Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Mark
Excerpt
Book 41 Mark
001:001 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the Son of
God.
001:002 As it is written in Isaiah the Prophet, “See, I am
sending My
messenger before
Thee, Who will prepare Thy way”;
001:003 “The voice of one crying aloud: `In the Desert
prepare a road
for the Lord:
Make His highways straight.’”
001:004 So John the Baptizer came, and was in the Desert
proclaiming
a baptism of the
penitent for forgiveness of sins.
001:005 There went out to him people of all classes from
Judaea,
and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem of all ranks, and were
baptized by him in
the river Jordan, making open confession
of their
sins.
001:006 As for John, his garment was of camel’s hair, and he
wore
a loincloth of
leather; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
001:007 His announcement was, “There is One coming after me
mightier
than
I—One whose sandal-strap I am unworthy to
stoop
down and
unfasten.
001:008 I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize
you
with the Holy
Spirit.”
001:009 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized
by John in the
Jordan;
001:010 and immediately on His coming up out of the water He
saw
an opening in the
sky, and the Spirit like a dove coming
down to
Him;
001:011 and a voice came from the sky, saying, “Thou art My
Son dearly loved:
in Thee is My
delight.”
001:012 At once the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the
Desert,
001:013 where He remained for forty days, tempted by Satan; and
He
was among the wild
beasts, but the angels waited upon Him.
001:014 Then, after John had been thrown into prison, Jesus
came
into Galilee
proclaiming God’s Good News.
001:015 “The time has fully come,” He said, “and
the Kingdom of God
is close at
hand: repent, and believe this Good News.
001:016 One day, passing along the shore of the Lake of Galilee, He
saw
Simon and Andrew,
Simon’s brother, throwing their nets in the Lake;
for they were
fisherman.
001:017 “Come and follow me,” said Jesus, “and I
will make you
fishers for
men.”
001:018 At once they left their nets and followed Him.
001:019 Going on a little further He saw James the son of Zabdi and
his
brother John:
they also were in the boat mending the nets,
and He immediately
called them.
001:020 They therefore left their father Zabdi in the boat
with
the hired men, and
went and followed Him.
001:021 So they came to Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath He
went
to the synagogue
and began to teach.
001:022 The people listened with amazement to His
teaching—
for there was
authority about it: it was very different
from that of the
Scribes—
001:023 when all at once, there in their synagogue, a man under the
power
of a foul spirit
screamed out:
001:024 “What have you to do with us, Jesus the
Nazarene? Have you
come to destroy
us? I know who you are—God’s Holy
One.”
001:025 But Jesus reprimanded him, saying, “Silence! come out
of him.”
001:026 So the foul spirit, after throwing the man into
convulsions,
came out of him
with a loud cry.
001:027 And all were amazed and awe-struck, so they began to ask
one another,
“What does
this mean? Here is a new sort of
teaching—
and a tone of
authority! And even to foul spirits he issues
orders and they
obey him!”
001:028 And His fame spread at once everywhere in all that part of
Galilee.
001:029 Then on leaving the synagogue they came at once, with
James
and John, to the
house of Simon and Andrew.
001:030 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill in bed with a
fever,
and without delay
they informed Him about her.
001:031 So He went to her, and taking her hand He raised her to her
feet:
the fever left her,
and she began to wait upon them.
001:032 When it was evening, after sunset people came bringing
Him
all who were sick
and the demoniacs;
001:033 and the whole town was assembled at the door.
001:034 Then He cured numbers of people who were ill with various
diseases,
and He drove out
many demons; not allowing the demons to speak,
because they knew
who He was.
001:035 In the morning He rose early, while it was still quite
dark,
and leaving the
house He went away to a solitary place
and there
prayed.
001:036 And Simon and the others searched everywhere for
Him.
001:037 When they found Him they said, “Every one is looking
for you.”
001:038 “Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country
towns,”
He replied,
“that I may proclaim my Message there also;
because for that
purpose I came from God.”
001:039 And He went through all Galilee, preaching in the
synagogues
and expelling the
demons.
001:040 One day there came a leper to Jesus entreating
Him,
and pleading on his
knees. “If you are willing,” he said,
“you are able
to cleanse me.”
001:041 Moved with pity Jesus reached out His hand and touched
him.
“I am
willing,” He said; “be cleansed.”
001:042 The leprosy at once left him, and he was
cleansed.
001:043 Jesus at once sent him away, strictly charging
him,
001:044 and saying, “Be careful not to tell any one, but go
and show
yourself to the
Priest, and for your purification present
the offerings that
Moses appointed as evidence for them.”
001:045 But the man, when he went out, began to tell every one and
to
publish the matter
abroad, so that it was no longer possible
for Jesus to go
openly into any town; but He had to remain
outside in
unfrequented places, where people came to Him
from all
parts.
002:001 After some days He entered Capernaum again, and it soon
became
known that He was
at home;
002:002 and such numbers of people came together that there was
no
longer room for
them even round the door. He was speaking
His Message to
them,
002:003 when there came a party of people bringing a
paralytic—
four men carrying
him.
002:004 Finding themselves unable, however, to bring him to
Jesus
because of the
crowd, they untiled the roof just over His head,
and after clearing
an opening they lowered the mat on which
the paralytic was
lying.
002:005 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “My
son,
your sins are
pardoned.”
002:006 Now there were some of the Scribes sitting there, and
reasoning
in their
hearts.
002:007 “Why does this man use such words?” they said;
“he is blaspheming.
Who can pardon sins
but One—that is, God?”
002:008 At once perceiving by His spirit that they were
reasoning
within themselves,
Jesus asked them, “Why do you thus argue
in your
minds?
002:009 Which is easier?—to say to this paralytic, `Your
sins are pardoned,’
or to say, `Rise,
take up your mat, and walk?’
002:010 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on
earth
to pardon
sins”—He turned to the paralytic, and
said,
002:011 “To you I say, `Rise, take up your mat and go
home.’”
002:012 The man rose, and immediately under the eyes of all
took
up his mat and went
out, so that they were all filled
with astonishment,
gave the glory to God, and said,
“We never saw
anything like this.”
002:013 Again He went out to the shore of the Lake, and the
whole
multitude kept
coming to Him, and He taught them.
002:014 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of
Alphaeus
sitting at the Toll
Office, and said to him, “Follow me.”
So he rose and
followed Him.
002:015 When He was sitting at table in Levi’s house, a large
number
of tax-gatherers
and notorious sinners were at table
with Jesus and His
disciples; for there were many such who
habitually followed
Him.
002:016 But when the Scribes of the Pharisee sect saw Him eating
with
the sinners and the
tax-gatherers, they said to His disciples,
“He is eating
and drinking with the tax-gatherers and sinners!”
002:017 Jesus heard the words, and He said, “It is not the
healthy
who require a
doctor, but the sick: I did not come to appeal
to the righteous,
but to sinners.”
002:018 (Now John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees were
keeping
a fast.) And they
came and asked Him, “How is it that
John’s
disciples and those of the Pharisees are fasting,
and yours are
not?”
002:019 “Can a wedding party fast while the bridegroom is
among them?”
replied
Jesus. “So long as they have the bridegroom with
them,
fasting is
impossible.
002:020 But a time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken
away
from them; then
they will fast.
002:021 No one mends an old garment with a piece of unshrunk
cloth.
Otherwise, the
patch put on would tear away from it—
the new from the
old—and a worse hole would be made.
002:022 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the wine
would burst the
skins, and both wine and skins would be lost.
New wine needs
fresh skins!”
002:023 One Sabbath He was walking through the wheatfields when
His
disciples began to
pluck the ears of wheat as they went.
002:024 So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look! why are they
doing what on
the Sabbath is
unlawful?”
002:025 “Have you never read,” Jesus replied,
“what David did when
the necessity arose
and he and his men were hungry:
002:026 how he entered the house of God in the High-priesthood of
Abiathar,
and ate the
Presented Loaves—which none but the priests
are allowed to
eat—and gave some to his men also?”
002:027 And Jesus said to them: “The Sabbath was made
for man,
not man for the
Sabbath;
002:028 so that the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath.”
003:001 At another time, when He went to the synagogue, there was a
man
there with one arm
shrivelled up.
003:002 They closely watched Him to see whether He would cure
him
on the
Sabbath—so as to have a charge to bring against
Him.
003:003 “Come forward,” said He to the man with the
shrivelled arm.
003:004 Then He asked them, “Are we allowed to do good on the
Sabbath,
or to do evil? to
save a life, or to destroy one?”
They remained
silent.
003:005 Grieved and indignant at the hardening of their
hearts,
He looked round on
them with anger, and said to the man,
“Stretch out
your arm.” He stretched it out, and the arm
was completely
restored.
003:006 But no sooner had the Pharisees left the synagogue than
they
held a consultation
with the Herodians against Jesus,
to devise some
means of destroying Him.
003:007 Accordingly Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the
Lake,
and a vast crowd of
people from Galilee followed Him;
003:008 and from Judaea and Jerusalem and Idumaea and from
beyond
the Jordan and from
the district of Tyre and Sidon there came
to Him a vast
crowd, hearing of all that He was doing.
003:009 So He gave directions to His disciples to keep a
small
boat in constant
attendance on Him because of the throng—
to prevent their
crushing Him.
003:010 For He had cured many of the people, so that all who had
any
ailments pressed
upon Him, to touch Him.
003:011 And the foul spirits, whenever they saw Him, threw
themselves
down at His feet,
screaming out: “You are the Son of
God.”
003:012 But He many a time checked them, forbidding them to
say
who He
was.
