17 thing may be ascertained. And if he disregard them, tell the

congregation; and if he disregard the congregation, let him be 18 to thee as the heathen and the publican. Verily I say to you,

whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth will be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth will be loosed in 19 heaven. Again I say to you, If two of you agree on the earth

touching any thing which they may ask, it will be done for 20 them by my father who is in heaven. For where two or three are assembled for my name I am there in the midst of them. 21 Then Peter accosting him, said, Master, how often is my

brother to trespass against me and I to forgive him? Till seven 22 times? Jesus saith to him, I do not say to thee seven times, 23 but seventy times seven. In this respect the reign of the

heavens may be compared to a certain king who determined 24 to settle accounts with his servants. And having begun to set

tle; there was one brought to him, who owed him ten thousand 25 talents. And as he had not wherewithal to pay; his lord. or

dered him and his wife and all that he had, to be sold and pay26 ment to be made. The servant therefore falling prostrate be

fore him, saith, Have patience with me, my lord, and I will 27 pay thee all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with 28 compassion, dismissed him and forgave him the debt. And as

that servant was going out, he met one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred deniars;† and seizing him by the 29 throat, he said, Pay me what thou owest. His fellow servant therefore falling at his feet, besought him, saying, Have pa30 tience with me and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but

went and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw this they were deeply affected 32 and went and told their lord all that was done. Thereupon his 33 lord having called him in, saith to him, Thou wicked slave, I forgave thee all that debt at thy entreaty; shouldst thou not then have had compassion on thy fellow servant as I had on 34 thee? So his lord, being incensed, delivered him to the exe

*A talent was equal to three thousand didrachms or fifteen hundred dollars.

†A deniar was a piece of money equal to about one eighth of a dollar.

cutioners of justice until he should pay all that was due to 35 him. Thus also will my heavenly father deal with you, if you do not from your hearts forgive, every one the trespasses of his brother.

XIX.

When Jesus had finished these discourses he departed from Galilee and came to the borders of Judea, on the bank 2 of the Jordan. And great multitudes followed him, and he 3 healed them there. And the Pharisees came to him, and trying him said, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for 4 every fault? In reply to which he said to them, "Have you not read that the Creator at the beginning made them a male 5 and a female?" Moreover he said, "For this cause a man is to leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and 6 they two shall be one flesh; so that they are no longer two

but one flesh. Therefore what God hath conjoined, let not 7 man separate." They say to him, Why then did Moses com8 mand to give a bill of divorce and dismiss her? He saith to them, Because of your intractable disposition Moses permitted you to put away your wives; but it was not so from the 9 beginning. Now I say to you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for whoredom and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he who marrieth her who was put 10 away committeth adultery. His disciples say to him, If such

be the case between the husband and wife, it is not expedient to 11 marry. Whereupon he said to them, All men cannot admit 12 this inference. But with respect to them to whom it is granted

13

(for there are some who have been eunuchs from their birth, and some have been made eunuchs by men, and there are some who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven) let him admit it, who can admit it.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them; and his disciples rebuked 14 them. Whereupon Jesus said, Let the children alone, and do not hinder them to come to me; for of such is the kingdom 15 of the heavens. And when he had laid his hands on them he departed thence.

16

And behold there came one who said to him, Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have an everlasting 17 life? In reply to which Jesus said to him, Why callest thou

me good? There is none good but God only. But if thou 18 desirest to enter into that life, keep the commandments. He saith to him, Which? And Jesus said, These-Thou shalt not commit murder-Thou shalt not commit adultery-Thou 19 shalt not steal-Thou shalt not bear false witness-Honour 20 thy father and thy mother-and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The youth said to him, All these I have kept 21 from my childhood. What do I yet lack? Jesus said to him,

If thou wishest to be perfect, go, sell thy estate, and give to 22 the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Then come

and follow me. Upon hearing this word, the youth went away 23 sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Thereupon Jesus said to his disciples, Verily I say to you, With difficulty will 24 a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you,

