Thematic Bible: Parables of


Thematic Bible



And he said to them, in a story, The land of a certain man of great wealth was very fertile: And he said to himself, What is to be done? for I have no place in which to put all my fruit. And he said, This I will do: I will take down my store-houses and make greater ones, and there I will put all my grain and my goods. read more.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy. But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together?


Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, the friends of the bride, who took their lights, and went out with the purpose of meeting the husband. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For the foolish, when they took their lights, took no oil with them. read more.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lights. Now the husband was a long time in coming, and they all went to sleep. But in the middle of the night there is a cry, The husband comes! Go out to him. Then all those virgins got up, and made ready their lights. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lights are going out. But the wise made answer, saying, There may not be enough for us and you; it would be better for you to go to the traders and get oil for yourselves. And while they went to get oil, the master came; and those who were ready went in with him to the feast: and the door was shut. After that the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, let us in. But he made answer and said, Truly I say to you, I have no knowledge of you. Keep watch, then, because you are not certain of the day or of the hour.


And he gave them teaching in the form of a story, saying, A man went out to put seed in the earth; And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food: And some of the seed went among the stones, where it had not much earth, and straight away it came up because the earth was not deep: read more.
And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root it became dry and dead. And some seeds went among thorns, and the thorns came up and they had no room for growth: And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much. He who has ears, let him give ear.

A man went out to put in seed, and while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside and it was crushed under foot, and was taken by the birds of heaven. And some went on the rock, and when it came up it became dry and dead because it had no water. And some went among thorns, and the thorns came up with it and it had no room for growth. read more.
And some falling on good earth, came up and gave fruit a hundred times as much. And with these words he said in a loud voice, He who has ears, let him give ear.

Give ear, then, to the story of the man who put the seed in the earth. When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside. And that which went on the stones, this is he who, hearing the word, straight away takes it with joy; read more.
But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts. And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit. And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.

And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside. And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear: A man went out to put seed in the earth: read more.
And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food. And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep: And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead. And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit. And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much. And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.

The seed is the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them. And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy; read more.
And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts. And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word, And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much.

Now this is the point of the story: The seed is the word of God. Those by the side of the road are those who have given hearing; then the Evil One comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not have faith and get salvation. And those on the rock are those who with joy give hearing to the word; but having no root, they have faith for a time, and when the test comes they give up. read more.
And those which went among thorns are those who have given hearing, and go on their way, but they are overcome by cares and wealth and the pleasures of life, and they give no fruit. And those in the good earth are those who, having given ear to the word, keep it with a good and true heart, and in quiet strength give fruit.


He put another story before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his field: Which is smaller than all seeds; but when it has come up it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and make their resting-places in its branches.

Then he said, What is the kingdom of God like? what comparison may I make of it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his garden, and it became a tree, and the birds of heaven made their resting-places in its branches.

And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.


And he gave them teaching in the form of stories. A man had a vine-garden planted, and put a wall about it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and put up a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country. And when the time came, he sent a servant to get from the workmen some of the fruit of the garden. And they took him, and gave him blows, and sent him away with nothing. read more.
And again he sent to them another servant; and they gave him wounds on the head, and were very cruel to him. And he sent another; and they put him to death: and a number of others, whipping some, and putting some to death. He still had one, a dearly loved son: he sent him last to them, saying, They will have respect for my son. But those workmen said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death, and the heritage will be ours. And they took him and put him to death, pushing his body out of the garden. What then will the master of the garden do? He will come and put the workmen to death, and will give the garden into the hands of others. Have you not seen this which is in the Writings: The stone which the builders put on one side, the same was made the chief stone of the building: This was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes? And they made attempts to take him; but they were in fear of the people, because they saw that the story was against them; and they went away from him.

Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country. And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit. And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another. read more.
Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them. But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son. But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage. And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death. When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen? They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready. Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes? For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.

