King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 12
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At that time went on the through the corn; and his were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy do that which is not lawful to do upon the . But he said unto them, Have ye not read what did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of , and did eat the , which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in , how that on the days the priests in profane the , and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than . But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not , ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For is even of the . And when he was departed thence, he went into their : And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the , will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the , saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom is well pleased: I will put upon him, and he shall shew to the . He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth unto victory. And in his name shall the . Then was brought unto him one with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this ? But when the heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by the prince of the devils. And knew their , and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if cast out , he is divided against himself; how shall then stand? And if I by cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by of , then of is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against , it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the speaketh. A good man out of the good of bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of . For by thy words thou shalt be , and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Then certain of the and of the answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the : For as was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall be three days and three nights in of the earth. The men of shall rise in with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they at the preaching of ; and, behold, a greater than is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the of ; and, behold, a greater than is here. When the is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more than himself, and they enter in and there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this generation. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his , and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of which is in , the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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.