Liber qui appellatur Speculum

And after seven verses: I will choose their mockeries and bring upon them what they feared: because I called and there was no one who answered, I spoke and they did not hear: and they did evil in my eyes and chose what I did not want. Hear the law of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: your brothers who hate you and reject you because of my name have said: let the Lord be glorified, and we will see your joy. But they themselves will be confounded. XX. FROM THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: what iniquity did your fathers find in me, that they drew away from me and walked after vanity and became vain? And after ten verses: You have placed my inheritance in abomination. The priests did not say: where is the Lord? and those holding the law did not know me, and the shepherds have transgressed against me, and the prophets have prophesied in Baal and followed idols. And a little later: Does a virgin forget her ornament, a bride her breastband? But my people have forgotten me for countless days. Why do you strive to show your way as good in seeking love, you who have moreover taught your ways your malice, and in your wings the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent has been found? I did not find them in ditches, but in all that I have mentioned above. And you said: I am without sin and innocent, and therefore let your anger be turned away from me!

Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: I have not sinned. How base you have become, endlessly repeating your ways! And you will be confounded by Egypt, as you were confounded by Assur. For you will also depart from that place, and your hands will be upon your head, because the Lord has crushed your confidence. And a little later: Turn back, sons, returning, says the Lord, for I am your husband. Likewise a little later: If you turn, Israel, to turn, says the Lord, turn to me. If you remove your stumbling blocks from before my face, you will not be shaken. And you will swear: The Lord lives! in truth and in judgment and in justice: and the nations will bless him and praise him. And a little later: My foolish people did not know me: they are senseless and witless sons: they are wise to do evil, but they have not known how to do good. And after thirty verses: Go around the ways of Jerusalem and look and consider and search in its streets, whether you find a man doing justice and seeking faith, and I will be merciful to him. But if they even say: The Lord lives! and swear this falsely, Lord, your eyes look upon faith. You have struck them, and they did not grieve: you have crushed them, and they refused to accept discipline: they have hardened their faces upon the rock, they were unwilling to turn back. But I said: Perhaps they are poor and foolish, ignorant of the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.

Therefore I will go to the nobles and speak to them: for they themselves have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God: and behold, these have more broken the yoke, burst the bonds. And after six verses: Your sons have abandoned me and swear by those who are not gods. I have fed them, and they have committed adultery and revelled in the house of a harlot. They have become lovers of horses and stallion-keepers, each one neighed at his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit these things, says the Lord, and shall not my hand be avenged on such a people? And after forty verses: I who placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal command which shall not pass away: and they shall be stirred up and shall not be able, and its waves shall swell and shall not cross it. But for this people a heart has become unbelieving and exasperating: they have withdrawn and gone away, and have not said in their heart: let us fear the Lord our God. And after seven verses: They have been found, he says, in my people, impious men, lying in wait like fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men. As a decoy is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit: therefore they have been magnified and enlarged, fattened and made sleek, and have passed over my words most wickedly. They have not pleaded the cause of the orphan and have not judged the case of the poor. Shall I not visit these things, says the Lord, or shall not my soul be avenged on a people of this kind? Astonishment and wonders have been wrought in the land.

Your prophets were prophesying lies, and the priests were clapping their hands, and my people loved such things: what then will become of them in the end? And after thirty verses: To whom shall I speak? and whom shall I call to witness, that he may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear: behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them, and they do not receive it. And a little later: Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who enter through these gates to adore the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Make good your ways and your pursuits, and I will dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in lying words, saying: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord it is. For if you bless your ways and your pursuits, if you do justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, if you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not walk after foreign gods to your own harm: I will dwell with you in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers, from age to age. Behold, you trust in lying words, which will not profit you: to steal, to kill, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to pour libations to Baalim and to go after foreign gods whom you do not know. And you have come and stood before me in this house, in which my name has been invoked, and you have said: We are freed, because we have committed all these abominations.

Therefore, has that house become a den of thieves, in which my name was invoked before your eyes? I, I am the one, I have seen, says the Lord. Go to my place in Shiloh, where my name dwelt from the beginning, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel; and now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you rising in the morning and speaking, and you did not listen, and I called and you did not answer: I will do to this house, in which my name has been invoked and in which you have confidence, and to the place which I gave to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh, and I will cast you from my face, as I cast out all your brothers, the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore, do not pray for this people, nor take up praise and prayer for them, and do not oppose me: because I will not hear you. Do you not see what these do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women spread fat to make cakes for the queen of heaven and to pour libations to alien gods and to provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? says the Lord. Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own face? And a little later: Does not one who falls rise again? And does not one who has turned away return? Why, then, has this people in Jerusalem turned away with contentious aversion? They have seized upon falsehood and refused to return.

I paid attention and listened: no one speaks what is good, there is no one who does penance over his sin, saying: what have I done? And after nine verses: How do you say: we are wise and the law of the Lord is with us? Truly, the lying pen of the scribes has wrought a lie. The wise are confounded, terrified and captured. For they have cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them. And a little later: Who will give me a wayfarers' lodging in the wilderness, and I will abandon my people and withdraw from them? Because all are adulterers, a gathering of transgressors. And they have stretched out their tongue like a bow of falsehood and not of truth: they have grown strong in the land, because they have gone from evil to evil and have not known me, says the Lord. Let each one guard himself from his neighbor and have no trust in any brother of his: because every brother will supplant by tripping, and every friend will proceed deceitfully. And a man will mock his brother and they will not speak the truth. For they have taught their tongue to speak falsehood: they have labored to act unjustly. Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit: in deceit they have refused to know me, says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will smelt and test them. For what else shall I do before the face of the daughter of my people? Their tongue is a wounding arrow, it has spoken deceit in its mouth: it speaks peace with its friend and secretly lays snares. Shall I not visit these things?

The Lord says: or in such a nation will my soul not be avenged? And a little later: Thus says the Lord: let the wise man not glory in his wisdom, and let the strong man not glory in his strength, and let the rich man not glory in his riches: but let him who glories glory in this, to know and to know me, because I am the Lord, who works mercy and judgment and justice on earth. For these things please me, says the Lord. And after sixteen verses: Thus says the Lord: do not learn according to the ways of the nations, and do not fear from the signs of the sky what the nations fear: because the laws of the peoples are vain. For a tree from the forest, the work of the hand of a craftsman with an axe, has cut it down: it has adorned it with silver and gold: it has fastened it with nails and hammers, so that it may not fall apart. They are fashioned in the likeness of a palm, and they will not speak: when carried, they will be lifted up, because they cannot walk. Therefore do not fear them, because they can do neither evil nor good. There is none like you, O Lord: you are great, and your name is great in strength. Who will not fear you, O king of the nations? For the glory is yours: and among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like you. Both the foolish and the stupid will be proven so. The doctrine of their vanity is wood. Silver wrapped from Tarshish is brought, and gold from Ophaz, the work of the hand of the coppersmith. Hyacinth and purple are their garments; all these things are the work of craftsmen. But the Lord is the true God; He Himself is the living God and the everlasting king.

from his indignation the earth will be shaken, and the nations will not endure his threat. Thus you will say to them: the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from those things which are under the sky. And a little later: Thus says the Lord: cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and his heart departs from the Lord. For he will be like a tamarisk in the desert and will not see when good comes, but will dwell in dryness in the desert in a land of salt and uninhabitable. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his trust. And he will be like a tree that is transplanted over waters, which sends its roots toward moisture: and he will not fear when the heat comes: and his leaf will be green, in time of drought it will not be anxious, nor will it ever cease to bear fruit. Likewise a little later: Thus says the Lord: do judgment and justice and free the oppressed from the hand of the slanderer, and do not sadden the stranger and the orphan and the widow nor oppress them unjustly, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. And a little later: Woe to the shepherds who scatter and tear apart the flock of my pasture, says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel to the shepherds who feed my people: you have scattered my flock and driven them out and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the malice of your pursuits, says the Lord.

A little later: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you and deceive you. They speak the vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who blaspheme me: The Lord has spoken: peace will be yours, and to everyone who walks in the perversity of his own heart they have said: No evil will come upon you. For who was present in the council of the Lord? And after eleven verses: I was not sending prophets, and they themselves were running; I was not speaking to them, and they themselves were prophesying. If they had stood in my council and had made my words known to my people, I would certainly have turned them away from their evil way and from their most wicked thoughts. And after two verses: I have heard what the prophets said, prophesying falsehood in my name and saying: I dreamed, I dreamed. How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood and who prophesy the seductions of their own heart, who wish to make my people forget my name because of the dreams of their own heart, which each one tells to his neighbor, just as their fathers forgot my name because of Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream; and let him who has my word tell my word truly. What have chaff to do with wheat? says the Lord. Are not my words like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer shattering rock? Therefore, behold, I say to the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words each from his neighbor.

Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who take up their tongues and say: The Lord says. Behold, I am against the prophets who dream lies, says the Lord, who have related them and led my people astray in their lie and in their miracles, when I had not sent them nor commanded them: who have been of no profit to this people, says the Lord. And a little later: And the Lord sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising at dawn and sending, and you did not hear, nor did you incline your ears to hear, when he said: Return each one from your evil way and from your worst thoughts, and you will dwell in the land which the Lord gave to you and to your fathers, from of old and forever. And do not go after alien gods, to serve and worship them, nor provoke me to wrath by the works of your hands, and I will not afflict you. And you did not hear me, says the Lord. And a little while after: Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord fraudulently. Again after a little: The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man, when he has borne the yoke from his youth. He will sit alone and be silent: because he has lifted it upon himself. He will put his mouth in the dust, if perhaps there is hope. He will give his cheek to the one striking him, he will be filled with reproaches: because the Lord does not reject forever.

XXI. FROM THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL. Now when seven days had passed, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, I have set you as a watchman over the house of Israel, and you shall hear the word from my mouth, and you shall announce it to them from me. If, when I say to the impious man, “You shall die the death,” you do not announce it to him, nor speak to him so that he may turn from his impious way and live, that impious man will die in his iniquity, but I will demand his blood from your hand. But if you announce it to the impious man and he does not turn from his impiety and his impious way, he indeed will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your own soul. But also if a just man, turned from justice, commits iniquity, I will place an obstacle before him; he will die, because you did not announce it to him. He will die in his sin, and the just deeds he performed will not be remembered; but I will demand his blood from your hand. But if you announce to the just man that he should not sin, and the just man does not sin, he will live, living, because you announced it, and you will have saved your own soul. And after a little: And the Lord said to him: Pass through the middle of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and mark the letter *thau* on the forehead of the men who groan and grieve over all the abominations that are committed in its midst.

And he said to them in my hearing: Pass through the middle of the city following him and strike; let your eye not spare, nor have mercy: kill the old man, the youth, the virgin, the little child, and the women, even to annihilation. But do not kill anyone upon whom you see a tau; and begin from my sanctuary. And a little later: Because you have falsely saddened the heart of a just man, whom I have not grieved, and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked man, so that he would not turn back from his evil way and live. Again after a little: Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, satiety of bread, and abundance, and idleness of herself and her daughters; and they did not reach out their hand to the needy and the poor; and they were lifted up and committed abominations before me. And I removed them, as you have seen. And a little later: If a man has been just and has done judgment and justice, has not eaten in the mountains and has not lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and has not violated his neighbor's wife, and has not approached a menstruating woman, and has not saddened a man, has returned a pledge to a debtor, has seized nothing by force, has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment, has not lent at usury and has not taken more, has turned his hand away from iniquity, has made true judgment between man and man, has walked in my precepts and has kept my judgments, so that he does the truth, this man is just; he will live a life, says the Lord God.

