[Arabic, p. 22] But when Simon Cephas saw this he fell before the feet of Jesus, and said unto him, My Lord, I beseech of thee to depart from me, for I am a sinful man. And amazement took possession of him, and of all who were with him, because of the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And thus also were James and John the sons of Zebedee overtaken, who were Simon’s partners. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; henceforth thou shalt be a fisher of men unto life. And they brought the boats to the land; and they left everything, and followed him.
And after that came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa; and he went about there with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon, which is beside Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. [7, 8] And John was not yet come into prison. And there was an inquiry between one of John’s disciples and one of the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Our master, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, he also baptizeth, and many come to him. John answered and said unto them, A man can receive nothing of himself, except it be given him from heaven. Ye are they that bear witness unto me that I said, I am not the Messiah, but I am one sent before him. And he that hath a bride is a bridegroom: and the friend of the bridegroom is he that standeth and listeneth to him, and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Lo now, behold, [13, 14] [Arabic, p. 23] my joy becometh complete. And he must increase and I decrease. For he that is come from above is higher than everything; and he that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh; and he that came down from heaven is higher than all. And he beareth witness of what he hath seen and heard: and no man receiveth his witness. And he that hath received his witness hath asserted that he is truly God. And he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: God gave not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath put everything in his hands. Whosoever believeth in the Son hath eternal life; but whosoever obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God cometh upon him.
And Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he had received many disciples, and that he was baptizing more than John (not that Jesus was himself baptizing, but his disciples); and so he left Judæa.
And Herod the governor, because he used to be rebuked by John because of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and for all the sins which he was committing, added to all that also this, that he shut up John in prison.
And when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he went away to Galilee. And he entered again into Cana, where he had made the water wine. And there was at Capernaum a king’s servant, whose son was sick. And this man heard that Jesus was come from Judæa to Galilee; and he went to him, and besought of him that he would come down and heal his son; for he had come near unto death. [28, 29] Jesus said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye do not believe. The [Arabic, p. 24] king’s servant said unto him, My Lord, come down, that the child die not. Jesus said unto him, Go; for thy son is alive. And that man believed the word which Jesus spake, and went. And when he went down, his servants met him and told him, and said unto him, Thy son is alive. And he asked them at what time he recovered. They said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. And his father knew that that was at that hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son is alive. And he believed, he and the whole people of his house. And this is the second sign which Jesus did when he returned from Judæa to Galilee. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
And he left Nazareth, and came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea shore, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: that it might be fulfilled which was said in Isaiah the prophet, who said,
The land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali,
The way of the sea, the passage of the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations:
The people sitting in darkness
Saw a great light,
And those sitting in the region and in the shadow of death,
There appeared to them a light.
And he taught them on the sabbaths. And they wondered because of his doctrine: for his word was as if it were authoritative. And there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, and said, Let me alone; what have I to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come for our destruction? I know thee who thou art, thou Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, and said, Stop up thy mouth, and come out of him. And the demon threw him in the midst and came out of him, having done him no harm. And great amazement [Arabic, p. 25] took hold upon every man. And they talked one with another, and said, What is this word that orders the unclean spirits with power and authority, and they come out? And the news of him spread abroad in all the region which was around them.
And when Jesus went out of the synagogue, he saw a man sitting among the publicans, named Matthew: and he said unto him, Come after me. And he rose, and followed him.
[47, 48] And Jesus came to the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. And Simon’s wife’s mother was oppressed with a great fever, and they besought him for her. And he stood over her and rebuked her fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and ministered to them. And at even they brought to him many that had demons: and he cast out their devils with the word. And all that had sick, their diseases being divers and malignant, brought them unto him. And he laid his hand on them one by one and healed them: that that might be fulfilled which was said in the prophet Isaiah, who said, He taketh our pains and beareth our diseases. And all the city was gathered together unto the door of Jesus. And he cast out devils also from many, as they were crying out and saying, Thou art the Messiah, the Son of God; and he rebuked them. And he suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him that he was the Lord the Messiah.
