CHAPTER II.

CHRIST FORGIVING SINS, EATING WITH PUBLICANS AND SINNERS, AND HIS DOCTRINE OF FASTING, OF THE SABBATH, ETC.

1 [2:1]AND entering again into Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was in the house. [2:2]And many came together immediately, so that there was no room, not even in the places about the door; and he spoke to them the word. [2:3]And they came to him bringing a paralytic, borne by four; [2:4]and not being able to approach him on account of the mult.i.tude, they uncovered the roof where he was, and having made an opening let down the bed on which the paralytic was laid. [2:5]And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.

2 [2:6]And some of the scribes were sitting there, and reasoned in their minds, [2:7]Why does this man speak so? he blasphemes. Who can forgive sins but G.o.d alone? [2:8]And Jesus immediately knowing in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, Why do you reason in your minds? [2:9]in what respect is it easier to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven you, than to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk? [2:10]But that you may know that the Son of man has power to forgive sins on the earth, he said to the paralytic, [2:11]I tell you, arise, take your bed and go to your house. [2:12]And he was raised up and immediately taking his bed he went away before all; so that all were astonished, and glorified G.o.d, saying, We never saw the like.

3 [2:13]And he went out again by the lake, and all the mult.i.tude came to him, and he taught them. [2:14]And pa.s.sing by he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the custom house, and said to him, Follow me; and he arose and followed him. [2:15]And he was reclining in his house, and many publicans and sinners also reclined with Jesus and his disciples, for many also followed him. [2:16]And the scribes and Pharisees seeing him eating with sinners and publicans, said to his disciples, Why does he eat and drink with sinners and publicans?

[2:17]And Jesus hearing it, said to them, The well need not a physician, but the ill; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

4 [2:18]And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fasted. And they came and said to him, Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, and your disciples fast not?

[2:19]And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast, [2:20]but days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they shall fast at that time. [2:21]No one sews a piece of undressed cloth on an old garment; if he does the new piece takes away its fullness from the old, and the rent is made worse. [2:22]And no one puts new wine into old bottles; if he does the wine breaks the bottles, and the wine and the bottles are destroyed.

5 [2:23]And he was pa.s.sing on the sabbath through the grain fields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking heads of grain.

[2:24]And the Pharisees said to him, See what they do on the sabbath, which it is not lawful to do. [2:25]And he said to them, Have you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry? both he and those with him? [2:26]How he entered into the house of G.o.d under Abiathar the chief priest, and eat the show bread, which it was not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? [2:27]And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath; [2:28]so that the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.

6 [3:1]And he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there having a withered hand. [3:2]And they watched him [to see] if he would cure him on the sabbath, that they might accuse him. [3:3]And he said to the man having the withered hand, Arise in the midst. [3:4]And he said to them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath, or to do evil?

to save life, or to kill? And they were silent. [3:5]And looking around on them in anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. [3:6]And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians, and took counsel against him to kill him.

7 [3:7]And Jesus went away with his disciples to the lake; and a great mult.i.tude followed him from Galilee, [3:8]and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan. And those about Tyre and Sidon, a great mult.i.tude, hearing what he did, came to him. [3:9]And he told his disciples to have a boat constantly attend him on account of the mult.i.tude, that they might not throng him. [3:10]For he cured many, so that all who had diseases fell down before him, that they might touch him; [3:11]and the impure spirits when they saw him fell down before him, and cried, saying, You are the Son of G.o.d. [3:12] And he strictly charged them not to make him known.

CHAPTER III.

CHRIST CALLING THE TWELVE APOSTLES, THE CHARACTER OF HIS MIRACLES, ETC., AND HIS LOVE FOR HIS DISCIPLES.

1 [3:13]AND he went up on the mountain, and called whom he would; and they went to him. [3:14]And he appointed twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, [3:15]and have power to cast out demons. [3:16]And he gave to Simon the name of Peter.

