010:029 But he, desiring to justify himself, said, "But what is meant
by my `fellow man'?"
010:030 Jesus replied, "A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem
to Jericho when he fell among robbers, who after both stripping
and beating him went away, leaving him half dead.
010:031 Now a priest happened to be going down that way, and on seeing
him passed by on the other side.
010:032 In like manner a Levite also came to the place, and seeing
him passed by on the other side.
010:033 But a certain Samaritan, being on a journey, came where he lay,
and seeing him was moved with pity.
010:034 He went to him, and dressed his wounds with oil and wine and
bound them up. Then placing him on his own mule he brought
him to an inn, where he bestowed every care on him.
010:035 The next day he took out two shillings and gave them to
the innkeeper. "`Take care of him,' he said, `and whatever
further expense you are put to, I will repay it you at
my next visit.'
010:036 "Which of those three seems to you to have acted like a fellow
man to him who fell among the robbers?"
010:037 "The one who showed him pity," he replied. "Go," said Jesus,
"and act in the same way."
010:038 As they pursued their journey He came to a certain village,
where a woman named Martha welcomed Him to her house.
010:039 She had a sister called Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's
feet and listened to His teaching.
010:040 Martha meanwhile was busy and distracted in waiting at table,
and she came and said, "Master, do you not care that my sister
is leaving me to do all the waiting? Tell her to assist me."
010:041 "Martha, Martha," replied Jesus, "you are anxious and worried
about a multitude of things;
010:042 and yet only one thing is really necessary. Mary has chosen
the good portion and she shall not be deprived of it."
011:001 At one place where He was praying, when He rose from His knees
one of His disciples said to Him, "Master, teach us to pray,
just as John taught his disciples."
011:002 So He said to them, "When you pray, say, `Father may Thy name
be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;
011:003 give us day after day our bread for the day;
011:004 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive every one
who fails in his duty to us; and bring us not into temptation.'"
011:005 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall
go to him in the middle of the night and say, "`Friend, lend me
three loaves of bread;
011:006 for a friend of mine has just come to my house from a distance,
and I have nothing for him to eat'?
011:007 "And he from indoors shall answer, "`Do not pester me.
The door is now barred, and I am here in bed with my children.
I cannot get up and give you bread.'
011:008 "I tell you that even if he will not rise and give him the loaves
because he is his friend, at any rate because of his persistency
he will rouse himself and give him as many as he requires.
011:009 "So I say to you, `Ask, and what you ask for shall be given
to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall
be opened to you.'
011:010 For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds;
and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.
011:011 And what father is there among you, who, if his son asks
for a slice of bread, will offer him a stone? or if he asks
for a fish, will instead of a fish offer him a snake?
011:012 or if he asks for an egg, will offer him a scorpion?
011:013 If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give
your children gifts that are good for them, how much more
certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask Him!"
011:014 On once occasion He was expelling a dumb demon;
and when the demon was gone out the dumb man could speak,
and the people were astonished.
011:015 But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul,
the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."
011:016 Others, to put Him to the test, asked Him for a sign in the sky.
011:017 And, knowing their thoughts, He said to them, "Every kingdom
in which civil war rages goes to ruin: family attacks family
and is overthrown.
011:018 And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself,
how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel
demons by the power of Baal-zebul.
011:019 And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons,
by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall
be your judges.
011:020 But if it is by the power of God that I drive out the demons,
it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
011:021 "Whenever a strong man, fully armed and equipped, is guarding
his own castle, he enjoys peaceful possession of his property;
011:022 but as soon as another stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him,
he takes away that complete armour of his in which he trusted,
and distributes the plunder he has collected.
011:023 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever is not
gathering with me is scattering abroad.
011:024 "When a foul spirit has left a man, it roams about in the Desert,
seeking a resting-place; but, unable to find any, it says,
`I will return to the house I have left;"
011:025 and when it comes, it finds the house swept clean and
in good order.
011:026 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more
malignant than itself, and they enter and dwell there;
and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it
was at first.
011:027 As He thus spoke a woman in the crowd called out in a loud voice,
"Blessed is the mother who carried you, and the breasts
that you have sucked."
011:028 "Nay rather," He replied, "they are blessed who hear God's Message
and carefully keep it."
011:029 Now when the crowds came thronging upon Him, He proceeded
to say, "The present generation is a wicked generation:
it requires some sign, but no sign shall be given to it except
that of Jonah.
011:030 For just as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh,
so the Son of Man will be a token to the present generation.
011:031 The Queen of the South will awake at the Judgement together
with the men of the present generation, and will condemn them;
because she came from the extremity of the earth to hear the wisdom
of Solomon; but mark! One greater than Solomon is here.
