The Text of the Diatessaron.
Section I.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God is the Joh_1:1
2, 3 Word. This was in the beginning with God. Everything was by his hand, and Joh_1:2, Joh_1:3
4 without him not even one existing thing was made. In him was life, and the life Joh_1:4
5 is the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not. Joh_1:5
6 There was in the days of Herod the king a priest whose name was Zacharias, of the family of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Luk_1:5 1
7 was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all his com- Luk_1:6
8 mands, and in the uprightness of God without reproach. And they had no son, for Luk_1:7
9 Elizabeth was barren, and they had both advanced in age. And while he discharged Luk_1:8
10 Arabic p. 2 the duties of priest in the order of his service before God, according to the custom of the priesthood it was his turn to burn incense; so he entered the Luk_1:9
11 temple of the Lord. And the whole gathering of the people were praying without at the Luk_1:10
12 time of the incense. And there appeared unto Zacharias the angel of the Lord, stand- Luk_1:11
13 ing at the right of the altar of incense; and Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, Luk_1:12
14 and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Be not agitated,2 Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall Luk_1:13
15 call his name John; and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice Luk_1:14
16 at his birth. And he shall be great before the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit3 while he is in his mother’s Luk_1:15
17 womb. And he shall turn back many of the children of Israel to the Lord their Luk_1:16
18 God. And he shall go before him in the spirit, and in the power of Elijah the prophet, to turn back the heart of the fathers to the sons, and those that obey not to the knowledge4 of the righteous; and to prepare for the Lord a perfect people. Luk_1:17
19 And Zacharias said unto the angel, How shall I know this, since I am an old man Luk_1:18
20 and my wife is advanced in years? And the angel answered and said unto him, I am Gabriel, that standeth before God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and give Luk_1:19
21 thee tidings of this. Henceforth thou shall be speechless, and shalt not be able to speak until the day in which this shall come to pass, because thou didst not trust Luk_1:20
22 this my word, which shall be accomplished in its time. And the people were standing awaiting Zacharias, and they were perplexed at his delaying in the temple. Luk_1:21
23 Arabic p. 3 And when Zacharias went out, he was not able to speak unto them: so they knew that he had seen in the temple a vision; and he made signs unto them, and Luk_1:22
24 continued dumb. And when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his dwelling. Luk_1:23
25 And after those days Elizabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five Luk_1:24
26 months, and said, This hath the Lord done unto me in the days when he looked upon me, to remove my reproach from among men. Luk_1:25
27 And5 in the sixth month Gabriel the angel was sent from God to Galilee6 to a Luk_1:26
28 city called Nazareth, to a virgin given in marriage to a man named Joseph, of the Luk_1:27
29 house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel entered unto her and said unto her, Peace be unto thee, thou who art filled with grace. Our Lord Luk_1:28
30 is with thee, thou blessed amongst women. And she, when she beheld, was agitated Luk_1:29
31 at his word, and pondered what this salutation could be. And the angel said unto Luk_1:30
32 her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. Thou shall now con- Luk_1:31
33 ceive, and bear a son, and call his name Jesus. This shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of Luk_1:32
34 David his father: and he shall rule over the house of Jacob for ever; and to his Luk_1:33
35 kingdom there shall be no end. Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be to Luk_1:34
36 Arabic p. 4 me when no man hath known me? The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of the Most High shall rest upon thee, and therefore shall he that is born of thee be pure, and shall be called the Son Luk_1:35
37 of God. And lo, Elizabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old Luk_1:36
38 age; and this is the sixth month with her, her that is called barren. For nothing is Luk_1:37
39 difficult for God. Mary said, Lo, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto me according unto thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luk_1:38
40 And then Mary arose in those days and went in haste into the hill country,7 to a8 Luk_1:39
41 city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and asked for the health of Luk_1:40
42 Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in Luk_1:41
43 her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and cried with a loud voice and said unto Mary, Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Luk_1:42
44 fruit that is in thy womb. Whence have I this privilege, that the mother of my Luk_1:43
45 Lord should come unto me? When the sound of thy salutation reached my ears, Luk_1:44
46 with great joy rejoiced9 the babe in my womb. And blessed is she who believed Luk_1:45
47 that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, Luk_1:46
48 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, Luk_1:47
49 Who hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden: Lo, henceforth, all generations10 shall pronounce blessing on me. Luk_1:48
50 For11 he hath done great things for me, who is mighty, And holy is his name. Luk_1:49
51 And his mercy embraceth them who fear him, Throughout the ages and the times. Luk_1:50
52 Arabic p. 5 He wrought the victory with his arm, And scattered them that prided themselves in their opinions. Luk_1:51
53 He overthrew them that acted haughtily from their thrones, And raised the lowly. Luk_1:52
54 He satisfied with good things the hungry, And left the rich without anything. Luk_1:53
55 He helped Israel his servant, And remembered his mercy Luk_1:54
56 (According as he spake with our fathers) Unto Abraham and unto his seed for ever. Luk_1:55
57 And Mary abode with Elizabeth about three months, and returned unto her house. Luk_1:56
58, 59 And Elizabeth’s time of delivery was come; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that God had multiplied his mercy towards her; Luk_1:57 Luk_1:58
60 and they rejoiced with her. And when12 it was the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and called him Zacharias, calling him by the name of his father. Luk_1:59
61 And his mother answered and said unto them, Not so; but he shall be called John. Luk_1:60
62 And they said unto her, There is no man of thy kindred that is called by this name. Luk_1:61
63, 64 And they made signs to his father, saying, How dost thou wish to name him? And he asked for a tablet, and wrote and said, His name is John. And every one won- Luk_1:62 Luk_1:63
65 dered. And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue, and he spake and Luk_1:64
66 praised God. And fear fell on all their neighbours: and this was spoken of13 in all Luk_1:65
67 the mountains of Judah. And all who heard pondered in their hearts and said, What shall this child be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. Luk_1:66
68 And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied and said, Luk_1:67
69 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, Who hath cared for his people, and wrought for it salvation; Luk_1:68
70 And hath raised for us the horn of salvation Arabic p. 6 In the house of David his servant Luk_1:69
71 (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets from eternity), Luk_1:70
72 That he might save us from our enemies, And from the hand of all them that hate us. Luk_1:71
73 And he hath performed his mercy towards our fathers, And remembered his holy covenants, Luk_1:72
74 And the oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, Luk_1:73
75 That he would give us deliverance from the hand of our enemies, And without fear we shall14 serve before him Luk_1:74
76 All our days with equity and righteousness. Luk_1:75
77 And as for thee, O child, prophet of the Most High shalt thou be called. Thou shalt go forth before the face of the Lord to prepare his way, Luk_1:76
78 To give the knowledge of salvation15 unto his people, For the forgiveness of their sins, Luk_1:77
79 Through the mercy of16 the compassion of our God, With which he careth for17 us, to appear18 from on high Luk_1:78
80 To give light to them that sit in darkness and under the shadow of death, And to set straight our feet in the way of peace. Luk_1:79
81 And the child grew and became strong in the spirit, and abode in the desert until the time of his appearing unto the children of Israel. Luk_1:80
FOOTNOTES
1 On the margin of the Vatican ms., fol. 1a, are written by a later hand these words, The first of his Gospel. The first of the Evangel (is) the Gospel of Luke followed by the text of the first four verses of Luke, and that in turn by the words, Four complete Gospels, Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John. See Ciasca’s Essay, cited above (Introduction, 5), p. 468.
