesus saw 47
Nathanael approaching and said of
him, " Here is a genuine Israelite !
There is no guile in him." Nathan- 48
ael said to him, " How do you
know me?" Jesus answered,
" When you were under that fig
tree, before ever Philip called
you, I saw you." " Rabbi," said 49
Nathanael, " you are the Son of
God, you are the king of Israel ! "
Jesus answered, " You believe be- 50
cause 1 told you I had seen you
* The Greek word (irpw't) has been mis-
read in nearly all the MSS. for " first "
{irpwrov) ; see the note in Mrs. A. S. Lewis's
Old Syriac Gospels (1910), pp. xxviii-xxix.
S. JOHN II
under that fig tree ? You shall see
51 more than tliat." He said to him,
" Truly, trul\' I tell you all,* you
shall see heaven open wide and
God's angels ascending and descend-
ing upon the Son of man."
2 Two days later a wedding took
place at Cana in Galilee ; the mother
2 of Jesus was present, and Jesus and
his disciples had also been invited
3 to the wedding. As the wine ran
short, the mother of Jesus said
to him, " They have no wnne."
4 " Woman," said Jesus, " w^hat have
you to do with me ? My time has
5 not come yet." His mother said
to the servants, " Do whatever he
6 tells you." Now six stone water-
jars were standing there, for the
Jewish rites of ' purification,' each
holding about twenty gallons.
7 Jesus said, " Fill up the jars with
water." So they filled them to the
8 brim. Then he said, " Now draw
some out, and take it to the man-
9 ager of the feast." They did so ;
and when the manager of the feast
tasted the water which had become
wine, not knowing where it had
come from (though the servants
who had drawn it knew), he called
1 0 the bridegroom and said to him,
" Everybody serves the good wine
first, and then the poorer wine after
people have drunk freely ; you have
kept the good wine till now."
11 .Tesus performed this, the first of
his Signs, at Cana in Galilee, thereby
displaying his glory ; and his dis-
ciples believed in him.
12 After this he travelled dow^n to
Capharnahum, with his mother and
* I insert the word ' all ', to make it clear
that the ' you ' of ver. 51 is plural. The
promise is more than a personal word to
Nathanael.
brothers and disciples ; they stayed
there for a few days.f
After this Jesus and his disciples 22
went into the country of Judaea,
where he spent some time with
them baptizing. John was also 23
baptizing at Aenon near Salim, as
there was plenty of water there,
and people came to him and were
baptized (John had not j^et been 24
thrown into prison). Now a dis- 25
pute arose between John's disciples
and a Jew over the question of
' purification ' ; and they came and 26
told John, " Rabbi, the man who
was with you on the opposite side
of the Jordan, the man to whom
you bore testimony — here he is,
baptizing, and everybody goes to
him ! " John answered, " No one 27
can receive anything except as a
gift from heaven. You can bear 28
me out, that I said, ' I am not
the Christ ' ; what I said was, ' I
have been sent in advance of him.'
He who has the bride is the bride- 29
groom; the bridegroom's friend,
who stands by and listens to him,
is heartily glad at the sound of the
bridegroom's voice. Such is my
joy, and it is complete. He must 30
wax, I must wane."
Now the Jewish passover was 13
near, so Jesus went up to Jeru-
salem, There he found, seated in- 14
side the temple, dealers in cattle,
sheep and pigeons, also money-
changers. Making a scourge of 15
cords, he drove them all, sheep
and cattle together, out of the
temple, scattered the coins of the
brokers and upset their tables, and 16
told the pigeon -dealers, " Away
with these ! My Father's house is
not to be turned into a shop ! "
(His disciples recalled the scripture 17
t Traiispasing iii, 22-30 to its true
position between ii. 12 and ii. 13.
116
S. JOHN III
saying, I am consumed with zeal for
18 thy house.) Then the Jews accosted
him with the words, " What sign
of authority have you to show us,
19 for acting in this way?" Jesus
rephed, " Destroy this sanctuary
and I will raise it up in three days."
20 " This sanctuary took forty-six
years to build," the Jews retorted,
" and you are going to raise it up
21 in three days ! " He meant the
22 sanctuary of his body, however,
and when the disciples recalled what
he had said, after he had been raised
from the dead, they beUeved the
scripture and the word of Jesus.
23 When he was in Jerusalem at the
festival of the passover, many
people believed in his name, as they
witnessed the Signs which he per-
24 formed. Jesus, however, would
not trust* himself to them ; he knew
25 all men, and required no evidence
from anyone about human nature ;
well did he know what was in human
nature.
CHAP.
3 Now there was a Pharisee named
Nicodemus, who belonged to the
2 Jewish authorities ; he came one
night to Jesus and said, " Rabbi,
we know you have come from God
to teach us, for no one could perform
these Signs of yours unless God
3 were with him." Jesus replied,
" Truly, truly I tell you, no one can
see God's Realm unless he is born
4 from above." Nicodemus said to
him, " How can a man be born
when he is old? Can he enter
his mother's womb over again and
5 be born ? " Jesus replied, " Truly,
truly I tell you, unless one is born
of water and the Spirit, he cannot
* The Vulgate is able to preserve the asson-
ance of the word ' trust ' here and ' believe '
In ver. 23 : " multi crediderunt in nomine
eius leaus non credebat semet ipsum eis."
116
enter God's Realm. What is born 6
of the flesh is flesh : what is born
of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not 7
wonder at me saying, ' You must
be born from above.' The wind 8
blows where it wills ; you can hear
its sound, but you never know
where it has come from or where
it goes : it is the same with everyone
who is born of the Spirit." Nico- 9
demus answered, " How can that
be? " Jesus replied, " You do not 10
understand this ? — you, a teacher
in Israel ! Truly, truly I tell you, 11
we are speaking of what we do
understand, we testify to what we
have actually seen — and yet you
refuse our testimony. If you will 12
not believe when I speak to you
about things on earth, how will
you believe if I speak to you about
things in heaven? And yet the 13
Son of man, descended from heaven,
is the only one who has ever as-
cended into heaven. Indeed the Son 14
of man must be lifted on high, just
as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the desert, that everyone who 15
believes in him may have eternal
life. For God loved the world 16
so dearly that he gave up his
only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal
life, instead of perishing. God
did not send his Son into the 17
world to pass sentence on it, but
to save the world by him. He 18
who believes in him is not sen-
tenced ; he who will not believe is
sentenced already, for having re-
fused to believe in the name of the
only Son of God. And this is the 19
sentence of condemnation, that the
Light has entered the world and
yet men have preferred darkness
to light. It is because their actions
have been evil ; for anyone whose 20
practices are corrupt loathes the
S. JOHN IV
light and v^ill not come out into it,
in case his actions are exposed,
21 Avhereas anyone whose Hfe is true
comes out into the light, to make
it plain that his actions have been
divinely prompted.
31 He who comes from above is far
above all others ; he who springs
from earth belongs to earth and
speaks of earth ; he who comes from
32 heaven is far above all others. He
is testifying to what he has seen
and heard, and yet no one accepts
33 his testimony. Whoever does ac-
cept it, certifies to the truth of God.
34 For he whom God has sent utters
the words of God — God gives him
the Spirit in no sparing measure;
35 the Father loves the Son and has
given him control over everything.
36 He who believes in the Son has
eternal life, but he who disobeys
the Son shall not see life — God's
anger broods over him."
CHAP.
4 Now when the Lord learned that
the Pharisees had heard of Jesus
gaining and baptizing more dis-
2 ciples than John (though Jesus him-
self did not baptize, it was his
3 disciples), he left Judaea and went
4 back to Galilee. He had to pass
5 through Samaria, and in so doing
he arrived at a Samaritan town
called Sychar ; it lay near the terri-
tory which Jacob had given to his
6 son Joseph, and Jacob's spring was
there. Jesus, exhausted by the
journey, sat down at the spring,
just as he was. It was about noon,
7 and a Samaritan woman came to
draw water. Jesus said to her,
8 " Give me a drink " (his disciples
had gone to the town to buy some
9 food). The Samaritan woman said,
" What ? You * are a Jew, and you
* The Groek word for ' you ' (in the singu-
lar) occurs oftener in the Fourth gospel than
ask me for a drink — me, a Samari-
tan ! " (Jews do not associate with
Samaritans.) Jesus answered, " If 10
you knew what is the free gift of
God and who is asking you for a
drink, you would have asked him
instead, and he would have given
you ' hving ' water." " Sir," said 11
the woman, " you have nothing to
draw water with, and it is a deep
well; where do you get your
' living ' water ? Are you a greater 12
man than Jacob, our ancestor ? He
gave us this well, and he drank from
it, with his sons and his cattle."
Jesus answered, " Anyone who 13
drinks this water will be thirsty
again, but anyone who drinks the 14
water I will give him will never
thirst any more; the water I will
give him will turn into a spring
of water welling up to eternal life."
" Ah, sir," said the woman, " give 15
me this water, so that I need not
thirst or come all this road to draw
water." Jesus said to her, " Go 16
and call your husband, then come
back here." The woman replied, 17
" I have no husband." Jesus said
to her, " You were right in saying,
' I have no husband ' ; you have had 18
five husbands, and he whom you
have now espoused is not your
husband. That was a true word."
" Sir," said the woman, " I see you 19
are a prophet. Now our ancestors 20
worshipped on this mountain,
whereas you Jews declare the proper
place for worship is at Jerusalem."
" Woman," said Jesus, " believe me, 21
the time is coming when you will
be worshipping the Father neither
on this mountain nor at Jerusalem.
in all the first three gospels put together.
Dr. E. A. Abbott regards this as an indication
of the evangelist's tendency ' to lay stress
on personality, and to express personality in
dialogue.'
117
S. JOHN IV
22 You are worshipping something
you do not know; we are wor-
shipping what we do know — for
23 salvation comes from the Jews. But
the time is coming, it has come
already, when the real worshippers
will worship the Father in Spirit
and in reality; for these are the
worshippers that the Father wants.
24 God is Spirit, and his worshippers
must worship him in Spirit and
25 in reality." The woman said to
him, " Well, I know messiah (which
means Christ) is coming. When he
26 arrives, he will explain it all to us."
'* I am messiah," said Jesus, " I
who am talking to you."
27 At this point liis disciples came
up; they were surprised that he
was talking to a woman, but none
of them said, " What is it ? " or,
"Why are you talking to her?"
28 Then the woman left her water-pot,
and going off to the town told the
29 people, " Come here, look at a man
who has told me everything I ever
did ! Can he be the Christ ? "
30 They set out from the town on their
31 way to him. Meanwhile the dis-
ciples pressed him, saying, " Rabbi,
32 eat something." But he said to
them, " I have food, of which you
33 know nothing." So they asked
each other, " Can anyone have
brought him something to eat ? "
34 Jesus said, " My food is to do the
will of him who sent me, and to
35 accomplish his work. You have a
saying, have you not, ' Four months
yet, then harvest ' ? Look roimd,
I tell you ; see, the fields are white
36 for harvesting ! The reaper is
already getting his wages and
harvesting for eternal life, so
that the sower shares the reaper's
37 joy. That proverb, ' One sows and
38 another reaps,' holds true here : I
sent 5'^ou to reap a crop for which
118
you did not toil; other men have
toiled, and you reap the profit of
their toil." Now many Samari- 39
tans belonging to that town believed
in him on account of the woman's
testimony, " lie told me everything
I ever did." So when the Samari- 40
tans arrived, they pressed him to
stay with them ; he did stay there
two days, and far more of them 41
believed on account of what he
said himself. As they told the 42
woman, " We no longer believe on
account of what you said ; we have
heard for ourselves, we know that he
is really the Saviour of the world."
When the two days were over, 43
he left for Galilee (for Jesus himself 44
testified that a prophet enjoj^s no
honour in his own country); on 45
reaching Galilee, he was Avelcomed
by the Galileans, who had seen all he
did at the festival in Jerusalem — for
they too had gone to the festival.
Once more he came to Can in 46
Galilee, where he had turned the
water into wine. There was a royal
official, whose son was lying ill at
Capernaum ; when he heard that 47
Jesus had arrived in Galilee from
Judaea, he went to him and begged
him to come down and cure his son,
who was at the point of death.
Jesus said to him, " Unless you see 48
signs and wonders, you never will
believe." The official said, " Come 49
down, sir, before my boy is dead." 50
Jesus told him, " Go j^ourself, your
son is alive." The man believed
what Jesus told hiiu, and started on
his journey. And on the road his 51
servants met him with the news
that his boy was alive. So he asked 52
them at what hour he had begun
to improve ; they told him, " Yes-
terday at one o'clock the fever left
him." Then the father realized 53
that it had left him at the very
S. JOHN V
time when Jesus had said to him,
" Your son is alive" ; and he became
a believer with all his household.
54 This was the second Sign which
Jesus performed again after leaving
Judaea for Galilee.
CHAP.
5 After this there was a festival
of the Jews, and Jesus went up
2 to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem
there is a bath beside the sheep-
pool, which is called in Hebrew
Beth-zatha; it has five porticoes,
3 where a crowd of invalids used to
lie, the blind, the lame, and folk
with shrivelled limbs [waiting for
4 the water to bubble. For an angel
used to descend from time to time
into the bath, and disturb the water ;
whereupon the first person who
stepped in after the water was dis-
turbed was restored to health, no
matter what disease he had been
5 afflicted with].* Now one man was
there, whose illness had lasted
6 thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him
lying, and knowing he had been
ill for a long while he said to him,
" Do you want your health re-
7 stored ? " The invahd replied, " Sir,
I have nobody to put me into the
bath, when the water is disturbed ;
and while I am getting down my-
self, someone else gets in before
8 me." Jesus said to him, " Get
9 up, lift your mat, and walk." And
instantly the man got well, lifted
his mat, and started to walk.
10 Now it was the sabbath on that
day. So the Jews said to the man
who had been cured, " This is the
sabbath, you have no right to be
11 carrying your mat." He replied,
" But the man who healed me, he
* The words in brackets, omitted by
von Soden, represent a passage which is
absent from many important versions and
maniiacripts.
told me, ' Lift your mat and walk '."
They questioned him, " Who was 12
it that told you, ' Lift it and
walk ' ? " Now the man who had 13
been healed did not know who it
was, for (owing to the crowd on
the spot) Jesus had slipped away.
Later on Jesus met him in the 1 i
temple, and said to him, " See, you
are well and strong; commit no
more sins, in case something worse
befalls you," Off went the man 15
and told the Jews it was Jesus
who had healed him. And this was 16
why the Jews persecuted Jesus,
because he did things like this on
the sabbath. The reply of Jesus 17
was, " As my Father has continued
working to this hour, so I work too."
But this only made the Jews more 18
eager to kill him, because he not
merely broke the sabbath but
actually spoke of God as his own
Father, thereby making himself
equal to God. So Jesus made 19
this answer to them : " Truly,
truly I tell you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, nothing
but what he sees the Father doing ;
for whatever he does, the Son also
does the same. The Father loves 20
the Son and shows him all that
he is doing himself. He will show
him still greater deeds than these,
to make you wonder ; for as the 21
Father raises the dead and makes
them alive, so the Son makes
anyone live whom he chooses.
Indeed the Father passes judgment 22
on no one; he has committed the
judgment which determines life or
death entirely to the Son, that all 23
men may honour the Son as they
honour the Father. (He who does
not honour the Son does not
honour the Father who sent him.)
Truly, truly I tell you, he who 24
listens to my word and believes
119
S. JOHN V
him who sent me has eternal
life; he will incur no sentence of
judgment, he has already passed
25 from death across to life. Truly,
truly I tell you, the time is com-
ing, it has come already, when
the dead will listen to the voice of
the Son of God, and those who
26 listen will live ; for as the Father
has life in himself, so too he has
granted the Son to have life in
27 himself, and also granted him
authority to act as judge, since he
28 is Son of man. Do not wonder
at this ; for there is a time coming
when all who are in the tombs will
29 listen to his voice and come out,
the doers of good to be raised to
life, ill-doers to be raised for the
sentence of judgment.
30 I can do nothing of my own
accord ; I pass judgment on men
as I am taught by God, and my
judgment is just, because my aim
is not my own will but the will of
31 him who sent me. If I testify to
myself, then my evidence is not
32 valid ; I have Another to bear
testimony to me, and I know the
evidence he bears to me is valid.
33 You sent to John, and he bore
34 testimony to the truth (though I
accept no testimony from man — I
only speak of this testimony, that
35 you may be saved) ; he was a burn-
ing and a shining lamp, and you
chose to rejoice for a while in his
36 light. But I possess a testimony
greater than that of John, for the
deeds which the Father has granted
me to accomplish, the very deeds on
which I am engaged, are my testi-
mony that the Father has sent me.
87 The Father who sent me has also
borne testimony to me himself;
but his voice you have never heard,
38 his form you have never seen, his
word you have not kept with you,
120
because you do not belie^'e him
whom he sent. You search the 39
scriptures, imagining you possess
eternal life in their pages — and
they do testify to me — but you 40
refuse to come to me for life. I 41
accept no credit from men, but I 42
know there is no love to God in you ;
here am I, come in the name of my 43
Father, and you will not accept me :
let someone else come in his own
name, and j^ou will accept him !
How can you believe, you who 44
accept credit from one another in-
stead of aiming at the credit which
comes from the only God ? Do not 45
imagine I am going to accuse you
to the Father; Moses is your
accuser, Moses who is your hope !
For if you believed Moses you 46
would believe me, since it was of me
that he wrote. But if you do not 47
believe what he wrote, how will you
ever believe what I say? "
The Jews were amazed, saying, 15
" How can this uneducated fellow
manage to read ? " Jesus told 16
them in reply, " My teaching is not
my own but his who sent me ; any- 17
one who chooses to do his will, will
understand whether my teaching
comes from God or whether I am
talking on my own authority. He 18
who talks on his own authority
aims at his own credit, but he who
aims at the credit of the person
who sent him, he is sincere, and
there is no dishonesty in him. Did 19
not Moses give you the Law ? — and
yet none of you honestly obeys the
Law. Else, why do you want to kill
me ? " The crowd replied, " You 20
are mad. Who wants to kill you ? "
Jesus answered them, " I have only 21
performed one deed, and yet you
are all amazed at it. Moses gave 22
you the rite of circumcision (not
that it came from Moses, it came
S. JOHN VI
from j'our ancestors), and you will
circumcise a man upon the sabbath.
23 Well, if a man gets circumcised upon
the sabbath, to avoid breaking the
Law of Moses, are you enraged at
me for curing, not cutting, the
entire body of a man upon the
24 sabbath ? Give over judging by
appearances ; be just." *
CHAP.
6 After this Jesus went off to the
opposite side of the sea of Galilee
2 (the lake of Tiberias), followed by
a large crowd on account of the
Signs which they had seen him
3 perform on sick folk. Now Jesus
went up the hill and sat down
4 there with his disciples. (The
passover, the Jewish festival, was
5 at hand.) On looking up and
seeing a large crowd approaching,
he said to Philip, " Where are we
to buy bread for all these people
6 to eat ? " (lie said this to test
Philip, for he knew what he was
7 going to do himself.) Philip an-
swered, " Seven pounds' worth of
bread would not be enough for them,
for everybody to get even a morsel."
8 One of his disciples, Andrew the
brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
9 " There is a servant here, with five
barley-cakes and a couple of fish;
but what is that among so many ? "
10 Jesus said, " Get the people to lie
down." Now there was plenty of
grass at the spot, so the men lay
down, numbering about five thou-
•11 sand. Then Jesus took the loaves,
gave thanks to God, and distributed
them to those who were reclining;
so too with the fish, as much as
] 2 they wanted. And when they were
satisfied, he said to the disciples,
" Gather up the pieces left over,
• Restoring rii. 15-24 to this, its original
position in the gospeL
so that nothing may be wasted."
They gathered them up, and filled 13
twelve baskets with pieces of the
five loaves left over from the meal.
Now when the people saw the 14
Sign he had performed, they said,
" This really is the Prophet who is
to come into the world ! " Where- 15
upon Jesus perceived they meant to
come and seize him to make a king
of him; so he withdrew by himself
to the hill again.
When evening came, his disciples 16
went down to the sea, and em- 17
barking in a boat they started
across the sea for Capharnahum.
By this time it was dark, Jesus
had not reached them yet, and the 18
sea was getting up under a strong
wind. After rowing about three 19
or four miles they saw Jesus walking
on the sea and nearing the boat.
They were terrified, but he said to 20
them, " It is I, have no fear "; so 21
they agreed to take him on board,
and the boat instantly reached the
land they were making for.
Next day the crowd which had 22
been left standing on the other side
of the sea bethought them that
only one boat had been there, and
that Jesus had not gone aboard with
his disciples, who had left by them-
selves. So, as some boats from 23
Tiberias had put in near the spot
where they had eaten bread after
the Lord's thanksgiving, and as 24
the crowd saw that neither Jesus
nor his disciples were there, they
embarked in the boats themselves
and made for Capharnahum in
search of Jesus. When they found 25
him on the other side of the sea,
they said, " Rabbi, when did you
get here? " Jesus answered them, 26
" Truly, truly I tell you, it is not
because you saw Signs that you
are in search of me, but because
121
S. JOHN VI
you ate these loaves and had your
27 fill. Work for no perishing food,
but for that lasting food which
means eternal life; the Son of
man will give you that, for the
Father, God, has certified him."
28 Then they asked him, " What must
we do to perform the works of
29 God ? " Jesus rephed to them,
" This is the work of God, to believe
in him whom God has sent."
30 " Well then," they said, " what is
the Sign you perform, that we may
see it and believe you ? What work
31 have you to show ? Our ancestors
ate manna in the desert : as it is
written. He gave them bread from
32 heaven to eat.^^ Then said Jesus,
" What Moses gave you was not the
bread from heaven ; it is my Father
who gives you the real bread from
33 heaven — for the bread of God is
what comes down from heaven
34 and gives life to the world." " Ah,
sir," they said to him, " give us
35 that bread always." Jesus said,
" I am the bread of life ; he who
comes to me Mall never be hungry,
and he who believes on me will never
36 be thirsty again. But, as I told
you, though you have seen me,
37 you do not believe. All those will
come to me who are the Father's
gift to me, and never will I reject
38 one of them ; for I have descended
from heaven not to carry out my
own will but the will of him who
39 sent me, and the will of him who
sent me is that I lose none of those
who are his gift to me, but that I
raise them all up on the last day.
40 It is the will of my Father that
everyone who sees the Son and
believes in him should possess
eternal life, and that I should raise
him up on the last day."
41 Now the Jews murmured at him
for saving, " I am the bread which
122
has come down from heaven."
They said, " Is this not Jesus the 42
son of Joseph ? We know his father
and mother. How can he claim
now, ' I have descended from
heaven ' ? " Jesus replied to them, 43
" Stop murmuring to yourselves.
No one is able to come to me 44
unless he is drawn by the Father
who sent me (and I will raise him up
on the last day). In the prophets 45
it is written, and they will he all
instructed by God ; everyone who has
listened to the Father and learned
from him, comes to me. Not that 46
anyone has seen the Father — he
only, who is from God, he has
seen the Father. Truly, truly I 47
tell you, the believer has eternal
life. I am the bread of life. 48
Your ancestors ate manna in the 49
desert, but they died; the bread 50
that comes down from heaven is
such that one eats of it and never
dies. I am the living bread which 51
has come down from heaven; if
anyone eats of this bread, he will
live for ever; and more, the bread
I will give is my flesh, given for the
life of the world."
The Jews then wrangled vnth one 52
another, saying, " How can he give
us his flesh to eat ? " So Jesus said 53
to them, " Truly, truly I tell you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of man and drink his blood, you
have no life within you. He who 54
feeds on my flesh and drinks
my blood possesses eternal life
(and I will raise him up on the last
day), for my flesh is real food and 55
my blood is real drink. He who 56
feeds on my flesh and drinks my
blood remains within me, as I
remain within him. Just as the 57
living Father sent me and I live by
the Father, so he who feeds on me
will also live by me. Such is the 58
S. JOHN VII
bread which has come down from
heaven : your ancestors ate their
bread and died, but he who feeds
59 on this bread will live for ever."
This he said as he taught in the
synagogue at Capharnahum.
60 Now many of his disciples, on
hearing it, said, " This is hard to
take in ! Who can listen to talk
61 like this? " Jesus, inwardly con-
scious that his disciples were mur-
muring at it, said to them, " So
62 this upsets you ? Then what if you
were to see the Son of man ascend-
ing to where he formerly existed ?
63 What gives life is the Spirit : flesh
is of no avail at all. The words I
have uttered to you are spirit and
64 life. And yet there are some of
you who do not believe " (for .Jesus
knew from the very first who the
unbelieving were, and who was to
65 betray him ; that was why* he said
' No one is able to come to me unless
he is allowed by the Father ').
66 After that, many of his disciples
drew back and would not associate
67 with him any longer. So .Jesus
said to the twelve, " You do not
68 want to go, too ? " Simon Peter
answered liim, *' Lord, who are we
69 to go to ? You have got words
of eternal life, and we believe,
we are certain, that you ai'c the
70 holy One of God." Jesus answered
them, " Did I not choose j'ou, the
twelve ? And vet one of you is
a devil ! "
71 (He meant Judas the son of Simon
Jscariot; for Judas was to be-
tray him — and he was one of the
twelve.)
7 After this Jesus moved about
in Galilee; he would not move in
* Reading S/a rovro ixcyei', with « (so
Biass and Merx), instead of ikf^iv Htk tovto.
Judaea, because the Jews were
trying to kill him.
Now the Jewish festival of booths 2
was near, so his brothers said to 3
him, " Leave this and go across
into Judaea, to let your disciples
witness what you can do; for no- 4
body who aims at public recogni-
tion ever keeps his actions secret.
Since you can do these deeds,
display yourself to the world "
(for even his brothers did not 5
believe in him). Jesus said to 6
them, " My time has not come yet,
but your time is always at hand ; 7
the world cannot hate you, but it
hates me because I testify that
its deeds arc evil. Go up to the 8
festival yourselves ; I am not going
up to this festival, for my time has
not arrived yet." So saying he 9
stayed on in Galilee. But after his 10
brothers had gone up to the festival,
he went up too, not publicly but as
it were privately. At the festival 11
the Jews were looking for him,
saying, "Where is he?" And 12
the crowd disputed about him
hotly; some said, "He is a good
man," but others said, " No, he is
misleading the people." For fear 13
of the Jews, however, nobody spoke
of him in public.
When the festival was half over, 14
.Jesus went up to the temple and
began to teach. f Then said some 23
of the .Jerusalemites, " Is this not
the man they want to kill ? Yet 26
here he is, opening his lips in
public, and they say nothing to
him ! Can the authorities have
really discovered that he is the
Christ ? No, we know where 27
this man comes from; but when
the Christ does come, no one will
know where he comes from." So 28
Jesus cried aloud, as he was teaching
t See note, p. 121.
123
S. JOHN VIII
in the temple, " You know me ?
you know where I come from?
But I have not come on my own
initiative; I am sent, and sent by
Him who is real. You do not
29 know Him but I know Him, because
I have come from Him and He sent
30 me." So they tried to arrest him ;
but no one laid hands on him,
because his time had not come
81 yet. Indeed many of the people
believed in him, saying, " When
the Christ does come, will he per-
form more Signs than this man ? "
32 The Pharisees heard the people dis-
cussing Jesus in this way, so the high
priests and Pharisees despatched
33 attendants to arrest him. Then
said Jesus, " I will be with you a
little longer, then I go to Him who
34 sent me ; you w^ill search for me
but you will not find me, and where
35 I go, you cannot come." The Jews
said to themselves, " Where is he
going, that we will not find him?
Is he off to the Dispersion among
the Greeks, to teach the Greeks?
36 What does he mean by saying, ' You
will search for me but you will not
find me, and where I go, you cannot
come ' ? "
37 Now on the last day, the great
day, of the festival, Jesus stood and
cried aloud, " If anyone is athirst,
let him come to me and drink;
38 he who believes in me — out of his
body, as scripture says, streams of
39 living water will flow " (he meant
by this the Spirit which those who
believed in him were to receive : —
as yet there was no Spirit, because
40 Jesus had not been glorified yet).
On hearing this some of the people
41 said, " This really is the Prophet " ;
others said, " He is the Christ " ;
but others said, " No, surely the
Christ does not come from Galilee ?
42 Does not scripture say it is from the
124
offspring of David, frmn Da\nd's
village of Bethlehem, that the Christ
is to come? " So the people were 43
divided over him; some wanted to 44
arrest him, but no one laid hands
on him. Then the attendants went 45
back to the high priests and the
Pharisees, who asked them, " Why
have you not brought him with
you ? " The attendants replied, 46
" No man ever spoke as he does."
The Pharisees retorted, " Are you 47
misled as well ? Have any of the au- 48
thorities or of the Pharisees believed
on him ? As for this mob, with its 49
ignorance of the Law — it is ac-
cursed ! " Nicodemus, one of their 50
number (the same who had come
to him before), said to them, " But 51
surely our Law does not condemn
the accused before hearing what
he has to say and ascertaining his
offence? " They answered him, 52
"And are you from Galilee, too?
Search and you will see that no
prophet ever springs from Galilee."
[And every one of them went 53
home, but Jesus went to the Hill of 8
Olives. Early in the morning he 2
returned to the temple, the people
all came to him, and he sat down
and taught them. The scribes and 3
Pharisees brought a woman who
had been caught in the act of
committing adultery, and making
her stand forward they said to 4
him, " Teacher, this woman was
caught in the very act of commit-
ting adultery. Now Moses has 5
commanded us in the Law to stone
such creatures ; but what do j'^ou
say ? " (They said this to test 6
him, in order to get a charge
against him.) Jesus stooped down,
and began to write with his finger
on the ground ; but as they per- 7
sisted with their question, he raised
himself and said to them, " Let
S. JOHN VIII
the innocent among you throw the
8 first stone at her " ; then he stooped
down again and wrote on the ground.
9 And on hearing what he said, they
went away one by one, beginning
with the older men, till Jesus was
left alone with the woman standing
10 before him. Raising himself, Jesus
said to her, " Woman, where are
they? Has no one condemned
11 you? " She said, " No one, sir."
Jesus said, " Neither do I ; be off,
and never sin again."]*
12 Then Jesus again addressed them,
saying, " I am the light of the
world : he who follows me will not
walk in darkness, he will enjoy the
13 light of life." So the Pharisees said
to him, " You are testifying to
yourself ; your evidenceisnotvalid."
14 Jesus rephed to them, " Though I
do testify to myself, my evidence is
valid, because I know where I have
come from and where I am going
to — whereas you do not know
where I have come from or where
15 I am going to. You judge by the
16 outside. I judge no one ; and though
I do judge, my judgment is true,
because I am not by myself — there
is myself and the Father who sent
17 me. Why, it is written in your
own Law that the evidence of two
18 persons is valid : I testify to my-
self, and the Father who sent me
19 also testifies to me." " Where is
your Father ? " they said. Jesus
replied, " You know neither me nor
my Father; if you had known me
you would have known my Father
20 also." These words he spoke in the
trc asury, as he was teaching in the
temple, but no one laid hands on
him, because his time had not come
yet.
* It is uncertain to which, if any, of
the canonical gospels this fragment of
primitive tradition originally belonged.
Then he said to them again, " I 21
go away, and you will search for
me, but you wnll die in your sin ;
where I go, you cannot come.'*
So the Jews said, " Will he kill 22
himself ? Is that why he says,
' Where I go, you cannot come ' ? "
He said to them, " You are from 23
the world below, I am from the
world above : you belong to this
world, I do not belong to this world.
So I told you, you would die in 24
your sins ; for unless you believe
who I am, you will die in your
sins." They said, " Who are you ? " 25
Jesus replied, " Why should I talk
to you at all ? I have a great deal 26
to say about you and many a
judgment to pass upon you; but
he who sent me is true, and so I tell
the world what I have learned from
him." They did not understand 27
he was speaking to them about the
Father; so Jesus said, " When you 28
have lifted up the Son of man, you
will know then who I am, and that
I do nothing of my own accord,
but speak as the Father has taught
me. He who sent me is at my side ; 29
he has not left me alone; for I
always do what pleases him." As 30
he said this, a number believed in
him. So Jesus addressed the Jews 31
who had believed him, saying, " If
you abide by what I say, you are
really disciples of mine : you will 32
understand the truth, and the truth
will set you free." " We are 33
Abraham's offspring," they re-
torted, " we have never been slaves
to anybody. What do you mean
by saying, ' You will be free ' ? "
Jesus replied, " Truly, truly I tell 34
you, everyone who commits sin is
a slave. t Now the slave does not 35
t Omitting ttjs afxaprias with D, some
evidence from the Latin and Syriae
versions, etc. It is a glosa which disturbs
the sense of the passage.
126
S. JOHN IX
remain in the household for all
time; the son of the house does.
36 So, if the Son sets you free, you
37 will be really free. I know you
are Abraham's offspring ! Yet you
want to kill me, since my word
makes no headway among you !
38 I speak of what I have seen with
my Father, and you act as you have
39 learned from your father." They
answered him, " Abraham is our
father." " If you are Abraham's
children," said Jesus, " then do as
40 Abraham did ; but now you want
to kill me — to kill a man who has
told you the truth, the truth I
have learned from God. Abraham
41 did not do that. You do the deeds
of your father." They said to him,
*' We are no bastards : we have
42 one father, even God." Said
Jesus, " If God were your father,
you would love me, for I came here
from God; I did not come of my
own accord, I was sent by him.
43 Why do you not understand my
speech ? Because you are unable
44 to listen to what I am saying. You
belong to your father the devil, and
you want to do what your father
desires; he was a slayer of men
from the very beginning, and he
has no place in the truth because
there is no truth in him : when he
tells a lie, he is expressing his own
nature, for he is a liar and the
45 father of lies. It is because I tell
the truth, that you do not believe
46 me. Which of you can convict me
of sin? If I tell the truth, why
47 do you not believe me ? He who
belongs to God listens to the words
of God ; you do not listen to them,
because you do not belong to God."
48 The Jews retorted, " Are we not
right in sapng you are a Samaritan,
49 you are mad ? " Jesus replied,
" I am not mad : I honour my
126
Father and you dishonour me.
However, I do not aim at my own 50
credit; there is One who cares for
my credit, and he is judge. Truly, 51
truly I tell you, if an)^one holds to
what I say, he will never see death."
The Jews said to him, " Now we are 52
sure you are mad. Abraham is
dead, and so are all the prophets ;
and you declare, ' If anyone holds
to what I saj', he will never taste
death ' ! Are you greater than 53
our father Abraham ? He is dead,
and the prophets are dead. Who
do you claim to be?" Jesus 54
replied, " Were I to glorify myself,
my glory would be nothing; it is
my Father who glorifies me; you
say ' He is our God,' but you do 55
not imderstand him. I know him.
Were I to say, 'I do not know
him,' I would be a liar like your-
selves; but I do know him and I
hold to his word. Your father 56
Abraham exulted that he was to
see my Day : he did see it and he
rejoiced." Then said the Jews to 57
him, " You are not fifty years old,
and Abraham has seen you ? "*
" Truly, truly I tell you," said Jesus, 58
" I have existed before Abraham
was born." At this they picked up 59
stones to throw at him, but Jesus
concealed himself and made his
way out of the temple.
CHA?.
As he passed along he saw a man 9
who had been blind from his birth ;
and his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, 2
for whose sin — for his own or for
his parents' — was he born blind ? "
Jesus replied, " Neither for his 3
own sin nor for his parents' — it
• Reading iwpaKtu o-e with N and the
Sinaitic Syriac, etc. — " le^on plus naturelle
peut-etre que la le^on commune, maia qui a
pu choquer, parce qu'elle semble mettro
Abraham au-dossus du Chiist " (Loisy).
S. JOHN IX
was to let the work of God be
4 illustrated in him. While daylight
lasts, we must be busy with the
work of God : night comes, when
5 no one can do any work. When
I am in the world, I am light for
6 the world." With these words he
spat on the ground and made clay
with the saliva, which he smeared
7 on the man's eyes, saying, " Go and
wash them in the pool of Siloam "
(Siloam meaning ' sent '). So off
he went and washed them, and
8 went home seeing. Whereupon
the neighbours and those to whom
he had been a familiar sight as a
beggar, said, " Is this not the man
9 who used to sit and beg? " Some
said, "It is"; others said, "No,
but it is like him." He said, " I
10 am the man." So they asked him,
" How were your eyes opened ? "
11 He replied, "The man they call
Jesus made some clay and smeared
my eyes wnth it and told me,
' Go and wash them in Siloam ' ;
so I went and washed them, and I
12 got my sight." " Where is he? "
they asked ; he answered, " I do not
13 know." They brought him be-
fore the Pharisees, this man who
14 had once been blind. Now it was
on the sabbath day that Jesus
had made clay and opened his eyes.
15 So the Pharisees asked him again
how he had regained his sight, and
he told them, " He smeared some
clay on my eyes, and I washed them,
16 and now I can see." Then said
some of the Pharisees, " This man
is not from God, for he does not
keep the sabbath " ; others said,
" HoAV can a sinner perform such
Signs ? " They were divided on
!7 this. So they asked the blind man
once more, " What have you to say
about him, for opening your eyes ?"
The man rephed, " I say he is a
prophet." Now the Jews would 18
not believe he had been born blind
and had regained his sight, till they
summoned the parents of the man
who had regained his sight and 19
asked them, " Is this your son,
the son you declare was born blind ?
How is it that he can see now ? "
His parents answered, " This is our 20
son, and he was born blind ; we
know that. But how he can see 21
to-day, we do not know, nor do
we know who opened his eyes.
Ask himself; he is of age, he can
speak for himself/' (His parents 22
said this because they were afraid
of the Jews ; for the Jews had
already agreed that anyone who
confessed him to be Christ should
be excommunicated. That was 23
why the man's parents said, " He
is of age, ask himself.") So the 24
man born blind was summoned a
second time, and told, " Now give
God the praise ; this man, we know
quite well, is only a sinner." To 25
which he replied, " I do not know
whether he is a sinner; one thing
I do know, that once I was blind
and now I can see." " What did 26
he do to you ? " they said ; " How
did he open your eyes ? " He 27
retorted, " I have told you that
already, and you would not listen
to me. Why do you want to hear
it over again ? Do you want to be
disciples of his ? " Then they 28
stormed at him : " You are his
disciple, we are disciples of Moses !
We know God spoke to Moses, but 29
we do not know where this fellow
comes from." The man replied to 30
them, " Well, this is astonishing !
You do not know where he comes
from, and yet he has opened my
eyes ! God, we know, does not 31
listen to sinners ; he listens to any-
one who is devout and who obeys
127
S. JOHN X
82 his will. It is unheard of, since
the world began, that anyone should
33 open a blind man's eyes. If this
man were not from God, he could
34 do nothing." They retorted, " And
so you would teach us — you, born
in utter depravity ! " Then they
35 expelled him. Jesus heard that
they had expelled him, and on
36 meeting him he said, " You believe
in the Son of man ?" * "Who is
that, sir? " said the man, " tell me,
37 that I may believe in him." " You
have seen liim," Jesus said, " he
38 is talking to you." He said, " I
do believe, Lord " — and he wor-
39 shipped him. Then said Jesus,
" It is for judgment that I have
come into this world, to make the
sightless see, to make the seeing
40 blind." On hearing this the
Pharisees who were beside him
asked, " And are we blind ? "
41 Jesus rephed, " If you were blind,
you would not be guilty ; but, as it
is, you claim to have sight — and
so your sin remains." f
19 The Jews were again divided over
20 these Avords. A number of them
said, " He is mad. Why listen to
21 him ? " Others said, " These are
not a madman's words. Can a mad-
man open the eyes of the blind ? "
22 Then came the festival of Dedica-
tion at Jerusalem; it was winter,
23 and Jesus used to walk inside the
temple, in the portico of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered round him
and asked, " How long are you
going to keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
25 Jesus replied, " I have told you,
but you do not believe; the deeds
I do in the name of my Father
26 testify to me, but you do not
* Reading avdp<^ov instead of Oeov.
t Transposing x. 19-29, for the sake of
sequence, to the close of ch. is.
128
believe, because you do not belong
to my sheep. My sheep listen to 27
my voice, and I know them and 28
they follow me; and I give them
eternal life ; they will never perish
and no one will tear them out
of my hand. My Father who t 29
gave me them is stronger than all,
and no one can tear anything out of
the Father's hand.
CHAP.
Truly, truly I tell you, he who 10
does not enter the sheepfold by
the gate but climbs up somewhere
else, he is a thief and a robber;
he who enters by the gate is the 2
shepherd of the sheep. The gate- 3
keeper opens the gate for him, and
the sheep listen to his voice; he
calls his sheep by name and leads
them out. When he has brought 4
all his sheep outside, he goes in
front of them, and the sheep follow
him because they know his voice;
they will not follow a stranger, 5
they will run from him, because
they do not know the voice of
strangers." Jesus told them this 6
allegory, but they did not under-
stand what he was saying to them ;
so he said to them again, " Truly, 7
truly I tell you, I am the shepherd §
of the sheep; all who ever came 8
before me have been thieves and
robbers — but the sheep would not
listen to them. (I am the Gate; 9
whoever enters by me will be saved,
he will go in and out and find
pasture.) The thief only comes 10
to steal, to slay, and to destroy :
I have come that they may have
life and have it to the full. I am 11
I Reading hs . . . nd^wy with A 1,
the Syriac versiona, etc.
§ d Toifirjv must be read here instead of
ij 6vpa, for the sake of the sense, although
it seems to have been preserved by the
Sahidic version alons.
S. JOHN XI
the good shepherd ; a good shep-
herd lays down his OAvn hfe for
12 the sheep. The hired man, who
is not the shepherd and does not
own the sheep, deserts them when
he sees the wolf coming; he runs
away, leaving the wolf to tear and
13 scatter them, just because he is
a hired man, who has no interest
14 in the sheep. I am the good
shepherd, I know my sheep and
15 my sheep knoAV me (just as the
Father knows me and I know the
Father), and I lay down my life
16 for the sheep. I have other sheep,
too, which do not belong to this
fold ; I must bring them also, and
they will listen to my voice; so it
will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 This is why my Father loves me,
because I lay down my life to take
18 it up again. No one takes it from
me, I lay it doMn of my own
accord : I have power to lay it down
and also power to take it up again ;
I have m)'^ Father's command for
30 this. I and my Father are one — ."
31 The Jews again caught up stones
32 to stone him. Jesus replied, " I
have let you see many a good deed
of God ; for which of them do you
38 mean to stone me?" The Jews
retorted, " We mean to stone you,
not for a good deed, but for blas-
phemy, because you, a mere man,
34 make yourself God." Jesus an-
swered, " Is it not written in your
35 Law, ' I said, you are gods ' ? If
the Law said they were gods, to
whom the word of God came —
and scripture cannot be broken —
36 do you mean to tell me, whom the
Father consecrated and sent into
the world, ' You are blaspheming,'
because I said, ' I am God's Son ' ?
37 If I am not doing the deeds of my
38 Father, do not believe me ; but if
I am, then believe the deeds.
though you will not believe me —
that you may learn and under-
stand that the Father is in me and
I am in the Father." Once more 39
they tried to arrest him, but he
escaped their hands and went 40
across the Jordan, back to the spot
where John had baptized at first.
There he stayed ; and many came 41
to him, saying, " John did not
perform any Sign, but all he ever
said about this man was true."
And many believed in him there. 42
CHAP.
Now there was a man ill, 11
Lazarus of Bethany — the village
of Mary and her sister Martha.
(The Mary whose brother Lazarus 2
was ill was the Mary who anointed
the Lord with perfume and waped
his feet with her hair.) Jesus 5
loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus ; * so the sisters sent to 3
him, saying, " Lord, he whom you
love is ill." When Jesus heard it, 4
he said, " This illness is not to end
in death ; the end of it is the glory
of God, that the Son of God may
be glorified thereby." So, when 6
he heard of the illness, he stayed
where he was for two days ; then, 7
after that, he said to his disciples,
" Let us go back to Judaea."
" Rabbi," said the disciples, " the 8
Jews were trying to stone you only
the other day ; are you going back
there?" Jesus replied, "Are there 9
not twelve hours in the day?
If one walks during the day he
does not stumble,
for he sees the light of this world :
but if one walks during the night 10
he does stumble,
for the light is not in him."
• I venture to restore ver. 5 to what
appears to have been its original position
between vera. 2 and 3.
129
S. JOHN XI
11 This he said, then added, " Our
friend Lazarus has fallen asleep ;
I am going to waken him."
12 " Lord," said the disciples, " if he
has fallen asleep, he will get better."
13 Jesus, however, had been speaking
of his death ; but as they imagined
14 he meant natural sleep, he then
told them plainly, " Lazarus is
15 dead; and for your sakes I am
glad I was not there, that you may
believe. Come now, let us go to
16 him." Whereupon Thomas (called
' the Twin ') said to his fellow-
disciples, " Let us go too, let us
die along with him ! "
17 Now when Jesus arrived, he
found that Lazarus had been buried
20 for four days.* Then Martha,
hearing of the arrival of Jesus,
went out to meet him, while Mary
21 sat at home. Said Martha to
Jesus, " Had you been here, Lord,
my brother would not have died.
22 But now — well, I know whatever
you ask God for, he will grant you."
23 Jesus said to her, " Your brother
24 will rise again." " I know," said
Martha, " he will rise at the re-
25 surrection, on the last day." Jesus
said to her, " I am myself resur-
rection and life :
he who believes in me will live,
even if he dies,
26 and no one who lives and believes
in me will ever die.
27 You believe that ? " " Yes, Lord,"
she said, "I do believe you are
the Christ, the Son of God, who
28 was to come into the world" — and i
with these words she went off to |
call her sister Mary, telling her j
secretly, " The Teacher is here,
29 and he is calling for you." So, j
on hearing this, Mary rose hurriedly
* Another case of displacement; vers.
18 and 19 seem originally to have lain
between vers. 30 and 31.
130
and went to him. Jesus had not 30
entered the village yet, he was
still at the spot where Martha had
met him. Now as Bethany is not 18
far from Jerusalem, only about two
miles away, a number of Jews had 19
gone to condole with Martha and
Mary about their brother ; and when 31
the Jews who were condoling with
her inside the house noticed her
rise hurriedly and go out, they fol-
lowed her, as they imagined she was
going to wail at the tomb. But when 32
Mary reached Jesus she dropped
at his feet, crying, "Had j'ou
been here. Lord, my brother would
not have died." Now when Jesus 33
saw her wailing and saw the Jews
who accompanied her wailing, he
chafed in spirit and was disquieted.
" Where have you laid him ? " he 34
asked. They answered, " Come and
see, sir." Jesus burst into tears. 35
Whereupon the Jews said, " See 36
how he loved him ! " — though some 37
of them asked, " Could he not have
prevented him from dying, when
he could open a blind man's eyes ? "
This made Jesus chafe afresh, so 38
he went to the tomb ; it was a cave
with a boulder to close it. Jesus 39
said, " Remove the boulder."
" Lord," said Martha, the dead
man's sister, " he will be stinking
by this time; he has been dead
four days." " Did I not tell you," 40
said Jesus, " if you will only believe,
you will see the glory of God ? "
Then they removed the boulder, 41
and Jesus, lifting his eyes to heaven,
said, " Father, I thank thee for
listening to me. (I knew thou 42
wouldst always listen to me, but
I spoke on account of the crowd
around, that they might believe
thou hast sent me.)" So saying, 43
he exclaimed with a loud cry,
" Lazarus, come out ! " Out came 44
S. JOHN XII
the dead man, his hands and feet
swathed in bandages, and his face
tied up with a towel. Jesus said,
" Untie him, and let him move."
45 Now a number of the Jews who
had come to visit Mary and who
witnessed what he had done, be-
46 lieved in him. But some of them
went off to the Pharisees and told
47 them what Jesus had done ; where-
upon the high priests and the
Pharisees called a meeting of the
Sanhedrin. " Whatever is to be
done ? " they said. " The fellow is
48 performing a number of Signs. If
we let him alone, like this, every-
body will believe in him, and then
the Romans will come and sup-
press our holy Place and our
49 nation." But one of them,
Caiaphas, who was high priest that
year, said, " You know nothing
50 about it — you do not understand
it is in your own interests that one
man should die for the People,
instead of the whole nation being
51 destroyed." (He did not say this
simply of his own accord ; he was
high priest that year, and his words
were a prophecy that Jesus Avas to
52 die for the nation, and not merely
for the nation but to gather into
one the scattered children of God.)
53 So from that day their plan was
54 to kill him. Accordingly Jesus no
longer appeared in public among
the Jews, but withdrew to the
country adjoining the desert, to a
town called Ephraim; there he
stayed with the disciples.
55 Now the passover of the Jews
was near, and many people went
up from the country to Jerusalem,
to purify themselves before the
56 passover. They looked out for
Jesus, and as they stood in the
temple they said to one another,
"What do you think? Do you
think he Mill not come up to the
festival ? " (The high priests and 57
the Pharisees had given orders that
they were to be informed, if any-
one found out where he was, so that
they might arrest him.)
CHAP.
Six days before the festival, 12
Jesus came to Bethany, where
Lazarus stayed (whom Jesus had
raised from the dead). They gave 2
a supper for him there; Martha
waited on him, and Lazarus was
among those who reclined at table
beside him. Then Mary, taking 3
a pound of expensive perfume,
real nard, anointed the feet of
Jesus and wiped his feet with her
hair, till the house was filled with
the scent of the perfume. One of 4
his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who
was to betray him), said, " Why was 5
not this perfume sold for ten
pounds, and the money given to the
poor? " (Not that he cared for 6
the poor; he said this because he
was a thief, and because he carried
the money-box and pilfered what
was put in.) Then said Jesus, 7
" Let her alone, let her keep what
she has for the day of my burial.
You have always the poor beside 8
you, but you have not always me."
Now the great mass of the Jews 9
learned he was there, and they
came not only on account of Jesus
but to see Lazarus whom he had
raised from the dead. So the 10
high priests planned to kill Lazarus
as well, since it was owing to him 11
that a number of the Jews went
away and believed in Jesus.
Next day the great mass of 12
people who had come up for the
festival heard that Jesus was enter-
ing Jerusalem, and taking palm- 13
131
S. JOHN XII
branches they went out to meet
him, shouting,
" Hosanna !
Blessed he he xvho comes in the
14 Lord's name,
the king of Israel ! "
And Jesus came across a young ass
and seated himself on it; as it is
written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion ;
here is your king coming,
seated on an ass's colt.
16 (His disciples did not understand
this at first; but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered
this had been written of him and
17 had happened to him.) Now the
Eeople who were Avith him when
e called Lazarus from the tomb
and raised him from the dead,
18 testified to it ; and that was why
the crowd went out to meet him,
because they heard he had per-
19 formed this Sign. Then said the
Pharisees to one another, " You
see, you can do nothing ! Look,
the whole world has gone after
him."
20 Now there were some Greeks
among those who had come up to
21 worship at the festival ; they came
to Philip of Bethsaida in Galilee
and appealed to him, saying, " Sir,
22 we want to see Jesus." Philip
went and told Andrew; Andrew
and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered, " The hour
has come for the Son of man to be
24 glorified. Truly, truly I tell you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains a
single grain ; but if it dies, it bears
25 rich fruit. He who loves his life
loses it, and he who cares not for
his life in this world will preserve
it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him
follow me,
132
and where I am, there my
servant will be also :
if anyone serves me,
my Father will honour him.
My soul is now disquieted. What 27
am I to say ? ' Father, save me
from this hour ' ? Nay, it is some-
thing else that has brought me to
this hour: I will say, ' Father, glorify 28
thy name.' " Then came a voice
from heaven, " I have glorified
it, and I will glorify it again."
When they heard the sound, the 29
people standing by said it had
thundered ; others said, " An angel
spoke to him." Jesus answered, 30
" This voice did not come for my
sake but for yours. Now is this 31
world to be judged ; now the Prince
of this world will be expelled.
But I, when I am lifted up from the 32
earth, will draw all men to myself."
(By this he indicated the kind of 33
death he was to die.) So the 34
people answered, " We have learned
from the Law that the Christ is to
remain for ever ; what do you mean
by saying that the Son of man must
be lifted up? Who is this Son of
man? " Then Jesus said to them, 35
" The Light will shine among you
for a little longer yet; walk while
you have the Light, that the dark-
ness may not overtake you. He
who walks in the dark does not
know where he is going. While 36
you have the Light, believe in the
Light, that you may be sons of
the Light." * And Jesus cried 44
aloud, " He who believes in me
believes not in me but in him
who sent me, and he who beholds 45
me beholds him who sent me. I 46
have come as light into the world,
that no one who believes in me
may remain in the dark. If any- 47
* Restoring vers. 44-50 to their original
position in the middle of ver. 3ti.
S. JOHN XIII
one hears my words and does
not keep them, it is not I who judge
him ; for I have not come to judge
the world but to save the world.
48 He who rejects nic and will not
receive my words has indeed a
judge : the word I have spoken
49 will judge him on the last day, for
I have not spoken of my own accord
— the Father who sent me, he it
was who ordered me what to say
50 and what to speak. And I know his
orders mean eternal life. Therefore
when I speak, I speak as the Father
36 has told me." With these words
Jesus went away and hid from them.
37 Now for all the Signs he had
performed before them, they did
38 not believe in him — that the word
spoken by the prophet Isaiah
might be fulfilled :
Lord, who has believed what they
heard from us ?
And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed ?
39 This was v>'hy they could not
believe; for Isaiah again said,
40 lie has blinded their eyes
and made their hearts insensible,
to 'prevent them seeii g with their
eyes and understandi g ivith their
hearts and turning for me to cure
them.
41 (Isaiah said this because he saw
42 his glory and spoke of him.) Still,
a number even of the authorities
believed in him, though they would
not confess it on account of the
Pharisees, in case of being excom-
43 munieated ; they preferred the ap-
proval of men to the approval of God.
13 Now before the jjassover festival
Jesus knew the time had come
for him to pass from this world
to the Father. He had loved his
own in this world and he loved
them to the end; so at supper, 2
knowing that though the devil
had suggested to Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, to betray him, the 3
Father had put everything into
his hands — knowing that he had
come from God and was going to
God, he rose from table, laid 4
aside his robe, and tied a towel
round him, then poured water into 5
a basin, and began to wash the
feet of the disciples, wiping them
with the towel he had tied round
him. He came to Simon Peter. 6
" Lord," said he, " you to wash my
feet ! " Jesus answered him, " You 7
do not understand just now what
I am doing, but you M'ill understand
it later on." Said Peter, " You 8
will never wash my feet, never ! "
" Unless I wash you," Jesus rephed,
" you will not share my lot."
"Lord," said Simon Peter, "then 9
wash not only my feet but my
hands and head." Jesus said, " He 10
who has bathed only needs to have
his feet washed ; he is clean all over.
And you are clean — but not all of
you " (he knew the traitor; that 11
was why he said, " You are not all
clean "). Then, after washing their 12
feet and putting on his robe, he
lay down again. "Do you know,"
he said to them, " what I have been
doing to you ? You call me Teacher 13
and Lord, and you are right : that
is what I am. Well, if I have washed 14
your feet, I who am your Lord and
Teacher, you are bound to wash
one another's feet; for I have been 15
setting you an example, that you
should do what I have done to
you. Truly, truly I tell you, a 16
servant is not greater than his
master, nor is a messenger greater
than he who sent him. If you 17
know all this, blessed are you if you
really do it. When I say ' you,' 18
133
S. JOHN XV
I do not mean you all ; I know the
men of my choice, and I made my
choice that this scripture might be
fulfilled, he who eats my bread has
19 lifted up his heel against me. I am
telling you this now, before it
occurs, so that when it has occurred
20 you may believe who I am. (Truly,
truly I tell you,
he who receives anyone I send
receives me,
and he who receives me receives
him who sent me.) "
21 On saying this Jesus was disquieted
in spirit : he testified and said,
" Truly, truly I tell you, one of you
22 will betray me." The disciples
looked at each other, at a loss to
23 know which of them he meant. As
one of his disciples was reclining on
his breast — he was the favourite of
24 Jesus — Peter nodded to him, saying,
25 " Tell us who he means." The disci-
ple just leant back on the breast of
Jesus and said, " Lord, who is it ? "
26 Jesus answered, " The man I am
going to give this piece of bread to,
when I dip it in the dish." Then
he took the piece of bread, dipped
it, and gave it to Judas, the son
27 of Simon Iscariot ; and when he
took the bread, at that moment
Satan entered him. Then Jesus
told him, " Be quick with what
28 you have to do." (None of those
at table understood why he said
29 this to him ; some of them thought
that as Judas kept the money-box,
Jesus told him to buy what they
needed for the festival or to give
80 something to the poor.) So Judas
^ent out immediately after taking
the bread. And it was night.
31 When he had gone out, Jesus
said.*
• Chapters xv. and xvi. are restored
to their original position in the middle of
ver. 31.
134
" I AM the real Vine, and my 15
Father is the vine-dresser ; he cuts 2
away any branch on me which is
not bearing fruit, and cleans every
branch which does bear fruit, to
make it bear richer fruit. You 3
are already clean, by the word I
have spoken to you. Remain in 4
me, as I remain in you : just as a
branch cannot bear fruit by itself,
without remaining on the vine,
neither can you, unless you remain
in me. I am the vine, you are the 5
branches. He who remains in me,
as I in him, bears rich fruit
(because apart from me you can
do nothing). If anj'^one does not 6
remain in me, he is thrown aside
like a branch and he withers up;
then the branches are gathered
and thrown into the fire to be
burned. If you remain in me and 7
my words remain in you, then ask
whatever you like and you shall
have it. As you bear rich fruit 8
and prove yourselves my disciples,
my Father is glorified. As the 9
Father has loved me, so I have
loved you ; remain within my love.
If you keep my commands you 10
will remain within my love, just
as I have kept my Father's com-
mands and remain within his love.
I have told you this, that my 11
joy may be within you and your
joy complete. This is my com- 12
mand : j^ou are to love one another
as I have loved you. To lay life 13
down for his friends, man has no
greater love than that. You are 14
my friends — if you do what I
command you; I call you servants 15
no longer, because a servant does
not know what his master is doing :
I call you friends, because I have im-
parted to you all that I have learned
from my Father. You have not 16
chosen me, it is I who have chosen
S. JOHN XVI
you, appointing 5'on to go and bear
fruit — fruit that lasts, so that the
Father may grant you whatever
17 you ask in my name. This is what
I command you, to love one another.
18 If the world hates you, remember
19 it hated me first. If you belonged
to the world, the world would love
what it owned ; it is because you
do not belong to the world, because
I have chosen you from the world,
20 that the world hates you. Re-
member what I told you, ' A ser-
vant is not greater than his
master.'
If they persecuted me, they will
persecute you ;
if they hold to my word, they will
hold to 5^ours.
21 They will do all this to you on
account of my name, because
they know not him who sent me.
22 They would not be guilty, if
I had not come and spoken to
them ; but, as it is, they have
23 no excuse for their sin — he who
hates me hates my Father also.
24 They would not be guilty, if I
had not done deeds among them
such as no one has ever done;
but, as it is, they have seen — and
they have hated — both me and
25 my Father. It is that the word
written in their Law may be ful-
filled : they hated me for no cause.
26 When the Helper comes, whom
I will send to you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth which
issues from the Father, he will
27 bear witness to me ; and you too
are witnesses, for you have been
with me from the very beginning.
16 I have told you all this, to keep
2 you from being repelled. They will
excommunicate you; indeed the
time is coming when anyone who
6
8
9
kills you will imagine he is perform-
ing a service to God. This they 3
will do, because they have not
known the Father nor me.
I have told you all this, so 4
that when the time for it arrives,
you may remember what I said to
you. I did not tell you about this at
the beginning, because I was with
you then ; but now I am going to 5
him who sent me. And yet not
one of you asks, ' Where are you
going? ' No, your heart is full
of sorrow at what I have told you.
Yet — I am telling you the truth —
my going is for your good. If I
do not depart, the Helper will not
come to you ; whereas if I go, I will
send him to you. And when he
comes, he will convict the world,
convincing men of sin, of righteous-
ness, and of judgment : of sin,
because they do not believe in
me; of righteousness, because I 10
go to the Father and you see me
no more; of judgment, because 11
the Prince of this world has been
judged. I have still much to say 12
to you, but you cannot bear it
just now. However, when the 13
Spirit of truth comes, he will lead
you all to the truth ; for he will
not speak of his own accord, he
will say whatever he is told, and
he will disclose to you what is to
come. He will glorify me, for he 14
will draw upon what is mine and
disclose it to you. All that the 15
Father has is mine; that is why I
say, ' he will draw upon what
is mine and disclose it to you.'
In a little while, you will behold 16
me no longer; then, after a little,
you will see me." So some of his 17
disciples said to one another,
" What does he mean by telling us,
' In a little while, you will behold
me no longer; then, after a little,
135
S. JOHN XIV
you will see me ' ? and, ' I go to
18 the Father ' ? " They said, " What
is the meaning of 'In a little ' ?
We do not understand what he is
19 saying." Jesus knew they wanted
to ask him, so he said to them,
" Is this what you are discussing
together, why I said, ' In a little
while, you will not see me : then,
after a little, you will behold me ' ?
* 20 Truly, truly I tell you, you ^^dll
be wailing and lamenting while the
world is rejoicing; you will be
sorrowful, but then your sorrow
21 will be changed into joy. When
a woman is in labour she is sorry,
for her time has come ; but when
the child is born she remembers
her anguish no longer, for joy that
a human being has been born into
22 the world. So with you. Just
now you are in sorrow, but I will
see you again and your heart will
rejoice — with a joy that no one
23 can take from you. And on that
day you will not ask me any
questions. Truly, truly I tell you,
whatever you ask the Father, he
24 will give you in my name ; hitherto
you have asked nothing in my name ;
ask and you will receive, that your
25 joy may be full. I have told you
this in figures, but the time is
coming when I will speak to you
in figures no longer; I will let you
know plainly about the Father.
26 On that day you will ask in my
name, and I do not say to you
I will ask the Father on your
27 behalf; for the Father loves you
himself, because you have loved
me and believed that I came forth
28 from the Father. From the Father
I came and I entered the world;
again, I leave the world and I go
29 to the Father." His disciples said,
" Now, you are talking plainly at
30 last, not speaking in figures. Now
136
we are sure you know everything, •
and we need not question you.
This makes us believe you have
come forth from God." Jesus 31
replied, " You believe it, at last ?
Behold, the time is coming, it has 82
come already, when you will be
scattered to your homes, every one
of you, leaving me alone. But I am
not alone, for the Father is with me.
I have said all this to you that in 33
me you may have peace; in the
world you have trouble, but courage !
I have conquered the world.*
" Now at last the Son of man is 31
glorified, and in him God is glori-
fied : if God is glorified in him, 32
God will glorify him in Himself and
glorify him at once. My dear chil- 33
dren, I am only to be with you a little
longer ; then you will look for me,
and, as I told the Jews I tell you
now, where I go you cannot come.
I give you a new command, to 34
love one another — as I have loved
you, you are to love one another.
By this everyone will recognize 35
that you are my disciples, if you
have love one for another."
" Lord," said Simon Peter, " where 36
are you going ? " Jesus replied,
" I am going where you cannot
follow me at present; later on
you will follow me." " Lord," 37
said Peter, " why cannot I follow
you just now ? I will lay down my
life for you." Jesus replied, " Lay 38
down your life for me? Truly,
truly I tell you, before the cock
crows, you will have disowned
me thrice over.
OHAP.
Let not your heart be dis- 14
quieted ; you believe — believe in
God and also in me. In my 2
* The tequence of xiii. 31 is now resumed
(see abovo, note on p. 134).
S. JOHN XIV
Father's house there are many
abodes; were it not so, would I
have told you I was going to
3 prepare a place for you ? And
when I go and prepare a place for
5''ou, I will come back and take
you to be with me, so that you
4 may be where I am. And you
know the way to where I am going,"
5 " Lord," said Thomas, " we do not
know where you are going, and how
6 are we to know the wfiy ? " Jesus
said to him, " I am the real and
living way : no one comes to the
7 Father except by means of me. If
you knew me, you would know my
Father too. You know him now
8 and you have seen him." " Lord,"
said Philip, " let us see the Father;
9 that is ali we want." Jesus said
to him, " Philip, have I been
with you all this time, and yet you
do not understand me ? He who
has seen me has seen the Father.
What do you mean by saying,
10 ' Let us see the Father ' ? Do you
not believe I am in the Father and
the Father is in me ? The words
I speak to you I do not speak of
my own accord ; it is the Father
who remains ever in me, who is
11 performing his own deeds. Believe
me, I am in the Father and the
Father is in me : — or else, believe
because of the deeds themselves.
12 Truly, truly I tell you, he who
believes in me will do the very
deeds I do, and still greater deeds
than these. For I am going to the
13 Father, and I will do whatever
you ask in my name, that the
Father may be glorified in the
14 Son ; I will do whatever you ask
15 me in my name. If you love me
16 you will keep my commands, and
I will ask the Father to give you
another Helper to be with you for
17 ever, even the Spirit of truth : the
world cannot receive him, because
it neither sees nor knows him,
but you know him, because he
remains with you and will be
within you. I will not leave you 18
forlorn ; I am coming to you. A 19
little while longer and the world
will see me no more; but you
will see me, because I am living
and you will be living too. You 20
will understand, on that day, that
I am in my leather and you are
in me and I am in you. He who 21
possesses my commands and obeys
them is he who loves me, and he
who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I will love him and
appear to him." " Lord," said 22
Judas (not Judas Iscariot), " why
is it that 3^ou are to appear to us,
and not to the world ? " Jesus 23
answered, " If anyone loves me he
will obey my word, and my Father
will love him, and we will come to
him and take up our abode with
him. He who does not love me 24
does not obey my word ; and what
you hear me say is not my word
but the word of the Father who
sent me.
I have told you all this while 25
I am still with you, but the 26
Helper, the holy Spirit whom the
Father will send in my name, will
teach you everything and recall
to you everything I have said.
Peace I leave to you, my peace 27
I give to you ; I give it not as
the world gives its ' Peace 1 ' Let
not your heart be disquieted or
timid. You heard me tell you 28
I was going away and coming
back to you ; if you loved me, you
would rejoice that I am going
to the Father — for the Father is
greater than I am.
I tell you this now, before it occurs, 29
so that, when it does occur, you may
137
S. JOHN XVII
80 believe. I will no longer talk much
with you, for the Prince of this
world is coming. lie has no hold
31 on me; his coming will only serve
to let the world see that I love the
Father and that I am acting as the
Father ordered. Rise, let us be
going."
17 So Jesus spoke; then, lifting
his eyes to heaven, he said :
" Father, the time has now come ;
glorify thy Son that thy Son may
2 glorify thee, since thou hast
granted him power over all flesh
to give eternal life to all whom
3 thou hast given to him. And this
is eternal life, that they know
thee, the only real God, and him
whom thou hast sent, even Jesus
4 Christ. I have glorified thee on
earth by accomplishing the work
5 thou gavest me to do ; now.
Father, glorify me in thy presence
with the glory which I enjoyed
in thy presence before the world
6 began. I have made thy Name
known to the men whom thou hast
given to me from the world (thine
they were, and thou gavest them
to me), and they have held to thy
7 word. They know now that what-
ever thou hast given me comes from
8 thee, for I have given them the
words thou gavest me and they
have received them; they are
now sure that I came from thee
and that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them — not for the world
but for those whom thou hast
given me do I pray; for they are
10 thine (all mine is thine and thine
is mine), and I am glorified in
11 them. I am to be in the world no
longer, but they are to be in the
world; I come to thee. Holy
Father, keep them by the power
138
of thy Name which thou hast given
me, that they may be one as we
are one. When I was with them, 12
I kept them by the power of thy
Name which thou hast given me;
I guarded them, and not one of
them perished — only the son of
perdition, that the scripture might
be fulfilled. But now I come to 13
thee (I speak thus in the world
that they may have my joy com-
plete within them). I have given 14
them thy word, and the world
has hated them because they do
not belong to the world any more
than I belong to the world. I 15
pray not that thou wilt take them
out of the world, but that thou wilt
keep them from the evil one. They 16
do not belong to the world any more
than I belong to the world. Con- 17
secrate them by thy truth : thy
word is truth. As thou hast sent 18
me into the world, so have I sent
them into the world, and for their 19
sake I consecrate myself that they
may be consecrated by the truth.
Nor do I pray for them alone, 20
but for all who believe in me by
their spoken word; may they all 21
be one ! As thou, Father, art
in me and I in thee, so may they
be in us — that the world may be-
lieve thou hast sent me. Yea, I 22
have given them the glory thou
gavest me, that they may be one
as we are one — I in them and thou 23
in me — that they may be made
perfectly one, so that the world
may recognize that thou hast sent
me and hast loved them as thou
hast loved me. Father, it is my 24
will that these, thy gift to me, may
be beside me where I am, to behold
my glory which thou hast given
me, because thou lovedst me before
the foundation of the world. O just 25
Father, though the world has not
S. JOHN XVIII
known thee, I have known * thee,
and they have known that thou
26 hast sent me ; so have I declared,
so will I declare, thy Name to
them, that the love with which
thou hast loved me may be in
them, and I in them."
18 Having said this, Jesus went
out with his disciples across the
Kidron ravine to an orchard,
which he entered in the company
2 of his disciples. Judas the traitor
also knew the spot, for Jesus and
3 his disciples often met there. So
after procuring troops and some
attendants belonging to the high
priests and the Pharisees, Judas
went there with lanterns and
4 torches and weapons. Then Jesus,
who knew everything that was to
happen to him, came forward and
asked them, " Who are you looking
5 for? " " Jesus of Nazaret," they
replied. Jesus said, " I am he."