003:013 Then He went up the hill; and those whom He Himself
chose
He called, and they
came to Him.
003:014 He appointed twelve of them, that they might be with
Him,
and that He might
also send them to proclaim His Message,
003:015 with authority to expel the demons.
003:016 These twelve were Simon (to whom He gave the surname of
Peter),
003:017 James the son of Zabdi and John the brother of
James
(these two He
surnamed Boanerges, that is `Sons of Thunder’),
003:018 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the
son
of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean,
003:019 and Judas Iscariot, the man who also betrayed
Him.
003:020 And He went into a house. But again the crowd
assembled,
so that there was
no opportunity for them even to snatch a meal.
003:021 Hearing of this, His relatives came to seize Him by
force,
for they said,
“He is out of his mind.”
003:022 The Scribes, too, who had come down from Jerusalem
said,
“He has
Baal-zebul in him; and it is by the power of the Prince
of the demons that
he expels the demons.”
003:023 So He called them to Him, and using figurative language
He
appealed to them,
saying, “How is it possible for Satan
to expel
Satan?
003:024 For if civil war breaks out in a kingdom, nothing can
make
that kingdom
last;
003:025 and if a family splits into parties, that family cannot
continue.
003:026 So if Satan has risen in arms and has made war upon
himself,
stand he cannot,
but meets his end.
003:027 Nay, no one can go into a strong man’s house and
carry off
his property,
unless he first binds the strong man, and then
he will plunder his
house.
003:028 In solemn truth I tell you that all their sins may be
pardoned
to the sons of men,
and all their blasphemies, however they
may have
blasphemed;
003:029 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, he
remains
for ever
unabsolved: he is guilty of a sin of the
Ages.”
003:030 This was because they said, “He is possessed by a
foul spirit.”
003:031 By this time His mother and His brothers arrive, and
standing
outside they send a
message to Him to call Him.
003:032 Now a crowd was sitting round Him; so they tell Him,
“Your mother
and your brothers
and sisters are outside, inquiring for you.”
003:033 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He
replied.
003:034 And, fixing His eyes on the people who were sitting round
Him
in a circle, He
said,
003:035 “Here are my mother and my brothers. For
wherever there
is one who has been
obedient to God, there is my brother—
my
sister—and my mother.”
004:001 Once more He began to teach by the side of the
Lake,
and a vast
multitude of people came together to listen to Him.
He therefore went
on board the boat and sat there, a little
way from the land;
and all the people were on the shore close
to the
water.
004:002 Then He proceeded to teach them many lessons in figurative
language;
and in His teaching
He said,
004:003 “Listen: the sower goes out to sow.
004:004 As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the
birds
come and peck it
up.
004:005 Some falls on the rocky ground where it finds but little
earth,
and it shoots up
quickly because it has no depth of soil;
004:006 but when the sun is risen, it is scorched, and through
having
no root it withers
away.
004:007 Some, again, falls among the thorns; and the thorns spring
up
and stifle it, so
that it yields no crop.
004:008 But some of the seed falls into good ground, and gives a
return:
it comes up and
increases, and yields thirty, sixty,
or a
hundred-fold.”
004:009 “Listen,” He added, “every one who has
ears to listen with!”
004:010 When He was alone, the Twelve and the others who were about
Him
requested Him to
explain His figurative language.
004:011 “To you,” He replied, “has been entrusted
the secret truth
concerning the
Kingdom of God; but to those others outside
your number all
this is spoken in figurative language;
004:012 that “`They may look and look but not see, and listen
and
listen but not
understand, lest perchance they should return
and be
pardoned.’”
004:013 “Do you all miss the meaning of this parable?”
He added;
“how then
will you understand the rest of my parables?”
004:014 “What the sower sows is the Message.
004:015 Those who receive the seed by the way-side are those in
whom
the Message is
sown, but, when they have heard it, Satan comes
at once and carries
away the Message sown in them.
004:016 In the same way those who receive the seed on the
rocky
places are those
who, when they have heard the Message,
at once accept it
joyfully,
004:017 but they have no root within them. They last for a
time;
then, when
suffering or persecution comes because of the Message,
they are
immediately overthrown.
004:018 Others there are who receive the seed among the
thorns:
these are they who
have heard the Message,
004:019 but worldly cares and the deceitfulness of wealth and the
excessive
pursuit of other
objects come in and stifle the Message,
and it becomes
unfruitful.
004:020 Those, on the other hand, who have received the seed
on
the good ground,
are all who hear the Message and welcome it,
and yield a return
of thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold.”
004:021 He went on to say, “Is the lamp brought in in order
to be put
under the bushel or
under the bed? Is it not rather in order
that it may be
placed on the lampstand?
004:022 Why, there is nothing hidden except with a view to its
being
ultimately
disclosed, nor has anything been made a secret
but that it may at
last come to light.
004:023 Listen, every one who has ears to listen
with!”
004:024 He also said to them, “Take care what you
hear.
With what measure
you measure, it will be measured to you,
and that with
interest.
004:025 For those who have will have more given them; and from
those
who have not, even
what they have will be taken away.”
004:026 Another saying of His was this: “The Kingdom of
God is as if
a man scattered
seed over the ground:
004:027 he spends days and nights, now awake, now asleep, while the
seed
sprouts and grows
tall, he knows not how.
004:028 Of itself the land produces the crop—first the
blade, then the ear;
afterwards the
perfect grain is seen in the ear.
004:029 But no sooner is the crop ripe, than he sends the
reapers,
because the time of
harvest has come.”
004:030 Another saying of His was this: “How are we to
picture the Kingdom
of God? or by what
figure of speech shall we represent it?
004:031 It is like a mustard-seed, which, when sown in the
earth,
is the smallest of
all the seeds in the world;
004:032 yet when sown it springs up and becomes larger than all the
herbs,
and throws out
great branches, so that the birds build
under its
shadow.”
004:033 With many such parables He used to speak the Message to
them
according to their
capacity for receiving it.
004:034 But except in figurative language He spoke nothing to
them;
while to His own
disciples He expounded everything, in private.
004:035 The same day, in the evening, He said to them, “Let
us cross
to the other
side.”
004:036 So they got away from the crowd, and took Him—as
He was—
in the boat; and
other boats accompanied Him.
004:037 But a heavy squall came on, and the waves were now
dashing
into the boat, so
that it was fast filling.
004:038 But He Himself was in the stern asleep, with His head on
the cushion:
so they woke
Him. “Rabbi,” they cried, “is it nothing to
you
that we are
drowning?”
004:039 So He roused Himself and rebuked the wind, and said
to
the waves,
“Silence! Be still!” The wind sank, and a
perfect
calm set
in.
004:040 “Why are you so timid?” He asked; “have
you still no faith?”
004:041 Then they were filled with terror, and began to say to one
another,
“Who is this,
then? For even wind and sea obey Him.”
005:001 So they arrived at the opposite shore of the Lake, in the
country
of the
Gerasenes.
005:002 At once, on His landing, there came from the tombs to
meet
Him a man possessed
by a foul spirit.
005:003 This man lived among the tombs, nor could any one now
secure
him even with a
chain;
005:004 for many a time he had been left securely bound in
fetters
and chains, but
afterwards the chains lay torn link from link,
and the fetters in
fragments, and there was no one strong
enough to master
him.
005:005 And constantly, day and night, he remained among the tombs
or on
the hills,
shrieking, and mangling himself with sharp stones.
005:006 And when he saw Jesus in the distance, he ran and threw
himself
at His
feet,
005:007 crying out in a loud voice, “What hast Thou to do
with me,
Jesus, Son of God
Most High? In God’s name I implore Thee
not to torment
me.”
005:008 For He had said to him, “Foul spirit, come out of the
man.”
005:009 Jesus also questioned him. “What is your
name?”
He said.
“Legion,” he replied, “for there are a host of
us.”
005:010 And he earnestly entreated Him not to send them away
out
of the
country.
005:011 Feeding there, on the mountain slope, was a great herd of
swine.
005:012 So they besought Jesus. “Send us to the
swine,” they said,
“so that we
may enter into them.”
005:013 He gave them leave; and the foul spirits came out and
entered
into the swine, and
the herd—about 2,000 in number—
rushed headlong
down the cliff into the Lake and were drowned
in the
Lake.
005:014 The swineherds fled, and spread the news in town and
country.
So the people came
to see what it was that had happened;
005:015 and when they came to Jesus, they beheld the demoniac
quietly seated,
clothed and of sane
mind—the man who had had the legion;
and they were
awe-stricken.
005:016 And those who had seen it told them the particulars of what
had
happened to the
demoniac, and all about the swine.
005:017 Then they began entreating Him to depart from their
district.
005:018 As He was embarking, the man who had been possessed
asked
permission to
accompany Him.
005:019 But He would not allow it. “Go home to your
family,” He said,
“and report
to them all that the Lord has done for you,
and the mercy He
has shown you.”
005:020 So the man departed, and related publicly everywhere in the
Ten Towns
all that Jesus had
done for him; and all were astonished.
005:021 When Jesus had re-crossed in the boat to the other
side,
a vast multitude
came crowding to Him; and He was on the shore
of the
Lake,
005:022 when there came one of the Wardens of the
Synagogue—
he was called
Jair—who, on beholding Him, threw himself
at His
feet,
005:023 and besought Him with many entreaties. “My
little daughter,”
he said, “is
at the point of death: I pray you come and lay
your hands upon
her, that she may recover and live.”
005:024 And Jesus went with him. And a dense crowd followed
Him,
and thronged Him on
all sides.
