The New Testament

by Richmond Lattimore

  On that day there came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. And they questioned him, say­ing: Master, Moses said: If a man dies without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up issue for his brother. But among us there were seven brothers. The first married and died without issue, and left his wife to his brother; and so also did the second and third until all seven had married her. Last of all the woman died. So in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, of the seven? For they all had her as wife. Jesus answered and said to them: You are far astray and do not know the scriptures, nor yet the power of God. For in the resurrection they do not marry, nor are they married, but are as the angels in heaven. But as to the resurrection of the dead, have you not read the word spoken to you by God, saying: I am the

  God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God is not God of the dead but of the living. Hear­ing this the multitude were struck with wonder at his teaching.

  But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together, and one of them who was versed in the law questioned him, making trial of him: Master, in the law, which is the great command­ment? He said: That you shall love the Lord your God in aU your heart and all your spirit and all your mind. That is the great commandment, and the first. There is a second, which is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments all the law and the prophets depend. And when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying: What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is he? They said to him: The son of David. He said: How then did David call him in the spirit, Lord, when he said: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right, so that I may put your enemies beneath your feet. But if David calls him Lord, how can he be his son? And none of them could answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day to question him any more.

  t Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his disciples, saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses. Do and observe all that they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they speak, and do nothing. They tie up heavy bundles and put them on the shoulders of men, but they will not use one finger to carry them. All they do is done for show, before people; they spread their phylac­teries and wear large tassels, they love the foremost couch at the dinners and the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplace, and being called rabbi by the people. Do not let yourselves be called rabbi; for you have one teacher, but you are all brothers. And do not call anyone your father on earth; for you have one father, in heaven. And do not let yourselves be called instructors, since you have one instructor, the Christ. He who is greater than you shall be your servant. He who exalts himself shall be brought low, and he who lowers himself shall be exalted.

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in the face of mankind; for neither do you go in yourselves, nor do you let those who are trying to enter go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you sweep the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when it is done, you make him a son of Gehenna twice over as much as your­selves. Woe to you, blind guides who say: If one swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound. Fools and blind men, which is greater, the gold or the temple that hallows the gold? Again you say: If one swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if one swears by the offering upon the altar, he is bound. Blind, for which is greater, the offering or the altar that hallows the offering? So one who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is on it; and one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; and one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you pay a tenth on the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have passed over what is weightier in the law, the judgment and the mercy and the faith. These you should have cultivated, nor yet passed over the other things. Blind guides, who filter out the gnat but swallow the camel whole. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you scour the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with rapac­ity and incontinence. Blind Pharisees, scour first the in­side of the cup, so that the outside may be also clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like tombs that are whitewashed, which show handsome on the outside, but inside they are full of dead bones and all uncleanness. So you too on the outside seem to men to be just, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just, and say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been guilty of the blood of the prophets. Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill out, then, the measure of your fathers. Serpents, viper's brood, how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna? Therefore, see, I send you the prophets and the wise men and the scribes; and some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will lash in your synagogues and chase from city to city, so that upon you shall descend all righteous blood that has been poured out upon earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barach, whom you mur­dered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this shall descend upon this generation. Jerusalem Jerusalem, who kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you, how many times have I wished to gather in your children, as a bird gathers her fledglings under her wings, and you would not let me. Behold, your house is lost. For I tell you, you shall not see me again, until you say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

  t And Jesus left the temple and was going on his way, and his disciples came to him, to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them and said: Do you not see all this? Truly I tell you, nothing here shall escape destruction and no stone will be left on another. Then he sat down upon the Mount of Olives, and his disciples came to him privately and said: Tell us, when shall this be, and what is the sign of your presence and the end of the world? Jesus answered and said to them: See to it that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying: I am the Christ. And they will lead many astray. You will hear wars and rumors of wars. Be watchful, do not be frightened. For this must be, but the end is not yet. Nation shall rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and earthquakes, place by place; all these things are the beg^^ings of the agony. Then they will hand you over for persecution, and kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my n^e. And at this time many shall be driven astray and betray and hate each other, and many false prophets shall rise up, and they shall lead many astray; and through abundance of lawlessness the love of many shall grow cold. He who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the inhabited world in testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Thus when you see the abomination of desolation, that was told by Daniel the prophet, estab­lished in the holy place-and let him who reads this take note of it-then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not come down to take up what is in his house, and let him who is in the field not tum back to pick up his coat. Woe to the women who are with child and the women who are nurs­ing in those days. Pray that your flight may not come in the wintertime, nor on the sabbath. For at that time there will be great affliction, such as there has not been since the beginning of creation and cannot be again. And if those days had not been cut short, there would be no flesh saved; but because of the chosen, those days will be shor­tened. Then, if anyone says to you: Here is the Christ, or here; do not believe him. For false Christs will rise up and false prophets, and they will present great signs and por­tents, so as to mislead even the chosen, if that may be done. See, I have warned you
. If then they say to you: See, he is in the desert; do not go out; or, see, he is in the countinghouses; do not believe. For as the lightning goes out from the east and shines as far as the west, thus shall be the coming of the son of man. Where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered. And at once after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the skies will be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the son of man in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves, and see the son of man coming upon the clouds with power and great glory, and he will send out his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather-the chosen together from the four winds and from end to end of the sky. From the fig tree learn its parable; when its branch is tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that the summer is near; so too when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at your doors. Truly I tell you that this generation will not pass before all these things are done. The sky and the earth will pass away, but my words cannot pass away. But concerning that day and hour none knows, not the angels of heaven nor the son, none but the father alone. For as the days of Noah, thus will be the coming of the son of man. For as in those days before the flood there were people eating and drinking, marrying and making mar­riages, until the day when Noah went aboard his ark, and they did not know, until the flood came and took them all away; thus also will be the coming of the son of man. Then therewill be two in thefield, and one taken and one left; two women grinding at the mill, and one taken and one left. Be watchful then, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But you know this, that if the master of the house had known the..time when the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore make yourselves also ready, because in the hour when you do not expect him the son of man will come. Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom the master set over his household, to give them their food when it is due? Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find doing so. Truly I tell you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that other, bad slave says in his heart: My master is long coming; and begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eat and drink with the drunkards; the master of that slave will come on the day when he does not expect him and in the hour when he is unaware, and cut him to ribbons, and make his lot one with the hypocrites; and there will be wailing and gnash­ing of teeth.

