[1, 2] And there came unto him publicans and sinners to hear his word. And the scribes and the Pharisees murmured, and said, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And Jesus, when he beheld their murmuring, spake unto them this parable: What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if one of them were lost, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go and seek the straying one till he found it? Verily I say unto you, When he findeth it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that went not astray; and bear it on his shoulders, and bring it to his house, and call his friends and neighbours, and say unto them, Rejoice with me, since I have found my straying sheep. So your Father which is in heaven willeth not that one of these little ones that have strayed should perish, and he seeketh for them repentance. I say unto you, Thus there shall be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety-nine righteous persons that do not need repentance.
And what woman having ten drachmas would lose one of them, and not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek it with care till she found it; and when she found it, call her friends and neighbours, and say unto them, Rejoice with me, as I have found my drachma that was lost? I say unto you, Thus there shall be joy [Arabic, p. 101] before the angels of God over the one sinner that repenteth, more than over the ninety-nine righteous persons that do not need repentance.
[12, 13] And Jesus spake unto them also another parable: A man had two sons: and the younger son said unto him, My father, give me my portion that belongeth to me of thy goods. And he divided between them his property. And after a few days the younger son gathered everything that belonged to him, and went into a far country, and there squandered his property by living prodigally. And when he had exhausted everything he had, there occurred a great dearth in that country. And when he was in want, he went and joined himself to one of the people of a city of that country; and that man sent him into the field to feed the swine. And he used to long to fill his belly with the carob that those swine were eating: and no man gave him. And when he returned unto himself, he said, How many hired servants now in my father’s house have bread enough and to spare, while I here perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father’s house, and say unto him, My father, I have sinned in heaven and before thee, and am not worthy now to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But his father saw him while he was at a distance, and was moved with compassion for him, and ran, and fell on his breast, and kissed him. And his son said unto him, My father, I have sinned in heaven and before thee, and am not worthy to be called thy son. His father said unto his servants, Bring forth a stately robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and put on him shoes on his feet: and bring and slay a fatted ox, that we may eat and make merry: for this my son was dead, and is [Arabic, p. 102] alive; and was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and drew near to the house, he heard the sound of many singing. And he called one of the lads, and asked him what this was. He said unto him, Thy brother hath arrived; and thy father hath slain a fatted ox, since he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not enter; so his father went out, and besought him to enter. And he said to his father, How many years do I serve thee in bondage, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and thou hast never given me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends? but this thy son, when he had squandered thy property with harlots, and come, thou hast slain for him a fatted ox. His father said unto him, My son, thou art at all times with me, and everything I have is thine. It behoveth thee to rejoice and make merry, since this thy brother was dead, and is alive; and was lost, and is found.
And he spake a parable unto his disciples: There was a rich man, and he had a steward; and he was accused to him that he had squandered his property. So his lord called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear regarding thee? Give me the account of thy stewardship; for it is now impossible that thou shouldest be a steward for me. The steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; and to beg I am ashamed. I know what I will do, that, when I go out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. And he called one after another of his lord’s debtors, and said to the first, How much owest thou my lord? He said unto him, An hundred portions of oil. He said unto him, Take thy writing, and sit down, and write quickly fifty portions. And he said to the next, And thou, how much owest thou my lord? He said unto him, An hundred cors of wheat. He said unto him, Take [Arabic, p. 103] thy writing, and sit down, and write eighty cors. And our lord commended the sinful steward because he had done a wise deed; for the children of this world are wiser than the children of the light in this their age. And I also say unto you, Make unto yourselves friends with the wealth of this unrighteousness; so that, when it is exhausted, they may receive you into their tents for ever. He who is faithful in a little is faithful also in much: and he who is unrighteous in a little is unrighteous also in much. If then in the wealth of unrighteousness ye were not trustworthy, who will intrust you with the truth? If ye are not found faithful in what does not belong to you, who will give you what belongeth to you?