But if he should beget a son who is a robber and a shedder of blood, and who does one of these things, and indeed does not do all of them, but eats in the mountains and defiles his neighbor's wife, grieves the needy and the poor, seizes plunder, does not return a pledge, and lifts his eyes to idols, commits abomination, lends at usury and takes more: will he live? He will not live: when he has done all these detestable things, he will die a death: his blood will be upon him. But if he should beget a son who, seeing all the sins of his father which he committed, fears and does not do likewise, does not eat on the mountains and does not lift his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel and does not violate his neighbor's wife and does not grieve a man, does not retain a pledge and does not seize plunder, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from injuring the poor, does not take usury and excess, performs my judgments and walks in my precepts: this one will not die in his father's iniquity, but will live a life. His father, because he slandered and did violence to his brother, wrought evil in the midst of his people: behold, he died in his own iniquity. And you say: why did the son not bear the iniquity of the father? Evidently because the son wrought judgment and justice and kept all my precepts and did them: he will live a life. The soul that has sinned, that soul will die.

The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father will not bear the iniquity of the son. The justice of the just will be upon him, and the impiety of the impious will be upon him. But if the impious does penance for all his sins, which he has committed, and keeps all my commandments and does judgment and justice, he will live life and will not die. I will not remember all his iniquities, which he has committed: he will live in his justice, which he has done. Is it my will that the impious die, says the Lord God, and not that he turn from his ways and live? But if the just turns away from his justice and does iniquity according to all the abominations which the impious is wont to do, will he live? All his justices, which he had done, will not be remembered. In the transgression with which he has transgressed, and in his sin which he has sinned, in these he will die. And you have said: the way of the Lord is not just. Hear, house of Israel: is my way not just, and are not your ways rather crooked? For when the just turns away from his justice and does iniquity, he will die in them: in the injustice which he has done, he will die. And when the impious turns away from his impiety, which he has done, and does judgment and justice, he will give life to his own soul. For he has considered and turned away from all his iniquities, which he has done: he will live life and will not die. And the sons of Israel say: the way of the Lord is not just.

Are not my ways straight, O house of Israel, and are not your ways rather crooked? Therefore I will judge each one according to his ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord God. Turn and do penance for all your iniquities, and iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions in which you have transgressed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: and why will you die, O house of Israel? Because I do not desire the death of the dying, says the Lord God: return, and you will live. And a little later: Behold, the princes of Israel, each in his own arm, were in you to shed blood. They afflicted father and mother with contumely in you, they calumniated the stranger in your midst, they saddened the orphan and the widow among you. You have despised my sanctuaries and polluted my sabbaths. There were slanderous men in you to shed blood, and they ate upon the mountains in you: they wrought wickedness in your midst. They uncovered the more shameful parts of the father in you, they debased the uncleanness of the menstruous woman in you. And each one wrought abomination with his neighbor’s wife, and the father-in-law polluted his daughter-in-law nefariously, the brother oppressed his sister, the daughter of his own father, in you. They took bribes among you to shed blood, you accepted usury and excess, and you greedily calumniated your neighbors, and you also forgot me, says the Lord God.

And a little later: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to him: You are an unclean land, not watered in the day of fury. The conspiracy of prophets in its midst. Like a roaring lion seizing prey, they devoured the soul, they took wealth and price, they multiplied its widows in its midst. Its priests despised my law and polluted my sanctuaries: they made no distinction between the sacred and the profane, and they did not understand between the polluted and the unclean. And after two verses: Its princes in its midst, like wolves seizing prey, for shedding blood and destroying souls and greedily pursuing gain. But its prophets anointed them without restraint, seeing vain things and divining falsehood, saying: Thus says the Lord God, when the Lord has not spoken. The peoples of the land practiced calumny and plundered violently, they afflicted the needy and the poor, and they oppressed the stranger with calumny without judgment. And I sought among them a man who would interpose a hedge and stand opposed before me for the land, lest I destroy it: and I found none. And I poured out my indignation upon them, I consumed them in the fire of my wrath. I turned their ways back upon their own heads, says the Lord God.

Also a little later: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you will say to them: The land when I have brought the sword upon it, and the people of the land have taken one man from among its last and have set him over themselves as a watchman, and he has seen the sword coming upon the land and has blown the trumpet and announced to the people, but whoever hears the sound of the trumpet has not guarded himself, and the sword has come and taken him: his blood will be upon his own head. He has heard the sound of the trumpet and has not guarded himself: his blood will be upon himself. But if he has guarded himself, he will save his own life. But if the watchman has seen the sword coming and has not sounded the trumpet, and the people have not guarded themselves, and the sword has come and taken a life from among them: that one indeed has been caught in his own iniquity, but I will demand his blood from the hand of the watchman. And you, son of man, I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel: therefore, hearing the word from my mouth, you will announce it to them from me. If, when I say to the impious: Impious one, warning of death, you have not spoken, so that the impious one may guard himself from his way: the impious one himself will die in his iniquity, but I will demand his blood from your hand. But if, when you announce to the impious that he should turn from his ways, he has not turned from his way, he himself will die in his iniquity, but you have freed your own soul.

Therefore, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have spoken thus, saying: Our iniquities and our sins are upon us, and in them we waste away; how then shall we be able to live? Say to them: I live, says the Lord God; I do not desire the death of the impious, but that the impious turn from his way and live. Turn from your very evil ways; and why will you die, house of Israel? Therefore, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The justice of the just will not free him on whatever day he has sinned, and the impiety of the impious will not harm him on whatever day he has turned from his impiety; and the just will not be able to live in his justice on whatever day he has sinned. Even if I have said to the just that he should live, and he, trusting in his justice, has committed iniquity, all his justices will be consigned to oblivion, and in his iniquity, which he has wrought, in that he will die. But if I have said to the impious: You will die, and he has done penance for his sin and has performed judgment and justice, has restored the pledge, that impious one, has given back the plunder, has walked in the commandments of life and has done nothing unjust: he will live, he will not die. All his sins, which he has sinned, will not be imputed to him. He has performed judgment and justice; he will live. And the sons of your people have said: The way of the Lord is not of equal weight. And their own way is unjust. For when the just has departed from his justice and has committed iniquities, he will die in them.

And when the impious one has withdrawn from his impiety and has done judgment and justice, he will live in them. And you say: The way of the Lord is not right. I will judge each one of you, house of Israel, according to your ways. And after forty-nine verses: And you, son of man, the sons of your people speak about you along the walls and in the doorways of houses, and they say one to another, man to his neighbor, saying: Come and let us hear what word is going forth from the Lord. And they will come to you, as if a people were entering, and my people sit before you and hear your words and do not do them: because they turn them into a song of their mouth, and their heart follows their own greed. And you are to them like a musical song, which is sung with a sweet and pleasant sound: and they will hear your words and will not do them. And when what was foretold has come—for behold, it comes—then they will know that a prophet was among them. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who were feeding themselves. Are not the flocks fed by shepherds? You ate the milk and were clothed with the wool, and you killed what was fat, but you did not feed my flock. What was weak you did not strengthen, and what was sick you did not heal, what was broken you did not bind up, and what was cast away you did not bring back, what was lost you did not seek: but you ruled over them with harshness and with power.

And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they were made for the devouring of all the beasts of the field and were scattered. And my flocks wandered on all the mountains and on every high hill, and over the whole face of the earth my flocks were scattered. And there was no one who sought them: there was no one, I say, who sought them. Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: I live, says the Lord God, because my flocks were made for plunder and my sheep for the devouring of all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, for the shepherds did not seek my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed my flocks: therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God: behold, I myself over the shepherds, I will demand my flock from their hands and I will make them cease, so that they no longer feed the flock, nor do the shepherds any longer feed themselves: and I will free my flock from their mouth and it will no longer be food for them. And after 34 verses: But you, my flocks, thus says the Lord God: behold, I judge between beast and beast, between ram and mine. Was it not enough for you to graze the good pasture? Moreover, you trampled the remnants of your pastures with your feet, and when you drank the purest water, you muddied the remainder with your feet. And my sheep were fed on what had been trampled by your feet, and they drank what your feet had muddied.

Therefore the Lord God says this to them: Behold, I myself judge between the fat and the lean flock, because you were thrusting with your sides and shoulders and were tossing all the weak sheep with your horns, until they were scattered abroad. And after a little: The Lord God says this: Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: cease from iniquity and plunder, and do judgment and justice, and separate your boundaries from my people, says the Lord God. A just balance and a just ephah shall be yours, and a just bath. These things we have set down from the books which the Jews also hold as canonical, in which we have found those things that are suitable for this work. But those books are not to be omitted which, although they are known to have been written before the Savior's advent, were not received by the Jews, yet were received by the same Savior's Church. Among these are two which are called by many the books of Solomon, on account of a certain, as I think, similarity of style. For the more learned have no doubt that they are not by Solomon. Yet of the one called Wisdom, it is not clear who the author is. But of the other, which we call Ecclesiasticus, that it was written by a certain Jesus, who is surnamed Sirach, is established among those who have read the whole book. From the book of Wisdom, therefore, these things seemed to be suitable for this work.

XXII. From the Book of Wisdom. Love justice, you who judge the earth. Think of the Lord in goodness and seek him in simplicity of heart, for he is found by those who do not tempt him, and he appears to those who have faith in him. For perverse thoughts separate from God; but proven virtue corrects the foolish. For wisdom will not enter a malevolent soul, nor will it dwell in a body subject to sins. For the holy spirit of discipline will flee from the feigned and will withdraw itself from thoughts that are without understanding, and will be driven away by iniquity that overtakes it. For the spirit of wisdom is benign and will not set free a curse from its lips: for God is a witness of its reins and a true examiner of its heart and a hearer of its tongue. For the spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, and this which contains all things has knowledge of the voice. For this reason, he who speaks iniquitous things cannot lie hidden, but neither will the correcting judgment pass him by. For in the thoughts of the impious there will be an interrogation: but the hearing of his words will come to the Lord for the correction of his iniquities. For the ear of zeal hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings is not hidden. Therefore, guard yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing, and from detraction spare your tongue: for an obscure response will not go into the void. But a mouth that lies kills the soul.

And a little later: Those who trust in him understand the truth, and the faithful in love will acquiesce to him: because gift and peace are for his elect. But the impious, according to what they have thought, will have correction, those who have neglected justice and have withdrawn from the Lord; for he who casts aside wisdom and discipline is wretched. And after six verses: For the sterile and undefiled woman is happy, who has known no bed in sin: she will have fruit in the care of souls; and the eunuch, who has not worked iniquity with his own hands, nor thought the most wicked things against the Lord. And a little later: Therefore hear, kings, and understand: learn, judges of the ends of the earth, justice. Lend your ears, you who hold multitudes and please yourselves in crowds of nations. For power has been given to you by the Lord and strength from the Most High, who will question your works and scrutinize your thoughts. For when you were ministers of his kingdom, you did not judge rightly, nor did you keep the law of justice, nor did you walk according to the will of God. Horribly and quickly it will appear to you: for a very harsh judgment will be made upon those who rule. For mercy is granted to the lowly, but the powerful will suffer torments powerfully. For the Lord will not spare anyone's person, nor will he stand in awe of anyone's greatness: for he himself made the small and the great, and his care is equal for all. But for the stronger, a stronger torture awaits.