2 This word is constantly recurring: in the sense of fear.
3 Everywhere, except in the introductory notes, the Arabic is the Spirit of Holiness, as in the Arabic versions.
4 See Section 28, 17.
5 The Vat. ms. has over this verse, The second section, from the Gospel of Luke, i. e, as divided in the Syriac and Arabic versions.
6 The Borgian ms. omits to Galilee.
7 Vatican ms., like that described by Gildemeister (see Introduction, 20) has into Galilee, (cf. Section 8, 10).
8 Lit. the, a form due to Syriac influence (cf. Section 2, 12, and passim).
9 The Syriac versions (like the Greek) have the same word here as in Luk_1:41.
10 The Arabic word ordinarily means tribe or nation, but in this work it regularly represents the Syriac word used in the N. T. for generation
11 The Arabic would naturally be rendered, the blessing on me, That; but a number of passages in this work seem to justify the rendering given in the text (cf., e; g., Section 46, 54, and especially Section 15, 40).
12 The text is indistinct in the Vatican ms. The reading seems to be conflate, the doublets being when it was, which is the reading of Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary, and on.
13 Lit. described (cf. Section 2, 46).
14 Or, should.
15 Here and elsewhere the Arabic translator uses life and live and give life, as in Syriac, for salvation, etc.
16 Borgian ms. has and for of
17 The word used in the Peshitta means visit, either in the sense of caring for or in that of frequenting. See Section 24, 29.
18 So Borgian ms. The Vatican ms. is very indistinct. Lagarde (see Introduction, 13), quoting Guidi, prints Whereby there visiteth us the manifestation from on high. The difference in Arabic is in a single stroke.
Section II.
1 Arabic p. 7 Now1 the birth of Jesus the Messiah was on this wise: In the time when his mother was given in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, Mat_1:18
2 she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband was a just man and did not wish to expose her, and he purposed to put her away secretly. Mat_1:19
3 But when he thought of this, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, and said unto him, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary thy wife, for that Mat_1:20
4 which is begotten2 in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall bear a son, and thou shalt Mat_1:21
5 call his name Jesus, and he shall save3 his people from their sins. And all this was that the saying from the Lord by the prophet might be fulfilled: Mat_1:22
6 Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel, Mat_1:23
7 which is, being interpreted, With us is our God. And when Joseph arose from his Mat_1:24
8 sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife; and knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son. Mat_1:25
9 And in those days there went forth a decree from Augustus Caesar that all the Luk_2:1
10 people of his dominion4 should be enrolled. This first enrolment was5 while Qui- Luk_2:2
11, 12 rinius was governor of Syria. And every man went to be enrolled in his city. And Joseph went up also from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, to Judaea, to the city of David Luk_2:3
13 which is called Bethlehem (for he was of the house of David and of his tribe), with Luk_2:4
14 Arabic p. 8 Mary his betrothed, she being with child, to be enrolled there. And while Luk_2:5
15 she was there the days for her being delivered were accomplished. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them where they were staying. Luk_2:6
16 And there were in that region shepherds abiding, keeping their flock in the watch Luk_2:7
17 of the night. And behold, the angel of God came unto them, and the glory of the Luk_2:8
18 Lord shone upon them; and they were greatly terrified. And the angel said unto them, Be not terrified; for I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to the Luk_2:9
19 whole world; there is born to you this day a Saviour, which is the Lord the Mes- Luk_2:10
20 siah, in the city of David. And this is a sign for you: ye shall find a babe wrapped Luk_2:11
21 in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger. And there appeared with the angels suddenly many heavenly forces praising6 God and saying, Luk_2:12
22 Praise be to God in the highest, And on the earth peace, and good hope to men. Luk_2:13
23 And when the angels departed from them to heaven, the shepherds spake to one another and said, We will go to Bethlehem and see this word which hath been, as Luk_2:14
24 the Lord made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Luk_2:15
25 Joseph, and the babe laid in a manger. And when they saw, they reported the word Luk_2:16
26 which was spoken to them about the child. And all that heard wondered at the Luk_2:17
27 description which the shepherds described7 to them. But Mary kept these8sayings Luk_2:18
28 and discriminated9 them in her heart. And those shepherds returned, magnifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard, according as it was described unto them. Luk_2:19
29 Arabic p. 9 And when eight days were fulfilled that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, being that by which he was called by the angel before his conception in the womb. Luk_2:20
30 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were Luk_2:21
31 completed, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male opening the womb shall be called the Luk_2:22
32 holy thing of the Lord), and to give a sacrificial victim as it is said in the law of Luk_2:23
33 the Lord, A pair of doves or two young pigeons. And there was in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and this man was upright and pious, and expecting Luk_2:24
34 the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been said unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death till he had seen with Luk_2:25
35 his eyes the Messiah10 of the Lord. And this man came by the Spirit to the temple; and at the time when his parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might Luk_2:26
36 present for him a sacrifice, as it is written in the law, he bare him in his arms and praised God and said, Luk_2:27
37 Now loosest thou the bonds of thy servant, O Lord, in peace,11 According to thy saying; Luk_2:28
38 For mine eye hath witnessed thy mercy, Luk_2:29
39 Which thou hast made ready because of the whole world; Luk_2:30
40 A light for the unveiling12 of the nations, And a glory to thy people Israel. Luk_2:31
41 And Joseph and his mother were marvelling at the things which were being said Luk_2:32
42 concerning him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, he is set for the overthrow and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign of conten- Luk_2:33
43 tion; and a spear13 shall pierce14 through thine own soul; that the thoughts of the Luk_2:34 Luk_2:35
