Sadducees, they flocked about him for the same purpose. 35 And one of them, an expounder of the law, with a view to 36 try him, asked him this question, Teacher, which is the great

commandment in the law? Thereupon Jesus said to him, 37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and 38 with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 39 great commandment. And the second is like it, Thou shalt 40 love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets.

41

Now while the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, What think ye concerning the CHRIST? Whose Son 43 is he? They say to him, David's. He saith to them, How 44 then doth David by the spirit call him LORD; saying, “The

Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make 45 thine enemies thy footstool.*" If then David calleth him

Lord: how is he his son? And none could answer him a 46 word. Nor did any one presume from that day forward to ask him any more questions. XXIII. Then Jesus spake to the multitude and to his disci2 ples, saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' 3 chair. Observe then and do whatever they enjoin you: but do 4 not act as they do. For they say and do not practise. For they bind up heavy and insupportable burdens and lay them on men's shoulders: but they themselves will not move them 5 with their finger. But all their works they do to be seen by 6 men. For this they make their phylacteries+ broad, and en

large the tufts of their mantles, and love the uppermost places 7 at entertainments; and the first seats in the synagogues; and 8 salutations in places of public resort; and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But as for you, be ye not called Rabbi; for 9 one is your teacher, namely the Christ. Now as for you all, ye are brethren, and should call no one on earth your father, for 10 one is your father, namely, he who is in heaven. Neither be

ye called leaders; for one is your leader, namely the Christ. 11 Let then the greatest among you be your attendant. For who

12 soever exalteth himself, shall be humbled, but he who humbleth himself, shall be exalted.

13

14

15

16

Now alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you 'shut up the kingdom of the heavens against men. For you neither enter in yourselves, nor suffer them who are going in, to enter.

Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you devour the houses of the widows; and for a pretext make long prayers. For this you shall be punished with greater severity.

Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is gained, you make him doubly more a child of hell, than yourselves.

Alas for you, blind guides, who say, To swear by the temple is not binding; but to swear by the gold of the temple is 17 binding. Foolish and blind! which is greater? The gold? 18 Or the temple which halloweth the gold? And, to swear by

the altar doth not bind; but to swear by the gift thereon is 19 binding. Foolish and blind! which is greater? The gift? 20 Or the altar which halloweth the gift? He therefore who 21 sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it and by all on it. And he who sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it and by him who 22 dwelleth therein. And he who sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him who sitteth upon it.

23

Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you pay tithe of mint, and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law-justice, mercy and fidelity. These you ought to have practised without omitting 24 those. Blind guides, you are skimming off the gnat, and swallowing the camel.

25 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but on the 26 inside they are full of rapine, and intemperance. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first what is within the cup, and the plate; so the outside will be clean.

27

Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you are like whitened sepulchres. These indeed appear beautiful on the outside; but within they are full of dead men's

28 bones, and of all corruption. In like manner you also appear outwardly to men to be righteous; but you are inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29

Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the sepulchres of the prophets and adorn the monu30 ments of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been their accomplices in 31 the blood of the prophets. So you testify against yourselves 32 that you are the sons of them who killed the prophets. As for 33 you then, fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents! brood 34 of vipers! how can you escape the punishment of hell? For this, behold I am about to send you prophets, wise men and Scribes and some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and per35 secute from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth; from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom 36 ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say to you, All these things will come upon this generation.

37

O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets and stonest them who are sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 38 her wings; but you would not! behold this house of yours is left desolate for you. For I say to you, Henceforth you shall not see me until you say, Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord.

XXIV.

Then Jesus went out, and as he was going from the temple, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of 2 the temple. Whereupon he said to them, See ye not all these? Verily I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon 5 another, which shall not be pulled down. And as he was sitting on the mount of olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, Tell us, when will these things happen; and what will be the sign of thy coming and of the conclusion of this age? 4 Thereupon Jesus answering, said to them, Take heed that no 5 one seduce you. For many will come in my name, saying, I 6 am the Christ and will seduce many. As you will soon hear

of wars and rumours of wars, see that you be not troubled. For all these things must happen, but the end is not yet. For

nation will rise against nation; and kingdom against king7 dom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earth8 quakes in divers places. Now all these are the beginning of 9 sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to affliction and put

you to death; and you will be hated by all nations on the ac10 count of my name. And many will then be stumbled and will 11 deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false 12 prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because iniquity 13 will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who 14 persevereth to the end shall be saved. The good news of the

kingdom shall indeed be proclaimed throughout the whole 15 world for a testimony to all the nations. And then will come the end. Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in 16 a holy place, (reader attend!) then let them who are in Judea 17 flee to the mountains: and let not him who is on the house top 18 godown, to carry away any thing out of the house, nor him who 19 is in the field turn back to take up his clothes. But alas for the

women with child and for them who give suck in those days. 20 Pray ye therefore that your flight may not be in the winter, 21 nor on a sabbath day. For there will then be great affliction,

such as hath not happened from the beginning of the world 22 till now: no, nor ever shall be. Indeed if those days were not

shortened, no flesh could escape. But for the sake of the cho23 sen, those days will be shortened. At that time if any say 24 to you, Lo! the Christ is here! or there! believe it not. For

false Christs and false prophets will rise up and give out* great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if it were possible, 25 even the chosen. Behold I have forewarned you. Therefore if 26 they say to you, Behold he is in the desert, go not out. Or, be27 hold he is in the secret apartments! do not believe them. For

as the lightning, which breaketh forth from the east, shineth 28 even to the west, so will the coming of the son of man be. For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be assembled. 29 Now immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun

*That is promise or propose, in this sense the Greek word is used by the Sep. Deut. 13. 1.

will be darkened and the moon will not give her splendour; and the stars will fall from heaven, and the heavenly powers will 30 be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the son of man in

heaven. And then, all the tribes of the land will mourn: and they shall see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, 31 with power and great glory. And he will send out his messengers with a loud sounding trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds-from one extremity of heaven to the other.

32

Now learn this parable from that fig tree. When its branches become tender and put forth leaves, you know that the 33 summer is near. So when you see all these things, know as34 suredly that he is near--at the door. Verily I say to you, This

generation shall not pass until all these things shall happen. 35 The heaven and the earth shall fail; but my words shall not 36 fail. But with respect to the day and the season, that none

knoweth, not even the angels of the heavens-none but my 37 father only. For as the days of Noe were, so also will this coming 38 of the son of man be. For as in those days, before the deluge,

they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in mar39 riage, till Noe entered the ark; and they did not know till the

flood came and swept them all away; so will this coming of 40 the son of man be. Two men will then be in the field; the one 41 is taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at 42 the mill, the one is taken and the other left. Watch therefore, 43 because you know not at what season your lord cometh. But

this you know, that if the master of a family knew at what watch the thief would come, he would be upon guard and not 44 suffer him to break into his house. Be ye therefore ready prepared, because the son of man cometh at an hour you least ex45 pect. Who is indeed the faithful and prudent servant, whom

his lord hath set over his household to give them their food in 46 due season. Happy that servant, whom his lord when he com47 eth shall find thus employed. Verily I say to you, he will set 48 him over all his estate. But if that servant being wicked should 49 say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and begin to 50 beat his fellow servants, and to eat and to drink with drunk51 ards; the lord of that servant will come on a day he least ex

pecteth, and at an hour of which he is not aware and will