And he gave the people this story: A man made a vine-garden and gave the use of it to some field-workers and went into another country for a long time. And at the right time he sent a servant to the workers to get part of the fruit from the vines; but the workmen gave him blows and sent him away with nothing. And he sent another servant, and they gave blows to him in the same way, and put shame on him, and sent him away with nothing. read more.
And he sent a third, and they gave him wounds and put him out. And the lord of the garden said, What am I to do? I will send my dearly loved son; they may give respect to him. But when the workmen saw him, they said to one another, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property: let us put him to death and the heritage will be ours. And driving him out of the garden they put him to death. Now what will the lord do to these workmen? He will come and put them to destruction and give the garden to others. And when he said this, they said, May it not be so. But he, looking on them, said, Is it not in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has become the chief stone of the building? Everyone falling on that stone will be broken, but the man on whom the stone comes down will be crushed to dust.


Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock; And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock. And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand; read more.
And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall.

Everyone who comes to me and gives ear to my words and does them, I will make clear to you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who went deep and put the base of it on a rock; and when the water came up and the river was driving against that house, it was not moved, because the building was good. But he who gives hearing, without doing, is like a man building a house on the earth without a base for it; and when the force of the river came against it, straight away it came down; and the destruction of that house was great.


And he made a story for them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if one of them gets loose and goes away, will not let the ninety-nine be in the waste land by themselves, and go after the wandering one, till he sees where it is? And when he has got it again, he takes it in his arms with joy. read more.
And when he gets back to his house, he sends for his neighbours and friends, saying to them, Be glad with me, for I have got back my sheep which had gone away. I say to you that even so there will be more joy in heaven when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing, than for ninety-nine good men, who have no need of a change of heart.

What would you say now? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone wandering away, will he not let the ninety-nine be, and go to the mountains in search of the wandering one? And if he comes across it, truly I say to you, he has more joy over it than over the ninety-nine which have not gone out of the way. Even so it is not the pleasure of your Father in heaven for one of these little ones to come to destruction.


Now take an example from the fig-tree: when her branch has become soft and puts out its leaves, you are certain that the summer is near;

Take an example from the fig-tree: when its branches become soft and put out their leaves, you see that the summer is near; Even so, when you see these things taking place, you may be certain that he is near, even at the doors.


Another story he gave to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and put in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

And again he said, What is the kingdom of God like? It is like leaven, which a woman put into three measures of meal, and it was all leavened.


And he gave them another story, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who put good seed in his field: But while men were sleeping, one who had hate for him came and put evil seeds among the grain, and went away. But when the green stem came up and gave fruit, the evil plants were seen at the same time. read more.
And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, Sir, did you not put good seed in your field? how then has it evil plants? And he said, Someone has done this in hate. And the servants say to him, Is it your pleasure that we go and take them up? But he says, No, for fear that by chance while you take up the evil plants, you may be rooting up the grain with them. Let them come up together till the getting in of the grain; and then I will say to the workers, Take up first the evil plants, and put them together for burning: but put the grain into my store-house.

Then he went away from the people, and went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Make clear to us the story of the evil plants in the field. And he made answer and said, He who puts the good seed in the earth is the Son of man; And the field is the world; and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; and the evil seeds are the sons of the Evil One; read more.
And he who put them in the earth is Satan; and the getting in of the grain is the end of the world; and those who get it in are the angels. As then the evil plants are got together and burned with fire, so will it be in the end of the world. The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will take out of his kingdom everything which is a cause of error, and all those who do wrong, And will put them into the fire; there will be weeping and cries of sorrow. Then will the upright be shining as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him give ear.


And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me that part of your property which will be mine. And he made division of his goods between them. And not long after, the younger son got together everything which was his and took a journey into a far-away country, and there all his money went in foolish living. read more.
And when everything was gone, there was no food to be had in that country, and he was in need. And he went and put himself into the hands of one of the people of that country, and he sent him into his fields to give the pigs their food. And so great was his need that he would have been glad to take the pigs' food, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to his senses, he said, What numbers of my father's servants have bread enough, and more, while I am near to death here through need of food! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes: I am no longer good enough to be named your son: make me like one of your servants. And he got up and went to his father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with pity for him and went quickly and took him in his arms and gave him a kiss. And his son said to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes: I am no longer good enough to be named your son. But the father said to his servants, Get out the first robe quickly, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet: And get the fat young ox and put it to death, and let us have a feast, and be glad. For this, my son, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away from me, and has come back. And they were full of joy. Now the older son was in the field: and when he came near the house, the sounds of music and dancing came to his ears. And he sent for one of the servants, questioning him about what it might be. And he said to him, Your brother has come; and your father has had the young ox put to death because he has come back safely. But he was angry and would not go in; and his father came out and made a request to him to come in. But he made answer and said to his father, See, all these years I have been your servant, doing your orders in everything: and you never gave me even a young goat so that I might have a feast with my friends: But when this your son came, who has been wasting your property with bad women, you put to death the fat young ox for him. And he said to him, Son, you are with me at all times, and all I have is yours. But it was right to be glad and to have a feast; for this your brother, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away and has come back.