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle 25 than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When his

disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and said, Who 26 then can be saved? Thereupon Jesus looking earnestly at

them said, With men this is impossible; but with God all 27 things are possible. Then Peter addressing him said, Behold we have left all and followed thee, what then shall we have? 28 Thereupon Jesus said to him, Verily I say to you, With respect to you who have followed me, at the renovation, when the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, you also shall sit on 29 twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields for the sake of my name, shall receive an hundred fold compensation.-He shall 30 indeed inherit an everlasting life. But many will be first who XX. are last; and last, who are first. For the reign of the

heavens is like a householder who went out early in the morn2 ing to hire labourers for his vineyard. And having agreed with some labourers for a deniar* a day, he sent them to his vine3 yard. And going out about the third hour† he saw some standing in the market place, unemployed, and said to them,

* A Roman silver coin. See ch. 18. 28.

The third hour about nine o'clock, A. M. The sixth noon. The ninth three, and the eleventh about five, P. M.

4 Go ye also to the vineyard and I will give you what is reason. 5 able-So they went. Again about the sixth and ninth hour he 6 went out and did the same. And having gone out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing unemployed, and saith to them, Why have you stood here all the day unemployed? 7 They say to him, Because no one hath hired us. He saith to them, Go ye also to the vineyard and you shall receive what 8 is reasonable. And in the evening the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the labourers and pay them their 9 wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first. So they who had been hired at the eleventh hour, came and re10 ceived every one a deniar. And when the first hired came,

they expected to receive more; but they also received every 11 one a deniar. And when they received it, they murmured 12 against the householder, saying, These last have worked but

one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, who have borne 13 the burden, and the heat of the day. But he in reply said to

one of them, Companion! I do thee no wrong. Didst thou 14 not agree with me for a deniar: take what is thine and go thy 15 way. It is my will to give this last as much as to thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I please with mine own? Is thine 16 eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last. For there are many called, but few chosen.

20

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve 18 disciples apart on the road and said to them, Behold we are going up to Jerusalem, and the son of man will be delivered up 19 to the chief priests and Scribes; and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him up to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified, and on the third day he will rise again. Then the mother of Zebedee's children came to him with her sons, and, prostrating herself, asked a favour of him. 21 Whereupon he said to her, What is thy desire? She said to him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on thy 22 right hand and the other on thy left in thy kingdom. In reply to which Jesus said, You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup which I shall soon drink; and be baptized with 23 the baptism, with which I am baptized? They say to him, We can. Then Jesus saith to them, You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism with which I am

baptized but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, unless to them for whom it is prepared by my 24 father. When the ten heard, they were moved with indigna25 tion against the two brothers. Whereupon Jesus having called them to him, said, You know that the chiefs of the nations exercise dominion over them; and they who are grandees exercise authority over them: but it shall not be so among you. 26 But whoever among you would wish to be great, let him be 27 your attendant. And whoever among you would wish to be 28 first, let him be your servant; even as the son of man came not to be waited on, but to wait, and to give his life a ransom for many.

29

Now when they were going from Jericho a great multi30 tude followed him. And lo! two blind men who sat by the way side, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried, saying, 31 Have pity on us, O master, son of David. And when the peo

ple reprimanded them that they might hold their peace, they 32 cried the louder, saying, Have pity on us, O master, son of David. Whereupon, Jesus, stopping, called them and said, What do you desire me to do for you? They say to him, 33 Sir! that our eyes may be opened. And Jesus had compas34 sion and touched their eyes; and instantly they received sight. And they followed him.

XXI. And when they approached Jerusalem and were come 2 to Bethphage, near to the mount of olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go to that village which is over against you, and straightway you will find an ass tied and a colt 3 with her. Loose her and bring them to me. And if any one say any thing to you; say, The Lord hath need of them and 4 will quickly send them back. Now all this was done, so that there was an accomplishment of what was spoken by the pro5 phet, saying, "Say to the daughter of Sion, Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek and mounted on an ass; even on a 6 young colt the foal of an ass.*" So the disciples went, and having done as Jesus commanded them, they brought the ass and the colt and threw their mantles on them, and set him thereon.

*Zach. 9. 9.