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whosoever shall give one of these little ones a cup of water only to drink, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

CH. XI. And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, that he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

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Now when John had heard in prison of the works 3 of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, "Art thou he that was to come, or do we look for 4 another?" Then Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go 5 and tell John those things which ye hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised, and 6 to the poor glad tidings are preached. And happy is he whosoever shall not offend because of me."

7 And as these departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye out into 8 the desert to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? But

what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Lo, those that wear soft garments are in kings' 9 houses. But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yes, 10 I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my mes

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senger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before 11 thee.' Verily I say unto you, Among those that are

born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom of heaven is 12 greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and 13 the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and 14 the law prophesied until John. And if ye be willing 15 to receive it, this is Elijah who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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"But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places, and calling to their 17 companions, and saying, We have piped unto you,

and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, 18 and ye have not lamented.' For John came neither eating nor drinking; and men say, 'He hath a demon*.* 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking; and they say, Behold a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners †.' And yet wisdom is justified by her children."

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Then he began to reprove the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they repented 21 not. "Alas for thee, O Chorazin! alas for thee, O Bethsaida! For if the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would 22 have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I

say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and 23 Sidon in a day ‡ of judgement than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to the grave: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it might 24 have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in a day‡ of judgement, than for thee."

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At that time Jesus spake and said, "I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that having hidden || these things from the wise and understanding, thou hast 26 revealed them to babes. Yes, Father; for so it hath 27 seemed good in thy sight. All things have been delivered

unto me by my Father ¶: and no one knoweth the Son ††, but the Father; neither knoweth any one the Father, but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son chooseth to

* i. e. he is melancholy, or insane.
the day, N.

+i. e. of tax-gatherers, and heathen. though thou hast hidden, yet, etc., N.

i. e. all things relating to my Father's will have been communicated to me, John viii. 28; xii. 49. Bp. Pearce.

†† can acknowledge, W. The meaning is, that no one but the Father can fully comprehend the object and extent of the Son's commission, and no one but the Son com prehends the counsels and designs of the Father with respect to the instruction and reformation of mankind.

28 reveal him.

Come unto me, all ye that are wearied and 29 heavily laden; and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and hum30 ble in heart and ye shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burthen is light."

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CH. XII. AT that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the corn-fields and his disciples hungered, and began to 2 pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, "Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath." 3 But he said unto them, "Have ye not read what David did,

when both he hungered and those that were with him? 4 how he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for 5 those that were with him; but for the priests alone? Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and yet are 6 blameless? But I say unto you, that one greater than the 7 temple is here. But if ye had known what this meaneth, 'I desire pity, and not sacrifice,' ye would not have 8 condemned the blameless. For the Son of man is Lord

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of the sabbath."

And he passed on thence, and went into their syna10 gogue. And behold, there was a man that had a withered

saying, "Is it lawful to that they might accuse "What man of you will sheep; and if it fall into

hand. And they asked Jesus, work a cure on the sabbath?" 11 him. And he said unto them, there be, who shall have one a pit on the sabbath, will he not lay hold on it, and lift 12 it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep!

Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath." 13 Then saith he to the man, "Stretch forth thine hand."

And he stretched it forth; and it was restored sound, as 14 the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and took coun15 sel against Jesus, how they might destroy him. But

*well, N.

Jesus knew it, and withdrew thence: and great multi16 tudes followed him, and he cured them all; and strictly charged them that they should not make him known: 17 so that it was fulfilled which was spoken by the pro18 phet Isaiah, saying, "Behold my servant, whom I have

chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall publish his 19 law to the gentiles. He will not strive, nor cry out ; nor 20 will any one hear his voice in the streets. The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking taper he will not 21 quench, until he send forth his cause to victory. And in his name the gentiles shall hope."

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THEN was brought to him one who had a demon, blind and dumb and Jesus cured him, so that the blind and 23 dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were asto24 nished, and said, "Is this the son of David?" But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub prince of the de25 mons*." And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against 26 itself cannot stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? wherefore they shall be your 28 judges. But if I by the spirit of God cast out demons, 29 then the kingdom of God is come unto you. How can any one enter into a strong man's house, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? and 30 then he may plunder his house. He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, 31 scattereth. Wherefore I say unto you, All sin and blas

* Beelzebub, a heathen god, worshipped at Ekron, 2 Kings i. 2, the chief of possessing demons, or human ghosts: probably the same as Pluto, and a supposed human spirit. He is never called a devil, or represented as a fallen angel. Farmer on Demon. p. 30.

phemy will be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy 32 against the spirit will not be forgiven unto men: and whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in 33 this age, nor in the age to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and 34 its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by the fruit. Ye broodt of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 35 speaketh. A good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of his evil treasure 36 bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word which men shall speak, they shall give 37 account of in a day of judgement. For by thy words. thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

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Then some of the Scribes and of the Pharisees spake, saying, "Master, we request || to see a sign from thee." 39 But he answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and a sign shall not be given it, except the sign of the prophet 40 Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of man be three 41 days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgement together with this generation, and will condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater 42 than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise in the judgement together with this generation, and will condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to

* In attributing my miracles to the power of Satan. Mark iii. 30. N~~They who ascribed the miracles of Jesus and his apostles to demoniacal agency, resisted the strongest possible evidence of the truth of the christian religion, and were therefore incapable of being converted to the belief of it.

to generation, N.

the day, N.

If desire, N.

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