005:025 Now a woman who for twelve years had suffered from
haemorrhage,
005:026 and had undergone many different treatments under a
number
of doctors and had
spent all she had without receiving benefit
but on the contrary
growing worse,
005:027 heard of Jesus. And she came in the crowd behind Him
and
touched His
cloak;
005:028 for she said, “If I but touch His clothes, I shall be
cured.”
005:029 In a moment the flow of her blood ceased, and she felt in
herself
that her complaint
was cured.
005:030 Immediately Jesus, well knowing that healing power had
gone
from within Him,
turned round in the crowd and asked,
“Who touched
my clothes?”
005:031 “You see the multitude pressing you on all
sides,”
His disciples
exclaimed, “and yet you ask, `Who touched
me?’”
005:032 But He continued looking about to see the person who had
done this,
005:033 until the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing
what
had happened to
her, came and threw herself at His feet,
and told Him all
the truth.
005:034 “Daughter,” He said, “your faith has
cured you: go in peace,
and be free from
your complaint.”
005:035 While He is yet speaking, men come from the house to the
Warden,
and say,
“Your daughter is dead: why trouble the Rabbi
further?”
005:036 But Jesus, overhearing the words, said to the Warden,
“Do not
be afraid; only
have faith.”
005:037 And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter
and
the brothers James
and John.
005:038 So they come to the Warden’s house. Here He
gazes on a scene
of uproar, with
people weeping aloud and wailing.
005:039 He goes in. “Why all this outcry and loud
weeping?”
He asks; “the
child is asleep, not dead.”
005:040 To this their reply is a scornful laugh. He, however,
puts them
all out, takes the
child’s father and mother and those He has
brought with Him,
and enters the room where the child lies.
005:041 Then, taking her by the hand, He says to her,
“Talitha, koum;”
that is to say,
“Little girl, I command you to wake!”
005:042 Instantly the little girl rises to her feet and begins to
walk
(for she was twelve
years old). They were at once beside
themselves with
utter astonishment;
005:043 but He gave strict injunctions that the matter should not
be
made known, and
directed them to give her something to eat.
006:001 Leaving that place He came into His own country,
accompanied
by His
disciples.
006:002 On the Sabbath He proceeded to teach in the synagogue; and
many,
as they heard Him,
were astonished. “Where did he acquire all
this?”
they asked.
“What is this wisdom that has been given to
him?
And what are these
marvellous miracles which his hands perform?
006:003 Is not this the carpenter, Mary’s son, the brother of
James
and Joses, Jude and
Simon? And do not his sisters live
here among
us?” So they turned angrily away.
006:004 But Jesus said to them, “There is no Prophet without
honour
except in his own
country, and among his own relatives,
and in his own
home.”
006:005 And He could not do any miracle there, except that He laid
His
hands on a few who
were out of health and cured them; and
006:006 He wondered at their unbelief. So He went round
the
adjacent villages,
teaching.
006:007 Then summoning the Twelve to Him, He proceeded to send
them
out by twos, and
gave them authority over the foul spirits.
006:008 He charged them to take nothing for the journey except a
stick;
no bread, no bag,
and not a penny in their pockets,
006:009 but to go wearing sandals. “And do not,”
He said, “put on
an extra under
garment.
006:010 Wherever you enter a house, make it your home till
you
leave that
place.
006:011 But wherever they will not receive you or listen to
you,
when you leave
shake off the very dust from under your feet
to bear witness
concerning them.”
006:012 So they set out, and preached in order that men might
repent.
006:013 Many demons they expelled, and many invalids they
anointed
with oil and
cured.
006:014 King Herod heard of all this (for the name of Jesus had
become
widely known), and
he kept saying, “John the Baptizer has
come back to life,
and that is why these miraculous Powers
are working in
him.”
006:015 Others asserted that He was Elijah. Others again
said,
“He is a
Prophet, like one of the great Prophets.”
006:016 But when Herod heard of Him, he said, “The John, whom
I beheaded,
has come back to
life.”
006:017 For Herod himself had sent and had had John arrested and
had
kept him in prison
in chains, for the sake of Herodias,
his brother
Philip’s wife; because he had married her.
006:018 For John had repeatedly told Herod, “You have no
right to be
living with your
brother’s wife.”
006:019 Therefore Herodias hated him and wished to take his
life,
but could
not;
006:020 for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing him to be an
upright
and holy man, and
he protected him. After listening to him he was
in great
perplexity, and yet he found a pleasure in listening.
006:021 At length Herodias found her opportunity. Herod on
his birthday
gave a banquet to
the nobles of his court and to the tribunes
and the principal
people in Galilee,
006:022 at which Herodias’s own daughter came in and
danced,
and so charmed
Herod and his guests that he said to her,
“Ask me for
anything you please, and I will give it to you.”
006:023 He even swore to her, “Whatever you ask me for I will
give you,
up to half my
kingdom.”
006:024 She at once went out and said to her mother:
“What shall I ask for?”
“The head of
John the Baptizer,” she replied.
006:025 The girl immediately came in, in haste, to the King and
made
her request.
“My desire is,” she said, “that you will give
me,
here and now, on a
dish, the head of John the Baptist.”
006:026 Then the King, though intensely sorry, yet for the sake of
his oaths,
and of his guests,
would not break faith with her.
006:027 He at once sent a soldier of his guard with orders to
bring
John’s
head. So he went and beheaded him in the prison,
006:028 and brought his head on a dish and gave it to the young
girl,
who gave it to her
mother.
006:029 When John’s disciples heard of it, they came and took
away
his body and laid
it in a tomb.
006:030 When the Apostles had re-assembled round Jesus, they
reported
to Him all they had
done and all they had taught.
006:031 Then He said to them, “Come away, all of you, to a
quiet place,
and rest
awhile.” For there were many coming and
going,
so that they had no
time even for meals.
006:032 Accordingly they sailed away in the boat to a solitary
place apart.
006:033 But the people saw them going, and many knew them; and
coming
by land they ran
together there from all the neighbouring towns,
and arrived before
them.
006:034 So when Jesus landed, He saw a vast multitude; and His
heart
was moved with pity
for them, because they were like sheep which
have no shepherd,
and He proceeded to teach them many things.
006:035 By this time it was late; so His disciples came to Him, and
said,
“This is a
lonely place, and the hour is now late:
006:036 send them away that they may go to the farms and villages
near
here and buy
themselves something to eat.”
006:037 “Give them food yourselves,” He replied.
“Are we,” they asked,
“to go and
buy two hundred shillings’ worth of bread and
give them
food?”
006:038 “How many loaves have you?” He inquired;
“go and see.”
So they found out,
and said, “Five; and a couple of fish.”
006:039 So He directed them to make all sit down in companies
on
the green
grass.
006:040 And they sat down in rows of hundreds and of
fifties.
006:041 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and lifting
His eyes
to Heaven He
blessed the food. Then He broke the loaves into
portions which He
went on handing to the disciples to distribute;
giving pieces also
of the two fish to them all.
006:042 All ate and were fully satisfied.
006:043 And they carried away broken portions enough to fill twelve
baskets,
besides pieces of
the fish.
006:044 Those who ate the bread were 5,000 adult men.
006:045 Immediately afterwards He made His disciples go on
board
the boat and cross
over to Bethsaida, leaving Him behind
to dismiss the
crowd.
006:046 He then bade the people farewell, and went away up the hill
to pray.
006:047 When evening was come, the boat was half way across the
Lake,
while he Himself
was on shore alone.
006:048 But when He saw them distressed with rowing (for the wind
was
against them),
towards morning He came towards them walking
on the Lake, as if
intending to pass them.
006:049 They saw Him walking on the water, and thinking that it
was
a spirit they cried
out;
006:050 for they all saw Him and were terrified. He,
however,
immediately spoke
to them. “There is no danger,” He said;
“it is I; be
not alarmed.”
006:051 Then He went up to them on board the boat, and the wind
lulled;
and they were
beside themselves with silent amazement.
006:052 For they had not learned the lesson taught by the
loaves,
but their minds
were dull.
006:053 Having crossed over they drew to land in Gennesaret
and
came to
anchor.
006:054 But no sooner had they gone ashore than the
people
immediately
recognized Him.
006:055 Then they scoured the whole district, and began to bring
Him
the sick on their
mats wherever they heard He was.
006:056 And enter wherever He might—village or town or
hamlet—
they laid their
sick in the open places, and entreated
Him to let them
touch were it but the tassel of His robe;
and all, whoever
touched Him, were restored to health.
007:001 Then the Pharisees, with certain Scribes who had come from
Jerusalem,
came to Him in a
body.
007:002 They had noticed that some of His disciples were eating
their
food with
`unclean’ (that is to say, unwashed) hands.
007:003 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews—being, as
they are,
zealous for the
traditions of the Elders—never eat without
first carefully
washing their hands,
007:004 and when they come from market they will not eat
without
bathing first; and
they have a good many other customs
which they have
received traditionally and cling to,
such as the rinsing
of cups and pots and of bronze utensils,
and the washing of
beds.)
007:005 So the Pharisees and Scribes put the question to Him:
“Why do
your disciples
transgress the traditions of the Elders,
and eat their food
with unclean hands?”
007:006 “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you
hypocrites,” He replied;
“as it is
written, “`This People honour Me with their lips,
while their hearts
are far away from Me:
007:007 But idle is their devotion while they lay down
precepts
which are mere
human rules.’
007:008 “You neglect God’s Commandment: you hold
fast to men’s traditions.”
007:009 “Praiseworthy indeed!” He added, “to set
at nought
God’s
Commandment in order to observe your own traditions!