Be ready, dressed as for a journey, with your lights burning. And be like men who are looking for their lord, when he comes back from the bride-feast; so that when he comes to the door, it will be open to him quickly. Happy are those servants who are watching when the lord comes; truly I say to you, he will make himself their servant and, placing them at the table, he will come out and give them food. read more.
And if he comes in the second division of the night or in the third, and they are watching for him, happy are those servants. But be certain of this, that if the master of the house had had knowledge of the time when the thief was coming, he would have been watching, and would not have let his house be broken into. So be ready: for the Son of man is coming at a time when you are not looking for him.


Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day. And a certain poor man, named Lazarus, was stretched out at his door, full of wounds, Desiring the broken bits of food which came from the table of the man of wealth; and even the dogs came and put their tongues on his wounds. read more.
And in time the poor man came to his end, and angels took him to Abraham's breast. And the man of wealth came to his end, and was put in the earth. And in hell, being in great pain, lifting up his eyes he saw Abraham, far away, and Lazarus on his breast. And he gave a cry and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may put the end of his finger in water and put it on my tongue, for I am cruelly burning in this flame. But Abraham said, Keep in mind, my son, that when you were living, you had your good things, while Lazarus had evil things: but now, he is comforted and you are in pain. And in addition, there is a deep division fixed between us and you, so that those who might go from here to you are not able to do so, and no one may come from you to us. And he said, Father, it is my request that you will send him to my father's house; For I have five brothers; and let him give them an account of these things, so that they may not come to this place of pain. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets; let them give ear to what they say. And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone went to them from the dead, their hearts would be changed. And he said to him, If they will not give attention to Moses and the prophets, they will not be moved even if someone comes back from the dead.


Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader searching for beautiful jewels. And having come across one jewel of great price, he went and gave all he had in exchange for it.


For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king, who went over his accounts with his servants. And at the start, one came to him who was in his debt for ten thousand talents. And because he was not able to make payment, his lord gave orders for him, and his wife, and his sons and daughters, and all he had, to be given for money, and payment to be made. read more.
So the servant went down on his face and gave him worship, saying, Lord, give me time to make payment and I will give you all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go, and made him free of the debt. But that servant went out, and meeting one of the other servants, who was in debt to him for one hundred pence, he took him by the throat, saying, Make payment of your debt. So that servant went down on his face, requesting him and saying, Give me time and I will make payment to you. And he would not: but went and put him into prison till he had made payment of the debt. So when the other servants saw what was done they were very sad, and came and gave word to their lord of what had been done. Then his lord sent for him and said, You evil servant; I made you free of all that debt, because of your request to me: Was it not right for you to have mercy on the other servant, even as I had mercy on you? And his lord was very angry, and put him in the hands of those who would give him punishment till he made payment of all the debt. So will my Father in heaven do to you, if you do not everyone, from your hearts, give forgiveness to his brother.


