Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Diatessaron of Tatian/The Diatessaron/Section X

Section X.

[1] [Arabic, p. 38] No man can serve two masters; and that because it is necessary that he hate one of them and love the other, and honour one of them and despise the [2] other.&#160; Ye cannot serve God and possessions.&#160; And because of this I say unto you, Be not anxious for yourselves, what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink; neither for your bodies, what ye shall put on.&#160; Is not the life better than the food, and the body [3] than the raiment?&#160; Consider the birds of the heaven, which sow not, nor reap, nor store in barns; and yet your Father which is in heaven feedeth them.&#160; Are not ye [4] better than they?&#160; Who of you when he trieth is able to add to his stature one [5] cubit?&#160; If then ye are not able for a small thing, why are ye anxious about the [6, 7] rest?&#160; Consider the wild lily, how it grows, although it toils not, nor spins; and I say unto you that Solomon in the greatness of his glory was not clothed like one of [8] them.&#160; And if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow [9] is cast into the oven, how much more shall be unto you, O ye of little faith!&#160; Be not anxious, so as to say, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With [10] what shall we be clothed?&#160; Neither let your minds be perplexed in this:&#160; all these things the nations of the world seek; and your Father which is in heaven knoweth [11] your need of all these things.&#160; Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; [12] [Arabic, p. 39] and all these shall come to you as something additional for you.&#160; Be not anxious for the morrow; for the morrow shall be anxious for what belongs to it.&#160; Sufficient unto the day is its evil.

[13] Judge not, that ye be not judged:&#160; condemn not, that ye be not condemned: [14] forgive, and it shall be forgiven you:&#160; release, and ye shall be released:&#160; give, that ye may be given unto; with good measure, abundant, full, they shall thrust into your [15] bosoms.&#160; With what measure ye measure it shall be measured to you.&#160; See to it what ye hear:&#160; with what measure ye measure it shall be measured to you; and ye [16] shall be given more.&#160; I say unto those that hear, He that hath shall be given unto; and he that hath not, that which he regards as his shall be taken from him.

[17] And he spake unto them a parable, Can a blind man haply guide a blind man? [18] shall they not both fall into a hollow?&#160; A disciple is not better than his master; [19] every perfect man shall be as his master.&#160; Why lookest thou at the mote which is in the eye of thy brother, but considerest not the column that is in thine own eye?&#160; [20] Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, I will take out the mote from thine eye; and the column which is in thine eye thou seest not?&#160; Thou hypocrite, take out first the column from thine eye; and then shalt thou see to take out the mote from the eye of thy brother.

[21] Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them with their feet, and return and wound you.

[22] And he said unto them, Who of you, that hath a friend, goeth to him at midnight, [23] and saith unto him, My friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend hath come [24] to me from a journey, and I have nothing to offer to him:&#160; and that friend shall [Arabic, p. 40] answer him from within, and say unto him, Trouble me not; for the door is shut, and my children are with me in bed, and I cannot rise and give thee?&#160; [25] And verily I say unto you, If he will not give him because of friendship, yet because [26] of his importunity he will rise and give him what he seeketh.&#160; And I also say unto you, Ask, and ye shall be given unto; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be [27] opened unto you.&#160; Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and [28] he that knocketh, it shall be opened to him.&#160; What father of you, shall his son ask for bread&#8212;will he, think you, give him a stone? and if he ask of him a fish, will he, [29] think you, instead of the fish give him a serpent? and if he ask him for an egg, will [30] he, think you, extend to him a scorpion?&#160; If ye then, although being evil, know the gifts which are good, and give them to your children, how much more shall your [31] Father which is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?&#160; Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them:&#160; this is the law and the prophets.

[32] Enter ye by the narrow gate; for the wide gate and the broad way lead to destruction, [33] and many they be which go therein.&#160; How narrow is the gate and straitened the way leading to life! and few be they that find it.

[34] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep&#8217;s clothing, while within [35] they are ravening wolves.&#160; But by their fruits ye shall know them.&#160; For every tree is known by its fruit.&#160; For figs are not gathered of thorns, neither are grapes plucked of [36] briers.&#160; Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but the evil tree bringeth [37] [Arabic, p. 41] forth evil fruit.&#160; The good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can the [38] evil tree bring forth good fruit.&#160; The good man from the good treasures that are in his heart bringeth forth good things; and the evil man from the evil treasures that are in his heart bringeth forth evil things:&#160; and from the overflowings of the [39] heart the lips speak.&#160; Every tree that beareth not good fruit is cut down and cast [40, 41] into the fire.&#160; Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them.&#160; Not all that say unto me, My Lord, my Lord, shall enter the kingdom of the heavens; but he that doeth [42] the will of my Father which is in heaven.&#160; Many shall say unto me in that day, My Lord, my Lord, did we not prophesy in thy name, and in thy name cast out [43] devils, and in thy name do many powers?&#160; Then shall I say unto them, I never [44] knew you:&#160; depart from me, ye servants of iniquity.&#160; Every man that cometh unto [45] me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to what he is like:&#160; he is like the wise man which built a house, and digged and went deep, and laid the [46] foundations on a rock:&#160; and the rain came down, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and shook that house, and it fell not:&#160; for its foundation was laid on [47] rocks.&#160; And every one that heareth these my words, and doeth them not, is like [48] the foolish man which built his house on sand, without foundation:&#160; and the rain descended, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house, and it fell:&#160; and the fall of it was great.