But to you, evil kings, these are my words, that you may learn wisdom and not fall away. Those who have kept justice justly will be justified, and those who have learned these things will find what to answer. Therefore, desire my words, love them, and you will have discipline. For wisdom is clear and never fades, and it is easily seen by those who love it, and it will be found by those who seek it. It anticipates those who desire it, so that it shows itself to them first. He who has kept watch for it from the light will not labor: for he will find it sitting at his doors. For thinking about it is a perfected sense, and he who has kept watch for it will soon be secure. For it goes around seeking those worthy of itself, and shows itself to them cheerfully on the roads, and meets them with all providence. For its beginning is the most true desire for discipline. Therefore, care for discipline is love, and love is the keeping of its laws, and the keeping of the laws is the confirmation of incorruption, and incorruption makes one near to God. Therefore, the desire for wisdom leads to the eternal kingdom. So if you delight in thrones and crowns, kings of the people, love wisdom, that you may reign forever. And a little later: And if anyone loves justice, the labors of this have great virtues. For it teaches sobriety and wisdom and justice and virtue, than which nothing is more useful in life for men.

Now from the book called Ecclesiasticus are to be set down those things which seem pertinent. Concerning this book, I consider that I have already said those things which I prefaced from the book of Proverbs, although in this Ecclesiasticus I have found more things necessary for this work. XXIII. ON ECCLESIASTICUS. The fear of the Lord is the religiousness of knowledge. Religiousness will guard and justify the heart; it will give joy and gladness. It will be well for him who fears the Lord, and in the days of his end he will be blessed. The fullness of wisdom is to fear God, and fullness from its fruits. And after two verses: The crown of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And after four verses: The root of wisdom is to fear God; for its branches are long-lived. In the treasuries of wisdom are understanding and the religiousness of knowledge; but wisdom is an abomination to sinners. The fear of the Lord expels sin. For he who is without fear cannot be justified; for the wrath of his passion is his undoing. The wise man will endure patiently until the time, and afterwards there is a return of joy. A good mind hides its words until the time, and the lips of many will declare its meaning. Desiring wisdom, keep justice, and God will provide it to you. For wisdom and discipline are the fear of the Lord, and what is pleasing to him is faith and meekness, and he will fill your treasuries. Do not be unbelieving toward the fear of the Lord, and do not approach him with a double heart.

Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men, and do not stumble with your lips. Attend to them, lest by chance you fall and bring confusion upon your soul, and God reveal your secrets and strike you down in the midst of the synagogue. For you have approached the Lord wickedly, and your heart is full of deceit and falsehood. Son, when approaching the service of God, stand in righteousness and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation, and humble your heart and endure. Incline your ear and receive words of understanding, and do not hasten at the time of covering. Endure the endurance of God, cleave to God and endure, so that your life may increase in the end. Accept everything that is imposed upon you: and endure in pain, and in your humility have patience. For gold and silver are tested in fire, but acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation. Trust God, and He will restore you, and direct your way and hope in Him. Preserve His fear and grow old in it. You who fear the Lord, endure His mercy, and do not turn away from Him, lest you fall. You who fear the Lord, trust Him, and your reward will not be made void. You who fear the Lord, hope in Him, and mercy will come to you in delight. You who fear God, love Him, and your hearts will be illuminated. Look, sons, at the nations of men, and know: who has hoped in the Lord and been confounded, who has persisted in His commandments and been abandoned? And who has called upon Him and despised Him?

For God is pious and merciful, and in time of tribulation He remits the sins of all who seek Him in truth. Woe to the double heart, to the wicked lips, to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner who enters the land by two paths. Woe to those of dissolute heart, who do not believe in God, and therefore are not protected by Him. Woe to those who have lost endurance, who have abandoned the straight ways and have turned aside into crooked ways. And what will you do, when God begins to look upon you? Those who fear the Lord will not be unbelieving of His word; and those who love Him will preserve His way. Those who fear the Lord will seek what is pleasing to Him; and those who love Him will be filled with His law. Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts and will sanctify their souls in His sight. Those who fear the Lord keep His commandments and will have patience until His inspection, saying: if we do not do penance, we will fall into the hands of God, and not into the hands of men. For according to His greatness, so also is His mercy with Him. The children of wisdom are the church of the just, and their offspring are obedience and love. Hear the judgment of the Father, beloved children, and do thus, that you may be saved. And after two verses: He who loves God will pray for his sins and will refrain from them; in the prayer of days he will be heard. And as he who hoards treasure, so also he who honors his mother. He who honors his father will rejoice in his children.

who honors his father will live a longer life, and who obeys his father will refresh his mother. He who fears God honors his parents: and he will serve as a master those who begot him. In work and speech and all patience, honor your father, so that a blessing from the Lord may come upon you. And after three verses: Do not glory in the insult of your father. And after three verses: Son, take up the old age of your father and do not sadden him in his life. And if his mind fails, grant forgiveness and do not scorn him in your strength. And after four verses: How evil is the reputation of him who abandons his father! And he is cursed by God who vexes his mother. Son, accomplish your works in gentleness, and you will be loved above human glory. However great you are, humble yourself in all things, and before God you will find grace: for the great power of God alone is honored by the humble. Do not seek things higher than you and do not investigate things stronger than you: but always think of what God has commanded you: and do not be curious about his many works. For what is hidden is not necessary for you. And after three verses: For their suspicion has cast many down and their vanity has held their senses captive. A hard heart will fare badly in the end, and he who loves danger will perish in it. A heart entering two paths will have no success, and the perverse-hearted will be scandalized in them. A wicked heart will be burdened with sorrows, and the sinner will add sin to sin.

And after two verses: A wise heart is understood in wisdom, and a good ear will hear wisdom with all desire. A wise and understanding heart will abstain itself from sins and will have success in works of justice. Water extinguishes a burning fire, and almsgiving resists sins: and God, the overseer of him who returns thanks, remembers for the future, and in the time of your fall you will find support. Son, do not defraud the alms of the poor and do not turn your eyes away from the poor. Do not despise a hungry soul and do not exasperate the poor man in his need. Do not afflict the heart of the needy and do not delay the gift to one in distress. Do not cast aside a petition made in tribulation and do not turn your face away from the needy. Do not take your eyes off the needy because of anger and do not leave behind those who seek to curse you: for the prayer of the one who curses in bitterness will be heard; but he who made him will hear him. Make yourself affable to the assembly of the poor, and humble your soul before the presbyter and humble your head before the magnate. Lend your ear to the poor man and pay your debt and answer him peacefully in gentleness. Free the one who suffers injury from the hand of the proud, and do not bear it bitterly in your soul. In judging, be merciful to orphans as a father and as a husband to their mother: and you will be like an obedient son of the Most High, and he will have mercy on you more than a mother.

Wisdom inspired life in her children, and she receives those who seek her and goes before them in the path of justice. And he who loves her loves life: and those who have kept vigil for her will embrace her gentleness. Those who have held her will inherit life, and where she has entered, God speaks well. Those who serve her will be obedient to the holy one: and those who love her, God loves. He who hears her judges nations: and he who beholds her will remain confident. If he has believed in her, he will inherit her, and their creatures will be in confirmation. For she walks with him in temptation and chooses him first. She will bring fear and dread and testing upon him and will torment him in the tribulation of her teaching, until she tests him in his thoughts and he trusts his soul. And she will strengthen him and again lead him straight to her, and will reveal her secrets to him and store up for him knowledge and understanding of justice. But if he goes astray, she will abandon him and deliver him into the hands of his enemy. Son, keep the time and shun evil. For your soul, do not be ashamed to speak the truth. For there is a shame that brings sin and a shame that brings glory and grace. Do not accept a face against your own face, nor a lie against your own soul. Do not revere your neighbor in his fall, nor withhold a word in a time of salvation. Do not hide your wisdom in its beauty.

For in speech wisdom is recognized, and understanding, and knowledge, and teaching in words of truth, and steadfastness in works of justice. Do not contradict truth in any way, and be ashamed of the falsehood of your ignorance. Do not be ashamed to confess your sins, and do not subject yourself to a man on account of sin. Do not resist against the face of the powerful, nor strive against the force of a river. Struggle for your soul in justice, and contend for justice even unto death, and God will fight your enemies for you. Do not be swift in your tongue and useless and slack in your works. Do not be like a lion in your own house, overturning your household and oppressing those subject to you. Let not your hand be stretched out for taking and drawn back for giving. Do not pay attention to unjust possessions, and do not say: "Life is sufficient for me." For nothing will avail at the time of vengeance and judgment. Do not follow the desire of your heart, and do not say: "How could I?" or "Who will subdue me because of my deeds?" For God, the avenger, will avenge. Do not say: "I have sinned, and what sad thing has happened to me?" For the Most High is a patient punisher. Do not be without fear regarding the forgiveness of sins, nor add sin upon sin. And do not say: "The mercy of God is great; He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins." For mercy and wrath from Him quickly draw near, and His wrath looks upon sinners. Do not delay in turning to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day.

For suddenly his wrath comes, and in the time of vengeance it will destroy you. Do not be anxious about unjust riches: for they will avail you nothing on the day of removal and vengeance. Do not fan yourself in every wind, and do not go on every road. For thus the sinner is proved by a double tongue. Be steadfast in the way of God and in the truth of your understanding and knowledge, and let the word of peace and justice follow you. Be gentle in hearing the word of God, that you may understand: and with wisdom bear a true answer. If you have understanding, answer your neighbor: but if not, let your hand be over your mouth, lest you be caught by an undisciplined word and be confounded. Honor and glory are in the speech of a sensible man: but the tongue of the imprudent is his own undoing. Do not be called a whisperer, and let your tongue be caught and you be confounded. For over a thief there is confusion and repentance, and the worst reproach is over a double-tongued man: but for a whisperer there is hatred and enmity and insult. Justify the small and the great alike. Do not become an enemy to your neighbor for the sake of a friend: reproach and insult an evil man will inherit, and every envious and double-tongued sinner. Do not exalt yourself in the thought of your soul, like a bull, lest your strength be dashed by folly. And after seven verses: Let many be peaceful toward you, and let your counselor be one in a thousand. If you possess a friend, possess him in temptation and do not easily entrust yourself to him.

For there is a friend according to his own time, and he will not remain in the day of tribulation; and there is a friend who goes forth to enmity; and there is a friend who will lay bare hatred and strife and revilings. Moreover, there is a friend who is a table companion, and he does not remain in the day of need. If a friend remains steadfast, he will be to you as an equal, and he will act confidently in your household affairs. If he humbles himself before you and hides himself from your face, you will have a harmonious and good friendship. Separate yourself from your enemies, and beware of your friends. A faithful friend is a strong protection; but he who finds him finds a treasure. To a faithful friend there is no comparison, and a weighing of gold and silver is not worthy against the goodness of his faith. A faithful friend is a medicine of life and immortality; and those who fear the Lord find him. He who fears God will equally have a good friendship, for according to that one he will be his friend. Son, from your youth receive instruction, and up to your gray hairs you will find wisdom. Like one who plows and sows, approach her and endure her good fruits. For in her work you will labor little, and you will soon eat of her generations. How exceedingly harsh wisdom is to unlearned men, and the senseless do not remain in her. Like the strength of a stone, proof will be in them, and they will not delay to cast her away. And after two verses: But to those to whom she is known, she remains until the sight of God.