Truly I say to you, He who does not go through the door into the place where the sheep are kept, but gets in by some other way, is a thief and an outlaw. He who goes in by the door is the keeper of the sheep. The porter lets him in; and the sheep give ear to his voice; he says over the names of the sheep, and takes them out. read more.
When he has got them all out, he goes before them, and the sheep go after him, for they have knowledge of his voice. They will not go after another who is not their keeper, but will go from him in flight, because his voice is strange to them. In this Jesus was teaching them in the form of a story: but what he said was not clear to them. So Jesus said again, Truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and outlaws: but the sheep did not give ear to them. I am the door: if any man goes in through me he will have salvation, and will go in and go out, and will get food. The thief comes only to take the sheep and to put them to death: he comes for their destruction: I have come so that they may have life and have it in greater measure. I am the good keeper of sheep: the good keeper gives his life for the sheep. He who is a servant, and not the keeper or the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming and goes in flight, away from the sheep; and the wolf comes down on them and sends them in all directions: Because he is a servant he has no interest in the sheep. I am the good keeper; I have knowledge of my sheep, and they have knowledge of me, Even as the Father has knowledge of me and I of the Father; and I am giving my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep which are not of this field: I will be their guide in the same way, and they will give ear to my voice, so there will be one flock and one keeper.


And, hearing these words, one of those who were at table with him said to him, Happy is the man who will be a guest in the kingdom of God. And he said to them, A certain man gave a great feast, and sent word of it to a number of people. And when the time had come, he sent his servants to say to them, Come, for all things are now ready. read more.
And they all gave reasons why they were not able to come. The first said to him, I have got a new field, and it is necessary for me to go and see it: I am full of regret that I am unable to come. And another said, I have got some cattle, and I am going to make a test of them: I am full of regret that I am unable to come. And another said, I have been married, and so I am not able to come. And the servant came back and gave his master an account of these things. Then the master of the house was angry and said to the servant, Go out quickly into the streets of the town and get the poor, the blind, and those who are broken in body. And the servant said, Lord, your orders have been done, and still there is room. And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the roads and the fields, and make them come in, so that my house may be full. For I say to you that not one of those who were requested to come will have a taste of my feast.


Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, which was put into the sea and took in every sort of fish: When it was full, they took it up on the sands; and seated there they put the good into vessels, but the bad they put away. So will it be in the end of the world: the angels will come and take out the bad from the good, read more.
And will put them into the fire: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.


It is as when a man who is in another country for a time, having gone away from his house, and given authority to his servants and to everyone his work, gives the porter an order to keep watch. So you are to keep watch: because you are not certain when the master of the house is coming, in the evening, or in the middle of the night, or at the cock's cry, or in the morning; For fear that, coming suddenly, he sees you sleeping. read more.
And what I say to you, I say to all, Keep watch.


And Jesus, answering him, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he got into the hands of thieves, who took his clothing and gave him cruel blows, and when they went away, he was half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he went by on the other side. And in the same way, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, went by on the other side. read more.
But a certain man of Samaria, journeying that way, came where he was, and when he saw him, he was moved with pity for him, And came to him and put clean linen round his wounds, with oil and wine; and he put him on his beast and took him to a house and took care of him. And the day after he took two pennies and gave them to the owner of the house and said, Take care of him; and if this money is not enough, when I come again I will give you whatever more is needed. Which of these three men, in your opinion, was neighbour to the man who came into the hands of thieves? And he said, The one who had mercy on him. And Jesus said, Go and do the same.


And he said to them, in a story, The land of a certain man of great wealth was very fertile: And he said to himself, What is to be done? for I have no place in which to put all my fruit. And he said, This I will do: I will take down my store-houses and make greater ones, and there I will put all my grain and my goods. read more.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy. But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together? So that is what comes to the man who gets wealth for himself, and has not wealth in the eyes of God.


But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden. And he said in answer, I will not: but later, changing his decision, he went. And he came to the second and said the same. And he made answer and said, I go, sir: and went not. read more.
Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you had no faith in him, but the tax-farmers and the loose women had faith in him: and you, when you saw it, did not even have regret for your sins, so as to have faith in him.


For it is as when a man, about to take a journey, got his servants together, and gave them his property. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to everyone as he was able; and he went on his journey. Straight away he who had been given the five talents went and did trade with them, and made five more. read more.
In the same way he who had been given the two got two more. But he who was given the one went away and put it in a hole in the earth, and kept his lord's money in a secret place. Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes up his account with them. And he who had the five talents came with his other five talents, saying, Lord, you gave into my care five talents: see, I have got five more. His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord. And he who had the two talents came and said, Lord, you gave into my care two talents: see, I have got two more. His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord. And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work: And I was in fear, and went away, and put your talent in the earth: here is what is yours. But his lord in answer said to him, You are a bad and unready servant; if you had knowledge that I get in grain where I did not put seed, and make profits for which I have done no work, Why, then, did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I would have got back what is mine with interest? Take away, then, his talent and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have more: but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And put out the servant who is of no profit into the outer dark: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.


