The Gospels

by Sarah Ruden

  Chapter 16

  1 Then he also said to his students, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager,*161 and a complaint got around to the rich man that the manager was throwing around the rich man’s property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you can’t be manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? My master’s taking away my job as manager. I’m not strong enough to dig in the earth, but I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do, so that when I’m out of my job as manager, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So he called in, one by one, each of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred baths of olive oil.’*162 So he said to him, ‘Take your document, sit down quickly, and write “fifty.” ’ 7 Next he said to the second one, ‘Okay, you: how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred cors of grain.’*163 And he said to him, ‘Take your document and write “eighty.” ’ 8 Then the master praised the manager with his lawless mismanagement, because he’d behaved shrewdly, given that the sons of this age are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light are.*164 9 So I say to you: make friends for yourselves using the mamōnas*165 of that mismanagement, so that when it’s used up, they welcome you into the shelters that last for all time.*166

  10 “The trustworthy person is trustworthy in the smallest matter as well as in a great one; and an unlawful person is unlawful in the smallest matter as well as in a great one. 11 If, therefore, you all haven’t proven trustworthy in unlawful mamōnas, who’s going to trust you with true mamōnas? 12 If you haven’t proven trustworthy in what belongs to someone else, who’s going to give you anything for your own?

  13 “No household slave can serve two masters. Either he’ll hate the one and love the other, or he’ll be loyal to one and have contempt for the other. You people can’t be slaves to god and to mamōnas too.”

  14 The Farisaioi, who love money, heard all these things and turned up their noses at him with a decided sneer. 15 So he said to them, “You’re the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of human beings, but god knows your hearts; because whatever is exalted and proud among humans is an abomination in god’s eyes.

  16 “The law and the prophets lasted until Iōannēs; since then, the kingdom of god is proclaimed as the good news, and everyone tries to get into it by violence. 17 But it’s easier for the sky and the earth to pass away than for a single hook on a letter of the written law to be dropped.*167

  18 “Everyone who lets his wife go and marries another woman is violating marriage, and whoever marries a woman who’s been let go by her husband violates marriage.

  19 “There was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and linen, enjoying himself splendidly every day. 20 And a certain beggar by the name of Lazaros used to lie at his gate, covered with sores 21 and longing to fill himself with things that fell from the rich man’s table; but instead the dogs actually came and licked his sores.*168 22 Then it happened that the beggar died and was taken up by the messengers to Abraam’s embrace.*169 Then the rich man also died and was interred. 23 And in hades he lifted up his eyes while he was being tortured and saw Abraam far away, with Lazaros in his embrace. 24 And he called out and said, ‘Father Abraam, have pity on me and send Lazaros: he could dip his fingertip in water and cool down my tongue, because I’m in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraam said, ‘Child, keep in mind that you got your good things during your life, while Lazaros got only bad things during his. But now he’s being consoled here, and you’re in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and all of you a huge, rock-solid chasm has been built, so that those who might want to step across to you couldn’t, and those where you are couldn’t cross over from there to us either.’ 27 But he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 as I have five brothers. I want him to warn them, which could keep them from coming into this place of torture.” 29 But Abraam said, ‘They have Mōüsēs and the prophets:*170 they’d better listen to them.’ 30 But he said, ‘They won’t, father Abraam, but if someone makes his way to them from among the dead, they’ll change their thinking.’ 31 But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Mōüsēs and the prophets, even if someone rises from among the dead, they won’t be persuaded.’ ”

  Chapter 17

  1 Then he said to his students, “For traps not to occur is something that can’t be had—but the person who makes them occur has it coming. 2 It would be more to his advantage if a stone big enough to grind grain with were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than if he set a trap for one of these little people.*171 3 Watch out for yourselves!

  “If your brother commits an offense, take him to task, and if he changes his purpose, let him off. 4 Even if he commits seven offenses a day against you but then turns back to you seven times, saying, ‘I’ve changed my purpose,’ you’re to let him off.”

  5 Then the envoys said to the master, “Strengthen our trust!” 6 But the master said, “If your trust were only as big as a mustard seed, you could say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Uproot yourself, and plant yourself in the sea!’—and it would obey you.*172

  7 “Which of you has a slave who plows or grazes a flock? When he comes in from the field, would you tell him, ‘Come here right away and recline at the table!’? 8 Wouldn’t you tell him the opposite: ‘Get something ready for my dinner, put a cloth around your waist, and serve me while I eat and drink, and after that you can eat and drink’? 9 You don’t thank the slave, do you, for doing what he was ordered to? 10 It’s the same for you: when you’ve done everything you were ordered to, say, ‘We’re worthless slaves: we’ve only done what we were obliged to.’*173

  11 And it happened that during the journey to Ierousalēm, he passed along the border between Samareia and Galilaia.*174

  12 And as he was entering a certain village, ten men with leprosy came to meet [him], and they stood far off. 13 Then they raised their voices, saying, “Iēsous, boss, have pity on us.” 14 And when he saw, he said to them, “Be on your way and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were still heading there, they were cleansed.*175 15 And one of them, seeing that he was cured, turned back and glorified god with a loud voice; 16 and he fell facedown at Iēsous’ feet, thanking him; but he was a Samaritēs.*176 17 And Iēsous said in response, 18 “Weren’t there ten who were cleansed? Where are the other nine? There’s no evidence they turned back to give the glory to god? It’s only this foreigner?” 19 And he told him, “Stand up and be on your way. Your trust has rescued you.”

