Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can not fast. But days 20 will come, when the bridegroom will be taken from them; and then shall they fast in that day. No one 21 sews a piece of unfulled cloth upon an old garment; else the new filling up of the old takes from it, and a worse rent is made. And no one puts new wine in- 22 to old skins; else the wine bursts the skins, and the wine is destroyed, and the skins.

And the 24 they on And he 25

And it came to pass, that he went through the 23 grain-fields on the sabbath; and his disciples began to go forward, plucking the ears of grain. Pharisees said to him: Behold, why do the sabbath that which is not lawful? said to them: Have ye never read what David did, when he had need and hungered, himself and they that were with him? How he went into the house of 26 God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the show bread, which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? And he said to them: The sabbath was 27 made for man, and not man for the sabbath. that the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

So 28

V. 22. Some ancient copies add: But new wine must be put into new skins.

V. 23. or, began to make a way

1 III. AND he entered again into the synagogue ; and there was a man there having his hand withered. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him 3 on the sabbath; that they might accuse him. And

he says to the man having the withered hand: Arise, 4 and come into the midst. And he says to them: Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And looking round on them with anger, being grieved for their hardness of heart, he says to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.

6

1

And the Pharisees went out, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they 7 might destroy him. And Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from 8 Galilee followed; and from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan, and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came to him. 9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship

should wait on him because of the multitude, that 10 they might not throng him. For he healed many;

so that they pressed upon him to touch him, as 11 many as had plagues. And the unclean spirits,

when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, 12 saying: Thou art the Son of God. And he strictly charged them that they should not make him known. 13 And he goes up into the mountain, and calls to

him whom he would; and they went to him. And 14 he appointed twelve, that they should be with him,

and that he might send them forth to preach, and 15 to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon he surnamed Peter; and James 16 the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; 17 and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholo- 18 mew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

19

And they come into the house. And the multitude 20 comes together again, so that they could not even eat bread. And hearing of it, his kinsmen went out to 21 lay hold of him; for they said, He is beside himself.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem 22 said, He has Beelzebul, and through the prince of the devils he casts out the devils. And he called them 23 to him, and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided 24 against itself, that kingdom can not stand. And if 25 a house be divided against itself, that house can not stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, 26 and is divided, he can not stand, but has an end. No one can enter into a strong man's house, and 27 plunder his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will plunder his house. Verily I say 28

V. 18. Cananite, (as some suppose)

- Zelotes.

to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme. 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit

has no forgiveness forever, but is guilty of eternal 30 sin; because they said, He has an unclean spirit. 31 So his brothers and his mother came, and stand32 ing without sent to him, calling him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they say to him, Behold, thy mother and thy brothers without are seeking 33 thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my 34 mother, or my brothers? And looking round on those who sat about him, he said, Behold my mother, 35 and my brothers! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

1

IV. AND he began again to teach by the sea-side. And there was gathered to him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat down in the sea; and all the multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching:

3

Hearken; behold, the sower went forth to sow. 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, one fell by the 5 way side, and the fowls came and devoured it. And

another fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because 6 it had not depth of earth. But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had not root, it

withered away. And another fell among the thorns; 7 and the thorns came up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And another fell into the good ground, 8 and yielded fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, thirty, and sixty, and a hundredfold. And he said: He that hath ears to hear, let him 9 hear.

And when he was alone, they that were about 10 him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them: To you is given the 11 mystery of the kingdom of God, but to them who are without, all things are done in parables; that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and 12 hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn, and be forgiven. And he 13 says to them, Know ye not this parable? And how will ye know all the parables ?

The sower sows the word. And these are they 14 by the wayside; where the word is sown, and when 15 they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in them. And these are 16 they likewise that are sown on the rocky places; who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, 17 but are only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they are offended. And others are they 18. that are sown among the thorns. These are they that hear the word, and the cares of the world, 19