And while they were giving ear to these words, he made another story for them, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they were of the opinion that the kingdom of God was coming straight away. So he said, A certain man of high birth went into a far-away country to get a kingdom for himself, and to come back. And he sent for ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds and said to them, Do business with this till I come. read more.
But his people had no love for him, and sent representatives after him, saying, We will not have this man for our ruler. And when he came back again, having got his kingdom, he gave orders for those servants to whom he had given the money to come to him, so that he might have an account of what business they had done. And the first came before him, saying, Lord, your pound has made ten pounds. And he said to him, You have done well, O good servant: because you have done well in a small thing you will have authority over ten towns. And another came, saying, Your pound has made five pounds. And he said, You will be ruler over five towns. And another came, saying, Lord, here is your pound, which I put away in a cloth; Because I was in fear of you, for you are a hard man: you take up what you have not put down, and get in grain where you have not put seed. He said to him, By the words of your mouth you will be judged, you bad servant. You had knowledge that I am a hard man, taking up what I have not put down and getting in grain where I have not put seed; Why then did you not put my money in a bank, so that when I came I would get it back with interest? And he said to the others who were near, Take the pound away from him, and give it to the man who has ten. And they say to him, Lord, he has ten pounds. And I say to you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And as for those who were against me, who would not have me for their ruler, let them come here, and be put to death before me.


Or what woman, having ten bits of silver, if one bit has gone from her hands, will not get a light, and go through her house, searching with care till she sees it? And when she has it again, she gets her friends and neighbours together, saying, Be glad with me, for I have got back the bit of silver which had gone from me. Even so, I say to you, There is joy among the angels of God, when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing.


And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others: Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer. The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer. read more.
Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have. The tax-farmer, on the other hand, keeping far away, and not lifting up even his eyes to heaven, made signs of grief and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I say to you, This man went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other: for everyone who makes himself high will be made low and whoever makes himself low will be made high.


And Jesus, talking to them again in stories, said: The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a feast when his son was married, And sent out his servants to get in the guests to the feast: and they would not come. read more.
Again he sent out other servants, with orders to say to the guests, See, I have made ready my feast: my oxen and my fat beasts have been put to death, and all things are ready: come to the feast. But they gave no attention, and went about their business, one to his farm, another to his trade: And the rest put violent hands on his servants, and did evil to them, and put them to death. But the king was angry; and he sent his armies, and those who had put his servants to death he gave to destruction, burning down their town with fire. Then he said to his servants, The feast is ready but the guests were not good enough. Go then to the cross-roads, and get all those whom you see to come to the bride-feast. And those servants went out into the streets, and got together all those whom they came across, bad and good: and the feast was full of guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a guest's robe; And he says to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a guest's robe? And he had nothing to say. Then the king said to the servants, Put cords round his hands and feet and put him out into the dark; there will be weeping and cries of sorrow. For out of all to whom the good news has come, only a small number will get salvation.


For the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house, who went out early in the morning to get workers into his vine-garden. And when he had made an agreement with the workmen for a penny a day, he sent them into his vine-garden. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others in the market-place doing nothing; read more.
And he said to them, Go into the vine-garden with the others, and whatever is right I will give you. And they went to work. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and saw others doing nothing; and he says to them, Why are you here all the day doing nothing? They say to him, Because no man has given us work. He says to them, Go in with the rest, into the vine-garden. And when evening came, the lord of the vine-garden said to his manager, Let the workers come, and give them their payment, from the last to the first. And when those men came who had gone to work at the eleventh hour, they were given every man a penny. Then those who came first had the idea that they would get more; and they, like the rest, were given a penny. And when they got it, they made a protest against the master of the house, Saying, These last have done only one hour's work, and you have made them equal to us, who have undergone the hard work of the day and the burning heat. But he in answer said to one of them, Friend, I do you no wrong: did you not make an agreement with me for a penny? Take what is yours, and go away; it is my pleasure to give to this last, even as to you. Have I not the right to do as seems good to me in my house? or is your eye evil, because I am good? So the last will be first, and the first last.


