King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 23
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Then spake to , and to his , Saying, The and the sit in ’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their , and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the , And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your upon the earth: for one is your , which is in . 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even . But he that is greatest among you shall be . And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, and , ! for ye shut up of against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14Woe unto you, and , ! for ye devour ’ houses, and for a pretence make long : therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, and , ! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall by , it is nothing; but whosoever shall by the gold of , he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or that sanctifieth the gold? 18And, Whosoever shall by the , it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the that sanctifieth the gift? 20Whoso therefore shall by the , sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall by , sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall by , sweareth by of , and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, and , ! for ye pay of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of , , mercy, and : these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, and , ! for ye make clean the outside of and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind , cleanse first that which is within and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, and , ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear unto men, but within ye are full of and . Woe unto you, and , ! because ye build the of , and garnish the sepulchres of , And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in of . Wherefore ye be unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed . Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye , ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you , and men, and : and some of them ye shall kill and ; and some of them shall ye scourge in your , and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all shed upon the earth, from of unto of son of Barachias, whom ye slew between and the . Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O , , thou that killest , and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her , and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, is he that cometh in the name of .
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.