007:010 For Moses said, `Honour thy father and thy mother’
and again,
`He who curses
father or mother, let him die the death.’
007:011 But you say, `If a man says to his father or mother,
It is
a Korban (that is,
a thing devoted to God), whatever it is,
which otherwise you
would have received from me—’
007:012 And so you no longer allow him to do anything for
his
father or
mother,
007:013 thus nullifying God’s precept by your tradition which
you
have handed
down. And many things of that kind you do.”
007:014 Then Jesus called the people to Him again.
“Listen to me,
all of you,”
He said, “and understand.
007:015 There is nothing outside a man which entering him can
make
him unclean; but it
is the things which come out of a man
that make him
unclean.”
007:016 []
007:017 After He had left the crowd and gone indoors, His
disciples
began to ask Him
about this figure of speech.
007:018 “Have you also so little understanding?”
He replied;
“do you not
understand that anything whatever that enters
a man from outside
cannot make him unclean,
007:019 because it does not go into his heart, but into his
stomach,
and passes away
ejected from him?” By these words Jesus
pronounced all
kinds of food clean.
007:020 “What comes out of a man,” He added,
“that it is which
makes him
unclean.
007:021 For from within, out of men’s hearts, their evil
purposes proceed—
fornication, theft,
murder, adultery,
007:022 covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness,
envy,
reviling, pride,
reckless folly:
007:023 all these wicked things come out from within and
make
a man
unclean.”
007:024 Then He rose and left that place and went into the
neighbourhood
of Tyre and
Sidon. Here He entered a house and wished no
one to know it, but
He could not escape observation.
007:025 Forthwith a woman whose little daughter was possessed by a
foul
spirit heard of
Him, and came and flung herself at His feet.
007:026 She was a Gentile woman, a Syro-phoenician by
nation:
and again and again
she begged Him to expel the demon
from her
daughter.
007:027 “Let the children first eat all they want,” He
said;
“it is not
right to take the children’s bread and throw it
to the
dogs.”
007:028 “True, Sir,” she replied, “and yet the
dogs under the table
eat the
children’s scraps.”
007:029 “For those words of yours, go home,” He
replied; “the demon
has gone out of
your daughter.”
007:030 So she went home, and found the child lying on the
bed,
and the demon
gone.
007:031 Returning from the neighbourhood of Tyre, He came by
way
of Sidon to the
Lake of Galilee, passing through the district
of the Ten
Towns.
007:032 Here they brought to Him a deaf man that stammered, on
whom
they begged Him to
lay His hands.
007:033 So Jesus taking him aside, apart from the crowd, put
His
fingers into his
ears, and spat, and moistened his tongue;
007:034 and looking up to Heaven He sighed, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”
(that is,
“Open!”)
007:035 And the man’s ears were opened, and his tongue became
untied,
and he began to
speak perfectly.
007:036 Then Jesus charged them to tell no one; but the more He
charged them,
all the more did
they spread the news far and wide.
007:037 The amazement was extreme. “He succeeds in
everything
he attempts,”
they exclaimed; “he even makes deaf men hear
and dumb men
speak!”
008:001 About that time there was again an immense crowd, and
they
found themselves
with nothing to eat. So He called His
disciples to
Him.
008:002 “My heart yearns over the people,” He said;
“for this is now
the third day they
have remained with me, and they have
nothing to
eat.
008:003 If I were to send them home hungry, they would faint on the
way,
some of them having
come a great distance.”
008:004 “Where can we possibly get bread here in this remote
place
to satisfy such a
crowd?” answered His disciples.
008:005 “How many loaves have you?” He asked.
“Seven,” they said.
008:006 So He passed the word to the people to sit down on the
ground.
Then taking the
seven loaves He blessed them, and broke them
into portions and
proceeded to give them to His disciples for
them to distribute,
and they distributed them to the people.
008:007 They had also a few small fish. He blessed them, and
He told
His disciples to
distribute these also.
008:008 So the people ate an abundant meal; and what remained over
they
picked up and
carried away—seven hampers of broken pieces.
008:009 The number fed were about 4,000. Then He sent them
away,
008:010 and at once going on board with His disciples He came
into
the district of
Dalmanutha.
008:011 The Pharisees followed Him and began to dispute with
Him,
asking Him for a
sign in the sky, to make trial of Him.
008:012 Heaving a deep and troubled sigh, He said, “Why do
the men
of to-day ask for a
sign? In solemn truth I tell you that no
sign will be given
to the men of to-day.”
008:013 So He left them, went on board again, and came away
to
the other
side.
008:014 Now they had forgotten to take bread, nor had they more
than
a single loaf with
them in the boat;
008:015 and when He admonished them, “See to it, be on your
guard
against the yeast
of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,”
008:016 they explained His words to one another by
saying,
“We have no
bread!”
008:017 He perceived what they were saying, and He said to
them,
“What is this
discussion of yours about having no bread?
Do you not yet see
and understand? Are your minds so
dull of
comprehension?
008:018 You have eyes! can you not see? You have ears! can
you not
hear? and have you
no memory?
008:019 When I broke up the five loaves for the 5,000 men, how
many
baskets did you
carry away full of broken portions?”
“Twelve,”
they said.
008:020 “And when the seven for the 4,000, how many hampers
full
of portions did you
take away?” “Seven,” they answered.
008:021 “Do you not yet understand?” He said.
008:022 And they came to Bethsaida. And a blind man was
brought
to Jesus and they
entreated Him to touch him.
008:023 So He took the blind man by the arm and brought him
out
of the village, and
spitting into his eyes He put His hands
on him and asked
him, “Can you see anything?”
008:024 He looked up and said, “I can see the people: I
see them
like
trees—only walking.”
008:025 Then for the second time He put His hands on the
man’s eyes,
and the man,
looking steadily, recovered his sight and
saw everything
distinctly.
008:026 So He sent him home, and added, “Do not even go into
the village.”
008:027 From that place Jesus and His disciples went to the
villages
belonging to
Caesarea Philippi. On the way He began to ask
His disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
008:028 “John the Baptist,” they replied, “but
others say Elijah,
and others, that it
is one of the Prophets.”
008:029 Then He asked them pointedly, “But you yourselves,
who do you
say that I
am?” “You are the Christ,” answered
Peter.
008:030 And He strictly forbad them to tell this about Him to any
one.
008:031 And now for the first time He told them, “The Son of
Man
must endure much
suffering, and be rejected by the Elders
and the High
Priests and the Scribes, and be put to death,
and after two days
rise to life.”
008:032 This He told them plainly; whereupon Peter took Him and
began
to remonstrate with
Him.
008:033 But turning round and seeing His disciples, He rebuked
Peter.
“Get behind
me, Adversary,” He said, “for your thoughts
are
not God’s
thoughts, but men’s.”
008:034 Then calling to Him the crowd and also His disciples, He
said
to them, “If
any one is desirous of following me, let him
ignore self and
take up his cross, and so be my follower.
008:035 For whoever is bent on securing his life will lose
it,
but he who loses
his life for my sake, and for the sake
of the Good News,
will secure it.
008:036 Why, what does it benefit a man to gain the whole
world
and forfeit his
life?
008:037 For what could a man give to buy back his life?
008:038 Every one, however, who has been ashamed of me and of
my
teachings in this
faithless and sinful age, of him the Son
of Man also will be
ashamed when He comes in His Father’s
glory with the holy
angels.”
009:001 He went on to say, “In solemn truth I tell you that
some of
those who are
standing here will certainly not taste death till
they have seen the
Kingdom of God already come in power.”
009:002 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and
John,
and brought them
alone, apart from the rest, up a high mountain;
and in their
presence His appearance underwent a change.
009:003 His garments also became dazzling with brilliant
whiteness—
such whiteness as
no bleaching on earth could give.
009:004 Moreover there appeared to them Elijah accompanied by
Moses;
and the two were
conversing with Jesus,
009:005 when Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we are thankful to
you
that we are
here. Let us put up three tents—one for
you,
one for Moses, and
one for Elijah.”
009:006 For he knew not what to say: they were filled with
such awe.
009:007 Then there came a cloud spreading over them, and a
voice
issued from the
cloud, “This is my Son, dearly loved:
listen to
Him.”
009:008 Instantly they looked round, and now they could no longer
see
any one, but
themselves and Jesus.
009:009 As they were coming down from the mountain, He very
strictly
forbad them to tell
any one what they had seen “until after
the Son of Man has
risen from among the dead.”
009:010 So they kept the matter to themselves, although
frequently
asking one another
what was meant by the rising from the dead.
009:011 They also asked Him, “How is it that the Scribes say
that Elijah
must first
come?”
009:012 “Elijah,” He replied, “does indeed come
first and reforms everything;
but how is it that
it is written of the Son of Man that He
will endure much
suffering and be held in contempt?
009:013 Yet I tell you that not only has Elijah come, but they
have
also done to him
whatever they chose, as the Scriptures
say about
him.”
009:014 As they came to rejoin the disciples, they saw an immense
crowd
surrounding them
and a party of Scribes disputing with them.
009:015 Immediately the whole multitude on beholding Him were
astonished
and awe-struck, and
yet they ran forward and greeted Him.
009:016 “What is the subject you are discussing?” He
asked them.
009:017 “Rabbi,” answered one of the crowd, “I
have brought you my son.
He has a dumb
spirit in him;
009:018 and wherever it comes upon him, it dashes him to the
ground,
and he foams at the
mouth and grinds his teeth, and he is
pining away.
I begged your disciples to expel it, but they
had not the
power.”