44 Arabic p. 10 hearts of many may be revealed. And Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, was also advanced in years (and she dwelt Luk_2:36
45 with her husband seven years from her virginity, and she remained a widow about eighty-four years); and she left not the temple, and served night and day with Luk_2:37
46 fasting and prayer. And she also rose in that hour and thanked the Lord, and she Luk_2:38
47 spake of him with every one who was expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem. And when they had accomplished everything according to what is in the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to Nazareth their city. Luk_2:39
FOOTNOTES
1 This is preceded in Vatican ms. by the genealogy, Mat_1:1-17 (see Introduction, 13), with the marginal note The Beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. (Lagarde op. cit., 1886, p. 154.) The text presents nothing worthy of note in this place except that verse 16, construed in the same principle as the preceding verses, to which, except in the words printed in italics, it is strictly parallel in construction, reads thus: “Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, who of her begat Jesus, the Messiah” (cf. the remarkable reading of Sin. Syriac). As it stands, this is the only possible interpretation of the words, for who is masculine. But a mistake in the gender of a relative pronoun is very common in Arabic among illiterate people, while in Syriac there is, to begin with, no distinction. If then we correct the relative, who of her will become of whom (fem.), and begat will of course be construed as passive. We thus get the text followed in Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary, the ordinary reading of the Peshitta, of whom was born Jesus.
2 The Arabic might even more naturally be rendered born, thus ,giving us the reading that Isho’dad tells us was that of the Diatessaron (Harris, Fragments, p. 16 f.); but throughout the whole genealogy (see Section 1, 81), this word has been used by the Vat. ms. in the sense of begat. Here the Borgian ms. has of her for in her; but Ibn-at-Tayyib in his Commentary discusses why Matthew wrote in and not of.
3 cf. Section 1, 78.
4 The Arabic expression is clearly meant to represent that used in the Peshitta.
5 This is the most natural meaning of the Arabic sentence; which, however, is simply a word-for-word reproduction of the Peshitta.
6 The Arab. represents Syr. idiom.
7 cf. Section 1, 66.
8 Borgian ms. inserts all above the line, after these. The meaning ought then to be, these things, namely, all the sayings.
9 The Arab. might mean set them apart; but the Syriac is against this.
10 Or, anointed.
11 For order cf. in part Sin. Syriac.
12 i.e., becoming manifest.
13 So also in Syriac versions and the quotation of Isho’dad from Ephraem (Harris, Fragments, p. 34), but not the Armenian version.
14 The Arabic sides with the Peshitta and Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary, against the remarkable reading of Sin. supported by Isho’dad, as in last note Syriac text, and the Armenian in Hill, p. 336. See now also The Guardian, Dec. 18, 1895.
Section III.
1, 2 And after that,1 the Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, and said, Where is the King of the Jews which was born? We have seen his star in the east, and have Mat_2:1 Mat_2:2
3 come to worship him. And Herod the king heard, and he was troubled, and all Mat_2:3
4 Jerusalem with him. And he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the Mat_2:4
5 people, and asked them in what place2 the Messiah should be born. They said, In Bethlehem of Judaea: thus it is written in the prophet, Mat_2:5
6 Thou also, Bethlehem of Judah, Art not contemptible among the kings of Judah: From thee shall go forth a king, And he shall be a shepherd to my people Israel. Mat_2:6
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and inquired of them the time at which Mat_2:7
8 the star appeared to them. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said unto them, Go and search about the child diligently; and when ye have found him, come and Mat_2:8
9 Arabic p. 11 make known to me, that I also may go and worship him. And they, when they heard the king, departed; and lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, until it came and stood above the place where the child Mat_2:9
10, 11 was. And when they beheld the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. And they entered the house and beheld the child with Mary his mother, and fell down worshipping him, and opened their saddle-bags and offered to him offerings, gold and Mat_2:10 Mat_2:11
12 myrrh and frankincense. And they saw in a dream3 that they should not return to Herod, and they travelled by another way in going to their country. Mat_2:12
13 And when they had departed, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, and said unto him, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I speak to thee; for Herod is determined to seek the child Mat_2:13
14 to slay him. And Joseph arose and took the child and his mother in the night, and Mat_2:14
15 fled into Egypt, and remained in it until the time of the death of Herod: that that might be fulfilled which was said by the Lord in the prophet, which said, From Mat_2:15
16 Egypt did I call my son. And Herod then, when he saw that he was mocked of the Magi, was very angry, and sent and killed all the male children which were in Bethlehem and all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time Mat_2:16
17 which he had inquired from the Magi. Then was fulfilled the saying in Jeremiah the prophet, which said, Mat_2:17
18 A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and much lamentation; Rachel weeping4 for her children, And not willing to be consoled for their loss. Mat_2:18
19 But when Herod the king died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Mat_2:19
20 Arabic p. 12 Joseph in Egypt, and said unto him, Rise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they have died who sought the child’s life. Mat_2:20
21 And Joseph rose and took the child and his mother, and came to the land Mat_2:21
22 of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judaea instead of Herod his father, he feared to go thither; and he saw in a dream that he should Mat_2:22
23 go into the land of Galilee, and that he should abide in a city called Nazareth: that the saying in the prophet might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene. Mat_2:23
24 And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, becoming filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him. Luk_2:40
25 And his kinsfolk5 used to go every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the pass- Luk_2:41
