King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 13
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The same day went out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them , saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among ; and the sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them ? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the of of , but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them : because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the of , which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their , and should be converted, and I should heal them. But are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many and men have to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the of the sower. When any one heareth the word of , and understandeth it not, then cometh one, and catcheth away that which was sown in . This is he which received by side. But he that received the into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received among the is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another put he forth unto them, saying, of is likened unto a man which sowed good in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Another put he forth unto them, saying, of is like to a grain of mustard , which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the thereof. Another spake he unto them; of is like unto , which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake unto ; and without spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the , saying, I will open my ; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then sent away, and went into the house: and his came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good is ; The field is the world; the good are the children of ; but the tares are the children of one; that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the . As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the ; so shall it be in the end of this world. shall send forth his , and they shall gather out of all things that offend, and them which do ; And shall cast them into a furnace of : there shall be and gnashing of teeth. Then shall shine forth as the sun in of their . Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, of is like unto hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, of is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, of is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the shall come forth, and sever from among the , And shall cast them into the furnace of : there shall be and gnashing of teeth. saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, . Then said he unto them, Therefore every which is instructed unto of is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his things new and old. And it came to pass, that when had finished these , he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their , insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this , and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called ? and his brethren, , and Joses, and , and ? 56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But said unto them, A is not without , in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
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.