(And Judas the traitor was standing
6 beside them.) When he said, " I
am he," they fell back and dropped
7 to the ground ; so he asked them
once more, " Who are you looking
for? " And when they replied,
8 " Jesus of Nazaret," he answered,
" I told you that I am he ; if it is
me you are looking for, let these
9 men get away " (this was to fulfil
his own word : ' I did not lose a
single one of those whom thou
10 didst give me '). Then Simon
Peter, who had a sword, drew it
and struck the high priest's ser-
vant, cutting off his right ear
(the servant's name was Malchus) ;
11 whereupon Jesus said to Peter,
* The English perfect is the least inade-
quate rendering of the Greek aorist here.
Luther, however, prefers the present. " Ich
kenne Dich, und diese erkennen. . . ."
" Sheathe your sword. Am I not
to drink the cup which the Father
has handed me ? "
So the troops and their com- 12
mander and the Jewish attendants
seized Jesus, bound him, and 13
brought him first of all to Annas
(for Annas was the father-in-law
of Caiaphas, who was high priest
that year — the Caiaphas who had 14
advised the Jews that it was for
their interests that one man should
die for the people).t Then the 19
high priest questioned Jesus about
his disciples and about his teaching.
Jesus answered, " I have spoken 20
openly to the world ; I have always
taught in the synagogue and in
the temple, where all Jews gather;
I have said nothing in secret.
Why ask me ? Ask my hearers 21
what I have said to them; they
know what I said." As he said 22
this, one of the attendants who
stood by gave him a blow, saying,
" Is that how you answer the high
priest ? " " If I have said any- 23
thing wrong," replied Jesus, " prove
it; if I said what was true, why
strike me?" Then Annas had 24
him bound and sent him to Caiaphas
the high priest. Simon Peter 15
followed Jesus along with another
disciple; and as this disciple was
an acquaintance of the high priest,
he passed into the courtyard of the
high priest with Jesus, while Peter 16
stood outside at the door. Then
this other disciple, who was an
acquaintance of the high priest,
came out and spoke to the woman
at the door, and brought Peter
inside. The maidservant then said 17
to Peter, " Are you not one of
this fellow's disciples? " He said,
" No." Now the servants and the 18
f Transposing vers. 19-24 to a position
between vers. 14 and 16.
139
S. JOHN XIX
attendants were standing and
warming themselves at a charcoal
fire which they had lit (for it was
cold), and Peter also stood beside
25 them and warmed himself. They
asked him, " Are you not one of
his disciples? " He denied it, say-
26 ing, " No." Said one of the high
priest's servants, a kinsman of
the man whose ear had been cut
off by Peter, " Did I not see you
27 with him in the orchard ? " Again
Peter denied it. And at that very
moment the cock crowed.
28 Then from the house of Caiaphas
they took Jesus to the praetorium.
(It was early morning.) They
would not enter the praetorium
themselves, in case of being cere-
monially defiled, for they wanted
29 to eat the passover ; so Pilate
came outside to them and asked,
" What charge do you bring against
30 this man ? " They retorted, " If
he had not been a criminal, we
would not have handed him over
31 to you." Then said Pilate, " Take
him yourselves, and sentence him
according to your own Law." The
Jews said, " We have no right to
32 put anjrone to death " (that the
word of Jesus might be fulfilled,
by which he had indicated the
33 kind of death he was to die). So
Pilate went back inside the prae-
torium and called Jesus, saying,
" Then you are king of the Jews ? "
34 Jesus replied, " Are 3'^ou saying this
of your own accord, or did other
35 people tell you about me ? " " Am
I a Jew ? " said Pilate. " Your
own nation and the high priests
have handed you over to me.
36 Wliat have you done ? " Jesus
replied, " My realm does not be-
long to this world; if my realm
did belong to this world, my men
would have fought to prevent me
140
being handed over to the Jews.
No, my realm lies elsewhere." " So 37
you are a king? " said Pilate,
" you ! " " Certainly," said Jesus,
" I am a king. This is why I was
born, this is why I came into the
world, to bear testimony to the
truth. Everyone who belongs to
the truth listens to my voice."
" Truth ! " said Pilate, " what 38
is truth ! " With these words he
went outside to the Jews again
and told them, " I cannot find
anything wrong about him. But 39
it is your custom that I should
release a prisoner for you at the
passover. Is it j^our will that I
release you the king of the Jews ? "
Again they yelled, " No, not him ! 40
Bar- Abbas ! " Now Bar- Abbas was
a robber.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had 19
him scourged. And the soldiers 2
twisted some thorns into a crown
and put it on his head, and arrayed
him in a purple robe, marching 3
to him and shouting, " Hail, king
of the Jews ! " — and striking him.
Again Pilate went out and said to 4
them, " Look, I am bringing him
out to you. Understand, I cannot
find anythingwrong about him." So 5
out came Jesus, wearing the crown
of thorns and the purple robe ; and
Pilate said, " Here the man ♦ is ! "
Now when the high priests and their 6
attendants saw him, they yelled,
" Crucify him, crucify him ! "
Pilate said, " Take him and crucify
him yourselves ! I find nothing
wrong about him." The Jews re- 7
torted, " But we have a Law, and
* The unconscious force of Pilate's words,
it has been suggested, might be brought out
by rendering either " Here is the man I "
or, " Here is the Man ! "
S. JOHN XIX
by [our] Law he is bound to die,
because he has made himself out
8 to be God's Son." Now when
Pilate heard that, he was still
9 more afraid ; he went inside the
praetorium again and asked Jesus,
" Where do you come from ? "
10 Jesus made no reply. Then Pilate
said, " You will not speak to me ?
Do you not know it is in my power
to release you or to crucify you? "
11 Jesus answered, " You would have
no power over me, unless it had
been granted you from above. So
you are less guilty than he who
12 betrayed me to you." This made
Pilate anxious to release him, but
the Jews yelled, " If you release
him, you are no friend of Caesar's !
Anyone who makes himself a king
13 is against Caesar ! " On hearing
this Pilate brought Jesus out and
seated him on the tribunal at a
spot called the ' mosaic pavement '
14 — the Hebrew name is Gabbatha (it
was the day of Preparation for the
passover, about noon). " There
is your king ! " he said to the
15 Jews. Then they yelled, " Off
with him ! Off with him ! Crucify
him ! " " Crucify your king? "
said Pilate. The high priests re-
torted, " We have no king but
16 Caesar ! " Then Pilate handed him
over to them to be crucified.
17 So they took Jesus, and he went
away, carrying the cross by him-
self, to the spot called the ' place
of the skull ' — the Hebrew name
18 is Golgotha; there they crucified
him, along with two others, one
on each side and Jesus in the
19 middle. Pilate had written an
inscription to be put on the
cross; what he wrote was, jesus
THE NAZARENE, KING OF THE
20 JEWS. Now many of the Jews
read this inscription, for the place
where Jesus had been crucified
was close to the city; besides, the
inscription was in Hebrew, Latin,
and Greek. So the Jewish high 21
priests said to Pilate, " Do not
write, KING OF the jews; write,
HE SAID I AM KING OF THE JEWS."
Pilate replied, " What I have 22
written, I have written."
Now when the soldiers crucified 23
Jesus they took his clothes and
divided them into four parts, one
for each soldier. But as the tunic
was seamless, woven right down
in a single piece, they said to 24
themselves, " Don't let us tear it.
Let us draw lots to see who gets
it " (that the scripture might be
fulfilled,
they distributed my clothes among
them,
and drew lots for my raiment).
This was what the soldiers did.
Now beside the cross of Jesus 25
stood his mother and his mother's
sister, Marj'' the wife of Clopas, and
Mary of Magdala. So when Jesus 26
saw his mother and his favourite
disciple standing near, he said to
his mother, " Woman, there is
your son ! " Then he said to the 27
disciple, " Son, there is your
mother ! " And from that hour
the disciple took her to his home.
After that, as Jesus knew that 28
everything was now finislied and
fulfilled, he said (to fulfil the scrip-
ture), " / am thirsty.^' A jug full 29
of vinegar was lying there; so
they put a sponge full of vinegar
on a spear and held it to his lips.
And when Jesus took the vinegar, 30
he said, " It is finished," bowed
his head, and gave up his spirit.
Now, as it was the day of Prepara- 31
tion, in order to prevent the bodies
remaining on the cross during the
sabbath (for that sabbath-day was
141
S. JOHN XX
a great day), the Jews asked Pilate
to have the legs broken and the
32 bodies removed. So the soldiers
went and broke the legs of the first
man and of the other man who had
33 been crucified along with him ; but
when they came to Jesus and saw
he was dead already, they did not
34 break his legs ; only, one of the
soldiers pricked his side with a
lance, and out came blood and
35 water in a moment. He who saw
it has borne witness (his witness
is true; God knows he is telling
the truth), that you may believe.
36 For this took place that the scrip-
ture might be fulfilled.
Not a hone of him will he broken.
37 And another scripture also says.
They will look on him whom they
have impaled.
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathaea,
a disciple of Jesus but a secret
disciple — for fear of the Jews —
asked Pilate for permission to
remove the body of Jesus. And
Pilate allowed him. So he went
39 and removed the body, accom-
panied by Nicodemus (he who had
first come to Jesus by night) who
brought a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about a hundred pounds of
40 it ; they took and wrapped up the
body of Jesus in the spices and in
bandages, according to the Jewish
41 custom of burial. Now at the
spot where he had been crucified
there was an orchard, and in the
orchard a new tomb where no one
42 had yet been laid ; so they put
Jesus there, since it was the Jewish
day of Preparation, seeing that
the tomb was close by.
20 On the first day of the week Mary
of Magdala went early to the tomb,
when it was still dark; but as
142
she saw the boulder had been re-
moved from the tomb, she ran off 2
to Simon Peter and to the other
disciple, the favourite of Jesus,
telling them, " They have taken
the master out of the tomb, and
we do not know where they have
put him ! " So Peter and the 3
other disciple set out for the
tomb; they both started to nm, 4
but the other disciple ran ahead,
faster than Peter, and got to the
tomb first. He glanced in and saw 5
the bandages lying on the ground,
but he did not go inside. Then 6
Simon Peter came after him, and
went inside the tomb; he noticed
not only that the bandages were
lying on the ground but that the 7
napkin which had been round
his head was folded up by itself,
instead of lying beside the other
bandages. Upon this the other 8
disciple, who had reached the tomb
first, went inside too, and when
he saw for himself he was con-
vinced. (For as yet they did not 9
understand the Scripture that he
must rise from the dead.) Then 10
the disciples returned home; but 11
Mary stood sobbing outside the
tomb. As she sobbed, she glanced
inside the tomb and noticed two 12
angels in white, sitting where the
body of Jesus had lain, one at
the head and one at the feet.
" Woman," they said to her, " why 13
are you sobbing?" She said,
" Because they have taken away
my master, and I do not know
where they have put him ! " With 14
these words she turned round and
noticed Jesus standing — thougii
she did not know it was Jesus.
" Woman," said Jesus, " why are 15
you sobbing? Who are you look-
ing for? " Supposing he w^as the
gardener, she said, " Oh, sir, if
S. JOHN XXI
you carried him away, tell me
where you put him, and I will
16 remove him." " Mary ! " said
Jesus. She started round and said,
" Rabboni ! " (a Hebrew word
17 meaning ' teacher '). Jesus said,
" Cease clinging to me. I have
not ascended yet to the Father,
but go to my brothers and tell
them, ' I am ascending to my
Father and yours, to my God and
18 yours.' " Away went Mary of Mag-
dala to the disciples with the news,
" I have seen the Lord ! " — telhng
them what he had said to her.
19 On the evening of that same
day — the first day of the week —
though the disciples had gathered
within closed doors for fear of the
Jews, Jesus entered and stood
among them, saying, " Peace be
20 with you ! " So saying he showed
them his hands and his side; and
when the disciples saw the Lord,
21 they rejoiced. Jesus then re-
peated, " Peace be Avith you !
As the Father sent me forth, I am
22 sending you forth." And with
these words he breathed on them,
and added, " Receive the holy
23 Spirit ! If you remit the sins of
any, they are remitted : if you
retain them, they are retained."
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve,
who was called ' the Twin,' was not
25 with them when Jesus came ; and
when the rest of the disciples told
him, " We have seen the Lord,"
he said, " Unless I see his hands
with the mark of the nails, and put
my finger where the nails were,
and put my hand into his side,
26 I refuse to believe it." Eight
days afterwards his disciples were
tcgetTier again, and Thomas with
them. Though the doors were
closed, Jesus entered and stood
among them, saying, " Peace be
with you ! " Then he said to 27
Thomas, " Look at my hands, put
your finger here; and put your
hand here into my side ; cease your
unbelief and beheve." Thomas 28
answered him, " My Lord and my
God ! " Jesus said to him, " You 29
believe because you have seen me ?
Blessed be those who beheve though
they have never seen me."
Many another Sign did Jesus 30
perform in presence of his disciples,
which is not recorded in this book;
but these Signs are recorded so 31
that you may believe Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and believ-
ing may have life through his Name.
CHAP.
After that, Jesus disclosed him- 21
self once more to the disciples at
the sea of Tiberias. It was in this
way. Simon Peter, Thomas (who 2
was called ' the Twin '), Nathanael
from Cana in Galilee, the two sons
of Zebedaeus, and two other dis-
ciples of his, were all together.
Simon Peter said to them, " I am 3
going to fish." They said, " We
are coming too." Off they went
and embarked in the boat, but that
night they caught nothing. Now 4
at break of day Jesus was standing
on the beach (though the disciples
did not know it was Jesus).
" Lads," said Jesus, " have you 5
got anything? " "No," they an-
swered. So he told them, " Throw 6
your net on the right of the boat,
and you will have a take." At this
they threw the net, and now they
could not haul it in for the mass
of fish. So the disciple who was 7
Jesus' favourite said to Peter, " It
is the Lord ! " Hearing it was the
Lord, Simon Peter threw on his
blouse (he was stripped for work)
and jumped into the water, while 8
143
S. JOHN XXI
the rest of the disci[)Ies came ashore
in the punt (they were not far from
land, only about a hundred yards),
9 dragging their netful of fish. When
they got to land, they saw a char-
coal fire burning, with fish cooking
10 on it, and some bread. Jesus said
to them, " Bring some of the fish
11 you have just caught." So Peter
went aboard and hauled the net
ashore, full of large fish, a hundred
and fifty three of them; but for
all their number the net was not
12 torn. Jesus said, " Come and
breakfast." (Not one of the dis-
ciples dared to ask him who he
was; they knew it was the Lord.)
13 Jesus went and took the bread and
gave it to them, and the fish too.
14 This was the third time, now, that
Jesus appeared to the disciples
after rising from the dead.
15 Then after breakfast Jesus said
to Simon Peter, " Simon, son of
John, do you love me more than
the others do?" "Why, Lord,"
he said, " you know I love you."
" Then feed my lambs," said Jesus.
16 Again he asked him, for the second
time, *' Simon, son of John, do you
love me?" " Wh3% Lord," he
said, " you know I love you."
" Then be a shepherd to my sheep,"
17 said Jesus. For the third time he
asked him, " Simon, son of John,
do you love me ? " Now Peter was
vexed at being asked a third time,
" Do you love me ? " So he replied ;
" Lord, you know everything, you
can sec I love you." Jesus said,
" Then feed my sheep. Truly, 18
truly I tell you, you put on your
own girdle and went wherever you
wanted, when you were young ; but
when you grow old, 3^011 will stretch
out your hands for someon(i to gird
you, and you will be taken ■where
3'^ou have no wish to go " (he said 19
this to indicate the kind of death
by which Peter would glorify God) ;
then he added, " Follow me."
Peter turned roimd and saw that 20
the favourite disciple of Jesus was
following, the disciple who had
leant on his breast at supper and
put the question, " Lord, who is
to betray you? " So, on catching 21
sight of him, Peter said to Jesus,
" And what about him. Lord ? "
Jesus replied, " If I choose that he 22
should survive till I come back, what
does that matter to you ? Follow me
yourself." This started the report 23
among the brotherhood that the said
disciple was not to die. Jesus, how-
ever, did not say he was not to die ;
what he said was, " If I choose tliat
he should survive till I come back,
what does that matter to you ?"
This was the disciple who bears 24
testimony to these facts and who
wrote them down; his testimony,
we know, is true.
Now there is much else that 25
Jesus did — so much, that if it was
written down in detail, I do not
suppose the world itself could hold
the written records.
10
THE
ACTS or THE APOSTLES
CHAP.
1 In my former volume, Theo-
philus, I treated all that Jesus
2 began by doing and teaching down
to the day when, after issuing his
orders by the holy Spirit to the
disciples whom he had chosen, he
3 was taken up to heaven. After
his sufferings he had shown them
that he was alive by a number of
proofs, revealing himself to them
for forty days and discussing the
4 affairs of God's Realm. Also, as
he ate vrith. them, he charged them
not to leave Jerusalem but to wait
for what the Father promised — " for
what you have heard me speak of,"
5 said he; "for John baptized with
water, but not many days after this
you will be baptized with the holy
6 Spirit." Now when they met, they
asked him, " Lord, is this the time
you are going to restore the Realm
7 to Israel ? " But he told them, " It
is not for you to know the course and
periods of time that the FMher has
8 fixed by his own authority. You will
receive power when the holy Spirit
comes upon you, and you will be
my witnesses at Jerusalem, through-
out all Judaea and Samaria, and
9 to the end of the earth." On saying
this he was lifted up while they
looked on, and a cloud took him
10 out of sight. As he went up, their
eyes were fixed on heaven ; but
just then two men stood beside
11 them dressed in white, who said,
" Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking up to heaven ? This Jesus
who has been taken from you into
heaven will come back, just as you
have seen hfm depart to heaven."
Then they made their way back 12
to Jerusalem from the hill called
'The Oliv^e^Orchard '; it is close
to Jeru5;alem, only a sabbath day's
journey from it. On entering the 13
city they went to the upper room
where they 'were in the habit of
meeting; there were Peter, John,
James, Andrew^ Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James
(the son of Alphaeus) and Simon
who had been a Zealot, with Judas
the son of James. All «these men 14
resorted with one mind to prayer,
together with the women, with
Mary the mother of Jesus and with
his brothers.
Now during these days Peter 15
stood up among the brothers (there
was a crowd of about a hundred and
twenty persons all together). " My 16
brothers," said he, " it had to be
fulfilled, that scripture which the
holy Spirit uttered beforehand by
the lips of David with regard to
Judas who acted as guide to those
who arrested Jesus. Jddas did 17
enter our number, he did get his
allotted share of this our ministry.
With the money paid him for 18
his crime he purchased an estate;
but swelling up he burst in two,
and all his bowels poured out — a 19
fact which became known to all
the residents in Jerusalem, so
that the estate got the name, in
145
THE ACTS II
their language, of Akeldamach
20 or The Ground of Blood. Now
it is written in the book of
psalms,
Desolate be his residence,
may no one dwell in it :
also,
let another man take over his
charge.
21 Well then, of the men who have
been associated with us all the
time the Lord Jesus went in and out
22 among us, from the baptism of
John down to the day when he was
taken up from us — of these men
one must join us as a witness to his
23 resurrection." So they brought
forward two men, Joseph called
Bar-Sabbas (sumamed Justus) and
24 Matthias ; and they prayed, " O
Lord, who readest the hearts of
all, do thou single out from these
two men him whom thou hast
25 chosen to fill the place in this
apostolic ministry which Judas left
in order to go to his own place."
Then they cast lots for them, and
the lot fell upon Matthias, who was
assigned his position with the
eleven apostles.
2 During the course of the day
of Pentecost they were all to-
2 gether, when suddenly there came
a sound from heaven like a violent
blast of wind, which filled the
whole house where they were
8 seated. They saw tongues like
flames distributing themselves, one
4 resting on the head of each, and
they were all filled with the holy
Spirit — they began to speak in
foreign tongues, as the Spirit en-
abled them to express themselves.
5 Now there were devout Jews from
every nation under heaven staying
6 in Jerusalem. So when this sound
146
was heard, the multitude gathered
in bewilderment, for each heard
them speaking in his own language.
All were amazed and astonished.
" Are these not all Galileans," they 7
said, " who are speaking ? Then 8
how is it that each of us hears them
in his own native tongue? Par- 9
thians, Medes, Elamites, residents
in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and
Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in 10
Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt
and the districts of Libya round
Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Jews
and proselytes, Cretans and Ara- 11
bians, we hear these men talking
of the triumphs of God in our
own languages ! " They were all 12
amazed and quite at a loss. " What
can it mean ? " they said to one
another. Some others sneered, 13
" They are brim-full of new wine ! "
But Peter stood up along with the 14
eleven, and raising his voice he
addressed them thus : " Men of
Judaea and residents in Jerusalem,
let every one of you understand
this — attend to what I say : these 15
men are not drunk, as you imagine.
Why, it is only nine in the morning !
No, this is what was predicted by 16
the prophet Joel —
In the last days, saith God, then 17
will I pour out my Spirit upon
all flesh,
your sons and daughters shall
prophesy,
your young men shall see visions,
your old men shall dreajn dreams :
on my very slaves and slave- girls IS
in these days will I pour out my
Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
And I will display wonders in 19
heaven above
and signs on earth below,
blood and fire and vapour of
smoke :
THE ACTS II
20 the sun shall he changed into
darkness
and the moon into blood,
ere the great, open Day of the Lord
arrives.
21 And everyone who invokes the
name of the Lord will be saved.
22 Men of Israel, listen to my words.
Jesus the Nazarene, a man ac-
credited to you by God through
miracles, wonders, and signs which
God performed by him among you
23 (as you yourselves know), this
Jesus, betrayed in the predestined
course of God's deliberate purpose,
you got wicked men to nail to the
24 cross and murder ; but God raised
him by checking the pangs of
death. Death could not hold him.
25 For David says of him,
/ saw the Lord before me ever-
more ;
lest I be shaken, he is at my right
hand.
26 My heart is glad,
my tongue exults,
my very flesh will rest in hope,
27 because thou wilt not forsake my
soul in the grave,
nor let thy holy one suffer decay.
28 Thou hast made known to me the
paths of life,
thou wilt fill me with delight in thy
presence.
29 Brothers, I can speak quite plainly
to you about the patriarch David;
he died and was buried and his
tomb remains with us to this day.
30 (He was a prophet; he knew God
had sworn an oath to him that he
would seat one of his descendants
31 on his throne ; * so he spoke with a
prevision of the resurrection of the
Christ, when he said that he was
not forsaken in the grave nor did
32 his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus
Omitting \rh Kara adpKix ivaffr-ljffsti/ Thy
XptlTThl^J-
God raised, as we can all bear
witness. Uplifted then by God's 33
right hand, and receiving from the
Father the long-promised holy
Spirit, he has poiu-ed on us what
you now see and hear.) For it was 34
not David who ascended to heaven,
David says,
The Lord said to my Lord, ' Sit at
my right hand,
till I put your enemies under 35
your feet '.
So let all the house of Israel under- 36
stand beyond a doubt that God
has made him both Lord and Christ,
this very Jesus whom you have
crucified." When they heard this, 37
it went straight to their hearts;
they said to Peter and the rest of
the apostles, " Brothers, what are
we to do ? " " Repent," said Peter, 38
" let each of you be baptized in the
na,me of Jesus Christ for the re-
mission of your sins; then you
will receive the gift of the holy
Spirit. For the promise is meant 39
for you and for your children and
for all who are far off, for anyone
whom the Lord our God may call to
himself.''' And with many another 40
appeal he urged and entreated
them. " Save yourselves," he
cried, " from this crooked genera-
tion ! " So those who accepted 41
what he said were baptized ; about
three thousand souls were brought
in, that day. They devoted them- 42
selves to the instruction given by
the apostles and to fellowship,
breaking bread and praying to-
gether. Awe fell on everyone, 43
and many wonders and signs were
performed by the apostles [in
Jerusalem]. The behevers f all 44
kept together ; they shared all they 45
had with one another, they would
sell their possessions and goods
t Omitting [<p6^os t* ^v jxiya^ iirl iravras].
147
THE ACTS III
and distribute the proceeds among
all, as anyone might be in need.
46 Day after day they resorted with one
aceord to the temple and broke bread
together in their own homes ; they
ate with a glad and simple heart,
47 praising God and looked on with
favour by all the people. Mean-
time the Lord added the saved
daily to their number.*
OHAP.
2 Peter and John were on their
way up to the temple for the hour
of prayer at three in the afternoon,
2 when a man lame from birth was
carried past, who used to be laid every
day at what was called the ' Beauti-
ful Gate ' of the temple, to ask alms
from those who entered the temple.
3 When he noticed that Peter and John
meant to go into the temple, he
4 asked them for alms. Peter looked
at him steadily, as did John, and
5 said, " Look at us." The man
attended, expecting to get some-
6 thing from them. But Peter said,
" I have no silver or gold, but I will
give you what I do have. In the
name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,
7 [get up and] walk ! " And catch-
ing him by the right hand he raised
him. Instantly his feet and ankles
8 grew strong, he leapt to his feet,
started to walk, and accompanied
them into the temple, walking,
9 leaping, and praising God. When
all the people saw him walking and
10 praising God, and when they recog-
nized this was the very man who
used to sit and beg at the Gate
Beautiful, they were lost in awe
and amazement at what had hap-
11 pened to him. As he clung to
Peter and John, all the people
rushed awestruck to them in what
* Omitting [rfi 4Kic\T)ffia], although the
omission makes it difficult to get the above
sense, or indeed any, out of the Greek.
148
was called Solomon's portico. But 12
when Peter saw this, he said to the
people, " Men of Israel, why are
you surprised at this ? Why do
you stare at us, as if we had made
him walk by any power or piety of
ours ? The God of Abraham and 13
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers has glorified
Jesus his servant, whom you de-
livered up and repudiated before
Pilate. Pilate had decided to re-
lease him, but you repudiated the 14
Holy and Just One ; the boon you
asked was a murderer, and you killed 15
the pioneer of Life. But God raised
him from the dead, as we can bear
witness. (He it is who has given 16
strength to this man whom yon see
and know, by faith in His name ; it jJ
is the faith He inspires which has f
made this man hale and whole
before you all.) Now I know, 17
brothers, that you acted in ignor-
ance, like your rulers — though this 18
was how God fulfilled what he had
announced beforehand by the lips
of all the prophets, namely the
sufferings of his Christ. Repent 19
then, and turn to have your sins
blotted out, so that a breathing-
space may be vouchsafed you, and 20
that the Lord may send Jesus your
long-decreed Christ, who must be 21
kept in heaven till the period of |
-the great Restoration. Ages ago "
God spoke of this by the lips of his
holy prophets; for Moses said, 22
The Lord our God will raise up
a prophet for you from among
your brotherhood, as he raised
me :
you must listen to whatever he
may tell you.
Any soul that xvill not listen to 23
this prophet will be exter-
minated from the People ;
and all the prophets who have 24
THE ACTS IV
spoken since Samuel and his suc-
cessors have also announced these
25 days. Now you are the sons of
the prophets and of the covenant
which God made with your fathers
when he said to Abraham, all
families on earth shall be blessed in
26 your o^spring. It was for you
first that God raised up his Servant,
and sent him to bless you by turn-
ing each of you from your wicked
ways."
4 While they were speaking to
the people, they were surprised by
the priests, the commander of the
2 temple, and the Sadducees, who
were annoyed at them teaching the
people and proclaiming Jesus as
an instance of resurrection from
3 the dead. They laid hands on
them and, as it was now evening,
put them in custody till next morn-
4 ing. (A number of those who heard
them speak believed, bringing up
their numbers to [aboiit] five
thousand.)
5 Next morning a meeting was held
in Jerusalem of their rulers, elders
6 and scribes, which was attended by
the high priest Annas, by Caiaphas,
John, Alexander, and all the mem-
bers of the high priest's family.
7 They made the men stand before
them and inquired, " By what
authority, in whose name, have you*
8 done this ? " Then Peter, filled with
the holy Spirit, said to them :
" Rulers of the people and elders
9 of Israel, if we are being cross-
examined to-day upon a benefit
rendered to a cripj^e, upon how
10 this man got better, you and the
people of Israel must all understand
that he stands before you strong
* With a touch of superciliousness (' men
iike you ! '), which is perhaps better ex-
pressed in reading aloud than by any verbal
periphrasis.
and well, thanks to the name of
Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom
you crucified and whom God raised
from the dead. He is 11
the stone despised by you builders,
which has become head of the
corner.
There is no salvation by anyone 12
else, nor even a second Name under
heaven appointed for us men and
our salvation." They were aston- 13
ished to notice how outspoken Peter
and John were, and to discover that
they were uncultured persons and
mere outsiders ; they recognized
them as having been companions
of Jesus, but as they saw the man 14
who had been healed standing be-
side them, they could say nothing.
Ordering them to withdraw from 15
the Sanhedrin, they proceeded to
hold a consultation. " What are 16
we to do with these men ? " they
said. " It is plain to all the in-
habitants of Jerusalem that a
miracle has admittedly been worked
by them. That we cannot deny.
However, to keep things from 17
going any further with the people, we
had better threaten them that they
are not to tell anyone in future about
this Name." So they called the men 18
in and ordered them not to speak or
teach a single sentence about the
Name of Jesus. But Peter and 19
John replied, " Decide for your-
selves whether it is right before
God to obey you rather than God.
Certainly we cannot give up speak- 20
ing of what we have seen and
heard." Then they threatened 21
them still further and let them
go ; on account of the people they
found themselves unable to get any
way of punishing them, for every
body was glorifying God over what
had happened (the man on whom 22
this miracle of healing had been
149
THE ACTS V
performed, being more than forty
years old).
23 On being released they went
to their friends and related what
the high priests and elders had
24 said ; and on hearing this the
entire company raised their cry
to God, " O Sovereign Lord, thou
art he * who made heaven, earth,
25 and sea, and all that in them, is, who
said to our fathers f by the holy
Spirit through the lips of thy servant
David,
Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples vainly conspire ?
26 The kings of the earth stood ready,
the rulers mustered together
against the Lord and his Christ.
27 In this very city they actually
mustered against thy holy Servant
Jesus, whom thou didst consecrate
Herod and Pontius Pilate, to-
gether with the Gentiles and the
28 peoples of Israel, mustering to carry
out what thy hand had traced,
29 thy purpose had decreed. So now,
O Lord, consider the threats of
these men, and grant that thy
servants may be perfectly fearless
30 in speaking thy word, when thy
hand is stretched out to cure and
to perform miracles and wonders
by the name of thy holy Servant
31 Jesus." At their prayer the place
of meeting was shaken, and they
were all filled with the holy Spirit,
speaking God's word fearlessly;
33 the apostles gave their testimony
to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus with great power, and great
grace was upon them all. J
32 Now there was but one heart
• Omitting [6 Behs].
t Accepting Hort's suggestion that rod
varpSs is a corruption of to7s irarpdcnv,
though the text even then seems to
include a gloss somewhere.
J Transposing ver. 33 to its original
position after ver. 31.
150
and soul among the whole of the
believers; not one of them con-
sidered anything his personal pro-
perty, they shared all they had
with one another. There was not 34
a needy person among them, for
those who owned land or houses
would sell them and bring the
proceeds of the sale, laying the 35
money before the feet of the
apostles ; it was then distributed ac-
cording to each individual's need.
Thus .Joseph, who was surnamed 36
Barnabas or (as it may be trans-
lated) ' Son of Encouragement ' by
the apostles, a Levite of Cypriote
birth, sold a farm belonging to him 37
and brought the money, which he
placed before the feet of the apostles.
But a man called Ananias, who 5
with his wife Sapphira had sold some
property, embezzled some of the 2
purchase-money with the conniv-
ance of his wife; he only brought
part of it to lay before the feet
of the apostles. " Ananias," said 3
Peter, " why has Satan filled your
heart and made you cheat the holy
Spirit by embezzling some of the
money paid for the land ? When it 4
remained unsold, did it not remain
your own ? And even after the sale,
was the money not yours to do as
you pleased about it ? How could
you think of doing a thing like this ?
You have not defrauded men but
God." When Ananias heard this, 5
he fell down and expired. (Great
awe came over all who heard of it.)
And the younger men rose, wrapped G
the body up and carried it away to
be buried. After an interval of 7
about three hours his wife happened
to come in, quite unconscious of
what had occurred. " Tell me," 8
said Peter, " did you only sell the
land for such and such a sum? "
" Yes," she said, " that was all we
THE ACTS V
9 sold it for." Peter said to her,
" How could you arrange to put
the Lord's Spirit to the proof?
Listen, there are the footsteps of
the men who have buried your hus-
band ! They are at the door, and
they will carry you out as well."
10 Instantly she fell down at their
feet and expired. The younger
men came in to find her dead ; they
carried her out and buried her
11 beside her husband. Great awe
came over the whole church and
over all who heard about this.
12 Now they all without exception
met in the portico of Solomon.
13 Though the people extolled them,
not a soul from the outside dared
14 to join them. On the other hand,
crowds of men and women who
believed in the Lord were brought
12 in. Many miracles and wonders
were performed among the people
15 by the apostles.* In fact, invalids
were actually carried into the
streets and laid on beds and
mattresses, so that, when Peter
passed, his shadow at anyrate
might fall on one or other of them.
16 Crowds gathered even from the
towns round Jerusalem, bringing
invalids and people troubled with
unclean spirits, all of whom were
healed.
17 This filled the high priest Annas f
and his allies, the Sadducean party,
18 with bitter jealousy; they laid
hands on the apostles and put
19 them into the public prison, but
an angel of the Lord opened the
prison-doors during the night and
20 brought them out, saying, " Go
and stand in the temple, telling
• Transposing the first clause of ver. 12
to the beginning of ver. 15.
t Blass's brilliant conjecture for the
i.vaffrds of the ordinary text. It is not
entirely without manuscript evidence.
the people all about this Life."
With these orders they went into 21
the temple about dawn and pro-
ceeded to teach. Meantime the
high priest and his allies met, called
the Sanhedrin together and the
council of seniors belonging to the
sons of Israel, and then sent to
prison for the men. But as the 22
attendants did not find them when
they got to the prison, they came
back to report, " We found the prison 23
safely locked up, with the sentries
posted at the doors, but on opening
the doors we found no one inside ! '
On hearing this the commander 24
of the temple and the high priests
were quite at a loss to know what
to make of it. However, someone 25
came and reported to them, " Here
are the very men you put in prison,
standing in the temple and teach-
ing the people ! " At this the 26
commander went off with the
attendants and fetched them — but
without using violence, for fear that
the people would pelt them with
stones. They conducted them be- 27
fore the Sanhedrin, and the high
priest asked them, " We strictly 28
forbade you to teach about this
Name, did we not? And here
you have filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine ! You want to make us
responsible for this man's death ! "
Peter and the apostles answered, 29
" One must obey God rather than
men. The God of our fathers 30
raised Jesus whom you murdered
by hanging him on a gibbet. God 81
lifted him up to his right hand as
our pioneer and saviour, in order
to grant repentance and remission
of sins to Israel. To these facts 32
we bear witness, Avith the holy
Spirit which God has given to
those who obey him." When they 33
heard this, they were so furious
151
THE ACTS VI
that they determined to make
34 away with the apostles. But a
Pharisee in the Sanhedrin called
Gamaliel, a doctor of the Law who
was highly respected by all the
people, got up and ordered the
prisoners to be removed for a few
35 moments. Then he said, " Men
of Israel, take care what you do
36 about these men. In days gone
by Theudas started up, claiming
to be a person of importance ; a
number of men, about four hundred
of them, rallied to him, but he was
slain, and all his followers were
37 dispersed and wiped out. After
him Judas the Galilean started up
at the time of the census, and got
people to desert to him; but he
perished too, and all his followers
38 were scattered. So I advise you
to-day to leave these men to them-
selves. Let them alone. If this
project or enterprise springs from
39 men, it will collapse; while, if it
really springs from God, you will be
unable to put them down. You
may even find yourselves fighting
40 God ! " They gave in to him, and
after summoning the apostles and
giving them a flogging, they re-
leased them with instructions that
they were not to speak about the
41 name of Jesus. The apostles left
the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they
had been considered worthy of
suffering dishonour for the sake
42 of the Name ; not for a single day
did they cease to teach and
preach the gospel of Jesus the
Christ in the temple and at home.
CHAP.
6 During these days, when the
disciples were increasing in number,
the Hellenists began to complain
against the Hebrews, on the ground
that their widows were being over-
152
looked in the daily distribution of
food. So the twelve summoned 2
the main body of the disciples and
said : " It is not desirable that we
should drop preaching the word of
God and attend to meals. Brothers, 3
look out seven of your own
number, men of good reputation
who are full of the Spirit and of
wisdom. We will appoint them
to this duty, but we will continue 4
to devote ourselves to prayer and
the ministry of the word." This 5
plan commended itself to the whole
body, and they chose Stephen,
a man full of faith and the holy
Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nikanor,
Timon, Parmenas and Nikolaos
a proselyte from Antioch; these 6
men they presented to the apostles,
who, after prayer, laid their hands
upon them.
And the word of the Lord spread; 7
the number of the disciples in Jeru-
salem greatly increased, and a host
of priests became obedient to the
faith.
Now Stephen, who was full of 8
grace and power, performed great
wonders and miracles among the
people. Some of those who be- 9
longed to the so-called synagogue
of the Libyans,* the Cyrenians,
and the Alexandrians, as well as
to that of the Cihcians and Asiatics,
started a dispute with Stephen, but 10
they could not meet the wisdom
and the Spirit with which he spoke.
They then instigated people to say, 11
" We have heard him talking
blasphemy against Moses and God,"
In this way they excited the people, 12
the elders, and the scribes, who
♦ Reading Ai^varlvuiv instead of the
Ai&eprli'wv of the text. This, as Blass
points out, gives " the African Jews in
the geographical order of their original
dwelUng-pl^cps. ' '
THE ACTS VII
rushed on him, dragged him away,
and took him before the Sanhcdrin.
13 They also brought forward false
witnesses to say, "This fellow is
never done talking against tliis
14 holy Place and the Law ! Why,
we have heard him say that Jesus
the Nazarene will destroy this
Place and change the customs
handed down to us by Moses ! "
15 Then all who were seated in the
Sanhedrin fixed their eyes on him,
and saw that his face shone like the
face of an angel.
CHAP.
7 Said the high priest, " Is this
2 true ? " " Listen, brothers and
fathers," said Stephen. " The God
of glory appeared to our father
Abraham when he was still in
3 Mesopotamia, before ever he stayed
in Haran, and said to him, ' Leave
your land and your countrymen and
come to whatever * land I shoiv you.'
4> Then he left the land of the Chal-
deans and stayed in Haran. From
Haran God shifted him, after his
father's death, to this land Avhich
5 you now inhabit. But he did not
give him any inheritance in it, not
even a foot of the land. All he did
was to promise he would give it
as a possession to him and to his
o-Q spring after him (he at the time
6 being childless). What God said
was this : ' His offspring will
sojourn in a foreign land, zvhere they
will be enslaved and oppressed for
7 four hundred years. But,' said God,
' / 1 will pass sentence on the nation
that has made them slaves, and then
they will get azvay to worship me in
* Omitting [tV]-
t The ' I ' is emphatic. AVhen the New
Testament is read aloud, as it was originally
meant to be, such stressee can be brought out.
They often interpret the inner meaning of
the text.
this Place.' God also gave liim 8
the covenant of circumcision. So
Abraham became the father of
Isaac, whom he circumcised on the
eighth day, Isaac was the father of
Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve
patriarchs. Out of jealousy the 9
patriarchs sold Joseph into Egypt;
but God was with him, rescuing 10
him from all his troubles and
allowing him to find favour for his
wisdom with Pharaoh king of Egypt,
who appointed him viceroy over
Egypt and over all his own house-
hold. Now a famine came over 11
the whole of Egypt and Canaan,
attended with great misery, so that
our ancestors could not find pro-
vender. But, hearing there was 12
food in Egypt, Jacob sent our
ancestors on their first visit to that
country ; at their second visit 13
Joseph made himself known to his
brothers, and Pharaoh was in-
formed of Joseph's lineage. Then 14
Joseph sent for his father Jacob
and all his kinsfolk, amounting to
seventy-five souls ; and Jacob went 15
south to Egypt. When he and our
ancestors died, they were carried 16
across to Shechem and laid in the
tomb which Abraham had bought for
a sum of money from the sons of
Hamor in Shechem. As the time 17
approached for the promise God
had made to Abraham, the people
grew and multiplied in Egypt, till 18
another king arose to rule Egypt who
knew nothing of Joseph. He took a 19
cunning method with our race; he
oppressed our ancestors by forcing
them to expose their infants, to
prevent them from surviving. It 20
was at this period that Moses was
born, a divinely beautiful child.
For three months he was brought
up in his father's house ; then he 21
was exposed, but Pharaoh's daughter
153
THE ACTS VII
adopted him and brought him up
22 as her own son. So Moses got
educated in all the culture of the
Egyptians; he was a strong man
23 in speech and action. When he
had completed his fortieth year,
it occurred to him to visit his
24 brothers, the sons of Israel. He saw
one of them being badly treated,
so he defended him, struck doivn the
Egyptian and thus avenged the
25 man who had been wTonged. (He
thought his brothers would under-
stand God was going to bring them
deliverance by means of him, but
26 they did not understand.) Next
day he came upon two of them
fighting and tried to pacify them.
" You are brothers ! " he said,
27 " why injure one another? " But
the man who was injia-ing his
neighbour pushed him aside. " Who
made you ruler and umpire over
28 us ? " he asked. " Do you want to
kill me, as you killed the Egyptian
29 yesterday ? " At that Moses fled ;
he became a sojourner in the land
of Midian, where he had two sons
30 born to him. At the close of forty
years an angel {of the Lord] appeared
to him in the flames of a burning
thorn-bush, in the desert of mount
31 Sinai. When Moses saw this, he
marvelled at the sight; and as he
went up to look at it, the voice of
82 the Lord said ' / am the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob.^ Moses was so
terrified that he did not dare to look
33 at the bush. But the Lord said to
him, ' T'ake the sandals off your feet,
for the place where you are standing
is sacred ground. I have indeed seen
the oppression of my people in Egypt,
I have heard their groans, and I
have come down to rescue them.
Come now, I will send you back to
35 Egypt,' The Moses they refused,
154
when they said, * Who made you
ruler and umpire over us ? ' — that
was the very man whom God sent
to rule and to redeem them, by aid
of the angel who had appeared to
him in the bush. He it was who 3()
led them forth, performing wonders
and signs in the land of Egypt, at
the Red Sea, and in the desert during
forty years. (This was the Moses 37
who told the sons of Israel, ' God
will raise a prophet for you from
among your brotherhood, as he raised
me.') This was the man who at the 38
assembly in the desert intervened
between the angel who spoke to
him on mount Sinai and our fathers ;
he received living Words to be
given to us. But our fathers would 39
not submit to him; they pushed
him aside and hankered secretly
after Egypt. They told Aaron, 40
' Make gods that zvill march in front
of us ! As for this Moses who led us
out of Egypt, we don't know what
has happened to him ! ' They 41
actuall}^ made a calf in those days,
offered sacrifice to this idol, and
grew festive over what their own
hands had manufactured. So God 42
turned from them, abandoning
them to the worship of the starry
Host — as it is written in the book
of the prophets, Did you offer me
victims afid sacrifices during the
forty years in the desert, 0 house
of Israel ? No, it was the tent 43
of Moloch and the star-symbol of
Repha your god that you carried,
figures that you riiamifactured for
worship. So now I ivill transport
you beyond Babylon ! In the desert 44
our fathers had the tent of witness
as arranged by Him who told Moses
to make it after the pattern he had
seen. It was passed on and borne 45
in by oiir fathers as with Joshua
they took possession of the territory
1
THE ACTS VIII
of the nations whom God drove out
before our fathers. So it remained
46 down to the days of David. He
found favour with God and asked
permission to devise a dwelling for
47 the God of Jacob. It was Solomon,
however, who huilt him a house.
48 And yet the most High does not
dwell in houses made by hands.
As the prophet says,
49 Heaven is my throne,
the earth is a footstool for my feet!
What house would you build me ?
saith the Lord.
On what spot could I settle ?
50 Did not my hand make all this ?
51 Sti^ -necked, uncircumcised in heart
and ear, you are always resisting
the holy Spirit ! As with your
52 fathers, so with 3^ou ! Which of
the prophets did your fathers fail
to persecute? They killed those
who announced beforehand the
coming of the Just One. And
here you have betrayed him, mur-
dered him ! — you who got the Law
that angels transmitted, and have
not obeyed it ! "
When they heard this, they were
furious and gnashed their teeth
55 at him. He, full of the holy Spirit,
gazed up at heaven and saw the
glory of God and Jesus standing
56 at God's right hand. " Look," he
said, " I see heaven open and the
Son of man standing at God's right
57 hand ! " With a loud shriek they
shut their ears and rushed at him
58 like one man. Flinging him out-
side the city, they proceeded to
stone him (the witnesses laid their
clothes at the feet of a youth called
59 Saul). So they stoned Stephen,
who called on the Lord, saying,
" Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit ! "
Then he knelt down and cried
60 aloud, " Lord, let not this sin stand
against them ! " With these words
he slept the sleep of death. (Saul 8
quite approved of his murder.)
That day a severe persecution
broke out against the church in
Jerusalem, and everyone, with the
exception of the apostles, was
scattered over Judaea and Samaria.
Devout men buried Stephen and 2
made loud lamentation over him,
but Saul made havoc of the church 3
by entering one house after another,
dragging off men and Avomen, and
consigning them to prison.
Now those who had to scatter 4
went through the land preaching
the gospel. Philip travelled down 5
to a town in Samaria, where he
preached Christ to the people.
And the crowds attended like one 6
man to v/hat was said by Philip,
listening to him aiid watching the
miracles he performed. For un- 7
clean spirits came screaming and
shrieking out of many who had
been possessed, and many para-
lytics and lame people were healed.
So there was great rejoicing in that 8
town. Now for some time previous 9
a man called Simon had been
practising magic arts in the town,
to the utter astonishment of the
Samaritan nation ; he made him-
self out to be a great person, and 10
all sorts and conditions of people
attached themselves to him, de-
claring he was that Power of God
which is known as ' the Great
Power.' They attached them- II
selves to him because he had dazzled
them Avith his skill in magic for a
considerable time. But when they 12
believed Philip, who preached the
gospel of the Reign of God and the
name of Jesus, they had them-
selves baptized, both men and
women ; indeed Simon himself 13
believed, and after his baptism kept
, close to PhiUp, utterly astonished
155
THE ACTS VIII
to see the signs and striking
miracles which were taking place.
14 When the apostles at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted
the word of God, they despatched
15 Peter and John, who came down
and prayed that the Samaritans
16 might receive the holy Spirit. (As
yet it had not fallen upon any of
them; they had simply been bap-
tized in the name of the Lord
17 Jesus.) Then they laid their hands
on them, and they received the holy
18 Spirit. Now Simon noticed that the
holy Spirit was conferred by the
laying on of the apostles' hands;
so he brought them money, saying,
19 " Let me share this power too,
so that anyone on whom I lay my
hands may receive the holy Spirit."
20 Peter said to him, " Death to you
and your money, for dreaming you
21 could buy the gift of God ! You
come in for no share or lot in this
religion. Yovr heart is all wrong
22 in the sight of God. So repent of
this wickedness of yours, and ask
God whether you cannot be for-
given for your heart's purpose.
23 For I see you are a bitter poison and
24 a pack of evil." Simon replied,
" Ask you the Lord for me ! Pray
that nothing you have said may
befall me ! "
25 After bearing their testimony to
the word of the Lord and preach-
ing it, the apostles went back to
Jerusalem, preaching the gospel
to a number of the Samaritan
26 villages ; but an angel of the Lord
said to Philip, " Get up and go
south, along the road from Jeru-
salem to Gaza " (the desert-route).
27 So he got up and went on his way.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a high official of Candace the queen
of the Ethiopians (he was her chief
treasurer), who had come to Jeru-
156
salem for worship and was on his 28
way home. He was sitting in his
chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip, " Go 29
up and join that chariot." When
Philip ran up, he heard him read- 30
ing the prophet Isaiah. " Do you
really understand * what you are
reading?" he asked. "How can 31
I possibly understand it," said the
eunuch, " unless someone puts me
on the right track? " And he begged
Philip to get up and sit beside him.
Now the passage of scripture which 32
he was reading was as follows : —
he was led like a sheep to he
slaughtered,
and as a lamb is dumb before the
shearer,
so he opens not his lips.
By humbling himself he had his 33
doom removed.
Who can tell his family ?
For his life is cut off from the
earth.
So the eunuch said to Philip, 34
" Pray, who is the prophet speaking
about? Is it himself or someone
else ? " Then PhiUp opened his 35
lips, and starting from this scripture
preached the gospel of Jesus to him.
As they travelled on, they came to 36
some water, and the eunuch said,
" Here is water ! What is to pre-
vent me being baptized ? " So he 38
ordered the chariot to stop. Both
of them stepped into the water,
and Philip baptized the eunuch.
When they came up from the water, 39
the Spirit of the Lord caught
Philip away, and the eunuch lost
sight of him. He went on his way
rejoicing, while Philip found himself 40
at Azotus, where he passed on,
* The Vulgate preserves the play on
words in the Greek. Intellegis quae legie
brings out, as English cannot, the force
of yiv<i)iTK.iis & avayivwaKfiS.
THE ACTS IX
preaching the gospel in every town,
till he reached Caesarea.
9 Meanwhile Saul still breathed
threats of murder against the
disciples of the Lord. He went
2 to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues at
Damascus empowering him to put
any man or woman in chains whom
he could find belonging to the Way,
3 and bring them to Jerusalem. As
he neared Damascus in the course
of his journey, suddenly a light
from heaven flashed round him;
4 he dropped to the ground and heard
a voice saying to him, " Saul, Saul,
5 why do you persecute me ? " " Who
are you?"* he asked. "I am
Jesus," he said, " and you perse-
6 cute me. Get up and go into the
city. There you will be told what
7 you have to do." His fellow-
travellers stood speechless, for they
heard the voice but they could not
8 see anyone. Saul got up from the
ground, but though his eyes were
open he could see nothing; so they
took his hand and led him to
9 Damascus. For three days he re-
mained sightless, he neither ate nor
drank.
10 Now there was a disciple called
Ananias in Damascus. The Lord
said to him in a vision, " Ananias."
11 He said, " I am here, Lord." And
the Lord said to him, " Go away to
the street called ' The Straight
Street,' and ask at the house of
Judas for a man of Tarsus called
Saul. He is praying at this very
12 moment, and he has seen a man
called Ananias enter and lay his
hands upon him to bring back his
* I have deliberately left Kvpie untrans-
lated here, as in xxii. 8 and xxvi. 14, no less
than in x. 4. Any English rendering would
imply eithei too much or too little.
sight." " But, Lord," Ananias 13
answered, " many people have
told me about all the mischief this
man has done to thy saints at
Jerusalem ! And in this city too 14
he has authority from the high
priests to put anyone in chains
who invokes thy Name ! " But
the Lord said to him, " Go; I have 15
chosen him to be the means of bring-
ing my Name before the Gentiles
and their kings as well as before
the sons of Israel. I will show 16
him all he has to suffer for the sake
of my Name." So Ananias went off 17
and entered the house, laying his
hands on him with these words,
" Saul, my brother, I have been
sent by the Lord, by Jesus who
appeared to you on the road, to let
you regain your sight and be filled
with the holy Spirit." In a mo- 18
ment something like scales fell from
his ej^es, he regained his sight, got
up and was baptized. Then he 19
took some food and felt strong
again. For several days he stayed
at Damascus with the disciples.
He lost no time in preaching 20
throughout the synagogues that
Jesus was the Son of God — to the 21
amazement of all his hearers, who
said, " Is this not the man who in
Jerusalem harried those who invoke
this Name, the man who came here
for the express purpose of carrying
them all in chains to the high
priests? "
Saul became more and more 22
vigorous. He put the Jewish resi-
dents in Damascus to confusion by
his proof that Jesus was the Christ ;
and the Jews, after a number of 23
days had elapsed, conspired to make
away with him. But this plot came 24
to the ears of Saul, and, although
they kept watch on the gates day
and night in order to make away
167
THE ACTS X
25 with him, his disciples managed
one night to let him down over the
wall by lowering him in a basket.
26 He got to Jerusalem and tried to
join the disciples, but they were all
afraid of him, unable to believe he
27 was really a disciple. Barnabas,
however, got hold of him and
brought him to the apostles. To
them he related how he had seen
the Lord upon the road, how He had
spoken to him, and how he had
spoken freely in the name of Jesus
28 at Damascus. He then went in
and out among them at Jerusalem,
29 speaking freely in the name of the
Lord ; he also held conversations
and debates with the Hellenists,
But when the brothers learned that
the Hellenists were trying to make
30 away with him, they took him
down to Caesarea and sent him off
to Tarsus.
31 Now, all over Judaea, Galilee,
and Samaria, the church enjoyed
peace; it was consolidated, in-
spired by reverence for the Lord
and by its invocation of the holy
Spirit, and so increased in numbers.
32 Peter moved here and there among
them all, and it happened that in
the course of his tours he came
down to visit the saints who stayed
33 at Lydda. There he found a man
called ^neas who had been bed-
ridden for eight years with paraly-
34 sis. " ^neas," said Peter, " Jesus
the Christ cures you ! Get up and
make your bed ! " He got up at
35 once. And all the inhabitants of
Lydda and Saron saw him, and
they turned to the Lord.
36 At Joppa there was a disciple
called Tabitha (which may be trans-
lated Dorcas, or ' Gazelle '), a woman
whose life was full of good actions
168
and of charitable practices. She 37
happened to take ill and die at this
time, and after washing her body
they laid it in an upper room. When 38
the disciples heard that Peter was
at Lydda (for Joppa is not far from
Lydda), they sent two men to beg
him to " Come on to us without
delay." So Peter got up and went 39
with them. When he arrived, they
took him up to the room, where
all the widows stood beside him
crying as they showed him the
garments and dresses that Dorcas
used to make when she was with
them. Peter put them all outside ; 40
then he knelt down and prayed,
and turning to the body said,
" Tabitha, rise." She opened her
eyes, and on seeing Peter she sat
up. Then he gave her his hand, 41
raised her, and, after calling
the saints and the widows he pre-
sented her to them alive. This 42
became known all over Joppa,
and many believed in the Lord. 43
In Joppa Peter stayed for some
time, at the house of Simon a
tanner. Now in Caesarea there 10
was a man called Cornelius, a
captain in the Italian regiment,
a religious man, who reverenced 2
God with all his household, who
was liberal in his alms to the
People, and who constantly prayed
to God. About three o'clock in the 3
afternoon he distinctly saw in a
vision an angel of God entering and
saying to him, " Cornelius." He 4
stared at the angel in terror, say-
ing, " What is it ? " He rephed,
" Your prayers and your alms
have risen before God as a sacri-
fice to be remembered. You must 5
now send some men to Joppa
for a certain Simon who is sur-
named Peter; he is staying with 6
Simon a tanner, whose house stands
THE ACTS X
7 by the sea." When the angel who
spoke to him had left, he called
two of his menservants and a
religiously minded soldier who be-
8 longed to his personal retinue, and
after describing all the vision to
9 them, he sent them to Joppa. Next
day they were still on the road and
not far from the town, when Peter
went up to the roof of the house
10 about noon to pray. He got very
hungry and longed for some food.
But as they were getting the meal
11 ready, a trance came over him. He
saw heaven open and a vessel com-
ing down, like a huge sheet lowered
by the four corners to the earth,
12 which contained all quadrupeds
and creeping things of the earth
13 and wild birds. A voice came to
him, " Rise, Peter, kill and eat."
14 But Peter said, " No, no, my Lord ;
I have never eaten anything com-
15 mon or unclean." A second time
the voice came back to him,
" What God has cleansed, you must
16 not regard as common." This
happened three times ; then the
vessel was at once raised to heaven.
17 Peter was quite at a loss to know
the meaning of the vision he had
seen ; but just then, the messenger
of Cornelius, who had made in-
quiries for the house of Simon,
18 stood at the door and called out
to ask if Simon, surnamed Peter,
19 was staying there. So the Spirit
said to Peter, who was pondering
over the vision, " There are three
20 men looking for you ! Come, get
up and go down, and have no hesita-
tion about accompanying them,
for it is I who have sent them."
21 Then Peter went down to the men,
saying, " I am the man you are
looking for. What is your reason
i 22 for coming?" They said, " Cor-
nehus, a captain, a good man who
reverences God and enjoys a good
reputation among the whole Jewish
nation, was instructed by a holy
angel to send for you to his house
and to listen to what you had to
say." So he invited them in and 23
entertained them. Next day he was
up and off with them, accom-
panied by some of the brothers
from Joppa ; and on the next day he 24
reached Caesarea. Peter was just 25
going into the house when Cornelius
met him, fell at his feet, and wor-
shipped him ; but Peter raised him, 26
saying, " Get up, I am only a man
myself." Then talking to him he 27
entered the house, to find a large
company assembled. (For Cor- 24
nelius had been expecting him and
had called his kinsfolk and intimate
friends together.) * To them Peter 28
said, " You know yourselves it is
illegal for a Jew to join or accost any-
one belonging to another nation ; but
God has shown me that I must not
call any man common or unclean,
and so I have come without any 29
demur when I was sent for. Now
I want to know why you sent for
me ? " " Three days ago," said 30
Cornelius, " at this very hour I was
praying in my house at three o'clock
in the afternoon, when a man stood
before me in shining dress, saying, 31
' Cornelius, your prayer has been
heard, your alms are remem-
bered by God. You must send to 32
Joppa and summon Simon who is
surnamed Peter; he is staying in
the house of Simon a tanner beside
the sea.' So I sent for you at once, 33
and you have been kind enough to
come. Well nov/, here we are all
present before God to listen to what
the Lord has commanded you to
say." Then Peter opened his lips 34
* Transposing ver. 24b to its right
position between ver. 27 and ver. 28.
159
THE ACTS XI
and said, " I see quite plainly that
35 God has no favourites, but that he
who reverences Him and lives a
good life in any nation is welcomed
36 by Him. You know the message he
sent to the sons of Israel when he
preached the gospel of peace by
Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all);
37 you know how it spread over the
whole of Judaea, starting from
Galilee o.fter the baptism preached
by John — how God consecrated
38 Jesus of Nazaret with the holy
Spirit and power, and how he went
about doing good and curing all
who were harassed by the devil;
39 for God was with him. As for Avhat
he did in the land of the Jews and
of Jerusalem, we can testify to that.
They slew him by hanging him on a
40 gibbet, but God raised him on the
third day,and allowed him to be seen
41 not by all the People but by wit-
nesses whom God had previously
selected, by us who ate and drank
with him after his resurrection from
42 the dead, when he enjoined us to
preach to the People, testifying that
this was he whom God has appointed
to be judge for the living and of the
43 dead. All the prophets testify that
everyone who believes in him is to
receive remission of sins through
44 his Name." While Peter was still
speaking, the holy Spirit fell upon
all who listened to what he said.
45 Now the Jewish believers who had
accompanied Peter were amazed
that the gift of the holy Spirit had
actually been poured out on the
46 Gentiles — for they heard them
speak with ' tongues ' and magnify
47 God. At this Peter asked, " Can
any one refuse water for the bap-
tism of these people — people who
have received the holy Spirit just
48 as we ourselves have ? " And he
ordered them to be baptized in the
160
name of Jesus Christ. Then they
begged him to remain for some
days.
OHAP.
Now the apostles and the brothers 11
in Judaea heard that the Gentiles
also had received the word of God.
So M-hen Peter came up to Jeru- 2
salem, the circumcision party fell
foul of him. " You went into 3
the houses of the uncircumcised,"
they said, " and you ate with
them ! " Then Peter proceeded to 4
put the facts before them. "15
was in the town of Joppa at prayer,"
he said, " and in a trance I saw a
vision — a vessel coming down like
a huge sheet lowered from heaven
by the four corners. It came down
to me, and when I looked steadily 6
at it, I noted the quadrupeds of the
earth, the wild beasts, the creeping
things and the wild birds. Also I 7
heard a voice saying to me, ' Rise,
Peter, kill and eat.' I said, ' No, 8
no, my Lord ; * nothing common or
unclean has ever passed my lips.'
But a voice answered me for the 9
second time out of heaven, ' What
God has cleansed, you must not
regard as common.' This hap- 10
pened three times, and then the
whole thing was drawn back into
heaven. At that very moment 11
three men reached the house where
I was living, sent to me from
Caesarea. The Spirit told me to 12
have no hesitation in accompanying
them ; these six brothers went with
me as well, and v/e entered the
man's house. He related to us how 13
he had seen the angel standing in
his house and saying, ' Send to
Joppa for Simon who is surnamed
* Here, as in x. 14, Kvpie is translated.
Peter was a Christian, and the connexion of
the Voice with the Spirit ia evident iiom the
context.
THE ACTS XII
14 Peter; he will tell you how you and
all your household are to be saved.'
13 Now just as I began to speak, the
holy Spirit fell upon them as upon
16 us at the beginning; and I remem-
bered the saying of the Lord, that
' John baptized with water, but
you will be baptized with the holy
17 Spirit.' Well then, if God has given
them exactly the same gift as he
gave us when we believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ, who was I —
how could I try — to thwart God ? "
18 On hearing this they desisted and
glorified God, saying, " So God has
actually allowed the Gentiles to
repent and live ! "
19 Now those who had been scat-
tered by the trouble which arose
over Stephen made their way as
far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and An-
tioch, but they preached the word
20 to none except Jews. Some of
them, however, were Cypriotes and
Cyrenians, who on reaching An-
tioch told the Greeks * also the
21 gospel of the Lord Jesus ; the
strong hand of the Lord was with
them, and a large number believed
22 and turned to the Lord. The news
of this reached the church in Jeru-
salem, and they despatched Barna-
23 bas to Antioch. When he came and
saw the grace of God he rejoiced,
and encouraged them all to hold
by the Lord with heartfelt pur-
pose (for he was a good man, full
24 of the holy Spirit and faith). Con-
siderable numbers of people were
25 brought in for the Lord. So Barna-
bas went off to Tarsus to look for
26 Saul, and on finding him he brought
him to Antioch, where for a whole
year they were guests of the church
and taught considerable numbers.
* Reading "EW-nvas with N= A D*, for
which 'EWrjutaras seems to have been sub-
stituted under the influence of ix. 29.
M
It was at Antioch too that the
disciples were originally called
" Christians."
During these days some prophets 27
came down from Jerusalem to
Antioch, one of whom, named 28
Agabus, showed by the Spirit that
a severe famine was about to visit
the whole world (the famine which
occurred in the reign of Claudius).
So the disciples put aside monej^, 29
as each of them was able to afford
it, for a contribution to be sent to
the brothers in Judaea. This they 30
carried out, sending their contribu-
tion to the presbyters by Barnabas
and Saul.
It was about that time that king 12
Herod laid hands of violence on
some members of the church. James 2
the brother of John he slew with
the sword, and when he saw this 3
pleased the Jews, he went on to
seize Peter. (This was during the
days of unleavened bread.) After 4
arresting him he put him in prison,
handing him over to a guard of
sixteen soldiers, with the intention
of producing him to the People
after the passover. So Peter was 5
closely guarded in prison, while
earnest prayer for him was offered
to God by the church. The very 6
night before Herod meant to have
him produced, Peter lay asleep
between two soldiers; he was fast-
ened by two chains, and sentries in
front of the door guarded the
prison. But an angel of the Lord 7
flashed on him, and a light shone in
the cell; striking Peter on the side
he woke him saying, " Quick, get
up ! " The fetters dropped from
his hands, and the angel said to him, 8
" Gird yourself and put on your
sandals." He did so. Then "said
161
THE ACTS XIII
the angel, " Put on your coat and
9 follow me." And he followed him
out, not realizing that what the
angel did was real, but imagining
10 that he saw a vision. When they
had passed the first guard and the
second they came to the iron gate
leading into the city, which opened
to them of its own accord ; they
passed out, and after they had gone
through one street, the angel imme-
11 diately left him. Then Peter came
to his senses and said, " Now I know
for certain that the Lord has sent
his angel and rescued me from the
hand of Herod and from all that
the Jewish people were anticipat-
12 ing." When he grasped the situa- |
tion, he went to the house of Mary,
the mother of John who was sur-
named Mark, where a number had
13 met for prayer. When he knocked at
the door of the porch, a maidservant
called Rhoda came to answer it;
14 but as soon as she recognized Peter's
voice, instead of opening the door
she ran inside from sheer joy and
announced that Peter was standing
15 in front of the porch. " You are
mad," they said. But she insisted
it was true. " It is his angel," they
16 said. But Peter kept on knocking,
and when they opened the door they
17 were amazed to see him. He beck-
oned to them to keep quiet and
then described to them how the
Lord had brought him out of prison.
" Report this to James," he said,
" and to the brothers." And off he
18 went to another place. Now
when day broke there was a great
commotion among the soldiers over
what could have become of Peter.
19 Herod made inquiries for him but
could not find him; so, after cross-
examining the guards, he ordered
them off to death. He then went
down from Judaea to Caesarea,
162
where he spent some time. As 20
there was a bitter feud between
him and the inhabitants of Tyre
and Sidon, they waited on him
unanimously and after conciliating
the royal chamberlain Blastus made
overtures for peace, as their country
depended for its food-supply vipon
the royal territory. On a stated 21
day Herod arrayed himself in royal
robes, took his seat on the dais,
and proceeded to harangue them.
The populace shouted, " It is a 22
god's voice, not a man's ! " And 23
in a moment an angel of the
Lord struck him, because he had
not given due glory to God; he
was eaten up by worms and so
expired.
The word of God spread and 24
multiplied.
After fulfilling their commission, 25
Barnabas and Saul returned from
Jerusalem, bringing with them
John who is surnamed Mark.
Now in the local church at An- 13
tioch there were prophets and
teachers, Barnabas, Symeon (called
Niger) and Lucius the Cyrenian,
besides Manaen (a foster-brother
of Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
As they were worshipping the Lord 2
and fasting, the holy Spirit said,
" Come ! set me apart Barnabas
and Saul for the work to which I
have called them." Then after 3
fasting and praying they laid their
hands on them and let them
go.
Sent out thus by the holy Spirit, 4
they went down to Seleucia and
from there they sailed to Cyprus.
On reaching Salamis they pro- 5
claimed the word of God in the
Jewish synagogues, with John as
their assistant. They covered the 6
whole island as far as Paphos,
where they fell in with a Jewish
THE ACTS XIII
sorcerer and false prophet called
7 Bar- Jesus ; he belonged to the suite
of the proconsul Sergius Paulus,
an intelligent man who called for
Barnabas and Saul and demanded
8 to hear the word of God. But the
sorcerer Eljanas (for that is the
translation of his name) tried to
divert the proconsul from the faith.
9 So Saul (who is also called Paul),
filled with the holy Spirit, looked
10 steadily at him and said, " You
son of the devil, you enemy of all
good, full of all craft and all cun-
ning, will you never stop diverting
11 the straiglit paths of the Lord? See
here, the Lord's hand will fall on
you, and you will be blind, unable
for a time to see the sun." In a
moment a dark mist fell upon him,
12 and he groped about for someone
to take him by the hand. Then
the proconsul believed, when he
saw what had happened ; he was
astounded at the doctrine of the
Lord.
13 Setting sail from Paphos, Paul
and his companions reached Perga
in Pamphylia; .John left them and
14 went back to Jerusalem, but they
passed on from Perga and arrived
at Pisidian Antioch. On the sab-
bath they went into the synagogue
15 and sat down ; and, after the reading
of the Law and the prophets, the
president of the synagogue sent to
tell them, " Brothers, if you have
any word of counsel for the people,
16 say it." So Paul stood up and
motioning with his hand said,
" Listen, men of Israel and you who
17 reverence God. The God of this
People Israel chose Our fathers ;
he multiplied the people as they
sojourned in the land of Egypt and
7(ith arm uplifted led them out of it.
18 For about forty years he bore with
19 them in the desert,and after destroying
seven nations in the land of Canaan
he gave them their land as an inherit-
ance for about four hundred and fifty
years. After that he gave them 20
judges, down to the prophet
Samuel. Then it was that they 21
begged for a king, and God gave
them forty years of Saul, the son
of Kish, who belonged to the tribe
of Benjamin. After deposing him, 22
he raised up David to be their king,
to whom he bore this testimony
that '/n David, the son of Jessai,
/ have found a man after my own
heart, who will obey all my will.'
From his offspring God brought to 28
Israel, as he had promised, a saviour
in Jesus, before whose coming John 24
had already preached a baptism of
repentance for all the people of
Israel. And as John was closing 25
his career he said, ' What do you
take me for? I am not He; no,
he is coming after me, and I am not
fit to untie the sandals on his feet ! *
Brothers, sons of Abraham's race 26
and all among you who reverence
God, the message of this salvation
has been sent to us. The inhabi- 27
tants of Jerusalem and their rulers,
by condemning him * in their
ignorance, fulfilled the words of the
prophets which are read every sab-
bath ; though they could find him 2<S
guilty of no crime that deserved
death they begged Pilate to have
him put to death, and, after carry- 29
ing out all that had been predicted
of him in scripture, they lowered
him from the gibbet and laid him
in a tomb. But God raised him 30
from the dead. For many days he iJl
was seen by those who had come
* The Greek text is difficult. I prefer,
as the least radical treatment, Lachrnann's
proposal to read Kplvavrts immediately after
ayvo-haavTii Koi, which at anyrate yields a
fair sense.
163
THE ACTS XIV
up with him from Galilee to Jeru-
salem; they are now his witnesses
32 to the People. So we now preach
to you the glad news that the
33 promise made to the fathers has
been fulfilled by God for us their
children, when he raised Jesus. As
it is written in the second psalm,
thou art my son,
to-day have I become thy father.