26 over. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to their custom, Luk_2:42
27 to the feast. And when the days were accomplished, they returned; and the child Luk_2:43
28 Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not: and they supposed that he was with the children of their company. And when they had gone one day’s journey, they sought him beside their people and those who knew them, Luk_2:44
29 and they found him not; so they returned to Jerusalem and sought him again. Luk_2:45
30 And after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teach- Luk_2:46
31 ers, hearing them and asking them questions; and all who heard him wondered at Luk_2:47
32 his wisdom and his words. And when they saw him they wondered, and his mother said unto him, My son, why hast thou dealt with us thus? behold, I and thy father Luk_2:48
33 have been seeking for thee with much anxiety. And he said unto them, Why were Luk_2:49
34 ye seeking me? Know6 ye not that I must be in the house of my Father? And they Luk_2:50
35 understood not the word which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and he was obedient to them: and his mother used to keep all these sayings in her heart. Luk_2:51
36 Arabic p. 13 And Jesus grew in his stature and wisdom, and in grace with God and men. Luk_2:52
37 And in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor in Judaea, and one of the four rulers, Herod, in Galilee; and Philip his brother, one of the four rulers, in Ituraea and in the district of Trachonitis; and Luk_3:1
38 Lysanias, one of the four rulers, in Abilene; in the chief-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the command7 of God went forth to John the son of Zacharias in the Luk_3:2
39 desert. And he came into all the region which is about Jordan, proclaiming the Luk_3:3
40 baptism of repentance unto8 the forgiveness of sins. And he was preaching in the Mat_3:1
41 wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye; the kingdom of heaven is come near. Mat_3:2
42 This is he that was spoken of in Isaiah the prophet, The voice which crieth in the desert, Mat_3:3
43 Prepare ye the way of the Lord, And make straight in the plain, paths for our God. Luk_3:4
44 All the valleys shall become filled, And all the mountains and hills shall become low; And the rough shall become plain, And the difficult place, easy; Luk_3:5
45 And all flesh shall see the salvation9 of God. Luk_3:6
46 This man came to bear witness, that he might bear witness to the light, that Joh_1:7
47 every man might believe through his mediation. He was not the light, bat that he Joh_1:8
48 might bear witness to the light, which was the light of truth, that giveth light to Joh_1:9
49 every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made Joh_1:10
50 by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received Joh_1:11
51 him not. And those who received him, to them gave he the power10 that they might Joh_1:12
52 be sons of God, – those which believe in his name: which were born, not of blood, Joh_1:13
53 nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and took up his abode among us; and we saw his glory as the glory Joh_1:14
54 Arabic p. 14 of the only Son from the Father, which is full of grace and equity.11 John bare witness of him, and cried, and said, This is he that I said cometh after me and Joh_1:15
55 was before me, because he was before me.12 And of his fulness received Joh_1:16
56 we all grace for grace. For the law was given through the mediation of Moses, but truth and grace were13 through Jesus Christ. Joh_1:17
FOOTNOTES
1 On the substitution of this general phrase for Mat_2:1, see the remarks of Harris in Fragments, etc., p. 37 ff.
2 This periphrasis for where is very characteristic of this work.
3 So in later Arabic and some Arabic versions. According to classical usage the word means sleep.
4 Or, is weeping, and so in next line is not willing.
5 A general word cf. Syr. versions.
6 Or, knew.
7 There is a very rare use of this Arabic word in the Hebrew sense of saying.
8 So Vat. ms. The Borgian MS. has with.
9 See note on Section 1, 78.
10 Or, authority.
11 In Syr. this word also means truth
12 Or, earlier than I.
13 i.e., came to be.
Section IV.
1 No man hath seen God at any time; the only Son, God,1 which is in the bosom of his Father, he hath told of him. Joh_1:18
2 And this is the witness of John when the Jews sent to him from Jerusalem priests Joh_1:19
3 and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? And he acknowledged, and denied not; Joh_1:20
4 and he confessed that he was not the Messiah. And they asked him again, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not he. Art thou a prophet? He Joh_1:21
5 said, No. They said unto him, Then who art thou? that we may answer them that Joh_1:22
6 sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? And he said, I am the voice that crieth in Joh_1:23
7 the desert, Repair ye the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. And they Joh_1:24
8 that were sent were from2 the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptizest thou now, when thou art not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor a prophet? Joh_1:25
9 John answered and said unto them, I baptize with3 water: among you is standing Joh_1:26
10 one whom ye know not: this is he who I said cometh after me and was before Joh_1:27
11 me, the latchets of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. And that was in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. Joh_1:28
12 Now John’s raiment was camel’s hair, and he was girded with skins, and his food Mat_3:4
13 Arabic p. 15 was of locusts and honey of the wilderness.4 Then went out unto him the people of Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region which is about the Mat_3:5
14, 15 Jordan; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees5 and Sadducees6 coming to be baptized, he said unto them, Ye children of vipers, who hath led you to flee from the wrath to come? Mat_3:6 Mat_3:7
16, 17 Do now the fruits which are worthy of repentance; and think and say not within yourselves, We have a father, even Abraham; for I say unto you, that God is able to Mat_3:8 Mat_3:9
18 raise up of these stones children unto Abraham. Behold, the axe hath been laid at the roots of the trees, and so every tree that beareth not good fruit shall be taken and Mat_3:10
19 cast into the fire. And the multitudes were asking him and saying, What shall we do? Luk_3:10
20 He answered and said unto them, He that hath two tunics shall7 give to him that Luk_3:11
21 hath not; and he that hath food shall7 do likewise. And the publicans also came Luk_3:12
22 to be baptized, and they said unto him, Teacher, what shall we do? He said unto Luk_3:13