Listen, son, and take the counsel of understanding, and do not cast aside my counsel. Put your foot into its fetters and your neck into its collar. Place your shoulder under it and carry it, and do not grow weary of its bonds. With all your mind approach it, and with all your strength keep its ways. Search it out, and it will be revealed to you, and when you have become continent, do not abandon it: for in the end you will find rest in it, and it will turn into delight for you. And its fetters will be for you a protection of strength and foundations of virtue, and its collar a robe of glory. And after four verses: Son, if you attend to me, you will learn; and if you apply your soul, you will be wise. And if you incline your ear, you will receive teaching; and if you love to hear, you will be wise. Stand in the multitude of prudent elders and join their wisdom from the heart, so that you may be able to hear every narrative of God and proverbs of praise may not escape you. And if you see a sensible man, wake up to him, and let your foot wear down the threshold of his doors. Have thought in the precepts of God and be especially diligent in his commandments, and he himself will give you a heart. And the desire for wisdom will be given to you. Do not do evil, and it will not seize you. Withdraw from the wicked man, and evils will fail away from you. Do not sow evils in the furrows of injustice, and you will not reap them sevenfold. Do not seek leadership from a man, nor a royal throne of honor.

Do not justify yourself before God, for He is the knower of the heart; and before the king, do not wish to appear wise. Do not seek to become a judge, unless you are able to break through iniquities with virtue, lest you fear the face of the powerful and place a stumbling block in your agility. Do not sin in the multitude of the city, nor thrust yourself into the crowd; neither bind double sins, for you will not be immune in one. Do not be faint-hearted in your soul. Do not despise to pray and to give alms. Do not say: "In the multitude of my gifts God will look upon me, and when I offer to the most high God, He will accept my gifts." Do not mock a man in the bitterness of his soul, for there is a God who humbles and exalts. Do not love a lie against your brother, nor do likewise against a friend. Do not wish to tell every lie, for its habit is not good. Do not be verbose in the multitude of presbyters. And after twelve verses: Do not harm a servant working in truth, nor a hireling giving his soul. A sensible servant is beloved as your own soul: do not defraud him of liberty, nor leave him destitute. And after two verses: Have you sons? Teach them. Have you cattle? Attend to them. Have you daughters? Guard their bodies. Do not show a cheerful face to them. Give away your daughter, and you will have done a great work, and give her to a sensible man. If you have a wife according to your soul, do not cast her away, and do not trust a hateful woman with your whole heart.

Honor your father and do not forget the groans of your mother. Remember, for unless through them you would not have existed. And repay them, just as they repaid you. In your whole soul fear God and sanctify his priests. In all your strength love God, who made you, and do not abandon his ministers. Honor God with your whole soul and honor the priests. And after six verses: And reach out your hand to the poor, so that your blessing may be perfected. Grace given in the sight of every living person, and do not withhold grace from the dead. Do not fail those who weep at the funeral gathering, and walk with those who mourn. Do not be reluctant to visit the sick: for by these things you will be strengthened in love. In all your works remember your last things, and you will never sin. Do not quarrel with a powerful man, lest you fall into his hands. Do not contend with a wealthy man, lest he set a lawsuit against you. For gold has destroyed many, and it has extended even to the hearts of kings and turned them. Do not quarrel with a talkative man and do not add fuel to his fire. And after two verses: Do not despise a man turning away from sin, nor reproach him: remember that we are all in need of correction. Do not scorn a man in his old age: for we all grow old. Do not rejoice over a dead man, knowing that we all die and we do not wish to come into joy. Do not despise the discourse of wise elders, and occupy yourself with their proverbs.

For from them you will learn the doctrine of understanding and to serve the great without complaint. Let not the narrative of the elders pass you by: for they themselves learned from their parents. Since from them you will learn understanding and, in time of need, a response. And after sixteen verses: Do not take counsel with fools: for they cannot love anything except what pleases them. Do not make counsel in the presence of a stranger: for you do not know what it may bring forth. And after two verses: Do not be jealous of the woman of your bosom. And after seven verses: Do not covet a virgin, lest you be scandalized by her beauty. Do not give your soul to fornicators in any matter, lest you destroy yourself and your inheritance. And after two verses: Turn your face away from a adorned woman and do not gaze upon the beauty of another. And after twelve verses: Do not abandon an old friend: for a new one will not be like him. New wine, a new friend: it will grow old, and you will drink it with sweetness. Do not be jealous of the glory and wealth of a sinner: for you do not know what his downfall may be. Let the injury of the unjust not please you. And after two verses: Keep far away from a man having the power to kill, and you will not suspect the fear of death. And if you approach him, do not commit anything, lest he take away your life. And after four verses: And treat with the wise and prudent. Let just men be your companions, and let your glory be in the fear of God.

And after fifty-four verses: The seed of men will be honored, that which fears God; but this seed of men will be dishonored, that which passes over the commandments of the Lord. In the midst of their brothers, the ruler is in honor, and those who fear the Lord will be in his eyes. The glory of the rich, the honored, and the poor is the fear of God. It is not to despise a poor just man and not to magnify a rich sinful man. Great is the judge and powerful in honor, and there is no one greater than he who fears God. Sensible servants serve free men; a prudent and disciplined man will not murmur when corrected. And after five verses: Son, in meekness preserve your soul and give it honor according to its merit. And after six verses: The wisdom of the humbled exalts his head, and it will make him sit in the midst of the great. Do not praise a man for his appearance, nor despise a man for his looks. The bee is short among flying creatures, and its fruit has the beginning of sweetness. Never glory in your clothing, nor be puffed up in the day of your honor. And after six verses: Before you question, do not reproach anyone; and in the midst of your running ahead, do not add to speak. Do not contend about a matter that does not trouble you; and do not stand in the judgment of sinners. Son, let your actions not be in many things; and if you are rich, you will not be immune from fault. For if you have followed, you will not grasp; and you will not escape, if you have run ahead. And after twenty verses: Do not remain in the works of sinners; but trust in God and remain in your place.

And after thirteen verses: Do not praise any man before his death. And after one verse: Do not bring every man into your house, for there are many snares of the deceitful. For just as the entrails of infants belch forth, just as a partridge is led into a pit and like a roe deer in a snare, so also is the heart of the proud, and like a looker-on who sees the fall of his neighbor. For the insidiator turns good into evil and will place a stain upon the elect. From one spark a fire is increased, and from one deceitful man blood is increased. A sinful man indeed lies in wait for blood. Beware of the pestilent man, for he fabricates evils, lest perhaps he bring upon you mockery forever. Admit a foreigner to yourself, and he will overturn you in turmoil and alienate you from your own. If you do good, know to whom you do good, and there will be great grace in your good deeds. Do good to a just man and you will find a great reward, and if not from him, certainly from God. And it is not well for those who are constant in evil and alms—for the Most High also hates a sinner and has mercy on the penitent. Be merciful and receive a sinner. Do good to a humble man and do not give to an impious man. Forbid that bread be given to him, lest he be more powerful than you through them, for you will insert double evils among all good things, since the Most High also hates sinners and will give vengeance to the impious. And after four verses: Do not trust your enemy forever, for just as brass rusts, so does his wickedness.

and if he goes about humbled and bent, apply your mind and beware of him. Do not set him beside you, nor let him sit at your right hand, lest he turn and stand in your place, lest turning to your place he seek your chair, and at last you recognize my words and be stung by my sayings. Who will pity a charmer bitten by a serpent, and all who approach wild beasts? And he who keeps company with a wicked man and is wrapped up in his sins. He will remain with you for one hour; but if you turn away, he will not support you with his lips—the enemy sweetens his words and plots in his heart, to cast you into a pit; the enemy weeps in your eyes, and if he finds an opportunity, he will not be sated with blood. If misfortunes befall you, you will find him there first. The enemy weeps in your eyes, and as if helping, he will undermine the soles of your feet. He will nod his head and clap his hand, and whispering much, he will change his expression. And after sixty-one verses: Good is wealth to which no sin clings in the conscience; and most wretched is poverty in the mouth of the impious. And after three verses: Blessed is the man who has not slipped in word from his mouth and has not been stung by the grief of sin. Happy is he who has not had grief of his own spirit and has not fallen from his hope. To a greedy and stingy man, wealth is without reason, and to an envious man, what use is gold? And after fourteen verses: Son, if you have means, do good for yourself and offer worthy oblations to God.

Be mindful that death does not delay, and the testament of the underworld, because it has been shown to you: for the testament of this world will die with death. Before death, do good to your friend, and according to your means, reaching out, give to the poor. And after sixteen verses: Blessed is the man who will die in his wisdom and who will meditate in his justice and will think in his understanding of the circumspection of God: who ponders its ways in his heart and, understanding its hidden things. And after twenty-five verses: Foolish men will not grasp her, and sensible men will meet her. Foolish men will not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit. Lying men will not be mindful of her, and truthful men are found in her and will have success up to the sight of God. There is no beautiful praise in the mouth of a sinner, because wisdom has proceeded from God. For praise will attend the wisdom of God, and it will abound in the faithful mouth, and the ruler will give it to him. Do not say: it is absent by God: for what it hates, do not do. Do not say: that man deceived me: for impious men are not necessary to him. God hates every abomination of error, and it will not be lovable to those fearing him. God from the beginning established man and left him in the hand of his own counsel. He added his commandments and precepts: if you wish, the commandments will preserve you, and to make a pleasing faith in perpetuity. He placed before you water and fire: stretch forth your hand to whichever you wish.

Before a man are life and death, good and evil: what pleases him will be given to him. For the wisdom of God is great and strong in power, seeing all without ceasing. The eyes of God are upon those who fear him, and he himself will know every work of man. He commanded no one to act impiously and gave no one space for sinning. For he does not desire a multitude of unbelieving and useless children. And do not rejoice in impious children, if they multiply: do not take delight in them, if the fear of God is not with them. Do not trust their life and do not look upon their labors. For one man who fears God is better than a thousand impious children, and it is better to die without children than to leave behind impious children. And after twenty-one verses: Do not say: I will hide from God, and from the highest who will remember me? And a little later: The testaments are not hidden because of their iniquity, and all their iniquities are in the sight of God. The alms of a man are like a seal with him, and he will preserve the grace of a man like the pupil of the eye: and afterwards he will rise and will repay them, each one on their head, and will turn them into the inner parts of the earth. But for the penitent he gave a way of justice and strengthened the faltering to endure and assigned to them the lot of truth. Turn to God and leave your sins: pray before his face and lessen the offense. Refer yourself to God and turn away from your injustice, and greatly hate the curse.

And after nine verses: How great is the mercy of God and his propitiation for those turning to him! For not all things can be in men, since the son of man is not immortal. And after thirty verses: He has mercy on those receiving the teaching of mercy and who hasten in his judgments. Son, in good things do not give complaint, and in every gift do not give the sadness of an evil word. Will not dew cool the heat? So also a word is better than a gift. Behold, is not a word above a good gift? And both with a justified man. A fool will bitterly reproach, and a gift of the undisciplined makes the eyes waste away. Before judgment prepare justice for yourself and before you speak learn. And before sickness apply medicine and before judgment question yourself, and in the sight of God you will find propitiation. Before sickness humble yourself and in time of infirmity show your conduct. Do not be hindered from praying always and do not grow old until death being justified: because the reward of God remains forever. Before prayer prepare your soul and do not be like a man who tempts God. And after six verses: A wise man will fear in all things and in days of delights he attends to idleness. And after five verses: Do not go after your desires and turn away from your will. If you grant your soul its desire, it will make you a joy to enemies. Do not delight in crowds, nor take pleasure in excesses. And after five verses: And he who scorns small things will gradually fall.

wine and women cause the wise to apostatize and confound the sensible. And after four verses: He who believes quickly is light of heart, he will be diminished; and he who offends against his own soul will be held in contempt. And after two verses: And he who hates loquacity extinguishes malice. And after eight verses: You have heard a word against your neighbor: let it die within you, trusting that it will not burst forth from you at the face of the word; a fool gives birth as the groan of a woman in labor. An arrow fixed in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word in the mouth of a fool. Rebuke your friend, lest perhaps he has not understood and says: I did not do it, or if he did, lest he add to do it again. Rebuke your neighbor, lest perhaps he has not spoken, and if he has spoken, lest he repeat it. Rebuke your friend: for often a fault occurs. And do not believe every word. There is one who slips with his tongue, but not from the heart. For who is there who has not offended with his tongue? Rebuke your neighbor before you threaten him. And give place to the fear of the Most High: because all wisdom is fear of God, and in that, to fear God. And after five verses: Better is a man who lacks wisdom and lacks sense in fear than one who abounds in sense and transgresses the law of the Most High. And after sixteen verses: How good it is to rebuke rather than to be angry! And after twelve verses: And he who unjustly assumes power for himself will be hated. And after eight verses: The wise man makes himself lovable in words. And after thirteen verses: The fall of a false tongue is like one falling on a pavement; thus the fall of evil men comes swiftly.