34 And as a proof that he has raised him
from the dead, never to return to
decay, he has said this : I will give you
the holiness of David that fails not.
35 Hence in another psalm he says,
thou wilt not let thy holy One
suffer decay.
36 Of course David, after serving God's
purpose in his own generation, died
and was laid beside his fathers; he
37 suffered decay, but He whom God
38 raised did not suffer decay. So you
must understand, my brothers,
that remission of sins is proclaimed
39 to you through him, and that by
him everyone who believes is ab-
solved from all that the law of
40 Moses never could absolve you
from. Beware then in case the
prophetic saying applies to you :
41 Look, you disdainful folk, wonder
at this and perish —
for in your days I do a deed,
a deed you will never believe, not
though one were to explain it to
youJ'^
4i2 As Paul and Barnabas went out,
the people begged to have all this
repeated to them on the following
43 sabbath. After the synagogue broke
up, a number of the Jews and the
devout proselytes followed them;
Paul and Barnabas talked to them
and encouraged them to hold by
44 the grace of God. And on the next
sabbath nearly all the town gathered
45 to hear the word of the Lord. But
when the Jews saw the crowds they
164
were filled with jealousy ; they began
to contradict what Paul said and
to abuse him. So Paul and Barna- 46
bas spoke out fearlessly. " The
word of God," they said, " had to
be spoken to you in the first in-
stance ; but as you push it aside and
judge yourselves unworthy of eter-
nal life, well, here we turn to the
Gentiles ! For these are the Lord's 47
orders to us :
/ have set you to be a light for the
Gefitiles,
to bring salvation to the end of
the earth.'' ^
When the Gentiles heard this they 48
rejoiced and glorified the word of
the Lord and believed, that is, all
who had been ordained to eternal
life; and the word of the Lord 49
went far and wide over the whole
country. But the Jews incited the 50
devout women of high rank and the
leading men in the town, who stirred
up persecution against Paul and
Barnabas and drove them out of
their territory. They shook the 51
dust off their feet as a protest
and went to Iconium. As for the 52
disciples, they were filled with joy
and the holy Spirit.
CHAP.
At Iconium the same thing hap- 14
pened. They went into the syna-
gogue of the Jews and spoke in
such a way that a great body both
of Jews and Greeks believed. Here 3
they spent a considerable time,
speaking fearlessly about the Lord,
who attested the word of his grace
by allowing signs and wonders to
be performed by them.* But the 2
refractory Jews stirred up and
exasperated the feeling of the
Gentiles against the brothers. The 4
* Restoring ver. 3 to what appears to
have been its original position between
vers. 1 and 2.
THE ACTS XV
populace of the town was divided ;
some sided with the Jews, some
5 vnth the apostles. But, when the
Gentiles and Jew^s along with their
rulers made a hostile movement to
6 insult and stone them, the apostles
grasped the situation and escaped
to the Lycaonian tow^ns of Lystra
and Derbe and the surrounding
7 country ; there they continued to
preach the gospel.
8 At Lystra there was a man sitting,
who was powerless in his feet, a
lame man unable to walk ever since
9 he was born. He heard Paul speak-
ing, and Paul, gazing steadily at
him and noticing that he had faith
10 enough to make him better, said
in a loud voice, " Stand erect on
your feet." Up he jumped and
11 began to walk. Now when the
crowds saw what Paul had done,
they shouted in the Lycaonian
language, " The gods have come
down to us in human form ! "
12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul
Hermes, since he was the chief
13 spokesman. Indeed the priest of
the temple of Zeus in front of the
town brought oxen and garlands
to the gates, intending to offer
sacrifice along with the crowds.
14 But when the apostles, Paul and
Barnabas, heard this they rent
their clothes and sprang out among
15 the crowd, shouting, " Men, what is
this you are doing? We are but
human, with natures like your
own ! The gospel we are preach-
ing to you is to turn from such
futile ways to the living God who
made the heaven, the earth, the sea,
16 and all that in them is. In bygone
ages he allowed all nations to go
17 their own ways, though as the boun-
tiful Giver he did not leave himself
without a witness, giving you rain
from heaven and fruitful seasons,
giving you food and joy to your
heart's content." Even bj'^ saying 18
this it was all they could do to
keep the crowds from sacrificing
to them.
But Jews from Antioch and Ico- 19
nium arrived, who won over the
crowds, and after pelting Paul with
stones they dragged him outside the
town, thinking he was dead. How- 20
ever, as the disciples gathered round
him, he got up and went into the
tow^n.
Next day he went off with Barna-
bas to Derbe, and after preaching 21
the gospel to that town and making
a number of disciples, they turned
back to Lystra, Iconium and An-
tioch, strengthening the souls of the 22
disciples, encouraging them to hold
by the faith, and telling them that
" we have to get into the Realm
of God through many a trouble."
They chose presbyters for them in 23
every church, and with prayer and
fasting entrusted them to the Lord
in whom they had believed. Then 24
they came through Pisidia to Pam-
phylia, and after speaking the word 25
of the Lord in Perga they went
down to Attaleia ; thence they sailed 26
for Antioch, where they had been
commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now com-
pleted. On their arrival they 27
gathered the church together and
reported how God had been \Fith
them, what he had done, and how
he had opened a door into faith for
the Gentiles.
They spent a considerable time 28
with the disciples there. But cer- 15
tain individuals came down from
Jerusalem and taught the brothers
that " unless you get circumcised
after the custom of Moses you can-
not be saved." As a sharp dispute 12
and controversy sprang up between
165
THE ACTS XV
them and Paul and Barnabas, it
was arranged that Paul and Barna-
bas, along with some others of their
number, should go up to Jerusalem
to see the apostles and presbyters
at Jerusalem about this question.
3 The church sped them on their jour-
ney, and they passed through both
Phoenicia and Syria informing the
brothers, to the great joy of all, that
the Gentiles were turning to God.
4 On arriving at Jerusalem they were
received by the church, the apostles
and the presbyters, and they re-
ported how God had been with them
5 and what he had done. But some
of the believers who belonged to the
Pharisaic party got up and said,
" Gentiles must be circumcised and
told to observe the law of Moses."
6 The apostles and the presbyters met
7 to investigate this question, and a
keen controversy sprang up; but
Peter rose and said to them,
" Brothers, you are M^ell aware that
from the earliest days God chose
that of you all I should be the one
by whom the Gentiles were to hear
the word of the gospel and believe
8 it. The God who reads the hearts
of all attested this by giving them
the holy Spirit just as he gave it
9 to us ; in cleansing their hearts by
faith he made not the slightest dis-
tinction between us and them.
10 Well now, why are you trying *
to impose a yoke on the neck of
the disciples which neither our
fathers nor we ourselves could
11 bear? No, it is by the grace of
the Lord Jesus that we believe and
are saved, in the same way as they
12 are." So the whole meeting was
quieted and listened to Barnabas
and Paul recounting the signs and
wonders God had performed by
166
Omitting t^j' 6e6v.
them among the Gentiles. When 13
they had finished speaking, James
spoke. " Brothers," he said, " lis-
ten to me. Symeon has explained 14
how it was God's original concern
to secure a People from among the
Gentiles to bear his Name. This 15
agrees with the words of the pro-
phets ; as it is written,
After this I will return and rebuild 16
David's fallen tent,
its ruins I will rebuild and erect
it anew,
that the rest of men may seek for 17
the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who are
called by 77iy name,
saith the Lord, who makes this known 18
from, of old. Hence, in my opinion, 19
we ought not to put fresh difficulties
in the way of those who are turning
to God from among the Gentiles, but 20
write them injunctions to abstain
from whatever is contaminated by
idols, from sexual vice, from the
flesh of animals that have been
strangled, and from tasting blood ;
for Moses has had his preachers 21
from the earliest ages in every town,
where he is read aloud in the syna-
gogues every sabbath." Then the 22
apostles and the preslnters, to-
gether with the whole church, de-
cided to select some of their number
and send them with Paul and Bar-
nabas to Antioch. The men selected
were Judas (called Bar-Sabbas) and
Silas, prominent members of the
brotherhood. They conveyed the 23
following letter. " The apostles
and the presbj^ters of the brother-
hood to the brothers who belong
to the Gentiles throughout Antioch
and Syria and Cihcia : greeting.
Having learned that some of our 24
number,! quite unauthorized by us,
I Omitting e|eX9ovTe;.
THE ACTS XVI
have unsettled you with their teach-
25 ing and upset your souls, we have
decided unanimously to select some
of our number and send them to you
along with our beloved Paul and
26 Barnabas who have risked their
lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus
27 Christ. We therefore send Judas
and Silas with the following mes-
sage, which they will also give to
28 you orally. The holy Spirit and we
have decided not to impose any
extra burden on you, apart from
29 these essential requirements: abstain
from food that has been offered to
idols, from tasting blood, from the
flesh of animals that have been
strangled, and from sexual vice.
Keep clear of all this and you will
30 prosper. Goodbye." When the
messengers were despatched, they
went down to Antioch and after
gathering the whole body they
31 handed them the letter. On read-
ing it the people rejoiced at the
32 encouragement it brought; and as
Judas and Silas were themselves
prophets, they encouraged and
strengthened the brothers Avith
33 many a counsel. Then after some
time had passed the brothers let
them go with a greeting of peace
35 to those who had sent them. Paul
and Barnabas, however, stayed on
in Antioch, teaching and preaching
the word of the Lord along with a
number of others.
36 Some days later, Paul said to
Barnabas, " Come and let us go
back to visit the brothers in every
town where we have proclaimed the
word of the Lord. Let us see how
37 they are doing." But while Barna-
bas wanted to take John (who was
38 called Mark) along with them, Paul
held they should not take a man
with them who had deserted them
in Pamphylia, instead of accom-
panying them on active service. So 39
in irritation they parted company,
Barnabas taking Mark with him
and sailing for Cyprus, while Paul 40
selected Silas and went off, com-
mended by the brothers to the
grace of the Lord. He made his 41
M'ay through Syria and Cilicia,
strengthening the churches.
He also came down to Dcrbe 16
and Lystra, where there was a dis-
ciple called Timotheus, the son of
a believing Jewess and a Greek
father. He had a good reputation 2
among the brothers at Lystra and
Iconium ; so, as Paul wished him to 3
go abroad with him, he took and
circumcised him on account of the
local Jews, all of whom knew his
father had been a Greek. As they 4
travelled on from town to town,
they handed over to the people
the resolutions which the apostles
and the presbj'ters in Jerusalem
had decided were to be obeyed ;
and the churches were strengthened 5
in the faith and increased in num-
bers day by day. They crossed 6
Phrygia and the country of Galatia,
the holy Spirit having stopped
them from preaching the word in
Asia; when they got as far as 7
M3^sia, they tried to enter Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus would not
allow them, and so they passed 8
Mysia by and went down to Troas.
A vision appeared to Paul by night, 9
the vision of a Macedonian stand-
ing and appealing to him with the
words, " Cross to Macedonia and
help us." As soon as he saw the 10
vision, we made efforts to start for
Macedonia, inferring that God had
called us to preach the gospel to
them. Setting sail then from Troas 11
we ran straight to Samotliraee and
on the following day to Ncapolis.
We then came to the Roman colony 12
167
THE ACTS XVI
of Philippi, which is the foremost
town of the district of Macedonia.
In this town we spent some days.
13 On the sabbath we went outside
the gate to the bank of the river,
where as usual there was a place of
prayer; we sat down and talked
14 to the women who had gathered.
Among the listeners there was a
woman called Lydia, a dealer in
purple who belonged to the town
of Thyatira. She reverenced God,
and the Lord opened her heart to
15 attend to what Paul said. When
she was baptized, along with her
household, she begged us, saying,
" If you are convinced I am a
believer in the Lord, come and stay
at my house." She compelled us
to come.
16 Now it happened as we went to
the place of prayer that a slave-girl
met us, possessed by a spirit of
ventriloquism, and a source of great
profit to her owners by her power
17 of fortune-telling. She followed
Paul and the rest of us, shrieking,
" These men are servants of the
Most High God, they proclaim to
18 you the way of salvation ! " She
did this for a number of days. Then
Paul turned in annoyance and told
the spirit, " In the name of Jesus
Christ I order you out of her ! "
And it left her that very moment.
19 But when her owners saw their
chance of profit was gone, they
caught hold of Paul and Silas and
dragged them before the magistrates
20 in the forum. Bringing them before
the praetors they declared, " These
fellows are Jews who are making
21 an agitation in our town ; they are
proclaiming customs which as Ro-
mans we are not allowed to accept
22 or observe ! " The crowd also
joined in the attack upon them,
while the praetors, after having
168
them stripped and after ordering
them to be flogged with rods, had 23
many lashes inflicted on them and
put them into prison, charging the
jailer to keep them safe. On re- 24
ceiving so strict a charge, he put
them into the inner prison and
secured their feet in the stocks.
But about midnight, as Paul and 25
Silas were praying and singing to
God, while the prisoners listened,
all of a sudden there was a great 26
earthquake which shook the very
foundations of the prison ; the doors
all flew open in an instant and
the fetters of all the prisoners
were unfastened. When the jailer 27
started from his sleep and saw
the prison-doors open, he drew
his sword and was on the point
of killing himself, supposing the
Erisoners had made their escape ;
ut Paul shouted aloud, " Do 28
not harm yourself, we are all
here ! " So calling for lights he 29
rushed in, fell in terror before Paul
and Silas, and brought them out 30
(after securing the other prisoners).
" Sirs," he said, " what must I do
to be saved ? " " Beheve in the 31
Lord Jesus Christ," they said, " and
then you will be saved, you and
your household as well." And 32
they spoke the word of the Lord to
him and to all in his house. Then 33
he took them at that very hour of
the night and washed their wounds
and got baptized instantly, he and
all his family. He took them up to 34
his house and put food before them,
overjoyed like all his household at
having believed in God. When 35
day broke, the praetors sent the
lictors with the message, " Release
these men." The jailer repeated 36
this to Paul. " The praetors," he
said, " have sent to release you.
So come out and go in peace." But 37
THE ACTS XVII
Paul replied, " They flogged us in
public and A\ithout a trial, flogged
Roman citizens ! They put us in
prison, and now they are going to
get rid of us secretly ! No indeed !
Let them come here themselves
38 and take us out ! " The lictors
reported this to the praetors, who,
on hearing the men were Roman
S9 citizens, got alarmed ; they went
to appease them and after taking
them out of prison begged them to
40 leave the town. So they left the
prison and went to Lydia's house
where they saw the brothers and
encouraged them; then they de-
parted.
17 Travelling on through Amphi-
polis and Apollonia they reached
Thessalonica. Here there was a
2 Jewish synagogue, and Paul as
usual went in ; for three sabbaths
he argued with them on the scrip-
3 tures, explaining and quoting pas-
sages to prove that the messiah had
to suffer and rise from the dead,
and that " the Jesus I proclaim
4 to you is the messiah." Some were
persuaded and threw in their lot
with Paul and Silas, including a host
of devout Greeks and a large num-
5 ber of the leading women. But the
JeAvs were roused to jealousy; they
got hold of some idle rascals to form
a mob and set the town in an up-
roar; they attacked Jason's house
in the endeavour to bring them
6 out before the populace, but as they
failed to find Paul and Silas they
haled Jason and some of the
brothers before the politarchs, yel-
ling, " These upsetters of the whole
7 world have come here too ! Jason
has welcomed them ! They all
violate the decrees of Caesar by
declaring someone else called Jesus
is king." Both the crowd and the 8
Eolitarchs were disturbed when they
card this ; however they let Jason 9
and the others go, after binding
them over to keep the peace. Then 10
the brothers at once sent off Paul
and Silas by night to Beroea.
When they arrived there, they be-
took themselves to the Jewish syna-
gogue, where the people were more 11
amenable than at Thessalonica;
they were perfectly ready to receive
the Word and made a daily study
of the scriptures to see if it was
really as Paul said. Many of them 12
believed, together with a large num-
ber of prominent Greeks, both
women and men. But when the 13
Jews of Thessalonica heard that
Paul was proclaiming the word of
God at Beroea as well, they came
to create a disturbance and a riot
among the crowds at Beroea too.
The brothers then sent off Paul at 14
once on his way to the sea, while
Silas and Timotheus remained
where they were. Paul's escort 15
brought him as far as Athens and
left with instructions that Silas
and Timotheus were to join him
as soon as possible.
While Paul was waiting for them 16
at Athens, his soul was irritated at
the sight of the idols that filled the
city. He argued in the synagogue 17
with the Jews and the devout prose-
lytes and also in the marketplace
daily with those who chanced to be
present. Some of the Epicurean 18
and Stoic philosophers also came
across him. Some said, " Whatever
does the fellow mean with his scraps
of learning?" Others said, "He
looks like a herald of foreign deities"
(this was because he preached
' Jesus ' and ' the Resurrection ').
Then taking him to the Areopagus 19
they asked, " May we know what
168
THE ACTS XVIII
is this novel teaching of yours ?
20 You talk of some things that sound
strange to us ; so we want to know
21 what they mean." (For all the
Athenians and the foreign visitors
to Athens occupied themselves with
nothing else than repeating or listen-
22 ing to the latest novelty.) So Paul
stood in the middle of the Areo-
pagus and said, " Men of Athens,
I observe wherever I turn that you
23 are a most religious people. Why,
as I passed along and scanned
your objects of worship, I actually
came upon an altar with the
inscription
TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.
Well, I proclaim to you what you
24 worship in your ignorance. The God
ivho made the world and all things
in it, he, as Lord o/ heaven and earth,
does not dwell in shrines that are
25 made by human hands ; he is not
served by human hands as if he
needed anything, for it is he who
gives life and breath and all things
26 to all men. All nations he has
created from a common origin,
to dwell all over the earth, fixing
their allotted periods and the
27 boundaries of their abodes, meaning
them to seek for God on the chance
of finding him in their groping for
him. Though indeed he is close to
28 each one of us, for it is in him
that we live and move and exist
— as some of your own poets
have said,
' We too belong to His race.'
29 Well, as the race of God, we ought
not to imagine that the divine
nature resembles gold or silver or
stone, the product of human art
30 and invention. Such ages of ignor-
ance God overlooked, but he now
charges men that they are all
170
everywhere to repent, inasmuch 31
as he has fixed a day on which he
will judge the world justly by a
man whom he has destined for
this. And he has given proof of
this to all by raising him from the
dead." But on hearing of a ' resur- 32
rection of dead men,' some sneered,
while others said, " We "svill hear
you again on that subject." So 33
Paul withdrew from them. Some 34
men, however, did join him
and believe, including Dionysius
the Areopagite, a woman called
Damaris, and some others.
After this Paul left Athens and 18
went to Corinth. There he came 2
across a Jew called Aquila, a native
of Pontus who had recently arrived
from Italy with his wife Priscilla,
as Claudius had ordered all Jews to
leave Rome. Paul accosted them,
and as he belonged to the same 3
trade he stayed with them and they
all worked together. (They were
workers in leather by trade.)
Every sabbath he argued in the 4
synagogue, persuading both Jews
and Greeks. By the time Silas 5
and Timotheus came south from
Macedonia, Paul was engrossed in
this preaching of the word, arguing
to the Jews that the messiah was
Jesus. But as they opposed and 6
abused him, he shook out his gar-
ments in protest, saying, " Your
blood be on your own heads ! I
am not responsible ! After this
I will go to the Gentiles." Then 7
he removed to the house of a de-
vout proselj'te called Titus Justus,
which adjoined the synagogue. But 8
Crispus the president of the syna-
gogue believed in the Lord, as did
all his household, and many of
the Corinthians listened, believed,
THE ACTS XIX
9 and were baptized. And the Lord
said to Paul in a vision by night,
" Have no fear, speak on and never
10 stop, for I am with you, and no
one will attack and injure you; I
have many people in this city."
11 So he settled there for a year and
six months, teaching them the word
of God.
12 But when Gallio was proconsul
of Achaia the Jews without excep-
tion rose against Paul and brought
13 him up before the tribunal, crying,
" This fellow incites men to worship
14 God contrary to the Law." Paul
was just on the point of opening his
lips to reply, when Gallio said to
the Jews, " If it had been a mis-
demeanour or wicked crime, there
would be some reason in me listening
15 to you, O Jews. But as these are
merely questions of words and per-
sons and your own Law, you can
attend to them for yourselves. I
decline to adjudicate upon matters
16 like that." And he drove them
17 from the tribunal. Then all [the
Greeks] caught hold of Sosthenes
the president of the synagogue and
beat him in front of the tribunal;
but Gallio took no notice.
18 After waiting on for a number
of days Paul said goodbye to the
brothers and sailed for Syria, accom-
panied by Priscilla and Aquila.
(As the latter was under a vow, he
had his head shaved at Cenchreae.)
19 When they reached Ephesus Paul
left them there. He went to the
synagogue and argued with the
20 Jews, who asked him to stay for a
while. But he would not consent;
21 he said goodbye to them, telling
them, " I will come back to you,
if it is the will of God." Then,
22 sailing from Ephesus, he reached
Caesarea, went up to the capital to
salute the church, and travelled
down to Antioch. After spending 23
some time there he went off on a
journey right through the country
of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthen-
ing the disciples.
There came to Ephesus a Jew 24
called Apollos, who was a native of
Alexandria, a man of culture, strong
in his knowledge of the scriptures.
He had been instructed in the Way 25
of the Lord and he preached and
taught about Jesus with ardour
and accuracy, though all the bap-
tism he knew was that of John.
In the synagogue he was very out- 26
spoken at first, but when Priscilla
and Aquila listened to him, they
took him home and explained more
accurately to him what the Way of
God really meant. As he wished to 27
cross to Achaia, the brothers wrote
and urged the disciples there to
give him a welcome. And on his
arrival he proved of great service
to those who by God's grace had
believed, for he publicly refuted the 28
Jews with might and main, showng
from the scriptures that the messiah
was Jesus.
It was when Apollos was in 19
Corinth that Paul, after passing
through the inland districts, came
down to Ephesus. There he found
some disciples, whom he asked, 2
" Did you receive the holy Spirit
M'hen you believed ? " " No," they
said, " we never even heard of its
existence." " Then," said he, 3
"what were you baptized in?"
" In John's baptism," they replied.
" John," said Paul, " baptized with 4
a baptism of repentance, telling
the people to believe in Him who
was to come after him, that is, in
Jesus." When they heard this, 5
they had themselves baptized in
171
THE ACTS XIX
6 the name of the Lord Jesus, and
after Paul laid his hands on them
the holy Spirit came upon them,
they spoke with ' tongues ' and
7 prophesied. They numbered all
together about twelve men.
8 Then Paul entered the synagogue
and for three months spoke out
fearlessly, arguing and persuading
people about the Reign of God.
9 But as some grew stubborn and
disobedient, decrying the Way
in presence of the multitude, he
left them, withdrew the disciples,
and continued his argument every
day from eleven to four* in the
10 lecture-room of Tyrannus. This
went on for two years, so that all
the inhabitants of Asia, Jews as
well as Greeks, heard the word of
the Lord.
11 God also worked no ordinary
12 miracles by means of Paul ; people
even carried away towels or aprons
he had used, and at their touch
sick folk were freed from their
diseases and evil spirits came out
13 of them. Some strolling Jewish
exorcists also undertook to pro-
nounce the name of the Lord Jesus
over those who had evil spirits,
saying, " I adjure you by the Jesus
14 whom Paul preaches ! " The seven
sons of Sceuas, a Jewish high priest,
15 used to do this. But the evil spirit
retorted, " Jesus I know and Paul
I know, but you — who are you?"
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit
resided leapt at them, overpowered
them all, and belaboured them,
till they rushed out of the house
17 stripped and wounded. This came
to the ears of all the inhabitants of
Ephesus, Jews as v/ell as Greeks;
awe fell on them all, and the name
of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
* The words Attc) Sipas ire/j-irrTis €us SfKdrtjs
D. etc.) are probably original.
172
Many believers would also come to 18
confess and disclose their magic
spells ; and numbers who had prac- 19
tised magic arts collected their
books and burned them in the
presence of all. On adding up the
value of them, it was found that
they were worth two thousand
pounds.
Thus did the word of the Lord 20
increase and prevail mightily.
After these events Paul resolved 21
in the Spirit to travel through
Macedonia and Achaia on his way
to Jerusalem. " After I get there,"
he said, " I must also visit Rome."
So he despatched tAvo of his assis- 22
tants to Macedonia, Timotheus and
Erastus, while he himself stayed on
awhile in Asia. It was about that 23
time that a great commotion arose
over the Way. This was how it 24
happened. By making silver shrines
of Artemis a silversmith called
Demetrius was the means of bring-
ing rich profit to his workmen. So 25
he got them together, along with the
workmen who belonged to similar
trades, and said to them : " My
men, you know this trade is the
source of our wealth. You also see 26
and hear that not only at Ephesus
but almost all over Asia this fellow
Paul has drawn off a considerable
number of people by his persuasions.
He declares that hand-made gods
are not gods at all. Now the 27
danger is not only that we will
have our trade discredited but that
the temple of the great goddess
Artemis will fall into contempt and
that she \^all be degraded from her
majestic glory, she whom all Asia
and the wide world worship."
When they heard this they were 28
filled with rage and raised the cry,
" Great is Artemis of Ephesus ! "
So the city was filled with confusion. 29
THE ACTS XX
They nished like one man into
the amphitheatre, dragging along
Gains and Aristarchus, Macedon-
ians who were travelling with Paul.
30 (Paul wanted to enter the popular
assembly, but the disciples would
31 not allow him. Some of the
Asiarchs, who were friends of his,
also sent to beg him not to venture
32 into the amphitheatre.) Some were
shouting one thing, some another;
for the assembly was in confusion,
and the majority had no idea why
33 they had met. Some of the mob
concluded it must be Alexander,
as the Jews pushed him to the front.
So Alexander motioning "vsith his
hand wanted to defend himself
34 before the people; but when they
discovered he was a Jew, a roar
broke from them all, and for about
two hours they shouted, " Great is
Artemis of Ephesus ! Great is
85 Artemis of Ephesus ! " The secre-
tary of state then got the mob
calmed down, and said to them,
" Men of Ephesus, who on earth
does not know that the city of
Ephesus is Warden of the temple
of the great Artemis and of the
36 statue that fell from heaven ? All
this is bej'^ond question. So you
should keep calm and do nothing
37 reckless. Instead of that you have
brought these men here who are
guilty neither of sacrilege nor of
38 blasphemy against our goddess. If
Demetrius and his fellow trades-
men have a grievance against any-
body, let both parties state their
charges; assizes are held and there
89 are always the proconsuls. Any
wider claim must be settled in
the legal assembly of the citizens.
40 Indeed there is a danger of our
being charged with riot over to-day's
meeting ; there is not a single reason
we can give for this disorderly
gathering." With these words he 41
dismissed the assembly.
When the tumult had ceased, 20
Paul sent for the disciples and
encouraged them; he then took
leave of them and went his way
to Macedonia. After passing 2
through the districts of Macedonia
and encouraging the people at
length, he came to Greece, where he 3
spent three months. Just as he was
on the point of sailing for Syria,
the Jews laid a plot against him.
He therefore resolved to return
through Macedonia. His company 4
as far as Asia consisted of Sopater
of Bercea (the son of Pyrrhus),
Aristarchus and Secundus from
Thessalonica, Gains of Derbe,
Timotheus, and Tychicus and
Trophimus from Asia. They went 5
on to wait for us at Troas, while we 6
sailed from Philippi, after the days
of unleavened bread, and joined
them five days later at Troas. There
we spent seven days. On the first 7
day of the week we met for the
breaking of bread; Paul addressed
them, as he was to leave next day,
and he prolonged his address till
midnight (there were plenty of 8
lamps in the upper room where we
met). In the "window sat a young 9
man called Eutychus, and as Paul's
address went on and on, he got
overcome with drowsiness, went
fast asleep, and fell from the third
storey. He was picked up a corpse,
but Paul went downstairs, threw 10
himself upon him, and embraced
him. " Do not lament," he said,
" the life is still in him." Then he 11
went upstairs, broke bread, and
ate ; finally, after conversing awhile
with them till the dawn, he went
away. As for the lad, they took 12
173
THE ACTS XXI
him away alive, much to their
13 rehef. Now we had gone on
beforehand to the ship and set sail
for Assos, intcndinfy to take Paul
on board there. This was his own
arrangement, for he intended to
14 travel by land. So when he met
us at Assos, we took him on board
15 and got to Mitylene. Sailing thence
on the follo\ving day we arrived
off Chios ; next day we crossed over
to Samos, and [after stopping at
Trofryllium] we went on next day
16 to Miletus. This was because Paul
had decided to sail past Ephesus, to
avoid any loss of time in Asia; he
wanted to reach Jerusalem, if pos-
sible, by the day of Pentecost.
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus
for the presbyters of the church.
18 When they came to him, he said,
" You know quite well how I lived
among you all the time ever since
19 I set foot in Asia, how I served
the Lord in all humility, with many
a tear and many a trial which I en-
countered owing to the plots of the
20 Jews, hoAv I never shrank from let-
ting you know anj^thing for your
good, or from teaching you alike in
21 public and from house to house, bear-
ing my testimony both to Jews and
Greeks of repentance before God
and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 Now here I go to Jerusalem under
the binding force of the Spirit.
What will befall me there I do
23 not know. Only, I know this, that
in town after town the holy Spirit
testifies to me that bonds and
24 troubles are awaiting me. But
then, I set no value on my own
life as compared with the joy of
finishing my course and fulfilling
the commission I received from
the Lord Jesus to attest the gospel
25 of the grace of God. I know to-
day that not one of you will ever
174
see my face again — not one of
you among whom I moved as I
preached the Reign. Therefore do 26
I protest before you this day that I
am not responsible for the blood of
any of you ; I never shrank from 27
letting you know the entire purpose
of God. Take heed to yourselves 28
and to all the flock of which the
holy Spirit has appointed you
guardians; shepherd the church of
the Lord which he has purchased
with his own blood. I know that 29
when I am gone, fierce wolves will
get in among you, and they will
not spare the flock ; yes, and men 30
of your own number will arise with
perversions of the truth to draw
the disciples after them. So be on 31
the alert, remember how for three
whole years I never ceased night
and day to watch over each one of
you with tears. And now I entrust 32
you to God and the word of his
grace; he is able to upbuild you
and give you your inheritance among
all the consecrated. Silver, gold, or 33
apparel I never coveted ; you know 34
yourselves how these hands of mine
provided everything for my own
needs and for my companions. I 35
showed you how this was the way
to work hard and succour the needy,
remembering the words of the Lord
Jesus, who said, ' To give is happier
than to get.' " With these words he 36
knelt down and prayed beside them
all. They all broke into loud lament- 37
ation and falling upon the neck of
Paul kissed him fondly, sorrowing 38
chiefly because he told them they
would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship.
When we had torn ourselves 21
away from them and set sail, we
made a straight run to Cos, next
THE ACTS XXI
day to Rhodes, and thence to
2 Patara ; as we found a ship there
bound for Phoenicia, we went on
3 board and set sail. After sighting
Cyprus and leaving it on our left,
we sailed for Syria, landing at Tyre
where the ship was to unload her
4 cargo. We found out the local
disciples and stayed there for seven
days. These disciples told Paul by
the Spirit not to set foot in Jeru-
5 salem ; but, when our time was up,
we started on our journey, escorted
by them, women and children and
all, till we got outside the town.
Then, kneeling on the beach, we
6 prayed and said goodbye to one
another. We went on board and
7 they went home. By sailing from
Tyre to Ptolemais we completed
our voyage; we saluted the brothers,
8 spent a day with them, and started
next morning for Caesarea, where
we entered the house of Philip
9 the evangelist (he belonged to the
Seven, and had four unmarried
daughters who prophesied). We
10 stayed with him. While we re-
mained there for a number of days,
a prophet called Agabus came down
11 from Judaea. He came to us, took
Paul's girdle and bound his own
feet and hands, saying, " Here is
the word of the holy Spirit : ' So
shall the Jews bind the owner of
this girdle at Jerusalem and hand
12 him over to the Gentiles '." Now
when we heard this, we and the
local disciples besought Pavil not to
13 go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul
replied, " What do you mean by
weeping and disheartening me ? I
am ready not only to be bound but
also to die at Jerusalem for the
14 sake of the Lord Jesus." As he
would not be persuaded, we ac-
quiesced, saying, " The will of the
Lord be done."
After these days we packed up 15
and started for Jerusalem, accom- 16
panied by some of the disciples
from Caesarea, who conducted us to
the house of Mnason, a Cypriote,
with whom we were to lodge. He
was a disciple of old standing.
The brothers welcomed us gladly 17
on our arrival at Jerusalem. Next 18
day we accompanied Paul to
James ; all the presbyters were
present, and after saluting them 19
Paul described in detail what God
had done by means of his ministry
among the Gentiles. They glorified 20
God when they heard it. Then
they said to him, " Brother, you
see how many thousands of be-
lievers there are among the Jews,
all of them ardent upholders of the
Lord. Now they have heard that 21
you teach Jews who live among
Gentiles to break away from Moses
and not to circumcise their children,
nor to follow the old customs.
What is to be done ? They will 22
be sure to hear you have arrived.*
So do as we tell you. We have 23
four men here under a vow ; asso- 24
ciate yourself with them, purify
yourself with them, pay their ex-
penses so that they may be free to
have their heads shaved, and then
everybody will understand there is
nothing in these stories about you,
but that, on the contrary, you are
guided by obedience to the Law.
As for Gentile believers, we have 25
issued our decision that they must
avoid food that has been offered
to idols, the taste of blood, flesh of
animals that have been strangled,
and sexual vice." Then Paul 20
associated himself with the men
next day; he had himself purified
along with them and went into
♦ Omitting [5tT ir\ridos irvvfAee7i/] and
176
THE ACTS XXII
the temple to give notice of the
time when the days of 'purification
would be completed — the time,
that is to say, when the sacrifice
could be offered for each one of
them.
27 The seven days were almost over
when the Asiatic Jews, catching
sight of him in the temple, stirred
up all the crowd and laid hands on
28 him, shouting, " To the rescue,
men of Israel ! Here is the man
who teaches everyone everywhere
against the People and the Law and
this Place ! And he has actually
brought Greeks inside the temple
29 and defiled this holy Place ! " (They
had previously seen Trophimus
the Ephesian along with him in
the city, and they supposed Paul
had taken him inside the temple.)
30 The whole city was thrown into
turmoil. The people rushed to-
gether, seized Paul and dragged him
outside the temple ; whereupon the
31 doors were immediately shut. They
were attempting to kill him when
word reached the commander of the
garrison that the whole of Jerusalem
32 was in confusion. Taking some
soldiers and officers, he at once
rushed down to them, and when
they saw the commander and the
soldiers they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the commander came up and
seized him; he ordered him to be
bound with a couple of chains, and
asked " Who is he? " and " What
34 has he done ? " Some of the crowd
roared one thing, some another,
and as he could not learn the facts
owing to the uproar, he ordered
Paul to be taken to the barracks.
35 By the time he reached the steps,
he had actually to be carried by
the soldiers on account of the
36 violence of the crowd, for the whole
mass of the people followed shout-
176
ing, " Away with him ! " Just as 87
he was being taken into the barracks,
Paul said to the commander, " May
I say a word to you ? " "You know
Greek ! " said the commander.
" Then you are not the Egyptian 38
who in days gone by raised the four
thousand assassins and led them
out into the desert? " Paul said, 30
" I am a Jew, a native of Tarsus
in Cilicia, the citizen of a famous
town. Pray let me speak to
the people." As he gave per- 40
mission, Paul stood on the steps
and motioned to the people. A
great hush came over them, and
he addressed them as follows
in Hebrew.
" Brothers and fathers, listen 22
to the defence I now make before
you." When thej^ heard him 2
addressing them in Hebrew they
were all the more quiet. So he
went on. "I am a Jew, born at 3
Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up
in this city, educated at the feet
of Gamaliel in all the stictness of
our ancestral Law, ardent for God
as you all are to-day. I persecuted 4
this Way of religion to the death,
chaining and imprisoning both men
and women, as the high priest and 5
all the council of elders can testify.
It was from them that I got letters
to the brotherhood at Damascus
and then journeyed thither to bind
those who had gathered there and
bring them back to Jerusalem for
punishment. Now as I neared 0
Damascus on my journey, sud-
denly about noon a brilliant light
from heaven flashed round me. I 7
dropped to the earth and heard a
voice sajdng to me, ' Saul, Saul, why
do you persecute me ? ' ' Who are 8
you ? ' 1 asked. He said to me, ' I
THE ACTS XXIII
am Jesus the Nazarcne, and you are
9 persecuting me.' (My companions
saw the light, but they did not hear
the voice of him who talked to me.)
10 I said, ' What am I to do ? ' And the
Lord said to me, ' Get up and make
your way into Damascus; there
you will be told about all you are
11 destined to do.' As I could not see
owing to the dazzling glare of that
light, my companions took my hand
12 and so I reached Damascus. Then
a certain Ananias, a devout man in
the Law, who had a good reputation
among all the Jewish inhabitants,
13 came to me and standing beside me
said, ' Saul, my brother, regain
your sight ! ' The same moment
I regained my sight and looked up
14 at him. Then he said, ' The God
of our fathers has appointed you to
know his will, to see the Just One,
and to hear him speak with his own
15 lips. For you are to be a witness
for him before all men, a witness
of what you have seen and heard.
jl6 And now, why do you wait ? Get
up and be baptized and wash away
your sins, calling on his name.'
17 When I returned to Jerusalem, it
happened that while I was praying
in the temple I fell into a trance
18 and saw Him saying to me, ' Make
haste, leave Jerusalem quickly, for
they will not accept your evidence
19 about me.' ' But, Lord,' I said,
' they surely know it was I who
imprisoned and flogged those who
believed in you throughout the
synagogues, and that I stood and
JO approved when the blood of your
martyr Stephen was being shed,
taking charge of the clothes of his
II murderers ! ' But he said to me,
' Go ; I will send you afar to the
^2 Gentiles ' " Till he said that,
they had listened to him. But at
that they shouted, " Away with
such a creature from the earth !
He is not fit to live ! " They yelled 23
and threw their clothes into the air
and flung dust about, till the com- 24
mander ordered him to be taken
inside the barracks and examined
under the lash, so as to find out why
the people shouted at him in this
way. They had strapped him up, 25
when Paul said to the officer who
was standing by, " Are you allowed
to scourge a Roman citizen — and
to scourge him without a trial ? "
When the officer heard this, he went 26
to the commander and said to him,
" What are you going to do ? This
man is a Roman citizen," So the 27
commander went to him and said,
" Tell me, are you a Roman
citizen ? " " Yes," he said. The 28
commander replied, " I had to pay
a large sum for this citizenship."
" But I was bom a citizen," said
Paul. Then those who were to have 29
examined him left him at once
alone; even the commander was
alarmed to find Paul was a Roman
citizen and that he had bound
him.
Next day, as he was anxious to 30
find out the real reason why the
Jews accused him, he unbound him,
ordered the high priests and all the
Sanhedrin to meet, and brought
Paul down, placing him in front of
them. With a steady look at the 23
Sanhedrin Paul said, " Brothers, I
have lived with a i>erfectly good
conscience before God down to
the present day." Then the high 2
priest Ananias ordered those who
were standing next Paul to strike
him on the mouth. At this Paul 3
said to him, " You whitewashed
wall, God will strike you ! You
sit there to judge me by the Law,
do you ? And you break the Law
by ordering me to be struck ! " The 4
177
THE ACTS XXIII
bystanders said, " What ! would you
5 rail at God's high priest ? " " Bro-
thers," said Paul, " I did not know
he was high priest" (for it is written.
You must not speak evil of any ruler
6 of your people). Then, finding half
the Sanhedrin were Sadducees and
the other half Pharisees, Paul
shouted to them, " I am a Phari-
see, brothers, the son of Pharisees !
It is for the hope of the resurrection
from the dead that I am on trial ! "
7 When he said this, a quarrel broke
out between the Pharisees and
the Sadducees ; the meeting was
8 divided. For while the Sadducees
declare there is no such thing as
resurrection, angels, or spirits, the
Pharisees affirm them all. Thus a
loud clamour broke out. Some of
the scribes who belonged to the
Pharisaic party got up and con-
tended, " We find nothing wrong
about this man. What if some
spirit or angel has spoken to him ? "
10 The quarrel then became so \iolent
that the commander was afraid they
would tear Paul in pieces ; he there-
fore ordered the troops to march
down and take him from them by
force, bringing him inside the
11 barracks. On the following night
the Lord stood by Paul and said,
" Courage ! As you have testified
to me at Jerusalem, so you must
testify at Rome."
12 When day broke, the Jews formed
a conspiracy, taking a solemn oath
neither to eat nor to drink till
13 they had killed Paul. There were
more than forty of them in this
14 plot. They then went to the
high priests and elders, sajdng,
" We have taken a solemn oath to
taste no food till we have killed
15 Paul. Now you and the Sanhedrin
must inform the commander that
you propose to investigate this case
178
in detail, so that he may have
Paul brought down to you. We
will be all ready to kill him on the
way down." Now Paul's nephew
heard about their treacherous am-
bush; so he got admission to the
barracks and told Paul. Paul
summoned one of the officers and
said, " Take this young man to the
commander, for he has some news
to give him." So the officer took
him to the commander, saying,
" The prisoner Paul has summoned
me to ask if I would bring this
young man to you, as he has some-
thing to tell you." The commander
then took him by the hand aside
and asked him in private, " What
is the news you have for me? "
He answered, " The Jews have
agreed to ask you to bring Paul
down to-morrow to the Sanhedrin,
on the plea that they* propose to
examine his case in detail. Now
do not let them persuade you.
More than forty of them are lying
in ambush for him, and they have
taken a solemn oath neither to eat
nor to drink till they have murdered
him. They are all ready at this
moment, awaiting your consent."
Then the commander dismissed the
youth, bidding him " Tell nobody
that you have informed me of this."
He summoned two of the officers
and said, " Get ready by nine o'clock
to-night two hundred infantry to
march as far as Caesarea, also
seventy troopers, and two hundred
spearmen." Horses were also to be
provided, on which they were to
mount Pavil and carry him safe to
Felix the governor. He then wrote
a letter in the following terms.
* Reading either fxeWoyrfs with the
Latin, Syriac, Sahidic, and Ethiopia
versions, or /j.ewSvraii' (A'^, Chrysostuni,
and some minuscules).
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23 I
241
25
THE ACTS XXIV
26 " Claudius Lysias, to his excellency
27 the governor Felix : greeting. This
man had been seized by the Jews
and was on the point of being mur-
dered by them, when I came on
them with tlie troops and rescued
him, as I had ascertained that he
28 was a Roman citizen. Anxious to
find out why they accused him,
I took him down to their Sanhedrin,
29 where I found he was accused of
matters relating to their Law but
not impeached for any crime that
deserved death or imprisonment.
30 I am informed a plot is to be laid
against him, so I am sending him
to you at once,* telling his accusers
that they must impeach him before
31 you. Farewell." The soldiers,
according to their instructions,
took Paul and brought him by
32 night to Antipatris. Next day
the infantry returned to their bar-
33 racks, leaving the troopers to ride
on with him. They reached
Caesarea, presented the letter to
the governor, and also handed Paul
34 over to him. On reading the
letter he asked what province he
belonged to, and finding it was
35 Cilicia he said, " I will go into
your case whenever your accusers
arrive," giving orders that he was
to be kept in the praetorium of
Herod.
24 Five days later down came the
high priest Ananias with some
elders and a barrister called Ter-
tullus. They laid information be-
fore the governor against Paul.
2 So Paul was summoned, and then
Tertullus proceeded to accuse him.
" Your excellency," he said to
Felix, " as it is owing to you that
* Reading t^aurris instead of 4^ avTwv.
we enjoy unbroken peace, and as
it is owing to your wise care that
the state of this nation has been
improved in every way and every-
where, w-e acknowledge all this wiih 3
profound gratitude. I have no wish 4
to weary you, but I beg of you to
grant us in your courtesy a brief
hearing. The fact is, we have 5
found this man is a perfect pest;
he stirs up sedition among the
Jews all over the world and he is
a ringleader of the Nazarene sect.
He actually tried to desecrate the 6
temple, but we got hold of him.
Examine him for yourself and you 8
will be able to find out about all
these charges of ours against him."
The Jews joined in the attack, 9
declaring that such were the facts
of the case. Then at a nod from 10
the governor Paul made his reply.
" As I know you have administered
justice in this nation for a number
of years," he said, " I feel encour-
aged to make my defence, because 11
it is not more than twelve days, as
you can easily ascertain, since I wxnt
up to worship at Jerusalem. They 12
never found me arguing with any-
one in the temple or causing a riot
either in the synagogues or in the
city ; they cannot furnish you with 13
any proof of their present charges
against me. I certainly admit to 14
j'ou that I worship our fathers'
God according to the methods of
what they call a ' sect ' ; but I be-
lieve all that is written in the Law
and in the prophets, and I cherish 15
the same hope in God as they
accept, namely that there is to be
a resurrection of the just and the
unjust. Hence I too endeavour 16
to have a clear conscience before
God and men all the time. After 17
a lapse of several years I came up
with alms and offerings for my
179
THE ACTS XXV
18 nation,* and it was in presenting
these tiiat I was found within the
temple. I was ceremonially pure,
I was not mixed up in any mob or
riot; no, the trouble was caused
19 by some Jews from Asia, who
ought to have been here before
you with any charge they may
20 have against me. Failing them,
let these men yonder tell what
fault they found with my appear-
21 ance before the Sanhedrin ! — unless
it was with the single sentence I
uttered, when I stood and said,
' It is for the resurrection of the
dead that I am on my trial to-day
22 before you.' " As Felix had a
pretty accurate knowledge of the
Way, he remanded Paul, telling
the Jews, " When Lysias the com-
mander comes down, I will decide
23 your case." He gave orders to the
officer to have Paul kept in custody
but to allow him some freedom
and not to prevent any of his own
people from rendering him any
service.
24 Some days later Felix arrived
with his wife Drusilla, who was a
Jewess. He sent for Paul and
heard what he had to say about
25 faith in Christ Jesus ; but when
he argued about morality, self-
mastery, and the future judgment,
Felix grew uneasy. " You may go
for the present," he said ; " when
I can find a moment, I will send for
26 you " (though at the same time
he hoped Paul would give him a
bribe). So he did send for him
pretty frequently and conversed
27 with him. But when two years
* It is hardly possible to make sense of
the following Greek text, and none of
the various readings or of the emendations
that have been proposed is entirely satis-
factory. All one can do is to reproduce
the general drift of the passage.
180
had elapsed, Felix was succeeded
by Porcius Festus, and as Felix
wanted to ingratiate himself with
the Jews, he left Paul still in cus-
tody.
Three days after Festus entered 25
his province, he went up from
Caesarea to Jerusalem. The high 2
priests and the Jewish leaders laid
information before him against
Paid, and begged him, as a special 3
favour, to send for him to Jeru-
salem, meaning to lay an ambush
for him and murder him on the
road. Festus replied that Paul 4
would be kept in custody at Caes- n
area, but that he himself meant to
leave for Caesarea before long —
" when," he added, " your compe- 5
tent authorities can come down
with me and charge the man with
whatever crime he has committed."
After staying not more than eight or 6
ten days with them, he went down
to Caesarea. Next day he took his
seat on the tribunal and ordered
Paul to be brought before him.
When he arrived, the Jews who 7
had come down from Jerusalem
surrounded him and brought a
number of serious charges against
him, none of which they were able
to prove. Paul's defence was, "18
have committed no offence against
the Law of the Jews, against the
temple, or against Caesar." As 9
Festus wanted to ingratiate him-
self with the Jews, he asked Paul,
" Will you go up to Jerusalem and
be tried there by me upon these
charges ? " Paul said, " I am 10
standing before Caesar's tribunal;
that is where I ought to be tried.
I have done no wrong whatever to
the Jews — you know that perfectly
well. If I am a criminal, if I have 11
THE ACTS XXVI
done anything that deserves death,
I do not object to die; but if there
is nothing in any of their charges
against me, then no one can give
me up to them. I appeal to
12 Caesar ! " Then, after conferring
with the council, Festus answered,
" You have appealed to Caesar ?
Very well, you must go to Caesar ! "
13 Some days had passed, when
king Agrippa and Bernice came to
Caesarea to pay their respects to
14 Festus. As they were spending
several days there, Festus laid
Paul's case before the king. " There
is a man," he said, " who was left
15 in prison by Felix. When I was
at Jerusalem, the high priests and
elders of the Jews informed me
about him and demanded his con-
16 demnation. I told them Romans
were not in the habit of giving up
any man until the accused met the
accusers face to face and had a
chance of defending himself against
17 the impeachment. Well, the day
after they came here along with
me, I took my seat on the tribunal
A\dthout any loss of time. I ordered
18 the man to be brought in, but when
his accusers stood up they did not
charge him with any of the crimes
19 that I had expected. The questions
at issue referred to their own religion
and to a certain Jesus who had
20 died. Paul said he was alive. As I
felt at a loss about the method of
inquiry into such topics, I asked
if he would go to Jerusalem and
be tried there on these charges.
21 But Paul entered an appeal for
his case to be reserved for the de-
cision of the emperor ; so I ordered
him to be detained till I could remit
22 him to Caesar." " I should like to
hear the man myself," said Agrippa
to Festus. " You shall hear him
to-morrow," said Festus.
So next day Agrippa and Bernice 23
proceeded with great pomp to the
hall of audience, accompanied by
the military commanders and the
prominent civilians of the town.
Festus then ordered Paul to be
brought in. " King Agrippa and 24
all here present," said Festus, " you
see before you a man of whom the
entire body of the Jews at Jerusa-
lem and also here have complained
to me. They loudly insist he ought
not to live any longer. I could not 25
find he had done anything that
deserved death, so I decided to
send him, on his own appeal, to
the emperor. Only, I have nothing 26
definite to write to the sovereign
about him. So I have brought
him up before you all, and especially
before you, O king Agrippa, in
order that I may get something to
write as the result of your cross-
examination. For it seems absurd 27
to me to forward a prisoner without
notifying the particulars of his
charge." Then Agrippa said to 26
Paul, " You have our permission to
speak upon your own behalf." At
this Paul stretched out his hand
and began his defence. " I consider 2
mj^self fortunate, king Agrippa, in
being able to defend myself to-day
before you against all that the Jews
charge me with; for you are well 3
acquainted with all Jewish customs
and questions. Pray listen to me
then with patience. How I lived 4
from my youth up among my own
nation and at Jerusalem, all that
early career of mine, is known to all
the Jews. They know me of old. 5
They know, if they chose to admit
it, that as a Pharisee I lived by the
principles of the strictest party in
our religion. To-day I am standing 6
my trial for hoping in the promise
made by God to our fathers, a 7
181
THE ACTS XXVI
promise which our twelve tribes
hope to gain by servingGod earnestly
both night and day. And I am
actually impeached by Jews for
9 this hojpe, O king ! I once believed
it my duty indeed actively to
oppose the name of Jesus the
10 Nazarene. I did so in Jerusalem.
I shut up many of the saints in
prison, armed with authority from
the high priests ; when they were
put to death, I voted against them ;
11 there was not a synagogue where
I did not often punish them and
force them to blaspheme; and in
my frantic fury I persecuted them
12 even to foreign towns. I was
travelling to Damascus on this
business, with authority and a
commission from the high priests,
13 when at mid-day on the road, O
king, I saw a light from heaven,
more dazzling than the sun, flash
round me and my fellow-travellers.
14 We all fell to the ground, and I
heard a voice sajing to me in
Hebrew, ' Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me? You hurt yourself
15 by kicking at the goad.' ' Who are
you ? ' I asked. And the Lord
said, ' I am Jesus, and you are
16 persecuting me. Now get up and
stand on your feet, for I have ap-
peared to you in order to appoint
you to my service as a witness to
what you have seen and to the
17 visions you will have of me. / Tvill
rescue you from the People and
also from the Gentiles — to whom I
18 send you, that their eyes may be
opened and that they may turn
from darkness to light, from the
power of Satan to God. to get
remission of their sins and an
inheritance among those who are
19 consecrated by faith in me.' Upon
this, O king Agrippa, I did not
20 disobey the heavenly vision ; I
182
announced to those at Damascus
and at Jerusalem in the first in-
stance, then all over the land of
Judaea, and also to the Gentiles,
that they were to repent and turn
to God by acting up to their repen-
tance. This is why the Jews seized 21
me in the temple and tried to assassi-
nate me. To this day I have had 22
the help of God in standing, as I
now do, to testify alike to low and
high, never uttering a single syll-
able beyond what the prophets and
Moses predicted was to take place.
Wh)?^ should you consider it in- 8
credible that God raises the dead,*
that the Christ is capable of suffer- 23
ing, and that he should be the first
to rise from the dead and bring
the message of light to the People
and to the Gentiles? " When he 24
brought this forward in his defence,
Festus called out, " Paul, you are
quite mad ! Your great learning
is driving you insane." " Your 25
excellency," said Paul to Festus,
" I am not mad, I am speaking
the sober truth. Why, the king 26
is well aware of this ! To the
king I can speak without the
slightest hesitation. I do not
believe any of it has escaped
his notice, for this was not done
in a corner. King Agrippa, )^ou 27
believe the prophets ? I know you
do." " At this rate," Agrippa re- 28
marked, " it won't be long before
you believe you have made a
Christian of me ! " " Long or 29
short," said Paul, " I would to
God that not only you but all
my hearers to-day could be what
I am — barring these chains ! "
Then the king rose, with the gover- 30
nor and Bernice and those who had
been seated beside them. They Si
* Restoring ver. 8 to ite original
position at the beginning of ver. 23.
THE ACTS XXVII
retired to discuss the affair, and
agreed that " this man has done
nothing to deserve death or im-
32 prisonment." " He might have
been released," said Agrippa to
Festus, " if he had not appealed
to Caesar."
27 When it was decided we were to
sail for Italy, Paul and some other
prisoners were handed over to an
officer of the Imperial regiment
2 called Julius. Embarking in an
Andramyttian ship which was
bound for the Asiatic seaports, we
set sail, accompanied by a Mace-
donian from Thessalonica called
3 Aristarchus. Next day wc put in
at Sidon, where Julius very kindly
allowed Paul to visit his friends and
4 be looked after. Putting to sea
from there, we had to sail under
the lee of Cyprus as the wind was
5 against us ; then, sailing over the
Cilician and Pamphylian waters,
6 we came to Myra in Lyeia. There
the officer found an Alexandrian
ship bound for Italy, and put us on
7 board of her. For a number of
days we made a slow passage and
had great difficulty in arriving off
Cnidus ; then, as the wind checked
our progress, we sailed under the
8 lee of Crete off Cape Salmone, and
coasting along it with great difficulty
we reached a place called Fair
Havens, not far from the town of
9 Lasea. By this time it was far on in
the season and sailing had become
dangerous (for the autun;n Fast was
past), so Paul warned them thus :
10 " Men," said he, " I see this voyage
is going to be attended with hard-
ship and serious loss not only to
'^ the cargo and the ship but also to
11 our own lives." However the
officer let himself be persuaded
by the captain and the owner
rather than by anything Paul could
say, and, as the harbour was badly 12
placed for wintering in, the majority
proposed to set sail and try if they
could reach Phoenix and winter
there (Pha>nix is a Cretan harbour
facing S.W. and N.W.). When a 13
moderate southerly breeze sprang
up, they thought they had secured
their object, and after weighing
anchor they sailed along the coast
of Crete, close inshore. Presently 14
down rushed a hurricane of a wind
called Euroclydon ; the ship was 15
caught and unable to face the wind,
so we gave up and let her drive
along. Running under the lee of 16
a small island called Clauda we
managed with great difficulty to
get the boat hauled in ; once it was 17
hoisted aboard, they used ropes* to
undergird the ship, and in fear of
being stranded on the Syrtis they
lowered the sail and lay to. As 18
we were being terribly battered by
the storm, they had to jettison the
cargo next day, while two days 19
later they threw the ship's gear
overboard with their own hands ;
for many days neither sun nor stars 20
could be seen, the storm raged
heavily, and at last we had to give
up all hope of being saved. When 21
they had gone without food for a
long time, Paul stood up among
them and said, " Men, you should
have listened to me and spared
yourselves this hardship and loss
by refusing to set sail from Crete.
I now bid you cheer up. There 22
will be no loss of life, only of the
ship. For last night an angel of 23
the God I belong to and serve,
stood before me, saying, ' Have no 24
* Naber's conjecture $oe[ais for the
Pov6eiu.is of tho MSS. yields this excellent
sense.
183
THE ACTS XXVIII
fear, Paul; you must stand before
Caesar. And God has granted you
the lives of all your fellow-voya-
25 gers.' Cheer up, men ! I believe
God, I believe it will turn out just
26 as I have been told. However,
we are to be stranded on an
island."
27 When the fourteenth night
arrived, we were drifting about in
the sea of Adria when the sailors
about midnight suspected land was
28 near. On taking soundings they
found twenty fathoms, and a little
further on, when they sounded
29 again, they found fifteen. Then,
afraid of being stranded on the
rocks, they let go four anchors
from the stern and longed for
30 dajdight. The sailors tried to
escape from the ship. They had
even lowered the boat into the sea,
pretending they were going to lay
31 out anchors from the bow, when
Paul said to the officer and the
soldiers, " You cannot be saved
unless these men stay by the
32 ship." Then the soldiers cut away
the ropes of the boat and let her
33 fall off. Just before daj^break Paul
begged them all to take some
food. " For fourteen days," he
said, " you have been on the watch
all the time, without a proper
34 meal. Take some food then, I
beg of you ; it will keep you alive.
You are going to be saved ! Not
a hair of your heads will perish."
35 With these words he took a loaf
and after thanking God broke and
36 ate it in presence of them all. Then
they all cheered up and took food
37 for themselves (there were about*
seventy-six souls of us on board,
38 all told) ; and when they had eaten
their fill, they lightened the ship
♦ Reading ws (B and Sahidic version)
for StuKSffiai.
184
by throwing the wheat into the sea.
VVhen day broke, they could not 39
recognize what land it was; how-
ever they noticed a creek with a
sandy beach, and resolved to see
if they could run the ship ashore
there. So the anchors were cut 40
away and left in the sea, while the
crew imlashed the ropes that tied
the rudders, hoisted the foresail to
the breeze, and headed for the
beach. Striking a reef, they drove 41
the ship aground ; the prow jammed
fast, but the stern began to break
up under the beating of the waves.
Now the soldiers resolved to kill 42
the prisoners, in case any of them
swam off and escaped, but as the 43
officer wanted to save Paul, he put
a stop to their plan, ordering
those who could swim to jump over-
board first and get to land, while 44
the rest were to manage with
planks or pieces of wreckage.
In this way it turned out that
the whole company got safe to
land.
It was only after our escape 28
that we found out the island was
called Malta. The natives showed 2
us uncommon kindness, for they lit
a fire and welcomed us all to it, as the
rain had come on and it was chilly.
Now Paul had gathered a bundle 3
of sticks and laid them on the fire,
when a viper crawled out with the
heat and fastened on his hand.
When the natives saw the creature 4
hanging from his hand, they said
to each other, " This man must be
a murderer ! He has escaped the
sea, but Justice will not let him
live." However, he shook off the 5
creature into the fire and was not
a whit the worse. The natives 6
waited for him to swell up or drop
THE ACTS XXVIII
down dead in a moment, but after
waiting a long while and observing
that no harm had befallen him, they
changed their minds and declared
he was a god.
7 There was an estate in the neigh-
bourhood wliich belonged to a man
called Publius, the governor of the
island ; he welcomed us and enter-
tained us hospitably for three days.
8 His father, it so happened, was laid
up with fever and dysentery, but
Paul went in to see him and after
prayer laid his hands on him and
9 cured him. When this had hap-
pened, the rest of the sick folk in
the island also came and got cured ;
10 they made us rich presents and fur-
nished us, when we set sail, with all
we needed.
11 We set sail, after three months,
in an Alexandrian ship, with the
Dioscuri on her figure-head, which
12 had wintered at the island. We
put in at Syracuse and stayed for
13 three days. Then tacking round
we reached Rhegium; next day
a south wind sprang up which
brought us in a day to Puteoli,
14 where we came across some of the
brotherhood, who invited us to
stay a week with them.
In this way we reached Rome.
15 As the local brothers had heard
about us, they came out to meet
us as far as Appii Forum and Tres
Tabernae, and when Paul saw them
he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we did reach Rome, Paul
got permission * to live by himself,
17 with a soldier to guard him. Three
days later he called the leading
Jews together, and when they met
he said to them, " Brothers, al-
though I have done nothing against
the People or our ancestral customs,
* Omitting [5 (KarSprapxos ■KapiSiaKfv tqvs
iecTfilovs T^ ffTpaToiTiSiipxv] and [Si],
I was handed over to the Romans
as a prisoner from Jerusalem.
They meant to release me after 18
examination, as I was innocent of
any crime that deserved death.
But the Jews objected, and so I 19
was obliged to appeal to Caesar —
not that I had any charge to bring
against my own nation. This is 20
my reason for asking to see you
and have a word with you. I am
wearing this chain because I share
Israel's hope." They replied, " We 21
have had no letters about you
from Judaea, and no brother has
come here with any bad report or
story about you. We think it 22
only right to let you tell your own
story; but as regards this sect,
we are well aware that there are
objections to it on all hands." So 23
they fixed a day and came to him
at his quarters in large numbers.
From morning to evening he ex-
plained the Reign of God to them
from personal testimony, and tried
to convince them about Jesus from
the law of Moses and the prophets.
Some were convinced by what he 24
said, but the others would not be-
lieve. As they could not agree 25
among themselves they turned to
go away, when Paul added this one
word : "It was an apt word that
the holy Spirit spoke by the prophet
Isaiah to your fathers, when he 26
said.
Go and tell this people,
' You will hear and hear but
never understand,
you will see and see but never
perceive.^
For the heart of this people is 27
obtuse,
their ears are heavy of hearing,
their eyes they have closed,
lest they see zvith their eyes and
hear with their ears,
185
THE ACTS XXVIII
lest they understand with their
heart and turn again, and I
cure them.
28 Be sure of this, then, that this sal-
vation of God has been sent to the
Gentiles ; they will listen to it."
For two full years he remained in 30
his private lodging, welcoming any-
one who came to visit him; he
preached the Reign of God and 31
taught about the Lord Jesus Christ
quite openly and unmolested.
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
ROMANS
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, set apart
2 for the gospel of God (which he
promised of old by his prophets
3 in the holy scriptures) concerning
his Son, who was born of David's
4 offspring by natural descent and
installed as Son of God with power
by the Spirit of holiness when he
was raised from the dead — con-
cerning Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom I have received the
favour of my commission to pro-
mote obedience to the faith for
his sake among all the Gentiles,
6 including yourselves who are called
7 to belong to Jesus Christ : to all
in Rome who are beloved by God,
called to be saints, grace and peace
to you from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First of all, I thank my God
through Jesus Christ for you all,
because the report of your faith
9 is over all the world. God is mj''
witness, the God whom I serve
with my spirit in the gospel of his
10 Son, how unceasingly I always
mention you in my prayers, asking
if I may at last be sped upon my
11 way to you by God's will. For I
do yearn to see you, that I may
impart to you some spiritual gift
12 for your strengthening — or, in other
words, that I may be encouraged
by meeting you, I by your faith
13 and you by mine. Brothers, I
would like you to understand that I
have often purposed to come to you
(though up till now I have been
prevented) so as to have some re-
sults among you as well as among
the rest of the Gentiles. To Greeks 14
and to barbarians, to wise and to
foolish alike, I owe a duty. Hence 15
my eagerness to preach the gospel
to you in Rome as well. For I am 16
proud of the gospel; it is God's
saving power for everyone who has
faith, for the Jew first and for the
Greek as well. God's righteousness 17
is revealed in it by faith and for
faith — as it is written, Noiv by faith
shall the righteous live. But God's 18
anger is revealed from heaven
against all the impiety and wicked-
ness of those who hinder the Truth
by their wickedness. For what- 19
ever is to be known of God is
plain to them; God himself has
made it plain — for ever since the 20
world was created, his invisible
nature, his everlasting power and
divine being, have been quite per-
ceptible in what he has made.
So they have no excuse. Though 21
they knew God, they have not
glorified him as God nor given
thanks to him; they have turned
to futile speculations till their
ignorant minds grew dark. They 22
claimed to be wise, but they have
become fools ; they have exchanged 23
the glory of the immortal God for
tlie semblance of the likeness of
mortal man, of birds, of quad-
rupeds, and of reptiles. So God 24
has given them up, in their heart's
lust, to sexual vice, to the dis-
honouring of their own bodies, —
187
ROMANS II
25 since they have exchanged the
truth of God for an untruth, wor-
shipping and serving the creature
rather than the Creator who is
26 blessed for ever : Amen. That is
why God has given them up to
vile passions ; their women have
exchanged the natural function of
27 sex for what is unnatural, and in
the same way the males have
abandoned the natural use of
women and flamed out in lust for
one another, men perpetrating
shameless acts with their own sex
and getting in their own persons the
due recompense of their perversity.
28 Yes, as they disdained to acknow-
ledge God any longer, God has given
them up to a reprobate instinct for
the perpetration of what is improper,
29 till they are filled with all manner
of wickedness, depravity, lust,
and viciousness, filled to the brim
with envy, murder, quarrels, in-
30 trigues, and malignity — slanderers,
defamers, loathed by God, out-
rageous, haughty, boastful, inven-
tive in evil, disobedient to parents,
31 devoid of conscience, false to their
32 word, callous, merciless ; though
they know God's decree that people
who practise such vice deserve
death, they not only do it them-
selves but applaud those who
practise it.
2 Therefore you are inexcusable,
whoever you are, if you pose as a
judge, for in judging another you
condemn yourself ; you, the judge,
do the very same things yourself.
2 ' We know the doom of God falls
justly upon those who practise such
3 vices.' Very well ; and do you imag-
ine you will escape God's doom, O
man, you who judge those who
practise such vices and do the same
188
yourself ? Or are you slighting all 4
his wealth of kindness, forbearance,
and patience? Do you not know
his kindness is meant to make you
repent ? In your stubbornness and 5
impenitence of heart you are simply
storing up anger for yourself on
the Day of anger, when the just
doom of God is revealed. For he 6
will render to everyone according to
what he has done, eternal life to 7
those who by patiently doing good
aim at glory, honour, and immor-
tality, but anger and wrath to those 8
who are wilful, who disobey the
Truth and obey v^ckedness — an- 9
guish and calamity for every human
soul that perpetrates evil, for the
Jew first and for the Greek as well,
but glory, honour, and peace for 10
everyone who does good, for the
Jew first and for the Greek as well.
There is no partiality about God. 11
All who sin outside the Law will 12
perish outside the Law,
and all who sin under the Law
will be condemned by the Law.
For it is not the hearers of the Law 13
who are just in the eyes of God, it
is those who obey the Law who will
be acquitted, on the day when 16
God judges the secret things of
men, as my gospel holds, by Jesus
Christ. (When Gentiles who have 14
no law obey instinctively the Law's
requirements, they are a laAV to
themselves, even though they have
no law; they exhitat the effect of 15
the Law written on their hearts,
their conscience bears them wit-
ness, as their moral convictions
accuse or it may be defend them.)*
* Ver. 16 is the sequel to the first
clause of ver. 14. The rest of ver. 14 and
the whole of ver. 15 form a short para-
graph which is either a marginal note or
an awkward insertion. To preserve the
sequence of thought I have re-arranged
the verses as above.
ROMANS III
17 If you bear the name of 'Jew,'
relying on the Law, priding your-
18 self on God, understanding his
will, and with a sense of what is
vital in religion ; if you are in-
19 structed by the Law and are per-
suaded you are a guide to the
blind, a light to darkened souls,
20 a tutor for the foolish, a teacher
of the simple, because in the Law
you have the embodiment of know-
21 ledge and truth — well then, do
you ever teach yourself, you teacher
of other people ? You preach
against stealing ; do you steal ?
22 You forbid adultery ; do you com-
mit adultery ? You detest idols ;
23 do you rob temples ? You pride
yourself on the Law; do you dis-
honour God by your breaches of the
24 Law ? Why, it is owing to you that
the name of God is maligned among
25 the Gentiles, as scripture says ! Cir-
cumcision is certainly of use, pro-
vided you keep the Law; but if
you are a breaker of the Law, then
your circumcision is turned into
26 uncircumcision. (If then the uncir-
cumcised observe the requirements
of the Law, will not their uncircum-
cision be reckoned equivalent to
27 circumcision ? And will not those
who are physically uncircumcised
and who fulfil the Law, judge you
who are a breaker of the Law for
all your written code and circum-
cision?)
28 He is no Jew who is merely a Jew
outwardly,
nor is circumcision something
outward in the flesh ;
29 he is a Jew who is one inwardly,
and circumcision is a matter
of the heart, spiritual not
literal —
praised by God, not by man.
Then what is the Jew's superi- 3
ority? What is the good of cir-
cumcision ? Much in every way. 2
This to begin with — Jews were en-
trusted with the scriptures of God.
Even supposing some of them have 3
proved untrustworthy, is their
faithlessness to cancel the faith-
fulness of God ? Never ! Let God 4
be true to his word, though every
man he 'perfidious — as it is written,
That thou mayest he vindicated in
thy pleadings,
and triumph in thy trial.
But if our iniquity thus serves 5
to bring out the justice of God,
what are we to infer? That it is
unfair of God to inflict his anger on
us ? (I speak in a merely human
way.) Never ! In that case, how 6
could he judge the world? You 7
say, " If my perfidy serves to make
the truthfulness of God redound
to his glory, why am I to be judged
as a sinner? Why should we not 8
do evil that good may come out of
it ? " (which is the calumny attri-
buted to me — the very thing some
people declare I say). Such argu-
ments are rightly condemned.