23 them, Seek not more than what ye are commanded to seek. And the servants8 of the guard asked him and said, And we also, what shall we do? He said unto them, Do not violence to any man, nor wrong him; and let your allowances satisfy you. Luk_3:14
24 And when the people were conjecturing about John, and all of them thinking Luk_3:15
25 in their hearts whether he were haply9 the Messiah, John answered and said unto them, I baptize you with water; there cometh one after me who is stronger than I, the latchets of whose shoes I am not worthy to loosen; he will baptize you with the Luk_3:16
26 Arabic p. 16 Holy Spirit and fire: who taketh the fan in his hand to cleanse his threshing-floors, and the wheat he gathereth into his garners, while the straw he shall burn in fire which can10 not be put out. Luk_3:17
27 And other things he taught and preached among the people. Luk_3:18
28 Then came Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized of him. Mat_3:13
29 And Jesus was about thirty years old, and it was supposed that he was the son of Luk_3:23
30 Joseph.11 And John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, This is the Lamb of Joh_1:29
31 God, that taketh on itself the burden of the sins of the world! This is he concerning whom I said, There cometh after me a man who was before me, because he was Joh_1:30
32 before me.12 And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, Joh_1:31
33 for this cause came I to baptize with water. And John was hindering him and Mat_3:14
34 saying, I have need of being baptized by thee, and comest thou to me? Jesus answered him and said, Suffer this now: thus it is our duty to fulfil all righteous- Mat_3:15
35 ness. Then he suffered him. And when all the people were baptized, Jesus also Luk_3:21
36 was baptized. And immediately he went up out of the water, and heaven opened Mat_3:16
37 Arabic p. 17 to him,13 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the similitude of the Luk_3:22
38 body of a dove; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Mat_3:17
39 Son, in whom I am well pleased. And John bare witness and said, I beheld the Joh_1:32
40 Spirit descend from heaven like a dove; and it abode upon him. But I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt behold the Spirit descending and lighting upon him, the same is he that Joh_1:33
41 baptizeth with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God. Joh_1:34
42, 43 And Jesus returned from the Jordan, filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately the Spirit took him out into the wilderness, to be tried of the devil;14 and he Luk_4:1 Mar_1:12 Mar_1:13
44 was with the beasts. And he fasted forty days and forty nights. And he ate noth- Mat_4:2 Luk_4:2
45 ing in those days, and at the end of them he hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, speak, and these stones shah become Mat_4:2, Mat_4:3
46 bread. He answered and said, It is written, Not by bread alone shall man live, but Mat_4:4
47 by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil14 brought Mat_4:5
48 him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: And they shall take thee on their arms, So that thy foot shall not stumble against a stone. Mat_4:6
49 Jesus said unto him, And15 it is written also, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy Mat_4:7
50 God. And the devil16 took him up to a high mountain, and shewed him all the king- Luk_4:5
51 Arabic p. 18 doms of the earth, and their glory, in the least time; and the devil16 said unto him, To thee will I give all this dominion, and its glory, which is delivered to Luk_4:6
52 me that I may give it to whomsoever I will. If then thou wilt worship before me, all of it shall be thine. Luk_4:7
FOOTNOTES
1 cf. Peshitta, etc. not Cur.: cf. also Gildemeister, op. cit., p. 29, on Luk_9:20.
2 Lit. from the side of.
3 Or, in.
4 On the original Diatessaron reading, honey and milk of the mountains, or, milk and honey of the mountains, which latter Ibn-at-Tayyib cites in his Commentary folio 44b, 45a as a reading, but without any allusion to the Diatessaron, see, e.g., now Harris, Fragments of the Com. of Ephr. Syr. upon the Diatessaron. London, 1895) p. 17 f.
5 The translator uses invariably an Arabic word name of a sect meaning Separatists.
6 Lit. Zindiks, a name given to Persian dualists and others.
7 Grammar requires this rendering, but solecisms in this kind of word are very common, and in this work e.g., Section 48, 21 the jussive particle is sometimes omitted. We should therefore probably render let him give, let him do, etc.
8 cf. Peshitta, where the word has its special meaning, soldiers.
9 Our translator constantly uses this Arabic word which we render haply, or, can it be? Or, perhaps, etc. to represent the Syriac word used in this place. The latter is used in various ways, and need not be interrogative, as our translator renders it cf. especially Section 17, 6.
10 Or, shall.
11 The Vatican ms. here gives the genealogy Luk_3:23-38, of which we shall quote only the last words: the son of Adam; who was from God. If this were not the reading of the Peshitta against Sin. and Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary, one might explain from as a corruption of the Arabic son of, the words being very similar. On the Borgian ms. see Section 55, 17.
12 cf. Section 3, 54.
13 For the statement of Isho’dad see Introduction, 10, “And straightway, as the Diatessaron testifieth, light shone forth”, etc., see Harris, Fragments etc., p 43 f.
14 Lit. calumniator.
15 Borgian ms. omits and.
16 Lit. backbiter, a different word from that used above in Section 4, 43, 47.
Section V.
1 Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou Mat_4:10
2 shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve. And when the Luk_4:13
3 devil1 had completed all his temptations, he departed from him for a season. And behold, the angels drew near and ministered unto him. Mat_4:11
4, 5 And next day John was standing, and two of his disciples; and he saw Jesus as Joh_1:35 Joh_1:36
6 he was walking, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God! And his two disciples heard Joh_1:37
7 him saying this,2 and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them coming after him, and said unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Our master, Joh_1:38
8 where art thou staying? And he said unto them, Come and see. And they came and saw his place, and abode with him that day: and it was about the tenth hour. Joh_1:39
9 One of the two which heard from3 John, and followed Jesus, was Andrew the Joh_1:40
10 brother of Simon. And he saw first Simon his brother, and said unto him, We have Joh_1:41
11 found the Messiah. And he brought him unto Jesus. And Jesus looked upon him and said, Thou art Simon, son of Jonah: thou shalt be called Cephas.4 Joh_1:42
12 And on the next day Jesus desired to go forth to Galilee, and he found Philip, Joh_1:43