011:032 There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement
together with the present generation, and will condemn it;
because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and mark!
One greater than Jonah is here.
011:033 "When any one lights a lamp, he never puts it in the cellar
or under the bushel, but on the lampstand, that people who come
in may see the light.
011:034 The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eyesight is good,
your whole body also is lighted up; but when it is defective,
your body is darkened.
011:035 Consider therefore whether the light that is in you is anything
but mere darkness.
011:036 If, however, your whole body is penetrated with light,
and has no part dark, it will be so lighted, all of it,
as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light."
011:037 When He had thus spoken, a Pharisee invited Him to breakfast
at his house; so He entered and took His place at table.
011:038 Now the Pharisee saw to his surprise that He did not wash His
hands before breakfasting.
011:039 The Master however said to him, "Here we see how you Pharisees
clean the outside of the cup or plate, while your secret
hearts are full of greed and selfishness.
011:040 Foolish men! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
011:041 But as to what is within, give alms, and instantly all is
clean in you.
011:042 "But alas for you Pharisees! for you pay tithes on your mint
and rue and every kind of garden vegetable, and are indifferent
to justice and the love of God. These are the things you
ought to have attended to, while not neglecting the others.
011:043 Alas for you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogues,
and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort.
011:044 Alas for you! for you are like the tombs which lie hidden,
and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence."
011:045 Hereupon one of the expounders of the Law exclaimed, "Rabbi,
in saying such things you reproach us also."
011:046 "Alas too for you expounders of the Law!" replied Jesus,
"for you load men with cumbrous burdens which you yourselves
will not touch with one of your fingers.
011:047 Alas for you! for you repair the tombs of the Prophets,
whom your forefathers killed.
011:048 It follows that you bear testimony to the actions of
your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof.
They slew, you build.
011:049 "For this reason also the Wisdom of God has said, `I will send
Prophets and Apostles to them, of whom they will kill some
and persecute others,'
011:050 so that the blood of all the Prophets, that is being shed
from the creation of the world onwards, may be required
from the present generation.
011:051 Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood
of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House,
it shall all be required from the present generation.
011:052 "Alas for you expounders of the Law! for you have taken away
the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered,
and those who wanted to enter you have hindered."
011:053 After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced
a vehement attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand
answers on numerous points,
011:054 lying in wait to catch some unguarded expression from His lips.
012:001 Meanwhile the people had come streaming towards Him by tens
of thousands, so that they were trampling one another under foot.
And now He proceeded to say to His disciples first,
"Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is to say,
beware of hypocrisy.
012:002 There is nothing that is covered up which will not be uncovered,
nor hidden which will not become known.
012:003 Whatever therefore you have said in the dark, will be heard
in the light; and what you have whispered within closed doors
will be proclaimed from the house-tops.
012:004 "But to you who are my friends I say, "`Be not afraid of those
who kill the body and after that can do nothing further.
012:005 I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who after killing has
power to throw into Gehenna: yes, I say to you, fear him.
012:006 Are not five sparrows sold for a penny? and yet not one of them
is a thing forgotten in God's sight.
012:007 But the very hairs on your heads are all counted. Away with fear:
you are more precious than a multitude of sparrows.'
012:008 "And I tell you that every man who shall have acknowledged
me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before
the angels of God.
012:009 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before
the angels of God.
012:010 "Moreover every one who shall speak against the Son of Man,
may obtain forgiveness; but he who blasphemes the Holy Spirit
will never obtain forgiveness.
012:011 And when they are bringing you before synagogues and magistrates
and governors, do not anxiously ponder the manner or matter
of your defence, nor what you are to say;
012:012 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you at that very moment
what you must say."
012:013 Just then a man in the crowd appealed to Him. "Rabbi," he said,
"tell my brother to give me a share of the inheritance."
012:014 "Man," He replied, "who has constituted me a judge or
arbitrator over you?"
012:015 And to the people He said, "Take care, be on your guard
against all covetousness, for no one's life consists in
the superabundance of his possessions."
012:016 And He spoke a parable to them. "A certain rich man's lands,"
He said, "yielded abundant crops,
012:017 and he debated within himself, saying, "`What am I to do?
for I have no place in which to store my crops.'
012:018 "And he said to himself, "`This is what I will do:
I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and in them
I will store up all my harvest and my wealth;
012:019 and I will say to my life, "`Life, you have ample possessions
laid up for many years to come: take your ease,
eat, drink, enjoy yourself.'
012:020 "But God said to him, "`Foolish man, this night your life
is demanded from you; and these preparations--for whom
shall they be?'
012:021 "So is it with him who amasses treasure for himself, but has
no riches in God."