Well now, are we Jews in a better 9
position ? Not at all. I have
already charged all, Jews as well as
Greeks, with being under sin — as it 10
is written.
None is righteous, no, not one ;
no one understands, no one 11
seeks for God.
All have swerved, one and all have 12
gone wrong,
no one does good, not a single one.
Their throat is an open grave, 13
they are treacherous with their
tongues,
the venom of an asp lies under
their lips.
Their mouth is full of cursing and 14
bitterness.
189
ROMANS IV
15 their feet are swift for bloodshed,
16 their ways bring destruction and
calamity,
17 they know nothing of the way of
peace ;
18 there is no reverence for God
before their eyes.
19 Whatever the Law says, we
know, it says to those who are
inside the Law, that every mouth
may be shut and all the world
20 made answerable to God ; for no
person will be acquitted in his sight
on the score of obedience to law.
What the Law imparts is the con-
21 sciousness of sin. But now we have
a righteousness of God disclosed
apart from law altogether; it is
attested bj^ the Law and the
22 prophets, but it is a righteous-
ness of God wliich comes by be-
lieving in Jesus Christ. And it is
meant for all who have faith. No
23 distinctions are drawn. All have
sinned, all come short of the glory
24 of God, but they are justified for
nothing by his grace through the
ransom provided in Christ Jesus,
25 v/hom God put forward as the
means of propitiation by his blood,
to be received by faith. This was
to demonstrate the justice of God
in view of the fact that sins pre-
viously committed during the
time of God's forbearance had
26 been passed over; it was to
demonstrate his justice at the
present epoch, showing that God
is just himself and that he justi-
fies man on the score of faith in
Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our boast-
ing? It is ruled out absolutely.
On what principle? On the prin-
ciple of doing deeds ? No, on the
28 principle of faith. We hold a man
is justified by faith apart from
29 deeds of the Law altogether. Or
190
is God only the God of Jews? Is
he not the God of the Gentiles as
well ? Surely he is. Well then, 30
there is one God, a God who will
justify the circumcised as they be-
lieve and the uncircumcised on the
score of faith. Then ' by this 31
faith ' we ' cancel the Law ' ? Not
for one moment ! We uphold the
Law.
But if so, what can we say 4
about Abraham,* our forefather
by natural descent ? This, that 2
if ' Abraham was justified on the
score of what he did,' he has some-
thing to be proud of. But not to
be proud of before God. For what 3
does scripture say? Abraham be-
lieved God and this was counted
to him as righteousness. Now a 4
worker has his wage counted to
him as a due, not as a favour ; but 5
a man who instead of ' working '
believes in Him who justifies the
ungodly, has his faith counted as
righteousness. Just as David him- 6
self describes the bliss of the man
who has righteousness counted to
him by God apart from what he
does —
Blessed are they whose breaches of 7
the Law are forgiven,
whose sins are covered !
Blessed is the man whose sin the 8
Lord will not count to him.
Now is that description of bliss 9
meant for the circumcised, or for
the uncircumcised as well ? Abra-
ham's faith, I repeat, xvas counted
to him as righteousness. In what 10
way ? When he was a circum-
cised man or an uncircumcised
man ? Not when he was circum-
cised, but when he was uncircum-
• Omitting, with B, 1908* and Origen,
ROMANS V
11 cised. He only got circumcision
as a sign or seal of the righteous-
ness which belonged to his faith
as an uncircumcised man. The
reason of this was to make him the
father of all who believe as un-
circumcised persons and thus have
righteousness counted to them,
12 as well as a father of those circum-
cised persons who not only share
circumcision but walk in the steps
of the faith which our father
Abraham had as an uncircumcised
man.
13 The promise made to Abraham
and his offspring that he should
inherit the world, did not reach
him through the Law, but through
14 the righteousness of faith. For if
it is adherents of the Law who are
heirs, then faith is empty of all
meaning and the promise is void.
15 (What the Law produces is the
Wrath, not the promise of God;
where there is no law, there is no
16 transgression either.) That is why
all turns upon faith ; it is to make
the promise a matter of favour, to
make it secure for all the offspring,
not simply for those who are ad-
herents of the Law but also for
those who share the faith of Abra-
ham— of Abraham who is the
17 father of us all (as it is written,
/ have made you a father of many
nations). Such a faith implies the
presence of the God in whom he
believed, a God who makes the
dead live and calls into being what
18 does not exist. For Abraham,
when hope was gone, hoped on in
faith, and thus became the father
of many nations — even as he was
told. So numberless shall your off-
19 spring be. His faith never quailed
even when he noted the utter im-
potence of his own body (for he
was about a hundred years old)
or the impotence of Sara's womb;
no unbelief made him waver about 20
God's promise; his faith won
strength as he gave glory to God
and felt convinced that He was 21
able to do what He had promised.
Hence his faith was counted to him 22
as righteousness. And these words 23
counted to him have not been written
for him alone but for our sakes as 24
well; faith will be counted to us
as we believe in Him who raised
Jesus our Lord from the dead,
Jesus who was delivered up for our 25
trespasses and raised that we might
be justified.
As we are justified by faith, 5
then, let us enjoy the peace we
have with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Through him we 2
have got access * to this grace
where we have our standing, and
triumph in the hope of God's
glory. Not only so, but we 3
triumph even in our troubles,
knowing that trouble produces
endurance, endurance produces 4
character, and character produces
hope — a hope which never dis- 5
appoints us, since God's love floods
our hearts through the holy Spirit
which has been given to us. For 6
when we were still in weakness,
Christ died in due time for the
ungodly. For the ungodly ! Why, 7
a man will hardly die for the just,
though one might bring oneself to
die, if need be, for a good man.
But God proves his love for us in 8
this, that Christ died for us when
we were still sinners. Much more 9
then, now that we are justified by
his blood, shall we be saved by
him from Wrath. If we were 10
* Omitting rfi via-rei with B D Q, the
Old Latin, and Origen.
191
ROMANS VI
reconciled to God by the death of
his Son when we were enemies,
much more, now that we are recon-
ciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 Not only so, but we triimiph in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom we now enjoy our recon-
ciliation.
12 Thus, then, sin came into the
world by one man, and death came
in by sin ; and so death spread
to all men, inasmuch as all men
13 sinned. Sin was indeed in the
world before the Law, but sin is
never counted in the absence of
14 law. Nevertheless, from Adam to
Moses death reigned even over
those whose sins were not like
Adam's transgression. Adam pre-
15 figured Him who was to come, but
the gift is very different from the
trespass. For while the rest of men
died by the trespass of one man,
the grace of God and the free gift
which comes by the grace of the
one man Jesus Christ overflowed
far more richly upon the rest of men.
16 Nor is the free gift like the effect
of the one man's sin; for while
the sentence ensuing on a single
sin resulted in doom, the free gift
ensuing on many trespasses issues
17 in acquittal. For if the trespass of
one man allowed death to reign
through that one man, much more
shall those who receive the over-
flowing grace and free gift of right-
eousness reign in life throiigh One,
18 through Jesus Christ. Well then,
as one man's trespass issued in
doom for all,
so one man's act of redress
issues in acquittal and life
for all.
19 Just as one man's disobedience
made all the rest sinners,
so one man's obedience will
make all the rest righteous.
192
Law slipped in to aggravate the 20
trespass ; sin increased, but grace
surpassed it far, so that while sin 21
had reigned the reign of death,
grace might also reign with a
righteousness that ends in life
eternal through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Now what are we to infer from 6
this ? That we are to ' remain
on in sin, so that there may be
all the more grace ' ? Never ! 2
How can we live in sin any longer
when we died to sin ? Surely you 3
know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into his death !
Our baptism into his death made 4
us share his burial, so that, as Christ
was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we too might
live and move in the new sphere
of Life. For if we have grown 5
into him by a death like his, we
shall grow into him by a resurrec-
tion like his, knowing as we do 6
that our old self has been crucified
with him in order to crush the sinful
body and free us from any further
slavery to sin (for once dead, a man 7
is absolved from the claims of sin).
We believe that as we have died 8
with Christ we shall also live with
him; for we know that Christ 9
never dies after his resurrection
from the dead — death has no more
hold over him; the death he died 10
was for sin, once for all, but the
life he lives is for God. So you 11
must consider yourselves dead to
sin and alive to God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Sin is not to 12
reign, then, over your mortal
bodies and make you obey their
passions; you must not let sin 13
have your members for the service
ROMANS VII
of vice, you must dedicate your-
selves to God as men who have
been brought from death to Hfe,
dedicating your members to God
for the service of righteousness.
14 Sin must have no hold over you,
for you live under grace, not under
law.
15 What follows, then ? Are we ' to
sin, because we live under grace,
16 not under law ' ? Never ! Do
you not know you are the servants
of the master you obey, of the
master to whom j^ou yield your-
selves obedient, whether it is Sin,
whose service ends in death, or
Obedience, whose service ends in
17 righteousness ? Thank God, though
you did serve sin, you have
rendered whole-hearted obedience
to what you were taught under
18 the rule of faith ; set free from sin,
you have passed into the service of
19 righteousness. (I use this human
analogy to bring the truth home
to your weak nature.) As you
once dedicated your members to
the service of vice and lawless-
ness,* so now dedicate them to the
service of righteousness that means
20 consecration. When you served
sin, you were free of righteousness,
21 Well, what did you gain then by
it all? Nothing but what you
are now ashamed of ! The end of
22 all that is death; but now that
you are set free from sin, now that
you have passed into the service
of God, your gain is consecration,
and the end of that is life eternal.
23 Sin's wage is death, but God's gift
is life eternal in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
• Omitting els tV avofilav, which Hort
brackets, as a gloss introduced to complete
the parallel of eh aytafff4.6f.
OHA».
Surely you know, my brothers 7
— for I am speaking to men who
know what law means — that the
law has hold over a person only
during his lifetime ! Thus a 2
married woman is bound by law
to her husband while he is alive;
but if the husband dies, she is done
with the law of ' the husband.'
Accordingly, she will be called an 3
adulteress if she becomes another
man's while her husband is alive;
but if her husband dies, she is freed
from the law of ' the husband,' so
that she is no adulteress if she
becomes another man's. It is the 4
same in your case, my brothers.
The crucified body of Christ made
you dead to the Law, so that you
might belong to another, to him
who was raised from the dead that
we might be fruitful to God. For 5
when we were unspiritual, the sinful
cravings excited by the Law were
active in our members and made
us fruitful to Death; but now we 6
are done with the Law, we have
died to what once held us, so that
we can serve in a new way, not
under the written code as of old
but in the Spirit.
What follows, then ? That ' the 7
Law is equivalent to sin ' ? Never !
Why, had it not been for the I^aw,
I would never have known what
sin meant ! Thus I would never
have known what it is to covet,
unless the Law had said, You must
not covet. The command gave an 8
impulse to sin, and sin resulted for
me in all manner of covetous desire
— for sin, apart from law, is lifeless.
I lived at one time without law 9
myself, but when the command
came home to me, sin sprang to
life and I died; the command 10
that meant life proved death for
me. The command gave an im- II
193
ROMANS VIII
pulse to sin, sin beguiled me and
used the command to kill me.
12 So the Law at any rate is holy,
the command is holy, just, and for
13 our good. Then did what was
meant for my good prove fatal to
me ? Never ! It was sin ; sin
resulted in death for me by mak-
ing use of this good thing. This
was how sin was to be revealed
in its true nature; it was to use
the command to become sinful
14 in the extreme. The Law is
spiritual ; we know that. But
then I am a creature of the flesh,
15 in the thraldom of sin. I cannot
understand my own actions ; I do
not act as I want to act; on the
16 contrary, I do what I detest. Now,
when I act against my wishes, that
means I agree that the Law is
17 right. That being so, it is not I
who do the deed but sin that
18 dwells within me. For in me
(that is, in my flesh) no good dwells,
I know ; the wish is there, but not
the power of doing what is right.
19 I cannot be good as I want to be,
and I do wrong against my wishes.
20 Well, if I act against my wishes,
it is not I who do the deed but
21 sin that dwells within me. So this
is my experience of the Law : I
want to do what is right, but wrong
22 is all I can manage ; I cordially
agree with God's law, so far as my
23 inner self is concerned, but then I
find quite another law in my
roApibers which conflicts with the
llfv "Df my mind and makes me a
pf^oner to sin's law that resides
25 m my members. (Thus, left to
m}«elf, I s^We' the law of God
with rrfy mind, but with my flesh I
24 serve the law of sin.) * Miserable
* Restoring the second part of ver. 25
to what seems its original and logical
position before the climax of ver. 24.
194
3 I
wretch that I am ! Who will
rescue me from this body of
death ? God will ! Thanks be 25
to him through Jesus Christ our
Lord!
Thus there is no doom now for 8
those who are in Christ Jesus ; the 2
law of the Spirit brings the life
which is in Christ Jesus, and that
law has set me free from the law of
sin and death. For God has done
what the Law, weakened here by
the flesh, could not do ; by sending
his own Son in the guise of sinful
flesh, to deal with sin, he con-
demned sin in the flesh, in order 4
to secure the fulfilment of the Law's
requirements in our lives, as we
live and move not by the flesh but
by the Spirit.
For those who follow the flesh 5
have their interests in the
flesh,
and those who follow the
Spirit have their interests in
the Spirit.
The interests of the flesh mean 6
death,
the interests of the Spirit mean
life and peace.
For the interests of the flesh are 7
hostile to God ; they do not yield
to the law of God (indeed they
cannot). Those who are in the 8
flesh cannot satisfy God. But you 9
are not in the flesh, you are in the
Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells
within you. Anyone who does not
possess the Spirit of Christ does not
belong to Him. On the other hand, 10
if Christ is within you, though the
body is a dead thing owing to Adam's
sin, the spirit is living as the result
of righteousness. And if the Spirit 11
of Him who raised Jesus from the
dead dwells within you, then He
ROMANS VIII
who raised Christ Jesus from the
dead will also make your mortal
bodies live by his indwelling Spirit
in your lives.
12 Well then, my brothers, we owe
a duty — but it is not to the flesh !
It is not to live by the flesh ! If
you live by the flesh, you are on the
13 road to death, but if by the Spirit
you put the actions of the body
14 to death you will live. For the
sons of God are those who are
15 guided by the Spirit of God. You
have received no slavish spirit that
would make you relapse into fear ;
you have received the Spirit of son-
ship. And when we cry, " Abba !
16 Father ! ", it is this Spirit testi-
fying along with our own spirit
17 that we are children of God ; and
if children, heirs as well, heirs of
God, heirs along with Christ — for
we share his sufferings in order to
share his glory.
18 Present suffering, I hold, is a
mere nothing compared to the
glory that we are to have revealed.
19 Even the creation waits with eager
longing for the sons of God
20 to be revealed. For creation was
not rendered futile by its own
choice, but by the will of Him
who thus made it subject, the
21 hope being that creation as well
as man would one day be freed
from its thraldom to decay and gain
the glorious freedom of the children
22 of God. To this day, we know,
the entire creation sighs and throbs
23 with pain ; and not only so, but
even we ourselves, who have the
Spirit as a foretaste of the future,
even we sigh to ourselves as we
wait for the redemption of the
body that means our full sonship.
24 We were saved with this hope in
view. Now when an object of hope
is seen, there is no further need to
hope. Who ever hopes for what he
sees already ? But if we hope for 25
something that we do not see, we
wait for it patiently.
So too the Spirit assists us in 26
our weakness ; for we do not
know how to pray aright, but the
Spirit pleads for us with sighs that
are beyond words, and He who 27
searches the human heart knows
what is in the mind of the Spirit,
since the Spirit pleads before God
for the saints.
We know also that those who 28
love God, those who have been
called in terms of his purpose,
have his aid and interest in every-
thing. For he decreed of old that 29
those whom he predestined should
share the likeness of his Son — that
he might be the firstborn of a great
brotherhood. Then he calls those 30
whom he has thus decreed ; then
he justifies those whom he has
called; then he glorifies those
whom he has justified.
Now what follows from all this ? 31
If God is for us, who can be against
us ? The God who did not spare 32
his own Son but gave him up for
us all, surely He will give us every-
thing besides ! Who will accuse 33
the elect of God? When God
acquits, who will condemn ? Will 34
Christ? — the Christ who died, yes
and rose from the dead ! the Christ
who is at God's right hand, who
actually pleads for us ! What can 35
ever part us from Christ's love ?
Can anguish or calamity or persecu-
tion or famine or nakedness or
danger or the sword ? {Because, as 3G
it is written.
Fur thy sake we are being killed all
the day long,
we are counted as sheep to be
slaughtered.)
No, in all this we are more than 37
195
ROMANS IX
conquerors through him who loved
38 us. For I am certain neither
death nor life, neither angels nor
principalities, neither the present
39 nor the future, no powers of the
Height or of the Depth, nor anything
else in all creation will be able to
part us from God's love in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
9 I AM telling the truth in Christ —
it is no lie, my conscience bears
2 me out in the holy Spirit when I
say that I am in sore pain. I suffer
8 endless anguish of heart. I could
have wished myself accursed and
banished from Christ for the sake
of my brothers, my natural kins-
4 men ; for they are Israelites, theirs
is the Sonship, the Glory, the
covenants, the divine legislation,
the Worship, and the promises ;
5 the patriarchs are theirs, and theirs
too (so far as natural descent goes)
is the Christ. (Blessed for ever-
more be the God who is over all !
Amen.)
6 It is not, of course, as if God's
word had failed ! Far from it !
' Israel ' does not mean everyone
who belongs to Israel; they are
7 not all children of Abraham be-
cause they are descended from
Abraham. No, it is through Isaac
that your offspring shall be reckoned
8 — meaning that instead of God's
children being the children born to
him by natural descent, it is the
children of the Promise who are
reckoned as his true offspring.
9 For when God said, / shall come
about this time and Sara will have
a son, that was a word of promise.
10 And further, when Rebecca be-
came pregnant by our father Isaac,
though one man was the father of
11 both children, and though the
196
children were still unborn and
had done nothing either good or
bad (to confirm the divine purpose
in election which depends upon the
call of God, not on anything man
does), she was told that the elder 12
will serve the younger. As it is 13
written, Jacob I loved but Esau I
hated.
Then are we to infer that there 14
is injustice in God ? Never ! God
says to Moses,
/ will have mercy on whom / 15
choose to have mercy,
I will have compassion on whom
I choose to have compassion.
You see, it is not a question of 16
human will or effort but of the
divine mercy. Why, scripture says 17
to Pharaoh,
It was for this that I raised you
up,
to display my power in you,
and to spread news of my name
over all the earth.
Thus God has mercy on anyone 18
just as he pleases,
and he makes anyone stubborn
just as he pleases.
" Then, " you will retort, " why 19
does He go on finding fault ? Who
can oppose his ^vill ? " But who 20
are you, my man, to speak back to
God ? Is something a. man has
moulded to ask him who has moulded
it, " Why did yo\i make me like
this ? " What ! has the potter no 21
right over the clay ? Has he no
right to make out of the same
lump one vessel for a noble purpose
and another for a menial ? What 22
if God, though desirous to display
his anger and show his might, has
tolerated most patiently the objects
of his anger, ripe and ready to be
destroyed ? What if he means 23
to show the wealth that lies in his
glory for the objects of his mercy,
ROMANS X
whom he has made ready before-
24 hand to receive glory — that is,
for us whom he has called from
among the Gentiles as well as
25 the Jews ? As indeed he says in
Hosea,
Those who were no yeople of mine,
I tvill call ' 77iy People,^
and Iter ' beloved ' who xvas not
beloved ;
26 on the very spot where they icere
told, ' You are no people of
mine,'
there shall they be called ''sons
of the living God.'
27 And Isaiah exclaims, with regard
to Israel, Though the number of the
sons of Israel be like the sand of the
sea, only a remnant of them will be
28 saved ; for the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with rigour
29 and despatch. Indeed, as Isaiah
foretold,
Had not the Lord of hosts left us
with some descendants,
we would have fared like SodoTu,
we would have been like Gomorra.
80 What are we to conclude, then ?
That Gentiles who never aimed
at righteousness have attained
righteousness, that is, righteous-
31 ness by faith ; whereas Israel who
did aim at the law of righteousness
32 have failed to reach that law. And
why ? Simply because Israel has
relied not on faith but on wliat they
could do. They have stumbled
over the stone that makes men stumble
33 — as it is written,
Here I lay a stone in Sion that
will make men stumble,
even a rock to trip them up ;
hut he who believes in Him will
never he disappointed.
10 Oh for their salvation, brothers !
That is my heart's desire and
prayer to God ! I can vouch for 2
their zeal for God; only, it is not
zeal with knowledge. They would 3
not surrender to the righteousness
of God, because they were ignorant
of his righteousness and therefore
essayed to set up a righteousness of
their own. Now Christ is an end to 4
law, so as to let every believer have
righteousness. Moses writes of 5
law-righteousness, Anyone who can
perform it will live by it. But here 6
is what faith-righteousness says : —
Say not in your heart, ' Who will go
up to heaven ? ' (that is, to bring
Christ down). Or, ' who will go 7
doivn to the abyss? ' (that is, to bring
Christ from the dead). No, what 8
it does say is this : — The word is
close to you, in your very mouth and
in your heart (that is, the word of
faith which we preach). Confess 9
with your mouth that ' Jesus is
Lord,' believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, and
you will be saved ; for 10
with his heart man believes and
is justified,
with his mouth he confesses and
is saved.
No one who believes in him, the 11
scripture says, will ever be dis-
appointed. No one — for there is 12
no distinction of Jew and Greek,
the same Lord is Lord of them all,
with ample for all who invoke him.
Everyone who invokes the name of 13
the Lord will be saved. But how 14
are they to invoke One in whom
they do not believe? And how
are they to believe in One of whom
they have never heard ? And how
are they ever to hear, without
a preacher? And how can men 15
preach unless they are sent? —
as it is written, How pleasant is
the coming of men with glad, good
news !
197
ROMANS XI
16 But they have not all given in
to the gospel of glad news ? No,
Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed
17 what they heard from us? (You see,
faith must come from what is heard,
and what is heard comes from word
18 of Christ.) But, I ask, " Have
they never heard ? " Indeed they
have.
Their voice carried over all the
earth,
and their words to the end of the
world.
19 Then, I ask, " Did Israel not under-
stand?" Why, first of all Moses
declares,
/ ivill make you jealous of a
natian that is no nation,
I will provoke you to anger over a
nation devoid of understanding.
20 And then Isaiah dares to say,
/ have been found by those who
never sought me,
I have shown myself to those who
never inquired of me.
21 He also says of Israel, All the day
long I have held out my hands to a
disobedient and contrary people.
11 Then, I ask, has God repudiated
his People ? Never ! Why, I am
an Israelite myself, a descendant of
Abraham, a member of the tribe of
2 Benjamin ! God has not repudiated
his People, his predestined People !
Surely you know what scripture
says in the passage called ' Elijah ' ?
You know how he pleads with God
3 against Israel : Lord, they have
killed thy prophets, they have de-
molished thine altars ; I alone am
4i left, and they seek my life. Yet
what is the divine ansAver? /
have left myself seve7i thousand men
5 who have not knelt to Baal. Well,
at the present day there is also
a remnant, selected by grace.
6 Selected by grace, and therefore
not for anything they have done;
198
otherwise grace would cease to be
grace.*
Now what are we to infer from 7
this ? That Israel has failed to
secure the object of its quest; the
elect have secured it, and the rest
of men have been rendered insen-
sible to it — as it is written, 8
God has given them a spirit of
torpor,
eyes that see not, ears that hear
not —
down to this very day. And David 9
says.
Let their table prove a snare and
a trap,
a pitfall and a retribution for
them ;
let their eyes be darkened, that 10
they cannot see,
bow down their hacks for ever.
Now I ask, have they stumbled 11
to their ruin ? Never ! The truth
is, that by their lapse salvation has
passed to the Gentiles, so as to
make them jealous. Well, if their 12
lapse has enriched the world, if
their defection is the gain of the
Gentiles, what will it mean when
they all come in? I tell you this, 13
you Gentiles, that as an apostle to
the Gentiles I lay great stress on
my office, in the hope of being 14
able to make my fellow- Jews jealous
and of managing thus to save some
of them. For if their exclusion 15
means that the world is reconciled
to God, what will their admission
mean ? Why, it will be life from
the dead !
If the first handful of dough is 16
consecrated, so is the rest of
the lump ;
if the root is consecrated, so are
the branches.
* Omitting [el 8e ^| ipywv, ovk4ti eVrli/
Xo-pn, ^TTfl rh fpyov ovKtri iffrlv (pyov^ with
the Latin version and most MSS.
ROMANS XII
17 Supposing some of the branches
have been broken off, while you
have been grafted in like a shoot
of wild olive to share the rich
18 growth of the olive-stem, do not
pride yourself at the expense of
these branches. Remember, in
your pride, the stem supports you,
19 not you the stem. You will say,
" But branches were broken off to
20 let me be grafted in ! " Granted.
They were broken off — for their
lack of faith. And you owe your
position to your faith. You should
feel awed instead of being uplifted.
21 For if God did not spare the natural
branches, he will not spare you
22 either. Consider both the kind-
ness and the severity of God ; those
who fall come under his severity,
but you come under the divine kind-
ness, provided you adhere to that
kindness. Otherwise, you will be
23 cut away too. And even the others
will be grafted in, if they do not
adhere to their unbelief; God can
24 graft them in again. For if you
have been cut from an olive which
is naturally wild, and grafted, con-
trary to nature, upon a garden
olive, how much more will the
natural branches be grafted into
their proper olive ?
25 To prevent you from being self-
conceited, brothers, I would like
you to understand this secret : it
is only a partial insensibility that
has come over Israel, until the full
number of the Gentiles come in.
26 This done, all Israel will be saved —
as it is written,
The deliverer will come from Sion,
he will banish all godlessness
from Jacob :
27 this is my covenant with them,
xvhen I take their sins away.
28 So far as the gospel goes, they are
enemies of God — which is to your
advantage; but so far as election
goes, they are beloved for their
fathers' sake. For God never goes 29
back upon his gifts and call.
Once you disobeyed God, 30
and noM' you enjoy his mercy
thanks to their disobedience ;
in the same way they at present
are disobedient,
so that they in turn may enjoy 31
the same mercy as your-
selves.
For God has consigned all men 32
to disobedience,
that he may have mercy upon
all.
What a fathomless wealth lies 33
in the wisdom and knowledge of
God ! How inscrutable his judg-
ments ! How mysterious his
methods !
Whoever understood the thoughts of 34
the Lord ?
Who has ever been his coun-
sellor ?
Who has first given to him and has 35
to be repaid ? All comes from him, 36
all lives by him, all ends in him.
Glory to him for ever, Amen !
Well their,Tfny brothers, I appeal 12
to yo^i by all the mercy of God to
dedicate your bodies as a living
sacrifice, consecrated and accept-
able to God ; that is your cult, a
spiritual rite. Instead of being 2
moulded to this world, have your
mind renewed, and so be trans-
formed in nature, able to make out
what the will of God is, namely,
what is good and acceptable to
him and perfect.
In virtue of my office, I tell every- 3
one of your number who is self-
important,* that he is not to think
* I accept the ingenious conjecture
that Ti has fallen out after uvn.
199
ROMANS XIII
more of himself than he ought to
think; he must take a sane view
of himself, corresponding to the
degree of faith which God has
4 assigned to each. In our one body
we have a number of members,
and the members have not all the
5 same function ; so too, for all
our numbers, we form one Body
in Christ and we are severally
6 members one of another. Our
talents differ with the grace that
is given us; if the talent is that
of prophecy, let us employ it in
7 proportion to our faith ; if it is
practical service, let us mind our
service ; the teacher must mind his
8 teaching, the speaker his words of
counsel; the contributor must be
liberal, the superintendent must
be in earnest, the sick visitor must
9 be cheerful. Let your love be a
real thing, with a loathing for evil
and a bent for what is good.
10 Put affection into your love for the
brotherhood ; be forward to honour
11 one another; never let your zeal
flag; maintain the spiritual glow;
12 serve the Lord ; let your hope be
a joy to you ; be stedfast in trouble,
18 attend to prayer, contribute to
needy saints, make a practice of
14 hospitality. Bless those who make
a practice of persecuting you ; bless
them instead of cursing them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice,
and weep with those who weep.
16 Keep in harmony with one another ;
instead of being ambitious, associ-
ate with humble folk ; never he self-
17 conceited. Never pay back evil for
evil to anyone ; aim to be above re-
18 proach in the eyes of all ; be at peace
Avith all men, if possible, so far as
19 that depends on you. Never re-
venge yourselves, beloved, but let
the Wrath of God have its way ; for
it is written, Vengeance is mine, I
200
will exact a requital — the Lord has
said it. No,
if your enemy is hungry, feed him, 20
if he is thirsty, give him drink ;
for in this way you will make him
feel a burning sense of shame.
Do not let evil get the better of 21
you ; get the better of evil by doing
good.
Every subject must obey the 13
government-authorities, for no
authority exists apart from God;
the existing authorities have been
constituted by God. Hence anyone 2
who resists authority is opposing
the divine order, and the opposition
will bring judgment on themselves.
Magistrates are no terror to an 3
honest man,* though they are to
a bad man. If you want to avoid
being alarmed at the government-
authorities, lead an honest life and
you will be commended for it ; the 4
magistrate is God's servant for your
benefit. But if you do wrong,
you may well be alarmed ; a magis-
trate does not wield the power of
the sword for nothing, he is God's
servant for the infliction of divine
vengeance upon evil-doers. You 5
must be obedient, therefore, not
only to avoid the divine vengeance
but as a matter of conscience, for 6
the same reason as you pay taxes —
since magistrates are God's officers,
bent upon the maintenance of
order and authority. Pay them all 7
their respective dues, tribute to one,
taxes to another, respect to this
man, honour to that. Be in debt 8
to no man — apart from the debt
* Reading ayaQoepyif, Patrick Young's
attractive conjecture (confirmed by the
Ethiopio version). As Hort points out,
" the apparent antithesis to toj /ca/c^ could
hardly fail to introduce rif ajadf."
ROMANS XIV
of love one to another. He who
loves his fellow-man has fulfilled the
9 law. You must not commit adultery,
you must not kill, you must not steal,
you must not covet — these and any
other command are summed up
in the single word, You must love
10 your neighbour as yourself. Love
never wrongs a neighbour; that is
why love is the fulfilment of the
law.
11 And then you know what this
Crisis means, you know it is high
time to waken up; for Salvation
is nearer to us now than when we
12 first believed. It is far on in the
night, the day is almost here ; so let
us drop the deeds of darkness and
put on the armour of the light;
13 let us live decorously as in the open
light of day — no revelry or bouts
of drinking, no debauchery or
sensuality, no quarreling or jeal-
14 ousy. No, put on the character
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and never
think how to gratify the cravings
of the flesh.
14 Welcome a man of weak faith,
but not for the purpose of passing
2 judgment on his scruples. While
one man has enough confidence to
eat any food, the man of weak faith
3 only eats vegetables. The eater
must not look down upon the non-
eater, and the non-eater must not
criticize the eater, for God has
4 welcomed him. Who are you to
criticize the servant of Another?
It is for his Master to say whether
he stands or falls ; and stand he
will, for the Master has power to
5 make him stand. Then again,
this man rates one da}'^ above
another, while that man rates all
days alike. Well, everyone must
be convinced in his own mind;
the man who values a particular 6
day does so to the Lord.*
The eater eats to the Lord,
since he thanks God for his
food;
the non-eater abstains to the
Lord,
and he too thanks God.
For none of us lives to himself, 7
and none of us dies to him-
self ;
if we live, we live to the Lord, 8
and if we die, we die to the
Lord.
Thus we are the Lord's whether
we live or die ; it was for this that 9
Christ died and rose and came to
life, to be Lord both of the dead
and of the living. So why do you 10
criticize your brother ? And you,
why do you look down upon your
brother? All of us have to stand
before the tribunal of God — for it 11
is written,
As I live, saiih the Lord, every
knee shall bend before me,
every tongue shall offer praise to
God.
Each of us then will have to answer 12
for himself to God.
So let us stop criticizing one 13
another; rather make up your
mind never to put any stumbling-
block or hindrance in your brother's
way. I know, I am certain in the 14
Lord Jesus, that nothing is in itself
unclean ; only, anything is unclean
for a man who considers it unclean.
If your brother is being injured be- 15
cause you eat a certain food, then
you are no longer living by the rule of
love. Do not let that food of yours
ruin the man for whom Christ died.
Your rights must not get a bad 16
name. The Reign of God is not a 17
* Omitting [koI b fiii ippoviv rrty fifiepap
Kvplff ov (f>pov(T] with the Latin version and
most manuscripts.
201
ROMANS XV
matter of eating and drinking, it
means righteousness, joy, and peace
18 in the holy Spirit ; he who serves
Christ on these Unes, is acceptable
to God and esteemed by men.
19 Peace, then, and the building up
of each other, these are what we
20 must aim at. You must not break
down God's work for the mere sake
of food ! Everything may be clean,
but it is wrong for a man to prove a
stumbling-block by what he eats;
21 the right course is to abstain from
flesh or wine or indeed anything that
your brother feels to be a stumbling-
22 block.* Certainly keep your own
conviction on the matter, as be-
tween yourself and God; he is a
fortunate man who has no mis-
givings about what he allows him-
23 self to eat. But if anyone has
doubts about eating and then eats,
that condemns him at once; it
was not faith that induced him to
eat, and any action that is not based
on faith is a sin.
15 We who are strong ought to bear
the burdens that the weak make
for themselves and us. We are not
2 to please ourselves. Each of us
must please his neighbour, doing
him good by building up his faith.
3 Christ certainly did not please him-
self, but, as it is written, The re-
pi'oaches of those who denounced Thee
4 have fallen upon me. — All such words
were written of old for our instruc-
tion, that by remaining stedfast
and drawing encouragement from
the scriptures we may cherish hope.
5 May the God who inspires stedfast-
ness and encouragement grant you
such harmony with one another,
6 after Christ Jesus, that you may
unite in a chorus of praise and
* Omitting [^ o-KOfSoA/^eraj fi aadeve'i]
with N* A C, Origen, the Peshitto, etc.,
»8 a homiletic gloss.
202
10
11
12
glory to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ ! Welcome one
another, then, as Christ has wel-
comed yourselves, for the glory of
God. Christ, I mean, became a ser-
vant to the circumcised in order to
prove God's honesty by fulfilling His
promises to the fathers, and also
in order that the Gentiles should
glorify God for His mercy — as it is
written.
Therefore will I offer praise to Thee
among the Gentiles,
and sing to thy name ;
or again.
Rejoice, 0 Gentiles, with his People ;
or again,
Extol the Lord, all Gentiles,
let all the peoples praise him ;
or again, as Isaiah says.
Then shall the Scion of Jessai live,
he who rises to rule the Gentiles ;
on him will the Gentiles set their
hope.
May the God of your hope so fill 13
you with all joy and peace in your
faith, that you may be overflowing
with hope by the power of the holy
Spirit !
Personally I am quite certain, 14
my brothers, that even as it is you
have ample goodness of heart, you
are filled with knowledge of every
kind, and you are well able to give
advice to one another. Still, by 15
way of refreshing your memory, I
have written you with a certain
freedom, in virtue of my divine
commission as a priest of Christ 16
Jesus to the Gentiles in the service
of God's gospel. My aim is to make
the Gentiles an acceptable offering,
consecrated by the holy Spirit.
Now in Christ Jesus I can be proud 17
of my work for God. I will not 18
make free to speak of anything ex-
cept what Christ has accomplished by
ROMANS XVI
me in the way of securing the obedi-
ence of the Gentiles, by my words
19 and by my deeds, by the force of
miracles and marvels, by the power
of the Spirit of God. Thus from
Jerusalem right round to Illyricum,
I have been able to complete the
preaching of the gospel of Christ —
20 my ambition always being to preach
it only in places where there had
been no mention of Christ's name,
that I might not build on founda-
21 tions laid by others, but that (as
it is written)
They should see who never had
learned about him,
and they who had never heard of
him should understand.
22 This is why I have been so often
23 prevented from visiting you. But
now, as I have no further scope for
work in these parts, and as for a
number of years I have had a long-
24 ing to visit you whenever I went to
Spain, I am hoping to see you on
my way there, and to be sped
forward by you after I have en-
25 joyed your company for a while.
At the moment I am off to Jeru-
26 salem on an errand to the saints.
For Macedonia and Achaia have
decided to make a contribution
for the poor among the saints at
27 Jerusalem. Such was their de-
cision ; and yet this is a debt they
owe to these people, for if the Gen-
tiles have shared their spiritual
blessings, they owe them a debt of
28 aid in material blessings. Well,
once I finish this business by putting
the proceeds of the collection safely
in their hands, I will start for Spain
29 and take you on the way. When I
do come to you, I know I will bring
a full blessing from Christ.
30 Brothers, I beg of you, by our
Lord Jesus Christ and by the love
that the Spirit inspires, rally round
me by praying to God for me ; pray 31
that I may be delivered from the
unbelievers in Judaea, and also that
my mission to Jerusalem may
prove acceptable to the saints.
Then, by God's will, I shall gladly 32
come to you and rest beside you.
The God of peace be with you 33
all ! Amen.
Let me introduce our sister 16
Phoebe, a deaconess of the church
at Cenchreae ; receive her in the 2
Lord as saints should receive one
another, and give her any help she
may require. She has been a help
herself to many people, including
myself.
Salute Prisca and Aquila, my 3
fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, who 4
have risked their lives for me; I
thank them, and not only I but
all the Gentile churches as well.
Also, salute the church that meets 5
in their house. Salute my beloved
Epaenetus, the first in Asia to be
reaped for Christ. Salute Mary, 6
who has worked hard for you.
Salute Andronicus and Junias, 7
fellow-countrymen and fellow-pris-
oners of mine; they are men of
note among the apostles, and they
have been in Christ longer than I
have. Salute Amplias, my beloved 8
in the Lord. Salute Urbanus, 9
our fellow-worker in Christ, and
my beloved Stachys. Salute that 10
tried Christian, Apelles. Salute
those who belong to the house-
hold of Aristobulus. Salute my fel- 11
low-countryman Herodion. Salute
such members of the household
of Narcissus as are in the Lord.
Salute Tryphaena and Tryphosa, 12
who work hard in the Lord. Salute
the beloved Persis ; she has worked
203
ROMANS XVI
13 very hard in the Lord. Salute that
choice Christian, Rufus; also his
mother, who has been a mother to
14 me. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon,
Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the
15 brothers of their company. Salute
Philologus and Julia, Nereus and
his sister, Olympas too, and all the
16 saints in their company. Salute
one another with a holy kiss. All
the churches of Christ salute you.
17 Brothers, I beg of you to keep
your eye on those who stir up dis-
sensions and put hindrances in your
way, contrary to the doctrine which
you have been taught. Avoid them.
18 Such creatures are no servants of
Christ our Lord, they are slaves of
their OAvn base desires ; with their
plausible and pious talk they be-
guile the hearts of unsuspecting
people. But surely not of you !
19 Everyone has heard of your loyalty
to the gospel; it makes me rejoice
o\er you. Still, I want you to be
experts in good and innocents in
evil. The God of peace will soon 20
crush Satan under your feet !
The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you.
Timotheus my fellow-worker 21
salutes you; so do my fellow-
countrymen Lucius, Jason, and
Sosipater.
I Tertius, who write the letter, 22
salute you in the Lord.
Gains, my host and the host of 23
the church at large, salutes you.
Erastus the city-treasurer salutes
you; so does brother Quartus.
[Now to Him who can strengthen 25
you by my gospel, by the preach-
ing of Jesus Christ, by revealing
the secret purpose which after the
silence of long ages has now been 26
disclosed and made known on the
basis of the prophetic scriptures (by
command of the eternal God) to all
the Gentiles for their obedience to
the faith — to the only wise God be 27
glory through Jesus Christ for ever
and ever ; Amen.]
204
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
COEINTHIANS
1 Paui<, called to be an apostle
of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
2 with brother Sosthenes, to the
church of God at Corinth, to those
who are consecrated in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, as well as to
all who, wherever they may be, in-
voke the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, their Lord no less than
3 ours : grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
4 I always thank my God for the
grace of God that has been bestowed
5 on you in Christ Jesus ; in him you
have received a wealth of all bless-
ing, full power to speak of your faith
and full insight into its meaning,
6 all of which verifies the testimony
we bore to Christ when we were
7 with you. Thus you lack no
spiritual endowment during these
days of waiting till our Lord Jesus
8 Christ is revealed ; and to the very
end he will guarantee that you are
vindicated on the day of our Lord
9 Jesus Christ. Faithful is the God
who called you to this fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our
Lord.
10 Brothers, for the sake of our Lord
Jesus Christ I beg of you all to drop
these party-cries. There must be
no cliques among you; you must
regain your common temper and
11 attitude. For Chloe's people inform
12 me that you are quarrelling. By
' quarrelling ' I mean that each of
you has his party-cry, " I belong
to Paul," "And I to Apollos,"
"And I to Cephas," "And I to
Christ." Has Christ been parcelled 13
out? Was it Paul who was cruci-
fied for you ? Was it in Paul's name
that you were baptized ? I am 14
thankful now that I baptized none
of you, except Crispus and Gains,
so that no one can say you 15
were baptized in my name. (Well, 16
I did baptize the household of
Stephanas, but no one else, as
far as I remember.) Christ did 17
not send me to baptize but to preach
the gospel.
And to preach it with no fine
rhetoric, lest the cross of Christ
should lose its power ! Those who 18
are doomed to perish find the story
of the cross ' sheer folly,' but it
means the power of God for those
v/hom he saves. It is written, 19
/ will destroy the wisdom of the
sages,
I zvill confound the insight of the
wise. Sage, scribe, critic of this world, 20
where are they all ? Has not God
stultified the wisdom of the world ?
For when the world with all its 21
wisdom failed to know God in his
wisdom, God resolved to save
believers by the ' sheer folly ' of
the Christian message. Jews de- 22
mand miracles and Greeks want
wisdom, but our message is Christ 23
the crucified — a stumbling-block to
the Jews, ' sheer folly ' to the
Greeks, but for those who are called, 24
whether Jews or Greeks, a Christ
205
I. CORINTHIANS II
who is the power of God and the
wisdom of God.
25 For the ' foohshness ' of God is
wiser than men,
and the ' weakness ' of God is
stronger than men.
26 Why, look at your own ranks, my
brothers; not many wise men
(that is, judged by human stand-
ards), not many leading men,
not many of good birth, have been
27 called ! No,
God has chosen what is foolish
in the world
to shame the wise;
28 God has chosen what is weak in
the world
to shame what is strong ;
God has chosen what is mean and
despised in the world —
things which are not, to put
down things that are ;
29 that no person may boast in the
30 sight of God. This is the God to
whom you owe your being in Christ
Jesus, whom God has made our
' Wisdom,' that is, our righteous-
ness and consecration and redemp-
31 tion ; so that, as it is written,
let him who boasts boast of the
Lord.
CHAP.
2 Thus when I came to you, my
brothers, I did not come to proclaim
to you God's secret purpose * with
any elaborate words or wisdom.
2 I determined among you to be
ignorant of everything except Jesus
Christ, and Jesus Christ the cruci-
3 fied. It was in weakness and fear
and with great trembling that I
4 visited you ; what I said, what I
preached, did not rest on the
plausible arguments of 'wisdom'
* The textual evidence for fiapripiov is
slightly stronger, but I incline upon the
whole to regard it as a secondary reading,
due to i. 6, and to adopt livarripioy.
206
but on the proof supplied by the
Spirit and its power, so that your 5
faith might not rest on any human
'wisdom' but on the power of God.
We do discuss ' wisdom ' with 6
those who are mature ; only it is
not the wisdom of this world or of
the dethroned Powers who rule
this world, it is the mysterious 7
Wisdom of God that we discuss,
that hidden wisdom which God
decreed from all eternity for our
glory. None of the Powers of this 8
world understands it (if they had,
they would never have crucified
the Lord of glory). No, as it is 9
written,
what no eye has ever seen,
what no ear has ever heard,
what never entered the mind of
man,
God has prepared all that for those
who love him.
And God has revealed it to us by 10
the Spirit, for the Spirit fathoms 1
everything, even the depths of *
God.
What human being can under- 11
stand the thoughts of a man,
except the man's own inner
spirit ?
So too no one understands the
thoughts of God,
except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received the Spirit — 12
not the spirit of the world but the
Spirit that comes from God, that we
may understand what God bestows
upon us. And this is what we dis- 13
cuss, using language taught by no
human wisdom but by the Spirit.
We interpret what is spiritual in
spiritual language. The unspiritual 14
man rejects these truths of the
Spirit of God; to him they are
' sheer folly,' he cannot understand
them. And the reason is, that
they must be read with the spiritual
I. CORINTHIANS III, IV
15 eye. The spiritual man, again,
can read the meaning of everything ;
and yet no one can read what
16 he is. For who ever understood the
thoughts of the Lord, so as to
give him instruction ? No one.
Well, our thoughts are Christ's
thoughts.
caip.
3 But I could not discuss things
with you, my brothers, as spiritual
persons ; I had to address you as
worldlings, as mere babes in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk, not with solid
food. You were not able for solid
food, and you are not able even
3 now ; you are still worldly. For
with jealousy and quarrels in your
midst, are you not worldly, are you
not behaving like ordinary men ?
4 When one cries, " I belong to Paul,"
and another, " I belong to Apollos,"
what are you but men of the world ?
5 Who is Apollos ? Who is Paul ?
They are simply used by God to give
you faith, each as the Lord assigns
his task.
6 I did the planting, Apollos did
the watering,
but it was God who made the
seed grow.
7 So neither planter nor waterer
counts,
but God alone who makes the
seed grow.
8 Still, though planter and waterer
are on the same level, each will get
his own wage for the special work
that he has done.
9 We work together in God's ser-
vice; you are God's field to be
planted, God's house to be built.
10 In virtue of my commission from
God, I laid the foundation of the
house like an expert master-builder.
It remains for another to build on
this foundation. Whoever he is, let
11 him be careful how he builds. The
foundation is laid, namely Jesus
Christ, and no one can lay any other.
On that foundation anyone may 12
build gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, or straw, but in every 13
case the nature of his work will
come out ; the Day will show what
it is, for the Day breaks in fire,
and the fire will test the work of
each, no matter what that work
may be.
If the structure raised by any man 14
survives,
he will be rewarded ;
if a man's work is burnt up, 15
he will be a loser —
and though he will be saved
himself, he will be snatched
from the very flames.
Do you not know you are God's 16
temple and that God's Spirit dwells
within you ? God will destroy any- 17
one who would destroy God's temple,
for God's temple is sacred — and that
is what you are.
Let no one deceive himself about 18
this ; whoever of you imagines he
is wise with this world's wisdom
must become a ' fool,' if he is really
to be wise. For God ranks this 19
world's wisdom as ' sheer folly.'
It is written, He seizes the wise in
their craftiness, and again. The Lord 20
knows the reasoning of the wise is
futile.
So you must not boast about men. 21
For all belongs to you ; Paul, 22
Apollos, Cephas, the world, life,
death, the present and the future —
all belongs to you ; and you belong 23
to Christ, and Christ to God.
CHAP.
This is how you are to look upon 4
us, as servants of Christ and
stewards of God's secret truths.
Now in stewards your first require- 2
ment is that they must be trust-
worthy. It matters very little to me 3
207
I. CORINTHIANS V
that you or any human court should
cross-question me on this point.
I do not even cross-question my-
i self ; for, although I am not conscious
of having anything against me,
that does not clear me. It is the
Lord who cross-questions me on the
5 matter. So do not criticize at
all ; the hour of reckoning has
still to come, when the Lord will
come to bring dark secrets to the
light and to reveal life's inner
aims and motives. Then each of
us \vill get his meed of praise from
God.
6 Now I have applied what has
been said above to myself and
Barnabas, to teach you ... * that
you are not to be puffed up with
rivalry over one teacher as against
7 another. Who singles you out, my
brother ? What do you possess that
has not been given you? And if
it was given you, why do you boast
as if it had been gained, not given ?
8 You Corinthians have your heart's
desire already, have you? You
have heaven's rich bliss already !
You have come into your kingdom
without us ! I wish indeed you had
come into your kingdom, so that v;e
9 could share it with you ! For it
seems to me that God means us
apostles to come in at the very end,
like the doomed gladiators in the
arena ! We are made a spectacle
to the world, to angels and to men !
10 We, for Christ's sake, are ' fools ' ;
3'ou in Christ are sensible. We are
weak, you are strong; you are
11 honoured, we are in disrepute. To
this very hour we hunger and thirst,
we are ill-clad and knocked about,
12 we are waifs, we work hard for
our living; when reviled, we bless;
* The text and the meaning of the
phrase between /xaflrjre and "(va fxi} are
beyond recovery.
^08
when persecuted, we put up
with it; when defamed, we try 13
to conciliate. To this hour we
are treated as the scum of the
earth, the very refuse of the
world !
I do not write this to make you 14
feel ashamed, but to instruct you as
beloved children of mine. You may 15
have thousands to superintend you
in Christ, but you have not more
than one father. It was I who in
Christ Jesus became your father by
means of the gospel. Then imitate 16
me, I beg of you. To ensure this, 17
I am sending you Timotheus, my
beloved and trustworthy son in the
Lord ; he will remind you of those
methods in Christ Jesus which I
teach everywhere in every church.
Certain individuals have got puffed 18
up, have they, as if I were not com-
ing myself ? I will come to you be- 19
fore long, if the Lord wills, and then
I will find out from these puffed up
creatures not what their talk but
what their power amounts to. For 20
God's Reign does not show itself
in talk but in power. Which is 21
it to be ? Am I to come to you with
a rod of discipline or with love and
gentleness ?
It is actually reported that there 5
is immorality among you, and im-
morality such as is unknown even
among pagans — ^that a man has
taken his father's wife ! And yet 2
you are puffed up ! You ought
much rather to be mourning the loss
of a member ! Expel the perpe- j
trator of such a crime ! For my 8 I
part, present with you in spirit
though absent in body, I have
already passed sentence on such
an offender as this, by the authority 4
of our Lord Jesus Christ; I have
I. CORINTHIANS VI
met with you in spirit and by the
5 power of our Lord Jesus I have
consigned that individual to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh, in
order that his spirit may be saved
0 on the Day of the Lord Jesus. Your
boasting is no credit to you. Do
you not know that a morsel of
dough will leaven the whole lump ?
7 Clean out the old dough that you
may be a fresh lump. For you are
free from the old leaven; Christ
our paschal lamb has been sacrificed.
8 So let us celebrate our festival,
not with any old leaven, not with
vice and evil, but with the un-
leavened bread of innocence and
integrity.
9 In my letter I wrote that you were
not to associate with the immoral.
10 I did not mean you were literally to
avoid contact Avith the immoral in
this world, with the lustful and the
thievish, or with idolaters ; in that
case you would have to leave the
11 world altogether. What I now
write is that you are not to associate
with any so-called brother who is
immoral or lustful or idolatrous
or given to abuse or drink or rob-
bery. Associate with him ! Do not
12 even eat with him ! Outsiders it
is no business of mine to judge.
You must judge those who are in-
side the church, for yourselves ;
13 as for outsiders, God will judge
them. Expel the wicked from your
company.
3HAP.
6 When any of you has a grievance
against his neighbour, do you dare
to go to law in a sinful pagan court,
instead of laying the case before
2 the saints ? Do you not know the
saints are to manage the world?
If the world is to come under your
jurisdiction, are you incompetent
to adjudicate upon trifles ? Do you 3
not know we are to manage angels,
let alone mundane issues? And 4
yet, when you have mundane issues
to settle, you refer them to the
judgment of men who from the point
of view of the church are of no ac-
count ! I say this to put you to 5
shame. Has it come to this,
that there is not a single wise man
among you who could decide a
dispute between members of the
brotherhood, instead of one brother 6
going to law with another — and
before unbelievers too ! Even to 7
have law-suits with one another is
in itself evidence of defeat. Why
not rather let yourselves be
wronged ? W^hy not rather let
yourselves be defrauded ? But 8
instead of that you inflict wrong
and practise frauds — and that
upon members of the brotherhood !
What ! do you not know that the 9
wicked vrill not inherit the Realm
of God ? Make no mistake about
it; neither the immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor cata-
mites nor sodomites nor thieves 10
nor the lustful nor the drunken nor
the abusive nor robbers will inherit
the Realm of God. Some of you 11
were once like that ; but you washed
yourselves clean, you were con-
secrated, you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and ^
in the Spirit of our God.
' All things are lawful for me ' ? 12
Yes, but not all are good for me.
' All things are lawful for me ' ?
Yes, but I am not going to let
anything master me.
' Food is meant for the stomach, 13
and the stomach for food ' ?
Yes, and God will do away with
the one and the other.
The body is not meant for im-
209
I. CORINTHIANS VII
morality but for the Lord, and the
14 Lord is for the body ; and the God
who raised the Lord will also raise
15 us by his power. Do you not know
your bodies are members of Christ ?
Am I to take Christ's members
and devote them to a harlot?
16 Never ! Do you not know that
he who joins himself to a harlot
is one with her in body
(for the pair, it is said, shall
become one flesh),
17 while he who joins himself to the
Lord
is one with him in spirit.
18 Shun immorality ! Any other sin
that a man commits is outside the
body, but the immoral man sins
19 against his body. Do you not
know your body is the temple of
the holy Spirit within you — the
Spirit you have received from God?
20 You are not your own, you were
bought for a price; then glorify
God with your body.
7 Now about the questions in your
letter.
It is an excellent thing for a man
to have no intercourse with a
2 woman; but there is so much im-
morality that every man had better
have a wife of his own and every
woman a husband of her own.
8 The husband must give the wife
her conjugal dues,
and the wife in the same way
must give her husband his ;
4 the wife cannot do as she pleases
with her body — her husband
has power,
and in the same way the
husband cannot do as he
pleases with his body — his
wife has power.
5 Do not withhold sexual intercourse
from one another, unless you agree
210
to do so for a time in order to devote
yourselves to prayer. Then come
together again. You must not let
Satan tempt you through incon-
tinence. But what I have just said 6
is by way of concession, not com-
mand. I would like all men to be 7
as I am. However, everyone is
endowed by God in his own way;
he has a gift for the one life or the
other.
To the unmarried and to widows 8
I would say this : it is an excellent
thing if like me they remain as they
are. Still, if they cannot restrain 9
themselves, let them marry. Better
marry than be aflame with passion !
For married people these are 10
my instructions (and they are the
Lord's, not mine). A wife is not to
separate from her husband — if she 11
has separated, she must either re-
main single or be reconciled to him
— and a husband must not put
away his wife.
To other people I would say 12
(not the Lord) : —
if any brother has a wife who is
not a believer,
and if she consents to live with
him,
he must not put her away ;
and if any wife has a husband 13
who is not a believer,
and if he consents to live with
her,
she must not put her hus-
band away.
For the unbelieving husband is 14
consecrated in the person
of his wife,
and the unbelieving wife is
consecrated in the person
of the Christian brother
she has married;
otherwise, of course, your children
would be unholy instead of being
consecrated to God. (Should the 15l
I. CORINTHIANS VII
unbelieving partner be determined
to separate, however, separation
let it be ; in such cases the Christian
brother or sister is not tied to mar-
riage.) It is to a life of peace that
16 God has called us.* O wife, how do
you know you may not save your
husband ? O husband, how do you
know you may not save your wife ?
17 Only, everyone must lead the lot
assigned him by the Lord ; he must
go on living the life in which God's
call came to him. (Such is the rule
I lay down for all the churches).
18 Was a man circumcised at the
time he was called ?
Then he is not to efface the
marks of it.
Has any man been called when
he was uncircumcised ?
Then he is not to get circum-
cised.
19 Circumcision counts for nothing,
uncircumcision counts for nothing ;
obedience to God's commands is
20 everything. Everyone must remain
in the condition of life where he was
21 called. You were a slave when
you were called? Never mind.
Of course, if you do find it possible
to get free, you had better avail
22 yourself of the opportunity. But
a slave who is called to be in the
Lord is a freedman of the Lord.
Just as a free man who is called is
23 a slave of Christ (for you were
bought for a price; you must not
24 turn slaves to any man). Brothers,
everyone must remain with God
in the condition of life where he
was called.
25 I have no orders from the Lord
for unmarried women, but I will
give you the opinion of one whom
you can trust, after all the Lord's
* Reading jifxas with B D G, the Latin
version, Origen, Chryaostom, etc., instead
of vuaSt
mercy to him. Well, what I think 26
is this : that, considering the immi-
nent distress in these days, it would
be an excellent plan for you to re-
main just as you are.
Are you tied to a wife ? Never 27
try to untie the knot.
Are you free ? Never try to
get married.
Of course, if you are actually 28
married, there is no sin in
that;
and if a maid marries, there is
no sin in that.
(At the same time those who marry
will have outward trouble — and I
would spare you that.) I mean, 29
brothers, —
the interval has been shortened ;
so let those who have wives live
as if they had none,
let mourners live as if they were 30
not mourning,
let the joyful live as if they had
no joy,
let buyers live as if they had no
hold on their goods,
let those who mix in the world 31
live as if they were not en-
grossed in it,
for the present phase of things
is passing away.
I want you to be free from all 32
anxieties.
The unmarried man is anxious
about the Lord's affairs,
how best to satisfy the Lord;
the married man is anxious about 33
worldly affairs,
how best to satisfy his wife —
so he is torn in two directions. 34
The unmarried woman or the
maid f is also anxious about
the Lord's affairs,
how to be consecrated, body
and spirit;
t Reading ri ywij ri Ayafios koI rj itapOivos
with p'6 B P, the Vulgate, etc.
211
I. CORINTHIANS VIII, IX
once married, she is anxious about
worldly affairs,
how best to satisfy her husband.
35 I am saying this in your own
interests. Not that I want to
restrict your freedom. It is only to
secure decorum and concentration
upon a life of devotion to the Lord.
86 At the same time, if any man con-
siders he is not behaving properly
to the maid who is his spiritual
bride, if his passions are strong and
if it must be so, then let him do what
he wants — let them be married ;
37 it is no sin for him. But the man
of firm purpose who has made up
his mind, who, instead of being
forced against his will, has deter-
mined to himself to keep his maid
a spiritual bride — that man will
38 be doing the right thing. Thus
both are right alike in marrying
and in refraining from marriage,
but he who does not marry will be
found to have done better.
39 A woman is bound to her hus-
band during his lifetime ; but if he
dies, she is free to marry anyone
she pleases — only, it must be a
40 Christian. However, she is happier
if she remains as she is ; that is my
opinion — and I suppose I have the
Spirit of God as well as other people!
8 With regard to food that has
been offered to idols. Here, of
course, ' we all possess knowledge ' !
Knowledge puffs up, love builds
2 up. Whoever imagines he has
attained to some degree of know-
ledge, does not possess the true
3 knowledge yet ; but if anyone loves
4 God, he is known by Him. Well
then, with regard to food that has
been offered to idols, I am quite
aware that ' there is no such thing
as an idol in the world ' and that
212
'there is only the one God.' (So- 5
called gods there may be, in heaven
or on earth — as indeed there are
plenty of them, both gods and
' lords ' — but for us 6
there is one God, the Father,
from whom all comes, ;
and for whom we exist;
one Lord, Jesus Christ,
by whom all exists,
and by whom we exist.)
Biit remember, it is not everyone 7
who has this ' knowledge.' Some
who have hitherto been accus-
tomed to idols eat the food as food
which has been really offered to an
idol, and so their weaker conscience
is contaminated. Now mere food 8
will not bring us any nearer to God ;
if we abstain we do not lose any-
thing,
and if we eat we do not gain
anything.
But see that the exercise of your 9
right does not prove any stumbling-
block to the weak. Suppose any- 10
one sees you, a person of enlightened
mind, reclining at meat inside an
idol's temple; will that really
' fortify his weak conscience ' ?
Will it not embolden him to violate
his scruples of conscience by eating
food that has been offered to idols ?
He is ruined, this weak man, ruined 11
by your ' enlightened mind,' this
brother for whose sake Christ died !
By sinning against the brotherhood 12
in this way and wounding their
weaker consciences, you are sinning
against Christ. Therefore if food 13
is any hindrance to my brother's
welfare, sooner than injure him I
will never eat flesh as long as I live,
never !
OHAP.
Am I not free? Am I not an 9
apostle ? Have I not seen Jesus our
I. CORINTHIANS IX
Lord? Are you not the work 1
have accomplished in the Lord?
2 To other people I may be no apostle,
but to you I am, for you are the
seal set upon my apostleship in the
3 Lord. Here is my reply to my
4 inquisitors. Have we no right to
eat and drink at the expense of
5 the churches ? Have we no right
to travel with a Christian ^vife, like
the rest of the apostles, like the
brothers of the Lord, like Cephas
6 himself ? What ! are we the only
ones, myself and Barnabas, who
are denied the right of abstaining
7 from work for our living ? Does
a soldier provide his own supplies?
Does a man plant a vineyard with-
out eating its produce? Does a
shepherd get no drink from the milk
8 of the flock ? Human arguments,
you say? But does not Scripture
9 urge the very same ? It is written
in the law of ]\Ioses, Yo7i must not
muzzle an ox when he is treading the
grain. Is God thinking here about
10 cattle ? Or is he speaking purely
for our sakes ? Assuredly for our
sakes. This word was written be-
cause the ploughman needs to
plough in hope, and the thresher to
thresh in the hope of getting a share
11 in the crop. If we sowed 5^ou the
seeds of spiritual good, is it a great
matter if we reap your worldly
12 goods ? If others share this right
over you, why not we all the more ?
We did not avail ourselves of it, you
say ? No, we do not mind any
privations if we can only avoid
putting any obstacle in the way of
13 the gospel of Christ. Do you not
knoAv that as men who perform
temple-rites get their food from
the temple, and as attendants at
the altar get their share of thesacri-
14 fjccs, so the Lord's instructions were
that those who proclaim the gospel
are to get their living by the gospel ?
Only, I have not availed myself of 15
any of these rights, and I am not
writing in order to secure any such
provision for myself. I would die
sooner than let anyone deprive me of
this, my source of pride. What I am 16
proud of is not the mere preaching
of the gospel ; that I am constrained
to do. Woe to me if I do not preach
the gospel ! I get a reward if I do 17
it of my own accord, whereas to do
it otherwise is no more than for a
steward to discharge his trust. And 18
my reward ? This, that I can
preach the gospel free of charge,
that I can refrain from insisting on
all my rights as a preacher of the
gospel. Why, 19
free as I am from all, I have made
myself the slave of all,
to win over as many as I
could.
To Jews I have become like a 20
Jew,
to win over .lews;
to those under Ihe Law I have
become as one of them-
selves—
though I am not under the Law
myself —
to win over those under the
La%v ;
to those outside the Law I have 21
become like one of them-
selves—
though I am under Christ's law,
not outside God's Law —
to win over those outside
the Law;
to the weak I have become as 22
weak myself,
to win over the weak.
To all men I have become all
things,
to save some by all and
every means.
And I do it all for the sake of 23
213
I. CORINTHIANS X
the gospel, to secure my own share
24 in it. Do you not know that in a
race, though all run, only one man
gains the prize ? Run so as to win
25 the prize. Every athlete practices
self-restraint all round; but while
they do it to win a fading wreath,
26 we do it for an unfading. Well, I
run without swerving; I do not
plant my blows upon the empty
27 air — no, I maul and master my
body, in case, after preaching to
other people, I am disqualified my-
self.
10 For I would have you know this,
my brothers, that while our fathers
all lived under the cloud, all crossed
2 through the sea, all were baptized
into Moses by the cloud and by the
3 sea, all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual
drink (drinking from the spiritual
Rock which accompanied them —
5 and that Rock was Christ), still
with most of them God was not
satisfied ; they were laid low in the
6 desert. Now this took place as a
warning for us, to keep us from
7 craving for evil as they craved. And
you must not be idolaters, like some
of them ; as it is written,
the people sat down to eat and
drink,
and they rose up to make sport.
8 Nor must we commit immorality,
as some of them did — and in a single
day twenty-three thousand of them
9 fell. Nor must we presume upon
the Lord as some of them did —
only to be destroyed by serpents.
10 And you must not murmur, as some
of them did — only to be destroyed
11 by the Destroying angel. It all
happened to them by way of warn-
ing for others, and it was written
down for the purpose of instructing
214
us whose lot has been cast in the
closing hours of the world. So let 12
anyone who thinks he stands secure,
take care in case he falls. No 13
temptation has waylaid you that
is beyond man's power ; trust God,
he will never let you be tempted
beyond what you can stand, but
when temptation comes, he will
provide the way out of it, so that
you can bear up under it.
Shun idolatry, then, my beloved. 14
I am speaking to sensible people; 15
weigh my words for yourselves.
The cup of blessing, which we 16
bless,
is that not participating in the
blood of Christ ?
The bread we break,
is that not participating in the
body of Christ ?
(for many as we are, we are one 17
Bread, one Body, since we all par-
take of the one Bread). Look at 18
the rites of Israel. Do not those
who eat the sacrifices participate in
the altar? Do I imply, you ask, 19
that 'food offered to an idol has
any meaning, or that an idol itself
means anything ' ? No, what I 20
imply is that anything people
sacrifice is sacrificed to daemons not
to God. And I do not want you to
participate in daemons ! You can- 21
not drink the cup of the Lord and
also the cup of daemons; you can-
not partake of the table of the
Lord and also of the table of
daemons. What ! do we intend to 22
rouse the Lord's jealousy ? Are we
stronger than he is ?
' All things are lawful ' ? 23
Yes, but not all are good for
us.
' All things are lawful ' ?
Yes, but not all are edifying.
Each of us must consult his neigh- 24
hour's interests, not his own. Eat 25
I. CORINTHIANS XI
any food that has been sold in the
market, instead of letting scruples
of conscience oblige you to ask any
26 questions about it ; the earth and all
27 its contents belong to the Lord. When
an unbeliever invites you to dinner
and you agree to go, eat whatever is
put before you, instead of letting
scruples of conscience induce you to
28 ask any questions about it. But if
someone tells you, ' This was sacri-
ficial meat,' then do not eat it ; you
must consider the man who told
you, and also take conscience into
29 account — his conscience, I mean,
not your own ; for why should one's
own freedom be called in question
30 by someone else's conscience? If
one partakes of food after saying a
blessing over it, why shoidd one be
denounced for eating what one has
31 given thanks to God for? So
whether you eat or drink, or what-
ever you do, let it be all done for
32 the glory of God. Put no stumbhng-
block in the way of Jews or Greeks
33 or the church of God. Such is my
own rule, to satisfy all men in all
points, aiming not at my own ad-
vantage but at the advantage of
the greater number — at their salva-
11 tion. Copy me, as I copy Christ.
2 I commend you for always bear-
ing me in mind and for maintaining
the traditions I passed on to you.
3 But I would like you to understand
this : Christ is the head of every
man, man is the head of woman,
4 and God is the head of Christ. Any
man who prays or prophesies with
a veil on his head dishonours his
5 head, while any woman who prays
or prophesies without a veil on
her head dishonours her head ; she
is no better than a shaven woman.
6 If a woman will not veil herself,
she should cut off her hair as well.
But she ought to veil herself ; for it
is disgraceful that a woman should
have her hair cut off or be shaven.
Man does not require to have a veil 7
on his head, for he represents the
likeness and supremacy of God ; but
woman represents the supremacy
of man. (Man was not made from 8
woman, woman was made from
man ; and man was not created 9
for woman, but woman for man.)
Therefore, in view of the angels, 10
woman must wear a symbol of sub-
jection on her head. (Of course, in 11
the Lord, woman does not exist
apart from man, any more than man
apart from woman ; for as woman 12
was made from man, so man is now
made from woman, while both, like
all things, come from God. ) .Judge 13
for yourselves; is it proper for an
unveiled woman to pray to God ?
Surely nature herself teaches you 14
that while long hair is disgraceful
for a man, for a woman long hair 15
is a glory ? Her hair is given her
as a covering. If anyone pre- 16
sumes to raise objections on this
point — well, I acknowledge no other
mode of worship, and neither do the
churches of God.
But in giving you the following 17
injunction I cannot commend you ;
for you are the worse, not the better,
for assembling together. First of 18
all, in your church-meetings I am
told that cliques prevail. And I
partly beheve it. There must be 19
parties among you, if genuine
Christians are to be recognized.
But this makes it impossible for 20
you to eat the ' Lord's ' supper
when you hold your gatherings.
As you eat, everyone takes his 21
own supper ; one goes hungry while
another gets drunk. What ! have 22
you no houses to eat and drink in ?
Do you think you can show dis-
respect to the church of God and
215
I. CORINTHIANS XII
put the poor to shame? What
can I say to you? Commend
23 you ? Not for this. I passed on
to ji-ou what I received from the
Lord himself, namely, that on the
night he was betrayed the Lord
24 Jesus took a loaf, and after thank-
ing God he broke it, saying,
' This means my body broken * for
25 you ; do this in memory of me.' In
the same way he took the cup after
supper, saying, ' This cup means
the new covenant ratified by my
hlood ; as often as you drink it, do
26 it in memory of me.' For as often
as you eat this loaf and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
27 until he comes. Hence anyone
who eats the loaf or drinks the cup
of the Lord carelessly, will have to
answer for a sin against the body
28 and the blood of the Lord. Let a
man test himself; then he can eat
from the loaf and drink from the
29 cup. For he who eats and drinks
without a proper sense of the Body,
eats and drinks to his own con-
30 demnation. That is why many of
you are ill and infirm, and a number
31 even dead. If we only judged our
own lives truly, we would not come
32 under the Lord's judgment. As it
is, we are chastened when we are
judged by him, so that we may
not be condemned along with the
world.