13 Arabic p. 19 and said unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, of the city of Joh_1:44
14 Andrew and Simon. And Philip found Nathanael, and said unto him, He of whom Moses did write in the law and in the prophets, we have found that Joh_1:45
15 he is Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth. Nathanael said unto him, Is it possible that there can be any good thing from Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and Joh_1:46
16 see. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, This is indeed a5 Joh_1:47
17 son of Israel in whom is no guile. And Nathanael said unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus said unto him, Before Philip called thee, while thou wast under the Joh_1:48
18 fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto him, My Master, thou art Joh_1:49
19 the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, hast thou believed? thou shalt see what is Joh_1:50
20 greater than this. And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Joh_1:51
21 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. Luk_4:14
22 And on the third day there was a feast in Cana,6 a5 city of Galilee; and the Joh_2:1
23 mother of Jesus was there: and Jesus also and his disciples were invited to the Joh_2:2
24 feast. And they lacked wine: and his mother said unto Jesus, They have no wine. Joh_2:3
25 And Jesus said unto her, What have I to do with thee, woman? hath not mine Joh_2:4
26 hour come?7 And his mother said unto the servants, What he saith unto you, do. Joh_2:5
27 And there were there six vessels of stone, placed for the Jews’ purification, such as Joh_2:6
28 Arabic p. 20 would contain two or three jars. And Jesus said unto them, Fill the vessels Joh_2:7
29 with water. And they filled them to the top. He said unto them, Draw Joh_2:8
30 out now, and present to the ruler of the feast. And they did so. And when the ruler of the company tasted that water which had become wine, and knew not whence it was(but the servants knew, because they filled up the water), the ruler of the company called Joh_2:9
31 the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man presenteth first the good wine, and on intoxication he bringeth what is poor; but thou hast kept the good wine until Joh_2:10
32 now. And this is the first sign8 which Jesus did in Cans of Galilee, and manifested Joh_2:11
33 his glory; and his disciples believed on him. And his fame spread in all the country Luk_4:14
34 which was around them. And he taught in their synagogues, and was glorified Luk_4:15
35 by9 every man. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and entered, according to his custom, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood Luk_4:16
36 up to read. And he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. And Jesus opened the book and found the place where it was written, Luk_4:17
37 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, And for this anointed he me, to preach good tidings to the poor; And he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, And to proclaim forgiveness to the evil-doers,10 and sight to the blind, And to bring the broken into forgiveness,11 Luk_4:18
38 And to proclaim an acceptable year of the Lord. Luk_4:19
39 And he rolled up the book and gave it to the servant, and went and sat down: Luk_4:20
40 and the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were observing him. And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled which ye have heard with Luk_4:21
41 your ears. And they all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which were proceeding from his mouth. Luk_4:22
42 Arabic p. 21 And from that time began Jesus to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom Mat_4:17
43 of God, and to say, Repent ye, and believe in the gospel. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of heaven hath come near. Mar_1:15
44 And while he was walking on the shore of the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who was called Cephas, and Andrew his brother, casting their nets into Mat_4:18
45 the sea; for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Follow me, and I will Mat_4:19
46 make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets there and followed Mat_4:20
47 him. And when he went on from thence, he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending Mat_4:21
48 their nets; and Jesus called them. And they immediately forsook the ship and their father Zebedee, and followed him. Mat_4:22
49 And when the multitude gathered unto him to hear the word of God, while he Luk_5:1
50 was standing on the shore of the sea of Gennesaret, he saw two boats standing beside the sea, while12 the two fishers which were gone out of them were washing their Luk_5:2
51 nets. And one of them belonged to Simon Cephas. And Jesus went up and sat down in it, and commanded that they should move away a little from the land into Luk_5:3
52 the water. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. And when he had left off his speaking, he said unto Simon, Put out into the deep, and cast your Luk_5:4
53 net for a draught. And Simon answered and said unto him, My Master, we toiled Luk_5:5
54 all night and caught nothing; now13 at thy word I will cast the net. And when they did this, there were enclosed14 a great many fishes; and their net was on the Luk_5:6
55 point of breaking. And they beckoned to their comrades that were in the other boat, to come and help them. And when they came, they filled both boats, so that they were on the point of sinking. Luk_5:7
FOOTNOTES
1 Lit. backbiter, a different word from that used above in Section 4, 43, 47.
2 Or, speaking.
3 cf. Peshitta.
4 The Arabic word used throughout this work means Stones.
5 Lit. the cf. note to Section 1, 40.
6 Arabic Qatna. at Section 5, 32, Qâtina, following the Syriac form.
7 The reading of Cur. and Sin. is not known; but cf. Moesinger, p. 53, and Isho`dad quoted in Harris, Fragments, etc., p. 46.
8 Perhaps a comma should be inserted after sign.
9 If the text does not contain a misprint the word for by is wanting in both mss. It should doubtless be restored as in Section 7, 3.
10 Evil-doers could easily be an Arabic copyist’s corruption of captives, but the word used here for forgiveness could hardly spring from an Arabic release in Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary, where the thing seems to have happened’ a different word is used. In Syriac, however, they are the same; while the first pair contain the same consonants
11 See preceding note.
12 Or, but.
13 Borgian ms. has but. The Arabic expressions are very similar.
14 Borgian ms. has he did this, he enclosed, on which see Section 38, 43. Either reading could spring from the other, within the Arabic
Section VI.
