King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 22
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And answered and spake unto them again by , and said, of is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the : and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those , and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. Then went the , and how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest of in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not? But perceived their wickedness, and said, Why ye me, ye ? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a . And he saith unto them, Whose is this and superscription? They say unto him, Cesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s; and unto the things that are ’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. The same day came to him the , which say that there is no , and asked him, Saying, Master, said, If a man , having , his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27And last of all the woman also. 28Therefore in the whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing , nor the of . For in the they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the of in . But as touching the of , have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by , saying, I am the of , and the of , and the of ? is not the of , but of the living. And when heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. But when the had heard that he had put the to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great in ? said unto him, Thou shalt love thy with all thy , and with all thy , and with all thy . 38This is the first and great . And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two hang all and . While the were gathered together, asked them, Saying, What think ye of ? whose son is he? They say unto him, . He saith unto them, How then doth in call him , saying, said unto my , Sit thou on my , till I make thine thy ? If then call him , how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
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.