Section XXVII
Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants. And when he began to make it, they brought to him one who owed him ten talents. And because he had not wherewith to pay, his lord ordered that he should be sold, he, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment be made. So that servant fell down and worshipped him, and said unto him, My lord, have patience with me, and I shall pay thee everything. And the lord of that servant had compassion, and released him, and forgave him his debt. And that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him [Arabic, p. 104] a hundred pence; and he took him, and dealt severely with him, and said unto him, Give me what thou owest. So the fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, and said, Grant me respite, and I will pay thee. And he would not; but took him, and cast him into prison, till he should give him his debt. And when their fellow-servants saw what happened, it distressed them much; and they came and told their lord of all that had taken place. Then his lord called him, and said unto him, Thou wicked servant, all that debt I forgave thee, because thou besoughtest me: was it not then incumbent on thee also to have mercy on thy fellow-servant, as I had mercy on thee? And his lord became wroth, and delivered him to the scourgers, till he should pay all that he owed. So shall my Father which is in heaven do unto you, if one forgive not his brother his wrong conduct from his heart. Take heed within yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he act wrongly towards thee seven times in a day, and on that day return seven times unto thee, and say, I repent towards thee; forgive him. And if thy brother act wrongly towards thee, go and reprove him between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two, and so at the mouth of two or three every saying shall be established. And if he listen not to these also, tell the congregation; and if he listen not even to the congregation, let him be unto thee as a publican and a Gentile. Verily I say unto you, All that ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and what ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I say unto you also, If two of you agree on earth to ask, everything shall be granted them from my Father [Arabic, p. 105] which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I amongst them. Then Cephas drew near to him, and said unto him, My Lord, how many times, if my brother act wrongly towards me, should I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven; but, Until seventy times seven, seven. And the servant that knoweth his lord’s will, and maketh not ready for him according to his will, shall meet with much punishment; but he that knoweth not, and doeth something for which he meriteth punishment, shall meet with slight punishment. Every one to whom much hath been given, much shall be asked of him; and he that hath had much committed to him, much shall be required at his hand. I came to cast fire upon the earth; and I would that it had been kindled already. And I have a baptism to be baptized with, and greatly am I straitened till it be accomplished. See that ye despise not one of these little ones that believe in me. Verily I say unto you, Their angels at all times see the face of my Father which is in heaven. The Son of man came to save the thing which was lost.
And after that, Jesus walked in Galilee; and he did not like to walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. And there came people who told him of the Galilæans, those whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus answered and said unto them, Do ye imagine that those Galilæans were sinners more than all the Galilæans, so that this thing has come upon them? Nay. Verily I say unto you now, that ye shall all also, if ye repent not, likewise perish. Or perchance those eighteen on whom the palace fell in Siloam, and slew them, do ye imagine that they were to be condemned more than all the people that dwell [Arabic, p. 106] in Jerusalem? Nay. Verily I say unto you, If ye do not all repent, ye shall perish like them.
And he spake unto them this parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. So he said to the husbandman, Lo, three years do I come and seek fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it render the ground unoccupied? The husbandman said unto him, My lord, leave it this year also, that I may dig about it, and dung it; then if it bear fruit—! and if not, then cut it down in the coming year.
And when Jesus was teaching on the sabbath day in one of the synagogues, there was there a woman that had a spirit of disease eighteen years; and she was bowed down, and could not straighten herself at all. And Jesus saw her, and called her, and said unto her, Woman, be loosed from thy disease. And he put his hand upon her; and immediately she was straightened, and praised God. And the chief of the synagogue answered with anger, because Jesus had healed on a sabbath, and said unto the multitudes, There are six days in which work ought to be done; come in them and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered and said unto him, Ye hypocrites, doth not each of you on the sabbath day loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and go and water it? Ought not this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, and whom the devil hath bound eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he said this, they were all put to shame, those standing, who were opposing him: and all the people were pleased with all the wonders that proceeded from his hand.