1 Arabic p. 22 But when Simon Cephas saw this he fell before the feet of Jesus, and said unto him, My Lord, I beseech of thee to depart from me, for I am Luk_5:8
2 a sinful man. And amazement took possession of him, and of all who were with him, Luk_5:9
3 because of the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And thus also were James and John the sons of Zebedee overtaken,1who were Simon’s partners. And Jesus said Luk_5:10
4 unto Simon, Fear not; henceforth thou shalt be a fisher of men unto life. And they brought the boats to the land; and they left everything, and followed him. Luk_5:11
5 And after that came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and he went Joh_3:22
6 about there with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon, which is beside Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were bap- Joh_3:23
7, 8 tized. And John was not yet come into prison. And there was an inquiry between Joh_3:24 Joh_3:25
9 one of John’s disciples and one of the Jews about purifying. And they2 came unto John, and said unto him, Our master, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom Joh_3:26
10 thou hast borne witness, behold, he also baptizeth, and many come to him. John answered and said unto them,3 A man can receive nothing of himself, except it be Joh_3:27
11 given him4 from heaven. Ye are they that bear witness unto me that I said, I am Joh_3:28
12 not the Messiah, but I am one sent5 before him. And he that hath a bride is a bridegroom: and the friend of the bridegroom is he that standeth and listeneth to him, and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Lo now,6 behold, my Joh_3:29
13, 14 Arabic p. 23 joy becometh complete.7 And he must increase and I decrease. For8 he that is come from above is higher than everything; and he that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh; and he that came down from heaven is Joh_3:30 Joh_3:31
15 higher than all. And he beareth witness of what he hath seen and heard: and no man Joh_3:32
16 receiveth his witness. And he that hath received his witness hath asserted9 that he is Joh_3:33
17 truly God.10 And he whom God hath sent speaketh the words11 of God: God gave Joh_3:34
18 not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath put everything in Joh_3:35
19 his hands. Whosoever believeth in the Son hath eternal12 life; but whosoever obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God cometh13 upon him. Joh_3:36
20 And Jesus learned14 that the Pharisees had heard that he had received many dis- Joh_4:1
21 ciples, and that he was baptizing more than John (not that Jesus was himself bap- Joh_4:2
22 tizing, but his disciples); and so he left Judaea. Joh_4:3
23 And Herod the governor, because he used to be rebuked by John because of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and for all the sins which he was commit- Luk_3:19
24 ting, added to all that also this, that he shut up John in prison. Luk_3:20
25 And when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he went away to Galilee. Mat_4:12
26 And he entered again into Cana, where he had made the water wine. And there Joh_4:46
27 was at Capernaum a king’s servant, whose son was sick. And this man heard that Jesus was come from Judaea to Galilee; and he went to him, and besought of him that he would come down and heal his son; for he had come near unto death. Joh_4:47
28, 29 Arabic p. 24 Jesus said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye do15 not believe. The king’s servant said unto him, My Lord, come down, that the child die not. Joh_4:48 Joh_4:49
30 Jesus said unto him, Go; for thy son is alive. And that man believed the Joh_4:50
31 word which Jesus spake, and went. And when he went down, his servants met him Joh_4:51
32 and told him, and16 said unto him, Thy son is alive. And he asked them at what time he recovered. They said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left Joh_4:52
33 him. And his father knew that that was at that hour in which Jesus said unto him, Joh_4:53
34 Thy son is alive. And he believed, he and the whole people of his house. And this Joh_4:54
35 is the second sign17 which Jesus did when he returned from Judaea to Galilee. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Luk_4:44
36 And he left Nazareth, and came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea shore, in the Mat_4:13
37 borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: that it might be fulfilled which was said in Isaiah the prophet, who said, Mat_4:14
38 The land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, The way of the sea, the passage of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations: Mat_4:15
39 The people sitting in darkness Saw a great light, And those sitting in the region and in the shadow of death, There appeared to them a light. Mat_4:16
40 And he taught them on the sabbaths. And they wondered because of his doc- Luk_4:31 Luk_4:32
41 trine:18 for his word was as if it were authoritative. And there was in the synagogue Luk_4:33
42 a man with an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, and said, Let me alone; what have I to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come for our Luk_4:34
43 destruction? I know thee who thou art, thou Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, and said, Stop up thy mouth, and come out of him. And the demon threw him Luk_4:35
44 Arabic p. 25 in the midst and came out of him, having done him no harm. And great amaze- ment took hold upon every man. And they talked one with another, and said, What is this word that orders the unclean spirits with power and Luk_4:36
45 authority, and they come out? And the news of him spread abroad in all the region which was around them. Luk_4:37
46 And when Jesus went out of the synagogue, he saw a man sitting among the publicans,19 named Matthew: and he said unto him, Come after me. And he rose, and followed him. Luk_4:38 Mat_9:9
47,48 And Jesus came to the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. And Simon’s wife’s mother was oppressed with a great fever, and they besought him for Mar_1:19 Luk_4:38
49 her. And he stood over her and rebuked her fever, and it left her, and immediately Luk_4:39
50 she rose and ministered to them. And at even they brought to him many that had Mat_8:16
51 demons: and he cast out their devils with the20 word. And all that had sick, their diseases being divers and malignant, brought them unto him. And he laid his hand Luk_4:40
52 on them one by one21 and healed them: that that might be fulfilled which was said Mat_8:17
53 in the prophet Isaiah, who said, He taketh our pains and beareth our diseases. And Mar_1:33
54 all the city was gathered together unto the door of Jesus. And he cast out devils also from many, as they were crying out and saying, Thou art the Messiah, the Son of God; and he rebuked them. And he suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him that he was the Lord the Messiah. Luk_4:41
FOOTNOTES
1 The verb may be active as well as passive, but does not agree in gender with amazement. Mistakes in gender are, however, very common transcriptional errors.
2 Dual.
3 Plural. In the Peshitta it is two individuals in Luk_3:25. In Sin. the first is an individual and the second is ambiguous. In Cur. both are plural.
4 Or, he be given it.
5 The ordinary word for apostle.
6 See Section 9, 21.
7 So Ciasca’s printed text. The Vatican ms., however, probably represents a past tense.
8 cf. Peshitta.
9 cf. consonants of Syriac text.
10 Borgian ms., that God is truly, or, assuming a very common grammatical inaccuracy, that God is true or truth, the reading in Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary.
11 Lit. saying.
12 Lit. the life of eternity; here and everywhere except Section 21, 40.
13 i.e., alighteth-and-stayeth
14 Or, knew.
15 Or, will.
16 Or, good news, and.
17 See Section 5, 32.
18 Perhaps we might here render learning; but see Section 28, 17.
19 So in the Arabic. It is, however, simply a misinterpretation of the expression in the Syriac versions for at the place of toll cf. Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary.
20 cf. Section 1, 40.
21 Or, each.
Section VII.
