The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And he said to them, 'What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise [it]?

How much better, therefore, is a man than a sheep? — so that it is lawful on the sabbaths to do good.'

Then saith he to the man, 'Stretch forth thy hand,' and he stretched [it] forth, and it was restored whole as the other.

And the Pharisees having gone forth, held a consultation against him, how they might destroy him,

and Jesus having known, withdrew thence, and there followed him great multitudes, and he healed them all,

and did charge them that they might not make him manifest,

that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

'Lo, My servant, whom I did choose, My beloved, in whom My soul did delight, I will put My Spirit upon him, and judgment to the nations he shall declare,

he shall not strive nor cry, nor shall any hear in the broad places his voice,

a bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, till he may put forth judgment to victory,

and in his name shall nations hope.'

Then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, 'Is this the Son of David?'

but the Pharisees having heard, said, 'This one doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons.'

And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, 'Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated, and no city or house having been divided against itself, doth stand,

and if the Adversary doth cast out the Adversary, against himself he was divided, how then doth his kingdom stand?

'And if I, by Beelzeboul, do cast out the demons, your sons — by whom do they cast out? because of this they — they shall be your judges.

'But if I, by the Spirit of God, do cast out the demons, then come already unto you did the reign of God.

'Or how is one able to go into the house of the strong man, and to plunder his goods, if first he may not bind the strong man? and then his house he will plunder.

'He who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me, doth scatter.

Because of this I say to you, all sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to men, but the evil speaking of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.

And whoever may speak a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven to him, but whoever may speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is coming.

'Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, for from the fruit is the tree known.

'Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things — being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.

The good man out of the good treasure of the heart doth put forth the good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure doth put forth evil things.

'And I say to you, that every idle word that men may speak, they shall give for it a reckoning in a day of judgment;

for from thy words thou shalt be declared righteous, and from thy words thou shalt be declared unrighteous.'

Then answered certain of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, 'Teacher, we will to see a sign from thee.'

And he answering said to them, 'A generation, evil and adulterous, doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;

for, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

'Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah, and lo, a greater than Jonah here!

'A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and lo, a greater than Solomon here!

'And, when the unclean spirit may go forth from the man, it doth walk through dry places seeking rest, and doth not find;

then it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth; and having come, it findeth [it] unoccupied, swept, and adorned:

then doth it go, and take with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having gone in they dwell there, and the last of that man doth become worse than the first; so shall it be also to this evil generation.'

And while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, lo, his mother and brethren had stood without, seeking to speak to him,

and one said to him, 'Lo, thy mother and thy brethren do stand without, seeking to speak to thee.'

And having stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Lo, my mother and my brethren!

for whoever may do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.'

And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,

and gathered together unto him were many multitudes, so that he having gone into the boat did sit down, and all the multitude on the beach did stand,

and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: 'Lo, the sower went forth to sow,

and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,

and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,

and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,

and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,

and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.

He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.'

And the disciples having come near, said to him, 'Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?'

And he answering said to them that — 'To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given,

for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.

'Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,

and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,

for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them.

'And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,

for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.

'Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:

Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding — the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.

'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,

and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.

'And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

'And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.'

Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,

and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,

and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

'And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel?

And he saith to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Wilt thou, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?

'And he said, No, lest — gathering up the darnel — ye root up with it the wheat,

suffer both to grow together till the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.'

Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,

which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven do come and rest in its branches.'

Another simile spake he to them: 'The reign of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.'

All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them,

that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, 'I will open in similes my mouth, I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.'

Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came to the house, and his disciples came near to him, saying, 'Explain to us the simile of the darnel of the field.'

And he answering said to them, 'He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,

and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,

and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.

'As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age,

the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness,

and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.

'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the reign of their Father. He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.

'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found did hide, and from his joy goeth, and all, as much as he hath, he selleth, and buyeth that field.

'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls,

who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.

'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and did gather together of every kind,

which, when it was filled, having drawn up again upon the beach, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, and the bad they did cast out,

so shall it be in the full end of the age, the messengers shall come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous,

and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'

Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye understand all these?' They say to him, 'Yes, sir.'

And he said to them, 'Because of this every scribe having been discipled in regard to the reign of the heavens, is like to a man, a householder, who doth bring forth out of his treasure things new and old.'

And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these similes, he removed thence,

and having come to his own country, he was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and were saying, 'Whence to this one this wisdom and the mighty works?

is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

and his sisters — are they not all with us? whence, then, to this one all these?'

and they were stumbled at him. And Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, and in his own house:'

and he did not there many mighty works, because of their unbelief.

At that time did Herod the tetrarch hear the fame of Jesus,

and said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist, he did rise from the dead, and because of this the mighty energies are working in him.'