And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities.
Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples
and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see:
the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have {Or, the gospel}good tidings preached to them.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings' houses.
{Many ancient authorities read But what went ye out to see? A prophet? }But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
This is he, of whom it is written,
{Malachi 3:1}Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is {Greek: lesser.}but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
And if ye are willing to receive {Or, him}it, this is Elijah, that is to come.
He that hath ears {Some ancient authorities omit to hear.}to hear, let him hear.
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows
and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not {Greek: beat the beast.}mourn.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of {See marginal note on chapter 5:46.}publicans and sinners! And wisdom {Or, was}is justified by her {Many ancient authorities read children: as in Luke 7:35.}works.
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his {Greek: powers.}mighty works were done, because they repented not.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the {Greek: powers.}mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt {Many ancient authorities read be brought down.}go down unto Hades: for if the {Greek: powers.}mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day.
But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
At that season Jesus answered and said, I {Or, praise}thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:
yea, Father, {Or, that}for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Querverweise zu Matthäus 11,17 Mt 11,17
{Or, Whom shall he teach…and whom shall he make…breasts. for &c.}Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the {Or, report}message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; {Or, rule}line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
{Or, For with stammering lips}Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people;
to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
And Jesus said unto them, Can the {That is, companions of the bridegroom.}sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.
And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.
And I do all things for the {See marginal note on chapter 4:15.}gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof.
And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult,
And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
Ye shall have a song as in the night {Or, when a feast is hallowed}when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come:
and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because {Or, our dwellings have cast us out}they have cast down our dwellings.
Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.
Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.