33 Well then, my brothers, when
you gather for a meal, wait for
34 one another ; and if anyone is
hungry let him eat at home. You
must not gather only to incur
condemnation.
* Von Sodon brackets K\(Sifi.evov, but it
must be read with ts« C*, two correctors
of D (which originally read 6pvTtr6fj.ivov),
G, the Old Latin and Syriac Viilgate,
Chrysostom, etc. If it is a gloss, it is a
correct one, unless the Lucan SL56iJ.evov be
preferred.
. 216
I will give you my instructions
upon the other mattei's when I
come.
CHAP.
But I want you to understand 12
about spiritual gifts, brothers. You 2
know, when j^ou were pagans, how
your impulses led you to dumb
idols ; so I tell you now, that no one 3
is speaking in the Spirit of God when
he cries, ' Cursed be Jesus,' and
that no one can say, ' Jesus is Lord '
except in the holy Spirit.
There are varieties of talents, 4
but the same Spirit;
varieties of service, 5
but the same Lord;
varieties of effects, 6
but the same God who effects
everything in everyone.
Each receives his manifestation of 7
the Spirit for the common good.
One man is granted words of wis- 8
dom by the Spirit, another words
of knowledge by the same Spirit;
one man in the same Spirit has the 9
gift of faith, anoth r in the one
Spirit has gifts of healing; one has 10
prophecy, another the gift of dis-
tinguishing spirits, another the gift
of ' tongues ' in their variety,
another the gift of interpreting
' tongues.' But all these effects 11
are produced by one and the
same Spirit, apportioning them
severally to each individual as he
pleases.
As the human body is one and 12
has many members, all the mem-
bers of the body forming one body
for all their number, so is it with
Christ. For by one Spirit we have 13
all been baptized into one Body,
Jews or Greeks, slaves or freemen ;
we have all been imbued with one
Spirit. Wh}^, even the body con- 14
sists not of one member but of
many. If the foot were to say, 15
I. CORINTHIANS XIII
* Because I am not the hand, I do
not belong to the body,' that does
not make it no part of the body.
16 If the ear were to say, ' Because I
am not the eye, I do not belong
to the body,' that does not make it
17 no part of the body. If the body
were all eye, where would hearing
be ? If the body were all ear, where
18 would smell be? As it is, God has
set the members in the body, each
19 as it pleased him. If they all made
up one member, what would become
20 of the body ? As it is, there are
21 many members and one body. The
eye cannot say to the hand, ' I have
no need of you,' nor again the head
to the feet, ' I have no need of you.*
22 Quite the contrary. We cannot do
without those very members of the
body which are considered rather
23 delicate, just as the parts we con-
sider rather dishonourable are the
very parts we invest with special
honour; our indecorous parts get
24 a special care and attention which
does not need to be paid to our
more decorous parts. Yes, God
has tempered the body together,
\Wth a special dignity for the
25 inferior parts, so that there may
be no disunion in the body, but
that the various members should
have a common concern for one
26 another. Thus
if one member suffers,
all the members share its suffer-
ing;
if one member is honoured,
all the members share its
honour.
27 Now you are Christ's Body, and
28 severally members of it. That is
to say, God has set people within
the church to be first of all apostles,
secondly prophets, thirdly teachers,
then workers of miracles, then
healers, helpers, administrators,
and speakers in ' tongues ' of vari-
ous kinds. Are all apostles ? Are 29
all prophets? Are all teachers?
Are all workers of miracles ? Are SO
all endowed with the gifts of
healing? Are all able to speak
in ' tongues ' ? Are all able to
interpret ?
Set your heai'ts on the higher 81
talents. And yet I will go on to
show you a still higher path. Thus,
I may speak with the tongues of 13
men and of angels,
but if I have no love,
I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal ;
I may prophesy, fathom all 2
mysteries and secret lore,
I may have such absolute faith
that I can move hills from
their place,
but if I have no love,
I count for nothing;
I may distribute all I possess in 3
charity,
I may give up my body to be
burnt,
but if I have no love,
I make nothing of it.
Love is very patient, very kind. 4
Love knows no jealousy; love
makes no parade, gives itself no
airs, is never rude, never selfish, 5
never irritated, never resentful ;
love is never glad when others go 6
wrong, love is gladdened by good-
ness, always slow to expose, always 7
eager to believe the best, always
hopeful, always patient. Love 8
never disappears. As for prophesy-
ing, it Avill be superseded; as for
' tongues,' they will cease ; as for
knowledge, it will be superseded.
For we only know bit by bit, and 9
we only prophesy bit by bit; but 10
when the perfect comes, the im-
perfect will be superseded. When 11
I was a child, I talked like a child,
217
I. CORINTHIANS XIV
I thought Hke a child, I argued like
a child ; now that I am a man, I
am done with childish ways.
12 At present we only see the baffling
reflections in a mirror,
but then it wall be face to
face ;
at present I am learning bit by
bit,
but then I will understand, as
all along I have myself been
understood.
13 Thus ' faith and hope and love
last on, these three,' but the
14 greatest of all is love. Make
love your aim, and then set your
heart on the spiritual gifts — espe-
2 cially upon prophecy. For he who
speaks in a ' tongue ' addresses
God not men ; no one understands
him ; he is talking of di\4ne secrets
3 in the Spirit, On the other hand,
he who prophesies addresses men in
words that edify, encourage, and
4 console them. He who speaks in a
* tongue ' edifies himself, whereas
he who prophesies edifies the
5 church. Now I would like you all
to speak with ' tongues,' but I
would prefer you to prophesy. The
man who prophesies is higher than
the man who speaks with ' tongues '
— unless indeed the latter interprets,
so that the church may get edifica-
6 tion. Suppose now I were to come
to you speaking with ' tongues,'
my brothers ; what good could I do
you, unless I had some revelation
or knowledge or prophecy or teach-
7 ing to lay before you ? Inanimate
instruments, such as the flute or
the harp, may give a sound, but if
no intervals occur in their music,
how can one make out the air that
is being played either on flute or
8 on harp ? If the trumpet sounds
indistinct, who will get ready for
9 the fray ? Well, it is the same
218
with yourselves. Unless your
tongue utters language that is
readily understood, how can people
make out what you say ? You will
be pouring words into the empty
air ! There are ever so many kinds 10
of language in the world, every one
of them meaning something. Well, 11
unless I understand the meaning of
what is said to me, I v^dll appear to
the speaker to be talking gibberish,
and to my mind he will be talking
gibberish himself. So with your- 12
selves ; since your heart is set on
possessing ' spirits,' make the edifi-
cation of the church your aim in this
desire to excel. Thus a man who 13
speaks in a ' tongue ' must pray for
the gift of interpreting it. For if 14
I pray with a ' tongue,' my spirit
prays, no doubt, but my mind
is no use to anyone. Very well 15
then, I will pray in the Spirit, but I
will also pray with my mind ; I will
sing praise in the Spirit, but I will
also sing praise with my mind.
Otherwise, suppose you are blessing 16
God in the Spirit, how is the out-
sider to say ' Amen ' to your
thanksgiving? The man does not
understand what you are saying !
Your thanksgiving may be all right, 17
but then — the other man is not
edified ! Thank God, I speak in 18
' tongues ' more than any of you ;
but in church I would rather say 19
five words with my own mind for
the instruction of other people
than ten thousand words in a
' tongue.'
Brothers, do not be children in 20
the sphere of intelligence; in evil
be mere infants, but be mature in
your intelligence. It is written in 21
the Law, By men of alien tongues
and by the lips of aliens I will speak
to this People ; hut even so, they will
not listen to me, saith the Lord.
I. CORINTHIANS XV
22 Thus ' tongues ' are intended as a
sign, not for believers but for
unbelievers ; whereas prophesying
is meant for believers, not for
23 unbelievers. Hence if at a gather-
ing of the whole church everybody
speaks with ' tongues,' and if out-
siders or unbelievers come in, will
they not say you are insane ?
24 Whereas, if everybody prophesies,
and some unbeliever or outsider
comes in, he is exposed by all,
25 brought to book by all ; the secrets
of his heart are brought to light,
and so, falling on his face, he will
worship God, declaring, ' God is
really among you.*
26 Very well then, brothers; when
you meet together, each contributes
something — a song of praise, a
lesson, a revelation, a ' tongue,'
an interpretation? Good, but let
27 everything be for edification. As
for speaking in a ' tongue,' let only
two or at most three speak at one
meeting, and that in turn. Also,
28 let someone interpret ; if there is
no interpreter, let the speaker
keep quiet in church and address
29 himself and God. Let only two or
three prophets speak, while the rest
exercise their judgment upon what
80 is said. Should a revelation come
to one who is seated, the first
31 speaker must be quiet. You can
all prophesy quite well, one after
another, so as to let all learn and
32 all be encouraged. Prophets can
control their own prophetic spirits,
33 for God is a God not of disorder but
37 of harmony.* If anyone considers
himself a prophet or gifted with the
Spirit, let him understand that
• Transposing vers. 336-36 to the end
of the chapter, in order to preserve the
sequence of thought. There is some
early textual evidence for reading 34-35
after 40.
what I write to you is a command of
the Lord. Anyone who disregards 38
this will be himself disregarded.
To sum up, my brothers. Set 39
your heart on the prophetic gift,
and do not put any check upon
speaking in ' tongues ' ; but let 40
everything be done decorously and
in order.
As is the rule in all churches of 33
the saints, women must keep quiet 34
at gatherings of the church. They
are not allowed to speak ; they must
take a subordinate place, as the
Law enjoins. If they want any 35
information, let them ask their
husbands at home ; it is disgraceful
for a woman to speak in church.
You challenge this rule ? Pray, 36
did God's word start from you ?
Are you the only people it has
reached ?
Now, brothers, I would have you 15
know the gospel I once preached to
you, the gospel you received, the
gospel in which you have your
footing, the gospel by which you 2
are saved — provided you adhere to
my statement of it — unless indeed
your faith was all haphazard.
First and foremost I passed on 3
to you what I had myself received,
namely, that Christ died for our sins
as the scripture had said, that he 4
was buried, that he rose on the third
day as the scripture had said, and 5
that he was seen by Cephas, then by
the twelve ; after that, he was seen 6
by over five hundred brothers all
at once, the majority of whom
survive to this day, though some
have died ; after that, he was seen 7
by James, then by all the apostles,
and finally he was seen by myself, 8
by this so-called ' abortion ' of an
apostle. For I am the very least 9
210
I. CORINTHIANS XV
of the apostles, unfit to bear the
name of apostle, since I persecuted
10 the church of God. But by God's
grace I am what I am. The grace
he showed me did not go for no-
thing; no, I have done far more
work than all of them — though it
was not I but God's grace at my
11 side. At any rate, whether I or
they have done most, such is what
we preach, such is what you be-
lieved.
12 Now if we preach that Christ rose
from the dead, how can certain
individuals among you assert that
* there is no such thing as a resur-
13 reetion of the dead '"? If ' there
is no such tiling as a resurrection
from the dead,' then even Christ
14 did not rise ; and if Christ did not
rise, then our preaching has gone
for nothing, and your faith has gone
15 for nothing too. Besides, we are
detected bearing false witness to
God by affirming of him that he
raised Christ — whom he did not
raise, if after all dead men never
16 rise. For if dead men never rise,
17 Christ did not rise either ; and if
Christ did not rise, your faith is
futile, you are still in your sins.
18 More than that : those who have
slept the sleep of death in Christ
19 have perished after all. Ah, if in
this life we have nothing but a mere
hope in Christ, we are of all men
to be pitied most !
20 But it is not so I Christ did rise
from the dead, he was the first to be
reaped of those who sleep in death.
21 For since death came by man,
by man came also resurrection
from the dead ;
22i as all die in Adam,
so shall all be made alive in
Christ.
23 But each in his owti division : —
Christ the first to be reaped ; after
220
that, all who belong to Christ, at
his arrival. Then comes the end, 24
when he hands over his royal power
to God the Father, after putting
down all other rulers, all other
authorities and powers. For he 25
must reign until all his foes are put
under his feet. (Death is the last 26
foe to be put down.) For God has 27
put everything under his feet. When
it is said that everything has been
put under him, plainly that excludes
Ilim who put everything under
him ; and when everything is put 28
under him, then the Son himself
will be put Tmder Him who put
everything under him, so that God
may be everjrthing to everyone.
Otherwise, if there is no such 29
thing as a resurrection, what is the
meaning of people getting baptized
on behalf of their dead? If dead
men do not rise at all, why do
people get baptized on their behalf ?
Yes, and why am I myself in danger 30
every hour ? (Not a day but I am
at death's door ! I swear it by 31
my pride in you, brothers, through
Christ Jesus our Lord.) What would 32
it avail me that, humanly speaking,
I ' fought with wild beasts ' at
Ephesus ? If dead men do not
rise, let us eat and drink, for we will
he dead to-morrow !
Make no mistake about this : 33
' bad company is the ruin of good
character.' Get back to your sober 34
senses and avoid sin, for some of
you — and I say this to your shame
— some of you are insensible to God.
But, someone will ask, ' how do 35
the dead rise ? WTiat kind of body
have they when they come ? '
Foolish man ! W^hat you sow never 36
comes to life unless it dies. And 37
what you sow is not the body that
is to be ; it is a mere grain of wheat,
for example, or some other seed.
I. CORINTHIANS XVI
88 God gives it a body as he pleases,
gives each kind of seed a body of its
39 own. Flesh is not all the same ;
there is human flesh, there is flesh
of beasts, flesh of birds, and flesh
40 of fish. There are heavenly bodies
and also earthly bodies, but the
splendour of the heavenly is one
thing and the splendour of the
41 earthly is another. There is a
splendour of the sun and a splen-
dour of the moon and a splendour
of the stars — for one star differs
42 from another in splendour. So with
the resurrection of the dead :
what is sown is mortal,
what rises is immortal ;
43 sown inglorious,
it rises in glory ;
sown in weakness,
it rises in power;
44 sown an animate body,
it rises a spiritual body.
As there is an animate body, so
45 there is a spiritual body. Thus it
is written,
' The first man, Adam, became an
animate being,
the last Adam a hfe-giving
Spirit ' ;
46 but the animate, not the spiritual,
comes first,
and only then the spiritual.
47 Man the first is from the earth,
material ;
Man the second is from heaven.
48 As Man the material is, so are the
material ;
as Man the heavenly is, so are
the heavenly.
49 Thus, as we have borne the hke-
ness of material Man,
so we are to bear * the likeness
of the heavenly Man.
^ I tell you this, my brothers, flesh
• Reading <po(>iaoy.fv with B 181 arm
aeth, etc., instead of the strongly sup-
ported <p»p4ffun(y.
and blood cannot inherit the Realm
of God, nor can the perishing
inherit the imperishable. Here is 51
a secret truth for you : not all of
us are to die, but all of us are to be
changed — changed in a moment, 52
in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet-call. The trumpet will
sound, the dead will rise imperish-
able, and we shall be changed.
For this perishing body must be 53
invested with the imperishable,
and this mortal body invested with
immortality ; and when this mortal 54
body has been invested with im-
mortality,! tlien the saying of
Scripture will be reahzed.
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is your victory ? 55
0 Death, where is your sting ? \
The victory is ours, thank God ! 57
He makes it ours by our Lord Jesus
Christ. Well then, my beloved 58
brothers, hold your ground, im-
movable; abound in work for the
Lord at all times, for you may be
sure that in the Lord your labour
is never thrown away.
OHAP.
With regard to the collection for 16
the saints, you must carry out the
same arrangements as I made for
the churches of Galatia. On the first 2
day of the week let each of you
put aside a sum from his weekly
gains, so that the money may not
have to be collected when I come.
On my arrival I will furnish 8
■f Omitting tJ> (pdafnhv tovto ivSva-rjrai
a.(pdapfflav, Kai with N* C* and niost of the
versions. The phrase was probably in-
serted for the sake of completing the
parallel.
X After this verse, the words " The
sting of sin is death, and the strength of
sin is the Law " have been added either
as a gloss by some editor or perhaps as a
marginal note by Paul himself.
221
I. CORINTHIANS XVI
credentials for those whom you
select, and send them to convey
4 your bounty to Jerusalem; if the
sum makes it worth my while to go
too, they will accompany me.
5 I mean to visit you after my
tour in Macedonia, for I am going
to make a tour through Macedonia.
6 The chances are I will spend
some time with you, possibly even
pass the winter with you, so that
you may speed me forward on any
7 journey that lies before me. I do
not care about seeing you at this
moment merely in the by-going;
my hope is to stay among you for
some time, with the Lord's per-
8 mission. I am staying on for the
present at Ephesus till Pentecost,
9 for I have wide opportunities here
for active service — and there are
many to thwart me.
10 If Timotheus arrives, see that you
make him feel quite at home with
you ; he carries on the work of the
11 Lord as I do. So let no one dispar-
age him. When he leaves to rejoin
me, speed him cordially on his
journey, for I am expecting him
along with the other brothers.
12 As for our brother Apollos, I
urged him to accompany the other
brothers on a visit to you ; he will
come as soon as he has time, but
for the present it is not the will of
God that he should visit you.
Watch, stand firm in the faith, 13
play the man, be strong ! Let all 14
you do be done in love.
I ask this favour of you, my bro- 15
thers. The household of Stephanas,
you know, was the first to be reaped
in Achaia, and they have laid them-
selves out to serve the saints. Well, 16
I want you to put yourselves under
people like that, under everyone
who sets his hand to the work.
I am glad that Stephanas and 17
Fortunatus and Achaicus have
arrived, for they have made up for
your absence. They refresh my 18
spirit as they do your own. You
should appreciate men like that.
The churches of Asia salute you, 19
Aquila and Prisca, with the church
that meets in their house, salute
you warmly in the Lord. All the 20
brotherhood salutes you. Salute
one another with a holy kiss.
I Paul write this salutation with 21
my own hand. ' If anyone has no 22
love for the Lord, God's curse be
on him ! Maran atha ! * The 23
grace of the Lord Jesus be with
you. My love be with you all in 24
Christ Jesus.'
• An Arsimaic phrase, probably mean-
ing " Lord, come ' (see Rev. xxii. 20).
222
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
COEINTHIANS
1 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God, and brother
Timotheus, to the church of God
at Corinth as well as to all the
saints throughout the whole of
2 Achaia : grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of tender mercies and the God of all
4 comfort, who comforts me in all
my distress, so that I am able to
comfort people who are in any dis-
tress by the comfort with which I
5 myself am comforted by God. For
as the sufferings of Christ are abun-
dant in my case, so my comfort is
6 also abundant through Christ. If
I am in distress, it is in the interests
of your comfort and salvation ; if
I am comforted, it is in the interests
of your comfort, which is effective
as it nerves you to endure the same
7 sufferings as I suffer myself. Hence
my hope for you is well-founded,
since I know that as you share the
sufferings you share the comfort
also.
8 Now I would like you to know
about the distress which befell me
in Asia, brothers. I was crushed,
crushed far more than I could
stand, so much so that I despaired
9 even of life ; in fact I told myself
it was the sentence of death. But
that was to make me rely not on
myself but on the God who raises
10 the dead ; he rescued me from so
terrible a death, he rescues still, and
I rely upon him for the hope that he
will continue to rescue me. Let me 11
have your co-operation in prayer,
so that many a soul may render
thanks to him on my behalf for the
boon which many have been the
means of him bestowing on myself.
My proud boast is the testimony 12
of my conscience that holiness
and godly sincerity, not worldly
cunning but the grace of God, have
marked my conduct in the outside
world and in particular my relations
with you. You don't have to read 13
between the lines of my letters ; you
can understand them. Yes, I trust
you will understand the full mean-
ing of my letters as you have partly 14
understood the meaning of my life,
namely that I am your source of
pride (as you are mine) on the Day
of our Lord Jesus. Relying on 15
this I meant to visit you first,
to let you have a double delight ; 116
intended to take you on my way to
Macedonia, and to visit you again on
my way back from Macedonia, so as
to be sped by you on my journey to
Judaea. Such was my intention. 17
Now, have I sho^vn myself ' fickle ' ?
When I propose some plan, do I
propose it in a worldly way, ready
to mean ' no ' as well as ' yes ' ?
By the good faith of God, my word 18
to you was not ' yes and no ' ; for 19
the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who
was proclaimed among you by us
(by myself and Silvanus and
Timotheus) was not ' yes and no ' —
the divine ' yes ' has at last sounded
223
II. CORINTHIANS II, III
20 in him, for in him is the ' yes ' that
affirms all the promises of God.
Hence it is throuo;!! him that we
affirm our ' amen ' in worship, to
21 the glory of God. And it is God
who confirms me along with you
22 in Christ, who consecrated me, who
stamped me with his seal and gave
me the Spirit as a pledge in my
23 heart. I call God to witness
against my soul, it was to spare
you that I refrained from revisiting
24 Corinth. (Not that we lord it over
your faith — no, we co-operate for
your joy : you have a standing of
2 your own in the faith.) I decided
I would not pay you another painful
2 visit. For if I pain you, then who
is to give me pleasure ? None but
3 the very people I am paining ! So
the very reason I wrote was that I
might not come only to be pained
by those who ought to give me joy ;
I relied on you all, I felt sure that
my joy would be a joy for every
4 one of you. For I wrote you in sore
distress and misery of heart, with
many a tear — not to pain you but
to convince you of my love, my
5 special love for you. If a certain
individual has been causing pain,
he has been causing pain not so
much to me as to all of you — at
anyrate (for I am not going to over-
state the case) to a section of you.
6 This censure from the majority is
severe enough for the individual
7 in question, so that instead of cen-
suring you should now forgive him
and comiort him, in case the man
is overwhelmed by excessive re-
8 morse. So I beg you to reinstate
9 him in your love. For my aim
in writing was simply to test you,
to see if you were absolutely obedi-
10 ent. If you forgive the man, I
forgive him too; anything I had
to forgive him has been forgiven
224
in the presence of Christ for your
sakes, in case Satan should take 11
advantage of our position — for I
know his manoeuvres !
Well, when I reached Troas to 12
preach the gospel of Christ, though
I had a wide opportunity in the
Lord, my spirit could not rest, be- 13
cause I did not find Titus my brother
there; so I said goodbye and went
off to Macedonia. Wherever I go, 14
thank God, he makes my life a
constant pageant of triumph in
Christ, diffusing the perfume of
his knowledge everywhere by me.
I live for God as the fragrance of 15
Christ breathed alike on those who
are being saved and on those who
are perishing, to the one a deadly 16
fragrance that makes for death,
to the other a vital fragrance that
makes for life. And who is quali-
fied for this career? I am, for I 17
am not like most, adulterating the
word of God ; like a man of sincerity,
like a man of God, I speak the word
in Christ before the very presence
of God.
Am I beginning again to ' com- 3
mend ' myself ? Do I need, like
some people, to be commended by
written certificates either to you or
from you? Why, you are my 2
certificate yourselves, written on
my heart, recognized and read by
all men ; you make it obvious that 3
you are a letter of Christ which I
have been employed to inscribe,
written not with ink but wdth the
Spirit of the living God, not on
tablets of stone but on tablets of the
human heart. Such is the confi- 4
dence I possess through Christ in
my service of God. It is not that I 5
am personally qualified to form
any judgment by myself; my
II. CORINTHIANS iV
6 qualifications come from God, and
he has further quahfied me to be
the minister of a new covenant — a
covenant not of written law but of
spirit ; for the written law kills but
7 the Spirit makes alive. Now if the
administration of death which was
engraved in letters of stone, was
invested with glory — so much so
that the children of Israel could not
gaze at the face of Moses on account
of the dazzling glory that was fading
8 from his face ; surely the adminis-
tration of the Spirit must be in-
9 vested with still greater glory. If
there was glory in the administra-
tion that condemned, then the ad-
ministration that acquits abounds
10 far more in glory (indeed, in view of
the transcendent glory, what was
glorious has thus no glory at all);
LI if what faded had its glory, then
what lasts will be invested with far
12 greater glory. Such being my hope
L3 then, I am quite frank and open —
not like Moses, who used to hang a
veil over his face to keep the children
of Israel from gazing at the last rays
'A of a fading glory. Besides, their
minds were dulled, for to this very
day, when the Old Testament is
read aloud, the same veil hangs.
Veiled from them the fact that the
5 glory fades in Christ ! Yes, down
to this day, whenever Moses is read
aloud, the veil rests on their heart ;
6 though whenever they turn to the
7 Lord, the veil is removed. (The
Lord means the Spirit, and wherever
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
8 open freedom.) But we all mirror
the glory of the Lord with face un-
veiled, and so we are being trans-
formed into the same likeness as
himself, passing from one glory to
another — for this comes of the
" Lord the Spirit. Hence, as I
hold this ministry by God's mercy
to me, I never lose heart In it;
I disown those practices which 2
very shame conceals from view;
I do not go about it craftily; I
do not falsify the word of God;
I state the truth openly and so
commend myself to every man's
conscience before God. Even if 3
my gospel is veiled, it is only
veiled in the case of the perishing;
there the god of this world has 4
blinded the minds of unbelievers,
to prevent them seeing the light
thrown by the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the likeness of God.
(It is Christ Jesus as Lord, not my- 5
self, that I proclaim; I am simply
a servant of yours for Jesus' sake.)
For God who said, " Light shall 6
shine out of darkness," has shone
within my heart to illuminate
men with the knowledge of God's
glory in the face of Christ.
But I possess this treasure in a 7
frail vessel of earth, to show that the
transcending power belongs to God,
not to myself, ; on every side I am 8
harried but not hemmed in, per-
plexed but not despairing, perse- 9
cuted but not abandoned, struck
down but not destroyed —
wherever I go I am being killed 10
in the body as Jesus was,
so that the hfe of Jesus may
come out in my body :
every day of my Hfe I am being 11
given over to death for Jesus'
sake,
so that the life of Jesus may
come out within my mortal
flesh.
In me then death is active, in 12
you life. But since our spirit of 13
faith is the same, therefore — as it is
written / believed and so I spoke — I
too beheve and so I speak, sure that 14
He who raised the Lord Jesus will
raise me too with Jesus and set me
226
II. CORINTHIANS V, VI
15 at your side in his presence. It is
all in your interests, so that the
more grace abounds, the more
thanksgiving may rise and redound
16 to the glory of God. Hence I never
lose heart; though my outward
man decays, my inner man is re-
17 newed day after day. The slight
trouble of the passing hour * results
in a solid glory past all comparison,
18 for those of us whose eyes are on
the unseen, not on the seen ; for the
seen is transient, the unseen eternal.
5 I know that if this earthly tent
of mine is taken down, I get a home
from God, made by no human
2 hands, eternal in the heavens. It
makes me sigh indeed, this yearning
to be under the cover of my heavenly
3 habitation, since I am sure that
once so covered I shall not be
4 ' naked ' at the hour of death. I
do sigh within this tent of mine
with heavy anxiety — not that I
want to be stripped, no, but to be
under the cover of the other, to
have my mortal element absorbed
5 by life. I am prepared for this
change by God, who has given me
the Spirit as its pledge and instal-
6 ment. Come what may, then, I
am confident; I know that while I
reside in the body I am away from
7 the Lord (for I have to lead my life
8 in faith, without seeing him) : and
in this confidence I would fain
get away from the body and re-
9 side with the Lord. Hence also I
am eager to satisfy him, whether in
10 the body or away from it ; for we
have all to appear without disguise
before the tribunal of Christ, each
to be requited for what he has done
with his body, well or ill.
11 If I ' appeal to the interests of
men' then, it is with the fear of the
Lord before my mind. What I am
• Omitting ^jiaiy.
226
is plain to God without disguise,
plain also, I trust, to your own con-
science. This is not ' recommending 12
myself to you again ' ; it is giving
you an incentive to be proud of me,
which you can use against men who
are proud of externals instead of the
inward reality. ' I am beside my- 13
self,' am I? Well, that is between
myself and God. I am ' sane,' am I ?
Well, that is in your interests ; for 14
I am controlled by the love of .
Christ, convinced that as One has ■
died for all, then all have died, and 15
that he died for all in order to have
the living live no longer for them-
selves but for him who died and rose
for them. Once convinced of this, 16
then, I estimate no one by w^hat is
external; even though I once
estimated Christ by what is ex-
ternal, I no longer estimate him
thus. There is a new creation 17
whenever a man comes to be in
Christ; what is old is gone, the
new has come. It is all the doing 18
of the God who has reconciled me
to himself through Christ and has
permitted me to be a minister of his
reconciliation. For in Christ God 19
reconciled the world to himself
instead of counting men's trespasses
against them ; and he entrusted me
with the message of his reconcilia-
tion. So I am an envoy for Christ, 20
God appealing by me, as it were —
be reconciled to God, I entreat you
on behalf of Christ. For our sakes 21
He made him to be sin who himself
knew nothing of sin, so that in him
we might become the righteousness
of God. I appeal to you too, as 6
a worker with God, do not receive
the grace of God in vain. (He saith, 2
/ have heard you in the time of
favour,
and helped you on the day of
salvation.
II. CORINTHIANS VII
Well, here is the time of favour, here
3 is the day of salvation.) I put no
obstacle in the path of any, so that
my ministry may not be discredited ;
4 I prove myself at all points a true
minister of God, by great endurance,
by suffering, by troubles, by calam-
5 ities, by lashes, by imprisonment ;
mobbed, toiling, sleepless, starving ;
6 with innocence, insight, patience,
kindness, the holy Spirit, unaffected
7 love, true words, the power of
God ; with the weapons of integrity
8 for attack or for defence, amid
honour and dishonour, amid evil
report and good report, an ' im-
9 poster ' but honest, ' unknown '
but well-known, dying but here I
am alive, chastened but not killed,
10 grieved but always glad, a ' pauper ',
but the means of wealth to many,
^^dthout a penny but possessed of all.
11 O Corinthians, I am keeping
nothing back from you; my heart
12 is zvide open for you. ' Restraint ' ?
13 — that lies with you, not me. A
fair exchange now, as the children
say ! Open your hearts wide to me.
14 [Keep out of all incongruous ties
with unbelievers.
What have righteousness and
iniquity in common,
or how can light associate with
darkness ?
15 What harmony can there be be-
tween Christ and Beliar,
or what business has a believer
with an unbeliever?
16 What compact can there be be-
tween God's temple and
idols ?
For we are the temple of the living
God — as God has said,
/ will dwell and move among
them,
I will be their God and they will
be my people.
17 Therefore com,e away from them,
separate, saith the Lord,
touch not what is unclean ;
then I will receive you,
I will be a Father to you, 18
and you shall be my sons and
daughters,
saith the Lord almighty.
As these great promises are ours, 7
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from everything that contaminates
either flesh or spirit; let us be
fully consecrated by reverence
for God].* Make a place for me 2
in your hearts; I have wronged
no one, ruined no one, taken
advantage of no one.
I am not saying this to condemn 3
you. Condemn you? Why, I re-
peat, you are in my very heart, and
you will be there in death and life
alike. I have absolute confidence 4
in you, I am indeed proud of you,
you are a perfect comfort to me, I
am overflowing with delight, for all
the trouble I have to bear. For 5
I got no relief from the strain of
things, even when I reached Mace-
donia ; it was trouble at every turn,
wrangling all round me, fears in
my own mind. But the God who 6
comforts the dejected comforted
me by the arrival of Titus. Yes, 7
and by more than his arrival, by
the comfort which you had been
to him ; for he gave me such a report
of how you longed for me, how
sorry you were, and how eagerly
you took my part, that it added to
my dehght. In fact, if I did pain 8
you by that letter, I do not regret
it. I did regret it when I dis-
covered t that my letter had pained
* This bracketed paragraph (vi. 14-
vii. 1) belongs to some other part of Paul's
correspondence with the Corinthian
church.
t Reading $\4iraiy with the Vulgate,
which " alone has preserved the true read-
ing, « being read as w " (Hort).
227
II. CORINTHIANS VIII
9 you even for the time being, but
I am glad now — not glad that you
were pained but glad that your pain
induced you to repent. For you
were pained as God meant you to
be pained, and so you got no harm
10 from what I did ; the pain God is
allowed to guide ends in a saving
repentance never to be regretted,
whereas the world's pain ends in
11 death. See what this pain divine
has done for you, how serious it
has made you, how keen to clear
yourselves, how indignant, how
alarmed, how eager for me, how
determined, how relentless ! You
have shown in every way that you
12 were honest in the business. So
my letter was written to you, not
on account of the offender nor for
the sake of the injured party, but in
order to let you realize before God
how seriously you do care for me.
13 That is what comforts me.
And over and above my personal
comfort, I was specially delighted
at the delight of Titus. You have
14 all set his mind at rest. I told him
of my pride in you, and I have not
been disappointed. No, just as
all I have had to say to you has
been true, so all I said about you to
Titus, all my pride in you, has also
15 proved true. His own heart goes
out to you all the more when he
remembers how you all obeyed him,
and how you received him with
16 reverence and trembling. I am
glad to have full confidence in you.
8 Now, brothers, I have to tell you
about the grace God has given to
2 the churches of Macedonia. Amid
a severe ordeal of trouble their
overflowing joy and their deep
poverty together have poured out
3 a flood of rich generosity ; I can
228
testify that up to their means, aye
and beyond their means, they have
given — begging me of their own 4
accord, most urgently, for the
favour of contributing to the sup-
port of the saints. They have done 5
more than I expected; they gave
themselves to the Lord, to begin
with, and then (for so God willed it)
they put themselves at my dis-
posal. This has led me to ask 6
Titus to complete the arrangements
for the same gracious contribution
among yourselves, as it was he who
started it. Now then, you are to 7
the front in everything, in faith,
in utterance, in knowledge, in all
zeal, and in love for us * — do come
to the front in this gracious enter-
prise as well. I am not issuing any 8
orders, only using the zeal of others
to prove how sterling your own
love is. (You know how gracious 9
our Lord Jesus Christ was ; rich
though he was, he became poor
for the sake of you, that by his
poverty you might be rich.) But 10
I will tell you what I think about
it; it is to your interest to go on
with this enterprise, for you started
it last year, you were the first not
merely to do anything but to want
to do anything. Now, carry it 11
through, so that your readiness to
take it up may be equalled by the
way you carry it through — so far
as your means allow. If only one 12
is ready to give, according to his
means, it is acceptable; he is not
asked to give what he has not got.
This does not mean that other 13
people are to be relieved and you
to suffer : it is a matter of give and 14
take ; at the present moment your
surplus goes to make up what they
* Reading e| vixSiv iv t]/mv with X C D G,
almost all the evidence of the Latin and
Syriao versions, etc.
11. CORINTHIANS IX
J lack, in order that their surplus
may go to make up what you lack.
15 Thus it is to be give and take — as
it is written,
He who got much had nothing
over,
and he who got little had not too
little.
16 Thanks be to God who has
inspired Titus with an interest in
17 you equal to my own ; he has in-
deed responded to my request, but
he is off to you by his own choice,
18 so keen is his interest in you. Along
with him I am sending that brother
I whose services to the gospel are
19 praised by all the churches ; be-
sides, he has been appointed by the
churches to travel with me on the
business of administering this fund
to the glory of the Lord. His
appointment has my full consent,
20 for I want to take precautions
against any risk of suspicion in
connection Avith the administration
21 of this charity; I aim at being
above reproach not only from God
22 but also from men. Along with
them I am also sending our brother :
I have had ample proof of his keen
interest on many occasions, and it
is specially keen on this occasion,
as he has absolute confidence in
23 you. Titus is my colleague, he
shares my work for you, and these
brothers of mine are apostles of
24 the church, a credit to Christ. So
let them have proof of how you can
love, and of my reasons for being
proud of you; it will be a proof
9 read by the churches. Indeed
it is quite superfluous for me to
be writing to you about this charit-
2 able service to the saints ; I know
how willing you are, I am proud
of it, I ha\e boasted of you
to the Macedonians : " Achaia,"
I tell them, " was all ready last
year." And your zeal has been a
stimulus to the majority of them.
At the same time I am sending these 3
brothers just in case my pride in
you should prove an empty boast
in this particular instance ; I want
you to be " all ready," as I have
been telling them that you would
be, in case any Macedonians accom- 4
pany me and find you are not ready
— which would make me (not to
speak of yourselves) ashamed of
having been so sure. That is why 5
I have thought it necessary to ask
these brothers to go on in advance
and get your promised contribu-
tion ready in good time. I want
it to be forthcoming as a generous
gift, not as money wrung out of
you. Mark this : he who sows 6
sparingly will reap sparingly, and
he who sows generously will reap
a generous harvest. Everyone is 7
to give what he has made up
his mind to give; there is to be
no grudging or compulsion about
it, for God loves the giver who
gives cheerfully. God is able to 8
bless you with ample means, so
that you may always have quite
enough for any emergency of your
own and ample besides for any
kind act to others ; as it is written, 9
He scatters his gifts to the poor
broadcast,
his charity lasts for ever.
He who furnishes the sower with 10
seed and with bread to eat will
supply seed for you and multiply
it ; he will increase the crop of your
charities — you will be enriched on 11
all hands, so that you can be
generous on all occasions, and your
generosity, of which I am the
agent, will make men give thanks
to God ; for the service rendered 12
by this fund does more than supply
the wants of the saints, it overflows
229
II. CORINTHIANS X, XI
with many a cry of thanks to God.
13 This service shows what you are,
it makes men praise God for the
way you have come under the
gospel of Christ Avhich you confess,
and for the generosity of your con-
tributions to themselves and to all ;
14 they are drawn to you and pray
for you, on account of the surpass-
ing grace which God has shown to
15 you. Thanks be to God for his
unspeakable gift !
10 I APPEAL to you myself by the
gentleness and consideration of
Christ — the Paul who is ' humble
enough to your face when he is
with you, but outspoken enough
2 when he gets away from you.' I
beg of you that when I do come I
may not have to speak out and be
peremptory ; but my mind is made
up to tackle certain people who
have made up their minds that I
move on the low level of the flesh.
3 I do Hve in the flesh, but I do not
4 make war as the flesh does ; the
weapons of my warfare are not
weapons of the flesh, but divinely
5 strong to demolish fortresses — I
demolish theories and any rampart
thrown up to resist the knowledge
of God, I take every project pris-
6 oner to make it obey Christ, I
am prepared to court-martial any-
one who remains insubordinate,
once your submission is complete.
7 Look at this obvious fact. So-
and-so is perfectly sure he ' be-
longs to Christ'? Well then, let
himunderstand,on second thoughts,
that I ' belong to Christ ' as much
8 as he does. Even supposing I were
to boast somewhat freely of my
authority (and the Lord gave it
to me for building you up, not
for demolishing you), I would feel
230
quite justified. But I am not going 9
to seem as if I were ' overaAving
you with a letter,' so to speak.
My opponent says, ' Paul's letters 10
are weighty and telling, but his
personality is weak and his delivery
is beneath contempt.' Let him 11
understand that I will act when I
arrive, as forcibly as I express my-
self by letter when I am absent.
I do not venture to class myself 12
or to compare myself with certain
exalted indi\'iduals ! They belong
to the class of self-praisers ; while
I limit myself to my own sphere,*
I compare myself with my own
standard, and so my boasting never 13
goes beyond the limit — it is deter-
mined by the limits of the sphere
marked out for me by God. That
sphere stretches to include your-
selves ; I am not overstepping the 14
limit, as if you lay beyond my
sphere; I was the very first to
reach you with the gospel of Christ.
I do not boast beyond my limits 15
in a sphere where other men have
done the work ; my hope rather is
that the growth of your faith will
allow me to enlarge the range of
my appointed sphere and preach 16
the gospel in the lands that lie
beyond you, instead of boasting
within another's province over
work that is already done. How- 17
ever, let him who boasts boast of the
Lord ; for it is not the self-praiser 18
with his own recommendations
who is accepted, it is the man whom
the Lord recommends.
I WISH you would put up with 1 1
a little ' folly ' from me. Do put
up with me, for I feel a divine 2
jealousy on your behalf; I be-
• Omitting ol auviovffiv • ijfxfls Si with
D*, etc.
II. CORINTHIANS XI
trothed you as a chaste maiden to
present you to your one husband
3 Christ, but I am afraid of your
thoughts getting seduced from a
single devotion to Christ, just as
the serpent beguiled Eve with his
4 cunning. You put up with it all
right, when some interioper preaches
a second Jesus (not the Jesus I
preached), or when you are treated
to a Spirit different from the Spirit
you once received, and to a different
gospel from what I gave you ! Why
5 not put up with me ? I hold I
am not one whit inferior to these
6 precious ' apostles ' ! I am no
speaker, perhaps, but knowledge
I do possess ; I never failed to make
myself intelligible to you.
7 But perhaps I did wrong in
taking a humble place that you
might have a high one — I mean,
in preaching the gospel of God to
8 you for nothing ! I made a levy
on other churches, I took pay from
9 them so as to minister to you ; even
when I ran short, during my stay
with you, I was no encumbrance
to anybody, for the brothers who
came from Macedonia supplied my
wants. Thus I kept myself, as I
intend to keep myself, from being
10 a burden to you in any way. By
the truth of Christ within me, I am
going to make this my pride and
boast unchecked throughout the
11 regions of Achaia ! Why? Because
I do not love you? God knows I
12 do. No, I intend to go on as I am
doing, in order to checkmate those
who would fain make out that
in the apostolate of which they
boast they work on the same terms
13 as I do. ' Apostles ' ? They are
spurious apostles, false workmen —
they are masquerading as ' apostles
14 of Christ.' No wonder they do, for
Satan himself masquerades as an
angel of hght. So it is no surprise 15
if his ministers also masquerade
as ministers of righteousness. Their
doom will answer to their deeds.
I repeat, no one is to think me a 16
fool ; but even so, pray bear with
me, fool as I am, that I may have
my little boast as well as others !
(What I am now going to say is not 17
inspired by the Lord : I am in the
role of a ' fool,' now, on this busi-
ness of boasting. Since many boast 18
on the score of the flesh, I will do
the same.) You put up with fools 19
so readily, you who know so much !
You put up with a man who 20
assumes control of your souls, with
a man who spends your money,
with a man who dupes you, with
a man who gives himself airs, with
a man who flies in your face.
I am quite ashamed to say I was 21
not equal to that sort of thing !
But let them vaimt as they please,
I am equal to them (mind, this is
the role of a fool !). Are they 22
Hebrews ? so am I. Israelites ?
so am I. Descended from Abra-
ham ? so am I. Ministers of 23
Christ? yes perhaps, but not as
much as I am (I am mad to talk
like this !), with all my labours,
with all my lashes, with all my
time in prison — a record longer
far than theirs. I have been often
at the point of death ; five times 24
have I got forty lashes (all but one)
from the Jews, three times I have 25
been beaten by the Romans, once
pelted with stones, three times ship-
wrecked, adrift at sea for a whole
night and day ; I have been often on 26
my travels, I have been in danger
from rivers and robbers, in danger
from Jews and Gentiles, through dan-
gers of town and of desert, through
dangers on the sea, through dangers
among false brothers — through 27
231
II. CORINTHIANS XH
labour and hardship, through many
a sleepless night, through hunger
and thirst, starving many a time,
cold and ill-clad, and all the rest
28 of it. And then there is the press-
ing business of each day, the care
29 of all the churches. Who is weak,
and I do not feel his weakness?
Whose faith is hurt, and I am not
30 aglow with indignation ? If there
is to be any boasting, I will boast
of what I am weak enough to
31 suffer ! The God and Father of the
Lord Jesus, He who is blessed for
ever, He knows I am telling the
32 truth ! (At Damascus the ethnarch
of king Aretas had patrols out in
the city of the Damascenes to
arrest me, but I was lowered in a
basket from a loophole in the wall,
and so managed to escape his
12 clutches.) There is nothing to be
gained by this sort of thing, but as
I am obliged to boast, I will go on to
visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago was caught up
to the third heaven. In the body
or out of the body ? That I do not
3 know : (k)d knows. I simply know
that in the body or out of the body
4 (God knows which) this man Avas
caught up to paradise and heard
sacred secrets which no human lips
5 can repeat. Of an experience like
that I am prepared to boast, but
not of myself personally — not ex-
cept as regards my weaknesses.
6 (If I did care to boast of other
things I would be no ' fool,' for I
would have a true tale to tell;
however, I abstain from that —
I want no one to take me for more
than he can see in me or make out
7 from me.) My wealth of visions
might have puffed me up, so I was
given a thorn in the flesh, an angel
of Satan to rack me and keep me
232
from being puffed up ; three times 8
over I prayed the Lord to make it
leave me, but he told me, " It is 9
enough for you to have my grace :
it is in weakness that [my] power
is fully felt." So I am proud to
boast of all my weakness, and thus
to have the power of Christ resting
on my life. It makes me satisfied, 10
for Christ's sake, with weakness,
insults, trouble, persecution, and
calamity ; for I am strong just when]
I am weak.
Now this is playing the fool ! 11
But you forced me to it, instead
of coming forward yourselves and
vouching for me. That was what
I deserved ; for, ' nobody ' as I am,
I am not one whit inferior to these
precious ' apostles.' You had all 12
the miracles that mark an apostle
done for you fully and patiently —
miracles, wonders, and deeds of
power. Where were you inferior 13
to the rest of the churches ? — unless
in this, that your apostle did not
choose to make himself a burden
to you. Pray pardon me this
terrible wrong !
Here am I all ready to pay you 14
my third visit. And I will not
be a burden to you ; I want your-
selves and not your money. Chil-
dren have not to put money by for
their parents ; that is what parents
do for their children. And for your 15
souls I will gladly spend my all and
be spent myself. Am I to be loved
the less because I love you more
than others ?
But let that pass, you say; I was 16
not a burden to you, no, but I was
clever enough to dupe you with
my tricks ? Was I ? Did I make 17
something out of you by any of my
messengers ? I asked Titus to go, 18
and with him I sent our brother.
Titus did not make anything out of
II. CORINTHIANS XIII
you, did he? And did not I act
in the same spirit as he did? Did
I not take the very same steps ?
19 You think all this time I am
defending myself to you? No, I
am speaking in Christ before the
presence of God, and speaking
every word, beloved, in order to
20 build you up. For I am afraid
I may perhaps come and find you
are not what I could wish, while
you may find I am not what you
could wish; I am afraid of finding
quarrels, jealousy, temper, rivalry,
slanders, gossiping, arrogance, and
21 disorder — afraid that when I come
back to you, my God may humiliate
me before you, and I may have to
mourn for many who sinned some
time ago and yet have never re-
pented of the impurity, the sexual
vice, and the sensuality which they
have practised.
13 This will be my third visit to
you : every case is to be decided on
the evidence of two or of three zcit-
2 nesses. I warned you already, on
my second visit, and I warn you
now before I come, both you who
sinned some time ago and the rest of
you as well, that I will spare no one
3 if I come back. That will prove to
you that I am indeed a spokesman
of Christ. It is no weak Christ
you have to do with, but a Christ
4 of power. For though he was
crucified in his weakness, he lives
by the power of God; and though
I am weak rs he was weak, you will
find I am alive as he is alive by the
power of God. Put yourselves 5
to the proof, not me; test your-
selves, to see if you are in the
faith. Do you not understand
that Jesus Christ is within you?
Otherwise you must be failures.
But I trust you will find I am no 6
failure, and I pray to God that you 7
may not go wrong — not to prove
I am a success, that is not the
point, but that you should come
right, even if I seemed to be a
failure. (Fail or succeed, I cannot 8
work against the truth but for
it !) I am glad to be weak if you 9
are strong; mend your ways, that
is all I ask. I am writing thus to 10
you in absence, so that when I do
come I may not have to deal
sharply with you; I have the
Lord's authority for that, but he
gave it to me for building you up,
not for demolishing you.
Now brothers, goodbye ; mend 11
your ways, listen to what I have
told you, live in harmony, keep the
peace; then the God of love and
peace will be with you.
Salute one another with a holy 12
kiss. All the saints salute you. 13
The grace of the Lord Jesus 14
Christ and the love of God and the
fellowship of the holy Spirit be
with you all.
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE
GALATIANS
1 Paul an apostle — not appointed
by men nor commissioned by any
man but by Jesus Christ and God
the Father who raised him from
2 the dead, — with all the brothers
who are beside me, to the churches
3 of Galatia ; grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord
4 Jesus Christ who gave himself for
our sins to rescue us from the
present evil world — by the will of
5 our God and Father, to whom be
glory for ever and ever : Amen.
6 I am astonished you are hastily
shifting like this, deserting Him
who called you by his grace and
7 going over to another gospel. It
simply means that certain indi-
viduals are unsettling you; they
want to distort the gospel of
8 Christ. Now even though it were
myself or some angel from heaven,
whoever preaches a gospel that
contradicts the gospel I preached
9 to you, God's curse be on him ! I
have said it before and I now repeat
it: whoever preaches a gospel to
you that contradicts the gospel you
have already received, God's curse
be on him !
10 Now is that ' appealing to the
interests of men ' or of God ?
Trying to ' satisfy men ' ? Why, if
I still tried to give satisfaction to
human masters, I would be no
11 servant of Christ. No, brothers,
I tell you the gospel that I preach
12 is not a human affair ; no man put
it into my hands, no man taught
234
me what it meant, I had it by a
revelation of Jesus Christ. You 13
know the story of my past career
in Judaism; you know how furi-
ously I persecuted the church of God
and harried it, and how I outstripped 14
many of my own age and race in
my special ardour for the ancestral
traditions of my house. But the 15
God who had set me apart from
my very birth called me by his
grace, and when he chose to reveal 16
his Son to me, that I might preach
him to the Gentiles, instead of
consulting with any human being,
instead of going up to Jerusalem 17
to see those who had been apostles
before me, I went off at once to
Arabia, and on my return I came
back to Damascus. Then, after 18
three years, I went up to Jeru-
salem to make the acquaintance of
Cephas. I stayed a fortnight \vith
him. I saw no other apostle, only 19
James the brother of the Lord.
(I am writing you the sheer truth, 20
I swear it before God!) Then 121
went to the districts of Syria and
of Cilicia. Personally I was quite 22
unknown to the Christian churches
of Judaea ; they merely heard that 23
' our former persecutor is now
preaching the faith he once harried,'
which made them praise God for 24
me. Then, fourteen years later, I 2
went up to Jerusalem again, accom-
panied by Barnabas ; I took Titus
with me also. (It was in consequence 2
of a revelation that I went up at
GALATIANS III
all.) I submitted the gospel I am
in the habit of preaching to the
Gentiles, submitting it privately
to the authorities, to make siu-e
that my course of action would be
3 and had been sound. But even
my companion Titus, Greek though
he was, was not obliged to be cir-
4 cumcised. There were traitors of
false brothers, who had crept in
to spy out the freedom we enjoy
in Christ Jesus; they did aim at
5 enslaving us again. But we re-
fused to yield for a single instant
to their claims ; we w^ere deter-
mined that the truth of the gospel
6 should hold good for you. Besides,
the so-called ' authorities ' (it makes
no difference to me what their
status used to be — God pays no
regard to the externals of men),
these ' authorities ' had no addi-
7 tions to make to my gospel. On
the contrary, when they saw I had
been entrusted with the gospel for
the benefit of the uncircumcised,
just as Peter had been for the
8 circumcised (for He who equipped
Peter to be an apostle of the cir-
cumcised equipped me as well for
the uncircumcised), and when they
recognized the grace I had been
9 given, then the so-called ' pillars '
of the church, James and Cephas
and John, gave myself and Barna-
bas the right hand of fellowship.
Our sphere was to be the Gentiles,
10 theirs the circumcised. Only, we
were to ' remember the poor. ' I was
quite eager to do that myself.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face. The
12 man stood self-condemned. Be-
fore certain emissaries of James
arrived, he ate along with the
Gentile Christians ; but when they
arrived, he began to draw back and
hold aloof, because he was afraid
of the circumcision party. The 13
rest of the Jewish Christians also
played false along with him, so
much so that even Barnabas was
carried away by their false play.
But I saw they were swerving from 14
the true line of the gospel ; so I said
to Cephas in presence of them all,
" If you live like the Gentiles and
not like the Jews, though you are
a Jew yourself, why do you oblige
the Gentiles to become Jews ? "
— We may be Jews by birth and 15
not ' Gentile sinners,' but since we 16
know a man is justified simply by
faith in Jesus Christ and not by
doing what the Law commands,
we ourselves have believed in Christ
Jesus so as to get justified by faith
in Christ and not by doing what the
Law commands — for by doing what
the law commands no person shall
he justified. If it is discovered that 17
in our quest for justification in
Christ we are ' sinners ' as well
as the Gentiles, does that make
Christ an agent of sin ? Never ! I 18
really convict myself of transgres-
sion when I rebuild what I de-
stroyed. For through the Law I 19
died to the Law that I might live
for God ; I have been crucified 20
with Christ, and it is no longer I
who live, Christ lives in me; the
life I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself up for
me. I do not annul God's grace; 21
but if righteousness comes by way
of the Law, then indeed Christ's
death was useless.
O SENSELESS Galatians, who has 3
bewitched you — you who had Jesus
Christ the crucified placarded before
your very eyes ? I simply want 2
to ask you one thing: did you
236
GALATIANS III
receive the Spirit by doing what
the Law commands or by believing
3 the gospel message ? Are you such
fools? Did yoii begin with the
Spirit only to end now ^vith the
4 flesh? Have you had all that
experience for nothing (if it has
5 really gone for nothing) ? When
He supphes you with the Spirit
and works miracles among you,
is it because you do what the
Law commands or because you
6 believe the gospel message ? Why,
it is as with Abraham, he had
faith in God and that ivas counted
7 to him as righteousness. Well then,
you see that the real sons of
Abraham are those who rely on
8 faith. Besides, Scripture antici-
pated God's justification of the
Gentiles by faith when it an-
nounced the gospel beforehand to
Abraham in these terms : All
nations shall be blessed in thee.
9 So that those who rely on faith are
blessed along with believing Abra-
10 ham. Whereas a curse rests on all
who rely upon obedience to the Law ;
for it is written, Cursed is everyone
who does not hold by all that is
written in the book of the law, to
11 perform it. And because no one
is justified on the score of the Law
before God (plainly, the just shall
12 live by faith, — and the Law is not
based on faith : no, he ivho per-
forms these things shall live by them),
13 Christ ransomed us from the curse
of the Law by becoming accursed
for us (for it is written, Cursed is
14 everyone who hangs on a gibbet), that
the blessing of Abraham might
reach the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,
so that by faith we might receive
the promised Spirit.
15 To take an illustration from
human life, my brothers. Once a
man's will is ratified, no one else
236
annuls it or adds a codicil to it.
Now the Promises were made to 16
Abraham and to his offspring ; it
is not said, ' and to your offsprings *
in the plural, but in the singular
and to your offspring — which is
Christ. My point is this : the Law 17
which arose four hundred and thirty
years later does not repeal a will
previously ratified by God, so as
to cancel the Promise. If the 18
Inheritance is due to law, it ceases
to be due to promise. Now it was
by a promise that God bestowed
it on Abraham. Then what about 19
the Law? Well, it was inter-
polated for the purpose of pro-
ducing transgressions till such time
as the Offspring arrived to whom
the Promise was made; also, it
was transmitted by means of angels
through the agency of an inter-
mediary (an intermediary implies 20
more than one party, but God is
one). Then the Law is contrary 21
to God's Promises ? Never ! Had
there been any law which had the
power of producing life, righteous-
ness would really have been due to
law, but Scripture has consigned 22
all without exception to the
custody of sin, in order that the
promise due to faith in Jesus Christ
might be given to those who have
faith. Before this faith came, we 23
were confined by the Law and kept
in custody, with the prospect of
the faith that was to be revealed;
the Law thus held us as wards in 24
discipline, till such time as Christ
came, that we might be justified
by faith. But faith has come, and 25
we are wards no longer ; you are 26
all sons of God by your faith in
Christ Jesus (for all of you who 27
had yourselves baptized into Christ
have taken on the character of
Christ). There is no room for Jew 28
GALATIANS IV
29
or Greek, there is no room for
slave or freeman, there is no room
for male and female; you are all
one in Christ Jesus. Now if
you are Christ's, then you are
Abraham's offspring; in virtue of
the Promise you are heirs. What
I mean is this. As long as an
heir is under age, there is no
difference between him and a
servant, though he is lord of all the
property; he is under guardians
and trustees till the time fixed by
his father. So with us. When we
were under age, we lived under
the thraldom of the Elemental
spirits of the world ; but when the
time had fully expired, God sent
forth his Son, born of a woman,
born under the Law, to ransom
those who were under the Law, that
we might get our sonship. It is
because you are sons that God has
sent forth the Spirit of his Son into
your hearts crying ' Abba ! Father ! '
So you are servant no longer but
son, and as son you are also heir,
all owing to God.
In those days, when you were
ignorant of God, you were in
servitude to gods who are really
no gods at all; but now that you
know God — or rather, are known
by God — how is it you are turning
back again to the weakness and
poverty of the Elemental spirits ?
Why do you want to be enslaved
all over again by them? You
observe days and months and festal
seasons and years ! Why, you
make me afraid I may have spent
my labour on you for nothing !
Do take my line, brothers, I beg of
you — just as I once took yours.
I have no complaint against you;
no, although it was because of an
illness (you know) that I preached
the gospel to you on my former
visit, and though my flesh was a 14
trial to you, you did not scoff at
me nor spurn me, you welcomed
me like an angel of God, like Christ
Jesus. You congratulated your- 15
selves. Now, what has become of
all that ? (I can bear witness that
you would have torn out your very
eyes, if you could, and given me
them.) Am I your enemy to-day, 16
because I have been honest with
you ? These men make much of 17
you — yes, but for dishonest ends;
they want to debar you from us,
so that you may make much of
them. Now it is fine for you to 18
be made much of honestly and all
the time — not simply when I can
be with you. O my dear children, 19
you with whom I am in travail
over again till Christ be formed
within you, would that I could be 20
with you at this moment, and alter
my tone, for I am at my wits' end
about you ! Tell me, you who 21
are keen to be under the Law, will
you not listen to the Law ? Surely 22
it is written in the Law that
Abraham had two sons, one by
the slave-woman and one by the
free- woman ; but while the son of 23
the slave-woman was born by the
flesh, the son of the free- woman was
born by the promise. Now this 24
is an allegory. The women are
two covenants. One comes from
mount Sinai, bearing children
for servitude ; that is Hagar, for 25
mount Sinai * is away in Arabia.
She corresponds to the present
Jerusalem, for the latter is in servi-
tude with her children. But the 26
Jerusalem on high is free, and
she is ' our ' mother. For it is 27
written,
• Omitting "Ayap ea a gloBS, with the
Latin, Sahidic, and Ethiopio versions,
K C G, Origen, and many others.
237
GALATIANS V
Rejoice, O thou barren who bearest
not,
break into joy, thou who
travailest not ;
for the children of the desolate
woman are far more than of
the married.
28 Now you are the children of
29 the Promise, brothers, Hke Isaac ;
but just as in the old days the son
born by the flesh persecuted the
son born by the Spirit, so it is still
30 to-day. However, what does the
scripture say ? Put away the slave-
woman and her son, for the son of
the slave-woman shall not be heir
along with the son of the free-
31 woman. Hence we are children
of no slave-woman, my brothers,
5 but of the free- woman,* with the
freedom for which Christ set us
free. Make a firm stand then,
do not shp into any yoke of
servitude.
2 Here, listen to Paul ! I tell you,
if you get circumcised, Christ will
3 be no use to you. I insist on this
again to everyone who gets cir-
cumcised, that he is obliged to
carry out the whole of the Law.
4 You are for justification by the
Law? Then you are done with
Christ, you have deserted grace,
5 for it is by faith that ' we ' wait
in the Spirit for the righteousness
6 we hope for; in Christ Jesus cir-
cumcision is not valid, neither is un-
circumcision, but only faith active
* Whether § is read after t^ ikevdfpia
or instead of rfj, the opening words of
51 must be connected with the closing
words of 4^1. I think on the whole that
this interpretation of the text, which
is advocated by modern editors hke
Lightfoot and Zahn, has the best claim
to be regarded as authentic ; it goes back
to Marcion and has the powerfiil support
of the Latin version, of G, of Origen,
Ambrosiaster, Jerome, and others.
238
in love. You were doing splen- 7
didly. Who was it that prevented
you from obeying the Truth?
That sort of suasion does not come 8
from Him who called j'^ou ! (A 9
morsel of leaven will leaven the
whole lump.) I feel persuaded 10
in the Lord that you will not go
wrong. But he who unsettles you
will have to meet his doom, no
matter who he is. I am 'still 11
preaching circumcision myself,' am
I ? Then, brothers, why am I still
being persecuted? And so the
stumbling-block of the cross has
lost its force, forsooth ! O that 12
those who are upsetting you would
get themselves castrated !
Brothers, you were called to be 13
free ; only, do not make your free-
dom an opening for the flesh, but
serve one another in love. For 14
the entire Law is summed up in one
word, in You must love your neigh-
bour as yourself (whereas, if you 15
snap at each other and prey upon
each other, take care in case you
destroy one another). I mean, 16
lead the life of the Spirit ; then you
will never satisfy the passions of
the flesh. For the passion of the 17
flesh is against the Spirit, and
the passion of the Spirit against the
flesh — the two are at issue, so that
you are not free to do as you please.
If you are under the sway of the 18
Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are quite 19
obvious, such as sexual vice, im-
purity, sensuality, idolatry, magic, 20
quarrels, dissension, jealousy, tem-
per, rivalry, factions, party-spirit,
envy, [murder], drinking bouts, 21
revelry, and the like; I tell you
beforehand as I have told you
already, that people who indulge in
such practices will never inherit the
Realm of God. But the harvest 22
GALATIANS VI
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
good temper, kindliness, generosity,
23 fidelity, gentleness, self-control : —
there is no law against those
24 who practice such things. Now
those who belong to Christ* have
crucified the flesh with its emotions
25 and passions. As we live by the
Spirit, let us be guided by the
26 Spirit ; let us have no vanity, no
provoking, no envy of one another.
6 Even if anyone is detected in
some trespass, brothers, you are
spiritual, you must set the offender
right in a spirit of gentleness ; let
each of you look to himself, in case
2 he too is tempted. Bear one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the
3 law of Christ. If anyone imagines
he is somebody, he is deceiving
4 himself, for he is nobody ; let
everyone bring his own work to the
test — ^then he will have something
to boast about on his own account,
and not in comparison with his
5 fellows. For everyone will have to
bear his own load of responsibility.
6 Those who are taught must share
all the blessings of life with those
7 who teach them the Word. Make
no mistake — God is not to be
mocked — a man will reap just
8 what he sows; he who sows for
his flesh will reap destruction from
the flesh, and he who sows for the
* Ormtting 'irjo-oC with D G, the Latin,
Gothic, and Armenian versions, Marcion,
Chrysostom, and others.
Spirit will reap life eternal from
the Spirit. Never let us grow tired 9
of doing what is right, for if we do
not faint we \\ill reap our harvest
at the opportune season. So then, 10
as we have opportunity, let us do
good to all men and in particular
to the household of the faith.
See what big letters I make 11
when I write you in my own
hand !
These men who are keen upon 12
you getting circumcised are just
men who want to make a grand
display in the flesh — it is simply to
avoid being persecuted for the cross
of Christ. Why, even the circum- 13
cision party do not observe the Law
themselves ! They merely want
you to get circumcised, so as to
boast over your flesh ! But no 14
boasting for me, none except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by which the world has been cruci-
fied to me and I crucified to the
world. For what counts is neither 15
circumcision nor uncircumcision,
it is the new creation. On all who 16
will be guided by this rule may
peace and mercy rest, even upon
the Israel of God.
Let no one interfere with me IT
after this, for I bear branded on
my body the owner's stamp of
Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus 18
Christ be with your Spirit, brothers.
Amen.
239
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
EPHESIANS
1 Paul, by the will of God an
apostle of Christ Jesus, to the
saints who are faithful * in Christ
2 Jesus : grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who in
Christ has blessed us with every
4 spiritual blessing ! He chose us
in him ere the world was founded,
to be consecrated and unblemished
5 in his sight, destining us in love to
be his sons through Jesus Christ.
6 Such was the purpose of his will,
redounding to the praise of his
glorious grace bestowed on us in
7 the Beloved, in whom we enjoy our
redemption, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, by the blood he shed.
8 So richly has God lavished his grace
9 upon us ! He has granted us com-
plete insight and understanding of
the open secret of his will, showing
us how it was the purpose of his
10 design so to order it in the fulness of
the ages that all things in heaven
and earth alike should be gathered
11 up in Christ — in the Christ in whom
we have had our heritage allotted
us (as was decreed in the design
of him who carries out everything
according to the counsel of his
12 will), to make us redound to the
praise of his glory by being the
first to put our hope in Christ.
13 You also have heard the message
of the truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and in him you also by
• Omitting [iv 'E^eV^j.
210
your faith have been stamped wit
the seal of the long-promised hol>
Spirit which is the pledge and instal- 14f
ment of our common heritage, that
we may obtain our divine posses-
sion and so redound to the praise
of his glory.
Hence, as I have heard of your 15
faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love for all the saints, I never cease 16
to give thanks for you, when I
mention you in my prayers. May 17
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father, grant you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation
for the knowledge of himself,
illuminating the eyes of your heart 1
so that you can understand the
hope to which He calls us, the
wealth of his glorious heritage in
the saints, and the surpassing 19
greatness of his power over us
believers — a power which operates
with the strength of the might
which he exerted in raising Christ 20
from the dead and seating him at
his right hand in the heavenly
sphere, above all the angelic Rulers, 21
Authorities, Powers, and Lords,
above every Name that is to be
named not only in this age but in
the age to come — he has put every- 22
thing under his feet and set him
as head over everything for the
church, the church which is his 23
Body, filled by him who fills the
universe entirely. And as with us 2
so with you. You were dead in
the trespasses and sins in which you 2
moved as you followed the course
EPHESIANS III
of this world, under the sway of the«^
prince of the air — the spirit which is
atpresent active within those sons^
3 oi disobedience among whom all
of us lived, we as well as you, when
we obeyed the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the dictates of the
flesh and its impulses, when we
were objects of God's anger by
4 nature like the rest of men. But,
dead in trespasses as we were, God
was so rich in mercy that for his
5 great love to us he made us live
together with Christ (it is by grace
6 you have been saved); together
with Christ he raised and seated
us within the heavenly sphere in
7 Christ Jesus, to display throughout
ages to come his surpassing wealth,,
of grace and goodness toward us in
8 Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you
have been saved, as you had faith ;
it is not your doing but God's gift,
9 not the outcome of what you have
done — lest anyone should pride
10 himself on that ; God has made us
what we are, creating us in Christ
Jesus for the good deeds which
are prepared beforehand by God
as our sphere of action.
11 Remember then that once upon a
time you Gentiles in the flesh, who
are called 'the Uncircumcision '
by that so-called * Circumcision '
which is itself the product of
human hands in the flesh — re-
12 member you were in those days
outside Christ, aliens to the com-
monwealth of Israel, and strangers
to the covenants of the Promise,
devoid of hope and God within
13 the world. Whereas now, within
Christ Jesus, you who once were
far away have been brought near
14 by the blood of Christ. For he is
our peace, he who has made both
of us a unity and destroyed the
15 barrier which kept us apart; in*
his own flesh he put an end to the
feud of the Law with its code of
commands, so as to make peace by
the creation of a new Man in him-
self out of both parties, so as him- 16
self to give the death-blow to that
feud by reconciling them both to
God in one Body through the cross ;
he came with a gospel of peace for 17
those far away (that is, for you) and
for those who were near, for it is 18
through him that we both enjoy
our access to the Father in one
Spirit. Thus you are strangers 19
and foreigners no longer, you share
the membership of the saints, you
belong to God's own household,
you are a building that rests on 20
the apostles and prophets as its
foundation, with Christ Jesus as
the cornerstone ; in him the whole 21
structure is welded together and--'
rises into a sacred temple in the
Lord, and in him you are yourselves
built into this to form a habitation
for God in the Spirit.
For this reason I Paul, I whom 3
Jesus has made a prisoner for the
sake of you Gentiles — for surely 2
you have heard how the grace of
God which was vouchsafed me in
your interests has ordered it, how 3
the divine secret was disclosed to
me by a revelation (if you read
what I have already written briefly
about this, you can understand 4
my insight into that secret of Christ
which was not disclosed to the 5
sons of men in other generations
as it has now been revealed to his
sacred apostles and prophets by
the Spirit), namely, that in Christ 6
Jesus the Gentiles are co-heirs,
companions, and co-partners in
the * Promise. Such is the gospel
• Omitting [aifToD].
241
EPHESIANS IV
7 which I was called to serve by the
endowment of God's grace which
was vouchsafed me, by the energy
8 of his power ; less than the least of
all saints as I am, this grace was
vouchsafed me, that I should bring
the Gentiles the gospel of the
9 fathomless wealth of Christ and
enlighten all men upon the new
order of that divine secret which
God the Creator of all concealed
10 from eternity — intending to let the
full sweep of the divine wisdom be
disclosed now by the church to the
angelic Rulers and Authorities in
11 the heavenly sphere, in terms of
the eternal purpose which he has
realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 through whom, as we have faith in
him, we enjoy our confidence of free
access.
13 So I beg of you not to lose heart
over what I am suffering on your
behalf ; my sufferings are an honour
to you.
14 For this reason then I kneel before
15 the Father from whom every family
in heaven and on earth derives its
16 name and nature, praying Him out
of the wealth of his glory to grant
you a mighty increase of strength
by his Spirit in the inner man.