009:019 “O unbelieving generation!” replied Jesus;
“how long must
I be with you? how
long must I have patience with you?
Bring the boy to
me.”
009:020 So they brought him to Jesus. And the spirit, when he
saw Jesus,
immediately threw
the youth into convulsions, so that he fell
on the ground and
rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
009:021 Then Jesus asked the father, “How long has he been
like this?”
“From early
childhood,” he said;
009:022 “and often it has thrown him into the fire or into
pools
of water to destroy
him. But, if you possibly can, have pity
on us and help
us.”
009:023 “`If I possibly can!’” replied Jesus;
“why, everything is
possible to him who
believes.”
009:024 Immediately the father cried out, “I do
believe:
strengthen my weak
faith.”
009:025 Then Jesus, seeing that an increasing crowd was
running
towards Him,
rebuked the foul spirit, and said to it,
“Dumb and
deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him
and never enter
into him again.”
009:026 So with a loud cry he threw the boy into fit after fit, and
came out.
The boy looked as
if he were dead, so that most of them said
he was
dead;
009:027 but Jesus took his hand and raised him up, and he
stood
on his
feet.
009:028 After the return of Jesus to the house His disciples
asked
Him privately,
“How is it that we could not expel the
spirit?”
009:029 “An evil spirit of this kind,” He answered,
“can only be driven
out by
prayer.”
009:030 Departing thence they passed through Galilee, and He
was
unwilling that any
one should know it;
009:031 for He was teaching His disciples, and telling
them,
“The Son of
Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men,
and they will put
Him to death; and after being put to death,
in three days He
will rise to life again.”
009:032 They, however, did not understand what He meant, and were
afraid
to question
Him.
009:033 So they came to Capernaum; and when in the house He asked
them,
“What were
you arguing about on the way?”
009:034 But they remained silent; for on the way they had
debated
with one another
who was the chief of them.
009:035 Then sitting down He called the Twelve, and said to
them,
“If any one
wishes to be first, he must be last of all and
servant of
all.”
009:036 And taking a young child He made him stand in their
midst,
then threw His arms
round him and said,
009:037 “Whoever for my sake receives one such young child as
this,
receives me; and
whoever receives me, receives not so much
me as Him who sent
me.”
009:038 “Rabbi,” said John to Him, “we saw a man
making use of your name
to expel demons,
and we tried to hinder him, on the ground
that he did not
follow us.”
009:039 “You should not have tried to hinder him,”
replied Jesus,
“for there is
no one who will use my name to perform a miracle
and be able the
next minute to speak evil of me.
009:040 He who is not against us is for us;
009:041 and whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because
you
belong to Christ, I
solemnly tell you that he will certainly
not lose his
reward.
009:042 “And whoever shall occasion the fall of one of these
little
ones who believe,
he would be better off if, with a millstone
round his neck, he
were lying at the bottom of the sea.
009:043 If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it
off:
it would be better
for you to enter into Life maimed, than remain
in possession of
both your hands and go away into Gehenna,
into the fire which
cannot be put out.
009:044 []
009:045 Or if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it
off:
it would be better
for you to enter into Life crippled, than remain
in possession of
both your feet and be thrown into Gehenna.
009:046 []
009:047 Or if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it
out.
It would be better
for you to enter into the Kingdom of God
half-blind than
remain in possession of two eyes and be
thrown into
Gehenna,
009:048 where their worm does not die and the fire does not go
out.
009:049 Every one, however, will be salted with fire.
009:050 Salt is a good thing, but if the salt should become
tasteless,
what will you use
to give it saltness? Have salt within you
and live at peace
with one another.”
010:001 Soon on His feet once more, He enters the district of
Judaea
and crosses the
Jordan: again the people flock to Him,
and ere long, as
was usual with Him, He was teaching
them once
more.
010:002 Presently a party of Pharisees come to Him with the
question—
seeking to entrap
Him, “May a man divorce his wife?”
010:003 “What rule did Moses lay down for you?” He
answered.
010:004 “Moses,” they said, “permitted a man to
draw up a written
notice of divorce,
and to send his wife away.”
010:005 “It was in consideration of your stubborn
hearts,” said Jesus,
“that Moses
enacted this law for you;
010:006 but from the beginning of the creation the rule
was,
`Male and female
did God make them.
010:007 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his
mother,
and shall cling to
his wife,
010:008 and the two shall be one’; so that they are two no
longer, but `one.’
010:009 What, therefore, God has joined together let not man
separate.”
010:010 Indoors the disciples began questioning Jesus again
on
the same
subject.
010:011 He replied, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another woman,
commits adultery
against the first wife;
010:012 and if a woman puts away her husband and marries another
man,
she commits
adultery.”
010:013 One day people were bringing young children to Jesus for
Him
to touch them, but
the disciples interfered.
010:014 Jesus, however, on seeing this, was moved to
indignation,
and said to them,
“Let the little children come to me:
do not hinder them;
for to those who are childlike the Kingdom
of God
belongs.
010:015 In solemn truth I tell you that no one who does not
receive
the Kingdom of God
like a little child will by any
possibility enter
it.”
010:016 Then He took them in His arms and blessed them
lovingly,
one by one, laying
His hands upon them.
010:017 As He went out to resume His journey, there came a man
running
up to Him, who
knelt at His feet and asked, “Good Rabbi,
what am I to do in
order to inherit the Life of the Ages?”
010:018 “Why do you call me good?” asked Jesus in
reply; “there is no
one truly good
except One—that is, God.
010:019 You know the Commandments—`Do not murder;’
`Do not commit adultery;’
`Do not
steal;’ `Do not lie in giving evidence;’ `Do not
defraud;’
`Honour thy father
and thy mother.’”
010:020 “Rabbi,” he replied, “all these
Commandments I have carefully
obeyed from my
youth.”
010:021 Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said,
“One thing
is lacking in
you: go, sell all you possess and give
the proceeds to the
poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven;
and come and be a
follower of mine.”
010:022 At these words his brow darkened, and he went away
sad;
for he was
possessed of great wealth.
010:023 Then looking round on His disciples Jesus said, “With
how hard
a struggle will the
possessors of riches enter the Kingdom of God!”
010:024 The disciples were amazed at His words. Jesus,
however,
said again,
“Children, how hard a struggle is it for those
who trust in riches
to enter the Kingdom of God!
010:025 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle
than for a rich man
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
010:026 They were astonished beyond measure, and said to one
another,
“Who then
can be saved?”
010:027 Jesus looking on them said, “With men it is
impossible,
but not with God;
for everything is possible with God.”
010:028 “Remember,” said Peter to Him, “that we
forsook everything
and have become
your followers.”
010:029 “In solemn truth I tell you,” replied Jesus,
“that there
is no one who has
forsaken house or brothers or sisters,
or mother or
father, or children or lands, for my sake
and for the sake of
the Good News,
010:030 but will receive a hundred times as much now in this
present life—
houses, brothers,
sisters, mothers, children, lands—
and persecution
with them—and in the coming age the Life
of the
Ages.
010:031 But many who are now first will be last, and the last,
first.”
010:032 They were still on the road going up to Jerusalem, and
Jesus
was walking ahead
of them; they were full of wonder, and some,
though they
followed, did so with fear. Then, once more
calling to Him the
Twelve, He began to tell them what was
about to happen to
Him.
010:033 “See,” He said, “we are going up to
Jerusalem, where the Son
of Man will be
betrayed to the High Priests and the Scribes.
They will condemn
Him to death, and will hand Him over
to the
Gentiles;
010:034 they will insult Him in cruel sport, spit on Him, scourge
Him,
and put Him to
death; but on the third day He will rise
to life
again.”
010:035 Then James and John, the sons of Zabdi, came up to
Him
and said,
“Rabbi, we wish you would grant us whatever request
we make of
you.”
010:036 “What would you have me do for you?” He
asked.
010:037 “Allow us,” they replied, “to sit one at
your right hand
and the other at
your left hand, in your glory.”
010:038 “You know not,” said He, “what you are
asking. Are you able
to drink out of the
cup from which I am to drink, or to be
baptized with the
baptism with which I am to be baptized?”
010:039 “We are able,” they replied. “Out
of the cup,” said Jesus,
“from which I
am to drink you shall drink, and with the baptism
with which I am to
be baptized you shall be baptized;
010:040 but as to sitting at my right hand or at my left, that is
not
mine to give:
it will be for those for whom it is reserved.”
010:041 The other ten, hearing of it, were at first highly
indignant
with James and
John.
010:042 Jesus, however, called them to Him and said to them,
“You are
aware how those who
are deemed rulers among the Gentiles lord it
over them, and
their great men make them feel their authority;
010:043 but it is not to be so among you. No, whoever desires
to be
great among you
must be your servant;
010:044 and whoever desires to be first among you must be
the
bondservant of
all.
010:045 For the Son of Man also did not come to be waited upon, but
to
wait on others, and
to give His life as the redemption-price
for a multitude of
people.”
010:046 They came to Jericho; and as He was leaving that
town—
Himself and His
disciples and a great crowd—Bartimaeus (the
son
of Timaeus), a
blind beggar, was sitting by the way-side.
010:047 Hearing that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry
out,
“Son of
David, Jesus, have pity on me.”
010:048 Many angrily told him to leave off shouting; but he only
cried
out all the louder,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
010:049 Then Jesus stood still. “Call him,” He
said. So they called
the blind
man. “Cheer up,” they said; “rise, he is
calling you.”
010:050 The man flung away his outer garment, sprang to his
feet,
and came to
Jesus.
010:051 “What shall I do for you?” said Jesus.