And he said, Two men were in debt to a certain man of business: one had a debt of five hundred pence, and the other of fifty. When they were unable to make payment, he made the two of them free of their debts. Which of them, now, will have the greater love for him? Simon, in answer, said, It seems he whose debt was greater. And he said, Your decision is right. read more.
And turning to the woman he said to Simon, You see this woman? I came into your house; you did not give me water for my feet: but she has been washing my feet with the drops from her eyes, and drying them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss: but she, from the time when I came in, has gone on kissing my feet. You put no oil on my head: but she has put perfume on my feet. And so I say to you, She will have forgiveness for her sins which are great in number, because of her great love: but he who has small need of forgiveness gives little love.


I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch in me which has no fruit, and every branch which has fruit he makes clean, so that it may have more fruit. You are clean, even now, through the teaching which I have given you. read more.
Be in me at all times as I am in you. As the branch is not able to give fruit of itself, if it is not still on the vine, so you are not able to do so if you are not in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: he who is in me at all times as I am in him, gives much fruit, because without me you are able to do nothing.


And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth, And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how. The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain. read more.
But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.


Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, the friends of the bride, who took their lights, and went out with the purpose of meeting the husband. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For the foolish, when they took their lights, took no oil with them. read more.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lights. Now the husband was a long time in coming, and they all went to sleep. But in the middle of the night there is a cry, The husband comes! Go out to him. Then all those virgins got up, and made ready their lights. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lights are going out. But the wise made answer, saying, There may not be enough for us and you; it would be better for you to go to the traders and get oil for yourselves. And while they went to get oil, the master came; and those who were ready went in with him to the feast: and the door was shut. After that the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, let us in. But he made answer and said, Truly I say to you, I have no knowledge of you. Keep watch, then, because you are not certain of the day or of the hour.


And he made a story for them, the point of which was that men were to go on making prayer and not get tired; Saying, There was a judge in a certain town, who had no fear of God or respect for man: And there was a widow in that town, and she kept on coming to him and saying, Give me my right against the man who has done me wrong. read more.
And for a time he would not: but later, he said to himself, Though I have no fear of God or respect for man, Because this widow is a trouble to me, I will give her her right; for if not, I will be completely tired out by her frequent coming. And the Lord said, Give ear to the words of the evil judge. And will not God do right in the cause of his saints, whose cries come day and night to his ears, though he is long in doing it? I say to you that he will quickly do right in their cause. But when the Son of man comes, will there be any faith on earth?


And he said to them, Which of you, having a friend, would go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, Friend, let me have three cakes of bread; Because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to put before him; And he, from inside the house, would say in answer, Do not be a trouble to me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; it is not possible for me to get up and give to you? read more.
I say to you, Though he will not get up and give to him, because he is his friend, still, if he keeps on making his request, he will get up and give him as much as he has need of.


And he made up this story for them: A certain man had a fig-tree in his garden, and he came to get fruit from it, and there was no fruit. And he said to the gardener, See, for three years I have been looking for fruit from this tree, and I have not had any: let it be cut down; why is it taking up space? And he said, Lord, let it be for this year, and I will have the earth turned up round it, and put animal waste on it, to make it fertile: read more.
And if, after that, it has fruit, it is well; if not, let it be cut down.


And another time he said to the disciples, There was a certain man of great wealth who had a servant; and it was said to him that this servant was wasting his goods. And he sent for him and said, What is this which is said about you? give me an account of all you have done, for you will no longer be the manager of my property. And the servant said to himself, What am I to do now that my lord takes away my position? I have not enough strength for working in the fields, and I would be shamed if I made requests for money from people in the streets. read more.
I have come to a decision what to do, so that when I am put out of my position they will take me into their houses. And sending for every one who was in debt to his lord he said to the first, What is the amount of your debt to my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said, Take your account straight away and put down fifty. Then he said to another, What is the amount of your debt? And he said, A hundred measures of grain. And he said to him, Take your account and put down eighty. And his lord was pleased with the false servant, because he had been wise; for the sons of this world are wiser in relation to their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves through the wealth of this life, so that when it comes to an end, you may be taken into the eternal resting-places.