Section XXVIII
[1, 2] [Arabic, p. 107] And at that time the feast of tabernacles of the Jews drew near. So the brethren of Jesus said unto him, Remove now hence, and go to Judæa, that thy disciples may see the deeds that thou doest. For no man doeth a thing secretly and wisheth to be apparent. If thou doest this, shew thyself to the world. For up to this time not even the brethren of Jesus believed on him. Jesus said unto them, My time till now has not arrived; but as for you, your time is alway ready. It is not possible for the world to hate you; but me it hateth, for I bear witness against it, that its deeds are evil. As for you, go ye up unto this feast: but I go not up now to this feast; for my time has not yet been completed. He said this, and remained behind in Galilee.
But when his brethren went up unto the feast, he journeyed from Galilee, and came to the borders of Judæa, to the country beyond Jordan; and there came after him great multitudes, and he healed them all there. And he went out, and proceeded to the feast, not openly, but as one that conceals himself. And the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, In what place is this man? And there occurred much murmuring there in the great multitude that came to the feast, on his account. For some said, He is good: and others said, Nay, but he leadeth the people astray. But no man spake of him openly for fear of the Jews.
[Arabic, p. 108] But when the days of the feast of tabernacles were half over, Jesus went up to the temple, and taught. And the Jews wondered, and said, How doth this man know writing, seeing he hath not learned? Jesus answered and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. Whoever wisheth to do his will understandeth my doctrine, whether it be from God, or whether I speak of mine own accord. Whosoever speaketh of his own accord seeketh praise for himself; but whosoever seeketh praise for him that sent him, he is true, and unrighteousness in his heart there is none. Did not Moses give you the law, and no man of you keepeth the law? Why seek ye to kill me? The multitude answered and said unto him, Thou hast demons: who seeketh to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I did one deed, and ye all marvel because of this. Moses hath given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but it is from the fathers); and ye on the sabbath circumcise a man. And if a man is circumcised on the sabbath day, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I healed on the sabbath day the whole man? Judge not with hypocrisy, but judge righteous judgement.
And some people from Jerusalem said, Is not this he whom they seek to slay? And lo, he discourseth with them openly, and they say nothing unto him. Think you that our elders have learned that this is the Messiah indeed? But this man is known whence he is; and the Messiah, when he cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. So Jesus lifted up his voice as he taught in the temple, and said, Ye both know me, and know whence I am; and of my own accord am I not come, but he [Arabic, p. 109] that sent me is true, he whom ye know not: but I know him; for I am from him, and he sent me. And they sought to seize him: and no man laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. But many of the multitude believed on him; and they said, The Messiah, when he cometh, can it be that he will do more than these signs that this man doeth?
And a man of that multitude said unto our Lord, Teacher, say to my brother that he divide with me the inheritance. Jesus said unto him, Man, who is it that appointed me over you as a judge and divider? And he said unto his disciples, Take heed within yourselves of all inordinate desire; for it is not in abundance of possessions that life shall be. And he gave them this parable: The ground of a rich man brought forth abundant produce: and he pondered within himself, and said, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my produce? And he said, I will do this: I will pull down the buildings of my barns, and build them, and make them greater; and store there all my wheat and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid by for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, enjoy thyself. God said unto him, O thou of little intelligence, this night shall thy soul be taken from thee; and this that thou hast prepared, whose shall it be? So is he that layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich in God.
And while Jesus was going in the way, there came near to him a young man of the rulers, and fell on his knees, and asked him, and said, Good Teacher, what is it that I must do that I may have eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good, while there is none good but the one, even God? Thou knowest the commandments. If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments. The young [Arabic, p. 110] man said unto him, Which of the commandments? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not do injury, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Love thy neighbour as thyself. That young man said unto him, All these have I kept from my youth: what then is it that I lack? And Jesus looked intently at him, and loved him, and said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, what thou lackest is one thing: go away and sell everything that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and take thy cross, and follow me. And that young man frowned at this word, and went away feeling sad; for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw his sadness, he looked towards his disciples, and said unto them, How hard it is for them that have possessions to enter the kingdom of God!