17 May Christ dwell in your hearts as
you have faith ! May you be so
18 fixed and founded in love that you
can grasp with all the saints what
is the meaning of ' the Breadth,'
* the Length,' ' the Depth,' and
19 ' the Height,' by knowing the love
of Christ which surpasses all know-
ledge ! May you be filled with the
20 entire fulness of God ! Now to
him who by the action of his power
within us can do all things, aye far
more than we ever ask or imagine,
21 to him be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all gene-
rations for ever and ever : Amen.
242
OHAP,
As the Lord's prisoner, then, I 4
beg of you to live a life worthy of
your calling, with perfect modesty 2
and gentleness, showing forbear-
ance to one another patiently,
zealous in love to preserve the 3
unity of the Spirit by binding
peace upon yourselves. For there 4
is one Body and one Spirit — as you \
were called for the one hope that \
belongs to your call — one Lord, one 5 •
faith, one baptism, one God and 6 >
Father of all, who is over us all,
who pervades us all, who is within
us all. But each one of us is 7
granted his own grace as deter-
mined by the full measure of
Christ's gift. Thus it is said, 8 I
When he ascended on high he led
a host captive
and granted gifts to men.
What does he ascended mean ex- 9 i
cept that he first descended to the
nether regions of the earth? He 10
who descended is he who ascended
above all the heavens to fill the
universe; he granted some men to 11
be apostles, some to be prophets,
some to be evangelists, some to
shepherd and teach, for the equip- 12
ment of the saints, for the business
of the ministry, for the upbuilding
of the Body of Christ, till we should 13
all attain the unity of the faith and
knowledge of God's Son, reaching
maturity, reaching the full measure
of development which belongs to
the fulness of Christ — instead of 14
remaining immature, blown from
our course and swayed by every
passing wind of doctrine, by the
adroitness of men who are dexterous
in devising error ; we are to hold 15
by the truth, and by our love to
grow up wholl}^ into Him. For He,
Christ, is the head an t under him, 16
as the entire Body is welded to-
EPHESIANS V
gether and compacted by every joint
with which it is suppHed, the due act-
ivity of each part enables the Body
to grow and build itself up in love.
17 Now in the Lord I insist and
protest that you must give up
living like pagans ; for their pur-
18 poses are futile, their intelligence
is darkened, they are estranged from
the life of God by the ignorance
which their dulness of heart has
19 produced in them — men who have
recklessly * abandoned themselves
to sensuality, with a lust for the
business of impurity in every shape
20 and form. That is not how you
have understood the meaning of
21 Christ (for it is Christ whom you
have been taught, it is in Christ
that you have been instructed —
the real Christ who is in Jesus);
22 you must lay aside the old nature
which belonged to your former
course of life, that nature which
crumbles to ruin under the passions
23 of moral deceit, and be renewed in
24 the spirit of your mind, putting on
the new nature, that divine pattern
which has been created in the up-
right and pious character of the
25 Truth. Lay aside falsehood, then,
let each tell his neighbour the truth,
for we are members one of another.
26 Be angry but do not sin ; never let
the sun set upon your exaspera-
27 tion, give the devil no chance. Let
28 the thief steal no more ; rather let
him work and put his hands to an
honest task, so as to have some-
thing to contribute to the needy.
29 Let no bad word pass your lips,
but only such speech as is good for
edification, as occasion may require,
words that are gracious and a
means of grace to those who hear
♦ Reading aTrrjATrt/cdrer with D G, the
Latin version, the Syriac Vulgate,
Irenaaus, Victorinus, etc.
them. And do not vex God's holy 80
Spirit, by whom you have been
sealed for the day of redemption.
Drop all bitter feeling and passion 31
and anger and clamouring and
insults, together with all malice;
be kind to each other, be tender- 32
hearted, be generous to each other
as God has been generous to you in
Christ. Copy God, then, as his be- 5
loved children, and lead lives of love, 2
just as Christ loved you and gave
himself up for you to be a fragrant
o^ering and sacrifice to God.
Never let any sexual vice or 8
impurity or lust be so much as
mentioned by you — that is the
proper course for saints to take;
no, nor indecent, silly, or scurrilous 4
talk — all that is improper. Rather,
voice your thanks to God. Be 5
sure of this, that no one guilty
of sexual vice or impurity or lust
(that is, an idolater) possesses any
inheritance in the realm of Christ
and God. Let no one deceive you 6
with specious arguments ; these
are the vices that bring down God's
anger on the sons of disobedience.
So avoid the company of such men. 7
For while once upon a time you 8
were darkness, now in the Lord you
are light ; lead the life of those who
are children of the light (for the 9
fruit of light consists in all that is
good and right and true), verifying 10
what pleases the Lord. Have no- 11
thing to do with the fruitless enter-
prises of the darkness ; rather expose
them. One is indeed ashamed even 12
to speak about what such men do
in secret ; still, whatever the light 13
exposes becomes illuminated — for
anything that is illuminated turns
into light. Thus it is said, 14
' Wake up, O sleeper, and rise
from the dead ;
so Christ %vill shine upon you,'
243
EPHESIANS VI
vl5 Be strictly* careful then about
,y^ the life you lead ; act like sensible
16 men, not like thoughtless ; make
the very most of your time, for
17 these are evil days. So do not be
senseless, but understand what is
18 the Lord's will ; and do not get
drunk with wine — that means pro-
fligacy— but be filled with the
19 Spirit, converse with one another
in the music of psalms, in hymns,
and in songs of the spiritual life,
praise the Lord heartily with words
20 and music, and render thanks to
God the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ at all times and
for all things.
21 Be subject to one another out of
22 reverence for Christ. Wives, be
subject to your husbands as to the
23 Lord, for the husband is the head
of the wife as Christ also (though
he is the saviour of the Body) is the
24 head of the church ; as the church
is subject to Christ, so wives are
to be subject to their husbands
25 in every respect. Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her
26 to consecrate her by cleansing her
in the bath of baptism as she utters
27 her confession, in order to have the
church as his very own, standing
before him in all her glory, with
never a spot or wrinkle or any such
flaw, but consecrated and un-
28 blemished. So ought husbands to
love their wives — to love them as
their own bodies (he who loves his
29 wife loves himself). For no one
ever hates his flesh; no, he nour-
ishes and cherishes it (just as Christ
30 does the church, for we are members
31 of his Body).| Therefore shall a
• Reading aKpi$ws irws with X*, B,
Origen, etc.
I Omitting [^K rrjs <rapKhs avrov koI iK twv
iirriwv outou] with X*, A B, Origen, etc.
244
man leave father and mother and
cleave to his xvife, and the pair shall
be one flesh. This is a profound 32
symbol, I mean as regards Christ
and the church. However, let 33
every man of you love his wife as
himself, and let the wife reverence
her husband. Children, obey your 6
parents in the Lord, for this is
right; honour your father and mother 2
(it is the first command vnih a
promise), that it may be well with 3
you and that you may live long on
earth. As for you fathers, do not 4
exasperate your children, but bring
them up in the discipline and on
the admonitions of the Lord.
Servants, be obedient to those 5
who are your masters here below
with reverence and trembling, with
singleness of heart as to Christ
himself ; instead of merely working 6
when their eye is on you, like those
who court human favour, do God's
will from the heart like servants of 7
Christ, by rendering service with
goodwill as to the Lord and Master,
not to men. Be sure that everyone, 8
slave or free, will be paid back by
the Lord and Master for the good he
has done. And as for you masters, 9
act by your servants in the same
way, and stop threatening them;
be stire that they and you have a
Lord and Master in heaven, and
there is no partiality about him.
To conclude. Be strong in the 10
Lord and in the strength of his
might; put on God's armour so 11
as to be able to stand against the
stratagems of the devil. For we 12
have to struggle not with blood and
flesh but with the angelic Rulers,
the angelic Authorities, the poten-
tates of the dark present, the spirit-
forces of e^^l in the heavenly
sphere. So take God's armour, 18
that you may be able to make a
EPHESIANS VI
y stand upon the evil day and hold
your ground by overcoming all
14 the foe. Hold your ground, tighten
the belt of truth about your loi?is,
ivear integrity as your coat of mail,
15 and have your feet shod with the
stability of the gospel of peace ;
16 above all, take faith as your shield,
to enable you to quench all the
fire-tipped darts flung by the evil
17 one, put on salvation as your hel-
met, and take the Spirit as your
sword (that is, the word of God),
18 praying at all times in the Spirit
with all manner of prayer and en-
v^treaty — be alive to that, attend to
-^it unceasingly, interceding on be-
19 half of all the saints and on my
behalf also, that I may be allowed
to speak and open my lips in order
to expound fully and freely that
open secret of the gospel for the 20
sake of which I am in custody as
its envoy. Pray that I may have
freedom to declare it as I should.
Our beloved brother Tychicus, a 21
faithful minister in the Lord, will
give you all information about me,
so that 5'ou may know how I
am ; that is why I am sending 22
him to you, to let you know
how I am and to encourage your
hearts.
Peace and love with faith be to 23
the brothers from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace 24
be with all who have an undjdng
love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
245
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
PHILIPPIANS
1 Paul and Timotheus, servants
of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as
well as to the bishops and deacons :
2 grace and peace to you from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
3 I thank my God for all your
4 remembrance of me; in all my
prayers for you all I always pray
5 with a sense of joy for what you
have contributed to the gospel from
the very first day down to this
6 moment ; of this I am confident,
that he who has begun the good
work in you will go on completing
7 it until the day of Jesus Christ, It
is only natural for me to be think-
ing of you all in this way, for alike
in my prison and as I defend and
vindicate the gospel, I bear in mind
how you all share with me in the
8 grace divine. God is my witness
that I yearn for you all with the
affection of Christ Jesus himself !
9 And it is my prayer that your love
may be more and more rich in
knowledge and all manner of in-
sight, enabling you to have a sense
10 of what is vital, so that you may
be transparent and no harm to
anyone in view of the day of Christ,
11 your life covered with that harvest
of righteousness which Jesus Christ
produces to the glory and the
praise of God.
12 I would have you understand,
my brothers, that my affairs have
really tended to advance the gos-
13 pel ; throughout the whole of the
246
praetorian guard and everywhere
else it is recognized that I am im-
prisoned on account of my con-
nexion with Christ, and my im- 14
prisonment has given the majority
of the brotherhood greater con-
fidence in the Lord to venture on
speaking the word of God without
being afraid. Some of them, it is 15
true, are actually preaching Christ
from envy and rivalry, others from
goodwill ; the latter do it from love 16
to me, knowing that I am set here
to defend the gospel, but the former 17
proclaim Christ for their own ends,
with mixed motives, intending to
annoy me as I lie in prison. What 18
does it matter? Anyhow, for ul-
terior ends or honestly, Christ is
being proclaimed, and I rejoice over
that ; yes and I will rejoice over it.
The ontcome of all this, I know, 19
ivill he my release, as you continue
to pray for me, and as I am pro-
vided with the Spirit of Jesus
Christ — my eager desire and hope 20
being that I may never feel
ashamed but that now as ever I
may do honour to Christ in my
own person by fearless courage.
Whether that means life or death,
no matter ! As life means Christ 21
to me, so death means gain. But 22
then, if it is to be life here below,
that means fruitful work. So — well,
I cannot tell which to choose ; I 23
am in a dilemma between the two.
My strong desire is to depart and
be with Christ, for that is far the
best. But for your sakes it is 24
PHILIPPIANS II
25 necessary I should live on here be-
low. I am sure it is, and so I know
I shall remain alive and serve you
all by forwarding your progress
and fostering the joy of your faith.
26 Thus you will have ample cause to
glory in Christ Jesus over me — over
my return to you.
27 Only, do lead a life that is
worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Whether I come and see you or
only hear of you in absence, let
me know you stand firm in a
common spirit, fighting side by
side like one man for the faith of
28 the gospel. Never be scared for
a second by your opponents ; your
fearlessness is a clear omen of ruin
for them and of your own salvation
29 — at the hands of God. For on
behalf of Christ you have the
favour of suffering no less than of
30 believing in him, by waging the
same conflict that, as once you
saw and now you hear, I wage my-
2 self. So by all the stimulus of
Christ, by every incentive of love,
by all your participation in the
Spirit, by all your affectionate
2 tenderness, I pray you to give me
the utter joy of kno-wang you are
living in harmony, with the same
feelings of love, with one heart and
3 soul, never acting for private ends
or from vanity, but humbly con-
sidering each other the better man,
4 and each with an eye to the inter-
ests of others as well as to his own.
5 Treat one another with the same
spirit as you experience in Christ
6 Jesus. Though he was divine by
nature, he did not snatch at
7 equality with God but emptied
himself by taking the nature of a
8 servant ; born in human guise and
appearing in human form, he hum-
bly stooped in his obedience even
to die, and to die upon the cross.
Therefore God raised him high and 9
conferred on him a Name above all
names, so that before the Name 10
of Jesus every knee should bend in
heaven, on earth, and underneath
the earth, a7id every tongue confess 11
that ' Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the
glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved, as you 12
have been obedient always and
not simply when I was present, so,
now that I am absent, work all the
more strenuously at your salvation
with reverence and trembling, for 13
it is God who in his goodwill en-
ables you to will this and to
achieve it. In all that you do, avoid 14
grumbling and disputing, so as to 15
be blameless and innocent, fault-
less children of God in a crooked
and perverse generation where you
shine like stars in a dark world;
hold fast the word of life, so that I 16
can be proud of you on the Day
of Christ, because I have not nm
or tvorked for nothing. Even if my 17
life-blood has to be poured as a
libation on the sacred sacrifice of
faith you are offering to God, I
rejoice, I congratulate you all — and 18
you in turn must rejoice and con-
gratulate me.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send 19
you Timotheus before long, that
I may be heartened by news of
you. I have no one like him, for 20
genuine interest in your welfare.
Everybody is selfish, instead of 21
caring for Jesus Christ. But you 22
know how he has stood the test,
how he has served ^\ith me in
the gospel, like a son helping his
father. I hope to send him then, 23
as soon as ever I see how it will go
with me — though I am confident in 24
the Lord that I will be coming my-
self before long. As for Epaphro- 25
ditus, however, my brother, mv
247
PHILIPPIANS III
fellow-worker, my fellow-soldier,
and your messenger to meet my
wants, I think it necessary to send
26 you him at once, for he has been
yearning for you all. He has been
greatly concerned because you
27 heard he was ill. And he was ill,
nearly dead with illness. But God
had mercy on him, and not only
on him but on me, to save me from
having one sorrow upon another.
28 So I am specially eager to send him,
that you may be glad when you
see him again, and thus my own
29 anxiety may be lightened. Give
him a welcome in the Lord,
then, with your hearts full of joy.
30 Value men like that, for he nearly
died in the service of Christ by
risking his life to make up for the
services you were not here to
render me.
3 Well then, my brothers, rejoice
in the Lord. I am repeating this
word ' rejoice ' in my letter, but
that does not tire me and it is the
2 safe course for you. — Beware of
these dogs, these wicked workmen,
3 the incision-party ! We are the true
Circumcision, we who worship God
in spirit, we who pride ourselves
on Christ Jesus, we who rely upon
4 no outward privilege. Though I
could rely on outward privilege, if
I chose. Whoever thinks he can
5 rely on that, I can outdo him. I
was circumcised on the eighth day
after birth ; I belonged to the race
of Israel, to the tribe of Benjamin;
I was the Hebrew son of Hebrew
parents, a Pharisee as regards the
6 Law, in point of ardour a persecutor
of the church, immaculate by the
standard of legal righteousness.
7 But for Christ's sake I have learned
to count my former gains a loss;
248
indeed I count anything a loss, 8
compared to the supreme value of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have lost everything
(I count it all the veriest refuse)
in order to gain Christ and be 9
found at death in him, possessing
no legal righteousness of my own
but the righteousness of faith in
Christ, the divine righteousness
that rests on faith. I would know 10
him in the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings,
with my nature transformed to
die as he died, to see if I too can 11
attain the resurrection from the
dead. Not that I have already 12
attained this or am already perfect,
but I press forward to appropriate it
because I have been appropriated
myself by Christ Jesus. Brothers, 13
I for one do not consider myself
to have appropriated this ; my one
thought is, by forgetting what lies
behind me and straining to what
lies before me, to press on to the 14
goal for the prize of God's high call
in Christ Jesus. For all those of 15
our number who are mature, this
must be the point of view; God
will reveal that to any of you who
look at things differently. Only, 16
we must let our steps be guided by
such truth as we have attained.
Copy me, brothers, one and all 17
of you, and notice those who live
by the example you get from me.
For many — as I have often told 18
you and tell you now with tears —
many live as enemies of the cross
of Christ. Destruction is their fate, 19
the belly is their god, they glory
in their shame, these men of earthly
mind ! But we are a colony of 20
heaven, and we wait for the Saviour
who comes from heaven, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who will transform 21
the body that belongs to our low
PHILIPPIANS IV
estate till it resembles the body of
his Glory, by the same power that
enables him to make everything
4 subject to himself. So then, my
brothers, for whom I cherish love
and longing, my joy and crown, this
is how you must stand firm in the
Lord, O my beloved.
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat
Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
3 And you, my true comrade, lend
a hand to these women, I beg of
you; they have fought at my side
in the active service of the gospel,
along with Clement and the rest
of my fellow-workers, whose names
are in the hook of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I
5 will say it again, ' rejoice.' Let
your forbearance be known to
everyone; the Lord is at hand.
6 Never be anxious, but always make
your requests known to God in
prayer and supplication with
7 thanksgiving ; so shall God's peace,
that surpasses all our dreams,
keep guard over your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, keep in mind
whatever is true, whatever is
worthy, whatever is just, what-
ever is pure, whatever is attrac-
tive, whatever is high-toned, all
9 excellence, all merit. Practise also
what you have learned and re-
ceived from me, what you heard me
say and what you saw me do ; then
the God of peace will be with you.
10 It was a great joy to me in the
Lord that your care for me could
revive again; for what you lacked
was never the care but the chance
of showing it. Not that I com- 11
Elain of want, for I have learned
ow to be content wherever I am.
I know how to live humbly; I 12
also know how to live in prosperity.
I have been initiated into the
secret for all sorts and conditions
of life, for plenty and for hunger,
for prospenty and for privations.
In him who strengthens me I am 13
able for anything. But you were 14
kind enough to take your share
in my trouble. You Philippians 15
are well aware that in the early
days of the gospel, when I had left
Macedonia, no church but your-
selves had any financial dealings
with me; even when I was m 16
Thessalonica, you sent money more
than once for my needs. It is 17
not the money I am anxious for;
what I am anxious for is the in-
terest that accumulates in this way
to your divine credit ! Your debt 18
to me is fully paid and more than
paid ! I am amply supplied with
what you have sent by Epaphro-
ditus, a fragrant 'perfume, the sort
of sacrifice that God approves and
welcomes. My God will supply all 19
your own needs from his wealth in
Glory in Christ Jesus. Glory to 20
God our Father for ever and ever:
Amen.
Salute every saint in Christ 21
Jesus. The brothers beside me
salute you. All the saints salute 22
you, especially the Imperial slaves.
The grace of the Lord Jesus 23
Christ be \\ith your spirit. Amen.
249
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
COLOSSIANS
CHAP.
1 Paul, by God's will an apostle
of Christ Jesus, and brother Timo-
2 theus, to the consecrated and faith-
ful brothers in Christ at Colossae :
grace and peace to you from God
our Father.
3 We always thank the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
4 when we pray for you, since we
have heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus and your love for all the
5 saints, due to the hope which is
laid up for you in heaven. You
heard of this hope oriorinally in
the message of the Truth, in
6 that gospel which has reached you
as it spreads over all the world
with fruit and increase. Such has
been your life from the day
you learned to know what God's
7 grace really is. You got that
lesson from our beloved fellow-
servant Epaphras, a minister of
Christ who is faithful to your in-
8 terests ; and it is he who has in-
formed us of your love in the Spirit.
9 Hence, from the day we heard of it,
we have never ceased to pray for
you, asking God to fill you with
the knowledge of his will in all
10 spiritual wisdom and insight, so
that you may lead a life that is
worthy of the Lord and give him
entire satisfaction. May you be
fruitful and increase in the doing of
all good, as you thus know God !
11 May his glorious might nerve you
with full power to endure and to be
patient cheerfully, whatever comes,
12 thanking the Father who has quali-
250
fied you to share the lot of the
saints in the Light, rescuing us 13
from the power of the Darkness
and transferring us to the realm of
his beloved Son ! In him we enjoy 14
our redemption, that is, the forgive-
ness of sins. He is the likeness of 15
the unseen God, born first before
all the creation — for it was by him 16
that all things were created both in
heaven and on earth, both the seen
and the unseen, including Thrones,
angehc Lords, celestial Powers and
Rulers ; all things have been created
by him and for him ; he is prior to 17
all and all coheres in him. Also, 18
he is the head of the Body, that
is, of the church, in virtue of his
primacy as the first to be born from
the dead — that gives him pre-
eminence over all. For it was in 19
him that the divine Fulness willed
to settle without limit, and by him it 20
walled to reconcile in his own person
all on earth and in heaven alike, in
a peace made by the blood of his
cross. Once you were estranged 21
yourselves, your hearts hostile to
him in evildoing; but now he has
reconciled you by dying in his 22
mortal body, so as to set you conse-
crated and unblemished and irre-
proachable in his presence — that is, 23
if you adhere to the foundations and
stability of the faith, instead of mov-
ing away from the hope you have
learned in the gospel, that gospel
which has been preached to every
creature under heaven, and of which
I Paul was made a minister.
COLOSSIANS II
24 I am suffering now on your be-
half, but I rejoice in that ; I would
make up the full sum of all that
Christ has to suffer in my person
on behalf of the church, his Body ;
25 for I am a minister of the church by
the divine commission M'hich has
been granted me in your interests,
to make a full presentation of God's
26 message — of that open secret which,
though concealed from ages and
generations of old, has now been
27 disclosed to the saints of God. It
is His will that they should under-
stand the glorious wealth which
this secret holds for the Gentiles, in
the fact of Christ's presence among
28 you as your hope of glory. This is
the Christ we proclaim; avc train
everyone and teach everj''one the
full scope of this knowledge, in
order to set everyone before God
29 mature in Christ ; I labour for that
end, striving for it with the divine
energy which is a power within me.
2 Striving? Yes, I want you to
understand my deep concern for
you and for those at Laodicca, for
all who have never seen my face.
2 May their hearts be encouraged !
May they learn the meaning of
love ! May they have all the
wealth of conviction that comes
from insight ! May they learn to
know that open secret of God, the
3 Father of Christ, in whom all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge
4 lie hidden f I say this to prevent
you from being deluded by plau-
5 sible arguments from anybody ; for
although I am absent in body I am
with you in spirit, and it is a joy
to note your steadiness and the
solid front of your faith in Christ.
6 Since you have had the messiah,
even Jesus the Lord, brought to
7 you, lead your life in him, fixed and
founded in him, confirmed in the
faith as you have been taught it,
and overflowing with thankfulness
to God. Beware of anyone getting 8
hold of you by means of a theosophy
which is specious make-believe, on
the lines of human tradition, cor-
responding to the Elemental spirits
of the world and not to Christ.
It is in Christ that the entire 9
Fulness of deity has settled bodily,
it is in him that you reach your full 10
life, and he is the Head of every
angelic Ruler and Power; in him 11
you have been circumcised with
no material circumcision that cuts
flesh from the body, but Avith
Christ's own circumcision, when 12
you were buried with him in your
baptism and thereby raised with
him as you believed in the power
of the God who raised him from
the dead. For though you were 13
dead in your trespasses, your flesh
uncircumcised, He made you live
with Christ, He forgave us all our
trespasses. He cancelled the regu- 14
la,tions that stood against us — all
these obligations he set aside when
he nailed them to the cross, when 15
he cut away the angelic Rulers and
Powers from us, exposing them to
all the world and triumphing over
them in the cross. So let no one 16
take you to task on questions of eat-
ing and drinking or in connexion
with the observance of festivals or
new moons or sabbaths. All that 17
is the mere shadow of what is to
be ; the substance belongs to Christ.
Let no one lay down rules for you 18
as he pleases, A\'ith regard to fasting
and the cult of angels, presuming
on his visions and inflated by his
sensuous notions, instead of keeping 19
in touch Avith that Head under
whom the entire Body, supplied with
joints and sinews and thus com-
pacted, grows with growth divine.
251
COLOSSIANS III, IV
20 As you died with Christ to the
Elemental spirits of the world, why-
live as if you still belonged to the
world? Why submit to rules and
21 regulations like " Hands off this ! "
" Taste not that ! " " Touch not
22 this ! " — referring to things that
perish by being used? These
rules are determined by human
23 precepts and tenets ; they get the
name of ' wisdom ' with their self-
imposed devotions, with their fast-
ing, with their rigorous discipline of
the body, but they are of no value,
they simply pamper the flesh !
3 Since then you have been raised
with Christ, aim at what is above,
where Christ is, seated at the right
2 hand of God ; mind what is above,
3 not what is on earth, for you died
and your life is hidden with Christ
4 in God. When Christ, who is your
life, appears, then you will appear
5 with him in glory. So put to death
those members that are on earth :
sexual vice, impurity, appetite,
evil desire, and lust (which is
6 idolatry), things that bring down
the anger of God on the sons of
7 disobedience. Once you moved
among them when you lived in
8 them; but off with them all now,
off with anger, rage, malice, slander,
9 foul talk ! Tell no lies to one
another ; you have stripped off
the old nature with its practices,
10 and put on the new nature which is
renewed in the likeness of its Creator
11 for the knowledge of him. In it there
is no room for Greek and Jew, cir-
cumcised and uncircumcised, bar-
barian, Scythian, slave, or free man ;
Christ is everything and everywhere.
12 As God's own chosen, then,
as consecrated and beloved, be
clothed with compassion, kindliness,
humility, gentleness, and good
13 temper — forbear and forgive each
252
other in any case of complaint ; as
the Lord forgave you, so must you
forgive. And above all you must 14
be loving, for love is the link of
the perfect life. Also, let the peace 15
of Christ be supreme within your
hearts — that is why you have been
called as members of the one Body.
And you must be thankful. Let the 16
inspiration of Christ dwell in your
midst with all its wealth of wis-
dom ; teach and train one another
with the music of psalms, with
hymns, and songs of the spiritual J
life ; praise God with thankful heart. ™
Indeed, whatever you say or do, let 17
everything be done in dependence
on the Lord Jesus, giving thanks in ||
his name to God the Father.
Wives, be subject to your hus- 18
bands ; that is your proper duty in
the Lord. Husbands, love your 19
wives, do not be harsh to them.
Children, obey your parents at 20
every point, for this pleases the
Lord right well. Fathers, avoid 21
irritating your children, in case
they get dispirited. Servants, obey 22
your masters here below at every
point; do not work simply when
their eye is on you, like those who
court human favour, but serve them
with a single heart out of reverence
for your Lord and Master. What- 23
ever be your task, work at it
heartily as servants of the Lord
and not of men ; remember, you 24
will receive from the Lord the in-
heritance which is your due ; serve
Christ your Lord and Master, for 25
the wrongdoer will be paid back
for his wrongdoing — there will be
no favour shown. Masters, treat 4
your servants justly and fairly;
remember you have a Master of
your own in heaven.
Attend to your prayers, maintain 2
your zest for prayer by thanks-
COLOSSIANS IV
3 giving ; and pray for me as well,
that God may give me an opening
for the word, to speak of the open
secret of Christ for which I am
4 in custody. Pray that I may un-
5 fold it as I should. Let Christian
wisdom rule your behaviour to
the outside world ; make the very
6 most of your time; let your talk
always have a saving salt of grace
about it, and learn how to answer
any question put to you.
7 Tychicus, that beloved brother
and faithful minister and fellow-
servant in the Lord, will give you
8 all information about me. That is
why I am sending him to you, to
let you know how I am and to en-
9 courage your hearts. He is accom-
panied by that faithful and be-
loved brother Onesimus, who is
one of yourselves. They will in-
form you of all that goes on here.
Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner
salutes you ; so does Mark the cousin
of Barnabas, about whom you have
got instructions (if he comes to you,
give him a welcome); and so does
Jesus who is called Justus. These
10
11
are the only comrades in the work
of God's realm, belonging to the
circumcised, who have been any
comfort to me. Epaphras, who is 12
one of yourselves, salutes you — a
servant of Christ Jesus who is
always earnest in prayer for you,
that you may stand firm like mature
and convinced Christians, what-
ever be the will of God for you. I 13
can testify to his exertions on your
behalf and on behalf of those at
Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our be- 14
loved Luke, the doctor, salutes you ;
so does Demas. Salute the brothers 15
at Laodicea, also Nympha and the
church which meets at her house.
And when this letter has been 16
read to you, see that it is also read
in the church of the Laodiceans;
also, see that you read the letter that
reaches you from Laodicea. And 17
tell Archippus, ' Attend to the
ministry you have received in the
Lord ; see that you fulfil it.'
This salutation is in my own 18
hand, from Paul. ' Remember I
am in prison. Grace be with
you.'
253
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS
1 Paul and Silvanus and Timo-
theus, to the church of the Thessa-
lonians in God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ : grace and peace
to you.
2 We always thank God for you
all when we mention you constantly
3 in our prayers, as we recall your
active faith and labour of love
and patient hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ, before our God and Father.
4 O brothers beloved by God, we
5 know he has chosen you ; for our
gospel came to you not ^vith mere
words but also with power and with
the holy Spirit, with ample con-
viction on our part (you know
what we were to you, for your own
6 good), and you started to copy
us and the Lord, welcoming the
word, though it brought you heavy
trouble, ^vith a joy inspired by the
7 holy Spirit. Thus you became a
pattern to all the believers in Mace-
8 donia and in Achaia ; for the word
of the Lord has resounded from
you not only through Macedonia
and Achaia — no, your faith in
God has reached every place. We
never need to speak about it.
9 People tell us of their own accord
about the visit we paid to you,
and how you turned to God from
idols, to serve a living and a real
10 God and to wait for the coming
of his Son from heaven — the Son
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus who rescues us from the
Wrath to come.
254
But you remember yourselves, 2
brothers, that our visit to you
was no failure. At Philippi, as 2
you know, we had been ill-treated
and insulted, but we took courage
and confidence in our God to tell
you the gospel of God in spite of
all the strain. For the appeal we 3
make does not spring from any
delusion or from impure motives —
it does not work by cunning; no, 4
God has attested our fitness to be
entrusted Avith the gospel, and so we
tell the gospel not to satisfy men ||
but to satisfy the God who tests
our hearts. We never resorted to 5
flattery (you know that), nor to
any pretext for self-seeking (God
is witness to that) ; we never sought 6
honour from men, from you or
from anybody else, though as
apostles of Christ we had the power
of claiming to be men of weight;
no, we behaved gently when we 7
were among you, like a nursing ^
mother cherishing her own children, ■
fain, in our yearning affection for 8
you, to impart not only the gospel
of God to you but our very souls
as well — you had so won our love.
Brothers, you recollect our hard 9
labour and toil, how we worked at
our trade night and day, when we
preached the gospel to you, so as
not to be a burden to any of you.
You are witnesses, and so is God, 10
to our behaviour among you be-
lievers, how pious and upright and
blameless it was, how (as you know) 11
I. THESSALONIANS III, IV
we treated each of you as a father
treats his children, beseeching you,
encouraging you, and charging you
12 to lead a life worthy of the God
who called you to his own realm
and glory.
13 We thank God constantly for
this too, that when you received
the word of the divine message
from us, you took it not as a human
word but for what it really is, the
word of God. It proves effective in
14 you believers, for you have started,
my brothers, to copy the churches
of God in Christ Jesus throughout
Judaea; you have suffered from
your compatriots just as they
15 have suffered from the Jews, who
killed the Lord Jesus and the
prophets, who harassed ourselves,
who offend God and oppose all
16 men by hindering us from speaking
words of salvation to the Gentiles.
So they would fill up the measure of
their sins to the last drop ! But the
Wrath is on them to the bitter end !
17 Brothers, when we were bereft
of you for a little while (out of sight,
not out of mind), we were the more
eager to see you. We had a keen
18 longing for you. (We did want to
reach you — I did, I Paul, more
than once — but Satan stopped us.)
19 For Avho is our hope, our joy, our
crown of pride (who but you?)
in the presence of our Lord Jesus
20 on his arrival ? Why, you, you
3 are our glory and joy ! So,
unable to bear it any longer, I
made up my mind to be left
2 behind at Athens all alone ; I sent
Timotheus our brother, who works
Avith God in the gospel of Christ,
for your strengthening and en-
3 couragemcnt in the faith, to prevent
anyone being disturbed by these
troubles. (Troubles are our lot,
4 you know that well ; for we told
you beforehand, when we were with
you, that " we Christians are to
have trouble " — and, as you know,
it has been so.) Well then, unable 5
to bear it any longer, I sent to find
out about your faith, in case the
Tempter had tempted you and
our labour had been thrown away.
But when Timotheus reached me a 6
moment ago on his return from
you, bringing me the good news of
your faith and love and of how
you always remember me kindly,
longing to see me as I long to see
you, then, amid all my own dis- 7
tress and trouble, I was cheered —
this faith of yours encouraged me.
It is life to me now, if you stand 8
firm in the Lord. How can I 9
render thanks enough to God for
you, for all the joy you make me
feel in the presence of our God ?
Night and day I pray specially 10
that I may see your faces and sup-
ply what is defective in your faith.
May our God and Father and our 11
Lord Jesus direct my way to you !
And may the Lord make you in- 12
crease and excel in love to one
another and to all men (as is
my love for you), so as to streng- 13
then your hearts and make them
blameless in holiness before our
God and Father when our Lord
Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
[Amen.]
CHAP,
Finally, brothers, we beg and 4
beseech you in the Lord Jesus to
follow our instructions about the
way you are to live so as to satisfy
God; you are leading that life,
but you are to excel in it still
further. You remember the in- 2
structions we gave you on the
authority of the Lord Jesvis. It 3
is God's will that you should be
255
I. THESSALONIANS V
consecrated, that you abstain from
4 sexual vice, that each of you should
leam to take a wife for himself
5 chastely and honourably, not to
gratify sensual passion like the
Gentiles in their ignorance of God —
6 no one is to defraud or overreach
his brother in this matter, for the
Lord avenges all these sins, as we
told you already in our solemn
7 protest against them. God did
not call us to be impure but to be
8 consecrated; hence, he who dis-
regards this, disregards not man
but the God who gave you his holy
9 Spirit. You need no one to write
you upon brotherly love, for you
are yourselves taught by God to
10 love one another, as indeed is your
practice towards all the brothers
throughout all Macedonia. We be-
seech you, brothers, to excel in
11 this more and more; also, endea-
vour to live quietly, attend to your
own business, and — as we charged
12 you — work with your hands, so
that your life may be correct in the
eyes of the outside world and self-
supporting.
13 We would like you, brothers, to
understand about those who are
asleep in death. You must not
grieve for them, like the rest of men
14 who have no hope. Since we be-
lieve that Jesus died and rose again,
then it follows that by means of
Jesus God will bring with him
15 those who have fallen asleep. For
we tell you, as the Lord has told us,
that we the living, who survive till
the Lord comes, are by no means
to take precedence of those who
16 have fallen asleep. The Lord him-
self will descend from heaven with
a loud summons, when the arch-
angel calls and the trumpet of God
sounds; the dead in Christ will
17 rise first; then we the living, who
256
sur\ave, will be caught up along
with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air, and so we will
be with the Lord for ever. Now 18
then, encourage one another with
these words.
As regards the course and periods 5
of time, brothers, you have no need
of being written to. You know per- 2
f ectly well that the day of the Lord
comes like a thief in the night;
when ' all's well ' and ' all is safe ' 3
are on the lips of men, then all of a
sudden Destruction is upon them,
like pangs on a pregnant woman —
escape there is none. But, brothers, 4
you are not in the darkness for the
Day to surprise you like thieves ; *
you are all sons of the Light and 5
sons of the day. We do not belong
to the night or the darkness. Well 6
then, we must not sleep like the
rest of men, but be wakeful and
sober; for sleepers sleep by night 7
and drunkards are drunk by night,
but we must be sober, we who 8
belong to the day, clad in faith and
love as our coat of mail, with the
hope of salvation as our helmet —
for God destined us not for Wrath 9
but to gain salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for 10
us that waking in life or sleeping
in death we should live together
with him. Encourage one another, 11
therefore, and let each edify the
other — as indeed you are doing.
Brothers, we beg you to respect 12
those who are working among you,
presiding over you in the Lord and
maintaining disciphne ; hold them 13
in special esteem and affection,
for the sake of their work. Be
at peace among yourselves. We 14
beseech you, brothers, keep a
check upon loafers, encourage the
* Reading K\firras with A B and tha
Bohairio version.
I. THESSALONIANS V
faint-hearted, sustain weak souls,
never lose your temper with any-
15 one ; see that none of you pays
back evil for evil, but always aim
at what is kind to one another
16 and to all the world; rejoice at
17 all times, never give up prayer,
18 thank God for everything — such
is his will for you in Christ Jesus ;
19 never quench the fire of the Spirit,
20 never disdain prophetic revelations
21 but test them all, retaining what
22 is good and abstaining from what-
ever kind is evil.
Ma-y the God of peace consecrate 23
you through and through ! Spirit,
soul, and body, may you be kept
without break or blame till the
arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ !
He who calls you is faithful, he will 24
do this.
Pray for us, brothers. 25
Salute every one of the brothers 26
with a holy kiss. I adjure you 27
by the Lord to have this letter read
aloud to all the [holy] brothers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus 28
Christ be with you. [Amen.]
257
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS
CHAP.
1 Paul and Silvanus and Timo-
theus, to the church of the Thessa-
lonians in God our Father and the
2 Lord Jesus Christ : grace and
peace to you from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We are bound always to thank
God for you, brothers — it is proper
that we should, because your faith
grows apace and your mutual love,
4 one and all, is increasing. So much
so, that throughout the churches
of God we are proud of you, proud
of the stedfastness and faith you
display through all the persecutions
and the troubles in which you are
5 involved. They are proof positive
of God's equity; you are suffering
for the realm of God, and he means
to make you worthy of it — since
6 God considers it but just
to repay with trouble those who
trouble you,
7 and repay you who are troubled
(as well as us) with rest and
relief,
when the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven
together with the angels of his
8 power in flaming fire,
to inflict punishment on those who
ignore God,
even on those who refuse obedi-
ence to the gospel of our Lord
Jesus,
9 men who will pay the penalty of
being destroyed eternally
from the presence of the Lord
and from tiie glory of his
might,
258
when he comes to he glorified in 10
his saints
and marvelled at in all believers
on that day (for our testimony has
found confirmation* in your lives).
In view of this we always pray 11
for you, asking our God to make
you worthy of his calling and by his
power to fulfil every good resolve
and every effort of faith, so that 12
the name of our Lord Jesus may
he glorified in you (and you glorified
in him), by the grace of our God
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
With regard to the arrival of 2
the I Lord Jesus Christ and our
muster before him, I beg you,
brothers, not to let your minds 2
get easily unsettled or excited by
any spirit of prophecy or any de-
claration or any letter purporting
to come from me, to the effect that
the Day of the Lord is already
here. Let nobody delude you into 3
this belief, whatever he may say.
It will not come till the Rebellion
takes place first of all, with the
revealing of the Lawless | One, the
doomed One, the adversary who 4
vaunts himself above and against
every so-called god or object of
worship, actually seating himself
in the temple of God with the pro-
clamation that he himself is God.
* Reading with Markland and Hort
fTriaTaiBr] (104 469 Ambrosiaster) for the
tiri(Trev6r] of most manuscripts and all
versions.
t Omitting rifiZv with B Syr^^^i.
X Reading ituofilas with K B, etc., for
the Westexni paraphrastic afiaprlas.
II. THESSALONIANS III
10
5 Do you not remember I used to tell
you this when I was with you?
6 Well, you can recall now what it
is that restrains him from being
revealed before his appointed time.
7 For the secret force of lawlessness
is at work already ; only, it cannot
be revealed till he who at present
restrains it is removed.
8 Then shall the Lawless One be
revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will
destroy with the breath of his
lips
and quell by his appearing and
arrival —
9 that One whose arrival is due to
Satan's activity,
with the full power, the miracles
and portents, of falsehood,
and with the full deceitfulness
of evil for those who are
doomed to perish,
since they refuse to love the
Truth that would save
them.
11 Therefore God visits them with an
active delusion,
till they put * faith in false-
hood,
12 so that all may be doomed who
refuse faith in the Truth
but delight in e\al.
13 Now we are bound always to
thank God for you, brothers be-
loved by the Lord, because God has
chosen you as the first to be reaped
for salvation, by the consecration
I of your spirit and by faith in the
114 Truth; it was for this that he
called you by our gospel, to gain
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 Well, ' then, brothers, stand firm
and hold to the rules which you
have learned from us orally or by
16 letter. And may our Lord Jesus
Christ himself and God our Father
who has loved us and given us
eternal encouragement and good
hope, graciously encourage your 17
hearts and strengthen them for all
good in word and deed.
Finally, brothers, pray for us, 3
that the word of the Lord may
speed on and triumph, as in your
own case, and that we may be 2
delivered from perverse and evil
men — for the faith is not held by
all. However, the Lord is faithful ; 3
he -will be sure to strengthen you
and protect you from the Evil
one. Now, we rely on you in 4
the Lord, confident that you do
and will do what we enjoin. 5
May the Lord direct your hearts
towards God's love and towards
Christ's patience !
Brothers, we charge you in the 6
name of the Lord Jesus Christ to
shun any brother who is loafing,
instead of following the rule you
got * from us. For you know quite 7
well how to copy us; we did not
loaf in your midst, we did not take 8
free meals from anyone ; no, toiling
hard at our trade, we worked night
and day, so as not to be a burden
to any of you. Not that we have 9
no right to such support; it was
simply to give you a pattern to copy.
We used to charge you even when we 10
were with you, ' If a man will not
work, he shall not eat.' But we are 11
informed that some of your num-
ber are loafing, busybodies instead
of busy. Now in the Lord Jesus 12
Christ we charge and exhort such
persons to keep quiet, to do their
work and earn their own living.
As for yourselves, brothers, never 13
grow tired of doing what is right.
• Reading iropeXaSere with B G, etc., for
259
II. THESSALONIANS III
14 Only, if anyone will not obey our
orders in this letter, mark that man,
do not associate with him — that
15 will make him feel ashamed ! You
are not to treat him as an enemy,
but to put him under discipline as a
brother.
16 May the Lord of peace himself
grant you peace continually, what-
ever comes.
The Lord be with you all.
The salutation is in my own hand, 17
Paul's; that is a mark in every
letter of mine. This is how I write.
' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 18
be with you all.'
280
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO
TIMOTHEUS
1 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus
by command of God onr Saviour
2 and Christ Jesus our Hope, to Timo-
theus his lawful son in the faith :
grace, mercy, peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I asked you when I was on my
way to Macedonia, stay where you
are at Ephesus and warn certain
individuals against teaching novel-
4 ties and studying myths and inter-
minable genealogies ; such studies
bear upon speculations rather than
on the divine order which belongs
5 to faith. Whereas the aim of the
Christian discipline is the love that
springs from a pure heart, from a
good conscience, and from a sincere
6 faith. Certain individuals have
failed here by turning to empty
7 argument ; doctors of the Law is
what they want to be, but they have
no idea either of the meaning of the
words they use or of the themes
8 on which they harp. I am quite
aware that ' the Law is admirable '
— provided that one makes a law-
9 ful use of it ; he must keep in mind
that no law is ever made for honest
people but for the lawless and the
insubordinate, for the impious and
the sinful, for the irreverent and the
profane, for parricides and matri-
10 cides, murderers, immoral persons,
sodomites, kidnappers, liars, per-
jurers, and whatever else is con-
11 trary to sound doctrine as laid
down by that glorious gospel of
the blessed God with which I have
been entrusted.
I render thanks to Christ Jesus 12
our Lord, who has made me able
for this ; he considered me trust-
worthy and appointed me to the
ministry, though I had formerly 13
been a blasphemer and a perse-
cutor and a wanton aggressor. I
obtained mercy because in my
unbelief I had acted out of ignor-
ance; and the grace of our Lord 14
flooded my life along with the
faith and love that Christ Jesus
inspires. It is a sure word, it 15
deserves all praise, that " Christ
Jesus came into the world to save
sinners " ; and though I am the
foremost of sinners, I obtained 16
mercy, for the purpose of furnishing
Christ Jesus with the chief illustra-
tion of his utter patience ; I was to
be the typical instance of all who
were to believe in him and gain
eternal life. To the King of eter- 17
nity, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honour and glory for ever
and ever : Amen.
I transmit these instructions to 18
you, Timotheus my son, in accord-
ance with what the prophets said
who first directed me to you ; fight
the good fight on these lines, keep- 19
ing hold of faith and a good con-
science. Certain individuals have
scouted the good conscience and
thus come to grief over their
faith — including Hymenaeus and 20
Alexander, whom I have made
over to Satan. That will teach
them to stop their blasphemous
ongoings !
261
I. TIMOTHEUS II, III
CHAT.
2 Well, my very first counsel is that
supplications, prayers, petitions,
and thanksgiving, are to be offered
2 for all men — for kings and all in
authority, that we may lead a tran-
quil hfe in all piety and gravity;
3 it is good to pray thus, it is accept-
able to our Saviour, to the God who
4 desires all men to be saved and to
attain the knowledge of the Truth.
5 For "there is one God" and " one
intermediary between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus who gave him-
6 self as a ransom for all " : — in due
time this was attested, and I was ap-
7 pointed to be its herald and apostle
(I am not telhng a lie, it is quite
true), to teach the Gentiles faith
and truth.
8 Now I want the men to offer
prayer at any meeting of the church ;
and let the hands they lift to
heaven be holy — they must be free
9 from anger and dissension. Women
in turn are to dress modestly and
quietly in seemly garb; they are
not to adorn themselves with plaits
of hair, with gold or pearls or ex-
10 pensive finery, but with good deeds
(as befits women who make a re-
11 ligious profession). A woman must
listen quietly in church and be
12 perfectly submissive ; I allow no
woman to teach or dictate to men,
13 she must keep quiet. For Adam
' 14 was created first, then Eve ; and
Adam was not deceived, it was
Eve who was deceived and who fell
15 into sin. However, women will get
safely through childbirth if ihey
continue to be faithful and loving
and holy as well as unassuming.
8 It is a popular * saying that
* Reading avdpu>irivos with D, the Old
Latin, Ambrosiaster, and Western codices
known to Jerome. It is much more easy
to understand how it was altered to iricris
for the sake of uniformity with i. 15, etc.,
than vice versa.
262
" whoever aspires to ofRce is set
upon an excellent occupation."
Well, for the office of a bishop a 2
man must be above reproach; he
must be only married once, he must
be temperate, master of himself,
unruffled, hospitable, a skilled
teacher, not a drunkard or violent, 3
but lenient and conciliatory, not
a lover of money, able to manage 4
his own household properly and
keep his children submissive and
perfectly respectful (if a man does 5
not know how to manage his own
household, how is he to look after
the church of God?); he must not 6
be a new convert, in case he gets
conceited and incurs the doom
passed on the devil ; also, he must 7
have a good reputation among
outsiders, in case he incurs slander
and is trapped by the devil.
Deacons in turn are to be serious 8
men; they are not to be tale-
bearers or addicted to drink or
pilfering; they must maintain the 9
divine truth of the faith with a pure
conscience. They too must be put 10
on probation ; after that, if they
are above reproach, they can serve
as deacons. Their wives must be 11
serious too; they must not be
slanderers but temperate and ab-
solutely trustworthy. Deacons are 12
only to be married once, and they
must manage their children and
households properly. For those 13
who do good service as deacons win
a good position for themselves as
well as great freedom in the faith
of Christ Jesus.
Though I hope to come to you 14
before long, I am writing to you
in this way, in case I am detained, 15
to let you see how people ought
to behave within the household of
God ; it is the church of the li\Tng
God, the pillar and bulwark of the
I. TIMOTHEUS IV, V
16 Truth. And who does not admit
how profound is the divine truth
of our rehgion ? — it is He who was
" manifest in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by the angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on throughout the world,
taken up to glory."
4 But in later days, the Spirit
distinctly declares, certain people
^vill rebel against the faith; they
will listen to spirits of error and to
the doctrines that daemons teach
2 through plausible sophists who are
3 seared in conscience — men who
prohibit marriage and insist on
abstinence from foods which God
created for believing men, who
understand the Truth, to partake
4 of with thanksgiving. Anything
God has created is good, and
nothing is to be tabooed — provided
5 it is eaten with thanksgiving, for
then it is consecrated by the
prayer said over it.
6 Lay this before the brotherhood,
and you \vill be an excellent minis-
ter of Christ Jesus, brought up on
the truths of the faith and on the
lessons of the good doctrine you
7 have already followed. Shut your
mind against these profane, drivel-
ling myths ; train for the rehgious
8 life. The training of the body is
of small service, but religion is of
service in all directions ; it con-
tains the promise of life both for
9 the present and for the future. It
is a sure word, it deserves all
10 praise, that " we toil and strive *
because our hope is fixed upon
the living God, the Saviour of all
men " — of believers in particular.
* Reading aywi'iCStxeda with 5^* A C G K,
etc. The context requires an aggressive,
active verb. The " sure words " all have a
more or less eschatological outlook.
Give these orders and teach these 11
lessons. Let no one slight you 12
because you are a youth, but set
the believers an example of speech,
behaviour, love, faith, and purity.
Attend to your Scripture-reading, 1.3
your preaching, and your teaching,
till I come. You have a gift that 14
came to you transmitted by the
prophets, when the presbytery laid
their hands upon you; do not
neglect that gift. Attend to these 15
duties, let them absorb you, so that
all men may note your progress.
Watch yourself and watch your 16
teaching; stick to your work;
if you do that, you will save your
hearers as well as yourself.
Never censure an older man 5
harshly ; appeal to him as a father.
Treat younger men like brothers,
older women like mothers, younger 2
women like sisters — with perfect
propriety.
Widows who really need it must 3
be supported from the funds.
(When a widow has children or 4
grandchildren, they must learn
that the first duty of religion is to
their own household, and that they
should make some return to those
who have brought them up. In
God's sight this is an acceptable
thing.) The really forlorn widow 5
has her hope fixed on God, night
and day she is at her prayers and
supplications ; whereas the widow 6
who plunges into dissipation is dead
before ever she dies. So lay down 7
the following rules, to prevent any
reproach being incurred. Who- 8
ever does not provide for his own
relatives and particularly for his
own family, has repudiated the
faith : he is worse than an infidel.
No one under sixty is to be put 9
on the church's list of widows ;
and she must have been only once
263
I. TIMOTHEUS VI
10 married, she must have a reputa-
tion for good service, as a woman
who has brought up children, shown
hospitahty, washed the feet of
the saints, reheved distress, and
interested herself in all good works.
11 Refuse to put young widows on the
list, for when their wanton desires
alienate them from Christ, they
12 want to marry and thus are
guilty of breaking their first troth
13 to Him. Besides, they become
idle unconsciously * by gadding
about from one house to another —
and not merely idle but gossips
and busybodies, repeating things
they have no right to mention.
14 So I prefer young widows to marry
again, to bear children, to look
after their households, and not to
afford our opponents any chance of
15 reviling us. As it is, some widows
have already turned after Satan. —
16 Any believer, man or woman, who
has widowed relatives, must give
them relief; the church is not to
be burdened with them; she has
to relieve the widows who really
need relief.
17 Presbyters who are efficient presi-
dents are to be considered worthy
of ample remuneration, particularly
those who have the task of preach-
18 ing and teaching : Scripture says.
You must not muzzle an ox when he
is treading the grain, and A work-
man deserves his wages.
19 Never let any charge be brought
against a presbyter, unless it is
certified by two or three witnesses.
20 Those who are guilty of sin you
must expose in public, to over-
awe the others.
21 In the presence of God and the
* I accept the conjecture XavOdvovcri for
the navddvovat of the canonical text, which
makes the grammatical construction very
awkward.
264
Lord Jesus Christ and the elect
angels, I adjure you to be unpreju-
diced in carrying out these orders ;
be absolutely impartial.
Never be in a hurry to ordain a 22
presbyter; do not make yourself
responsible for the sins of another
man — keep your own life pure.f
Some people's sins are notorious 24
and call for judgment, but in some
cases sin only comes out afterwards.
Good works are equally conspi- 25
cuous ; and even when they are not,
they cannot escape notice for ever.
Let all servants who are under 6
the yoke of slavery remember that
their masters are entitled to per-
fect respect — otherwise it will be
a scandal to the Name of God and
to our doctrine. Those who have 2
Christian believers as their masters
must not take liberties with them
because they are brothers; they
must be all the better servants
because those who get the good
of their service are believers and
beloved.
This is what you are to teach
and preach. Anyone who teaches 3
novelties and refuses to fall in with
the sound words of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the doctrine that tallies
with piety, is a conceited, ignorant 4
creature, with a morbid passion
for controversy and argument
which only leads to envy, dissen-
sion, insults, insinuations, and con- 5
stant friction between people who
are depraved in mind and de-
prived of the Truth. They imagine
religion is a paying concern. And 6
so it is — provided it goes with a
•f The words, " Give up being a total
abstainer; take a little wine for the sake
of your stomach and yovir frequent
attacks of illness," which follow, are either
a marginal gloss or misplaced.
I. TIMOTHEUS VI
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
^4
il5
contented spirit; for we bring
nothing into the world, and we can
take nothing out of it. If we have
food and clothes, we must be con-
tent with that. Those who are
eager to be rich get tempted and
trapped in many senseless and
pernicious propensities that drag
men down to ruin and destruction.
For love of money is the root of all
mischief; it is by aspiring to be
rich that certain individuals have
gone astray from the faith and
found themselves pierced with many
a pang of remorse. Shun that,
O man of God, aim at integrity,
piety, faith, love, stedfastness, and
suavity ; fight in the good fight of
the faith, secure that life eternal to
which you were called when you
voiced the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. In
the presence of God who is the
Life of all, and of Christ Jesus who
testified to the good confession be-
fore Pontius Pilate, I charge you
to keep your commission free from
stain, free from reproach, till the
appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
— which will be brought about in
due time by that blessed and only
Sovereign, King of kings and Lord
of lords, who alone has immortality, 16
who dwells in light that none can
approach, whom no man has ever
seen or can see. To him be honour
and eternal power: Amen.
Charge the rich of this world not 17
to be supercilious, and not to fix
their hopes on so uncertain a thing
as riches but on the living God who
richly provides us with all the
enjoyments of life; tell them to be 18
bountiful, rich in good works, open-
handed and generous, amassing 19
right good * treasure for them-
selves in the world to come, in
order to secure the life which is life
indeed.
O Timotheus, keep the securities 20
of the faith intact : avoid the
profane jargon and contradictions
of what is falsely called ' Know-
ledge.' Certain individuals have 21
failed in the faith by professing
that.
Grace be with you. [Amen.]
* For 6€/jLf\iov I accept the attractive
conjecture 6(/j.a \iav, in view of the close
parallel in Tobit iv. 9-10 (ef/xa yap ayadhv
0T}(Tavpi^fii aeavTCfi els rifJiepav avdyKris • StSri
i\eriixoffvvr] iK Bavirov pverai).
265
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO
TIMOTHEUS
1 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God in the ser-
vice of the Life he has promised in
2 Christ Jesus — to his beloved son
Timotheus : grace, mercy, peace,
from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord.
8 I render thanks to God, the God
of my fathers whom I worship with
a pure conscience, as I mention you
4 constantly in my prayers. When
I recall the tears you shed when
we parted, I long by night and day
to see you again. That would fill
5 me with joy, for I am reminded of
your sincere faith, a faith which
dwelt first in your grandmother
Lois and your mother Eunice, as
it dwells (I feel sure) in yourself.
6 Hence I would remind you to re-
kindle the divine gift which you
received when my hands were laid
7 upon you ; for God has not given us
a timid spirit but a spirit of power
8 and love and discipline. So do not
be ashamed to testify to our Lord,
and do not be ashamed of a prisoner
of the Lord like me; join me in
bearing suffering for the gospel by
9 the power of the God who has saved
us and called us to a life of consecra-
tion— not for anything we have done
but because he chose to do it him-
self, by the grace which he gave us
10 ages ago in Christ Jesus and has
now revealed in the appearance of
our Saviour Christ Jesus, who has
put down death and brought life
and immortality to light by the
11 gospel. Of that gospel I have been
266
appointed a herald and an apostle
and a teacher, and this is why I 12
am suffering. Still, I am not
ashamed of it; I know whom I
have trusted and I am certain he
is able to keep what I have put into
his hands till the great Day.
Model yourself on the sound 13
instruction you have had from me
in the faith and love of Christ Jesus.
Keep the great securities of your 14
faith intact, by aid of the holy
Spirit that dwells ^vithin us. You 15
are aware that all the Asiatics have
discarded me, including Phj^gelus
and Hermogenes. May the Lord 16
show favour to the household of
Onesiphorus, for many a time he
braced me up ; he was not ashamed
of my imprisonment — no, he made 17
eager search for me when he reached
Rome, and he found me (may he 18
find favour with the Lord on the
great Day ! The Lord grant it !).
And you know very well what a
help he was to me in Ephesus.
Now, my son, be strong in the 2
grace of Christ Jesus, and trans- 2
mit the instructions I gave you in
presence of many Avitnesses to
trustworthy men, that they may
be competent to teach others. Join 3
the ranks of those who bear suffer-
ing, like a loyal soldier of Christ
Jesus. No soldier gets entangled 4
in civil pursuits ; his aim is to
satisfy his commander. Again, a 5
competitor in the games is not
crowned unless he observes the rules.
The farmer who has done the work 6
II. TIMOTHEUS III
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
^8
10
must have the first share of the
fruit. Think what I mean ! The
Lord will help you to understand
perfectly.
Never forget " Jesus Christ risen
from the dead, descended from
Da\id " — that is my gospel, for
which I have to suffer imprison-
ment as if I were a criminal. (But
there is no prison for the word
of God.) All I endure is for the
sake of the elect, to let them get
their share of the salvation of
Christ Jesus and also of eternal
glory. It is a sure word, that
" If we have died ^vith him, we
will live with him,
if we endure, then we will reign
with him,
if we disown him, then he will
disown us,
if we are faithless, he remains
faithful "—
for he cannot be untrue to himself.
Remind men of this ; adjure
them before the Lord not to bandy
arguments — no good comes out of
that, it only means the undoing
of your audience. Do your utmost
to let God see that you at least are
a sound workman, with no need to
be ashamed of the way you handle
the word of the Truth. Avoid
all that profane jargon, for it
leads people still further into irre-
ligion, and their doctrine spreads
Hke a gangrene. So it is with
Hymenaeus and Philetus; they
have failed in the Truth by arguing
that the resurrection has taken
place already, and they are under-
mining some people's faith. But
the solid foundation laid by God
remains, and this is its inscription :
the Lord knows who are his,
and
' let everyone who names the
name of the Lord give up evil.'
In any great house there are indeed 20
vessels not only of gold and silver
but also of wood and clay, some
for noble, some for menial service.
If one ^^ill only keep clear of the 21
latter, he will be put to noble use,
he will be consecrated and useful
to the Owner of the House, he will
be set apart for good work of all
kinds. So shun the lusts of youth 22
and aim at integrity, faith, love
and peace, in the company of those
who invoke the Lord out of a pure
heart. Shut your mind against 23
foohsh, popular controversy; be
sure that only breeds strife. And 24
the Lord's servant must not be a
man of strife ; he must be kind to
everybody, a skilled teacher, a man
who will not resent injuries; he 26
must be gentle in his admonitions
to the opposition — God may per-
haps let them change their mind
and admit the Truth ; they may 26
come to their senses again and
escape the snare of the devil, as
they are brought back to life by
God to do his will.
Mark this, there are hard times 3
coming in the last days. For men 2
will be selfish, fond of money, boast-
ful, haughty, abusive, disobedient
to their parents, ungrateful, ir-
reverent, callous, relentless, scur- 3
rilous, dissolute, and savage ; they
will hate goodness, they vnW be 4
treacherous, reckless and conceited,
preferring pleasure to God — for 6
though they keep up a form of
religion, they will have nothing to
do with it as a force. Avoid all
such. Some of them worm their 6
way into families and get hold of
the women-folk who feel crushed
by the burden of their sins — way-
ward creatures of impulse, who are 7
267
II. TIMOTHEUS IV
always curious to learn and never
able to attain the knowledge of the
8 Truth. For these guides of theirs
are hostile to the Truth, just as
Jannes and Jambres were hostile
to Moses; they are depraved in
mind and useless for all pur-
9 poses of faith. However, they
will get no further, for their aber-
ration will be detected by every-
one, as was the case with these
magicians.
10 Now you have followed my teach-
ing, my practice, my aims, my faith,
my patience, my love, my stedfast-
11 ness, my persecutions, my sufferings
— all that befell me at Antioch,
Iconium and Lystra, all the persecu-
tions I had to undergo, from which
12 the Lord rescued me. Yes, and all
who want to live the religious life
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
13 Bad characters and impostors will
go from bad to worse, deceiving
others and deceived themselves ;
14 but hold you to what you have been
taught, hold to your convictions,
remember who your teachers were,
15 remember you have known from
childhood the sacred writings that
can impart saving wisdom by faith
16 in Christ Jesus. All scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for amend-
17 ment, and for moral discipline, to
make the man of God proficient
and equip him for good work of
every kind.
4 In the presence of God and of
Christ Jesus who will judge the
living and the dead, in the hght of
his appearance and his reign, I ad-
2 jure you to preach the M'ord ; keep
at it in season and out of season,
refuting, checking, and exhorting
men ; never lose patience with
them, and never give up your teach-
8 ing, for the time will come when
268
people will decline to be taught
sound doctrine and \vill accumulate
teachers to suit themselves and
tickle their own fancies ; they will 4
give up listening to the Truth and
turn to myths.
Whatever happens, be self-pos- 5
sessed, flinch from no suffering, do
your work as an evangehst, and
discharge all your duties as a
minister.
The last drops of my own sacri- 6
fice are falling ; my time to go has
come. I have fought in the good 7
fight; I have run my course; I
have kept the faith. Now the 8
crown of a good life awaits me,
with which the Lord, that just
Judge, will reward me on the great
Day — and not only me but all who
have loved and longed for his
appearance.
Do your best to come soon to 9
me, for Demas, in his love for this 10
world, has deserted me and gone
to Thessalonica ; Crescens is off
to Gaul, Titus to Dalmatia, Luke 11
is the only one who is with me.
Pick up Mark and bring him
along with you, for he is of great
use in helping me. (I have had 12
to send Tychicus to Ephesus.)
When you come, bring the mantle 13
I left at Troas with Carpus, also
my books, and particularly my
paper.
Alexander the blacksmith has 14
done me a lot of harm : the Lord
will pay him hack for what he has
done (beware of him), for he has 15
been bitterly hostile to anything
I have said. The first time I had 16
to defend myself, I had no sup-
porters; everyone deserted me.
God grant it may not be brought
up against them ! But the Lord 17
supported me and gave me strength
to make a full statement of the
II. TIMOTHEUS IV
gospel and let all the heathen hear
it. I was rescued from the jaws of
18 the lion. The Lord will rescue me
from every assault of evil, he will
bring me safe to his own realm in
heaven. To him be glory for ever
and ever ! Amen.
Salute Prisca and Aquila and the
household of Onesiphorus.
19
Erastus stayed on at Corinth : 20
I left Trophimus ill at Miletus.
Do your best to come before %vinter. 21
Eubulus salutes you ; so do
Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all
the brotherhood.
The Lord Jesus be with your 22
spirit.
Grace be with you all.
269
>ii
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL IX)
TITUS
COAT.
1 Paul a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith
of God's elect and for their know-
ledge of the Truth that goes with
2 a religious Ufe, serving in hope
of the life eternal which God, who
3 never lies, promised ages ago — he
gave effect to his word in due time
by a proclamation with which I
have been entrusted by command
4 of God our Saviour :— to Titus my
lawful son in a faith we hold in
common; grace and peace from
God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Saviour.
5 I left you behind in Crete in
order to finish putting things right
and to appoint presbyters in every
6 town as I told you, men who are
above reproach, only once married,
with children who beUeve and who
are not liable to the charge of
being profligate or insubordinate.
7 [For a bishop must be above re-
E roach — he is a steward of God's
ouse — he must not be presump-
tuous or hot-tempered or a drunkard
or violent or addicted to pilfering ;
8 he must be hospitable, a lover of
goodness, master of himself, a just
man, a religious man, and ab-
9 stemious ; he must hold by the
sure truths of doctrine so as to be
able to give instruction in sound
doctrine and refute objections
10 raised by any.] ♦ For there are
plenty of insubordinate creatures
* This passage seems to have been
added, rather awkwardly, to the original
text.
270
who impose on people with their
empty arguments, particularly those
who have come over from Judaism ;
they must be silenced, for they H
are undermining whole families by
teaching objectionable doctrine for
the base end of making money. It 12
has been said by one of them-
selves, by a prophet of their own,
that—
" Cretans are always liars, evil
beasts, lazy gluttons."
That is a true statement. So deal 13^
sharply with them, to make them
sound in the faith instead of 1 t
studying Jewish myths and rules
laid down by men who have dis-
covered the Truth. For the pure 15
all things are pure, but nothing
is pure for the polluted and un-
believing ; their very mind and con-
science are polluted. They profess 16
to know God but they deny him
by their deeds; they are detest-
able, disobedient, and useless for
good work of any kind.
CH
You must instruct people in 2
what is due to sound doctrine. Tell 2
the older men to be temperate,
serious, masters of themselves,
sound in faith, in love, and in sted-
fastness. Tell the older women 3
also to be reverent in their de-
meanour and not to be slanderers
or slaves to drink; they must
give good counsel, so that the 4
yoimg women may be trained to
love their husbands and children,
TITUS III
5 to be mistress of themselves, chaste,
domestic, kind, and submissive to
their husbands — otherwise it will
6 be a scandal to the gospel. Tell
the young men also to be masters
7 of themselves at all points ; set
them an example of good conduct ;
be sincere and serious in your teach-
8 ing, let your words be sound and
such that no exception can be taken
to them, so that the opposite side
may be confounded by finding no-
thing that they can say to our dis-
9 credit. Tell servants to be sub-
missive to their masters and to give
them satisfaction all round, not to
be refractory, not to embezzle,
10 but to prove themselves truly
faithful at all points, so as to be an
ornament to the doctrine of God
11 our Saviour in all respects. For
the grace of God has appeared to
12 save all men, and it schools us to
renounce irreligion and worldly
passions and to hve a life of self-
mastery, of integrity, and of piety
13 in this present world, awaiting the
blessed hope of the appearance of
the Glory of the great God and
14 of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who
gave himself up for us to redeem us
from all iniquity and secure himself
a clean people with a zest for good
works.
15 Tell them all this, exhort and
reprove, with full authority; let
no one slight you.
3 Remind them to be submissive
to their rulers and authorities ; they
must obey, they must be ready for
2 any good work, they must abuse
no one, they must not quarrel but
be conciliatory and display perfect
8 gentleness to all men. For we our-
selves were once senseless, disobe-
dient, astray, enslaved to all man-
ner of passions and pleasures; we
spent our days in mahce and envy,
we were hateful, and we hated one
another. But " the goodness and 4
affection of God our Saviour ap-
peared; and he saved us, not for 5
anything we had done but from
his own pity for us, by the water
that means regeneration and re-
newal under the holy Spirit which 6
he poured upon us richly through
Jesus Christ our Saviour, that we 7
might be justified by his grace
and become heirs to the hope of
life eternal." It is a sure saying. 8
I want you to insist on this,
that those who have faith in God
must profess honest occupations.
Such counsels are right and good
for men. But avoid foolish con- 9
troversy, and let genealogies and
dissensions and strife over the Law
alone, for these are fruitless and
futile.
After a first and a second warning 10
have no more to do with a factious
person ; you may be sure a man like 11
that is perverted ; he is sinning and
he knows it.
Whenever I send Artemas or 12
Tychicus to you, do your best to
come to me at Nicopolis, for I have
decided to winter there. Give a 13
heart}^ send-off to Zenas the lawyer
and Apollos ; see that they want
for nothing. Our people must 14
really learn to profess honest occu-
pations, so as to be able to meet such
special occasions; they must not
be idle.
All who are with me salute you. 15
Salute those who love us in the
faith.
Grace be with you all.
271
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO
PHILEMON
1 Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ
and brother Timotheus, to our be-
2 loved fellow-worker Philemon, to
our sister Apphia, to our fellow-
soldier Archippus, and to the church
3 that meets in your house : grace
and peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God when I
5 mention you in my prayers ; for
as I hear of your love and loyalty
to the Lord Jesus and to all the
6 saints, I pray that by their partici-
pation in your loyal faith they
may have a vivid sense of how
much good we * Christians can
attain.
7 I have had great joy and en-
couragement over your love, my
brother, over the way you have
refreshed the hearts of the saints.
8 Hence, although in Christ I would
feel quite free to order you to do
9 your duty, I prefer to appeal to you
on the ground of love. Well then,
as Paul the old man, who now-a-
days is a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
10 I appeal to you on behalf of my
spiritual son born while I was in
11 prison. It is Onesimus! Once you
found him a worthless character, but
now-a-days he is worth something
12 to you and me. I am sending him
back to you, and parting with my
* Reading ^^Tv instead of vfiiv. As
Lightfoot observes, " scribes would be
strongly tempted to alter rifiiv into vfjuv
from a misapprehension of the sense, and
a wish to apply the words to Philemon
and his household."
272
very heart. I would have liked to 13
keep him beside me, that as your
deputy he might serve me during my
imprisonment for the gospel; but 14
I did not want to do anything ^^^th-
out your consent, so that your good-
ness to me might come of your own
free will, without any appearance
of constraint.
