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¹ At which time the myriads of the multitude having been gathered together, so as to tread on one another, He began to say to His disciples, first, "Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;² and there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hid that will not be known;³ because whatever you said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you spoke to the ear in the inner-chambers will be proclaimed on the housetops.⁴ And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those killing the body, and after these things are not having anything more to do;⁵ but I will show to you whom you may fear: fear Him who, after the killing, is having authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I say to you, fear Him.⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? And one of them is not forgotten before God,⁷ but even the hairs of your head have all been numbered; therefore do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows.⁸ And I say to you, everyone who may confess in Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess in him before the messengers of God,⁹ and he who has denied Me before men, will be denied before the messengers of God,¹⁰ and everyone who will say a word to the Son of Man, it will be forgiven to him, but the [one] having slandered to the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.¹¹ And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you may reply, or what you may say,¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what [you] should say."

¹³ And a certain one out of the multitude said to Him, "Teacher, say to my brother to divide with me the inheritance."¹⁴ And He said to him, "Man, who set Me a judge or a divider over you?"¹⁵ And He said to them, "Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because his life is not in the abundance of one's goods."¹⁶ And He spoke an allegory to them, saying, "Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well;¹⁷ and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What will I do, because I have nowhere I will gather together my fruits?¹⁸ And he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and I will build greater ones, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things,¹⁹ and I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry.²⁰ And God said to him, Unthinking [one]! This night your life is required of you, and what things you prepared—to whom will they be [given]?²¹ So [is] he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God."

²² And He said to His disciples, "Because of this, to you I say, do not be anxious for your life, what you may eat; nor for the body, what you may put on;²³ life is more than nourishment, and the body than clothing.²⁴ Consider the ravens, that they do not sow, nor reap, to which there is no barn nor storehouse, and God nourishes them; how much better are you than the birds?²⁵ And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?²⁶ If, then, you are not able for the least—why are you anxious for the rest?²⁷ Consider the lilies, how do they grow? They do not labor, nor do they spin, and I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these;²⁸ and if the herbage in the field, that today is, and tomorrow is cast into an oven, God so clothes, how much more you of little faith?²⁹ And you—do not seek what you may eat, or what you may drink, and do not be in suspense,³⁰ for the nations of the world seek after all these things, and your Father has known that you have need of these things;³¹ but seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.³² Do not fear, little flock, because your Father delighted to give you the kingdom;³³ sell your goods, and give alms, make to yourselves bags that do not become old, a treasure unfailing in the heavens, where thief does not come near, nor moth destroy;³⁴ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.³⁵ Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning,³⁶ and you [be] like to men waiting for their lord when he will return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him.³⁷ Blessed those servants, whom the lord, having come, will find watching; truly I say to you that he will gird himself, and will cause them to recline, and having come near, will minister to them;³⁸ and if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find [it] so, blessed are those servants.³⁹ And know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief comes, he would have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be broken through;⁴⁰ and you, then, become ready, because at the hour you do not think, the Son of Man comes."

⁴¹ And Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this allegory to us, or also to all?"⁴² And the LORD said, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the lord will set over his household, to give in season the wheat measure?⁴³ Blessed that servant, whom his lord, having come, will find doing so;⁴⁴ truly I say to you that he will set him over all his goods.⁴⁵ And if that servant may say in his heart, My lord delays to come, and may begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat also, and to drink, and to be drunken,⁴⁶ the lord of that servant will come in a day in which he does not look for [him], and in an hour that he does not know, and will cut him off, and he will appoint his portion with the unfaithful.⁴⁷ And that servant, who having known his lord's will, and having not prepared, nor having gone according to his will, will be beaten with many stripes,⁴⁸ and he who, not having known, and having done things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few; and to everyone to whom much was given, much will be required from him; and to whom they committed much, more abundantly they will ask of him.⁴⁹ I came to cast fire to the earth, and what I wish [is] if it were already kindled!⁵⁰ But I have an immersion to be immersed with, and how I am pressed until it may be accomplished!⁵¹ Do you think that I came to give peace in the earth? No, I say to you, but rather division;⁵² for there will be from now on five in one house divided—three against two, and two against three;⁵³ a father will be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

⁵⁴ And He also said to the multitudes, "When you may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, A shower comes, and it is so;⁵⁵ and when a south wind is blowing, you say that there will be heat, and it is;⁵⁶ hypocrites! You have known to discern the face of the earth and of the sky, but how do you not discern this time?⁵⁷ And why, also, of yourselves, do you not judge what is righteous?⁵⁸ For as you are going away with your opponent to the ruler, in the way give diligence to be released from him, lest he may drag you to the judge, and the judge may deliver you to the officer, and the officer may cast you into prison;⁵⁹ I say to you, you may not come forth from there until even the last mite you may give back."