A thankless man is like a vain tale, ever on the lips of the undisciplined. A proverb will be rejected from the mouth of a fool, for he does not speak it in its proper time. And after two verses: There is one who loses his soul through shame, and loses it from an imprudent person; but through partiality to a person, he will lose himself. There is one who, through shame, makes a promise to a friend, and has gained him as an enemy for nothing. A wicked reproach is a lie in a man, and it will be ever on the lips of the undisciplined. A liar’s persistence is more thievish than a thief; both will inherit ruin. The habits of liars are without honor, and their shame is with them without ceasing. A wise man will present himself in his words. And after four verses: Gifts and presents blind the eyes of judges, and like a mute in the mouth, they turn aside their reproofs. Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure—what use is there in either? Better among men is he who hides his folly than he who hides his wisdom. Son, you have sinned: do not add to it again, but also pray concerning the past, that it may be forgiven you. Flee sins as from the face of a serpent, and if you approach them, they will receive you. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men: like a two-edged sword is every iniquity; there is no healing for its wounds. And after four verses: He who hates correction is the footprint of a sinner; and he who fears God will turn to his own heart.

And after five verses: The way of sinners is paved with stones, and at its end are hell, darkness, and punishments. He who guards justice will contain his sense. The consummation of the fear of God is wisdom and sense. And after seven verses: A wise word, whatever a knowledgeable man hears, he will praise and add to himself; a profligate will hear it, and it will displease him, and he will cast it behind his back. The tale of a fool is like a burden on the road: for on the lips of a sensible man grace is found. The mouth of a prudent man is sought in the church, and his words will be pondered in their hearts. And after two verses: Fetters on the feet are learning to a fool, and like bonds of the hands upon the right hand. A fool raises his voice in laughter; but a wise man will scarcely smile silently. Golden ornament is learning to a prudent man, and like a bracelet on the right arm. And after eight verses: In the mouth of fools is their heart, and in the heart of the wise is their mouth. When an impious man curses the devil, he curses his own soul. A whisperer will defile his soul and will be hated by all; and he who remains will be odious; a silent and sensible man will be honored. A lazy man is stoned with mud-stone, and all will speak of his contempt. And after four verses: A prudent daughter is an inheritance for her husband; for she who brings confusion becomes a disgrace to her parent. A father and a husband are disgraced by a woman who is bold, and she will not be diminished by the impious; but by both she will be dishonored.

Music in mourning is an untimely tale; whips and teaching are at all times wisdom. He who teaches a fool is like one who glues a potsherd. He who tells a word to one who does not listen is like one who rouses a sleeper from a deep sleep; he who counts out to a fool and at the end says: "Who is this?" Weep over the dead, for his light has failed; and weep over the fool, for his sense has failed. Weep little over the dead, for he has rested; for the most wicked, the most wicked life is worse than the death of a fool. Mourning for the dead is seven days; but for the fool and the impious, all the days of their life. And after twenty-one verses: He who throws a stone at birds will bring them down; so also he who insults a friend dissolves friendship. If you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not despair, for there is a return. If a friend has opened a sad mouth against you, do not fear, for there is reconciliation, except for insult and reproach and pride and revelation of a mystery and deceitful blow; in all these, a friend will flee. And after ten verses: Who will give my mouth a guard and a sure seal upon my lips, that I may not fall from them and my tongue destroy me? Lord, father and ruler of my life, do not abandon me and do not allow me to fall into those things.

Who places in my thought whips, and in my heart the teaching of wisdom, so that their ignorances may not spare me, and their faults may not appear, lest they increase; my ignorances and my faults multiply, and my sins abound, and I fall in the sight of adversaries, and my enemy rejoice? Lord, Father and God of my life, do not abandon me in their thought. Do not give me the haughtiness of my eyes, and turn away every desire from me. Remove from me the lusts of the belly, and let the lust of coitus not seize me, and do not deliver me to an irreverent and frivolous soul. Hear the teaching of the mouth, sons, and he who keeps it will not perish by his lips, nor will he be scandalized in the most wicked works. In his vanity the sinner is caught, and the proud and the slanderer will be scandalized in them. Let your mouth not become accustomed to swearing: for there is much fall in it. Indeed, the naming of God should not be constant in your mouth, and do not mingle with the names of the saints: for you will not be immune from them. For just as a slave constantly interrogated is not diminished by envy, so every swearer and namer will not be cleansed from sin in whole. A man who swears much will be filled with iniquity, and a plague will not depart from his house. And if he fails, his fault will be upon him, and if he dissembles, he offends doubly. And if he swears in vain, he will not be justified: for the retribution of his house will be filled.

And after four verses: Do not accustom your mouth to indiscipline: for in it there is the word of sin. Remember your father and your mother: for you stand in the midst of the great: lest God forget you in their sight, and by your persistence you become foolish, you suffer reproach, and you would rather not have been born and you curse the day of your birth. A man accustomed to words of reproach will not be instructed in all his days. Two kinds abound in sins, and a third brings wrath and perdition. A hot soul, like a burning fire, will not be extinguished until it swallows something: and a wicked man in the mouth of his flesh will not cease until he kindles a fire. And after two verses: Every man who transgresses his bed, despising his own soul and saying: who sees me? darkness surrounds me and walls cover me and no one looks upon me: whom should I fear? the Most High will not remember my sins. And he does not understand, because the eye of that one sees: because such a man’s fear and the eyes of men fearing him will drive out the fear of God from him. And he did not know, because the eyes of the Lord are much brighter than the sun, surveying all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss and beholding the hidden parts of men’s hearts. And a little later: What you did not gather in your youth, how will you find in your old age? How beautiful is the judgment of gray hair and for elders to know counsel!

How beautiful is the wisdom of the aged, and the understanding and counsel of the glorious! The crown of the old is much experience, and their glory is the fear of God. And after ten verses: The fear of God is set above all things. Blessed is he to whom it is given to have the fear of God. He who holds it, to whom will he be likened? And after twenty verses: Do not gaze upon a woman's beauty, and do not desire a woman for her beauty. And after twenty-eight verses: A drunken woman is a great wrath: and her insult and shame are not concealed. A woman's fornication is known by the haughtiness of her eyes and in her eyelids. In a daughter who does not turn away, keep a firm guard, lest she abuse herself when an opportunity is found. Beware of all irreverence of the eyes: and do not wonder if she has neglected you. And after four verses: The grace of a diligent woman will delight her husband, and her discipline will fatten his bones. A woman sensible and silent is a gift of God; there is no change in a learned soul. Grace upon grace is a holy and modest woman. But all weight is not worthy of a continent soul. And after twelve verses: And he who transgresses from justice to sin, God has prepared him for the sword. And after four verses: And he who seeks to grow rich turns away his eye. And after three verses: The offense will be turned back. If you do not hold yourself steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overturned. If dung remains in the hole of a sieve, so is a man's perplexity in his thought. The potter's kiln tests the vessels, and just men are tested by the trial of tribulation.

Just as the pruning of a tree shows its fruit, so the word reveals the thought of a man's heart. Do not praise a man before his speech: this is the test of men. If you pursue justice, you will grasp it and put it on like a garment of honor: and you will dwell with it, and it will protect you forever, and on the day of recognition you will find a foundation. Birds gather with their own kind, and truth returns to those who work it. The lion always lies in wait for the hunt, so sins lie in wait for those who work iniquity. A holy man abides in wisdom like the sun: but a fool changes like the moon. Among the senseless, keep your word for the right time: but among the thoughtful, be constant. The talk of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is in the delights of sin. Speech that swears much sets the hair on end, and its irreverence stops the ears. The shedding of blood in the brawl of the proud, and their cursing, is a grievous hearing. He who reveals a friend's secrets will lose trust and will not find a friend for his soul. Love your neighbor and join with him in faith: but if you reveal his secrets, do not pursue him. For just as a man who loses his friend, so he who loses the friendship of his neighbor. And as one who lets a bird go from his hand, so you have let go of your neighbor, and you will not catch him. Do not pursue him, for he is far away. For he has fled like a roe from the snare: because his soul is wounded: and you will not be able to bind him again.

The agreement of the cursed is concord; but to lay bare the secrets of a friend is the despair of an unhappy soul. He who nods with his eyes contrives wicked things, and no one will cast him off. In the sight of your eyes he will sweeten his mouth and will marvel at your words; but in the end he will turn his mouth and will give scandal in your words. I have hated many things and have not equated him with them, and the Lord will hate him. And after two verses: He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who sets a stone for his neighbor will stumble on it, and he who prepares a snare for another will perish in it. The most evil counsel for the doer will roll back upon him, and he will not know whence it comes to him. Mockery and reproach of the proud, and vengeance like a lion will lie in wait for him. Those who delight in the fall of the just will perish by the snare. And after three verses: He who wishes to avenge will find vengeance from God, and keeping his sins will keep them; leave your neighbor who harms you, and then when he prays for you, his sins will be loosed. A man keeps anger against a man and seeks healing from God! He has no mercy on a man like himself and prays for his own sins! While he himself is flesh, he keeps anger and seeks propitiation from God! Who will intercede for his offenses? Remember the last things and cease to be an enemy: for wasting and death are imminent in the commandments. Remember the fear of God and do not be angry with your neighbor. Remember the testament of the Most High and despise the ignorance of your neighbor. Abstain from strife and you will diminish sins.

An angry man kindles a quarrel, and a sinful man will disturb friends and cast enmity into the midst of those who are at peace. And after four verses: A hasty contest kindles fire, and a swift quarrel pours out blood, and a testifying tongue brings death. If you blow upon it, it will blaze up like fire; and if you spit upon it, it will be extinguished; and both proceed from the mouth. The whisperer and the double-tongued are accursed: for they have disturbed many who were at peace. A third tongue has moved many, and scattered them from nation to nation. It has destroyed walled cities of the rich and undermined the houses of the great. It has cut down the virtues of peoples and dissolved strong nations. A third tongue has cast out married women and deprived them of their labors. He who looks upon it will have no rest, nor will he have a friend in whom he may rest. And after twenty-three verses: Make a balance for your words and straight reins for your mouth; and take care, lest you slip with your tongue and fall in the sight of enemies lying in wait for you, and your fall be incurable unto death. He who does mercy lends to his neighbor; and he who prevails with his hand keeps the commandments. Lend to your neighbor in his time of need, and again repay your neighbor in his time. Confirm the word and act faithfully with him, and at all times you will find what is necessary for you. Many have considered usury as a discovery and have inflicted trouble on those who helped them.

And after thirteen verses: Nevertheless, be stronger in spirit toward the humble man, and do not drag him for the sake of alms. On account of the commandment, take up the poor man, and on account of his need, do not send him away empty. Spend your money for your brother and friend, and do not hide it in a stone for destruction. Place your treasure in the precepts of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold. Confine alms in the heart of the poor man, and this will pray for you against every evil: above the shield of the mighty and above the spear against your enemy, a good man keeps faith with his neighbor; and he who has lost shame will abandon himself. Do not forget the grace of the surety: for he gave his soul for you. The sinner and the unclean flee from the guarantor. The sinner ascribes the good promises of the guarantor to himself, and the ungrateful in mind abandons the one who frees him. A man makes a promise concerning his neighbor, and when he has lost reverence, he will be abandoned by him. A most wicked promise has destroyed many who were upright and has stirred them up like the waves of the sea. It has made mighty men wander and migrate, and they have roamed among foreign peoples. The sinner, transgressing the commandments of the Lord, will fall into a wicked promise. And after one verse: Recover your neighbor according to your strength, and take heed for yourself, lest you fall. And after sixteen verses: He who loves his son plies him with stripes, so that he may rejoice in his latter end. He who teaches his son will rejoice in him.

And after ten verses: An untamed horse will become hard, and a remiss son will become headstrong. Strike your son, and he will make you fear: play with him, and he will sadden you. Do not laugh with him, lest you grieve: and in the end your teeth will be astonished. Do not give him power in youth, and do not despise his thoughts. Bend his neck in youth and beat his sides while he is an infant, lest he perhaps harden and not believe you, and it will be a grief to your soul. Teach your son and work upon him, lest you be shamed by his disgrace. Better a poor man healthy and strong in strength than a rich man weak and scourged by malice. The health of the soul is in the holiness of justice and is better than all gold and silver, and a strong body is better than boundless wealth. There is no wealth above the wealth of bodily health, and there is no delight above the joy of the heart. Better is death than a bitter life, and eternal rest than persistent languor. Good things hidden in a closed mouth are like dishes of food placed around a tomb. And after five verses: Do not give sadness to your soul, and do not afflict yourself in your counsel. Joy of the heart is this: the life of man and a treasure without failure of holiness, and the exultation of a man is longevity. Have mercy on your soul by pleasing God, and restrain yourself, and gather your heart in his holiness, and drive sadness far from you. For sadness kills many, and there is no use in it.

Jealousy and anger will diminish days, and worry brings on old age before its time. And after ten verses: He who loves gold will not be justified; and he who pursues consumption will be filled by it. Many have been given to the fall of gold, and in its beauty their destruction has been wrought. The gold of those who sacrifice is a stumbling block: woe to those who pursue it, and every imprudent person will perish in it. Blessed is the rich man who is found without stain, and who has not gone after gold nor hoped in money and treasures. Who is this, and shall we praise him? For he has done wondrous things in his life. Who has been tested in that and has become perfect? And it will be to him for eternal glory: he who could transgress and did not transgress, and could do evil and did not do it; therefore his goods are established in God, and the church of the saints will recount his alms. And after ten verses: Use like a frugal man what is set before you, so that when you eat much, you are not held in hatred. Cease first for the sake of discipline, and do not be excessive, lest you give offense. And if you have sat down in the midst of many, do not stretch out your hand before them, nor ask for drink first. How sufficient is a little wine for an educated man. And after sixteen verses: Do not provoke those who love wine; for wine has destroyed many. And after twenty-five verses: Speak to an elder; for it befits you to be first in word for the diligent pursuit of knowledge; and do not hinder the music.

Where you have been heard, do not pour forth speech; and do not inopportunely exalt yourself in your wisdom. And after five verses: Young man, speak in your own cause scarcely; if you have been asked twice, let your answer have a head. In many things be as if ignorant, and listen while silent and questioning at the same time. In the midst of the great do not presume, and where there are old men, do not speak much. Before hail, lightning will go forth, and for reverence good grace will come to you. But go ahead first into your own house, and there divert yourself, and there play and carry out your conceptions, and not in delights and proud speech. And above all these things, bless God, who made you, and who intoxicates you with all his goods. He who fears God will receive his teaching; and those who have kept watch over it will find blessing. He who seeks the law will be filled by it; and he who acts deceitfully will be scandalized by it. Those who fear the Lord will find just judgment and will kindle justice like a light. A sinful man will avoid correction, and according to his own will he will find comparison. A man of counsel will not destroy understanding. And after four verses: Son, do nothing without counsel, and after the deed you will not repent. And after six verses: He who believes in God will attend to the commandments; and he who trusts in him will not be diminished. To him who fears the Lord, evils do not occur; but in temptation God will preserve him and free him from evils. The wise man does not hate the commandments and justices, and will not be dashed about like a ship in a storm.

A sensible man believes in the law of God, and that law is faithful to him. He who makes known a question will prepare a word. And a little later: Vain hope and falsehood belong to a foolish man; and dreams exalt the imprudent. And just as one who grasps at a shadow and chases the wind, so too is he who attends to false visions. This according to this: the vision of dreams, before the face of a man, is the likeness of a man. What will be cleansed by the unclean? And what truth will be spoken by a liar? The divination of error, false auguries, and the dreams of evildoers are vanity. And just as your heart suffers phantasms like a woman in labor, unless a visitation has been sent from the Most High: do not set your heart upon them. For dreams have led many astray, and those hoping in them have fallen. In them, without falsehood, the word will be fulfilled, and wisdom will be planted in the mouth of the faithful. And after five verses: I have seen many things in recounting, and very many customary ways of speaking. Sometimes I have been in danger even unto death on account of these things, and I have been delivered by the grace of God. The spirit of those who fear God is sought, and in the regard of that spirit they will be blessed. For their hope is in the one who saves them, and the eyes of God are upon those who love Him. He who fears the Lord will tremble at nothing and will not be afraid, since He is his hope. Blessed is the soul of those fearing the Lord. To whom does it look? And who is its strength?

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him: a protector of power, a foundation of strength, a covering of heat and a noonday shade, and a prayer against offense and a help in falling, exalting the soul and illuminating the eyes, giving health, life, and blessing. One who sacrifices from unjust gain makes a stained offering, and the mockeries of the unjust are not pleasing. The Lord is alone for those who sustain themselves in the way of truth and justice. The Most High does not approve the gifts of the unjust, nor does He look upon the offerings of the unjust, nor will He be propitiated for sins by the multitude of their sacrifices. He who offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is like one who slaughters a son in the sight of his father. The bread of the needy is the life of the poor: he who defrauds him is a man of blood. He who takes away bread earned by sweat is like one who kills his neighbor. He who sheds blood and he who commits fraud against a hired worker are brothers. One building and one destroying, what good does that do them except labor? One praying and one cursing, whose voice will God hear? He who is baptized by a dead man and touches him again, what will he gain by that washing? So too a man who fasts in his sins and then does the same again, what does he gain by humbling himself? Who will hear his prayer? He who preserves the law multiplies prayer. A salutary sacrifice is to attend to the commandments and to depart from all iniquity. And a prayer for sins is to withdraw from injustice. You will not appear empty in the sight of God.

All these things are done because of the commandment of the Lord. The offering of the just anoints the altar, and its fragrance is sweet in the sight of the Most High. The sacrifice of the just is accepted, and the Lord will not forget his memory. With a good heart render glory to God, and do not diminish the firstfruits of your hands. In every gift make your face cheerful, and in exultation sanctify your tithes. Give to the Most High according to his gift, and look with a good eye upon the work of your hands: for the Lord is a rewarder and will repay you sevenfold. Do not offer base gifts: for He will not accept them. Do not regard an unjust sacrifice: for the Lord is a judge, and with him there is no regard for a person's status. The Lord will not accept a person against the poor, and He will hear the prayer of the injured. He will not despise the prayers of an orphan, nor of a widow, if she pours forth the speech of her groaning. Does not a tear fall to the cheek, and does not a cry rise from the cheek because of that which falls upon it? And after four verses: The prayer of one humbling himself will penetrate the clouds. And a little later: Be constant with a holy man, whomever you know to be observant of the fear of God, whose soul is according to your soul. And after five verses: And in all these things, beseech the Most High that He may direct your way in truth. And after twenty-one verses: Son, in your life test your soul, and if it is wicked, do not give it power. For not everything suits everyone, and not every kind pleases every soul.

Do not be greedy in every feasting, and do not pour yourself out over every food. And after four verses: Honor the physician because of necessity: for the Most High created him. Healing is from God, and from the king he will receive a gift. The discipline of the physician will exalt his head, and he will be praised in the sight of the great. The Most High created medicine from the earth, and a prudent man will not abhor it. Has not bitter water been sweetened by wood? Its power is for the knowledge of men, and the Most High gave knowledge to man, to be honored in his wonders. In these cures he mitigated their pain. And after four verses: Son, in your infirmity do not despair, but pray to the Lord, and he himself will cure you. Turn away from transgression and direct your hands, and cleanse your heart from every transgression. And after fifty verses: And enrich the offering and give place to the physician, for the Lord created him: and let him not depart from you, for his works are necessary. For there is a time when you fall into their hands: they themselves will beseech the Lord, that he may direct their rest and health because of their way of life. And after one verse: Son, shed tears for the dead and, as if suffering a grievous thing, begin to mourn. And according to judgment, cover his body and do not despise his burial. Because of the carrying away, bitterly bear his mourning for one day and console yourself on account of sadness. For from sadness death hastens and covers strength, and sadness of heart will bend the neck.

And after one verse: Do not give your heart to sadness. And after nine verses: The wisdom of the scribe in time of leisure, and he who is diminished in action will receive wisdom. And a little later: In voice say: obey me, divine fruits of the waters, and like a rose planted upon a stream, bear fruit. Like Lebanon, have the sweetness of fragrance. Bloom, flowers, like the lily, give fragrance and flourish in grace, and praise the song together, and bless the Lord in his works. Give magnificence to his name and confess to him with the voice of your lips, with songs of the lips and harps: and thus you will say in confession: all the works of the Lord are very good. At his word, water stood like a heap, and at the speech of his mouth, like reservoirs of waters. For at his command, calm is made, and there is no diminishment in his salvation. All the work of every flesh is before him, and nothing is hidden from his eyes. From eternity and unto eternity he will look, and nothing is wonderful in his sight. One cannot say: what is this? or what is that? For all things will be sought in their own time. And a little later: Grace like a paradise in blessings, and mercy endures forever. And after twelve verses: Brothers in aid in time of tribulation, and mercy upon them will set free. And a little later: For wisdom hidden and a treasure concealed, what use is there in either?

A man who hides his own foolishness is better than a man who hides his wisdom. And a little later: Blessing the Lord, exalt him as much as you are able: he is greater than all praise. Exalting him, you will be filled with virtue. And after many things: Draw near to me, unlearned ones, and gather in the house of discipline. Why do you still delay? And what will you still say in these matters? Your souls thirst vehemently. I have opened my mouth and spoken: procure for yourselves without silver and submit your neck to the yoke, and let your soul receive discipline. For it is very near to find her. See with your own eyes, because I have labored little and have found much rest for myself. Take up discipline with a great amount of silver, and possess abundant gold in her. Let your soul rejoice in her mercy, and you will not be confounded in her praise. Do your work before the time, and she will give you your reward in its own time.

We have believed that the following from the book of Tobit should be set down. XXIV. FROM THE BOOK OF TOBIT. You shall honor your mother all the days of her life. For you must remember what and how great perils she suffered for you in her womb. And after two verses: But all the days of your life, keep God in mind, and beware lest you ever consent to sin and neglect the precepts of your God. From your substance give alms, and do not turn your face away from any poor person: for thus it happens that the face of the Lord is not turned away from you. As you are able, be merciful. If you have much, give abundantly: if you have little, be eager to share even that little willingly. For you are storing up a good reward for yourself for the day of need. Because almsgiving frees from every sin and from death, and does not allow the soul to go into darkness. Great confidence before the most high God will almsgiving be for all who perform it. Beware, my son, of all fornication, and never allow yourself to know a crime apart from your wife. But never permit pride to rule in your mind or in your word: for in it all perdition has taken its beginning. Whoever has worked something for you, immediately pay him his wage: and the wage of a hired hand shall by no means remain with you. What you hate to be done to you by another, see that you never do to another. Eat your bread with the hungry poor, and cover the naked with your garments. And after two verses: Always seek counsel from a wise man.

At all times bless God, and ask of him that he may direct your ways, and that all your counsels may abide in him. And after seven verses: Do not fear, my son: we lead a poor life indeed, but we shall have many good things if we fear God, and withdraw from every sin, and do well. And after much: Then Raphael said to them secretly: bless the God of heaven, and before all the living confess to him, because he has shown you his mercy. For it is good to conceal the secret of a king: but to reveal and confess the works of God is honorable. Prayer with fasting is good, and almsgiving more than storing up treasures of gold. For almsgiving frees from death and it is what purges sins and will cause one to find eternal life. But those who commit sin and iniquity are enemies of their own soul. And a little later: Therefore hear me, my sons, your father: serve the Lord in truth and strive to do what is pleasing to him, and command your sons to do just deeds and almsgivings, so that they may be mindful of God, and bless him at all times in truth and with all their strength.

Now, since not all the canonical and ancient books have given what was necessary for this work of ours, nor was it fitting that those which did give should do so from all their passages, but only from those where we have found clearer precepts of good morals, whether where useful things are commanded or where contrary things are forbidden, let us pass on to the sacred evangelical and apostolic writings. In the canon of the New Testament, the four most famous and most illustrious Gospels hold the first place, in the first of which, that according to Matthew, let us see what is suitable for this work we have undertaken. XXV. FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. Now the Lord, seeing the crowds, went up into a mountain, and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are the meek, for they will possess the earth. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are you when they have cursed you and persecuted you and spoken every evil against you, lying about me: rejoice and exult, for your reward is abundant in the heavens; for thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth: if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be salted? It is worth nothing further, except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city placed upon a mountain cannot be hidden; nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, so that it may shine for all who are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets: I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or one apex will be lacking from the law. Until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever loosens one of these least commandments and teaches men thus, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. I say to you, however, that unless your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the ancients: you shall not kill; but whoever kills will be guilty in judgment.

But I say to you: everyone who is angry with his brother will be guilty before the judgment; whoever says to his brother "Racha" will be guilty before the council; whoever says "Fool" will be guilty of the fire of Gehenna. Therefore, if you offer your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first, be reconciled to your brother, and then coming back, offer your gift. Be quickly agreeable to your adversary while you are on the road with him, lest the adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not come out of there until you pay back the last farthing. You have heard that it was said to the ancients: "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you: everyone who looks at a woman with desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye scandalizes you, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body be sent into Gehenna. And if your right hand scandalizes you, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body go into Gehenna. Now it has been said: "Whoever divorces his wife, give her a bill of divorce." But I say to you: everyone who divorces his wife except for the cause of fornication makes her commit adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again you have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not perjure yourself; but you shall render your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you: do not swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Hierosolyma, because it is the city of the great king, nor shall you swear by your own head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your speech be: yes, yes; no, no; but whatever is more than this is from evil. You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you: do not resist evil, but if someone strikes you on your right cheek, offer him also the other; and to him who wishes to contend with you in judgment and take away your tunic, you shall give up also your cloak. And whoever compels you to go a thousand paces, go with him another two. Whoever asks of you, give to him; and do not turn away from him who wishes to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said: you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and slander you, so that you may be sons of your Father, who is in heaven, who makes his sun rise over the wicked and the good, and rains upon the just and the unjust. For if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you greet only your brothers, what more do you do? Do not even the pagans do this?

Therefore, be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. Take care not to perform your righteousness before men, so that you may be seen by them; otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father, who is in heaven. Therefore, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your alms may be hidden; and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and, with the door closed, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. Moreover, when you pray, do not speak much, like the pagans; for they think that they are heard because of their many words. Therefore, do not imitate them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Thus you will pray: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven and on earth, give us this day our supersubstantial bread, and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." For if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offenses. But if you do not forgive men, your Father will not forgive your sins. Moreover, when you fast, do not become like sad hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear to men as fasting. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men as fasting. But to your Father, who is in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy, and where thieves dig up and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, and where thieves do not dig up nor steal. For where your treasure is, there also is your heart. The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is simple, your whole body will be bright: but if your eye is wicked, your whole body will be dark. Therefore, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great will the darkness itself be?

No one can serve two masters: for either they will hate one and love the other, or they will endure one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your soul, what it may eat, nor for your body, what it may wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothing? Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them: are you not of greater worth than they? But which of you, thinking, can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not labor, nor do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was covered as one of these. But if God so clothes the hay of the field, which is today and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we cover ourselves? For the Gentiles seek all these things: for your Father knows that you have need of all these. Therefore seek first the kingdom of God and its justice, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil suffices. Do not judge, lest you be judged. For by whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by whatever measure you have measured, it will be measured out to you.

But why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye and not see the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: “Let me, I will remove the speck from your eye,” and behold, there is a beam in your own eye? Hypocrite, first remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give the holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and, turning, tear you apart. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or is there any man among you who, if his son asked for bread, would hand him a stone? Or if he asked for a fish, would hand him a serpent? If then you, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? Therefore, whatsoever you wish that men should do to you, do also to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate: for the wide gate and the broad road lead to perdition, and many are those who enter through it. How narrow is the gate and how narrow the road that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but within are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?

Thus every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me on that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name? And then I will confess to them: Because I never knew you, depart from me, you who work iniquity. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: and rain came down and rivers came and winds blew and struck that house, and it did not fall: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon sand: and rain came down and rivers came and winds blew and rushed against that house, and it fell, and its ruin was great. And a little later: You have received freely, give freely.

Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your belts; do not carry a wallet on the road, nor two tunics, nor shoes, nor a staff: for the worker is worthy of food. Into whatever city or town you enter, ask who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. When entering a house, greet it. And if indeed the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, your peace will return to you. And whoever does not receive you nor hear your words, when you go out from the house or from the city, shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of the Sodomites and Gomorrahites on the day of judgment than for that city. Behold, I send you as sheep among wolves: therefore be prudent as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men: for they will hand you over in councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the nations. But when they hand you over, do not think about how or what you should say: for in that hour it will be given to you what to say. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father who speaks in you. Moreover, brother will hand over brother to death, and father will hand over son, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. And you will be hated by all on account of my name.

But the one who perseveres to the end, this one will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple to be like his master, and the servant like his lord. If they called the father of the household Beelzebub, how much more his household members? Therefore do not fear them. For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be known. What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftops. And do not fear those who kill the body, for they cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Do not two sparrows sell for an as? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your father. But your very hairs of the head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear: you are better than many sparrows. Therefore everyone who confesses me before men, I too will confess him before my father, who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I too will deny him before my father, who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth: I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.

I have come to separate a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: and a man's enemies are his own household. He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his soul will lose it: and he who has lost his soul for my sake will find it. He who receives you receives me: and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward: and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives a drink to one of the least of these, only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, will not lose his reward. And a little later: But to whom shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace, who shout to their companions: we have sung to you and you have not danced, we have lamented and you have not mourned. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: he has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say: behold a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom has been justified by her children. And a little later: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke upon yourselves and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is sweet, and my burden is light. Likewise after a little: But if you knew what it means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would never have condemned the innocent. And shortly after: He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men. But the spirit of blasphemy will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future. Either make a good tree and its good fruit, or make a bad tree and its bad fruit, since the tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. A good man brings forth good things from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil things from the evil treasure. But I say to you, that every idle word that men have spoken, they will render an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. And a little later: Listen and understand. It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a man, but what proceeds from the mouth that defiles a man. And shortly after: But Peter answered and said to him: Explain this parable to us.

And he said: "Are you still without understanding? Do you not realize that everything which enters the mouth goes into the belly and is discharged in the stool? But those things which proceed from the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile a man. For from the heart come evil thoughts, homicides, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man: but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man." Likewise after a little: Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For he who is unwilling to save his own soul will lose it: but he who loses his own soul for my sake will find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but suffers detriment to his own soul? Or what exchange will a man give for his own soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to each according to his works." Likewise a little after: "Amen I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is greater in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me. But whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it is expedient for him that a millstone be hung around his neck and that he be sunk into the depths of the sea.

Woe to the world from scandals! For it is necessary that scandals come; but nevertheless, woe to the man through whom the scandal comes! But if your hand or your foot scandalizes you, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to be cast into eternal fire having two hands or two feet. And if your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to be cast into the gehenna of fire with two eyes. See that you do not despise one of these little ones: I say to you, for their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven. For the Son of Man came to save what had perished. And a little later: But if your brother has sinned against you, go and rebuke him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother; but if he does not listen to you, bring with you one or two more, so that every word stands on the testimony of two or three witnesses. But if he does not listen to them, tell the church; but if he does not listen even to the church, let him be to you as a heathen and a publican. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven. Again I say to you, because if two of you agree on earth concerning any matter, whatever they ask will be granted to them by my Father, who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.

Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not tell you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Therefore the kingdom of heaven was likened to a human king, who wished to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. But since he had no means to repay, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and the debt to be paid. That servant, however, fell down and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything." The lord, taking pity on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt. But that servant, going out, found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he choked him, saying, "Pay what you owe." And his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything." But he refused, and went away and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what was happening, they were very grieved, and they came and told their lord everything that had been done. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, "Wicked servant, I forgave you the entire debt because you begged me. Ought you not, then, to have taken pity on your fellow servant, just as I took pity on you?" And his lord, angered, handed him over to the torturers until he should pay the entire debt.

So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not each forgive your brother from your hearts. And a little later: And the Pharisees came to him, tempting him and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause?" He answered them, saying, "Have you not read that He who made from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh'? Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined, let man not separate." They said, "Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce and to put away?" He said to them, "Because Moses, on account of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. I tell you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery." His disciples said, "If the case of man with wife is so, it is not expedient to marry." He said, "Not all grasp this word, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who are born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who are made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who can grasp it, grasp it." Then little children were brought to him, that he might lay hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said to them, "Let the little children come, and do not forbid them to come to me.

For such is the kingdom of heaven. And when he had laid his hands on them, he departed from there. And behold, one man, approaching, said to him: "Good master, what good thing shall I do to have eternal life?" He said to him: "Why do you ask me about the good? The one good is God. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to him: "Which ones?" And Jesus said: "You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit theft, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and: Love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him: "I have kept all these; what still is lacking for me?" Jesus said to him: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard the word, he went away sad, for he was possessed of many possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, that a rich man will with difficulty enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." When they heard these things, the disciples marveled greatly, saying: "Who then will be able to be saved?" And Jesus, looking at them, said to them: "Among men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter, answering, said to him: "Behold, we have left everything and have followed you; what then will be for us?