Perhaps this was why you and 15
he were parted for a while, that you
might get him back for good, no 16
longer a mere slave but something
more than a slave — a beloved
brother; especially dear to me but
how much more to you as a man
and as a Christian ! You count me 17
a partner? Then receive him as
you would receive me, and if he has 18
cheated you of any money or owes
you any sum, put that down to my
account. This is in my own hand- 19
writing : * I Paul promise to refund
it ' — not to mention that you owe
me, over and above, your very
soul. Come, brother, let me have 2C
some return from you in the Lord !
Refresh my heart in Christ.
I send you this letter relying on 21
your obedience; I know you will
do even more than I tell you. And 22
get quarters ready for me, for I am
hoping that by your prayers I will
be restored to you.
Epaphras my fellow-prisoner in 2S
Christ Jesus salutes you. So do 24
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and
Luke, my fellow-workers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 2£
be with your spirit. Amen,
THE EPISTLE TO THE
HEBREWS
OBAP.
1 Many were the forms and fashions
in which God spoke of old to
2 our fathers by the prophets, but
in these days at the end he has
spoken to us by a Son — a Son
whom he appointed heir of the
universe as it was by him that
3 he created the world. He, reflect-
ing God's bright glory and stamped
with God's own character, sustains
the universe with his word of power.
When he had secured our purifi-
cation from sins, he sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty on
4 high. And thus he is superior to the
angels, as he has inherited a Name
5 superior to theirs. For to what
angel did God ever say,
' Thou art my son,
to-day have I become thy father ' ?
Or again,
' 1 will be a father to him,
and he will be a son to me ' ?
6 And further, when introducing the
Firstborn into the world, he says,
' Let all God's angels worship him.'
7 While he says of angels,
' Who makes his angels into winds,
his servants into flames of fire,'
8 he says of the Son,
' God is thy throne for ever and ever,
thy royal sceptre is the sceptre of
equity :
9 thou hast loved justice and hated
lawlessness, *
therefore God, thy God, has con-
secrated thee
•with the oil of rejoicing beyond thy
comrades ' —
* Roading avoixiav instead of iSiKlav.
T
and, 10
' I'hoii didst found the earth at the
beginning, 0 Lord,
and the heavens are the zvork of thy
hands ;
they will perish, but thou re- 11
mainest,
they zvill all be worn out like a
garment,
thou wilt roll them up like a mantle 12
and f they will be changed,
but thou art the same,
and thy years will never faiV
To what angel did he ever say, 13
' Sit at my right hand,
till I put your enemies under your
feet ' .?
Are not all angels merely spirits in 14
the divine service, commissioned for
the benefit of those who are to in-
herit salvation ?
We must therefore pay closer 2
attention to what we have heard,
in case we drift away. For if the 2
divine word spoken by angels held
good, if transgression and disobedi-
ence met with due punishment in
every case, how shall we escape 3
the penalty for neglecting a salva-
tion which was originally proclaimed
by the Lord himself and guaranteed
to us by those who heard him, while 4
God corroborated their testimony
with signs and wonders and a variety
of miraculous powers, distributing
the holy Spirit as it pleased him.
For the world to come, of which 5
I am speaking, was not put under
t Omitting [its tudnov], which has be«n
repeated from the previous line.
273
HEBREWS III
6 the control of angels. One writer,
as we know, has affirmed,
What is man, that thou art mind-
ful of him ?
or the son of man, that thou
carest for him ?
7 For a little while thou hast 'put
him lower than the angels,
crowning him with glory and
honour,
8 putting all things under his feet.
Now by putting all things under him
the writer meant to leave nothing
out of his control. But, as it is, we
do not yet see all things controlled by
9 man ; what we do see is Jesus who
was put lower than the angels for a
little while to suffer death, and who ^
has been crowned with glory and
honour thoX by God's grace he might.
10 taste death for everyone. In bring-
ing many sons to glory, it was befit-
ting that He for whom and by whom
the universe exists, should perfect
the Pioneer of their salvation by
11 suffering. For sanctifier and sanc-
tified have all one origin. That is
why he is not ashamed to call them
12 brothers, saying,
' / will proclaim thy name to my
brothers,
in the midst of the church I will
sing of thee,''
13 and again,
' / will put my trust in him,^
and again,
' Here am I and the children God
has given me.*
14 Since the children then share blood
and flesh, he himself participated
in their nature, so that by dying
he might crush him who wields the
power of death (that is to say, the
15 devil) and release from thraldom
those who lay under a life-long
16 fear of death. (For of course it is
not angels that he succours, it is
17 the offspring of Abraham.) He had '
274
to resemble his brothers in every
respect, in order to prove a mer-
ciful and faithful high priest in
things divine, to expiate the sins
of the People. It is as he suffered 18
by his temptations that he is able
to help the tempted.
CHAP.
Holy brothers, you who partici- 3
pate in a heavenly calling, look at
Jesus then at the apostle and high
priest of our confession ; he is faith- 2
f ul to Him who appointed him. For
while Moses also was faithful in every
department of God^s house, Jesus has 3
been adjudged greater glory than
Moses, inasmuch as the founder of
a house enjoys greater honour than
the house itself. (Every house is 4
founded by someone, but God is
the founder of all.) Besides, while 5
Moses was faithful in every depart-
ment of God^s house as an attendant
— by way of witness to the coming
revelation — Christ is faithful as a 6
Son over God's house.
Now we are this house of God, if
we will only keep confident and
proud of our hope.* Therefore, as 7
the holy Spirit says.
To-day, when you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts as at the 8
Provocation,
on the day of the Temptation in
the desert,
where your fathers put me to the 9
proof,
and for forty years felt what I
could do.
Therefore I grew exasperated with 10
that generation,
I said, ' They are always astray
in their heart '.'
They would not learn my ways ;
• Omitting /J.exP^ rtXavs ^i^aiav, which
has probably been inserted from ver. 14,
where the same words occur in a similar
ooanexioD.
HEBREWS IV, V
11 80 I swore in my anger,
' they shall never enter my Rest.''
12 Brothers, take care in case there is
a wicked, unbeheving heart in any
of you, moving you to apostatize
13 from the living God. Rather ad-
monish one another daily, so long
as this word To-day is uttered,
that none of you may be deceived
14 by sin and hardened. For we only
participate in Christ provided that
we keep firm to the very end the
confidence with which we started,
15 this word ever sounding in our ears,
To-day, when you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts as at the
Provocation.
16 Who heard and yet provoked him?
Was it not all who left Egypt under
17 the leadership of Moses ? And with
whom was he exasperated for forty
years? Was it not with those
who sinned, whose corpses fell in the
18 desert ? And to whom did he swear
that they would never enter his Rest?
To whom but those who disobeyed ?
Thus we see it was owing to unbelief
4 that they could not enter. Well
then, as the promise of entrance
is still left to us, let us be afraid
of anyone being judged to have
2 missed it. For we have had the
good news as well as they; only,
the message they heard was of no
use to them, because it did not
meet with * faith in the hearers.
3 For we do enter the Rest by our
faith : according to his word,
As I swore in my anger,
they shall never enter my Rest —
although his works were all over by
4 the foundation of the world. For he
says this somewhere about the
seventh day : And God rested from
all his works on the seventh day.
Reading avyKeKfpaa-fifvos or avyKSKpa-
txivos with N, the Old Latin, the Peahitto,
etc.
And again in this passage, they shall 5
never enter my Rest. Since then it 6
is reserved for some to enter it, and
since those who formerly got the
good news failed to enter owing to
their disobedience, he again fixes 7
a day; To-day — as he says in
' David ' after so long an interval,
and as has been already quoted —
To-day, when you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
Thus if Joshua had given them 8
Rest, God would not speak later
about another day. There is a 9
sabbath-Rest then reserved still for
the People of God (for once a man 10
enters his rest, he rests from work
just as God did).
Let us be eager then to enter that 11
Rest, in case anyone falls into the
same sort of disobedience. For the 12
Logos of God is a living thing,
active and more cutting than any
sword with double edge, penetrating
to the very division of soul and
spirit, joints and marrow — scrutin-
izing the very thoughts and concep-
tions of the heart. And no created 13
thing is hidden from him ; all things
lie open and exposed before the eyes
of him with whom we have to
reckon.
As we have a great high priest, 14
then, who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast to our confession ; for ours 15
is no high priest who is incapable of
sympathizing with our weaknesses,
but one who has been tempted in
every respect hke ourselves, yet
without siiming. So let us approach 16
the throne of grace with confidence,
that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in the hour
of need.
Every high priest who is selected 5
from men and appointed to act on
275
HEBREWS VI
behalf of men in things divine,
offering gifts and sacrifices for sins,
2 can deal gently with those who err
through ignorance, since he him-
3 self is beset with weakness — which
obliges him to present offerings for
his own sins as well as for those of
4 the People. Also, it is an office
which no one elects to take for him-
self; he is called to it by God, just
5 as Aaron was. Similarly Christ was
not raised to the glory of the high
priesthood by himself but by Him
who declared to him,
lliou art my son,
to-day have I become thy father.
6 Just as elsewhere he says,
Thou art a priest for ever, with the
rank of Melchizedek.
7 In the days of his flesh, with bitter
cries and tears, he offered prayers
and supplications to Him who was
able to save him from death ; and
he was heard because of his godly
8 fear. Thus, Son though he was,
he learned by all he suffered how
9 to obey, and by being thus perfected
he became the source of eternal
10 salvation for all who obey him, be-
ing designated by God high priest
with the rank of Melchizedek.
11 On this point I have a great
deal to say, which it is hard to make
intelligible to you. For you have
12 grown dull of hearing. Though by
this time you should be teaching
other people, you still need some-
one to teach you once more the
rudimentary principles of the divine
revelation. You are in need of
13 milk, not of solid food. (For any-
one who is fed on milk is un-
skilled in moral truth; he is a
14 mere babe. Whereas solid food
is for the mature, for those who
have their faculties trained by
exercise to distinguish good and
evil.)
276
Let us pass on then to what 6
is mature, leaving elementary
Christian doctrine behind, instead
of laying the foundation over again
with repentance from dead works,
with faith in God, with instruction
about ablutions and the laying on
of hands, about the resurrection of
the dead and eternal punishment.
With God's permission, we will take
this step.* For in the case of people 4
who have been once enlightened,
who tasted the heavenly Gift, who
participated in the holy Spirit, who
tasted the goodness of God's word
and the powers of the world to
come, and then fell away — it is 6
impossible to make them repent
afresh, since they crucify the Son
of God in their own persons and
hold him up to obloquy. For land
which absorbs the rain that often
falls on it, and bears plants that are
useful to those for whom it is tilled,
receives a blessing from God;
whereas, if it produces thorns and 8
thistles, it is reprobate and on the
verge of being cursed — its fate is to
be burned.
Though I say this, beloved, I feel
sure you will take the better course
that means salvation. God is not 10
unfair ; he will not forget what you
have done, or the love you have
shown for his sake in ministering,
as you still do, to the saints. It is II
my heart's desire that each of you
would prove equally keen upon real-
izing your full hope to the very end, 12
so that instead of being slack you
may imitate those who inherit the
promises by their stedfast faith.
For in making a promise to Abra- 13
ham God swore by himself (since he
could swear by none greater), / will 14
indeed bless you and multiply you.
* Reading Troffia-ofj.ev with X B, the Latin
version, etc., instead of woiiiaccf^tv.
HEBREWS VII
15 Thus it was that Abraham by his
stedfastness obtained what he had
16 been promised. For as men swear
by a greater than themselves, and as
an oath means to them a guarantee
17 that ends any dispute, God, in his
desire to afford the heirs of the
Promise a special proof of the solid
character of his purpose, interposed
118 with an oath; so that by these two
solid facts "(the Promise and the
Oath), where it is impossible for God
to be false, we refugees might have
strong encouragement to seize the
il9 hope set before us, anchoring the
soul to it safe and sure, as it enters
the inner Presence behind the veil.
:20 Tl ere Jesus entered for us in ad-
vance, when he became high priest
for ever with the rank of Melckizedek.
'1 For Melchizedek, the king of Salem,
a priest of the Most High God,
who 7net Abraham on his return
from the slaughter of the kings and
2 blessed him — who had a tenth part
of everything assigned him by
Abraham — this Melchizedek is prim-
arily a king of righteousness (that is
the meaning of his name); then,
besides that, king of Salem (which
3 means, king of peace). He has
neither father nor mother nor
genealogy, neither a beginning to
his days nor an end to his life, but,
resembling the Son of God, con-
tinues to be priest permanently.
4 Now mark the dignity of this man.
The patriarch Abraham paid him a
5 tenth of the spoils. Those sons of
Levi who receive the priestly office
are indeed ordered by law to tithe
the people (that is, their brothers),
although the latter are descended
6 from Abraham ; but he who had no
Levitical genealogy actually tithed
Abraham and blessed the possessor
7 of the promises ! (And there is no
question that it is the inferior who
is blessed by the superior.) Again, 8
it is mortal men in the one case who
receive tithes, while in the other it
is one of whom the witness is that
* he lives.' In fact, we might 9
almost say that even Levi the re-
ceiver of tithes paid tithes through
Abraham; for he was still in the 10
loins of his father when Melchizedek
met him. Further, if the Levitical 11
priesthood had been the means of
reaching perfection (for it was on
the basis of that priesthood that
the Law was enacted for the
People), why was it still necessary
for another sort of priest to emerge
with the rank of Melchizedek, instead
of simply tvith the rank of Aaron 12
(for when the priesthood is changed,
a change of law necessarily follows) ?
He who is thus described belongs 13
to another tribe, no member of
which ever devoted himself to the
altar ; for it is evident that our 14
Lord sprang from Judah, and
Moses never mentioned priesthood
in connexion with that tribe. This 15
becomes all the more plain when
another priest emerges resembling
Melchizedek, one who has become 16
a priest by the power of an indis-
soluble Life and not by the law of an
external command ; for the witness 17
to him is,
Thou art priest for ever, with the
rank of Melchizedek.
A previous command is set aside 18
on account of its weakness and
uselessness (for the Law made 19
nothing perfect), and there is in-
troduced a better Hope, by means
of which we can draw near to
God. A better Hope, because it 20
was not promised apart from an
oath. Previous priests became 21
priests apart from any oath, but
he has an oath from Him who said
to him,
277
HEBREWS VIII
The Lord has sxvorn, and he will
not change his mind,
thou art a priest for ever.
22 And this makes Jesus surety for a
23 superior covenant. Also, while they
became priests in large nimibers,
since death prevents them from
24 continuing to serve, he holds his
priesthood without any successor,
25 since he continues for ever. Hence
for all time he is able to save those
who approach God through him,
as he is always living to intercede
on their behalf.
26 Such was the liigh priest for us,
saintly, innocent, unstained, lifted
high above the heavens, far from
27 all contact with the sinful, one
who has no need, like yonder high
priests, day by day to offer sacri-
fices first for their own sins and
then for those of the People — he
did that once for all in offering up
28 himself. For the Law appoints
human beings in their weakness
to the priesthood ; but the word of
the Oath appoints a Son who is
made perfect for ever.
8 The point* of all this is, we do
have such a high priest, one who is
seated at the right hand of the throne
2 of Majesty in the heavens, and who
officiates in the sanctuary or true
tabernacle set up by the Lord and not
3 by man. Now, as every high priest
is appointed to offer gifts and sacri-
fices, he too must have something to
4 offer. Were he on earth, he would
not be a priest at all, for there are
priests already to offer the gifts
5 prescribed by Law (men who serve
a mere outline and shadow of the
heavenly — as Moses was instructed,
when he was about to execute the
building of the tabernacle : see, God
* Or, as Coverdale translates, "the pith."
"All this" means "all the previous argu-
ment."
278
said, that you make everything on the
pattern shozvn you upon the moun-
tain). As it is, however, the divine 6
service he has obtained is superior,
owing to the fact that he mediates
a superior covenant, enacted with
superior promises. For if the first 7
covenant had been faultless, there
would have been no occasion for a
second. Whereas God does find fault 8
\Aith the people of that covenant,
when he says :
The day is coming, saith the Lord,
when I will conclude a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah.
It will not be on the lines of the
covenant I made with their
fathers.
Oil the day I took them by the hand 9
to lead out of Egypt's land;
for they would not hold to my
covenant,
so I let them alone,^ saith the
Lord.
This is the covenant I will make 10
ivith the house of Israel when that
day comes, saith the Lord ;
I will set my laws within their
mind,
inscribing them upon their hearts ;
I zvill be a God to them,
and they shall be a People to me ;
one citizen will no longer teach his 11
fellow,
one man will no longer teach his
brother,
saying, ' Knoiv the Lord,^
for all ivill knozv me, low and high
together.
I will be merciful to their iniquities, 12
and remember their sins no more.
By saving 'a new covenant,' he 13
antiquates the first. And whatever
is antiquated and aged is on the
verge of vanishing.
t The same Greek word as is translated
" neglected " in ii. 3.
HEBREWS IX
9 The first covenant had indeed
its regulations for worship and a
2 material sanctuary. A tent was
set up, the outer tent, containing
the lampstand, the table, and the
loaves of the Presence ; this is called
3 the Holy place. But behind the
second veil was the tent called
4 the Holy of Holies, containing the
golden altar of incense, and also
the ark of the covenant covered all
over with gold, which held the
golden pot of manna, the rod of
Aaron that once blossomed, and the
5 tablets of the covenant ; above this
were the cherubims of the Glory,
overshadowing the mercy seat —
matters which it is impossible for
me to discuss at present in detail.
6 Such were the arrangements for
worship. The priests constantly
enter the first tent, in the discharge
7 of their ritual duties, but the second
tent is entered only once a year by
the high priest alone — and it must
not be without blood, which he
presents on behalf of himself and
8 the errors of the People. By this
the holy Spirit means that the way
into the Holiest Presence was not
disclosed so long as the first tent
9 (which foreshadowed the present
age) was still standing, with its
offerings of gifts and sacrifices
which cannot possibly make the
conscience of the worshipper per-
10 feet, since they relate merely to
food and drink and a variety of
ablutions — outward regulations for
the body, that only hold till the
11 period of the New Order. But when
Christ arrived as the high priest of
the bliss that was to be, he passed
through the greater and more per-
fect tent which no hands had made
(no part, that is to say, of the pre-
12 sent order), not taking any blood
of goats and oxen but his own blood,
and entered once for all into the
Holy place. He secured an eternal
redemption. For if the blood of 13
goats and bulls and the ashes of a
heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons,
give them a holiness that bears on
bodily purity, how much more will 14
the blood of Christ, who in the
spirit of the eternal offered himself
as an unblemished sacrifice to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve a living God? He 15
mediates a new covenant for this
reason, that those who have been
called may obtain the eternal in-
heritance they have been promised,
now that a death has occurred
which redeems them from the trans-
gressions involved in the first cove-
nant. Thus in the case of a will, 16
the death of the testator must be
announced. A will only holds in 17
cases of death; it is never valid
so long as the testator is alive.
Hence even the first covenant of 18
God's will was not inaugurated
apart from blood ; for after Moses 19
had announced every command in
the Law to all the people, he took
the blood of calves and goats, to-
gether with water, scarlet wool and
hyssop, sprinkling the book and
all the people, and saying. This is 20
the blood of that covenant which is
God's command for you. He even 21
sprinlded with blood the tent and
all the utensils of worship in the
same way. In fact, one might 22
almost say that by Law everything
is cleansed with blood. No blood
shed, no remission of sins ! Now, 23
while the copies of the heavenly
things had to be cleansed with
sacrifices like these, the heavenly
things themselves required nobler
sacrifices. For Christ has not en- 24
tered a holy place which human
279
HEBREWS X
hands have made (a mere type of
the reaUty !) ; he has entered heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence
25 of God on our behalf. Nor was it
to offer himself repeatedly, hke the
high priest entering the holy place
every year with blood that was
26 not his own : — for in that case he
would have had to suffer repeatedly,
ever since the world Avas founded.
Nay, once for all, at the end of the
world, he has appeared with his
27 self-sacrifice to abolish sin. And
just as it is appointed for men
to die once and after that to be
28 judged, so Christ, after being once
sacrificed to bear the sins of many,
will appear again, not to deal with
sin but for the saving of those who
look out* for him.
10 For as the Law has a mere
shadow of the bliss that is to be,
instead of representing the reality
of that bliss, it can never perfect
those who draw near with the same
annual sacrifices that are perpetu-
2 ally offered. Otherwise, they would
surely have ceased to be offered ;
for the worshippers, once cleansed,
would no longer be conscious of
3 sins ! As it is, they are an annual
4 reminder of sins (for the blood of
bulls and goats cannot possibly
5 remove sins !). Hence, on entering
the world he says.
Thou hast no desire for sacrifice
or offering ;
it is a body thou hast prepared
for me —
6 in holocausts and sin-offerings
thou takest no delight.
7 So I said, ' Here I come — in the
roll of the book this is written
of me —
/ come to do thy will, O God.''
* Paul's word in Phil. iii. 20 ; but I trans-
late " look out " here, in order to suggest the
antithesis in x. 27.
280
He begins by saying, thou hast no 8
desire for, thou takest no delight in,
sacrifices and offerings and holocausts
and sin-offerings (and these are
what are offered in terms of the
Law) ; he then adds, Here I come to 9
do thy will. He does away with
the first in order to establish the
second. And it is by this ivill that 10
we are consecrated, because Jesus
Christ once for all has offered up his
body.
Again, while every priest t stands 11
daily at his service, offering the
same sacrifices repeatedly, sacri-
fices which never can take sins
away — He offered a single sacri- 12
fice for sins and then seated him-
self for all time at the right hand
of God, to wait until his enemies are 13
put under his feet. For by a single 14
offering he has made the sanctified
perfect for all time. Besides, we 15
have the testimony of the holy
Spirit ; for after saying.
This is the covenant I will make 16
with them when that day comes,
saith the Lord,
I will set my laws upon their
hearts,
inscribing them upon their minds,
he adds,
And their sins and breaches of the 17
laiv I zvill remember no more.
Now where these are remitted, an 18
offering for sin exists no longer.
Brothers, since we have confi- 19
dence to enter the holy Presence
in virtue of the blood of Jesus, by 20
the fresh, living way which he has
inaugurated for us through the veil
(that is, through his flesh), and since 21
we have a great Priest over the
house of God, let us draw near with 22
a true heart, in absolute assurance
of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean
t Beading hpsvs instead of apx^^ptvs.
HEBREWS XI
from a bad conscience, and our bodies
23 washed in pure water; let us hold
the hope we avow without wavering
(for we can rely on him who gave
24 us the Promise) ; and let us consider
how to stir up one another to love
25 and good deeds — not ceasing to meet
together, as is the habit of some,
but admonishing one another, all
the more so, as you see the Day com-
26 ing near. For if we sin deliberatel}^
after receiving the knowledge of the
Truth, there is no longer any sacri-
27 fice for sins left, nothing but an
awful outlook of doom, of that
burning Wrath which will consume
28 t]ie foes of God. Anyone who has
rejected the law of Moses dies
without mercy, on the evidence of two
29 or of three witnesses. How much
heavier, do you suppose, will be
the punishment assigned to him
who has spurned the Son of God,
who has profaned the covcnaxt-
blood with which he was sanctified,
who has insulted the Spirit of grace ?
30 We know who said, Vengeance is
mine, I will exact a requital : and
again, The Lord will pass sentence on
31 his people. It is an awful thing to
fall into the hands of the living
God.
32 Recall the former days when,
after you were enlightened, you en-
dured a hard struggle of suffering,
33 partly by being held up yourselves
to obloquy and anguish, partly by
making common cause with those
34 who fared in this way ; for you did
sympathize with the prisoners, and
you took the confiscation of your
o^vn belongings cheerfully, con-
scious that elsewhere you had higher,
35 you had lasting, possessions. Now
do not drop that confidence of
yours ; it carries with it a rich hope
36 of reward. Steady patience is
what you need, so that after doing
the will of God you may get what
you have been promised. For in a 37
little, a very little now.
The Coming One will arrive with-
out delay.
Meantime my just man will live 38
on by his faith ;
if he shrinks back, my soul takes
no delight in him.
We are not the men to shrink back 39
and be lost, but to have faith and
so to \\'in our souls.
Now faith means we are confident 1 1
of what we hope for, convinced of
what we do not see. It was for 2
this that the men of old won their
record. It is by faith we understand 3
that the world was fashioned by
the word of God, and thus the
visible was made out of the in-
visible. It was by faith that Abel 4
offered God a richer sacrifice than
Cain did, and thus won from God
the record of being 'just,' on the
score of what he gave ; he died, but
by his faith he is speaking to us
still. It was by faith that Enoch 5
was taken to heaven, so that he
never died {he was not overtaken by
death, for God had taken him away).
For before he was taken to heaven,
his record was that he had satisfied *
God ; and apart from faith it is im- 6
possible to satisfy him, for the man
who draws near to God must believe
that he exists and that he does
reward those who seek him. It 7
was by faith that Noah, after being
told by God of what was still un-
seen, reverently constructed an ark
to save his household ; thus he con-
demned the world and became heir
of the righteousness that follows
faith. It was by faith that Abra- 8
ham obeyed his call to go forth to a
* Here, as elsewhere, " satisfy " is used in
the sense of a servant giving satisfaction to
his master.
281
HEBREWS XI
place which he would receive as an
inheritance; he went forth, al-
though he did not know where he
9 was to go. It was by faith that
he sojourned in the promised land,
as in a foreign country, residing in
tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who
were co-heirs with him of the same
10 promise ; he was waiting for the City
with its fixed foundations, whose
11 builder and maker is God. It
was by faith that even Sara got
strength to conceive, bearing a son
when she was past the age for it —
because she considered she could
rely on Him who gave the promise.
12 Thus a single man, though he was
physically impotent, had issue in
number like the stars in heaven,
countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 (These all died in faith without
obtaining the promises ; they only
saw them far away and hailed them,
owning they were ' strangers and
14 exiles upon earth.' Now people
who speak in this way plainly show
they are in search of a fatherland.
15 If they thought of the land they
have left behind, they would have
16 time to go back, but they really
aspire to the better land in heaven.
That is why God is not ashamed to
be called their God ; he has prepared
17 a City for them.) It was by faith,
when Abraham ivas put to the test, that
he sacrificed Isaac ; he was ready to
sacrifice his only son, although he
18 had received the promises and had
been told that it is through Isaac
that your offspring shall be reckoJied
19 — for he considered God was able
even to raise men from the dead.
Hence he did get him back, by what
was a parable of the resurrection.
20 It was by faith that Isaac blessed
Jacob and Esau in connection with
21 the future. It was by faith that,
when Jacob was dying, he blessed
282
each of the sons of Joseph, bending
in prayer over the head of his staff.
It was by faith that Joseph at his 22
end thought about the exodus of
the sons of Israel, and gave orders
about his own bones. It was by 23
faith that Moses was hidden for three
months after birth by his parents,
because they saw the child was
beautiful, and had no fear of the
royal decree. It was by faith that 24
Moses refused, when he had grozvn up,
to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter; ill-treatment with God's 25
people he preferred to the passing
pleasures of sin, considering obloqu}'^ 26
with the messiah to be richer wealth
than all Egypt's treasures — for he
had an eye to the Reward. It was 27
ty faith that he left Egypt, not from
any fear of the king's wrath ; like one
who saw the Iving Invisible, he never
flinched. It was by faith that he 28
celebrated the passover and per-
formed the sprinkling by blood, so
that the destroying angel might not
touch Israel's first-born. It was 29
by faith that they crossed the Red
Sea like dry land — and when the
Egyptians attempted it, they were
drowned. It was by faith that the 30
walls of Jericho collapsed, after
being surrounded for only seven
days. It was by faith that Rahab 31
the harlot did not perish along with
those who were disobedient, as she
h^.d welcomed the scouts peaceably.
And what more shall I say ? 32
Time would fail me to tell of
Gideon, of Barak and Samson and
Jephthah, of David and Samuel
and the prophets — men who by 33
faith conquered kingdoms, adminis-
tered justice, obtained promises,
shut the mouth of lions, quenched 34
the power of fire, escaped the edge
of the sword, from weakness won
to strength, proved valiant in war-
HEBREWS XII
fare, and routed hosts of foreigners.
35 Some were given back to their
womankind, raised from the very
dead; others were broken on the
wheel, refusing to accept release,
that they might obtain a better
36 resurrection ; others, again, had to
experience scoffs and scourging,
37 aye chains and imprisonment — they
were stoned,* sawn in two, and
cut to pieces; they had to roam
about in sheepskins and goatskins,
38 forlorn, oppressed, ill-treated (men
of whom the world was not worthy),
wanderers in the desert and among
the hills, in caves and gullies.
39 They all won their record for
faith, but the Promise they did
40 not obtain. God had something
better in store for us; he would
not have them perfected apart
from us.
12 Therefore, with all this host of
^vitnessest encircling us, we must
strip off every handicap, strip off sin
"mih its clinging folds, to run our
2 appointed course steadily, our eyes
fixed upon Jesus as the pioneer and
the perfection of faith — upon Jesus
who, in order to reach his own ap-
pointed joy, steadily endured the
cross, thinking nothing of its shame,
and is now seated at the right hand
3 of the throne of God. Compare him
who steadily endured all that hos-
tility from sinful men, so as to keep
your own hearts from fainting and
4 failing. You have not had to shed
blood yet in the struggle against
5 sin. And have you forgotten the
* The next word, i-rrfipdtrBria-av, is either
due to dittography (with the following
4irpia0r}<rav) or a corruption of some word
like itrvpaffOriffau or iireipiidrja'ai'. I have left
it untranslated.
t The Greek word is beginning already to
hover round the special sense of " martyrs " ;
but the broader sense is obviously required
here.
word of appeal that reasons with
you as sons ? —
My son, never make light of the
Lord's discipline,
never faint under his reproofs ;
for the Lord disciplines the man he 6
loves,
and scourges every son he receives.
It is for discipline that you have to 7
endure. God is treating you as
sons; for where is the son Avho is
not disciplined by his father ? Dis- 8
cipline is the portion of all ; if you
get no discipline, then you are not
sons but bastards. Why, we had 9
fathers of our flesh to discipline us,
and we yielded to them ! Shall we
not far more submit to the Father
of our spirits, and so live ? For 10
while their discipline was only for
a time, and inflicted at their plea-
sure, he disciplines us for our good,
that we may share in his own holi-
ness. Discipline always seems for 11
the time to be a thing of pain, not
of joy; but those who are trained
by it reap the fruit of it afterwards
in the peace of an upright life. So 12
up with your listless hands ! Streng-
then your weak knees ! And make 13
straight paths for your feet to walk
in. You must not let the lame get
dislocated, but rather make them
whole. Aim at peace with all — and 14
at that consecration without which
no one will ever see the Lord; see 15
to it that no one misses the grace of
God, that no root of bitterness grows
up to be a trouble by contaminating
all the rest of you; that no one 16
turns to sexual vice or to a profane
life as Esau did — Esau, who for a
single meal parted with his birthright.
You know how later on, when he 17
wanted to obtain his inheritance of
blessing, he was set aside ; he got
no chance to repent, though he tried
for it -with tears.
283
HEBREWS XIII
18 You have not come to what you
can touch, to flames of fire, to mist
19 and gloom and stormy blasts, to
the blare of a trximpet and to a
Voice whose words made those who
heard it refuse to hear another
20 syllable (for they could not bear
the command, // even a beast touches
the mountain, it must be stoned) —
21 indeed, so awful was the sight that
Moses said, / am terrified and aghast.
22 You have come to mount Sion, the
city of the Uving God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in
23 festal gathering, to the assembly
of the first-born registered in
heaven, to the God of all as judge,
to the spirits of just men made per-
24 feet, to Jesus who mediates the new
covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood whose message is nobler than
25 Abel's. See that you do not refuse
to listen to His voice. For if they
failed to escape, who refused to
listen to their instructor upon
earth, much less shall we, if we dis-
card Him who speaks from heaven.
26 Then his voice shook the earth, but
now the assurance is, once again /roi'/Z
make heaven as well as earth to quake.
27 That phrase, once again, denotes the
removal of what is shaken (as no
more than created), to leave only
28 what stands unshaken. Therefore
let us render thanks* that we get
an unshaken realm; and in this
way let us worship God acceptably
29 — but with godly fear j and awe,
for our God is indeed a consuming
fire.
13 Let your brotherly love con-
2 tinue. Never forget to be hospit-
able, for by hospitality some have
3 entertained angels unawares. Re-
* Reading (xoimev.
t Like Jesus himself (v. 7).
284
member prisoners as if you were
in prison yourselves; remember
those who are being ill-treated,
since you too are in the body.
Let marriage be held in honour 4
by all, and keep the marriage-bed
unstained. God will punish the
vicious and adulterous.
Keep your life free from the love 5
of money; be content with what
you have, for He has said,
Never will I fail you, never will I
forsake you.
So tifiat we can say confidently, 6
The Lord is my helper, I will not
be afraid.
What can men do to me ?
Remember your leaders, the 7
men who spoke the word of God
to you; look back upon the close
of their career, and copy their
faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same, 8
yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
Never let yourselves be carried 9
away with a variety of novel doc-
trines; for the right thing is to
have one's heart strengthened by
grace, not by the eating of food —
that has never been any use to
those who have had recourse to it.
Our altar is one of which the wor- 10
shippers have no right to eat. For 11
the bodies of the animals whose
blood is taken into the holy Place
by the high priest as a sin-offer-
ing, are burned outside the camp;
and so Jesus also suffered outside 12
the gate, in order to sanctify the
people by his own blood. Let us 13
go to him outside the camp, then,
bearing his obloquy (for we have 14
no lasting city here below, we seek
the City to come). And by him let 15
us constantly offer praise to God
as our sacrifice, that is, the fruit of
lips that celebrate his Name. Do 16
not forget beneficence and charity,
HEBREWS XIII
17
18
19
20
either ; these are the kind of sacri-
fices that are acceptable to God.
Obey your leaders, submit to
them; for they are ahve to the
interests of your souls, as men who
will have to account for their trust.
Let their work be a joy to them
and not a grief — which would be a
loss to yourselves.
Pray for me, for I am sure I have
a clean conscience ; my desire is in
every way to lead an honest life.
I urge you to this all the more,
that I may get back to you the
sooner.
May the God of peace zvho brought
up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
with the blood of the eternal covenant.
furnish you with everything * for 21
the doing of his will, creating in
your lives by Jesus Christ what is
acceptable in his own sight ! To
him be glory for ever and ever:
Amen.
I appeal to you, brothers, to 22
bear with this appeal of mine. It
is but a short letter.
You must understand that our 23
brother Timotheus is now free. If
he comes soon, he and 1 will see you
together.
Salute all your leaders and all the 24
saints. The Italians salute you.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
* Omitting, with K, D*, the Latin and
Bohairic versions, etc., the hoaailetic
addition of ayad<j>.
28S
THE EPISTLE OP
JAMES
1 James, a servant of God and the
Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve
tribes in the Dispersion : greeting.
2 Greet it as pure joy, my brothers,
when you come across any sort of
3 trial, sure that the sterling temper
of your faith produces endurance;
4 only, let your endurance be a fin-
ished product, so that you may be
finished and complete, with never a
5 defect. Whoever of you is defec-
tive in wisdom, let him ask God
who gives to all men without ques-
tion or reproach, and the gift will
6 be his. Only, let him ask in
faith, with never a doubt; for the
doubtful man is like surge of
the sea whirled and swayed by the
7 "svind ; that man need not imagine
he will get anything from God,
8 double-minded creature that he is,
9 wavering at every turn. Let a
brother of low position exult when
0 he is raised ; but let one who is rich
1 exult in being lowered ; for the rich
will pass away like the flower of the
grass — up comes the sun with the
scorching wind and withers the grass,
its flower drops off, and the splen-
dour of it is ruined : so shall the
rich fade away amid their pursuits.
12 Blessed is he who endures under
trial; for when he has stood the
test, he will get the crown of life
which is promised to all who love
13 Him. Let no one who is tried by
temptation say, ' My temptation
comes from God ' ; God is incap-
able of being tempted by evil and
14 he tempts no one. Everyone is
286
tempted as he is beguiled and
allured by his own desire; then 15
Desire conceives and breeds Sin,
while Sin matures and gives birth
to Death. Make no mistake about 16
this, my beloved brothers : all we 17
are given is good, and all our endow-
ments are faultless, descending from
above, from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who knows no
change of rising and setting, who
casts no shadow on the earth. It 18
was his own will that we should be
born by the Word of the truth, to
be a kind of firstfruits among his
creatures. Be sure of that, my 19
beloved brothers.
Let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to talk, slow to be angry — for 20
human anger does not promote
divine righteousness ; so clear away 21
all the foul rank growth of malice,
and make a soil of modesty for the
Word which roots itself inwardly
with power to save your souls. Act 22
on the Word, instead of merely lis-
tening to it and deluding yourselves. 23
For whoever listens and does no- 24
thing, is like a man who glances at
his natural face in a mirror; he
glances at himself, goes off, and
at once forgets what he was like.
Whereas he who gazes into the 25
faultless law of freedom and remains
in that position, proving himself
to be no forgetful listener but an
active agent, he will be blessed in
his activity. Whoever considers 26
he is religious, and does not bridle
his tongue, but deceives his own
JAMES II
27
4
10
11
12
heart, his reUgion is futile. Pure,
unsoiJed rehgion in the judgment of
God the Father means this : to care
for * orphans and widows in their
trouble, and to keep oneself from
the stain of the world.
My brothers, as you believe in
our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
Glory, pay no servile regard to
people. Suppose there comes into
your meeting a man who wears gold
rings and handsome clothes, and
also a poor man in dirty clothes ; if
you attend to the wearer of the
handsome clothes and say to him,
" Sit here, this is a good place,"
and tell the poor man, " You can
stand," or " Sit theref at my feet,"
are you not drawing distinctions in
your own minds and proving that
you judge people with partiality?
Listen, my beloved brothers; has
not God chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and to
inherit the realm which he has
promised to those who love him ?
Now you insult the poor. Is it not
the rich who lord it over you and
drag you to court ? Is it not they
who scoff at the noble Name you
bear ? If you really fulfil the royal
law laid down by scripture. You
must love your neighbour as yourself,
well and good; but if you pay
servile regard to people, you com-
mit a sin, and the Law convicts
you of transgression. For whoever
obeys the whole of the Law and
only makes a single slip, is guilty of
everything. He who said. Do not
commit adultery, also said. Do not
kill. Now if you do not commit
adultery but if you kill, you have
transgressed the Law. Speak, act,
* As in Matthew xxv. 36, the word implies
personal service and help.
t Reading ^ KaOov ^Kel with B and some
evidence from the Latin version.
as those who are to be judged by
the law of freedom; for the judg- 13
ment will be merciless to the man
who has shown no mercy — whereas
the merciful life will triumph in
the face of judgment. J Do not 11
defame one another, brothers ; he
who defames or judges his brother
defames and judges the Law; and
if you judge the Law, you pass
sentence on it instead of obeying it.
One alone is the legislator, who 12
passes sentence ; it is He who is able
to save and to destroy; who are
you, to judge your neighbour?
My brothers, what is the use of 14
anyone declaring he has faith, if he
has no deeds to show? Can his
faith save him? Suppose some 15
brother or sister is ill-clad and
short of daily food; if any of you 16
says to them, " Depart in peace !
Get warm, get food," without
supplying their bodily needs, what
use is that ? So faith, unless it has 17
deeds, is dead in itself. Someone 18
will object, ' And you claim to have
faith ! ' Yes, and I claim to have
deeds as well ; you show me your
faith without any deeds, and I will
show you by my deeds what faith
is ! You believe in one God ? 19
Well and good. So do the devils,
and they shudder. But will you 20
understand, you senseless fellow,
that faith without deeds is dead ?
When our father Abraham offered 21
his son Isaac on the altar, was he not
justified by what he did? In his 22
case, you see, faith co-operated
with deeds, faith was completed by
deeds, and the scripture was ful- 23
filled : Abraham believed God, and
this was counted to him as righteous-
ness— he was called God's friend.
You observe it is by what he does 24
I Restoring 4"'* to what seems to have
been its original place.
287
JAMES III, IV
that a man is justified, not simply
25 by what he beUeves. So too with
Rahab the harlot. Was she not
justified by what she did, when
she entertained the scouts and
got them away by a different
road?
26 For as the body without the
breath of life is dead,
so faith is dead Avithout deeds.
17 Whoever, then, knows what is right
to do and does not do it, that is a
sin for him.*
3 Bkothers, do not swell the ranks
of the teachers ; remember we
teachers will be judged with special
2 strictness. We all make many a
slip, but whoever avoids slips of
speech is a perfect man ; he can
bridle the whole of the body as well
8 as the tongue. We put bridles into
the mouths of horses to make them
obey us, and so, you see,t we can
move the whole of their bodies.
4 Look at ships too ; for all their size
and speed under stiff winds, they
are turned by a tiny rudder wher-
ever the mind of the steersman
5 chooses. So the tongue is a small
member of the body, but it can
boast of great exploits. What a
forest is set ablaze by a little spark
6 of fire ! And the tongue is a fire,
the tongue proves a very world
of mischief among our members,
staining the whole of the body and
setting fire to the round circle of
existence with a flame fed by hell.
7 For while every kind of beast and
bird, of creeping animals and
creatures marine, is tameable and
• This seems likely to have been the
original position of 4*'.
t Reading with C P, the Syriac and
Armenian versions, tSe ((Sou), instead of
(I Si.
288
has been tamed by mankind, no 8
man can tame the tongue — plague
of disorder that it is, full of deadly
venom ! With the tongue we bless 9
the Lord and Father, and with the
tongue we curse men made in God's
likeness; blessing and cursing 10:
stream from the same lips ! My
brothers, this ought not to be.
Does a fountain pour out fresh 11
water and brackish from the same
hole ? Can a fig tree, my brothers, 12
bear ohves? Or a vine, figs?
No more can salt water yield
fresh.
Who among you is wise and 13
learned? Let lum show by his
good conduct, with the modesty
of wisdom, what his deeds are.
But if you are cherishing bitter 14
jealousy and rivalry in your hearts,
do not pride yourselves on that —
and be false to the truth. That is 15
not the wisdom which comes down
from above, it is an earthly wis-
dom, sensuous, devilish; for wher- 16
ever jealousy and rivalry exist,
there disorder reigns and every
evil. The wisdom from above is 17
first of all pure, then peaceable,
forbearing, conciliatory, full of
mercy and wholesome fruit, un-
ambiguous, straightforward; and 18
the peacemakers who sow in peace
reap righteousness. Where do 4
conflicts, where do wrangles come
from, in your midst ? Is it
not from these passions of yours
that war among your members?
You crave, and miss what you 2
want : you envy | and covet, but
you cannot acquire : you wrangle
and fight — you miss what you
want because you do not ask God
for it ; you do ask and you do not 3
get it, because you ask with the
X Accepting (pOoyure, the conjecture of
Erasmus, for the ^oveuere of the MSS.
JAMJES V
wicked intention of spending it on
4 your pleasures. (Wanton creatures !
do you not know that the world's
friendship means enmity to God ?
Whoever, then, chooses to be the
world's friend, turns enemy to
5 God. What, do you consider this
6 is an idle word of scripture ? — ' lie
yearns jealously for the spirit he
set within us.') Yet he gives grace
more and more : thus it is said.
The hauglvty God opposes,
but to the humble he gives ^race.
7 Well then, submit yourselves to
God;
resist the devil,
and he will fly from you :
8 draw near to God,
and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep,
let your laughter be turned to
mourning,
and your joy to depression;
10 humble yourselves before the
Lord,
and then he will raise you up.
13 Come now, you who say, " To-
day or to-morrow we are going to
such and such a city ; we shall spend
a year there trading and making
14 money " — you who know nothing
about to-morrow ! For what is
your life ? You are but a mist,
which appears for a little and then
15 vanishes. You ought rather to
say, " If the Lord will, we shall hve
16 to do this or that." But here you
are, boasting in your proud preten-
sions ! All such boasting is wicked.
OHAf.
5 Come now, you rich men, weep
and shriek over your impending
miseries !
You have been storing up trea-
sure in the very last days ;*
your wealth lies rotting, 2
and your clothes are moth-
eaten ;
your gold and silver lie rusted 3
over,
and their rust will be evidence
against you,
it will devour your flesh like
fire.
See, tJie wages of which you have 4
defrauded the workmen who
mowed your fields call out,
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the
Lord of Hosts.
You have revelled on earth and 5
plunged into dissipation ;
you have fattened yourselves as
for the Day of slaughter ;
you have condemned, you have 6
murdered the righteous —
unresisting.
Be patient, then, brothers, till 7
the arrival of the Lord. See how
the farmer waits for the precious
crop of the land, biding his time
patiently till he gets the autumn
and the spring rahis ; have patience 8
yourselves, strengthen your hearts,
for the arrival of the Lord is at
hand. Do not murmur against 9
one another, brothers, lest you are
judged ; look, the Judge is standing
at the very door ! As an ex- 10
ample of fortitude and endurance,
brothers, take the prophets who
have spoken in the name of the
Lord. See, loe call the stedfast 11
happy ; you have heard of the
stedfastness of Job, and you have
seen the end of the Lord with him,
seen that the Lord is very com-
passionate and pitiful. Above all, 12
* Transferring the last clause of ver. 3
to what appears to have b««n its original
position.
289
JAMES V
my brothers, never swear an oath,
either by heaven or by earth or by
anything else ; let your " yes " be a
plain " yes," your " no " a plain
" no," lest you incur judgment.
13 Is anyone of you in trouble? let
him pray. Is anyone thriving?
14 let hira sing praise. Is anyone ill ?
let him summon the presbyters of
the church, and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the
15 name of the Lord ; the prayer of
faith will restore the sick man, and
the Lord will raise him up; even
the sins he has committed will be
16 forgiven him. So confess your sins
to one another and pray for one
another, that you may be healed;
the prayers of the righteous have a
powerful effect. Elijah was a man 17
with a nature just like our own ;
but he offered prayer that it might
not rain, and for three years and
six months it did not rain ; then he 18
prayed again, and the sky yielded
rain, the earth brought forth its
fruit.
My brothers, if anyone of you 19
goes astray from the truth and some
one brings him back, understand 20
that he who brings a sinner back
from the error of his way saves his
soul from death and hides a host of
sins.
/
290
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF
PETER
CHIT.
1 Peter an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the exiles of the Disper-
sion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
2 Asia, and Bithynia, whom God the
Father has predestined and chosen,
by the consecration of the Spirit, to
obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled
with his blood : may grace and
peace be multiplied to you.
3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ ! By his
great mercy we have been born
anew to a life of hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from
4 the dead, born to an unscathed,
inviolate, unfading inheritance; it
5 is kept in heaven for you, and the
power of God protects you by faith
till you do inherit the salvation
which is all ready to be revealed
6 at the last hour. You will re-
joice then, though for the passing
moment you may need to suffer
7 various trials ; that is only to prove
your faith is sterling (far more
precious than gold which is perish-
able and yet is tested by fire), and
it redounds to your praise and glory
and honour at the revelation of
8 Jesus Christ. You never knew him,
but you love him ; for the moment
you do not see him, but you be-
lieve in him. and you will thrill
with an unspeakable and glorious
9 joy to obtain the outcome of your
faith in the salvation of your souls.
10 Even prophets have searched and
inquired about that salvation, the
prophets who prophesied of the
grace that was meant for you;
the Spirit of messiah within them 11
foretold all the suffering of messiah
and his after-glory, and they pon-
dered when or how this was to
come; to them it was revealed that 12
they got this intelligence * not for
themselves but for you, regarding
all that has now been disclosed to
you by those who preached the gos-
pel to you through the holy Spirit
sent from heaven. The very angels
long to get a glimpse of this !
Brace up your minds, then, 13
keep cool, and put your hope for
good and all in the grace that is
coming to you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. Be obedient chil- 14
dren, instead of moulding your-
selves to the passions that once
ruled the days of your ignorance;
as He who called you is holy, so 15
you must be holy too in all your
conduct — for it is written, You shall 16
be holy because I am holy. And as 17
you call upon a Father who judges
everyone impartially by what he
has done, be reverent in your
conduct while you sojourn here
below; you know it was not by 18
perishable silver or gold that you
were ransomed from the futile tra-
ditions of your past, but by the 19
precious blood of Christ, a lamb un-
blemished and unstained. He was 20
predestined before the foundation
* On the beisis of Enoch i. 2 {ovk els r^v
vvv yfv4av Sievoovfirjy a\\' iirl Tr6ppw olffay
dyi) \a\w) Dr. Rendel Harris plausibly
reads Stfvoovvro, as above, for tlie Si7}K6i'ovy
of tha ordinary text.
201
I. PETER II
of the world and has appeared
at the end of the ages for your
21 sake ; it is by him that you be-
Heve in God who raised him from
the dead and gave him glory; and
thus your faith means hope in God.
22 Now that your obedience to the
Truth has purified your souls for a
brotherly love that is sincere, love
one another heartily and steadily.
23 You are born anew of immortal, not
of mortal seed, by the living, lasting
24 word of God ; for
All flesh is like the grass,
and all its glory like the flower
of grass :
the grass withers
and the flower fades,
25 but the word of the Lord lasts for
ever —
and that is the word of the gospel for
2 you. So off with all malice, all
guile and insincerity and envy and
2 slander of every kind ! Like newly-
born children, thirst for the pure,
spiritual milk to make you grow up
3 to salvation. You have had a taste
4 of the kindness of the Lord : come to
him then — come to that living Stone
which men have rejected and God
5 holds choice and precious, come
and, hke living stones yourselves, be
built into a spiritual house, to form
a consecrated priesthood for the
offering of those spiritual sacrifices
that are acceptable to God through
6 Jesus Christ. For thus it stands in
the scripture :
Here I lay a Stone in Sion,
a choice, a precious corner-
stone :
he who believes in him will never
be disappointed.
7 Now you believe, you hold him
' precious,' but as for the unbehev-
ing —
the very stone the builders rejected
is now the cornerstone,
292
a stone over which men stumble and 8
a rock of o^ence ; they stumble over
it in their disobedience to God's
word. Such is their appointed
doom. But you are the elect race, 9
the royal priesthood, the consecrated
nation, the People who belong to Him,
that you may proclaim the wondrous
deeds of Him who has called you
from darkness to his wonderful
light — you who once were no people 10
and now are God's people, you who
once were unpitied and now are
pitied.
Beloved, as sojourners and exiles 11
I appeal to you to abstain from the
passions of the flesh that wage war
upon the soul. Conduct yourselves 12
properly before pagans ; so that for
all their slander of you as bad
characters, they may come to
glorify God when you are put
upon your trial, by what they see
of your good deeds.
Submit for the Lord's sake to any 13
human authority; submit to the
emperor as supreme, and to gover- 14
nors as deputed by him for the
punishment of wrongdoers and the
encouragement of honest people —
for it is the will of God that by 15
your honest lives you should silence
the ignorant charges of foolish
persons. Live like free men, only 10
do not make your freedom a pre-
text for misconduct; live like ser-
vants of God. Do honour to all, 17
love the brotherhood, reverence God,
honour the emperor.
Servants, be submissive to your 18
masters with perfect respect, not
simply to those who are kind and
reasonable but to the surly as well —
for it is a merit when from a sense 19
of God one bears the pain of unjust
suffering. Where is the credit in 20
standing punishment for having
done wrong? No, if you stand
I. PETER III
21
22
24
25
3
\ 2
3
suffering for having done right,
that is what God counts a merit.
It is your vocation ; for when Christ
suffered for you, he left you an
example, and you must follow his
footsteps.
He committed no sin,
no guile was ever found upon
his lips ;
he was reviled and made no retort,
he suffered and never threat-
ened,
but left everything to Him who
judges justly ; he bore our sins in his
own body on the gibbet, that we
might break with sin and live for
righteousness; and by his wounds
you have been healed. You were
astray like sheep, but you have come
back now to the Shepherd and
Guardian of your souls.
In the same way, you wives
must be submissive to your hus-
bands, so that even those who will
not believe the Word may be won
over without a word by the behav-
iour of their wives, when they see
how chaste and reverent you are.
You are not to adorn yourselves
on the outside with braids of hair
and ornaments of gold and changes
of dress, but inside, in the heart,
with the immortal beauty of a
gentle and modest spirit, which in
the sight of God is of rare value.
It was in this way long ago that
the holy women who hoped in God
adorned themselves. They were
submissive to their husbands. Thus
Sara obeyed Abraham by calling
him ' lord '. And you are daughters
of Sara if you do what is right and
yield to no panic. * In the same way
you husbands must be considerate
* Apparently an allusion to the fear of
violence at the hands of their (pagan ?)
husbands. The language, but not the idea,
is that of Proverbs iii. 25.
in living with your wives, since
they are the weaker sex ; you must
honour them as heirs equally with
yourselves of the grace of Life, so
that your prayers may not be
hindered.
Lastly, you must all be united, 8
you must have sympathy, brotherly
love, compassion, and humility,
never paying back evil for evil, never 9
reviling when you are reviled, but
on the contrary blessing. For this
is your vocation, to bless and to
inherit blessing ;
he who would love Life 10
and enjoy good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking
guile :
let him shun wrong and do 11
right,
let him seek peace and make
peace his aim.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the 12
upright,
and his ears are open to their
cry ;
hut the face of the Lord is set against
wrongdoers.
Yet who will wrong you if you 13
have a passion for goodness ? Even 14
supposing you have to suffer for
the sake of what is right, still you
are blessed. Have no fear of their
threats, do not let that trouble you,
but reverence Christ as Lord in 15
your own hearts. Always be
ready with a reply for anyone
who calls you to account for the
hope you cherish, but answer gently
and with a sense of reverence; see 16
that you have a clean conscience,
so that, for all their slander of you,
these libellers of your good Cihris-
tian behaviour may be ashamed.
For it is better to suffer for doing 17
right (if that should be the will
of God) than for doing wrong.
293
I. PETER IV
18 Christ himself died for sins, once
for all, a just man for unjust
men, that he might bring us near
to God ; in the flesh he was put to
death but he came to life in the
19 Spirit. (It was in the Spirit that
Enoch* also went and preached to
20 the imprisoned spirits who had
disobeyed at the time when God's
patience held out during the con-
struction of the ark in the da3''s of
Noah — the ark b}'^ which only a few
souls, eight in all, were brought
21 safely through the water. Baptism,
the counterpart of that, saves you
to-day (not the mere washing of
dirt from the flesh but the prayer
for a clean conscience before God)
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
22 who is at God's right hand — for he
went to heaven after angels, authori-
ties, and powers celestial had been
made subject to him.)
4 Well, as Christ has suffered for
us in the flesh, let this very con-
viction that he who has suffered in
the flesh gets quit of sin, nerve you
2 to spend the rest of your time in
the flesh for the will of God and no
3 longer for human passions. It is
quite enough to have done as pagans
choose to do, during the time gone
by ! You used to lead lives of
sensuality, lust, carousing, revelry,
4 dissipation and illicit idolatry, and
it astonishes them that you will
not plunge with them still into
the same flood of profligacy. They
5 abuse you, but they will have to
answer for that to Him who is
prepared to judge the living and the
6 dead (for this was why the gospel
* Accepting the emendation of Dr.
Rendel Harris that 'Evtix has been omitted
after iv ^ kuI (ENfiKAI [ENHX]), by "a
scribe's blunder in dropping some re-
peated letters." The story of this mission
is told in the Book of Enoch (see above,
p. 291).
294
was preached to the dead as well,
that while they are judged in the
flesh as men, they may live as God
lives in the spirit).
Now the end of all is near. 7
Steady then, keep cool and pray !
Above all, be keen to love one 8
another, for love hides a host of
sins. Be hospitable to each other, 9
and do not grudge it. You must 10
serve one another, each with the
talent he has received, as efficient
stewards of God's varied grace.
If anyone preaches, he must preach 11
as one who utters the words of
God; if anyone renders some service,
it must be as one who is supplied
by God with power, so that in
everything God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ. The glory
and the dominion are his for ever
and ever : Amen.
Beloved, do not be surprised at 12
the ordeal that has come to test
you, as though some foreign ex-
perience befell you. You are shar- 13
ing what Christ suffered ; so rejoice
in it, that you may also rejoice and
exult when his glory is revealed.
If you are denounced for the sake of 14
Christ, you are blessed; for then
the Spirit of glory and power, the
Spirit of God himself, is resting on
you. None of you must suffer as 15
a murderer or a thief or a bad
character or a revolutionary; but 16
if a man suffers for being a Chris-
tian, he must not be ashamed, he
must rather glorify God for that.
It is time for the Judgment to begin 17
Tvith the household of God;
and if it begins with us,
what will be the fate of those
who refuse obedience to
God's gospel?
If the just man is scarcely saved, 18
what will become of the impious
and sinful ?
I. PETER V
19 So let those who are suffering by
the will of God trust their souls to
him, their faithful Creator, as they
continue to do right.
5 Now I make this appeal to your
presbyters (for I am a presbyter
myself, I was a witness of what
Christ suffered and I am to share
2 the glory that will be revealed), be
shepherds to your flock of God;
take charge of them -svillingly*
instead of being pressed to it, not
to make a base profit from it but
3 freely, not by way of lording it over
your charges but proving a pattern
4 to the flock. Then you will receive
the unfading crown of glory, when
the chief Shepherd makes his ap-
5 pearance. You younger men
must also submit to the presbyters.
Indeed you must all put on the
apron of humility to serve one
another, for
the haughty God opposes,
hut to the humble he gives grace.
6 Humble yourselves under the
strong hand of God then, so that
* Omitting KaTk e(6v.
when it is time, he may raise you ;
let all your anxieties fall upon him, 7
for his interest is in you.
Keep cool, keep awake. Your 8
enemy the devil prowls like a
roaring lion, looking out for some-
one to devour. Resist him; keep 9
your foothold in the faith, and
learn to pay the same tax of suffer-
ing as the rest of your brotherhood
throughout the world. Once you 10
have suffered for a little, the God
of all grace who has called you to
his eternal glory in Christ, willf
repair and recruit and strengthen
you. The dominion is his for ever 11
and ever : Amen.
By the hand of Silvanus, a faith- 12
ful brother (in my opinion), I have
written you these few lines of en-
couragement, to testify that this is
what the true grace of God means.
Stand in that grace.
Your sister-church in Babylon, 13
elect like yourselves, salutes you.
So does my son Mark. Salute one 14
another vnth. a kiss of love.
Peace be to you all who are in
Christ [Jesus].
t Omitting eefifXitixrfi with A B, the
Latin and Ethiopic versions.
296
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF
PETEE
1 Symeon Peter, a servant and
apostle of Jesus Christ, to those
who have been allotted a faith of
equal privilege with ours, by the
equity of our God and saviour Jesus
2 Christ : grace and peace be multi-
plied to you by the knowledge of *
3 our Lord. Inasmuch as his power
divine has bestowed on us every
requisite for life and piety by the
knowledge of him who called us
to his own glory and excellence —
4 bestowing on us thereby promises
precious and supreme, that by
means of them you may escape the
corruption produced Avithin the
world by lust, and participate in
5 the divine nature — for this very
reason, do you contrive to make
it your whole concern to furnish
your faith -with resolution, resolu-
6 tion with intelligence, intelligence
with self-control, self-control with
stedfastness, stedfastness \\ath
7 piety, piety with brotherliness,
brotherliness with Christian love.
8 For as these qualities exist and
increase with you, they render you
active and fruitful in the knowledge
9 of our Lord Jesus Christ; whereas
he who has not these by him is
blind, shortsighted, oblivious that
he has been cleansed from his erst-
10 while sins. So be the more eager,
brothers, to ratify your calling and
election, for as you practise these
qualities you will never make a slip ;
11 you will thus be richly furnished
* Omitting, with P and the Latin Vul-
gate, Tov 6fov Kal 'lT]crov.
296
with the right of entry into the
eternal realm of our Lord and
saviour Jesus Christ.
Hence I mean to keep on remind- 12
ing you of this, although you are
aware of it and are fixed in the Truth
as it is ; so long as I am in this tent, 13
I deem it proper to stir you up by
way of reminder, since I know my 14
tent must be folded up very soon —
as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ
has shown me. Yes, and I will see 15
to it that even when I am gone, you
will keep this constantly in mind.
For it was no fabricated fables 16
that we followed when we reported
to you the power and advent of
our Lord Jesus Christ; we were
admitted to the spectacle of his
sovereignty, when he was invested 17
■with honour and glory by God the
Father, and when the following
voice was borne to him fromf the
sublime Glory, " This is my son,
the Beloved, in Avhom I delight."
That voice borne from heaven we 18
heard, we who were beside him on
the sacred hill, and thus we have 19
gained fresh confirmation of the
prophetic word. Pray attend to
that word; it shines like a lamp
within a darksome spot, till the
Day dawns and the daystar rises
within your hearts — understanding 20
this, at the outset, that no pro-
phetic scripture allows a man to
interpret it by himself; for pro- 21
phecy never came by human im-
t Reading with the Syriac and Latin
(Vulgate) versions airh instead of vit6.
II. PETER II
pulse, it was \\hen carried away
by the holy Spirit that the* holy
men of God spoke.
2 Still, false prophets did appear
among the People, as among you
also there will be false teachers,
men who will insinuate destructive
heresies, even disowning the Lord
who ransomed them ; they bring
rapid destruction on themselves,
2 and many will follow their immor-
ality (thanks to them the true Way
3 ivill be maligned) ; in their lust
thej'^ \vi\\ exploit you with cunning
arguments — men whose doom
comes apace from of old, and
destruction is awake upon their
4 trail. For if God did not spare
angels who had sinned, but com-
mitting them to pits of the nether
gloom in Tartarus, reserved them
5 under punishment f for doom : if
he did not spare the ancient world
but kept Noah, the herald of
righteousness, safe with seven
others, when he let loose the deluge
6 on the world of impious men : if
he reduced the cities of Sodom and
Gomorra to ashes when he sen-
tenced them to devastation, and
thus gave the impious J an example
7 of what was in store for them, but
rescued righteous Lot who was
sore burdened by the immoral
8 beha^nour of the lawless (for when
that righteous man resided among
them, by what he saw and heard his
righteous soul was vexed day after
day with their unlawful doings) —
9 then be sure the Lord knows how
* Reading ol aytoi 6fov ivOpwiroi with K A,
the Latin version, etc.
t Reading with N A, the Latin and
Egyptian versions, and SyrPWi Ko\a(ofift>ovi
rrjpfiv instead of ryjpovnivovs.
X Reading aaf^4aiv (B P Syr^) or rois
aa-f$f(Tiv (sah boh) instead of l.a-fkf'if- As
Weizsacker renders it, " ein Vorbild des
Kommenden gebend fiir die Gottlosen."
to rescue pious folk from trial, and
how to keep the unrighteous under
punishment till the day of doom,
particularly those who fall in with 10
the polluting appetite of the flesh
and despise the Powers celestial.
Daring, presumptuous creatures I
they are not afraid to scoff at the an-
gelic Glories ; whereas even angels, 11
superior in might and power, lay no
scoffing charge against these before
the Lord. But those people ! — 12
like irrational animals, creatures
of mere instinct, born for capture
and corruption, they scoff at what
they are ignorant of; and like
animals they will suffer corruption
and ruin, done out of § the profits 13
of their evil-doing. Pleasure for
them is revelling in open daylight —
spots and blots, with their dissipated
revelling, as they carouse in your
midst! — their eyes are full of 14
harlotry, insatiable for sin ; their
own hearts trained to lust, they
beguile unsteady souls. Accursed
generation ! they have gone wrong 15
by leaving the straight road, by
following the road of Balaam son
of Bosor, who liked the profits of
evil-doing — but he got reproved 16
for his malpractice : a dumb ass
spoke with human voice and
checked the prophet's infatuation.
These people are waterless foun- 17
tains and mists driven by a squall,
for whom the nether gloom of dark-
ness || is reserved. By talking arro- 18
gant futilities they beguile with the
sensual lure of fleshly passion those
who are just escaping from the
company of misconduct — promising 19
them freedom, when they are them-
selves enslaved to corruption (for
a man is the slave of whatever
§ Reading, with K* B P SyrPJ^U arm ah-
Koififpoi instead of Kofxiovntvoi,
II Omitting [<ts alUva.].
297
II. PETER III
20 overpowers him). After escaping
the pollutions of the world by the
knowledge of our Lord and saviour
Jesus Christ, if they get entangled
and overpowered again, the last
state is worse for them than the
21 first. Better had they i\ever known
the Way of righteousness, than to
know it and then tuin back from
the holy commandment which was
22 committed to them. They verify
the truth of the proverb :
" The dog turns hack to what he has
vomited,
the sow when washed will
wallow in the mire."
3 This is the second letter I have
already written to you, beloved,
stirring up your pure mind* by way
2 of reminder, to have you recollect
the words spoken by the holy
prophets beforehand and the com-
mand given by your apostles from
3 the Lord and saviour. To begin
with, you know that mockers will
come with their mockeries in the
last days, men who go by their own
4 passions, asking, " Where is His
promised advent? Since the day
our fathers fell asleep, things re-
main exactly as they were from the
5 beginning of creation." They wil-
fully ignore the fact that heavens
existed long ago, and an earth
which the word of God formed of
6 water and by water. By water
the then-existing world was deluged
7 and destroyed, but the present
heavens and earth are treasured
up by the same word for fire, re-
served for the day when the im-
pious are doomed and destroyed.
8 Beloved, you must not ignore this
one fact, that with the Lord a single
day is like a thousand years, and a
* A difficult phrase, referring perhaps to
freedom from the contamination of heresies.
Reuss renders, " votre sain jugement."
298
thousand years are like a single day.
The Lord is not slow with what 9
he promises, according to certain
people's idea of slowness; no, he
is longsuffering for your sake,! he
does not wish any to perish but
all to betake them to repentance.
The day of the Lord will come like 10
a thief, when the heavens will
vanish with crackling roar, the
stars will be set ablaze and melt,
the earth and all its works will dis-
appear. J Now as all things are 11
thus to be dissolved, what holy and
pious men ought you to be in your
behaviour, you who expect and 12
hasten the advent of the Day of
God, which dissolves the heavens in
fire and makes the stars blaze and
melt ! It is new heavens and a 13
new earth that we expect, as He
has promised, and in them dwells
righteousness. Then, beloved, as 14
you are expecting this, be eager
to be found by him unspotted and
unblemished in serene assurance.
And consider that the longsuffering 15
of our Lord means salvation; as
indeed our beloved brother Paul
has written to you out of the wis-
dom vouchsafed to him, speaking 16
of this as he has done in all his
letters — letters containing some
knotty points, which ignorant and
unsteady souls twist (as they do the
rest of the scriptures) to their own
destruction. Now, beloved, you 17
are forewarned : mind you are not
carried away by the error of the law-
less and so lose your proper footing ;
but grow in the grace and know- 18
ledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus
Christ. To him be the glory now
and to the day of eternity : Amen.
t Reading 5t' with X A Lat. syr. sah., etc.
{ Adding ovx before tvptditaeTai with the
Sahidic version.
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF
JOHN
CHAP.
1 It is of what existed from the
very beginning, of what we heard,
of what we saw, of what we wit-
nessed and touched with our own
hands, it is of the Logos of Life
2 (the Life has appeared ; we saw it,
we testify to it, we bring you word
of that eternal Life which existed
with the Father and was disclosed
3 to us) — it is of what we heard and
saw that we bring you word, so
that you may share our fellowship ;
and our fellowship is with the
Father and with his Son Jesus
4 Christ. We are writing this to you
that our own joy may be complete.
5 Here is the message we learned
from him and announce to you :
' God is light and in him there is
6 no darkness, none.' If we say,
' We have fellowship with him,'
when we live and move in darkness,
then we are lying, we are not
7 practising the truth ; but if we live
and move within the light, as he
is within the light, then we have
fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses
8 us from every sin. If we say, ' We
are not guilty,' we are deceiving
ourselves and the truth is not in us ;
9 if we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just, he forgives our sins and
10 cleanses us from all iniquity; if
twe say, " We have not sinned," we
make him a liar and his word is
2 not within us. My dear chil-
dren, I am writing this to you that
you may not sin ; but if anyone
does sin, we have an advocate with
the Father in Jesus Christ the just ;
he is himself the propitiation for 2
our sins, though not for ours alone
but also for the whole world.
This is how we may be sure we 3
know him, by obeying his com-
mands. He who says, ' I know 4
him,' but does not obey his com-
mands, is a liar and the truth is not
in him ; but whoever obeys his word, 5
in him love to God is really complete.
This is how we may be sure we are
in him: he who says he 'remains 6
in him ' ought to live as he lived.
Beloved, I am not writing you 7
any new command, but an old
command which you have had from
the very beginning : the old com-
mand is the word you have heard.
And yet it is a new command I am 8
writing to you — realized in him
and also in yourselves, because the
darkness is passing away and the
true light is already shining. He 9
who says he is ' in the light ' and
hates his brother, is in darkness still.
He who loves his brother remains 10
in the light — and in the light there
is no pitfall; but he who hates his 11
brother is in darkness, he walks in
darkness and does not know where
he is going, for the darkness has
blinded his eyes.
My dear children, I am writing 12
to you,
because your sins are forgiven
for his sake :
fathers, I am writing to you, 13
because you know him who is
from the very beginning :
299
I. JOHN III
young men, I am writing to
you,
because you have conquered
the evil One.
children, I have written to
you,
because you know the Father :
14 fathers, I have written to you,
because you know him who is
from the very beginning :
young men, I have written to
you,
because you are strong, and the
word of God remains within
you, and you have conquered
the evil One.