  20 Interrogated by the Farisaioi as to when god’s kingdom was coming, he answered them by saying, “God’s kingdom doesn’t arrive under scrutiny. 21 And they’re not going to say, ‘Look, it’s here,’ or ‘It’s there’—since, look, god’s kingdom is inside you all.”*177

  22 But he said to his students: “The days will come when you long to see just one of the days of mankind’s son, but you won’t see it. 23 And they’ll say to you, ‘Look, he’s there,’ [or] ‘Look, he’s here.’ But don’t go and run after them. 24 Just like a lightning flash, flashing to light up the sky from one end to another—that’s what the son of mankind will be like [in his day]. 25 But first he’ll have to suffer many things and be tested and rejected by this generation. 26 And as it happened in Nōe’s days, that’s how it will be in the days of mankind’s son. 27 They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day Nōe entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.*178 28 That’s exactly the way it happened in the days of Lōt: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. 29 But on the day Lōt went out of Sodoma, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed them all.*179 30 That’s how it will be on the day when the son of mankind is revealed.*180 31 On that d
ay, whoever’s on the roof, while his things are inside the house, had better not go down and get them, and likewise whoever’s out in the field had likewise better not turn back for what’s left behind. 32 Remember Lōt’s wife!*181 33 Whoever looks to secure his life for himself will lose it, but whoever loses it will bring it to life again. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two on one bed, and the one will be taken along but the other left behind. 35 Two women will be grinding grain in the same place, and the one will be taken along while the other’s left behind.”*182 37 And in response they said to him, “Where, master?” And he said to them, “Where the dead body is, there the eagles will gather.”*183

  Chapter 18

  1 Now he told them a story for comparison, to show that it’s essential to pray at all times and not get discouraged. 2 He told them, “There was a certain judge in a certain town who didn’t fear god or feel any compunction toward mankind. 3 There was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me lawful vindication against my opponent at law!’ 4 For some time, he was unwilling. But later on, he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear god or feel any compunction toward mankind, still, as this widow is giving me so much trouble, I’ll give her vindication, 5 so that she doesn’t keep coming and beat me down in the end and leave me with a black eye.’ ” 6 And the master said, “Listen to what the judge who doesn’t care about the law says. 7 Won’t god vindicate those he’s chosen, who shout for him day and night? Is he going to wait patiently where they’re concerned? 8 I tell you that he’ll give them vindication in a hurry. Be that as it may, will the son of mankind find trust on earth when he comes?”

  9 And he told this comparative story to certain people who had confidence in their own justice and lawfulness and treated everyone else as if they didn’t exist. 10 “Two people walked up into the temple precinct to pray. The one was a Farisaios, and the other was a tax-collector. 11 The Farisaios stood by himself and prayed in this way: ‘God, I’m thankful to you that I’m not like the rest of mankind—looters, criminals, violators of marriage—or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice between one sabbaton and the next, and I give ten percent of all I take in.’ 13 The tax-collector, on the other hand, stood far away and couldn’t even bring himself to raise his eyes to the sky, but instead beat his chest, saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a criminal.’*184 14 I tell you, he’s the one who’d been put in the right when he went back down to his house, and not the other, because everyone who raises himself will be lowered, but whoever lowers himself will be raised.”

  15 They were even bringing him babies so that he could touch them. And when the students saw, they scolded the parents. 16 But Iēsous called for the babies to be brought to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and don’t stop them, because god’s kingdom belongs to people like these. 17 Amēn, I tell you, whoever doesn’t welcome god’s kingdom the way a child would can never enter it.”*185

  18 Then a certain leader questioned him, saying, “Excellent teacher, what do I have to do to inherit life for all time?” 19 Iēsous said to him, “Why do you call me excellent? Nobody is excellent except god alone. 20 You know the commands: ‘You must not violate marriage, you must not commit murder, you must not steal, you must not lie in your testimony, honor your father and your mother.’ ”*186 21 And he said, “I’ve observed all these since my youth.” 22 Having heard this, Iēsous said to him, “There’s still one thing left for you to do: sell everything you have and share it out among the destitute, and you’ll have a storehouseful in [the] skies, and come follow me.” 23 But when he heard this, he was heartbroken, as he was very wealthy.

  24 Looking at him [who was now so heartbroken], Iēsous said, “How hard a time those with property have as they try to make their way into god’s kingdom. 25 It’s in fact easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into god’s kingdom.” 26 But those who heard him said, “Then who can be rescued?”*187 27 And he said, “The things that are impossible for human beings are possible for god.”