Then Jesus said to them: "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me in regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his majesty, you also will sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left home, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields for the sake of my name, will receive a hundredfold and will possess eternal life. But many will be first last and last first." And a little later: "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his soul as a ransom for many." And somewhat later: "Render therefore to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." And elsewhere: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, however, is like this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets." And after a few verses: "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, saying: 'On the chair of Moses sat the scribes and Pharisees. Therefore, whatever they have said to you, keep and do, but according to their works do not do: for they speak and do not act. But they bind heavy and unbearable burdens and place them on men's shoulders, yet they themselves are unwilling to move them with their own finger. All their works, however, they do in order to be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and magnify their fringes.'

They love, however, the first places at banquets and the first seats in synagogues and greetings in the forum and being called "rabbi" by men. But you, do not wish to be called "rabbi"; for your teacher is one, and you are all brothers. And do not wish to call anyone "father" for yourselves on earth; for your father is one, who is in heaven, and do not be called "masters," because your one master is Christ. He among you who is greater will be your minister. But he who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And a little later: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and you have neglected what are the weightier matters of the law: judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have omitted. Blind leaders, straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you clean what is on the outside of the cup and the dish, but within you are full of plunder and every impurity. Blind Pharisee, first clean what is inside the cup and the dish, so that what is on the outside may also become clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitened sepulchers, which appear beautiful to men on the outside, but within are full of dead men's bones and every filth. So you, on the outside indeed appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous and say: if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in the blood of the prophets. Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who killed the prophets; and you fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them you will kill, and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and you persecute from city to city, so that all the righteous blood that has been shed upon the earth from the blood of the righteous Abel up to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar, comes upon you. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. And a little later: And because iniquity will abound, the charity of many will grow cold; but whoever remains until the end, this one will be saved. And after a while: Be prepared, because you do not know at what hour the Son of Man will come. Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he comes, finds doing thus. Amen, I say to you, he will set him over all his goods.

But if that evil servant says in his heart: my master is slow in coming, and begins to strike his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards: the master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will divide him and place his portion with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And a little later: Therefore be watchful, because you know neither the day nor the hour. Again a little later: But when the Son of Man comes in his majesty and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon the throne of his majesty, and all nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from each other, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats, and will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those who will be on his right: come, blessed of my father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: I was naked, and you covered me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and cover you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison, and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them: Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these, my least brothers, you did it to me.

then he will say also to those who are on his left: depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat: I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink: I was a stranger, and you did not take me in: I was naked, and you did not cover me: I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry, and thirsty, and a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do for one of these lesser ones, you did not do for me either. And they will go into eternal punishment, but the just into eternal life. And a little later: Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. XXVI. FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. Calling the crowd again, he said to them: hear me all and understand. Nothing from outside a man entering into him can defile him, but those things which proceed from a man are what communicate a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he had entered a house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them: Are you also so foolish? Do you not understand that everything from outside entering into a man cannot communicate him, because it does not enter into his heart, but into his belly, and goes out in excrement, purging all foods? He said that those things which go out from a man communicate a man.

For from within, from the heart of men, come forth evil thoughts; adulteries, fornications, homicides, thefts, avarice, wickednesses, deceit, unchastity, the evil eye, blasphemy, pride, folly proceed. These evils proceed from within and make a man guilty. And in another place: Having called the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them: If anyone wishes to follow after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For he who wishes to save his own soul will lose it; but he who loses his soul for my sake and for the Gospel will save it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but makes a loss of his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For he who is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will put him to shame in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And elsewhere: And taking a child, he placed him in their midst. And when he had embraced him, he said to them: Whoever receives such a child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, does not receive me, but him who sent me. And a little later: For whoever gives you a drink of a cup of water in my name, because you are of Christ, amen I say to you, he will not lose his reward. And whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea.

And shortly after: Have salt in yourselves, and have peace among yourselves. And a little later: And the Pharisees, approaching, questioned him: whether it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife, tempting him. And he, answering, said to them: What did Moses command you? And they said: Moses permitted a bill of divorce to be written and to dismiss. Jesus, answering them, said: He wrote that precept for you because of the hardness of your heart; from the beginning of creation, however, God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will cleave to his wife, and the two will be one flesh. Thus they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined, man shall not separate. And again in the house his disciples questioned him about the same matter. And he says to them: Whoever dismisses his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if a wife dismisses her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. And after four verses: Let the little ones come to me and do not forbid them. For the kingdom of God is of such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it. And embracing them and placing his hands upon them, he blessed them. And when he had gone out onto the road, someone running up, kneeling before him, begged him: Good master, what shall I do to obtain eternal life? And Jesus said to him: Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

You know the precepts: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not commit fraud, honor your father and your mother. And he, answering, said to him: Master, I have kept all these from my youth. But Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him: One thing you lack: go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven: and come. Follow me. He, saddened at the word, went away grieving: for he was a man possessing many estates. And Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples: How difficult it is for those who have money to enter the kingdom of God! But the disciples were astonished at his words. And Jesus, answering again, said to them: Little children, how difficult it is for those trusting in money to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. They marveled all the more, saying among themselves: And who can be saved? And Jesus, looking at them, said: Among men it is impossible, but not before God: for all things are possible before God. Peter began to say to him: Behold, we have left everything and have followed you.

Jesus answered and said: "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left behind a home, or brothers, or sisters, or a mother, or a father, or children, or fields for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, who does not receive a hundredfold now in this time—we give—and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and fields, amid persecutions, and in the future age, eternal life. But many will be first last and last first." And a little later: "You know that those who seem to rule over the nations dominate them, and their princes have power over them. But it is not so among you: rather, whoever wishes to become greater will be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." And a little while after: "And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Have faith in God! Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Rise up and cast yourself into the sea!" and does not hesitate in his heart, but believes that whatever he says—"Let it be done!"—will be done for him. Therefore I say to you: everything you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will come to you. And when you stand to pray, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins.'

But if you do not let them go, your Father, who is in heaven, will not let go of your sins for you. Likewise, after a little: Jesus answered and said to them: "Render therefore to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." And in another place: And one of the scribes came up, who had heard them disputing, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him what was the first of all commandments. Jesus answered him: "The first of all commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength: this is the first commandment. The second, moreover, is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him: "Good, Master, you have spoken truly, that He is one, and there is no other besides Him: and that He is to be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices." Jesus, seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to question him any longer.

And a little after: Beware of the scribes, who wish to walk in stoles, and to be greeted in the forum, and to sit in the first seats in the synagogues, and to have the first places at feasts: who devour the houses of widows under the pretext of long prayer; these receive a longer judgment. And Jesus, sitting opposite the treasury, watched how the crowd cast into the treasury: and many rich men cast in much. But when one poor widow came, she sent in two minuta, which is a quadrans. And calling his disciples, he said to them: Amen, I say to you, that this poor widow has sent in more than all who sent into the treasury. For all sent from what they had in abundance, but she sent from her poverty all that she had, her entire livelihood. And a little after: And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not premeditate what you may say, but speak what is given to you at that hour. For it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. And a little later: And you will be hated by all because of my name. But he who endures to the end, this one will be safe. And in another place: See, watch, praying: for you do not know when the time is. Like a man who, having set out on a journey, left his house and gave his servants power over each task, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch, therefore: for you do not know when the master of the house may come: in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning: lest, when he comes suddenly, he find you sleeping.

But what I say to you, I say to all: be watchful. XXVII. FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. And a little after: And the crowds were asking him, saying: what then shall we do? But he answered and said to them: he who has two tunics, let him give to one who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise. But the publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: master, what shall we do? And he said to them: do nothing more than what is established for you. But the soldiers also were asking him, saying: what shall we do? And he said to them: oppress no one, and commit no fraud, and be content with your wages. And a little after: Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who now hunger, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who now weep, for you will laugh. You will be blessed when men despise you and when they separate you and reproach you and cast out your name as evil because of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and exult: for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For according to this did their fathers to the prophets. Yet woe to you rich, because you have your consolation. Woe to you who are filled, because you will hunger. Woe to you who now laugh, because you will mourn and weep. Woe when all men speak well of you: according to this did their fathers to the prophets.

But I say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who slander you. And to him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from him who takes your garment from you, do not withhold even your tunic. To every one who asks, give; and from him who takes what is yours, do not demand it back. And as you wish men to do to you, do likewise to them. And if you love those who love you, what grace is there for you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what grace is there for you? Since sinners do this as well. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what grace is there for you? For even sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive an equal return. But nevertheless, love your enemies: do good and lend, hoping for nothing; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High: because He Himself is kind even to the ungrateful and the wicked. Therefore be merciful, as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, heaped, pressed down, and overflowing, they will put into your bosom. For the same measure with which you have measured will be measured back to you. And he also told them a parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Do not both fall into a pit?

The disciple is not above the master: but everyone will be perfect like his master. But why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, and do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? And how can you say to your brother: Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye, while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite, first remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly, so that you may take out the speck from your brother’s eye. For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor a bad tree that bears good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes harvested from the bramble. A good man brings forth good from the good treasure of his heart, and a bad man brings forth bad from the bad. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. But why do you call me: Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them—I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid foundations upon rock. But when a flood came, the river dashed against that house, and could not move it: for it was founded upon rock. But he who hears and does not do is like a man building his house upon the ground without a foundation: against which a river dashed, and it immediately fell, and the ruin of that house was great. And after a little: To whom then shall I say the men of this generation are like? And whom are they like?

children sitting in the forum and speaking to each other and saying: we played the pipes for you and you did not dance, we lamented and you did not weep. For John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say: he has a demon. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and you say: behold a man, a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom was justified by all her children. Again after a little: Now this is a parable: the seed is the word of God. But those who are by the wayside are those who hear: then the devil comes and takes the word from their heart, so that believing they may not be saved. For those who are upon the rock, who when they have heard receive the word with joy, and these have no roots, who believe for a time and in a time of temptation fall away. But what fell among thorns, these are those who heard and, going about the cares and riches and pleasures of life, are choked and bear no fruit. But what fell into good ground, these are those who, hearing the word with a good and excellent heart, retain it and bear fruit in patience. But no one, when lighting a lamp, covers it with a vessel or places it under a bed, but places it upon a candlestick, so that those entering may see the light. For nothing is hidden that is not revealed, nor concealed that is not known and brought into the open. See therefore how you have heard. For he who has, it will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.

And after a little: Having called together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal infirmities. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick, and said to them: Carry nothing on the road, neither staff nor bag nor bread nor money, and have not two tunics, and into whatever house you enter, stay there and do not go out from it. And whoever does not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake even the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. Likewise after a little: But he said to all: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For he who wishes to save his soul will lose it. But he who loses his soul for my sake will save it. For what does a man profit if he gains the whole world, but loses himself and becomes his own loss? For he who blushes at my words, him the Son of Man will put to shame when he comes in his majesty and that of the Father and the holy angels. And in another place: But a thought entered into them, which of them was greater. And Jesus, seeing the thoughts of their hearts, taking hold of a child placed him beside himself and said to them: Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For he who is the least among all of you, this one is the greater. And after a little: But he said to another: Follow me.

He, however, said: "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." And Jesus said: "Let the dead bury their dead; you, however, go, announce the kingdom of God." And another said: "I will follow you, Lord, but first permit me to announce this to those who are at home." Jesus said to him: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." And a little after: "Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. Do not carry a bag, nor a wallet, nor sandals, and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say: 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon it; but if not, it will return to you. In that same house, stay, eating and drinking what they have, for the worker is worthy of his wage. Do not go from house to house, and into whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat whatever is set before you, and heal the sick who are there, and say to them: 'The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.' Into whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say: 'Even the dust that clung to us from your city we shake off for you; yet know this, that the kingdom of God has drawn near.' I tell you: Sodom on that day will be more lenient than that city.