[He appointed him], [3:17]and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James--and he gave them the names of Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder-- [3:18]and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, [3:19]and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. And they came into a house, [3:20]and again a mult.i.tude came together, so that they could not eat bread. [3:21]And those with him hearing of it, went out to take him; for they said, He is beside himself.

2 [3:22]And the scribes coming down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebul, and casts out demons by the ruler of demons. [3:23]And calling them, he said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? [3:24]And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; [3:25]and if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand; [3:26]and if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. [3:27]But no one can enter into the house of a strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. [3:28]I tell you truly, That all sins and blasphemies with which they blaspheme shall be forgiven the children of men; [3:29]but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit shall never have forgiveness, but is the subject of an eternal mistake; [3:30]because they said, He has an impure spirit.

3 [3:31]Then came his brothers and his mother, and standing without, sent to him to call him. [3:32]And a mult.i.tude sat around him. And they said to him, Behold your mother, and your brothers, and your sisters seek you without. [3:33] And he answered them and said, Who is my mother, or my brothers? [3:34]And looking round on those sitting about him, he said, Behold my mother, and my brothers! [3:35]Whoever shall do the will of G.o.d, this is my brother, and sister, and mother.

CHAPTER IV.

CHRIST'S PARABLES BY THE LAKE, AND HIS STILLING A TEMPEST. 1 [4:1]AND again he taught by the lake; and a very great mult.i.tude came together to him, so that entering into a ship he sat on the lake, and all the mult.i.tude were by the lake on the land. [4:2]And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them, in his teaching, [4:3]Hear!

behold a sower went out to sow; [4:4]and in sowing, some fell on the way, and the birds came and devoured it. [4:5]And some fell on a rocky place, where it had not much earth, and it came up immediately, because it had no depth of earth; [4:6]and when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root it was dried up. [4:7]And some fell among thorns; and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

[4:8]And some fell on good ground, and produced fruit, growing up and increasing, and bore one thirty, one sixty, and one a hundred. [4:9]And he said, He that has ears, let him hear.

2 [4:10]And when he was alone, those about him, with the twelve, asked him the parable. [4:11]And he said to them, To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of G.o.d, but to those without all things are in parables; [4:12]that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand, lest at any time they should turn, and be forgiven. [4:13]And he said to them, Do you not know this parable? How then will you know all parables?

3 [4:14]The sower sows the word. [4:15]And these are those where the word is sown by the way; and when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word which was sown upon them. [4:16]And these in like manner are those sown on the rocky places; when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy, [4:17]and have no root in themselves, but are temporary [disciples]. Then, when affliction or persecution occurs on account of the word, they are immediately offended. [4:18]And those sown among thorns are different. They are those who hear the word, [4:19]and the cares of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires of other things coming in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. [4:20]And these are those sown in good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and bear fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred.

4 [4:21]And he said to them, Does a light come to be put under a modius [1.916 gallon measure], or under a bed? and not to be put in a candlestick? [4:22]For there is nothing hid that shall not be made manifest, nor any thing concealed that shall not come to light.

[4:23]If any one has ears to hear, let him hear. [4:24]And he said to them, Consider what you hear. With what measure you measure it shall be measured to you, and more shall be given you. [4:25]For whoever has, to him shall be given; and whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away.

5 [4:26]And he said, So is the kingdom of G.o.d as a man casts the seeds into the earth, [4:27]and sleeps and wakes, night and day, and the seed germinates, and grows he knows not how. [4:28]The earth produces spontaneously, first the stalk, then the head, then the full wheat in the head. [4:29]And when the wheat delivers itself, he immediately sends out the sickle, because the harvest has come. [4:30]And he said, To what shall I liken the kingdom of G.o.d? or with what parable shall I present it? [4:31]It is like a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth is the least of all seeds on the earth; [4:32]but when sown, it comes up, and becomes the greatest of all plants, and produces great branches, so that the birds of heaven can dwell under its shade.

[4:33]And with many such parables spoke he the word to them as they could hear; [4:34]but without a parable spoke he not to them; and, privately, he explained all things to his disciples.

6 [4:35]And on that day, when it was evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the other side. [4:36]And dismissing the mult.i.tude, they took him as he was in the ship; and other ships also were with him.

[4:37]And there was a great tempest of wind, and the waves beat over the ship, so that the ship was already filled. [4:38]And he was in the stern, on the pillow, asleep. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we perish? [4:39]And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the lake, Hush! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [4:40]And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How have you no faith? [4:41]And they were greatly afraid, and said one to another, What man is this, that even the wind and the lake obey him?

CHAPTER V.

CHRIST CURING A DEMONIAC AND THE WOMAN WITH A HEMORRHAGE, AND RAISING A DEAD CHILD.

1 [5:1]AND they came across the lake to the country of the Gerasenes.

[5:2]And as he went out of the ship, a man with an impure spirit immediately met him from the tombs, [5:3]who lived in the tombs, and none could bind him with a chain; [5:4]for he was often bound with fetters and chains, and his chains were broken by him, and his fetters crushed, and no one could subdue him. [5:5]And he was always night and day in the tombs, and in the mountains, crying, and cutting himself with stones. [5:6]And seeing Jesus at a distance, he ran and worshipped him, [5:7]and crying with a loud voice, said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high G.o.d? I adjure you, by G.o.d, not to torment me. [5:8] For he said to him, Impure spirit, come out of the man. [5:9]And he asked him, What is your name? And he said to him, My name is Legion, for we are many.

2 [5:10]And they besought him much that he would not send them out of the country. [5:11]And there was there on the mountain a great herd of swine feeding. [5:12]And they besought him, saying, Send us to the swine, that we may go into them. [5:13]And Jesus immediately permitted them. And the impure spirits going out entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down a precipice into the lake, about two thousand, and were drowned in the lake.

3 [5:14]And those who fed them fled and told it in the city and in the country; and they came out to see what was done. [5:15]And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac who had the legion, sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [5:16]And those who saw related to them how it had been with the demoniac, and concerning the swine. [5:17]And they besought him to depart from their bounds.

[5:18]And entering into the ship, the man that had been a demoniac besought him that he might go with him; [5:19]and he permitted him not, but said to him, Go to your home, to your friends, and relate to them what the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.

[5:20]And he went away and proclaimed in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and all wondered.

4 [5:21]And Jesus having crossed again in the ship to the other side, a great mult.i.tude came together to him; and he was by the lake. [5:22]And one of the synagogue rulers came, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet, [5:23] and besought him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death; come and lay hands on her, that she may be restored, and she shall live. [5:24]And he went away with him; and a great mult.i.tude followed him, and thronged him. [5:25]And a certain woman having a hemorrhage of twelve years, [5:26]and having taken many things by many physicians, and expended all her property, and not being benefited, but rather growing worse, [5:27]hearing of Jesus, came in the crowd behind him and touched his clothes. [5:28]For she said, If I can touch his clothes I shall be cured.

5 [5:29]And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she knew in herself that she was cured of the plague. [5:30]And Jesus immediately knowing in himself that a power had gone out from him, turning round in the crowd said, Who touched my clothes? [5:31]And his disciples said to him, You see the mult.i.tude throng you, and do you say, Who touched me? [5:32]And he looked round to see her that had done this. [5:33]And the woman being afraid, and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

[5:34]And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has cured you; go in peace, and be well of your plague.

