King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 11
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And it came to pass, when had made an end of commanding his twelve , he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when had heard in the prison the works of , he sent two of his , And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 answered and said unto them, Go and shew again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the are cleansed, and the deaf hear, are up, and have preached to them. And is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, began to say unto the concerning , What went ye out into to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A ? yea, I say unto you, and more than a . For this is he, of whom , Behold, I send before thy , which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not a greater than : notwithstanding he that is least in of is greater than he. And from the days of until now of suffereth , and the take it by force. For all and prophesied until . And if ye will receive it, this is , which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not . For came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of and . But is of her children. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they not: Woe unto thee, ! woe unto thee, ! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in and , they would have long ago in . But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for and at the day of , than for you. And thou, , which art exalted unto , shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in , it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of in the day of , than for thee. At that time answered and said, I thank thee, O , of and earth, because thou hast hid these things from and prudent, and hast them unto babes. Even so, : for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are unto me of : and no man knoweth the Son, but ; neither knoweth any man , the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will . Take upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in : and ye shall find rest unto your . For is easy, and my burden is .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.