012:022 Then turning to His disciples He said, "For this reason
I say to you, `Dismiss all anxious care for your lives,
inquiring what you are to eat, and for your bodies, what you
are to put on.'
012:023 For life is a greater gift than food, and the body is a greater
gift than clothing.
012:024 Observe the ravens. They neither sow nor reap, and have
neither store-chamber nor barn. And yet God feeds them.
How far more precious are you than the birds!
012:025 And which of you is able by anxious thought to add a moment
to his life?
012:026 If then you are unable to do even a very little thing,
why be over-anxious about other matters?
012:027 Observe the lilies, how they grow. They neither labour nor spin.
And yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour
was as beautifully dressed as one of these.
012:028 But if God so clothes the vegetation in the fields, that blooms
to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, how much
more certainly will He clothe you, you men of feeble faith!
012:029 "Therefore, do not be asking what you are to eat nor what you
are to drink; and do not waver between hope and fear.
012:030 For though the nations of the world pursue these things,
as for you, your Father knows that you need them.
012:031 But make His Kingdom the object of your pursuit, and these things
shall be given you in addition.
012:032 "Dismiss your fears, little flock: your Father finds a pleasure
in giving you the Kingdom.
012:033 Sell your possessions and give alms. Provide yourselves with purses
that will never wear out, a treasure inexhaustible in Heaven,
where no thief can come nor moth consume.
012:034 For where your wealth is stored, there also will your heart be.
012:035 "Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight;
012:036 and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--
on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--
that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly.
012:037 Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes
shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth,
that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline
at table while He comes and waits on them.
012:038 And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He
comes and finds them so, blessed are they.
012:039 Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known
what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake
and not have allowed his house to be broken into.
012:040 Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting
Him the Son of Man will come."
012:041 "Master," said Peter, "are you addressing this parable to us,
or to all alike?"
012:042 "Who, then," replied the Lord, "is the faithful and intelligent
steward whom his Master will put in charge of His household
to serve out their rations at the proper times?
012:043 Blessed is that servant whom his Master when He comes shall
find so doing.
012:044 I tell you truly that He will put him in authority over
all His possessions.
012:045 But if that servant should say in his heart, `My Master is a long
time in coming,' and should begin to beat the menservants
and the maids, and to eat and drink, drinking even to excess;
012:046 that servant's Master will come on a day when he is not expecting
Him and at an hour that he knows not of, and will punish
him severely, and make him share the lot of the unfaithful.
012:047 And that servant who has been told his Master's will
and yet made no preparation and did not obey His will,
will receive many lashes.
012:048 But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved
the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever
much has been given, from him much will be required;
and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount
will be demanded.
012:049 "I came to throw fire upon the earth, and what is my desire?
Oh that it were even now kindled!
012:050 But I have a baptism to undergo; and how am I pent up till
it is accomplished!
012:051 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? No, I tell
you that I came to bring dissension.
012:052 For from this time there will be in one house five persons
split into parties. Three will form a party against two
and two will form a party against three;
012:053 father against son and son against father; mother attacking daughter
and daughter her mother, mother-in-law her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law her mother-in-law."
012:054 Then He said to the people also, "When you see a cloud rising
in the west, you immediately say, `There is to be a shower;'
and it comes to pass.
012:055 And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, `It will be
burning hot;' and it comes to pass.
012:056 Vain pretenders! You know how to read the aspect of earth and sky.
How is it you cannot read this present time?
012:057 "Why, too, do you not of yourselves arrive at just conclusions?
012:058 For when, with your opponent, you are going before the magistrate,
on the way take pains to get out of his power; for fear that,
if he should drag you before the judge, the judge may hand
you over to the officer of the court, and the officer lodge
you in prison.
012:059 Never, I tell you, will you get free till you have paid
the last farthing."
013:001 Just at that time people came to tell Him about the Galilaeans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
013:002 "Do you suppose," He asked in reply, "that those Galilaeans
were worse sinners than the mass of the Galilaeans,
because this happened to them?
013:003 I tell you, certainly not. On the contrary, if you are not
penitent you will all perish as they did.
013:004 Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, do you
suppose they had failed in their duty more than all the rest
of the people who live in Jerusalem?
013:005 I tell you, certainly not. On the contrary, if you do not
repent you will all perish just as they did."
013:006 And He gave them the following parable. "A man," He said,
"who had a fig-tree growing in his garden came to look
for fruit on it and could find none.
013:007 So he said to the gardener, "`See, this is the third year I have
come to look for fruit on this fig-tree and cannot find any.
Cut it down. Why should so much ground be actually wasted?'
013:008 "But the gardener pleaded, "`Leave it, Sir, this year also,
till I have dug round it and manured it.
013:009 If after that it bears fruit, well and good; if it does not,
then you shall cut it down.'"