Section XXIX
Verily I say unto you, It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And I say unto you also, that it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were wondering at these sayings. And Jesus answered and said unto them again, My children, how hard it is for those that rely on their possessions to enter the kingdom of God! And those that were listening wondered more, and said amongst themselves, being agitated, Who, thinkest thou, can be saved? And Jesus looked at them intently, and said unto them, With men this is not possible, but with God it is: [Arabic, p. 111] it is possible for God to do everything. Simon Cephas said unto him, Lo, we have left everything, and followed thee; what is it, thinkest thou, that we shall have? Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, Ye that have followed me, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, and shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Verily I say unto you, No man leaveth houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or kinsfolk, or lands, because of the kingdom of God, or for my sake, and the sake of my gospel, who shall not obtain many times as much in this time, and in the world to come inherit eternal life: and now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution; and in the world to come everlasting life. Many that are first shall be last, and that are last shall be first.
And when the Pharisees heard all this, because of their love for wealth they scoffed at him. And Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves before men; while God knows your hearts: the thing that is lofty with men is base before God.
And he began to say, A certain man was rich, and wore silk and purple, and enjoyed himself every day in splendour: and there was a poor man named Lazarus, and he was cast down at the door of the rich man, afflicted with sores, and he longed to fill [Arabic, p. 112] his belly with the crumbs that fell from the table of that rich man; yea, even the dogs used to come and lick his sores. And it happened that that poor man died, and the angels conveyed him into the bosom of Abraham: and the rich man also died, and was buried. And while he was being tormented in Hades, he lifted up his eyes from afar, and saw Abraham with Lazarus in his bosom. And he called with a loud voice, and said, My father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to wet the tip of his finger with water, and moisten my tongue for me; for, behold, I am burned in this flame. Abraham said unto him, My son, remember that thou receivedst thy good things in thy life, and Lazarus his afflictions: but now, behold, he is at rest here, and thou art tormented. And in addition to all this, there is between us and you a great abyss placed, so that they that would cross unto you from hence cannot, nor yet from thence do they cross unto us. He said unto him, Then I beseech thee, my father, to send him to my father’s house; for I have five brethren; let him go, that they also sin not, and come to the abode of this torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. He said unto him, Nay, my father Abraham: but let a man from the dead go unto them, and they will repent. Abraham said unto him, If they listen neither to Moses nor to the prophets, neither if a man from the dead rose would they believe him.
The kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. And he agreed with the labourers on one penny a day for each labourer, and he sent them into his vineyard. And he went [Arabic, p. 113] out in three hours, and saw others standing in the market idle. He said unto them, Go ye also into my vineyard, and what is right I will pay you. And they went. And he went out also at the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise, and sent them. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said unto them, Why are ye standing the whole day idle? They said unto him, Because no one hath hired us. He said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and what is right ye shall receive. So when evening came, the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward, Call the labourers, and pay them their wages; and begin with the later ones, and end with the former ones. And those of eleven hours came, and received each a penny. When therefore the first came, they supposed that they should receive something more; and they also received each a penny. And when they received it, they spake angrily against the householder, and said, These last worked one hour, and thou hast made them equal with us, who have suffered the heat of the day, and its burden. He answered and said unto one of them, My friend, I do thee no wrong: was it not for a penny that thou didst bargain with me? Take what is thine, and go thy way; for I wish to give this last as I have given thee. Or am I not entitled to do with what is mine what I choose? Or is thine eye perchance evil, because I am good? Thus shall the last ones be first, and the first last. The called are many, and the chosen are few.
And when Jesus entered into the house of one of the chiefs of the Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, and they were watching him to see what he would [44, 45] do, and there was before him a man which had the dropsy, Jesus answered and said unto the scribes and the Pharisees, Is it lawful on the sabbath to heal? But [Arabic, p. 114] they were silent. So he took him, and healed him, and sent him away. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have his son or his ox fall on the sabbath day into a well, and not lift him up straightway, and draw water for him? And they were not able to answer him a word to that.