  •1 Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten girls who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were thoughtless, and five were thoughtful. For the thoughtless ones, when they took their lamps, did not take oil with them, and the thought­ful ones took oil in their flasks along with their lamps. When the bridegroom was late they all grew sleepy and slept. But in the middle of the night there was a great outcry: Behold, the bridegroom; go out to meet him. Then all those girls woke up and trimmed their lamps, but the thoughtless ones said to those who were thoughtful: Give us some of your oil, since our lamps are going out. But the thoughtful ones answered, saying: There would never be enough for us and for you. Better, go to those who sell it and buy it for yourselves. But while they were gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Then later came the other girls, saying: Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered and said: Truly I tell you, I do not know you. Be watchful then, since you do not know the day, or the hour.

  For it is like a man who made a journey, and called in his own slaves and handed over to them all his properties. And to one he gave five talents, to one two, to one one, each according to his ability, and went away. At once the one who had received five talents went into business with them, and made five more; so also the one who had re­ceived two made another two. But the man who had re­ceived one went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid the money of his master in it. Then after a long time the master of those slaves came back and cast up ac­counts with them. And the one who had received five talents came forward and delivered five talents more, say­ing: Master, you gave me five talents; see, I have made five talents more. His master said to him: Well done, good and trusty slave; you were trusty in small amounts, I will set you in charge of much. Come in and share your mas­ter's festivities. Then he who had received two talents came forward and said: Master, you gave me two talents; see, I have made two talents more. His master said to him: Well done, good and trusty slave; you were trusty in small amounts, I will set you in charge of much. Come in and share your master's festivities. Then he who had re­ceived one talent came forward and said: Master, I knew that you were a hard man, that you harvest where you did not sow, that you gather where you did not scatter the seed; and I was afraid and went away and buried your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours. His master answered and said to him: Wretched timid slave! Did you know that I harvest where I did not sow, that I gather where I did not scatter the seed? You should have put the money out with the bankers, and I could have gone and taken back my own, with interest. Take away his talent and give it to him who has the ten talents; for to everyone who has shall be given, even in excess; but from him who has not, even what he has shall be taken away. And cast this useless slave into the outer darkness; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

  When the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon the throne of his glory, and all the nations shall be gathered before him, and he will sort them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will station the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those who are on his right: Come, you who are the blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom which has been made ready for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the just will answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them: Truly I tell you, inasmuch as you have done it for any one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it for me. Then he will say to those on his left: Go from me, cursed, to the everlasting fire which has been made ready by the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me. And they will answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not take care of you? Then he will answer them and say: Truly I tell you, inasmuch as you have failed to do this for one of these who are least, you have failed to do it for me. And these shall go to everlast­ing punishment, but the just to everlasting life.

  •I Then it happened, when Jesus had done with all these sayings, that he said to his disciples: You know tha. after two days the Passover comes, and the son of man will be handed over to be crucified. Then the high priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of the high priest who was called Caiaphas, and they made plans to capture Jesus by treachery and kill him. But they said: Not during the festival, for fear there may be rioting among the people.

  Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came to him a woman with an alabaster vessel full of precious ointment and anointed his head with it as he reclined at dinner. When his disciples saw this they were displeased and said: Why this waste? It could have been sold for a great price and the money given to the poor. Jesus was aware of them and said: Why are you hard on the woman? She has done a good t
hing to me. For always you have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. When she anointed my body with this ointment, it was for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached through all the world, she will be spoken of, and what she did, in memory of her.

  And at that time one of the twelve, he who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests and said: What are you willing to give me if I betray him to you? And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he looked for an opportunity to betray him.

  On the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, his disciples came to Jesus and said: Where do you wish us to make preparations for you to eat the feast of the Passover? He said: Go to the city, to the house of a certain man, and say to him: The teacher says: My time is near. I shall keep the Passover at your house, with my disciples. And his disciples did as Jesus instructed them, and made ready the Passc-ver. When it was evening, he took his place at din­ner with the twelve disciples. And as they were eating he said: Truly I tell you that one of you will betray me. They were bitterly hurt and began each one to say: Surely it is not I, Lord? He answered and said: The one who dips his hand in the dish with me, he is the one who will betray me. The son of man goes his way as it has been written for him to do, but woe to that man through whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been well for that man if he had never been born. Judas, who had be­trayed him, answered and said: Master, it is not I? Jesus said to him: It is you who said it. As they ate, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said: Take it; eat it; this is my body. And he took a cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: Drink from it, all; for this is my blood, of the covenant, which is shed for the sake of many, for the remission of sins. But I tell you, from now on I shall not drink of this produce of the vine, until that day when I drink it with you, new wine, in the kingdom of my father.