Section VII
[Arabic, p. 26] And in the morning of that day he went out very early, and went to a desert place, and was there praying. And Simon and those that were with him sought him. And when they found him, they said unto him, All the people seek for thee. He said unto them, Let us go into the adjacent villages and towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end did I come. And the multitudes were seeking him, and came till they reached him; and they took hold of him, that he should not go away from them. But Jesus said unto them, I must preach of the kingdom of God in other cities also: for because of this gospel was I sent. And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, and teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all the diseases and all the sicknesses, and casting out the devils. And his fame became known that he was teaching in every place and being glorified by every man. And when he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting among the tax-gatherers; and he said unto him, Follow me: and he rose and followed him. And the news of him was heard of in all the land of Syria: and they brought unto him all those whom grievous ills had befallen through divers diseases, and those that were enduring torment, and those that were possessed, and lunatics, and paralytics; and he healed them.
[11, 12] And after some days Jesus entered into Capernaum again. And when they heard that he was in the house, many gathered, so that it could not hold them, even about [Arabic, p. 27] the door; and he made known to them the word of God. And there were there some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, sitting, come from all the villages of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And some men brought a bed with a man on it who was paralytic. And they sought to bring him in and lay him before him. And when they found no way to bring him in because of the multitude of people, they went up to the roof, and let him down with his bed from the roofing, into the midst before Jesus. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the paralytic, My son, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and Pharisees began to think within their hearts, Why doth this man blaspheme? Who is it that is able to forgive sins, but God alone? And Jesus knew by the spirit that they were thinking this within themselves, and he said unto them, Why do ye think this within your heart? Which is better, that it should be said to the paralytic, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or that it should be said to him, Arise, and take thy bed, and walk? That ye may know that the Son of man is empowered on earth to forgive sins (and he said to the paralytic), I say unto thee, Arise, take thy bed, and go to thine house. And he rose forthwith, and took his bed, and went out in the presence of all. And he went to his house praising God. And when those multitudes saw, they feared; and amazement took possession of them, and they praised God, who had given such power to men. And they said, We have seen marvellous things to-day, of which we have never before seen the like.
[Arabic, p. 28] And after that, Jesus went out, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting among the publicans: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left everything, and rose, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house. And there was a great multitude of the publicans and others sitting with him. And the scribes and Pharisees murmured, and said unto his disciples, Why do ye eat and drink with the publicans and sinners? Jesus answered and said unto them, The physician seeketh not those who are well, but those that are afflicted with grievous [30, 31] sickness. I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance. And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast always, and pray, and the Pharisees also, but thy disciples eat and drink? He said unto them, Ye cannot make the sons of the marriage feast fast, while the bridegroom is with them. Days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then will they fast in those days. And he spake unto them a parable: No man inserteth a new patch and seweth it in a worn garment, lest the newness of the new take from the worn, and there occur a great rent. And no man putteth fresh wine into old skins, lest the wine burst the skins, and the skins be destroyed, and the wine spilled; but they put the fresh wine in the new skins, and both are preserved. And no man drinketh old wine and straightway desireth fresh; for he saith, The old is better.
And while Jesus was walking on the sabbath day among the sown fields, his disciples [Arabic, p. 29] hungered. And they were rubbing the ears with their hands, and eating. But some of the Pharisees, when they saw them, said unto him, See, why do thy disciples on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? But Jesus said unto them, Have ye not read in olden time what David did, when he had need and hungered, he and those that were with him? how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the table of the Lord, which it was not lawful that any should eat, save the priests, and gave to them that were with him also? And he said unto them, The sabbath was created because of man, and man was not created because of the sabbath. Or have ye not read in the law, that the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and yet they are blameless? I say unto you now, that here is what is greater than the temple. If ye had known this: I love mercy, not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned those on whom is no blame. The Lord of the sabbath is the Son of man. And his relatives heard, and went out to take him, and said, He hath gone out of his mind.
And on the next sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and was teaching. And there was there a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day, that they might find the means of accusing him. But he knew their thoughts, and said unto the man whose hand was withered, Rise and come near into the midst of the synagogue. And when he came and stood, Jesus said unto them, I ask you, which is lawful to be done on the sabbath day, good or evil? shall lives be saved or [Arabic, p. 30] destroyed? But they were silent. Regarding them with anger, being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts. And he said unto the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand became straight. Then he said unto them, What man of you shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a well on the sabbath day, will not take it and lift it out? And how much is man better than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful on the sabbath to do good.