1 Arabic p. 26 And in the morning of that day he went out very early, and went to a Mar_1:35
2 desert place, and was there praying. And Simon and those that were with Mar_1:36
3 him sought him. And when they found him, they said unto him, All the people seek for Mar_1:37
4 thee. He said unto them, Let us go into the adjacent villages and towns, that I may Mar_1:38
5 preach there also; for to this end did I come. And the multitudes were seeking him, and came till they reached him; and they took hold of him, that he should not Luk_4:42
6 go away from them. But Jesus said unto them, I must preach of the kingdom of Luk_4:43
7 God in other cities also: for because of this gospel was I sent. And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, and teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all the diseases and all the sicknesses, Mat_9:35
8 and casting out the devils. And his fame became known that1 he was teaching in Mar_1:39 Luk_4:14 Luk_4:15
9 every place and being glorified by every man. And when he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting among the tax-gatherers;2 and he said unto him, Follow Mar_2:14
10 me: and he rose and followed him. And the news of him was heard of in all the land of Syria: and they brought unto him all those whom grievous ills had befallen through divers diseases, and those that were enduring torment, and those that were possessed, and lunatics,3 and paralytics; and he healed them. Mat_4:24
11, 12 And after some days Jesus entered into Capernaum again. And when they heard that he was in the house,4 many gathered, so that it could not hold them, even about Mar_2:1 Mar_2:2
13 Arabic p. 27 the door; and he made known to them the word of God. And there were there some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, sitting, come from all the villages of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was Luk_5:17
14 present to heal them. And some men brought a bed with a man on it who was para- Luk_5:18
15 lytic. And they sought to bring him in and lay him before him. And when they found no way to bring him in because of the multitude of people, they went up to the roof, and let him down with his bed from the roofing,5into the midst before Jesus. Luk_5:19
16 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the paralytic, My son, thy sins are for- Luk_5:20
17 given thee. And the scribes and Pharisees began to think within their hearts, Why doth this man blaspheme?6 Who is it that is able to forgive sins, but God alone? Luk_5:21
18 And Jesus knew by the spirit that they were thinking this within themselves, and he Mar_2:8
19 said unto them, Why do ye think this within your heart? Which is better,7 that it should be said to the paralytic, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or that it should be said Mar_2:9
20 to him, Arise, and take thy bed, and walk? That ye may know that the Son of man Mar_2:10
21 is empowered on earth to forgive sins (and he said to the paralytic), I say unto thee, Mar_2:11
22 Arise, take thy bed, and go to thine house. And he rose forthwith, and took his bed, and went out in the presence of all. And he went to his house praising God. Mar_2:12 Luk_5:25
23 And when those multitudes saw, they feared; and amazement took possession of Mat_9:8
24 them, and they praised God, who had given such power to men. And they said, We have seen marvellous things to-day, of which we have never before seen the like. Luk_5:26 Mat_9:8 Luk_5:26 Mar_2:12
25 Arabic p. 28 And after that, Jesus went out, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting Luk_5:27
26 among the publicans:8 and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left Luk_5:28
27 everything, and rose, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house. And there was a great multitude of the publicans and others sitting with him. Luk_5:29
28 And the scribes and Pharisees murmured, and said unto his disciples, Why do ye eat Luk_5:30
29 and drink with the publicans and sinners? Jesus answered and said unto them, The physician seeketh not those who are well, but those that are afflicted with grievous Luk_5:31
30, 31 sickness.9 I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance. And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast always, and pray, and the Luk_5:32 Luk_5:33
32 Pharisees also, but thy disciples eat and drink? He said unto them, Ye cannot make Luk_5:34
33 the sons of the marriage feast10 fast, while the bridegroom is with them. Days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then will they fast in those Luk_5:35
34 days. And he spake unto them a parable: No man inserteth a new patch and seweth it in a worn garment, lest the newness of the new take from the worn, and Luk_5:36 Mar_2:21
35 there occur a great rent. And no man putteth fresh wine into old skins, lest the wine burst the skins, and the skins be destroyed, and the wine spilled; but they put Mar_2:22
36 the fresh wine in the new skins, and both are preserved. And no man drinketh old wine and straightway desireth fresh; for he saith, The old is better. Luk_5:38, Luk_5:39
37 Arabic p. 29 And while Jesus was walking on the sabbath day among the sown fields, his disciples hungered. And they were rubbing the ears with their hands, and Mat_12:1
38 eating. But some of the Pharisees, when they saw them, said unto him, See, Mat_12:2 Mar_2:24
39 why11 do thy disciples on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? But Jesus said unto them, Have ye not read in olden time what David did, when he had need and Mar_2:25
40 hungered, he and those that were with him? how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the table of the Lord, which it was not lawful that any should eat, save the priests, and gave to them that were with him also? Mar_2:26
41 And he said unto them, The sabbath was created because of man, and man was not Mar_2:27
42 created because of the sabbath. Or have ye not read in the law, that the priests in Mat_12:5
43 the temple profane the sabbath, and yet they are blameless? I say unto you now, Mat_12:6
44 that here is what12 is greater than the temple. If ye had known this.13 I love mercy, Mat_12:7
45 not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned14 those on whom is no blame. The Mat_12:8
46 Lord of the sabbath is the Son of man. And his relatives heard, and went out to take him, and said, He hath gone out of his mind. Mar_3:21
47 And on the next15 sabbath day he entered16 into the synagogue and was teach- Luk_6:6
48 ing. And there was there a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day, Luk_6:7
49 that they might find the means of accusing him. But he knew their thoughts, and said unto the man whose hand was withered, Rise and come near into the midst of Luk_6:8
50 the synagogue. And when he came and stood, Jesus said unto them, I ask you, which is lawful to be done on the sabbath day, good or evil? shall lives be saved or Luk_6:9
51 Arabic p. 30 destroyed? But they were silent. Regarding17 them with anger, being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts. And he said unto the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand became straight. Mar_3:4 Mar_3:5
52 Then he said unto them, What man of you shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a Mat_12:11
53 well on the sabbath day, will not take it and lift it out? And how much is man better than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful on the sabbath to do good. Mat_12:12
FOOTNOTES
1 This may represent a Syriac
2 See note to Section 6, 46, which applies, although the Arabic words are different.
3 Lit. son-of-the-roofs, a Syriac expression cf. Section 24, 31.
4 This is the end of Luk_3:1 in the Greek.
5 This word may be either a singular or a plural
6 This word ordinarily means to forge lies against; but our translator uses it regularly as here.
7 Peshitta has easier.
8 See note to Section 6, 46.
9 A Syriacism.
10 The Arabic word which occurs here in many of the Arabic versions, could also be read bridegroom. The Syriac word for marriage chamber is also used in the sense of marriage feast.
11 Syr. In Arab. it means what?
12 This may be simply a misinterpretation of the ordinary Syriac reading, which in all probability agrees with the masculine reading found in the Text. Rec. of the Greek.
13 Is it possible that the Arabic word after known is not meant simply to introduce the quotation, but is to be taken in the adverbial sense, how representing the Syriac what that is?
14 See Section 10, 13.
15 Lit. other. The definite article is a mistake of the translator.
16 Here, at the end of leaf 17 of Vatican ms., is a note by a later hand: “Here a leaf is missing.” This first lacuna extends from Section 7, 47, to Section 8, 17.
17 An easy clerical error for And so he regarded cf. Peshitta.