  28 But Petros said, “Look, we left behind what was ours and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Amēn I tell you that there’s nobody who left a house or a wife or brothers or parents or children because of god’s kingdom 30 who won’t get them [back] many times over right now, in the present, as well as life throughout the ages in the age that’s coming.”*188

  31 Now Iēsous took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we’re going up to Ierousalēm, and everything that’s been written by the prophets will be fulfilled for the son of mankind. 32 He’ll in fact be handed over to the foreign nations, and taunted and treated outrageously and spat on, 33 and they’ll flog him and kill him, but three days later*189 he’ll awaken.” 34 But they understood nothing of these things, and this message was hidden from them, and they didn’t realize what was being said.

  35 Now it happened that when he was approaching Ierichō, a certain blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. 36 When he heard the crowd making its way past, he asked what was happening there. 37 They gave him the news that Iēsous the Nazōraios was going by. 38 Then he shouted the words “Iēsous, son of David, have pity on me!” 39 And those walking ahead of Iēsous scolded the man, telling him to be quiet, but he only yelled much louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!” 40 Stopping, Iēsous ordered the man to be brought to him and when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, l want to see again.” 42 And Iēsous said to him, “See again! Your trust has healed you.” 43 And there and then he regained his sight, and he followed Iēsous, glorifying god. And the whole of the people, when they saw this, gave praise to god.

  Chapter 19

  1 Then he entered Ierichō and was passing through it. 2 But look, there was a man who was called by the name Zakchaios, and he was the chief tax-collector, and was personally wealthy;*190 3 and he was trying to see which one Iēsous was, but due to the crowd he couldn’t, because he hadn’t grown to a normal height, and was still small. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree to see Iēsous, as he was about to pass through by that route. 5 And when Iēsous came to the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zakchaios, hurry up and climb down, because I need to stay at your house today.” 6 And he hurried and climbed down, and welcomed him with joy. 7 And when they saw, everyone complained loudly, saying, “He’s gone in to relax as the guest of a man who’s a criminal.” 8 But Zakchaios stood fast and said to the master: “Look, master, I’m giving away half of my property to the destitute, and if I’ve extorted anyone, I’m paying him back four times as much.”*191 9 And Iēsous said to him, “A rescue has come to this house, seeing that he’s a son of Abraam too;*192 10 the son of mankind has in fact come to seek out and rescue what was lost.”

  11 While they were listening to these things, he went on to tell them a story for the sake of comparison, because he was near Ierousalēm and they thought that god’s kingdom was about to appear then and there;*193 12 so he said: “A certain man from a noble family made a journey to a distant country to claim a kingship for himself and then return home.*194 13 But before he left he called ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas,*195 and said to them, ‘Do some business until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him, and they sent a follow-up delegation saying, ‘We don’t want him to be king over us.’ 15 And it happened that when he came back, having received the kingship, he had those slaves to whom he’d given the silver called to him, so that he could find out what kind of profit they’d made. 16 Now, the first one appeared before him, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas more!’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Good for you, excellent slave! Since you were trustworthy in this very small matter, take power over ten cities.’ 18 Then the second one came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas!’ 19 And he said to this one in his turn: ‘You too—take over five cities.’ 20 Then the third one came and said, ‘Master
, look, it’s your mina, which I kept stored away in a handkerchief; 21 I was afraid of you, you see, because you’re a hard man: you take for yourself what you haven’t left in safekeeping and harvest what you haven’t sown.’*196 22 He said to him, ‘I’ll judge you by the words from your own mouth, useless slave. You knew I’m a hard man, taking for myself what I haven’t left in safekeeping, and harvesting what I haven’t sown? 23 So what was the reason you didn’t deposit my silver on a banker’s table? Then I could have collected it, along with its “offspring,” when I came back.’*197 24 Then he said to those at hand, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25 But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’ 26 ‘I tell you that everyone who has something will be given more, while if someone doesn’t have something, even what he does have will be taken away. 27 And another thing: those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in front of me.’ ”

  28 And once he’d said these things, he continued ahead on his way, going up toward Hierosoluma.

  29 And it happened that when he approached Bēthfagē and Bēthania near the place named the Mountain of Olives,*198 he sent off two of his students, 30 saying, “Get moving and go to the village ahead, and as soon as you enter it you’ll find a colt*199 tied up, which no one has ever ridden; then untie him and bring him here. 31 And if someone asks you, ‘What’s the reason you’re untying him?’ simply say, ‘His master needs him.’ ” 32 The ones he sent went away and found things were just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, his masters said to them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 And they answered, “Because his master needs him.”*200 35 And they brought him to Iēsous and threw their cloaks over the colt, and they mounted Iēsous on him. 36 And as he made his journey, they spread their cloaks down on the road.*201 37 And when he drew near the path down the mountain with the olive trees, the whole crowd of his students, in their joy, began to praise god with loud shouts for all the acts of power that they had seen, 38 and their words were: