38

shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 1Master, we would see 39 a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of 40 Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of 41 the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than 43 Solomon is here. But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, 45 and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with 5 himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter

in and dwell there: and the
last state of that man be-
cometh worse than the first.
Even so shall it be also unto
this evil generation.

While he was yet speaking 46 to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And one said unto 47 him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to thee. But 48 he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched 49 forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the 50 will of my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

sower

On that day went Jesus out 1 13 of the house, and sat by the sea side. And there were 2 gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. And he spake to them 3 many things in parables, saying, Behold, the went forth to sow; and as he 4 sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: and 5 others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and 6 when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because 2 Gr. sea-monster. 8 Gr. more than. 1 Or, it 6 Some ancient authorities omit ver. 47. .

1 Or, Teacher Or, itself

they had no root, they withered 7 away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them: 8 and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some 9 sixty, some thirty. He that hath ears1, let him hear.

10

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that 13 which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith,

15

By hearing ye shall hear,
and shall in no wise
understand;
And seeing ye shall see,
and shall in no wise
perceive:
For this people's heart is
waxed gross,
And their ears are dull
hearing,
And their eyes they have
closed;

of

Lest haply they should per

ceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And should turn again, And I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for 16 they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say 17 unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not. Hear then ye the parable of 18 the sower. When any one 19 heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. And 20 he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not 21 root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. And he 22 that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the 2 world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. And he that was sown upon 23 the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

1 Some ancient authorities add here, and in ver. 43, to hear: as in Mark iv. 9; Luke viii. 8. 2 Or, age

24

Another parable spake he 33 unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

All these things spake Jesus 34 in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them: that it might be fulfilled 35 which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden

from the foundation of the world.

Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good 25 seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed 1tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 And the 2servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? 28 And he said unto them, 3 An enemy hath done this. And the 2servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go 29 and gather them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable set he before them, saying, The king-end of the world; and the dom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his 32 field: which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.

31

1 Or, darnel

2 Gr. bondservants.

Then he left the multitudes, 36 and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. And he answered and said, 37 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the 38 field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the 39 enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is 7 the

reapers are angels. As there- 40 fore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in 7 the end of the world. The Son of man 41 shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall 42

3 Gr. A man that is an enemy.

The word in the Greek denotes the Hebrew seah, a measure containing nearly a peck and a half. 5 Or, through 6 Many ancient authorities omit of the world. 7 Or, the consummation of the age

cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping 43 and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear.

44

45

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and 1in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly 46 pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a 2net, that was cast into the sea, and 48 gathered of every kind: which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad 49 they cast away. So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from 50 among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

bringeth forth out of his trea-
sure things new and old.

And it came to pass, when 53 Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And 54 coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the car- 55 penter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And 56 his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were 5 offended in 57 him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

And he did not 58 many mighty works there because of their unbelief. At that season Herod the 1 14 tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said unto 2 his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers work in him. For Herod had laid hold on 3 John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John said 4 unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when 5 he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when 6 2 Gr. drag-net. 8 Or, the consummation of the 5 Gr. caused to stumble.

51 Have ye understood all these things? They say un52 to him, Yea. And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which

1 Or, for joy thereof age 4 Gr. powers.