“Rabboni,” replied the
blind man,
“let me recover my sight.”
010:052 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has cured
you.” Instantly he
regained his sight,
and followed Him along the road.
011:001 When they were getting near Jerusalem and had arrived
at
Bethphage and
Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent
two of his
disciples on in front, with these instructions.
011:002 “Go,” He said, “to the village facing
you, and immediately
on entering it you
will find an ass’s foal tied up which no
one has ever yet
ridden: untie him and bring him here.
011:003 And if any one asks you, `Why are you doing that?’
say, `The Master
needs it, and will
send it back here without delay.’”
011:004 So they went and found a young ass tied up at the front
door
of a house.
They were untying it,
011:005 when some of the bystanders called out, “What are you
doing,
untying the
foal?”
011:006 But on their giving the answer that Jesus had bidden them
give,
they let them take
it.
011:007 So they brought the foal to Jesus, and threw their
outer
garments over him;
and Jesus mounted.
011:008 Then many spread their outer garments to carpet the
road,
and others leafy
branches which they had cut down in the fields;
011:009 while those who led the way and those who followed kept
shouting
“God save
Him!” Blessed be He who comes in the Lord’s
name.
011:010 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our forefather
David! God in
the highest Heavens
save Him!”
011:011 So He came into Jerusalem and into the Temple; and after
looking
round upon
everything there, the hour being now late He went
out to Bethany with
the Twelve.
011:012 The next day, after they had left Bethany, He was
hungry.
011:013 But in the distance He saw a fig-tree in full leaf, and
went
to see whether
perhaps He could find some figs on it.
When however He
came to it, He found nothing but leaves
(for it was not fig
time);
011:014 and He said to the tree, “Let no one ever again eat
fruit from thee!”
And His disciples
heard this.
011:015 They reached Jerusalem, and entering the Temple He began to
drive
out the buyers and
sellers, and upset the money-changers’
tables and the
stools of the pigeon-dealers,
011:016 and would not allow any one to carry anything through the
Temple.
011:017 And He remonstrated with them. “Is it not
written,” He said,
“`My House
shall be called The House of Prayer for all the
nations?’
But you have made
it what it now is—a robbers’
cave.”
011:018 This the High Priests and Scribes heard, and they
began
to devise means to
destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him,
because of the deep
impression produced on all the people
by His
teaching.
011:019 When evening came on, Jesus and His disciples used
to
leave the
city.
011:020 In the early morning, as they passed by, they saw the
fig-tree
withered to the
roots;
011:021 and Peter, recollecting, said to Him, “Look, Rabbi,
the fig-tree
which you cursed is
withered up.”
011:022 Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God.
011:023 In solemn truth I tell you that if any one shall
say
to this mountain,
`Remove, and hurl thyself into the sea,’
and has no doubt
about it in his heart, but stedfastly believes
that what he says
will happen, it shall be granted him.
011:024 That is why I tell you, as to whatever you pray and
make
request for, if you
believe that you have received it it
shall be
yours.
011:025 But whenever you stand praying, if you have a
grievance
against any one,
forgive it, so that your Father in Heaven
may also forgive
you your offences.”
011:026 []
011:027 They came again to Jerusalem; and as He was walking in the
Temple,
the High Priests,
Scribes and Elders came to Him
011:028 and asked, “By what authority are you doing these
things?
and who gave you
authority to do them?”
011:029 “And I will put a question to you,” replied
Jesus; “answer me,
and then I will
tell you by what authority I do these things.
011:030 John’s Baptism—was it of Heavenly or of
human origin?
Answer
me.”
011:031 So they debated the matter with one
another.
“Suppose we
say, `Heavenly,’” they argued, “he will
ask,
`Why then did you
not believe him?’
011:032 Or should we say, `human?’” They were afraid of
the people;
for all agreed in
holding John to have been really a Prophet.
011:033 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
“Nor do I tell you,”
said Jesus,
“by what authority I do these things.”
012:001 Then He began to speak to them in figurative
language.
“There was
once a man,” He said, “who planted a
vineyard,
fenced it round,
dug a pit for the wine-tank, and built
a strong
lodge. Then he let the place to vine-dressers
and went
abroad.
012:002 At vintage-time he sent one of his servants to receive
from
the vine-dressers a
share of the grapes.
012:003 But they seized him, beat him cruelly and sent him away
empty-handed.
012:004 Again he sent to them another servant: and as for
him,
they wounded him in
the head and treated him shamefully.
012:005 Yet a third he sent, and him they killed. And he
sent
many besides, and
them also they ill-treated, beating some
and killing
others.
012:006 He had still one left whom he could send, a dearly-loved
son:
him last of all he
sent, saying, “`They will treat my
son with
respect.’
012:007 “But those men—the
vine-dressers—said to one another,
“`Here is the
heir: come, let us kill him, and then the property
will one day be
ours.’
012:008 “So they took him and killed him, and flung his
body
outside the
vineyard.
012:009 What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard
do?”
“He will come
and put the vine-dressers to death,” they said;
“and will
give the vineyard to others.”
012:010 “Have you not read even this passage,” He
added, “`The stone
which the builders
rejected has become the Cornerstone:
012:011 this Cornerstone came from the Lord, and is
wonderful
in our
esteem?’”
012:012 And they kept looking out for an opportunity to seize
Him,
but were afraid of
the people; for they saw that in this parable
He had referred to
them. So they left Him and went away.
012:013 Their next step was to send to Him some of the
Pharisees
and of
Herod’s partisans to entrap Him in conversation.
012:014 So they came to Him. “Rabbi,” they said,
“we know that you
are a truthful man
and you do not fear any one; for you do
not recognize human
distinctions, but teach God’s way truly.
Is it allowable to
pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not?
012:015 Shall we pay, or shall we refuse to pay?” But
He,
knowing their
hypocrisy, replied, “Why try to ensnare me?
Bring me a shilling
for me to look at.”
012:016 They brought one; and He asked them, “Whose is this
likeness
and this
inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they
replied.
012:017 “What is Caesar’s,” replied Jesus,
“pay to Caesar—and what is God’s,
pay to
God.” And they wondered exceedingly at Him.
012:018 Then came to Him a party of Sadducees, a sect which denies
that
there is any
Resurrection; and they proceeded to question Him.
012:019 “Rabbi,” they said, “Moses made it a law
for us:
`If a man’s
brother should die and leave a wife, but no child,
the man shall marry
the widow and raise up a family
for his
brother.’
012:020 There were once seven brothers, the eldest of whom married
a wife,
but at his death
left no family.
012:021 The second married her, and died, leaving no
family;
and the third did
the same.
012:022 And so did the rest of the seven, all dying
childless.
Finally the woman
also died.
012:023 At the Resurrection whose wife will she be? For they
all
seven married
her.”
012:024 “Is not this the cause of your error,” replied
Jesus—“your
ignorance alike of
the Scriptures and of the power of God?
012:025 For when they have risen from among the dead, men do not
marry
and women are not
given in marriage, but they are as angels
are in
Heaven.
012:026 But as to the dead, that they rise to life, have you
never
read in the Book of
Moses, in the passage about the Bush,
how God said to
him, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of
Jacob?’
012:027 He is not the God of dead, but of living
men.
You are in grave
error.”
012:028 Then one of the Scribes, who had heard them disputing
and
well knew that
Jesus had given them an answer to the point,
and a forcible one,
came forward and asked Him, “Which is
the chief of all
the Commandments?”
012:029 “The chief Commandment,” replied Jesus,
“is this:
`Hear, O
Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;
012:030 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole
heart,
thy whole soul, thy
whole mind, and thy whole strength.’
012:031 “The second is this: `Thou shalt love thy
fellow man as thou
lovest
thyself.’ “Other Commandment greater than
these
there is
none.”
012:032 So the Scribe said to Him, “Rightly, in very truth,
Rabbi, have you
said that He stands
alone, and there is none but He;
012:033 and To love Him with all one’s heart, with all
one’s understanding,
and with all
one’s strength, and to love one’s fellow man
no less than
oneself, is far better than all our whole
burnt-offerings and
sacrifices.”
012:034 Perceiving that the Scribe had answered wisely Jesus
said
to him, “You
are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
No one from that
time forward ventured to put any question to Him.
012:035 But, while teaching in the Temple, Jesus asked, “How
is it
the Scribes say
that the Christ is a son of David?
012:036 David himself said, taught by the Holy Spirit, “`The
Lord said
to my Lord, Sit at
My right hand, until I have made thy foes
a footstool under
thy feet.’
012:037 “David himself calls Him `Lord:’ how then
can He be his son?”
And the mass of
people found pleasure in listening to Jesus.
012:038 Moreover in the course of His teaching He said, “Be
on your
guard against the
Scribes who like to walk about in long
robes and to be
bowed to in places of public resort,
012:039 and to occupy the best seats in the synagogues and at
dinner parties,
012:040 and who swallow up the property of widows and then mask
their
wickedness by
making long prayers: these men will receive
far heavier
punishment.”
012:041 Having taken a seat opposite the Treasury, He
observed
how the people were
dropping money into the Treasury,
and that many of
the wealthy threw in large sums.
012:042 But there came one poor widow and dropped in two
farthings,
equal in value to a
halfpenny.
012:043 So He called His disciples to Him and said, “In
solemn truth I
tell you that this
widow, poor as she is, has thrown in more
than all the other
contributors to the Treasury;
012:044 for they have all contributed out of what they could well
spare,
but she out of her
need has thrown in all she possessed—
all she had to live
on.”
013:001 As He was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples
exclaimed,
“Look, Rabbi,
what wonderful stones! what wonderful buildings!”