6 [5:35]And while he was yet speaking persons came from the house of the synagogue ruler, saying, Your daughter is dead; why trouble the teacher? [5:36] And Jesus hearing the word spoken, said to the synagogue ruler, Fear not, only believe. [5:37]And he permitted no man to accompany him except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. [5:38]And they came to the house of the synagogue ruler, and saw the tumult, and the people weeping and lamenting much. [5:39]And he went in and said to them, Why do you make a tumult and weep? the little child is not dead, but sleeps. [5:40]And they derided him. And putting them all out, he took the father and mother of the little child, and those with him, and went in where the little child was; [5:41]and taking the hand of the little child, he said to her, Talitha c.u.m, which is interpreted, Girl, I tell you arise; [5:42]and immediately the girl arose and walked about, for she was twelve years old. And they were astonished with great astonishment. [5:43]And he charged them strictly that no one should know it, and directed that food should be given her.

CHAPTER VI.

CHRIST AT NAZARETH, SENDING OUT HIS TWELVE APOSTLES TO PREACH, THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE REPORT OF THE APOSTLES, FEEDING FIVE THOUSAND, AND WALKING ON THE LAKE.

1 [6:1]AND he departed thence, and came into his own country. And his disciples followed him. [6:2]And when it was the sabbath, he taught in the synagogue; and many heard him and were astonished, and said, Whence has this man these things? and what is the wisdom given to him? And [what are] these mighty works done by his hands? [6:3]Is not this the carpenter? the son of Mary? and a brother of James, and Joset, and Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended with him. [6:4]And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and with his relations, and in his own house. [6:5]And he could not do any mighty work there, except that he laid hands on a few sick persons, and cured them.

[6:6]And he wondered at their unbelief. And he went about the villages in order, teaching.

2 [6:7]And he called the twelve, and sent them out two and two, and gave them power over impure spirits; [6:8]and charged them to take nothing for the way, except a staff only; not bread, nor a provision sack, nor copper in the girdle, [6:9]but to wear sandals, and not to put on two coats. [6:10]And he said to them, Where you enter into a house, there remain till you go out thence. [6:11] And whatever place will not receive you, nor hear you, when you go out thence shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them. [6:12]And going out, they preached that [men] should change their minds, [6:13]and cast out many demons, and anointed many sick persons with oil, and cured them.

3 [6:14]And Herod the king, heard [of Jesus], for his name was widely known, and said, John the Baptist has risen from the dead; and on this account the mighty works are performed by him. [6:15]But others said, he is Elijah; and others said, He is a prophet, like one of the prophets. [6:16]But Herod hearing of him, said, This is John whom I beheaded; he has been raised up. [6:17]For Herod had sent and taken John, and, put him bound in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. [6:18]For John said to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. [6:19]And Herodias was displeased with him, and wished to kill him, but was not able. [6:20]For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he preserved him, and hearing him, did many things, and heard him gladly. [6:21] And on a convenient day, when Herod made a supper in honor of his birthday, for his great men, and the chiliarchs, and the first men of Galilee, [6:22]the daughter of this Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod, and those that reclined with him. And the king said to the girl, Ask me what you will and I will give it to you; [6:23]and he swore to her, Whatever you shall ask of me I will give you, to half of my kingdom. [6:24]And she went out and said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

[6:25]And coming in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying, I wish you to give me immediately on a plate the head of John the Baptist.

4 [6:26]And the king was extremely sorry, but on account of the oaths, and those reclining with him, he was not willing to refuse her.

[6:27]And the king immediately sending an executioner, commanded him to bring his head. And he went out and beheaded him in the prison, [6:28]and brought his head on a plate, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. [6:29]And his disciples hearing of it, came and took up his body, and laid it in a tomb.

5 [6:30]And the apostles came together to Jesus and reported to him all things, both what they had done and what instructions they had given.

[6:31]And he said to them, Come to a solitary place by yourselves, and rest a little; for many were coming and going, and there was no convenient time to eat. [6:32]And they went away to a solitary place in the ship by themselves. [6:33]And many saw them going, and knew them; and they ran together there from all the cities on foot, and went before them. [6:34]And going out he saw a great mult.i.tude, and had compa.s.sion on them, for they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and he taught them much.