15 Love not the world, nor yet what
is in the world; if anyone loves
the world, love for the Father is
16 not in him. For all that is in the
world, the desire of the flesh and
the desire of the eyes and the
proud glory of life, belongs not to
17 the Father but to the world ; and
the "world is passing away with its
desire, while he who does the will
of God remains for ever.
18 Children, it is the last hour. You
have learned that ' Antichrist is
coming.' Well, but many anti-
christs have appeared — which
makes us sure it is the last hour.
19 They withdrew from us, but they
did not belong to us ; had they
belonged to us, they would have
remained with us, but they with-
drew to make it plain that they
20 are none of us. Now, you have
been anointed by the holy One,
21 and you all possess knowledge. I
am not writing to you because you
do not know the truth, but because
you do know it, and know that no
lie has any connexion with the
truth.
22 Who is the real liar ?
who but he who denies that
Jesus is the Christ?
300
This is ' antichrist,'
he who disowns the Father and
the Son.
No one who disowns the Son can 23
possess the Father :
he who confesses the Son pos-
sesses the Father as well.
Let that remain in you which 24
you learned from the very begin-
ning; if what you learned from the
verj' beginning remains with you,
then 5^ou will remain in the Son
and in the Father.
Now this is what he has prom- 25
ised you,* eternal life. I am writing 26
to you in this way about those who
would deceive you, but the unction 27
you received from him remains
within you, and you really need no
teaching from anyone ; simply re-
main in him, for his unction teaches
you about everything and is true
and is no lie — remain in him, as it
has taught you to do. Remain with- 28
in him now, my dear children, so
that when he appears, we may have
confidence instead of shrinking
from him in shame at his arrival.
As you know he is just, be sure 29
that everyone who practises right-
eousness is born of him. ' Born 3
of him ! ' Think what a love
the Father has for us, in letting
us be called ' children of God ! '
That is what we are. The world
does not recognize us ? That is
simpl}^ because it did not recognize
him. We are children of God now, 2
beloved ; what we are to be is not
apparent yet, but we do know that
when he appears, we are to be like
him — for we are to see him as he is.
And everyone who rests this hope 3
on him, purifies himself as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin com- 4
mits lawlessness : sin is lawlessness,
and you know he appeared to take 5
* Beading {ffuv instead of ji/uv.
I. JOHN IV
[our] sins away. In him there is
6 no sin ; anyone who remains in him
does not sin — anyone who sins has
neither seen nor known him. Let
7 no one deceive you, my dear chil-
dren : he who practises righteous-
8 ness is just, as He is just; he who
commits sin belongs to the devil,
for the devil is a sinner from the
very beginning. (This is why the
Son of God appeared, to destroy
9 the deeds of the devil.) Anyone
who is born of God does not commit
sin, for the offspring of God remain
in Him, and they cannot sin, be-
10 cause they are born of God. Here
is how the children of God and the
children of the devil are recognized ;
anyone who does not practise
righteousness does not belong to
God, and neither does he Mho has
11 no love for his brother. For this
is the message you have learned
from the very beginning, that we
12 are to love one another : we are
not to be like Cain, who belonged
to the evil One and slew his brother.
And why did he slay him? Be-
cause his own deeds were evil and
13 his brother's just. Do not wonder,
brothers, that the world hates you.
14 We know we have crossed from
death to life, because we love the
brotherhood ; he who has no love
[for his brother] remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know no mur-
derer has eternal life remaining
16 within him. We know what love
is by this, that He laid down his life
for us; so we ought to lay down
our lives for the brotherhood.
17 But whoever possesses this world's
goods, and notices his brother in
need, and shuts his heart against
him, how can love to God re-
18 main in him? My dear children,
let us put our love not into words
or into talk but into deeds, and
make it real.
Thus it is that we may be sure we 19
belong to the truth and reassure
ourselves whenever our heart con- 20
demns us ; for God is greater than
our heart, and he knows all. If 21
our heart does not condemn us,
beloved, then we have confidence
in approaching God, and we get 22
from him whatever we ask, because
we obey his commands and do what
is pleasing in his sight. Now 23
this is what he commands, that we
believe in the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and love one another as he
has commanded us to do ; he who 24
obeys his commands remains within
him — and He remains ^vithin him.
And this is how we may be sure he
remains within us, by means of the
Spirit he has given us. Do not 4
believe every spirit, beloved, but
test the spirits to see if they come
from God ; for many false prophets
have emerged in the world. You 2
can recognize the Spirit of God by
this : every spirit which confesses
Jesus as the Christ incarnate comes
from God, and every spirit which 8
does not confess Jesus [incarnate]
does not come from God. This
latter is the spirit of antichrist;
you were told it was coming, and
here it is already in the world. My 4
dear children, you belong to God,
and you have conquered all such,
for He who is within you is greater
than he who is in the world.
They belong to the world, 5
therefore they speak as in-
spired by the world,
and the world listens to them :
we belong to God — 6
he who knows God listens to
us,
he who does not belong to God
does not listen to us.
301
I. JOHN V
This is how we recognize the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another,
for love belongs to God, and every-
one who loves is born of God and
8 knows God ; he who does not love,
does not know God, for God is love.
9 This is how the love of God has
appeared for us, by God sending his
only Son into the world, so that by
10 him we might live. Love lies in
this, not in our love for him but in
his love for us — ^in the sending of his
Son to be the propitiation for our
11 sins. Beloved, if God had such love
for us, we ought to love one an-
12 other. God no one has ever seen;
but if we love one another, then God
remains within us, and love for him
13 is complete in us. This is how we
may be sure we remain in him and
he in us, because he has given us a
14 share in his own Spirit ; and we have
seen, we can testify, that the Father
has sent the Son as the Saviour of
15 the world. Whoever confesses that
' Jesus is the Son of God,' in him
God remains, and he remains in
16 God; well, we do know, we have
beheved, the love God has for us.
God is love, and he who remains
in love remains in God, and God
17 remains in him. Love is complete
with us when we have absolute con-
fidence about the day of judgment,
since in this world we are living as
18 He lives. Love has no dread in
it ; no, love in its fulness drives all
dread away, for dread has to do
\vith punishment — anyone who has
dread, has not reached the fulness of
19 love. We love, because He loved
20 us first. If anyone declares, ' I love
God,' and yet hates his brother, he is
a liar ; for he who will not love his
brother whom he has seen, cannot
possibly love the God whom he
21 has never seen. And we get this
302
command from him, that he who
loves God is to love his brother as
well.
Everyone who believes Jesus is 6
the Christ, is born of God; and
everyone who loves the Father,
loves the sons * born of him. This 2
is how we are sure that we love
God's children, by loving God and
obeying his commands (for love to 3
God means keeping his commands).
And his commands are not irksome,
for whatever is born of God con- 4
quers the world. Our faith, that
is the conquest which conquers the
world. Who is the world's con- 5
queror but he who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God? Jesus 6
Christ, he it is who came by water
and blood — not by the water alone,
but by the water and the blood.
The Spirit is the witness to this, 7 i
for the Spirit is truth. The wit- 8
nesses are three, the Spirit and the
water and the blood, and the three
of them are in accord. If we 9
accept human testimony, God's
testimony is greater; for God's
testimony consists in his testimony
to his Son. He who believes in the 10
Son of God possesses that testimony
within himself; he who will not
believe God, has made God a liar
by refusing to believe the testimony
wliich God has borne to his Son.
And the testimony is, that God 11
gave us life eternal and this life is
in his Son.
He who possesses the Son pos- 12
sesses life :
he who does not possess the Son
does not possess life.
I have written in this way to 13
you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may be sure
• The Greek word is singular. It may be
taken strictly, as meaning " the Son," or
generically as above (see the nest verse).
I. JOHN V
14
15
16
17
you have life eternal. Now the
confidence we have in liim is this,
that he listens to us whenever we
ask anything in accordance with
his will ; and if we know he hstens
to whatever we ask, we know we
obtain the requests we have made
to him. If anyone notices his
brother committing a sin which
is not deadly, he wU ask and ob-
tain life for him — for anyone who
does not commit a deadly sin.
There is such a thing as deadly
sin ; I do not mean he is to pray for
that. All iniquity is sin, but there
are sins which are not deadlv.
18
We know that anyone who is
born of God does not sin ; He who
was born of God preserves him,
and the evil One never catches
him.
We know that we belong to God, 19
and that the whole world hes in
the power of the evil One.
We know that the Son of God 20
has come, and has given us insight
to know Him who is the Real God ;
and we are in Him who is real,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This
is the real God, this is life eternal.
My dear children, keep clear of 21
idols.
303
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF
JOHN
1 The presbyter, to the elect Lady
and her children whom I love in the
Truth (and not only I but all who
2 know the Truth) for the sake of
the Truth which remains within us
3 and will be with us for ever : grace,
mercy, peace will be with us from
God the Father and from Jesus
Christ the Son of the Father, in
truth and love.
4 I was overjoyed to find some of
your children leading the true Life,
as we were commanded to do by
5 the Father. And now I entreat
you. Lady — not as though I were
writing you any new command, it
is the command which we have had
from the very beginning — let us
6 love one another. To live by his
commands, that is what love means :
and the command is, live in love
as you have learned to do from the
7 very beginning. I say this, be-
cause a number of impostors have
emerged in the world, men who
will not acknowledge the coming
of Jesus Christ in the flesh; that
marks the real ' impostor ' and
'antichrist.' Watch yourselves; 8
you must not lose what you have
been working for, but gain a full
reward. Anyone who is ' advanced ' 9
and will not remain by the doctrine
of Christ, does not possess God :
he who remains by the doctrine
of Christ possesses both the Father
and the Son. If anyone comes to 10
you and does not bring this doc-
trine, do not admit him to the
house — do not even greet him, for 11
he who greets him shares in his
wicked work.
I have a great deal to write to 12
you, but I do not mean to use ink
and paper; I hope to visit you
and have a talk with you, so that
your * joy may be unimpaired.
The children of your elect Sister IS
greet you.
* Reading with A B and sevaral versions,
tifi&i', instead of riiiiv.
S04
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF
JOHN
1 The presbyter, to the beloved
Gaius whom I love in the Truth.
2 Beloved, I pray you may prosper
in every way and keep well — as
indeed your soul is keeping well.
3 For I was overjoyed when some
brothers arrived and testified to
the truth of your life, as indeed you
4 do lead the true Life; I have no
greater joy than to hear of my
5 cliildren living in the Truth. Be-
loved, you are acting loyally in
rendering any service to the bro-
thers and especially to strangers;
6 they have testified to your love
before the church. Pray speed
them on their journey worthily of
7 God; they have started out for
his sake and declined to take any-
8 thing from pagans ; hence we are
bound to support such men, to
prove ourselves allies of the Truth.
9 I have written to the church;
only, Diotrephes, who likes to take
the lead among them, repudiates
me. So when I come, I will bring 10
up what he is doing, babbling
against me with wicked words —
and, not satisfied with words, he
refuses to welcome the brothers,
checks those who want to welcome
them, and excommunicates them
from the church. Beloved, do 11
not imitate evil but good ; he who
does good belongs to God, he who
does evil has never seen God.
Everybody testifies to Deme- 12
trius, and so does the Truth itself :
I testify to him too, and you know
my testimony is true.
I had a great deal to write to 13
you, but I do not want to write
to you with ink and pen; I am 14
hoping to see you soon, and we will
have a talk.
Peace to you ! The friends 15
salute you : salute the friends one
by one.
305
THE EPISTLE OF
JUDAS (JUDE)
1 Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ
and a brother of James, to those
who have been called, who are
beloved by God the Father and
2 kept by Jesus Christ : mercy, peace
and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, my whole concern was
to write to you on the subject of
our common salvation, but I am
forced to write you an appeal to
defend the faith which has once
for all been committed to the
4 saints ; for certain persons have
slipped in by stealth (their doom
has been predicted long ago), im-
pious creatures who pervert the
grace of our God into immorality
and disown our sole liege and Lord,
5 Jesus Christ. Now I want to
remind you of what you are per-
fectly aware, that though the Lord
once * brought the People safe
out of Egypt, he subsequently de-
6 stroyed the unbelieving, while the
angels who abandoned their own
domain, instead of preserving their
proper rank, are reserved by him
within the nether gloom, in chains
eternal, for the doom of the great
7 Day — just as Sodom and Gomorra
and the adjacent cities, which
similarly glutted themselves with
vice and sensual perversity, are
exhibited as a warning of the ever-
lasting fire they are sentenced to
8 suffer. Despite it all, these vision-
aries pollute their flesh, scorn the
* aira| must be connected, as in the
Syriac and Egyptian versions, with inixTas,
not with flSdras as in most manuscripts.
S06
Powers celestial, and scoff at the
angelic Glories, Now the very arch- 9
angel Michael, when he disputed
the body of Moses with Satan, did
not dare to condemn him with
scoffs ; what he said was, The Lord
rebuke you ! But these people 10
scoff at anything they do not un-
derstand; and whatever they do
understand, like irrational animals,
by mere instinct, that proves their
ruin. Woe to them ! they go the 11
road of Cain, rush into Balaam's
error for what it brings them, and
perish in Korah's rebelHon. These 12
people are stains on 5^our love-
feasts ; they have no qualms about
carousing in your midst, they look
after none hut themselves — rainless
clouds, swept along by the wind,
trees in autumn without fruit,
doubly dead and so uprooted, wild 13
waves foaming out their own
shame, wandering stars for whom
the nether gloom of darkness has
been reserved eternally. It was of 14
these, too, that Enoch the seventh
from Adam prophesied, when he
said.
Behold the Lord comes with my-
riads of his holy ones,
to execute judgment upon all, 15
and to convict all the impious
of all the impious deeds they have
committed,
and of all the harsh things said
against him by impious sinners.
For these people are murmurers, 16
grumbling at their lot in life — they
fall in with their own passions, their
JUDAS (JUDE)
talk is arrogant, they pay court
to men to benefit themselves.
17 Now, beloved, j'^ou must re-
member the words of the apostles
18 of our Lord Jesus Christ ; they
told you beforehand, " At the end
of things there will be mockers who
go by their own impious passions."
19 These are the people who set up
divisions and distinctions, sensuous
creatures, destitute of the Spirit.
20 But do you, beloved, build up your-
selves on your most holy faith and
21 pray in the holy Spirit, so keeping
yourselves within the love of God
and waiting for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ that ends in life
eternal. Snatch some from the fire, 22
and have mercy on the waverers, 23
♦trembling as you touch them, with
loathing for the garment which the
flesh has stained.
Now to him who is able to keep 24
you from slipping and to make you
stand unblemished and exultant
before his glory — to the only God, 25
our saviour through Jesus Christ
our Lord, be glory, majesty, power
and authority, before all time and
now and for all time : Amen.
* Reading nal ots /Mev ex wphs aprd^ert,
SLaKpivofifvovs S« 4\(aT«, with SyrPli" Clement
and Jerome.
307
THE KEVELATION
OF ST. JOHN
1 A REVELATION by Jesus Christ,
which God granted him for his
servants, to show them what must
come to pass very soon ; he dis-
closed it by sending it through his
2 angel to his servant John, who now
testifies to what is God's word and
Jesus Christ's testimony — to what
3 he saw. Blessed is he who reads
aloud, blessed they who hear the
words of this prophecy and lay to
heart what is written in it ; for the
time is near.
4 John to the seven churches in
Asia : grace be to you and peace
from HE WHO IS and was and is
COMING, and from the seven Spirits
5 before his throne, and from Jesus
Christ the faithful witness, the first-
born from the dead, and the prince
over the kings of earth ; to him who
loves us and has loosed us from
6 our sins by shedding his blood — he
has made us a realm of priests for
his God and Father, — to him be
glory and dominion for ever and
7 ever : Amen. Lo, he is coming on
the clouds, to he seen by every
eye, even by those who impaled
him, and all the tribes of earth
will wail because of him : even
8 so, Amen. " / am the alpha and
the omega," saith the Lord God,
who is and was and is coming, the
almighty.
9 I John, your brother and your
companion in the distress and realm
and patient endurance which Jesus
brings, found myself in the island
called Patmos, for adhering to God's
word and the testimony of Jesus.
308
On the Lord's day I found myself 10
rapt in the Spirit, and I heard a
loud voice behind me like a trumpet
calling, " Write your vision in a 11
book, and send it to the seven
churches, to Ephesus and Smyrna
and Pergamum and Thyatira and
Sardis and Philadelphia and Lao-
dicea." So I turned to see whose 12
voice it was that spoke to me ; and
on turning round I saw seven
golden lampstands and in the middle 13
of the lampstands One who re-
sembled a human being, with a long
robe, and a belt of gold round his
breast; his head and hair were 14
white as wool, white as snow ; his
eyes flashed like fire, his feet glowed 15
like burnished bronze, his voice
sounded like many waves, in his 16
right hand he held seven stars, a
sharp sword with a double edge
issued from his mouth, and his face
shone like the sun in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet 17
like a dead man; but he laid his
hand on me, saying, " Do not be
afraid ; I am the First and the
Last,* I was dead and here I am 18
alive for evermore, holding the
keys that unlock death and Hades.
Write down your vision of what is 19
and what is to be hereafter. As for 20
the secret symbol of the seven stars
which you have seen in my right
hand, and of the seven golden lamp-
stands — the seven stars are the
angels of the seven churches, and
* The words ' and the living One ' {koI 6
Ca>v) have been added as a gloss from the
next verse.
REVELATION II
the seven lampstands are the seven
2 churches. To the angel of the
church at Ephesus write thus : —
These are the words of hi m who holds
the seven stars in his right hand,
who moves among the seven golden
2 lampstands : I know^ your doings,
your hard work and your patient
endurance ; I know that you cannot
bear wicked men, and that you
have tested those who style them-
selves apostles (no apostles they !)
and detected them to be liars;
3 I know that you are enduring
patiently and have borne up for
my sake and have not wearied.
4 But I have this against you : you
have given up loving one another
5 as you did at first. Now, remem-
ber the height from which you have
fallen ; repent and act as you did
at first. If not, I will come to j'ou
[very soon] and remove your lamp-
6 stand, unless you repent. Still,
you have this in your favour : you
hate the practices of thcNicolaitans,
7 and I hate them too. Let anyone
who has an ear listen to what the
Spirit says to the churches : ' The
conqueror I will allow to eat from
the tree of Life which is within the
8 paradise of God.^ Then to the
angel of the church at Smyrna
write thus : — These are the words
of the First and Last, who was dead
9 and came to life : I know your *
distress and your poverty (but
you are rich!); I know how you
are being slandered by those who
style themselves Jews (no Jews
are they, but a mere synagogue of
10 Satan !). Have no fear of what you
are to suffer. The devil indeed is
going to put some of you in prison,
that you may be tested ; you will
have a distressful ten days. Be
faithful, though you have to die
* Omitting [to tpya (col].
for it, and I will give you the crown
of Life. Let anyone who has an 11
ear listen to what the Spirit says
to the churches : ' The conqueror
shall not be injured by the second
death.' Then to the angel of the 12
church at Pergamum write thus : —
These are the words of him who
wields the sharp sword with the
double edge : I know where you 13
dwell, where Satan sits enthroned,
and yet you adhere to my Name,
you have not renounced your faith
in me even during the days when
my witness, my faithful Antipas,
was martyred in your midst —
where Satan dwells. But I have 14
one or two things against you :
you have some adherents there of
the tenets of Balaam, who taught
Balak how to set a pitfall before the
sons of Israel by making them eat
food which had been sacrificed to
idols and give zvay to sexual vice.
So even with you; you likewise 15
have some adherents of the tenets
of the Nicolaitans. Repent; if 16
not, I will very soon come to you
and make war upon them with the
sword of my mouth. Let anyone 17
who has an ear listen to what the
Spirit says to the churches : ' The
conqueror / will allow to share the
hidden manna, and I will give him
a white stone inscribed with a new
name, unknown to any except him
who receives it.' Then to the 18
angel of the church at Thyatira
write thus : — These are the words
of the Son of God, whose eyes flash
like fire and whose feet glow like
bronze. I know your doings, your 19
love and loyalty and service and
patient endurance; I know you are
doing more than you did at first.
Still I have this against you : 20
you are tolerating that Jezebel
of a woman who styles herself a
309
REVELATION III
prophetess and seduces my servants
by teaching them to give way to
sexual vice and to eat food which has
21 been sacrificed to idols. I have given
her time to repent, but she refuses
22 to repent of her sexual vice. Lo, I
will lay her on a sickbed, and bring
her paramours into sore distress,
if they do not repent of her prac-
23 tices ; and her children I will ex-
terminate. So shall all the churches
know that I am the searcher of the
inmost heart ; I zvill requite each of
you according to zvhat you have done.
24 But for the rest of you at Thyatira,
for all who do not hold these tenets,
for those who have not (in their
phrase) 'fathomed the deep mj^s-
teries of Satan ' — for j^ou this is
my word : I impose no fresh burden
25 on you ; only hold to what you have,
till such time as I come. ' And the
26 conqueror, he who till the end lays
to heart what I enjoin, I will give
him authority over the nations —
27 aye, he will shepherd them ivith an
iron flail,
shattering them like a 'potter's
jars —
as I myself have received authority
28 from my Father; also I will grant
him to see the Morning-star.' Let
anyone who has an ear listen to
what the Spirit says to the churches.
3 Then to the angel of the church
at Sardis write thus : — These are
the Avords of him who holds the
seven Spirits of God and the seven
stars : I know j'-our doings, you
have the name of being alive, but
2 you are dead. Wake up, rally what
is still left to you, though it is on
the very point of death ; for I find
nothing you have done is complete
8 in the eyes of my God. Now
remember what you received and
heard, hold to it and repent. If
yon will not wake up, I will come
310
like a thief ; you will not know at
what hour I come upon you.
Still, you have a few souls at Sardis 4
who have not soiled their raiment ;
they will walk beside me in white,
for they deserve to. ' The conqueror 5
will be clad in white raiment; I
will never erase his name from the
hook of Life, but will own him
openly before my Father and before
his angels.' Let anyone who has 6
an ear listen to what the Spirit says
to the churches. Then to the 7
angel of the church at Philadelphia
write thus : — These are the words
of the true Holy One, who holds
the key of David, tvho opens and none
shall shut, who shuts and none shall
open.* Lo, I have set a door open 8
before you which no one is able to
shut; for though your strength is
small, you have kept my word, you
have not renounced my Name.
Lo, I will make those who belong 9
to that synagogue of Satan, who
style themselves Jews (no Jews
are they, but liars !) — lo, I will have
them come and do homage before
your feet and learn that / did love
you. Because you have kept the 10
word of my patient endurance, I
will keep you safe through the hour
of trial which is coming upon the
whole world to test the dwellers
on earth. I am coming very soon : 1 1
hold to what you have, in case j^our
crown is taken from you. ' As for 12
the conqueror, I will make him a
pillar in the temple of my God
(nevermore will he leave it), and
I will inscribe on him the name of
my God, the name of the city of my
God (the new Jerusalem which
descends out of heaven from my
* Omitting (with Primasius) oZ5a aov to
fpya, * I know your doings,' a hannonistio
gloss which interrupts the connexion of
thought.
REVELATION IV
God), and my own new name.^
13 Let anyone who has an ear listen
to what the Spirit says to the
14 churches. Then to the angel of
the church at Laodicea write thus :
These are the words of the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, the
15 origin of God's creation. I know
your doings, you are neither cold
nor hot — would you were either
16 cold or hot ! So, because you are
lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I am going to spit you out of my
17 mouth. You declare, ' I am rich,
/ aw well off, I lack nothing ! ' —
not knowing you are a miserable
creature, pitiful, poor, blind, naked.
18 I advise you to buy from me gold
refined in the fu'c, that you may be
rich, white raiment to clothe you
and prevent the shame of your
nakedness from being seen, and
salve to rub on your eyes, that you
19 may see. / reprove and discipline
those whom I love ; so be in warm
20 earnest and repent. Lo, I stand
at the door and knock; if anyone
hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and sup with him,
21 and he with me. 'The conqueror
I will allow to sit beside me on
my throne, as I myself have con-
quered and sat down beside my
22 Father on his throne.' Let any-
one who has an ear listen to what
the Spirit says to the churches."
4 After this I looked, and there
was a door standing open in heaven !
And the first voice I had heard
talking with me like a trumpet said,
" Come up here, and I will show
you what must come to pass after
2 this." At once I found myself
rapt in the Spirit ; and lo a Throne
stood in heaven with One seated on
3 the throne — the seated One re-
sper and
throne a
raid in
hrone
d on
enty
clad
'golden
sembled in»appearan
sardius — and rou0ii. ^Hfj^ throne a 4
rainbow resembli
appearance; also r
four and twenty
these thrones f
Presbyters seated^
in white raimen
crowns upon their heads. From 5
the throne issue flashes of lightning
and loud blasts and peals of thunder.
And in front of the throne seven 6
torches of fire burn (they are the
seven Spirits of God) ; also in front
of the throne there is like a sea of
glass, resembling crystal. And on
each side of the throne, all round it,
four living Creatures full of eyes
inside and outside; the first living 7
Creature resembling a lion, the
second living Creature resembling
an ox, the third living Creature with
a face like a man''s, the fourth li ving
Creature like a flying eagle. The 8
four living Creatures, each with
six wings apiece, are full of eyes all
over their bodies and under their
wings, and day and night they
never cease the chant,
" Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God
almighty,
who was and is and is coming."
And whenever the living Creatures 9
render glory and honour and
thanksgiving to him who is seated
on the throne, who lives for ever
and ever, the four and twenty 10
Presbyters fall down before him
who is seated on the throne, wor-
shipping him who lives for ever and
ever, and casting their crowns before
the throne, with the cry,
" Thou deservest, our Lord and 11
God,* to receive glory and
honour and power,
for it was thou who didst create
all things :
* Omitting [6 0710^].
311
•^flpf
REVELATION V, VI
they existed and were created
by thy will."
5 Then I saw lying on the right
hand of him who was seated on the
throne, a scroll with writing on the
back as well as inside, sealed with
2 seven seals. And I saw a strong
angel exclaiming with a loud voice,
" Who is fit to open the scroll, to
3 break the seals of it ? " But no
one was fit, either in heaven or on
earth or underneath the earth, to
open the scroll or look into it.
4 So I began to weep bitterly
because no one had been found
fit to open the scroll or look into
5 it ; but one of the Presbyters told
me, " Weep not ; lo, the Lion of
Judah^s tribe, the Scion of David,
he has won * the power of opening
the scroll and its seven seals."
6 Then I noticed a Lamb standing
in the midst of the throne and the
four living Creatures and the
Presbyters; it seemed to have
been slain, but it had seven heads
and seven eyes (they are the seven
Spirits of God sent out into all
7 the earth), and it went and took
the scroll out of the right hand of
him who was seated on the throne.
8 And when it took the scroll, the
four living Creatures and the four
and twenty Presbyters fell down
before the Lamb, each wdth his
harp and with golden bowls full of
incense (that is, full of the prayers
9 of the saints), singing a new song :
" Thou deservest to take the scroll
and open its seals,
for thou wast slain and by
shedding thy blood hast ran-
somed for God men from every
tribe and tongue and people
and nation ;
* Literally, " has conquered (see iii. 21),
BO that he can open."
312
thou hast made them kings and 10
priests for our God, and they
shall reign on earth."
Then I looked, and I heard the 11
voice of many angels round the
throne and of the living Creatures
and of the Presbyters, numbering
myriads of myriads and thousands
of thousands, crying aloud, " The 12
slain Lamb deserves to receive
power and wealth and wisdom and
might and honour and glory and
blessing." And I heard every 13
creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth crying, " Bless-
ing and honour and glory and
dominion for ever and ever, to
him who is seated on the throne
and to the Lamb!" " Amen," 14
said the four living Creatures, and
the Presbyters fell down and wor-
shipped.
And when the Lamb opened one 6
of the seven seals, I looked, and I
heard one of the four li\'ing Crea-
tures calhng like thunder, "Come."t
So I looked, and there was a white 2
horse, its rider holding a bow; he
was given a crown, and away he
rode conquering and to conquer.
And when he opened the second 3
seal, I heard the second living
Creature calling, " Come." And 4
away went another red horse ; its
rider was allowed to take peace
from the earth and to make men
slay each other; he was given a
huge sword.
And when he opened the third 5
seal, I heard the third living
Creature calling, " Come." So I
looked and there was a black horse ;
its rider held a pair of scales in his
hand, and I heard like a voice in 6
the midst of the four living Crea-
tures saying, " A shilling for a
t Addressed either to the seer or, more prob-
ably, to the mounted figures.
REVELATION VII
quart of wheat, a shilling for three
quarts of barley; but harm not
oil and wine ! "
7 And when he opened the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth
8 living Creature calling, "Come."
So I looked, and there was a livid
horse ; its rider's name was Death,
and Hades followed him. They
were given power over the fourth
part of the earth, to kill men with
sword and famine and plague and
by the wild beasts of the earth.
9 And when he opened the fifth
seal, I saw underneath the altar
the souls of those who had been
slain for adhering to God's word
and to the testimony which they
10 bore ; and they cried aloud, " O
Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how
long wilt thou refrain from charging
and avenging our blood upon those
1 1 ivho dwell on earth ? ' ' But they were
each given a white robe, and told
to remain quiet for a little longer,
initil their number was completed
by their fellow-servants and their
brothers who were to be killed like
themselves.
12 And when he opened the sixth
seal, I looked; and a great earth-
quake took place, the sun turned
black as sackcloth, the full moon
13 turned like blood, the stars of the
sky dropped to earth as a fig tree
shaken by a gale sheds her unripe
14 figs, the sky was swept aside like
a scroll being folded up, and every
mountain and island was moved
15 out of its place. Then the kings
of the earth, the magnates, the
generals, the rich, the strong,
slaves and freemen everyone of
them, hid in caves and among the
16 rocks of the mountains, calling
to the mountains and the rocks,
" Fall upon us and hide us from
the face of him who is seated on
the throne and from the anger of
the Lamb ; for the great Day of their 17
anger has come, and who can stand
it?"
After that I saw four angels 7
standing at the four corners of the
earth, holding back the four winds
from blowing on the earth or on the
sea or on any tree. And I saw 2
another angel rise up from the
east, with the seal of the living
God; he shouted aloud to the
four angels who were allowed to
injure the earth and sea, " Do no 3
harm to earth or sea or trees, until
we seal the servants of our God
upon their foreheads." And I heard 4
what was the number of the sealed
— a hundred and forty-four thou-
sand sealed from every tribe of
the sons of Israel, twelve thousand 5
sealed from the tribe of Judah,
twelve thousand from the tribe of
Reuben, twelve thousand from the 7
tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand
from the tribe of Levi, twelve
thousand from the tribe of Issachar,
twelve thousand from the tribe 8
of Zebulun, twelve thousand from
the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand
fromthetribeof Benjamin * [twelve
thousand from the tribe of Gad,
twelve thousand from the tribe of 6
Asher, twelve thousand from the
tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand
sealed from the tribe of Manasseh.]
After that 1 looked, and there 9
was a great host whom no one
could count, from every nation
and tribe and people and tongue,
standing f before the throne and
before the Lamb, clad in white
robes, with palm-branches in their
* The simple transposition of 5c- 6 to a
place after 8, as Dr. G. B. Gray has pointed
out {Encyclo-paedia Biblica 5209), yields a fat
more normal list of the tribes.
t In contrast to the dread of vi. 17, and in
line with the thought of Luke xxi. 36.
313
REVELATION VIII
10 hands ; and they cried with a loud
voice, " Saved by our God who is
seated on the throne, and by the
] 1 Lamb ! " And all the angels sur-
rounded the throne and the Presby-
ters and the four living Crertures,
and fell on their faces before the
12 throne, worshipping ,God and cry-
ing, " Even so ! Blessing and glory
and wisdom and thanksgiving and
honour and power and might be
to our God for ever ajid ever :
13 Amen ! " Then one of the Presby-
ters addressed me, saying, " Who
are these, clad in white robes ?
14 where have they come from? " I
said to him, " You know, my
lord." So he told me, " These are
the people who have come out of
the great Distress, xvho washed their
robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb.
15 For this they are now before
the throne of God,
serving* him day and night
within his temple,
and he zvho is seated on the throne
shall overshadow them.
16 Never again ivill they hunger,
never again will they thirst,
never shall tfie sun strike them,
nor any scorching heat ;
17 for the Lamb in the midst of the
throne will be their shepherd,
guiding them to fountains of
living water ;
and God xvill wipe every tear
from their eyes."
CHAP.
8 And when he opened the seventh
seal, silence reigned in heaven for
2 about half-an-hour. Then I saw
seven tiiampcts being given to the
seven angels who stand before God.
3 And another angel went and stood
at the altar with a golden censer;
* In the sense of vorship, as in xxii. 3.
314
he was given abundant incense,
to be laid with the prayers of all
the saints upon the golden altar in
front of the throne ; and the smoke 4
of the incense with the prayers of all
the saints rose up from the angel's
hand before God. And the angel 5
took tlie censer, filled it with fire
from the altar, and poured it on
the earth ; then followed peals of
thunder, loud blasts, flashes of light-
ning, and an earthquake. And 6
the seven angels with the seven
trumpets prepared to blow their
blasts. The first blew, and there 7
came hail and fire mixed with blood,
falling on the earth ; a third of the
earth was burnt up, a third of
the trees were burnt up, and all
the green grass was burnt up. The 8
second angel blew, and xvhat looked
like a huge mountain on fire was
hurled into the sea ; a third of the
sea turned blood, a third of the 9
creatures in the sea — the li\'ing
creatures — perished, and a third
of the ships were destroyed. The 10
third angel blew, and a huge star
blazing like a torch dropped out of
the sky, dropped on a third of the
rivers and on the fountains (the 11
name of the star is Wormwood);
a third of the waters became worm-
wood, and many people died of the
waters, because they had turned
bitter. The fourth angel blew; 12
and a stroke fell on a third of the
sun, a third of the moon, and a
third of the stars, so as to darken
one third of them, withdrawing
light from a third of the day and
likewise of the night.
Then I looked, and I heard an 13
eagle flying in mid-heaven with a
loud cry, " Woe, woe, woe to the
dwellers on earth, for the rest of
the trumpet-blasts that the three
angels are about to blow ! "
REVELATION IX, X
9 The fifth angel blew, and I saw
a Star which had dropped from
heaven to earth; he was given the
2 key of the pit of the abyss, and
he opened the pit of the abyss,
and smoke poured out of the pit,
like the smoke of a huge furnace,
till the sun and the air were darkened
3 by the smoke from the pit. And
out of the smoke came locusts on
the earth ; they were granted power
like the power wielded by scorpions
4 on earth, but they were told not to
harm the grass on earth nor any
green thing nor any tree, only such
human beings as had not the seal
5 of God upon their foreheads ; these
they were allowed, not to kill but
to torture, for five months — and
their torture was like the torture
of a scorpion when it stings a man.
6 In those days men will seek death,
hut they will not find it :
they will long to die,
but death flies from them.
7 The appearance of the locusts
resembled horses armed for battle ;
on their heads were sort of crowns
like gold ; their faces were like
8 human faces, their hair like women's
hair, and their teeth like lions'' fangs ;
9 they had scales like iron coats of
mail; the whirring of their wings
was like the noise of many chariots
10 rushing to battle ; their tails and
their stings were like scorpions',
and their power of hurting men
for five months lay in their tails ;
11 they had a king over them, the
angel of the abyss — his Hebrew
name is Abaddon, but in Greek he
is called Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed :
two woes are still to come.
13 Then the sixth angel blew ; and
I heard a voice from the four
horns of the golden altar before
God, telling the sixth angel with 14
the trumpet, " Let loose the four
angels who are bound at the great
river Euphrates." So the four 15
angels were unloosed, who had been
kept ready for that hour and day
and month and year, to kill the
third of men. And the number 16
of the troops of their cavalry was
two hundred millions (I heard
what was their number). And 17
this is how the horses and their
riders looked in my vision : they
wore coats of mail red as fire,
dark-blue as jacinth and yellow as
smoke; the horses' heads were
like lions' heads, and from their
mouths poured fire and smoke
and brimstone. By these three 18
plagues the third of men were
killed, by the fire, the smoke, and
the brimstone, that poured out of
their mouths ; for the power of 19
the hoi-ses lies in their mouths —
and also in their tails (their tails
are like serpents, they have heads,
and it is with their heads that
they hurt). But the rest of man- 20
kind, who were not killed by these
plagues, did not repent of the
works of their hands and give up wor-
shipping daemons and idols of gold
and silver and brass and stone and
wood, which cannot either see or hear
or stir ; nor did they repent of their 21
murders or of their magic spells or
of their sexual vice or of their thefts.
CHAP.
Then I saw another * strong angel 10
descend from heaven ; he was clad
in a cloud, with a rainbow over
his head, his face like the sun, his
feet like columns of fire, and a 2
small scroll open in his hand. He
set his right foot on the sea, his
• Referring to v. 2, in all probability;
but it may simply mean, " another angel, a
Btrong one."
315
REVELATION XI
3 left upon the earth, and shouted
aloud like a lion roaring; and
at his shout the seven thunders
4 gave voice. After the seven
thunders had spoken, I was going
to write it down; but I heard a
voice from heaven saying, " Seal
up what the seven thunders have
5 said, do not write it." Then the
angel I saw standing on the sea
and the earth raised his right hand
6 to heaven and sxvore by Him zcho
lives for ever and ever, who created
the heaven and ivhat is in it, the
earth and what is in it, and the sea
and what is in it, " There shall be
7 no more delay ; in the days of the
seventh angel's voice, when he
now blows his blast, then shall
the secret purpose of God be fulfilled,
as he assured his servants the
8 prophets." Then the voice I had
heard from heaven again talked
to me, saying, " Go and take the
small scroll which lies open in the
hand of the angel who is standing
9 on the sea and the earth." So I
went to the angel, saying, " Give
me the small scroll." " Take it,"
said he, " and swalloiv it ; it will
ta^te sweet as honey, but it \\\\\ be
10 bitter to digest." Then I took
the small scroll from the hand of
the angel and swallowed it ; it did
taste sweet, like honey, but when
I had eaten it, it was bitter to
11 digest. Then I was told, "Fom must
prophesy again of many peoples and
nations and languages and kings."
11 And I was given a reed like a rod,
and told, " Rise up and measure
the temple of God and the altar,
2 numbering the worshippers ; but
omit the court outside the temple,
do not measure that, for it has been
given over to the Gentiles ; and
the city will be under their heel for
3 two and forty months. But 1 will
316
6
8
allow my two witnesses to prophesy
for twelve hundred and sixty days,
clad in sackcloth (they are the
two olive-trees and the two lamp-
stands which stand before the Lord
of the earth) :
whoever tries to harm them,
fire will issue from their mouth
and consume their enemies ;
whoever should try to harm them,
so must he be killed."
They have power to shut up the
sky, so that no rain falls during
the days when they are prophesy-
ing ; and they hav^e power over
the waters, to turn them into blood,
and also to smite the earth with all
manner of plagues as often as they
choose. But, when they have
finished their testimony, the Beast
that ascends from the abyss will make
war on them and conquer them and
kill them, and their corpses will
lie in the streets of that great
City whose mystical name is Sodom
and Egypt — where their Lord also
was crucified. For three days and 9
a half, men from all peoples and
tribes and tongues and nations
look at their corpses, refusing to let
their corpses be buried ; and the 10
dwellers on earth will gloat over
them and rejoice, sending presents
to congratulate one another — for
these two prophets were a torment
to the dwellers on earth. But 11
after three days and a half the
breath of life from God entered
them; they stood on their feet
{terror fell on those who saw them)
and heard a loud voice from heaven 12
telling them, " Come up here."
So up to heaven they Avent in a cloud,
before the eyes of their enemies.
At that hour a great earthquake 13
took place, a tenth of the City
was destroyed, and seven thousand
souls perished in the earthquake :
REVELATION XII
the rest were awestruck, and gave
glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed :
the third woe soon is coming.
15 Then the seventh angel blew;
and loud voices followed in heaven,
crying, " The rule of the world has
passed to our Lord and his Christ,
and he shall reign for ever and
16 ewr." Then the four and twenty
Presbyters who are seated on their
thrones before God, fell on their
faces and worshipped God, saying,
17 " We thank thee. Lord God
almighty, who art and wast,
that thou hast assumed thy great
power and begun to reign ;
18 the nations were enraged,
but thine anger has come ;
the time has come for the dead
to be judged,
the time for rewarding thy ser-
vants the prophets,
and the saints who reverence thy
name, both low and high,
the time for destroying the de-
stroyers of the earth."
19 Then the temple of God in
heaven was thrown open, and the
ark of his covenant was seen inside
his temple ; there were flashes of
lightning, loud blasts, peals of
thunder, an earthquake, and a hail-
12 storm. And a great portent was
seen in heaven, a woman clad in
the sun — with the moon under her
feet, and a tiara of twelve stars
2 on her head ; she was with child,
crying in the pangs of travail, in
3 anguish for her delivery. Then
another portent was seen in heaven !
There was a huge red dragon, with
seven heads and seven horns and
4 seven diadems upon his heads ; his
tail swept away a third of the stars
of heaven and flung them to the
earth. And the dragon stood in
front of the woman who was on
the point of being delivered, to
devour her child as soon as it was
born. She gave birth to a son, a 5
male child, who is to shepherd all
the nations ivith an iron flail ; her
child was caught up to God and to
his throne, and she herself fled to 6
the desert, where a place has been
prepared for her by God, in which
she is to be nourished for twelve
hundred and siyXj days. And war 7
broke out in heaven, Michael and
his angels fighting with the dragon ;
the dragon and his angels also
fought, but he failed, and there 8
was no place for them in heaven
any longer. So the huge dragon 9
was thrown down — that old serpent
called the Devil and Satan, the
seducer of the whole world — thrown
down to the earth, and his angels
thrown down along with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven 10
saying, " Now it has come, the
salvation and power, the reign of
our God and the authority of his
Christ! — for the Accuser of our
brothers is thrown down, who
accused them before God day and
night. But they have conquered 11
him by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony;
they had to die for it, but they did
not cling to life. Rejoice for this, 12
O heavens and ye that dwell in
them ! But woe to earth and sea !
The devil has descended to you
in fierce anger, knowing that his
time is short." And when the 13
dragon found himself thrown down
to earth, he pursued the woman
who had given birth to the male
child ; but the woman was given 14
the two wings of a great eagle
for her flight to the desert, to her
appointed place, where she is
nourished for a Time, tivo Times,
and half a Time, safe from the
317
REVELATION XIII
15 serpent. Then from his mouth
the serpent poured water after
the woman like a river, to sweep
16 her away with a flood ; but the
earth came to the rescue of the
woman, the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed up the river that
the dragon had poured out of his
17 mouth. So, enraged at the woman,
the dragon went off to wage war on
the rest of her offspring, on those
who keep God's commandments
and hold the testimony of Jesus.
18 Then I stood on the sand of the
13 sea, and I saw a Beast rising out
of the sea with ten horns and seven
heads, ten diadems * on his horns,
and blasphemous titles on his
2 heads. The Beast I saw resembled
a leopard, his feet were like a beards,
and his mouth like a lion's. To him
the dragon gave his own power and
his own throne and great authority.
3 One of his heads looked as if it had
been slain and killed, but the deadly
wound was healed, and the whole
earth went after him in wonder,
worshipping the dragon for having
given authority to the Beast, and
4 worshipping the Beast with the cry,
" Who is hke the Beast ?
Who can fight with him ? "
5 He was allowed to utter loud and
blasphemous vaunts, and allowed
to exert authority for two and forty
6 months ; so he opened his mouth
for blasphemies against God, to
blaspheme his name and his dwell-
ing (that is, the dwellers in heaven).
7 He was allowed to wage war on the
saints and to conquer them, and
given authority over every tribe
and people and tongue and nation ;
8 and all the dwellers on earth will
be his worshippers, everyone whose
* Here, as in xii. 3, an assumption of the
royal power which really belonged to God
(see ziz. 12).
.318
name has not been written from
the foundation of the world in the
book of Life.^ Let anyone who has 9
an ear listen : —
Whoever is destined for captivity, 10
to captivity he goes :
whoever kills zvith the sword,
by the sxvord must he be killed.
This is what shows the patience
and the faith of the saints.
Then I saw another Beast rising 11
from the land ; he had two horns
like a lamb, but he spoke like a
dragon. He exerts the full author- 12
ity of the fii'st Beast in his presence,
causing the earth and its inhabit-
ants to worship the first Beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.
He performs amazing miracles, 13
even making fire descend from
heaven on earth in the sight of
men, and by dint of the miracles 14
he is allowed to perform in presence
of the Beast, he seduces the dwellers
on earth; he bids the dwellers on
earth erect a statue to the Beast
who lived after being wounded by
the sword, and to this statue of the 15
Beast he was allowed to impart the
breath of life, so that the statue
of the Beast should actually speak.
He has everyone put to death
who will not worship the status of
the Beast, and he obliges all men, 16
low and high, rich and poor,
freemen and slaves alike, to have
a mark put upon their right hand
or their forehead, so that no one 17
can buy or sell unless he bears the
mark, that is the name of the
Beast or the cipher of his name.
Now for the gift of interpretation ! 18
Let the discerning calculate the
cipher of the Beast ; it is the cipher
t The words " of the Lamb slain " (rov
apviov rod i(T<payfjL4vov) are probably a gloss
from xxi. 27. The book of Life elsewhere
appears without any auch addition.
REVELATION XIV
of a man, and the figures are six
hundred and sixty-six.
OHAF.
14 Then I looked, and there was
the Lamb standing on mount Sion,
and along with him a hundred and
forty-four thousand bearing his
name and the name of his Father
2 written on their foreheads/ And
I heard a voice from heaven like
the sound of many waves and the
sound of loud thmider; the voice
I heard was like harpists playing
3 on their harps ; they were singing *
a new song before the throne and
before the four living Creatures
and the Presbjrters, and no one
could learn that song except the
hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been ransomed from earth.
4 They have not been defiled by
intercourse with women — they are
celibates; they follow the Lamb
wherever he goes ; they have been
ransomed from among men, as the
first to be reaped for God and the
5 Lamb. And on their lips no lie was
ever detected -f; they are stainless.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in
mid-heaven with an eternal gospel
for the inhabitants of the earth,
for every nation and tribe and
7 tongue and people ; he cried aloud,
" Fear God and give him glory, for
the hour of his judgment has come ;
worship him who made heaven and
earth, the sea and the fountains of
8 water." And another, a second
angel followed, crying, " Fallen,
fallen is Babylon the great, who made
all nations drink the wine of the
9 passion of her vice ! " They were
followed by another, a third angel,
crying aloud, " Whoever worships
♦ Omitting [iy].
t The thought and phraseology of the
whole passage should be compared and
contrasted with 1 Pet. ii. 21-22.
the Beast and his statue, and lets
his forehead or hand be marked,
he shall drink the wine of God's 10
passion, poured out untempered in
the cup of his anger, and shall be
tortured with fire and brimstone
before the holy angels and before
the Lamb : the smoke of their 11
torture rises for ever and ever, and
they get no rest from it, day and
night, these worshippers of the
Beast and his statue, and all who
are marked with his name." This 12
is what shows the patience of the
saints — they who keep God's com-
mands and the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven 18
saying, " Write this : — ' Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord
from henceforth ! Even so, it is
the voice of the Spirit — blessed in
resting from their toils ; for what
they have done goes with them.' "
Then / looked, and there was a 14
white cloud, and seated on the
cloud One resembling a human
being, a golden crown upon his
head and a sharp siclde in his hand.
And another angel came out of the 15
temple shouting aloud to him who
sat upon the cloud,
" Thrust your sickle in and reap,
the time has come to reap,
the harvest of earth is ripe and
ready."
So he who sat upon the cloud 16
swung his sickle over the earth,
and the earth was reaped. Then 17
another angel came out of the
temple, he too with a sharp sickle ;
and another angel came from the 18
altar — he who has power over fire
— and called loudly to the one who
had the sharp sickle,
" Thrust Tjour sharp sickle in,
cull the clusters from the Vine
of earth,
for its grapes are fully ripe."
319
REVELATION XV, XVI
19 So the angel swung his sickle on
the earth and culled the clusters
from the Vine of earth, flinging the
grapes into the great winepress
20 of God's anger ; outside the City
was the winepress trodden, and blood
gushed out of the winepress as high
as a horse's bridle for the space of
two hundred miles.
15 Then I saw another portent in
heaven, great and marvellous :
seven angels with seven plagiies —
the last plagues, for they complete
2 the wrath of God. And I saw
what was like a sea of glass mixed
with fire, and, standing beside the
sea of glass, those who came off
conquerors from the Beast and
his statue and the cipher of his
3 name ; they had harps of God and
they were singing the song of Moses
the servant of God and the song
of the Lamb —
" Great and marvellous are thy deeds.
Lord God almighty !
Just and true thy ways,
0 King of nations !
4 Who shall not fear, 0 Lord, and
glorify thy name ?
for thou alone art holy.
Yea, all nations shall come and
worship before thee,
forthy judgments are disclosed."
5 After that * I looked, and the temple
of the tabernacle of testimony in
6 heaven was thrown open, and out
of the temple came the seven angels
with tlie seven plagues, robed in
pure dazzling linen, their breasts
7 encircled with golden belts. Then
one of the four living Creatures
gave the seven angels seven golden
bowls full of the wrath of God
* That is, after the interlude of 2^. The
words always denote a fresh phrase or stage
of the yisioD.
320
who lives for ever and ever; and 8
ths temple was filled zvith smoke
from th£ glory of God and from
his might, nor could anyone enter
the temple till the seven plagues
of the seven angels were over.
Then I heard a loud voice from 16
tl^ie temple telling the seven angels,
" Go and pour out the seven bowls
of the wrath of God on earth." So 2
the first went off and poured his
bowl upon the land ; and noisome,
painful ulcers broke out on those
who bore the mark of the Beast
and worshipped his statue. The 3
second poured out his bowl upon
the sea ; it turned blood like the
blood of a corpse, and every living
thing within the sea perisJied. The 4
third poured out his bowl upon
the rivers and fountains of water,
and they turned blood. Then I 5
heard the angel of the waters cry,
" 0 holy One, who art and wast,
just art thou in this thy sentence.
They poured out the blood of saints 6
and prophets, and thou hast given
them blood to drink f They deserve
it ! " And I heard the altar cry, 7
" Even so. Lord God almighty:
true and fust are thy sentences
of doom."
The fourth angel poured out his 8
bowl upon the sun ; and the sun
was allowed to scorch men with
fire, till men, scorched by the 9
fierce heat, blasphemed the name
of the God who had control of
these plagues; yet they would
not repent and give him glory.
The fifth poured out his bowl upon 10
the throne of the Beast ; his realm
was darkened, and men gnawed
their tongues in anguish, blasphem- 11
ing the God of heaven for their pains
and their ulcers, but refusing to
repent of their doings. The sixth 12
poured out his bo\d on the great
REVELATION XVII
river Euphrates, and its waters
were dried up to prepare the way
13 for the kings from the east. Then
I saw issuing from the mouth of
the dragon and from the mouth
of the Beast and from the mouth
of the false Prophet, three foul
14 spirits like jrogs — demon-spirits
performing miracles, who come out
to muster the kings of the whole
world for battle on the great Day
lis of almighty God. (Lo, I am coming
Hke a tliief; blessed be he who
keeps awake and holds his raiment
fast, not to go naked and have the
16 shame of exposure !) * And they
were mustered at the spot called
17 (in Hebrew) Harmagedon. The
seventh angel poured out his bowl
in the air; then came a loud voice
out of the temple of heaven from
the throne, crying, " All is over ! "
18 followed by flashes of lightning,
loud blasts, peals of thunder, and
a mighty earthquake, the like of
which never was since man lived
on earth, such a mighty earthquake
19 it was ; the great City was shattered
in three parts, the cities of the
nations fell, and God remembered
to give Babylon the great the cup
of the wine of the passion of his
>0 anger. Every island fled away,
il the mountains disappeared, and
huge hailstones fell from heaven
on men, till men blasphemed God
for the plague of the hail— for
the plague of it was fearful.
HAP.
^7 Then came one of the seven
angels with the seven plagues and
spoke to me, saying, " Come and
I will show you the doom of the
great Harlot who is seated on
2 many waters, with whom the kings
* Ver. 15 interrupts the sequence of
thought; it is either a gloss or misplaced,
perhaps from the third chapter.
of earth have committed vice, and
the dwellers on earth have been
drunk with the wine of her vice." 3
So he bore me away rapt in the
Spirit to the desert, and I saw a
woman sitting on a scarlet Beast
covered with blasphemous titles;
it had seven heads and ten horns. 4
The woman was clad in purple
and scarlet, her ornaments were of
gold and precious stones and pearls,
in her hand was a golden cup
full of all abominations and the
impurities of her vice, and on her 5
forehead a name was written by
way of symbol, " Babylon the
great, the mother of harlots and of
all abominations on earth." Then 6
I saw the woman was drunk with
the blood of the saints and the
blood of the witnesses of Jesus;
and as I looked at her I marvelled
greatly. But the angel said to 7
me, " Wliy marvel ? I will ex-
plain to you the mystery of the
woman, and of the Beast with the
seven heads and the ten horns
who carries her. The Beast you 8
have seen was, is not, but is to
rise from the abyss — yet to perdition
he shall go — and the dwellers on
earth will wonder (all whose names
have not been written from the
foundation of the world in the
book of Life), when they see that
the Beast was, is not, but is
coming. Now for the interpreta- 9
tion of the discerning mind ! The
seven heads are seven hills, on
which the woman is seated : also, 10
they are seven kings, of whom
five have fallen, one is living, and
the other has not arrived yet —
and when he does arrive, he can
only stay a little while. As for 11
the Beast which was and is not,
he is an eighth head; he belongs
to the seven, and to perdition he
321
REVELATION XVIII
12 shall go. As for the ten horns you
have seen, they are ten kings who
have no royal power as yet, but
receive royal authority for an
13 hour along with the Beast ; they
are of one mind, and they confer
their power and authority upon
14 the Beast. They will wage war
on the Lamb, but the Lamb will
conquer them because he is Lord
of lords and King of kings — the
Lamb and the elect, the chosen,
the faithful who are with him."
15 He also told me, " The waters you
saw, on which the woman is seated,
are peoples and hosts, nations and
16 tongues. As for the ten horns
you have seen, they and the Beast
will hate the harlot, lay her waste,
and strip her naked ; they will
devour her flesh and bum her with
17 fire, for God has put it into their
hearts to execute his purpose, by
having one mind and by conferring
their royal power upon the Beast,
until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 As for the woman you have seen,
she is the great City which reigns
over the kings of the earth J'^ *
18 After that I saw another angel
descend from heaven, great in
might; his radiance lit up the
2 earth, and he shouted aloud with
a strong voice,
'''Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,
now she is a haunt of demons,
the den of all foul spirits,
a cage for every foul and loath-
some bird :
8 for all nations have drunk the
wine of the passion of her vice,
the kings of the earth have com-
mitted vice with her,
and by the wealth of her wanton-
ness earth's traders have grown
rich."
• Possibly xii. 9-10 ("The angel also. . .")
originally came at this place in the narrative.
322
And I heard another voice from
heaven crying,
" Come out of her, 0 my people,
that you share not her sins,
that you partake not of her
plagues :
for high as heaven her sins are 5
heaped,
and God calls her misdeeds to
the reckoning.
Render to her what she rendered 6
to others,
aye, double the doom for all she
has done;
mix her the draught double in
the cup she mixed for others.
As she gloried and played the 7
wanton,
so give her like measure of
torture and tears.
Since in her heart she vaunts,
""A queen I sit,
no widow I, tears I will never know,^
so shall her plagues fall in a S
single day,
pestilence, tears, and famine :
she shall be burnt with fire —
for strong is God the Lord her judge.
And the kings of the earth, who 9
committed vice and Avantoned with
her will weep and wail over her,
as they watch the smoke of her
burning; for fear of her torture 10
they will stand far off, crying,
" ' Woe and alas, thou great city I
thou strong city of Babylon !
In one brief hour thy doom has
come.'
And the traders of earth will weep 11
and wail over her; for now there
is none to buy their freights,
freights of gold, silver, jewels, 12
pearls, fine Unen, purples, silk,
scarlet stuff, all sorts of citron
wood and ivory wares, all articles
of costly wood, of bronze, of iron
and of marble, with cinnamon, 13
balsam, spices, myrrh, frankin-
REVELATION XIX
15
20
21
22
cense, wines, olive-oil, fine flour
and wheat, with cattle, sheep,
horses, carriages, slaves, and the
souls of men.* The traders in these
wares, who made rich profits from
her, will stand far off for fear of her
torture, weeping and wailing :
*Woe and alas, for the great
city,
robed in linen, in purple and
scarlet,
her ornaments of gold, of jewels
and pearl !
And all this splendour gone in
one brief hour ! '
And all shipmasters and sea-
faring folk, sailors and all whose
business lies upon the sea, stood
far off as they watched the smoke
of her burning, crying, ' What city
was like the great City ? ' They
threw dust on their heads and cried,
OS they wept and wailed,
* Woe and alas for the great City,
where all shipmen made rich
profit by her treasures !
Gone, gone in one brief hour ! '
O heaven, rejoice over her !
Saints, apostles, prophets, re-
joice !
For God has avenged you on her
now."
Then a strong angel lifted a boulder
like a huge millstone and flung it
into the sea, crying,
*' So shall the great city, Babylon,
be hurled down, hurtUng,
and never be seen any more :
and the sound of harpists and
minstrels and fluteplayers
and trumpeters
shall never be heard in thee
more :
and craftsmen of any craft
shall never be found in
more :
thee
♦ Ver. 14 has been misplaced from its
original position in the middle of ver. 23.
and the sound of tJie millstone
shall never be heard in thee
more :
and tJie liglit of a lamp 23
shall never be seen in thee
more:
and the voice of the bridegroom
and bride
shall never be heard in thee
more.
Vanished the ripe fruit of thy 14
soul's desire !
Perished thy luxury and splen-
dour !
Never again to be seen.
For the magnates of earth were 28
thy traders ;
all nations were seduced by thy
magic spells.
And in her was found the blood 24
of prophets and saints,
of all who were slain upon earth." f
CHAP.
After that I heard what was 19
like the shout of a great host in
heaven, crying,
" Hallelujah ! salvation and glory
and power are our God's !
True and just are his sentences of 2
doom ;
he has doomed the great Harlot
who destroyed earth with
her vice,
he has avenged on her tlie blood
of his servants."
Again they repeated, 3
" Hallelujah ! And the smoke of
her goes up for ever and ever ! "
Then the four and twenty Presby- 4
ters and the four living Creatures
fell down and worshipped God who
is seated on the throne, crying, " So
be it, hallelujah ! " And a voice 5
came from the throne,
" Extol our God, all ye his servant*,
t Ver. 24, like ver. 20, links xviL 6 to the
outburst of xix. 2.
323
REVELATION XX
ye who reverence him, low and
high!"
6 Then I heard a cry like the shout
of a great host and the sound of
many waves and the roar of heavy
thunder —
" Hallelujah ! now the Lord our
God almighty reigns /
7 Let us rejoice and triumph,
let us give him the glory !
For now comes the marriage of
the Lamb;
his bride has arrayed herself,
8 Yea, she is allowed to put on
fine linen, dazzling white "
(the white linen is the righteous
9 conduct of the saints). Then 1 was
told, " Write this : — ' Blessed are
those who have been called to the
marriage-banquet of the Lamb ! ' "
The angel also told me, " These
10 are genuine words of God." Then
I fell before his feet to worship
him ; but he said to me, " No, not
that ! lam but a servant like your-
self and your brothers, who hold
the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God " (for the testimony borne
by Jesus is the breath of all
prophecy).
11 Then I saw heaven open wide —
and there was a white horse :
his rider was called ' Faithful *
and ' True,'
yea, just are his judgments and
his warfare.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire,
on his head are many diadems,
he bears a ^vritten name which
none knows but himself.
13 He is clad in a robe dipped in
blood
(his name is called the logos
OF god),
14 and the troops of heaven follow
him on white horses,
arrayed in pure white linen.
324
A sharp sword issues jrom his 15
lips, wherewith to smite the
nations ;
he will shepherd* them with an
iron flail,
and trample the winepress of the
passion of the anger of God
almighty.
And on his robe, upon his thigh, 16
his name is written,
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS.
Then I saw an angel standing in 17
the sun, who shouted aloud to all
the birds that fly in mid-heaven,
" Come, gather for the great banquet
of God, to devour the flesh of kings, 18
the flesh of generals, the flesh of the
strong, the flesh of horses and their
riders, the flesh of all men free
and slaves, low and high alike."
And I saw the Beast and the kings 19
of earth and their troops mustered
to wage war on him who was seated
on the horse and on his troops.
But the Beast was seized, together 20
with the false Prophet who had
performed in his presence the
miracles by means of which he
seduced those who received the
mark of the Beast and worshipped
his statue ; both of them were
flung alive into the lake of fire
that blazes with brimstone, while 21
the rest were killed by the sword
of him who is seated on the horse,
by the sword that issues from his
lips. And all the birds were glutted
with their flesh.
Then I saw an angel descend 20
from heaven with the key of the
abyss and a huge chain in his
hand ; he gripped the dragon, 2
that old serpent (who is the devil
* The verb had really come to mean no
more than " rule " by this time ; but the
literal rendering may be retained for the sake
of the antithesis in vii. 17.
REVELATION XXI
and Satan), and bound him for
|8 a thousand years, flinging Mm into
the abyss and shutting and sealing
it on the top of him, to prevent
him seducing the nations again
until the thousand years were
completed — after which he has to
be released for a little while.
4 And / saw thrones with people
sitting on them, who were allowed
to judge — saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded for the
testimony of Jesus and God's
word, those who would not worship
the Beast or his statue, and who
would not receive his mark on
their forehead or hand ; they came
to life and reigned along with the
5 Christ for a thousand years. As
for the rest of the dead, they did
not come to life until the thousand
years were completed. This is
6 the first resurrection. Blessed and
holy is he who shares in the first
resurrection ; over such the second
death has no power, they will be
priests of God and the Christ, and
reign along with him during the
7 thousand years. But when the
thousand years are over, Satan
will be released from his prison,
8 and he will emerge to seduce the
nations at the four corners of the
earth, even Gog and Magog, muster-
ing them for the fray. Their
number was like the sand of the sea,
9 and they swarmed over the broad
earth, encircling the leaguer of the
saints and the beloved City ; but fire
descended from heaven and con-
io sumed them, and their seducer, the
devil, was flung into the lake of
fu'e and brimstone, where the Beast
and the false Prophet also lie, to
be tortured day and night for
ever and ever.
11 Then I saw a great white throne,
and One who was seated thereon ;
from his presence earth and sky fled,
no more to be found.
And I saw the dead, high and low, 12
standing before the throne,
and books rvere opened —
also another book, the book of
Life, was opened —
and the dead were judged by
what was written in these
books, by what they had
done.
The sea gave up its corpses, 13
Death and Hades gave up their
dead,
and all were judged by what each
had done.
Then Death and Hades were 14
flung into the lake of fire,
and whoever was not found en- 15
rolled in the book of Life
was flung into the lake of
fire —
which is the second death, the
lake of fire.*
Then I saw the nexv heaven and 21
the new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed
away; and the sea is no more.
And I saw the holy City, the new 2
Jerusalem, descending from God
out of heaven, all ready like a bride
arrayed for her husband. And 3
I heard a loud voice out of the
throne, crying,
" Lo, God's dzvelling-place is with
men,
with men will he dwell ;
they will be his people,
and God will himself he with
them :
he will ivipe every tear from 4
their eyes,
and death shall be no more —
* Unless this line is to be omitted
altogether, it must be placed thus after
ver. 15, not after 14 (as in the ordinary
text), since there is no question of a second
death except for human beings.
325
REVELATION XXI
no more wailing or crying or pain,
for the first things have passed
away."
5 Then he who was seated on the
throne said, " Lo, I make all things
new.*' And he said, " Write this :
' these words are trustworthy and
6 genuine.' " Then he said, " All
is over ! I am the alpha and the
omega, the First and the Last.
I will let the thirsty drink of the
fountain of the water of Life without
7 price. The conqueror will obtain
this, and / will be his God, and he
8 shall be my son ; but as for the
craven, the faithless, the abomin-
able, as for the murderers, the
immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters,
and liars of all kinds — ^their lot
is the lake that blazes with fire and
brimstone, which is the second
death."
9 Then came one of the seven
angels who had the seven bowls
filled with the seven last plagues ;
and he spoke to me thus, " Come,
and I will show you the Bride,
10 the wife of the Lamb." So he
carried me off, rapt in the Spirit,
to a huge, high mountain, where
he showed me the City, the holy
Jerusalem, descending from God
11 out of heaven, with the glory of God.
The sheen of it resembled some
rare jewel like jasper, clear as
12 crystal ; it has a huge, high wall
with twelve gates, twelve angels at
the twelve gates, and names in-
scribed thereon which are the names
of the tzvelve tribes of the sons of
13 Israel, three gates on tlie east, three
gates on the north, three gates on
the south, and three gates on tJie
14 west. And the wall of the City
has twelve foundation-stones, bear-
ing the twelve names of the
15 twelve apostles of the Lamb. He
who talked to me had a golden
326
wand by way of a measuring-rod.
to measure the City and its gates
and wall; the City lies foursquare, 16
the length the same as the breadth,
and he measured fifteen hundred
miles with his rod for the City, for
its breadth and length and height
alike ; he made the measure of tJie 17
wall seventy-two yards, by human,
that is, by angelic reckoning.
The material of tJie zvall is jasper, 18
but the City is made of pure gold,
transparent like glass. TJie found- 19
ation-stones of the city-wall are
adorned with all sorts of precious
stones, the first foundation-stone
being of jasper, the second of
sapphire, the third of agate, the
fourth of emerald, the fifth of 20
onyx, the sixth of sardius, the
seventh of chrysolite, the eighth
of beryl, the ninth of topaz, the
tenth of chrysoprase, the eleventh
of jacinth, the twelfth of amethyst.
The twelve gates are twelve pearls, 21
each gate made of a single pearl ;
and the streets of the City are pure
gold, clear as crystal. But I saw 22
no temple in the City, for its
temple is the Lord God almighty
and the Lamb. And the City needs 23
no sun or moon to shine upon it,
for the glory of God illumines it,
and the Lamb lights it up.
By its light will the nations walk ; 24
and into it will the kings of earth
bring their glories
{the gates of it icill never be shut 25
by day,
and night there shall be none),
tJiey will bring to it ih€ glories 26
and treasures of the nations.
Nothing profane, none who prac- 27
tises abomination or falsehood
shall enter,
but those alone whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of
Life.
REVELATION XXII
\0, Then he showed me the river oj
the water of Life, bright as crystal,
fioxving from the throne of Giod and
2 of the Lamb through the streets
of the City; on both sides of the
river grew the tree of Life, bearing
twelve kinds of fruit, each month
having its oxen fruit ; and the
leaves served to heal the nations.
3 None who is accursed will be
there ;
but the throne of God and the
Lamb will be within it,
his servants will serve and wor-
ship him,
4 they will see his face,
and his name will be on their
foreheads.
5 Night there shall be none ;
they will need no lamp or sun
to shine upon them,
for the Lord God will illumine
them;
and they will reign for ever and
ever.
6 And the angel said to me, " These
words are trustworthy and genuine,
for the Lord (Jod of the spirits
of the prophets has sent his angel
to show his servants what must
7 very soon come to pass. Lo, I am
coming very soon ; blessed is he
who lays to heart the words of
the prophecy of this book ! "
8 I John saw and heard all this ;
and when I heard and saw it, I fell
down to worship before the feet
of the angel who had shown me
9 it all. But he said to me, " No,
not that ! I am but a servant like
yourself and your brothers the
prophets, who lay to heart the words
10 of this book. Worship God." Then
he said, " Do not seal up the words
of the prophecy of this book, for
the time is near :
11 Let the wicked still be wicked,
let the filthy still be filthy,
let the righteous still do right,
let the holy still be holy !
Lo, I am coming very soon, with 12
my reward,
to requite everyone for what he has
done.
I am the alpha and the omega, 13
the First and the Last,
the beginning and the end.
Blessed are those who wash their 14
robes,* that theirs may be the right
to the tree of Life, the right to enter
the gates of the City! Begone, 15
you dogs, you sorcerers, you vicious
men, you murderers, you idolaters,
you who love and practise false-
hood, every one of you ! "
" I Jesus have sent my angel to 16
give you this testimony for the
churches ; I am the Scion and
offspring of David, the bright star
of the Morning."
" Come," say the Spirit and the 17
Bride :
let the hearer too say, " Come " ;
and let the thirsty come,
let anyone who desires it, take
the water of Life without price.
I adjure all who hear the words 18
of the prophecy of this book :
" If anyone adds to them,
God will add to him the plagues
described in this book ;
and if anyone removes any words 19
written in this book,
God will remove his share in
the tree of Life and in the
holy City described in this
book."
He who bears this testimony 20
says, " Even &o : I am coming
very soon." Amen, Lord Jesus,
come !
The grace of the Lord Jesus 21
Christ be with you all.f Amen.
* Reading irKvvovrts ras aroKiiS ainwp with
N A, Primsisius, the Vulgate, eta
I Reading iriyruv or irayTwv v/xdv
327
»fk '*'■>'■
Date
Due
'p 2 5 *4
\-
iV.' - 'J '-
"My 1 7 -
Q 'S 1
a
SE
.-^b '^^ .
-
.' > i'^'H' T
■J
--/K-'UL '
.•'73 -^
f-—
fl(Alr" — ^^'^
BS195.5 .IVI69 1913
The New Testament ; a new translation
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
1 1012 00049 7224
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11