013:002 “You see all these great buildings?” Jesus
replied; “not one
stone will be left
here upon another—not thrown down.”
013:003 He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite to the
Temple,
when Peter, James,
John, and Andrew, apart from the others asked Him,
013:004 “Tell us, When will these things be? and what will be
the sign
when all these
predictions are on the point of being fulfilled?”
013:005 So Jesus began to say to them: “Take care that
no one misleads you.
013:006 Many will come assuming my name and saying, `I am
He;’
and they will
mislead many.
013:007 But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be
alarmed:
come they must, but
the End is not yet.
013:008 For nation will rise in arms against nation, and
kingdom
against
kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various
places;
there will be
famines. These miseries are but like the early
pains of
childbirth.
013:009 “You yourselves must be on your guard. They
will deliver
you up to
Sanhedrins; you will be brought into synagogues
and cruelly beaten;
and you will stand before governors
and kings for my
sake, to be witnesses to them for me.
013:010 But the proclamation of the Good News must be carried to
all
the Gentiles before
the End comes.
013:011 When however they are marching you along under
arrest,
do not be anxious
beforehand about what you are to say,
but speak what is
given you when the time comes; for it
will not be you who
speak, but the Holy Spirit.
013:012 “Brother will betray brother to be killed, and
fathers will
betray children;
and children will rise against their parents
and have them put
to death.
013:013 You will be objects of universal hatred because you are
called
by my name, but
those who stand firm to the End will be saved.
013:014 “As soon, however, as you see the Abomination of
Desolation
standing where he
ought not”—let the reader observe these
words—“then
let those in Judaea escape to the hills;
013:015 let him who is on the roof not come down and enter the
house
to fetch anything
out of it;
013:016 and let not him who is in the field turn back to pick
up
his outer
garment.
013:017 And alas for the women who at that time are with
child
or have
infants!
013:018 “But pray that it may not come in the
winter.
013:019 For those will be times of suffering the like of which
has
never been from the
first creation of God’s world until now,
and assuredly never
will be again;
013:020 and but for the fact that the Lord has cut short those
days,
no one would
escape; but for the sake of His own People whom
He has chosen for
Himself He has cut short the days.
013:021 “At that time if any one says to you, `See, here is
the Christ!’
or `See, He is
there!’ do not believe it.
013:022 For there will rise up false Christs and false
prophets,
displaying signs
and prodigies with a view to lead astray—
if indeed that were
possible—even God’s own People.
013:023 But as for yourselves, be on your guard: I have
forewarned
you of
everything.
013:024 “At that time, however, after that distress, the sun
will be
darkened and the
moon will not shed her light;
013:025 the stars will be seen falling from the firmament, and the
forces
which are in the
heavens will be disordered and disturbed.
013:026 And then will they see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with
great power and
glory.
013:027 Then He will send forth the angels and gather together His
chosen
People from north,
south, east and west, from the remotest
parts of the earth
and the sky.
013:028 “Learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches.
As soon
as its branch has
become soft and it is bursting into leaf,
you know that
summer is near.
013:029 So also do you, when you see these things happening, be
sure
that He is near, at
your very door.
013:030 I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation
will
certainly not pass
away without all these things having
first taken
place.
013:031 Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my
words
will not pass
away.
013:032 “But as to that day or the exact time no one
knows—not even
the angels in
Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
013:033 Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not
know
when it will
happen.
013:034 It is like a man living abroad who has left his house, and
given
the management to
his servants—to each one his special
duty—
and has ordered the
porter to keep awake.
013:035 Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master
of
the house is
coming—in the evening, at midnight, at
cock-crow,
or at
dawn.
013:036 Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you
asleep.
013:037 Moreover, what I say to you I say to all—Be
wakeful!”
014:001 It was now two days before the Passover and the feast
of
Unleavened Bread,
and the High Priests and Scribes were bent
on finding how to
seize Him by stratagem and put Him to death.
014:002 But they said, “Not on the Festival-day, for fear
there should
be a riot among the
people.”
014:003 Now when He was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the
Leper,
while He was at
table, there came a woman with a jar of pure,
sweet-scented
ointment very costly: she broke the jar
and poured the
ointment over His head.
014:004 But there were some who said indignantly among
themselves,
“Why has the
ointment been thus wasted?
014:005 For that ointment might have been sold for fifteen
pounds
or more, and the
money have been given to the poor.”
And they were
exceedingly angry with her.
014:006 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone: why are you
troubling her?
She has done a most
gracious act towards me.
014:007 For you always have the poor among you, and whenever
you
choose you can do
acts of kindness to them; but me you
have not
always.
014:008 What she could she did: she has perfumed my body in
preparation
for my
burial.
014:009 And I solemnly tell you that wherever in the whole
world
the Good News shall
be proclaimed, this which she has done
shall also be told
in remembrance of her.”
014:010 But Judas Iscariot, already mentioned as one of the
Twelve,
went to the High
Priests to betray Jesus to them.
014:011 They gladly listened to his proposal, and promised to
give
him a sum of
money. So he looked out for an opportunity
to betray
Him.
014:012 On the first day of the feast of Unleavened
Bread—the day for
killing the
Passover lamb—His disciples asked Him, “Where
shall
we go and prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
014:013 So He sent two of His disciples with instructions,
saying,
“Go into the
city, and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher
of water:
follow him,
014:014 and whatever house he enters, tell the master of the
house,
`The Rabbi asks,
Where is my room where I can eat the Passover
with my
disciples?’
014:015 Then he will himself show you a large room upstairs, ready
furnished:
there make
preparation for us.”
014:016 So the disciples went out and came to the city, and found
everything
just as He had told
them; and they got the Passover ready.
014:017 When it was evening, He came with the Twelve.
014:018 And while they were at table Jesus said, “I solemnly
tell you
that one of you
will betray me—one who is eating with
me.”
014:019 They were filled with sorrow, and began asking Him, one by
one,
“Not I, is
it?”
014:020 “It is one of the Twelve,” He replied;
“he who is dipping
his fingers in the
dish with me.
014:021 For the Son of Man is going His way as it is written about
Him;
but alas for the
man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It had been a happy
thing for that man, had he never been born.”
014:022 Also during the meal He took a Passover biscuit, blessed
it,
and broke it.
He then gave it to them, saying, “Take this,
it is my
body.”
014:023 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and handed it to
them,
and they all of
them drank from it.
014:024 “This is my blood,” He said, “which is to
be poured out on
behalf of
many—the blood which makes the Covenant sure.
014:025 I solemnly tell you that never again will I taste the
produce
of the vine till I
shall drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God.”
014:026 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.
014:027 Then said Jesus to them, “All of you are about to
stumble
and fall, for it is
written, `I will strike down the Shepherd,
and the sheep will
be scattered in all directions.’
014:028 But after I have risen to life again I will go
before
you into
Galilee.”
014:029 “All may stumble and fall,” said Peter,
“yet I never will.”
014:030 “I solemnly tell you,” replied Jesus,
“that to-day—this night—
before the cock
crows twice, you yourself will three
times disown
me.”
014:031 “Even if I must die with you,” declared Peter
again and again,
“I will never
disown you.” In like manner protested also
all the
disciples.
014:032 So they came to a place called Gethsemane. There He
said
to His disciples,
“Sit down here till I have prayed.”
014:033 Then He took with Him Peter and James and John, and
began
to be full of
terror and distress,
014:034 and He said to them, “My heart is oppressed with
anguish
to the very point
of death: wait here and keep awake.”
014:035 Going forward a short distance He threw Himself upon His
face
and prayed
repeatedly that, if it was possible, He might be
spared that time of
agony;
014:036 and He said, “Abba! my Father! all things are
possible for Thee:
take this cup of
suffering away from me: and yet not what
I desire, but what
Thou desirest.”
014:037 Then He came and found them asleep, and He said to Peter,
“Simon,
are you
asleep? Had you not strength to keep awake a single
hour?
014:038 Be wakeful, all of you, and keep on praying, that you
may
not come into
temptation: the spirit is right willing,
but the body is
frail.”
014:039 He again went away and prayed, using the very same
words.
014:040 When He returned He again found them asleep, for they
were
very tired; and
they knew not how to answer Him.
014:041 A third time He came, and then He said, “Sleep on and
rest.
Enough! the hour
has come. Even now they are betraying
the Son of Man into
the hands of sinful men.
014:042 Rouse yourselves, let us be going: my betrayer is
close at hand.”
014:043 Immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the
Twelve,
came and with him a
crowd of men armed with swords and cudgels,
sent by the High
Priests and Scribes and Elders.
014:044 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with
them.
“The one I
kiss,” he said, “is the man: lay hold of
him,
and take him safely
away.”
014:045 So he came, and going straight to Jesus he said,
“Rabbi!”
and kissed Him with
seeming affection;
014:046 whereupon they laid hands on Him and held Him
firmly.
014:047 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck a
blow
at the High
Priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.
014:048 “Have you come out,” said Jesus, “with
swords and cudgels
to arrest me, as if
you had to fight with a robber?
014:049 Day after day I used to be among you in the Temple
teaching,
and you never
seized me. But this is happening in order
that the Scriptures
may be fulfilled.’
014:050 Then His friends all forsook Him and fled.
014:051 One youth indeed did follow Him, wearing only a linen
cloth
round his bare
body. Of him they laid hold,
014:052 but he left the linen cloth in their hands and fled without
it.
014:053 So they led Jesus away to the High Priest, and with him
there
assembled all the
High Priests, Elders, and Scribes.
