15 neither go in, nor leave those who are going in to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass the sea and the land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes such, ye make him a son of hell twofold 16 more than yourselves. Woe unto you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple is a 17 debtor! Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, 18 or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, Whosoever

shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever 19 swears by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. Ye blind for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that 20 sanctifies the gift? He therefore that sware by the 21 altar, swears by it and by all things thereon. And he that sware by the temple, swears by it and by him 22 that dwells therein. And he that sware by the heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him that sits thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of the mint and the anise and the cummin, and have left the weightier matters of the law, the judgment and the mercy and the faith: these ought ye to have done, 24 and not to leave those. Blind guides, who strain out the 25 gnat but swallow the camel. Woe unto you, scribes

and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of 26 robbery and incontinence. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, that the outside of it may become 27 clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead 28 bones and of every uncleanness. So also ye appear outwardly righteous unto men, but within ye are full of 29 hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and

Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the 30 prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, and say,

If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their partners in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye witness against yourselves, that ye are

sons of them who killed the prophets. Fill ye up then 32 the measure of your fathers. Serpents, brood of vipers, 33 how can ye flee from the judgment of hell? Therefore, 34 behold, I send unto you prophets and sages and scribes: some of them ye will kill and crucify, and some of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous 35 blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the shrine and the altar. Verily I 36 say unto you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets 37 and stonest them who have been sent unto her, how often did I desire to gather thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under the wings, and ye desired not! Behold, 38 your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto 39 you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, 'Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord.

CH.

AND Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; XXIV. and his disciples came up to him to shew him the buildings. of the temple. And he answered and said unto them, See 2 ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be destroyed. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the 3 disciples came up to him apart, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto 4 them, Take heed that no one deceive you. For many will 5 come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And ye will hear of wars and rumours of 6 wars see that ye be not troubled: for they must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against 7 nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But all 8 these are a beginning of sorrows. Then will they deliver 9 you up to affliction and will kill you: and ye will be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. And then 10 will many be offended, and will deliver up one another

11 and will hate one another. And many false prophets 12 will rise, and will deceive many. And because iniquity 13 shall be multiplied, the love of the many will wax cold. But he that endured unto the end, the same will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness unto all the nations; and then 15 will the end come. When therefore ye shall see the abomination of the desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (he that 16 reads, let him perceive); then let them who are in Judaea 17 flee to the mountains, let him who is on the housetop not 18 come down to take the things out of his house, and let not 19 him who is in the field turn back to take his garment. But

woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give 20 suck in those days! And pray that your flight be not in 21 winter, neither on a sabbath. For then will be great

affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the world 22 until now, no, nor ever shall be. And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Then 23 if any one say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or there; 24 believe not. For there will rise false Christs and false

prophets, and they will perform great signs and wonders; so that even the elect, if it were possible, would be deceived. 25, 26 Behold, I have foretold you. If therefore they say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not out: behold, 27 he is in the chambers; believe not. For as the lightning comes out of the east and appears unto the west, so will 28 the coming of the Son of man be. Wheresoever the carcase 29 is, there will the eagles be gathered together. And imme

diately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall out of the heaven, and the powers of the 30 heavens will be shaken. And then will appear the sign

of the Son of man in heaven; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and will see the Son of man coming on 31 the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a great trumpet, and they will

gather together his elect out of the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to the ends thereof. But learn the 32 parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender, and has put forth the leaves, know that the summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all 33 these things, know that he is nigh, at the doors. Verily I 34 say unto you, this generation will not pass away till all these things have come to pass. The heaven and the earth 35 will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But 36 of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of the heavens, nor the Son, but the Father only. But as the 37 days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were 38 eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they 39 knew not until the flood came and took all away; so also will the coming of the Son of man be. Then will two be 40 in the field; one is taken, and one is left. Two women 41 grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. Watch 42 therefore for ye know not on what day your Lord comes. But know this, that if the householder had 43 known in what watch the thief comes, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken into. Therefore be ye also ready; for in the hour that ye think 44 not the Son of man comes. Who then is the faithful and 45 wise servant, whom the lord set over his household, to give them their food in season? Blessed that servant, 46 whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Verily 47 I say unto you, that he will set him over all his goods. But if the wicked servant shall say in his heart, My lord 48 tarries; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and 49 eats and drinks with the drunken; the lord of that servant 50 will come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he knows not, and will cut him asunder and 51 appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth.

CH.

THEN will the kingdom of heaven be likened unto xxv. ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet

2 the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish and five 3 wise. For the foolish took the lamps and took with them 4 no oil. But the wise took oil in the vessels with their lamps. 5 And while the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered 6 and slept. And at midnight a cry is raised, Behold, the 7 bridegroom! go ye out to meet him. Then rose all those 8 virgins and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are 9 going out. And the wise answered, saying, There might not be enough for us and you go ye rather to the sellers 10 and buy for yourselves. And while they were going away

to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was 11 shut. Afterward come also the other virgins, saying, 12 Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily 13 I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, therefore, for 14 ye know not the day nor yet the hour. For it is as a man going abroad, who called his own servants, and 15 delivered up unto them his goods; and unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to each according to his respective power: and he went abroad. 16 He that received the five talents went immediately and 17 traded with the same and made other five talents.

In

the same manner he that received the two gained 18 other two. But he that received the one went away and 19 digged the earth, and hid his lord's money. And after

long time the lord of those servants comes and 20 reckons with them. And he that received the five talents came up and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst up unto me five talents: behold, 21 I gained other five talents. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou vast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many enter 22 into the joy of thy lord. He also that received the two talents came up to him and said, Lord, thou deliveredst up unto me two talents: behold, I gained other two talents. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set