there has not risen a greater than John the Immerser. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 From the days of John the Immerser till now, the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence, and men of violence seize upon it eagerly. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied till John; 14 and if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah that was to come. 15 He that has ears to hear, let him hear. 16 But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets, and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: We have played on the pipe for you, and you have not danced; we have wailed for you, and you have not lamented. 18 For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon. 19 The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and they say: Behold, a glutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. Yet wisdom is vindicated by her children.

20 Then he began to reprove the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 Alas for thee, Chorazin! alas for thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, that hast been exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to hades. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained till this day. 24 But I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25 At that time Jesus answered and said: I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son, but the Father; nor does any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you that are weary, and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

XII. 1At that time Jesus was going, on the Sabbath, through the fields of grain; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pull the ears of grain, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him: Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. 3 But he said to them: Have you not read what David did, when he and those who were with him were hungry? how he entered the house of God, and ate the loaves of the presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but for the priests only? 5 Or, have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath-days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this means-I desire mercy, and not sacrifice-you would not have condemned the blameless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.

9 And he departed thence, and went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, a man was there that had a withered hand. And they asked him, saying: Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbathdays? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said to them: What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out? 12 How much better, then, is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath-days. 13 Then he said to the man: Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored to soundness, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him, that they might destroy him. 15 But Jesus perceived it, and withdrew from that place. And many multitudes followed him, and he cured them all. 16 And he charged them not to make him known; 17 that the word might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 18 Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul delights. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall declare law to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not contend, nor cry out; nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking wick he shall not extinguish, till he shall send forth his law for conquest. 21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

22 Then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb: and hę cured him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said: Is not this the son of David? 24 But the Pharisees, when they heard it,

said: This man does not cast out the demons, unless by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons. 25 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And no city or house divided against itself shall stand. 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason, they shall be your judges. 23 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already come upon you. 29 Or, how can any one enter the house of the strong man and spoil his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? and then he will plunder his house. 30 He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathers not with me, scatters.

31 Therefore I say to you, That every sin and impious speech shall be forgiven men: but the impious speech against the Spirit shall not be forgiven men. 32 And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in the present age, or in that which is to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree unsound, and its fruit unsound. For by the fruit the tree is known. 34 Generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35 The good man, out of his good treasury, brings forth good things; and the evil man, out of his evil treasury, brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you, That for every idle word which men speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said: Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. 39 But he answered and said to them: A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it; for they repented in accordance with the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the most

distant parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 When the unclean-spirit has gone out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says: I will return to my house, out of which I came. And he comes and finds it empty, swept, and set in order. $5 Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be with this wicked generation.

46 While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood without, desiring to speak to him. 47 And some one said to him: Behold, your mother and your brothers stand without, desiring to speak to you. 48 But he answered and said to him that told him: Who is my mother? and who are my brothers? 49 And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said: Behold my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever will do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

XIII. 1 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea. 2 And many multitudes came together to him, so that he went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way: and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on stony places, where they had not much earth; and they immediately sprung up, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. 8 Others fell upon good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came and said to him: Why dost thou speak to them in parables? 11 He answered, and said to them: Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it is not given. 12 For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even that which he has shall be taken from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables; because

when they see, they see not; and when they hear, they hear not, nor do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall surely hear, and you will not understand; and you shall surely see, and you will not perceive. 15 For the heart of this people has become fat; and with their ears they hear heavily; and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn to me, and I should give them health. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say to you, Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear.

18 Hear you, therefore, the parable of the sower. 19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the wayside. 20 He that received seed on the stony places is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy. 21 Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he immediately takes offense. 22 He that received seed among the thorns, is he that hears the word; and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed on the good ground, is he that hears the word and understands it; who also produces fruit, and yields, one a hundred; another, sixty; another, thirty.

24 Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the blade sprung up, and produced fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came, and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence, then, has it tares? 28 He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Is it your will, then, that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, No; lest while you are gathering the tares, you root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together till the harvest, and in time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my granary.

31 Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom