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

Section XXVII.

[1] Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who would make a [2] reckoning with his servants.&#160; And when he began to make it, they brought to him one who [3] owed him ten talents. &#160; And because he had not wherewith to pay, his lord ordered that he should be sold, he, and his wife, and children, and all that he [4] had, and payment be made.&#160; So that servant fell down and worshipped him, and said unto him, My lord, have patience with me, and I shall pay thee everything.&#160; [5] And the lord of that servant had compassion, and released him, and forgave him his [6] debt.&#160; And that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him [Arabic, p. 104] a hundred pence; and he took him, and dealt severely with him, and said [7] unto him, Give me what thou owest.&#160; So the fellow-servant fell down at his [8] feet, and besought him, and said, Grant me respite, and I will pay thee.&#160; And he would not; but took him, and cast him into prison, till he should give him his debt.&#160; [9] And when their fellow-servants saw what happened, it distressed them much; and [10] they came and told their lord of all that had taken place.&#160; Then his lord called him, and said unto him, Thou wicked servant, all that debt I forgave thee, because [11] thou besoughtest me:&#160; was it not then incumbent on thee also to have mercy on thy [12] fellow-servant, as I had mercy on thee? &#160; And his lord became wroth, and delivered [13] him to the scourgers, till he should pay all that he owed.&#160; So shall my Father which is in heaven do unto you, if one forgive not his brother his wrong conduct from [14] his heart.&#160; Take heed within yourselves:&#160; if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he [15] repent, forgive him.&#160; And if he act wrongly towards thee seven times in a day, and on that day return seven times unto thee, and say, I repent towards thee; forgive him.&#160; [16] And if thy brother act wrongly towards thee, go and reprove him between thee and [17] him alone:&#160; if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.&#160; But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two, and so at the mouth of two or three every saying shall [18] be established.&#160; And if he listen not to these also, tell the congregation; and if he listen not even to the congregation, let him be unto thee as a publican and a Gentile. &#160; [19] Verily I say unto you, All that ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:&#160; [20] and what ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.&#160; I say unto you also, If two of you agree on earth to ask, everything shall be granted them from my Father [21] [Arabic, p. 105] which is in heaven.&#160; For where two or three are gathered in my name, there [22] am I amongst them.&#160; Then Cephas drew near to him, and said unto him, My Lord, how many times, if my brother act wrongly towards me, should I forgive him? [23] until seven times?&#160; Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven; but, Until seventy [24] times seven, seven. &#160; And the servant that knoweth his lord&#8217;s will, and maketh not [25] ready for him according to his will, shall meet with much punishment; but he that knoweth not, and doeth something for which he meriteth punishment, shall meet with slight punishment.&#160; Every one to whom much hath been given, much shall be asked of him; and he that hath had much committed to him, much shall be [26] required at his hand.&#160; I came to cast fire upon the earth; and I would that it had [27] been kindled already. &#160; And I have a baptism to be baptized with, and greatly am [28] I straitened till it be accomplished.&#160; See that ye despise not one of these little ones that believe in me.&#160; Verily I say unto you, Their angels at all times see the [29] face of my Father which is in heaven.&#160; The Son of man came to save the thing which was lost.

[30] And after that, Jesus walked in Galilee; and he did not like to walk in Jud&#230;a, [31] because the Jews sought to kill him.&#160; And there came people who told him of [32] the Galil&#230;ans, those whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.&#160; Jesus answered and said unto them, Do ye imagine that those Galil&#230;ans were sinners [33] more than all the Galil&#230;ans, so that this thing has come upon them?&#160; Nay.&#160; Verily I say unto you now, that ye shall all also, if ye repent not, likewise perish.&#160; [34] Or perchance those eighteen on whom the palace fell in Siloam, and slew them, do ye imagine that they were to be condemned more than all the people that dwell [35] [Arabic, p. 106] in Jerusalem?&#160; Nay.&#160; Verily I say unto you, If ye do not all repent, ye shall perish like them.

[36] And he spake unto them this parable:&#160; A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; [37] and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.&#160; So he said to the husbandman, Lo, three years do I come and seek fruit on this fig tree, and find [38] none:&#160; cut it down; why doth it render the ground unoccupied?&#160; The husbandman said unto him, My lord, leave it this year also, that I may dig about it, and dung [39] it; then if it bear fruit&#8212;! and if not, then cut it down in the coming year.

[40] And when Jesus was teaching on the sabbath day in one of the synagogues, [41] there was there a woman that had a spirit of disease eighteen years; and she was [42] bowed down, and could not straighten herself at all.&#160; And Jesus saw her, and called [43] her, and said unto her, Woman, be loosed from thy disease.&#160; And he put his hand [44] upon her; and immediately she was straightened, and praised God.&#160; And the chief of the synagogue answered with anger, because Jesus had healed on a sabbath, and said unto the multitudes, There are six days in which work ought to be done; [45] come in them and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.&#160; But Jesus answered and said unto him, Ye hypocrites, doth not each of you on the sabbath day loose [46] his ox or his ass from the manger, and go and water it?&#160; Ought not this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, and whom the devil hath bound eighteen years, [47] to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?&#160; And when he said this, they were all put to shame, those standing, who were opposing him: &#160; and all the people were pleased with all the wonders that proceeded from his hand.