014:054 Peter followed Jesus at a distance, as far as the outer
court
of the High
Priest’s palace. But there he remained
sitting
among the officers,
and warming himself by the fire.
014:055 Meanwhile the High Priests and the entire Sanhedrin
were
endeavouring to get
evidence against Jesus in order to put
Him to death, but
could find none;
014:056 for though many gave false testimony against Him, their
statements
did not
tally.
014:057 Then some came forward as witnesses and falsely
declared,
014:058 “We have heard him say, `I will pull down this
Sanctuary
built by human
hands, and three days afterwards I will erect
another built
without hands.’”
014:059 But not even in this shape was their testimony
consistent.
014:060 At last the High Priest stood up, and advancing into the
midst
of them all, asked
Jesus, “Have you no answer to make?
What is the meaning
of all this that these witnesses
allege against
you?”
014:061 But He remained silent, and gave no reply. A second
time
the High Priest
questioned Him. “Are you the Christ,
the Son of the
Blessed One?” he said.
014:062 “I am,” replied Jesus, “and you and
others will see the Son
of Man sitting at
the right hand of the divine Power,
and coming amid the
clouds of the sky.”
014:063 Rending his garments the High Priest exclaimed, “What
need
have we of
witnesses after that?
014:064 You all heard his impious words. What is your
judgement?”
Then with one voice
they condemned Him as deserving of death.
014:065 Thereupon some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold
Him,
while striking Him
with their fists and crying, “Prove that you
are a
prophet.” The officers too struck Him with open
hands
as they took Him in
charge.
014:066 Now while Peter was below in the quadrangle, one of
the
High Priest’s
maidservants came,
014:067 and seeing Peter warming himself she looked at him and
said,
“You also
were with Jesus, the Nazarene.”
014:068 But he denied it, and said, “I don’t
know—I don’t understand—
What do you
mean?” And then he went out into the outer
court.
Just then a cock
crowed.
014:069 Again the maidservant saw him, and again began to say
to
the people standing
by, “He is one of them.”
014:070 A second time he repeatedly denied it. Soon
afterwards
the bystanders
again accused Peter, saying, “You are surely
one of them, for
you too are a Galilaean.”
014:071 But he broke out into curses and oaths, declaring, “I
know
nothing of the man
you are talking about.”
014:072 No sooner had he spoken than a cock crowed for the second
time,
and Peter
recollected the words of Jesus, “Before the
cock crows twice,
you will three times disown me.”
And as he thought
of it, he wept aloud.
015:001 At earliest dawn, after the High Priests had held a
consultation
with the Elders and
Scribes, they and the entire Sanhedrin
bound Jesus and
took Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.
015:002 So Pilate questioned Him. “Are you the
King of the Jews?”
he asked.
“I am,” replied Jesus.
015:003 Then, as the High Priests went on heaping accusations on
Him,
015:004 Pilate again and again asked Him, “Do you make no
reply?
Listen to the many
charges they are bringing against you.”
015:005 But Jesus made no further answer: so that Pilate
wondered.
015:006 Now at the Festival it was customary for Pilate to release
to
the Jews any one
prisoner whom they might beg off from punishment;
015:007 and at this time a man named Barabbas was in
prison
among the
insurgents—persons who in the insurrection
had committed
murder.
015:008 So the people came crowding up, asking Pilate to grant
them
the usual
favour.
015:009 “Shall I release for you the King of the Jews?”
answered Pilate.
015:010 For he could see that it was out of sheer spite that
the
High Priests had
handed Him over.
015:011 But the High Priests urged on the crowd to obtain
Barabbas’s
release in
preference;
015:012 and when Pilate again asked them, “What then shall I
do to
the man you call
King of the Jews?”
015:013 they once more shouted out, “Crucify
Him!”
015:014 “Why, what crime has he committed?” asked
Pilate.
But they vehemently
shouted, “Crucify Him!”
015:015 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the mob, released Barabbas
for them,
and after scourging
Jesus handed Him over for crucifixion.
015:016 Then the soldiers led Him away into the court of the
Palace
(the Praetorium),
and calling together the whole battalion
015:017 they arrayed Him in crimson, placed on His head a
wreath
of thorny twigs
which they had twisted,
015:018 and went on to salute Him with shouts of “Long live
the King
of the
Jews.”
015:019 Then they began to beat Him on the head with a cane, to
spit
on Him, and to do
Him homage on bended knees.
015:020 At last, having finished their sport, they took the robe
off Him,
put His own clothes
on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
015:021 One Simon, a Cyrenaean, the father of Alexander and
Rufus,
was passing along,
coming from the country: him they compelled
to carry His
cross.
015:022 So they brought Him to the place called Golgotha,
which,
being translated,
means `Skull-ground.’
015:023 Here they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He refused
it.
015:024 Then they crucified Him. This done, they divided His
garments
among them, drawing
lots to decide what each should take.
015:025 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they
crucified Him.
015:026 Over His head was the notice in writing of the
charge
against Him:
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
015:027 And together with Jesus they crucified two robbers, one at
His
right hand and one
at His left.
015:028 []
015:029 And all the passers-by reviled Him. They shook their
heads
at Him and said,
“Ah! you who were for destroying the Sanctuary
and building a new
one in three days,
015:030 come down from the cross and save
yourself.”
015:031 In the same way the High Priests also, as well as the
Scribes, kept on
scoffing at Him,
saying to one another, “He has saved others:
himself he cannot
save!
015:032 This Christ, the King of Israel, let him come down now
from
the cross, that we
may see and believe.” Even the men
who were being
crucified with Him heaped insults on Him.
015:033 At noon there came a darkness over the whole land, lasting
till
three o’clock
in the afternoon.
015:034 But at three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud
voice,
“Elohi,
Elohi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My
God,
why hast Thou
forsaken me?”
015:035 Some of the bystanders, hearing Him, said, “Listen,
he is
calling for
Elijah!”
015:036 Then a man ran to fill a sponge with sour wine, and he put
it
on the end of a
cane and placed it to His lips, saying at
the same time,
“Wait! let us see whether Elijah will come
and take him
down.”
015:037 But Jesus uttered a loud cry and yielded up His
spirit.
015:038 And the curtain in the Sanctuary was torn in two,
from top to
bottom.
015:039 And when the Centurion who stood in front of the cross saw
that He
was dead, he
exclaimed, “This man was indeed God’s
Son.”
015:040 There were also a party of women looking on from a
distance;
among them being
both Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother
of James the Little
and of Joses, and Salome—
015:041 all of whom in the Galilaean days had habitually been with
Him
and cared for Him,
as well as many other women who had come
up to Jerusalem
with Him.
015:042 Towards sunset, as it was the Preparation—that
is, the day
preceding the
Sabbath—
015:043 Joseph of Arimathaea came, a highly respected member of the
Council,
who himself also
was living in expectation of the Kingdom of God.
He summoned up
courage to go in to see Pilate and beg for
the body of
Jesus.
015:044 But Pilate could hardly believe that He was already
dead.
He called, however,
for the Centurion and inquired whether
He had been long
dead;
015:045 and having ascertained the fact he granted the body to
Joseph.
015:046 He, having bought a sheet of linen, took Him down, wrapped
Him
in the sheet and
laid Him in a tomb hewn in the rock;
after which he
rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.
015:047 Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses were
looking
on to see where He
was put.
016:001 When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the
mother
of James, and
Salome, bought spices, in order to come and
anoint His
body.
016:002 So, very soon after sunrise on the first day of the
week,
they came to the
tomb;
016:003 and they were saying to one another, `Who will roll
away
the stone for us
from the entrance to the tomb?”
016:004 But then, looking up, they saw that the stone was
already
rolled back:
for it was of immense size.
016:005 Upon entering the tomb, they saw a young man
sitting
at their right
hand, clothed in a long white robe.
They were
astonished and terrified.
016:006 But he said to them, “Do not be terrified. It
is Jesus you
are looking
for—the Nazarene who has been crucified.
He has come back to
life: He is not here: this is the place
where they laid
Him.
016:007 But go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is
going
before you into
Galilee: and that there you will see Him,
as He told
you.”
016:008 So they came out, and fled from the tomb, for they were
greatly
agitated and
surprised; and they said not a word to any one,
for they were
afraid.
016:009 [But He rose to life early on the first day of the
week,
and appeared first
to Mary of Magdala from whom He had
expelled seven
demons.
016:010 She went and brought the tidings to those who had been with
Him,
as they were
mourning and weeping.
016:011 But they, when they were told that He was alive and that
she
had seen Him, could
not believe it.
016:012 Afterwards He showed Himself in another form to two of
them
as they were
walking, on their way into the country.
016:013 These, again, went and told the news to the rest; but not
even
them did they
believe.
016:014 Later still He showed Himself to the Eleven
themselves
whilst they were at
table, and He upbraided them with their
unbelief and
obstinacy in not having believed those who had
seen Him
alive.
016:015 Then He said to them, “Go the whole world over, and
proclaim
the Good News to
all mankind.
016:016 He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he
who
disbelieves will be
condemned.
016:017 And signs shall attend those who believe, even such as
these.
By making use of my
name they shall expel demons.
They shall speak
new languages.
016:018 They shall take up venomous snakes, and if they drink any
deadly
poison it shall do
them no harm whatever. They shall lay
their hands on the
sick, and the sick shall recover.”
016:019 So the Lord Jesus after having thus spoken to them was
taken
up into Heaven, and
sat down at the right hand of God.
016:020 But they went out and made proclamation everywhere, the
Lord
working with them
and confirming their Message by the signs
which accompanied
it.]