The kingdom of heaven is like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and put back again; and in his joy he goes and gives all he has, to get that field.


And Jehoash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thorn-tree in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast from the woodland in Lebanon went by, crushing the thorn under his feet.

By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?

And Joash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thorn-tree in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast from the woodland in Lebanon went by, crushing the thorn under his feet.


You took a vine out of Egypt: driving out the nations, and planting it in their land. You made ready a place for it, so that it might take deep root, and it sent out its branches over all the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, and the great trees with its branches. read more.
It sent out its arms to the Sea, and its branches to the River. Why are its walls broken down by your hands, so that all who go by may take its fruit? It is uprooted by the pigs from the woods, the beasts of the field get their food from it. Come back, O God of armies: from heaven let your eyes be turned to this vine, and give your mind to it,

And its growth went on and it became a vine, low and widely stretching, whose branches were turned to him and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, putting out branches and young leaves. And there was another eagle with great wings and thick feathers: and now this vine, pushing out its roots to him, sent out its branches in his direction from the bed where it was planted, so that he might give it water. He had it planted in a good field by great waters so that it might put out branches and have fruit and be a strong vine. read more.
Say, This is what the Lord has said: Will it do well? will he not have its roots pulled up and its branches cut off, so that all its young leaves may become dry and it may be pulled up by its roots? And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?

Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters. And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches. But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it. read more.
And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country. And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.


Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country. And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit. And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another. read more.
Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them. But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son. But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage. And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death. When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen? They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready.

The keepers of sheep have been the destruction of my vine-garden, crushing my heritage under their feet; they have made my fair heritage an unplanted waste;

For the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house, who went out early in the morning to get workers into his vine-garden. And when he had made an agreement with the workmen for a penny a day, he sent them into his vine-garden. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others in the market-place doing nothing; read more.
And he said to them, Go into the vine-garden with the others, and whatever is right I will give you. And they went to work. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and saw others doing nothing; and he says to them, Why are you here all the day doing nothing? They say to him, Because no man has given us work. He says to them, Go in with the rest, into the vine-garden. And when evening came, the lord of the vine-garden said to his manager, Let the workers come, and give them their payment, from the last to the first. And when those men came who had gone to work at the eleventh hour, they were given every man a penny. Then those who came first had the idea that they would get more; and they, like the rest, were given a penny. And when they got it, they made a protest against the master of the house, Saying, These last have done only one hour's work, and you have made them equal to us, who have undergone the hard work of the day and the burning heat. But he in answer said to one of them, Friend, I do you no wrong: did you not make an agreement with me for a penny? Take what is yours, and go away; it is my pleasure to give to this last, even as to you. Have I not the right to do as seems good to me in my house? or is your eye evil, because I am good? So the last will be first, and the first last.

And he made up this story for them: A certain man had a fig-tree in his garden, and he came to get fruit from it, and there was no fruit. And he said to the gardener, See, for three years I have been looking for fruit from this tree, and I have not had any: let it be cut down; why is it taking up space? And he said, Lord, let it be for this year, and I will have the earth turned up round it, and put animal waste on it, to make it fertile: read more.
And if, after that, it has fruit, it is well; if not, let it be cut down.

Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill: And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes. And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden. read more.
Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes? And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it; And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it. For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.

But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden. And he said in answer, I will not: but later, changing his decision, he went. And he came to the second and said the same. And he made answer and said, I go, sir: and went not. read more.
Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you.

In that day it will be said, A vine-garden of delight, make a song about it. I, the Lord, am watching it; I will give it water at all times: I will keep it night and day, for fear that any damage comes to it.


Then he said to another, What is the amount of your debt? And he said, A hundred measures of grain. And he said to him, Take your account and put down eighty.

But while men were sleeping, one who had hate for him came and put evil seeds among the grain, and went away.


Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain