Twentieth Century New Testament - 01 - Mark, Introduction and Chapters 1-5

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
The Gospel of Mark Introduction and Chapters one through five
of the twentieth century New Testament. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
by J. A. Carter www dot authentic light dot org.

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The twentieth Century New Testament by a company of about
twenty scholars. The Gospel of Mark Introduction and Chapters one
through five Introduction the Gospel according to Saint Mark, Compiled
at an uncertain date later than fifty five AD. This

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gospel contains the earliest and the simplest picture of the
ministry of Jesus, but tells nothing of his birth.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Or early life.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
It appears to be the work of the John Mark,
who is mentioned more than once in the New Testament,
and who have been compiled from information gathered from the
apostle Peter, whose convert Mark is supposed to have been,
as well as from other sources, both written and oral.
Of these sources, it is plain that the compilers of
the Gospels according to Saint Matthew and Saint Luke also
availed themselves as well as in all probability of a

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draft of this Gospel. It is evident, from the writer's
habit of translating Aramaic words and using Latin expressions that
his life of Jesus was intended for readers of the
Western world. Of you, confirmed by many interesting traditions of
the Western Church. From the absence of much of the
teaching of Jesus given in the Gospels. According to Saint
Matthew and Saint Luke, it has been inferred that this

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was not available in a connected form for the compiler
of the present Gospel. Chapter one, the beginning of the
Good News about Jesus Christ. It is said in the
prophet Isaiah, behold, I send my messenger before thy face.
He shall prepare thy way. The voice of one crime

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aloud in the wilderness. Make ready the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight. And in fulfillment of this, John
the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism upon
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole of Judea,
as well as all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out
to him, and they were baptized by him in the

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River Jordan, confessing their sins. John was clad in clothing
of camel's hair, with a belt of leather round his waist,
and lived on locusts and wild honey. And he proclaimed,
there is coming after me, one more powerful than I,
and I am not fit even to stoop down and
unfasten his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but

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he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now about
that time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he
was coming up out of the water, he saw the
heavens rent apart, and the spirit, like a dove, descending
upon him. And from the heavens came a voice, thou art,

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my son, the Beloved in thee I delight. Immediately afterwards,
the spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he
was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan
and among the wild beasts, while the angels ministered to him.
After John had been committed to prison, Jesus went to

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Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. The time has
come and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent
and believe the good news. As Jesus was going along
the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon
and his brother Andrew casting a net in the sea,
for they were fishermen. Come and follow me, Jesus said,

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and I will set you to fish for men. They
left their nets at once and followed him. Going on
a little further, he saw James, Zebediah's son and his
brother John, who also were in their boats mending the nets.
Jesus at once called them, and they left their father,
Zebediah in the boat with the crew, and went after him.

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And they walked into Capernaum. On the next Sabbath, Jesus
went to the synagogue and began to teach. The people
were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them like
one who had authority, and not like the teachers of
the law. Now there was in their synagogue at the
time a man under the power of a foul spirit,
who called out, what do you want with us, Jesus

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of Nazareth, Have you come to destroy us? I know
who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus
rebuked the spirit, be silent, come out of him. The
foul spirit threw the man into a fit, and with
a loud cry came out of him, and they were
all so amazed that they kept asking, what is this

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strange teaching. Indeed, he gives his commands with authority, even
to the foul spirits, and they obey him, and the
fame of Jesus spread at once in all directions through
the whole neighborhood of Galilee. As soon as they had
come out from the synagogue, they went with James and
John into the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon's
mother in law was lying ill with fever, and they

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at once told Jesus about her. Jesus went up to her, and,
grasping her hand, raised her up. The fever left her,
and she began to wait upon them. In the evening,
after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who were
ill or possessed by demons, and the whole city was
gathered round the door. Jesus cured many who were ill
with various diseases, and drove out many demons, and would

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not permit them to speak, because they knew him to
be the Christ. In the morning, long before daylight, Jesus
rose and went out and going to a lonely spot
there began to pray, but Simon and his companions hastened
after him, and when they found him, they exclaimed, everyone
is looking for you. But Jesus said to them, let

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us go somewhere else, into the country towns near that
I may make my proclamation in them also, for that
was why I came. And he went about making his
proclamation in their synagogues all through Galilee and driving out
the demons. One day, a leper came to Jesus, and,
falling on his knees.

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Begged him to help.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
If only you are willing, he said, you are able
to make me clean. Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out
his hand and touched him, saying, as he did so,
I am willing become clean. Instantly the leprosy left the
man and he became clean. And then Jesus, after sternly
warning him, immediately sent him away and said to him,

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be careful not to say anything to anyone, but go
and show yourself to the priest and make the offerings
for your cleansing directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
The man, however, went away and began.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
To speak about it publicly and to spread the story
so widely that Jesus could no longer go openly into
a town, but stayed outside in lonely places, and people
came to him from every direction.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Chapter two.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Some days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the
news spread that he was in a house there, and
so many people collected together that after a while there
was no room for them even round the door. And
he began to tell them his message, and some people came,
bringing to him a paralyzed man who was being carried
by four bearers, being however, unable to get him near

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to Jesus. Owing to the crowd, they removed the roofing
below which Jesus was, and when they had made an opening,
they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man
was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to
the man child, your sins are forgiven. But some of
the teachers of the law who were sitting there, were
debating in their minds, why does this man speak like this,

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He's blaspheming who can forgive sins except God. Jesus, at once,
intuitively aware that they were debating with themselves in this way,
said to them, why are you debating in your about this,
which is easier to say to the paralyzed man, your
sins are forgiven, or to say get up and take
up your mat and walk about, But that you may

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know that the son of Man has power to forgive
sins on earth. Here he said to the paralyzed man,
to you, I say, get up, take up your mat,
and return to your home. The man got up and
immediately took up his mat and went out before them,
all at which they were amazed. And as they praised God,
they said, we have never seen anything like this. Jesus

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went out again to the sea, and all the people
came to him, and he taught them. As he went along,
he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in a
tax office, and said to him, follow me. Levi got
up and followed him. And later on he was in
his house at table, and a number of tax collectors

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and outcasts took their places at table with Jesus and
his disciples, for many of them were following him. When
teachers of the law belonging to the party of the Pharisees,
saw that he was eating in the company of such people,
they said to his disciples, he's eating in the company
of tax gatherers and outcasts. Hearing this, Jesus said, it

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is not those who are in health that need a doctor,
but those who are ill. I did not come to
call the religious, but the outcast. Now John's disciples and
the Pharisees were keeping a fast, and people came and
asked Jesus, why is it that John's disciples and the
disciples of the Pharisees fast while yours did not. Jesus answered,

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can the bridegroom's friends fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they
cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom
will be parted from them, and they will fast. Then
when that day comes. No man ever sows a piece
of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does,
the patch tears away from it. Then new from the

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old and worse rent is maid. And no man ever
puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does,
the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine
and the skins are lost. But new wine is put
into fresh skins. One sabbath, as Jesus was walking through
the cornfields, his disciples began to pick the ears of

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grain as they went along. Look, the pharisees said to him,
why are they doing what is not allowed on the Sabbath?

Speaker 2 (10:26):
Have you never read?

Speaker 1 (10:27):
Answered Jesus what David did when he was in want
and hungry? He and his companions I went into the
House of God and the time of Abiathar the high priest,
and ate the consecrated bread, which only the priests are
allowed to eat, and gave some to his comrades as well.
Then Jesus added, the Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath. So the son of Man

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is lord even of the Sabbath. Chapter three. On another occasion,
Jesus went into a synagogue where there was a man
whose hand was withered, and they watched Jesus closely to
see if he would cure the man on the sabbath,
so that they might have a charge to bring against him.
Stand Out in the middle, Jesus said to the man
with the withered hand, and to the people, he said,

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is it allowable to do good on the sabbath or harm?
To save a life or destroy it? As they remained silent,
Jesus looked round at them in anger, grieving at the
hardness of their hearts, and said to the man, stretch
out your hand. The man stretched it out, and his
hand had become sound. Immediately on leaving the synagogue, the

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Pharisees and the Herodians united in laying a plot against
Jesus to put him to death.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Then Jesus went.

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Away with his disciples to the sea, followed by a
great number of people from Galilee, and a great number,
hearing of all that he was doing, came to him
from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Edom, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the country round Tire and Sidon. So Jesus
told his disciples to keep a small boat close by,
for fear the crowd would crush him, for he had

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cured many of them, and so people kept crowding upon him,
that all who were afflicted might touch him. The foul
spirits too, Whenever they caught sight of him, flung themselves
down before him and screamed out, you are the son
of God. But he repeatedly warned them not to make
him known. And Jesus made his way up the hill
and called those whom he wished, and they went to

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him and he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,
that they might be with him, and that he might
send them out as messengers to preach and with power
to drive out demons. So he appointed the twelve Peter,
which was the name that Jesus gave to Simon, James,
the son of Zebediah, and his brother John, to whom
he gave the name of Boanerges, which means the thunderers, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,

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James the son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and
Judas Scariot, the man that betrayed him. Jesus went into
a house, and again a crowd collected, so that they
were not able even to eat their food. When his
relations heard of it, they went to take charge of him,
for they said that he was out of his mind.

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And the teachers of the law, who had come down
from Jerusalem, said, he has beels above in him, and
he drives the demons out by the help of beels
above their chief. So Jesus called them to him and
answered them in parables, how can Satan drive out Satan?
When a kingdom is divided against itself? It cannot last.

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And when a household is divided against itself, it will
not be able to last. So if Satan is in
revolt against himself and is divided, he cannot last. His
end is come. No man who has got into a
strong man's house can carry off his goods without first
securing him, And not till then will he plunder his house.
I tell you that men will be forgiven everything their

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sins and all the slanders that they utter. But whoever
slanders the Holy Spirit remains unforgiven to the end, he
has to answer for an enduring sin. This was said
in reply to the charge that he had a foul
spirit in him. And his mother and his brothers came
and stood outside and sent to ask him to come

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to them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and
some of them said to him, Look, your mother and
your brothers are outside asking for you. Who is my
mother and my brothers?

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Was his reply.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
Then he looked around on the people sitting in a
circle around him, and said, here are my mother and
my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my
brother and sister and mother.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Chapter four.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
Jesus again began to teach by the sea, and as
an immense crowd was gathering around him, he got into
a boat and sat at it on the sea, while
all the people were on the shore at the water's edge.
Then he taught them many truths and parables, And in
the course of his tea he said to them listen.
The sower went out to sew, and presently, as he

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was sowing, some of the seed fell upon the path,
and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell
on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and
having no depth of soil, sprang up at once, But
when the sun rose, it was scorched, and, having no root,
withered away. Some of the seed fell among brambles, but
the brambles shot up and completely choked it, and it

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yielded no return. Some fell into good soil, and shooting
up and growing, yielded a return amounting to thirty sixty
and even a hundredfold. And Jesus said, let any one
who has ears to hear with hear. Afterwards, when he
was alone, his followers in the twelve asked him about

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his parables, and he said, to you, the hidden truth
of the Kingdom of God has been imparted but to
those who are outside it, all teaching takes the form
of parables, that though they have eyes, they may see
without perceiving, and though they have ears, they may hear
without understanding, lest someday they should turn and be forgiven.

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You do not know the meaning of this parable, he
went on, then how will you understand all the other parables?
The sower sows the message. The people meant by the
seed that falls along the path are these where the
message is sown, But as soon as they have heard it,
Satan immediately comes and carries away the message that has
been sown in them. So too, those meant by the

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seed sown on the rocky places are the people who,
when they have heard the message at once, accept it joyfully.
But as they have no root, they stand only for
a short time, and so when trouble or persecution arises
on account of the message, they fall away at once.
Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different.
They are the people who hear the message, but the

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cares of life, and the glamour of wealth, and the
cravings for many other things come in and completely choke
the message, so that it gives no return. But the
people meant by the seed sown on the good ground
are those who hear the message and welcome it and
yield a return thirty sixty and even a hundredfold. And
Jesus said to them, is a lamp brought to be

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put under the corn measure or under the couch, instead
of being put on the lamp stand. Nothing is hidden
unless it is some day to come to light, Nor
was anything ever kept hidden, but that it should some
day come into the light of day. Let all who
have ears to hear with here take care what you
listen to, said Jesus. The measure you meet will be

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meted out to you, and more will be added for you.
For to those who have more will be given, while
from those who have nothing, even what they have will
be taken away. Jesus also said, this is what the
Kingdom of God is like. Like a man who has
scattered seed on the ground, and then sleeps by night
and rises by day while the seed is shooting up

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and growing, he knows not how the ground bears the
crop of itself, first the blade, then the ear, and
then the full grain in the ear. But as soon
as the crop is ready, immediately he puts in the sickle,
because harvest has come. Jesus also said, to what can
we liken the Kingdom of God? Or by what can
we illustrate it? Perhaps by the growth of a mustard seed.

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This seed, when sown in the ground, though it is
smaller than all other seeds, Yet when son shoots up
and becomes larger than any other herb and puts out
great branches, so that even the wild birds can roost
in its shelter. With many such parables, Jesus used to
speak to the people of his message as far as
they were able to receive it, and to them he

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never used to speak except in parables, But in private,
to his own disciples he explained everything. In the evening
of the same day, Jesus said to them, let us
go across. So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him
with them. Just as he was in the boat, and
there were other boats with him, a violent squall came on,

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and the winds kept dashing into the boat, so that
the boat was actually filling. Jesus was in the stern,
asleep upon the cushion, and the disciples roused him and cried, teacher,
is it nothing to you that we are lost. Jesus
rose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, hush,
be still, And the wind dropped, and a great calm followed.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Why are you so timid? He exclaimed, have you no faith? Yet?

Speaker 1 (19:39):
But they were struck with great awe and said to
one another, who can this be that even the wind
and the sea obey him? Chapter five. And they came
to the other side of the sea, the country of
the Garrisones. And as soon as Jesus had got out
of the boat, he met a man coming out of
the tombs, who was under the power of a foul spirit,
and who.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
Made his home in the tombs.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
No one had ever been able to secure him, even
with a chain, for though he had many times been
left secured with fetters and chains, he had snapped the
chains and broken the fetters to pieces, and no one
could master him. Night and day alike, he was continually
shrieking in the tombs and among the hills, and cutting
himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,

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he ran and bowed to the ground before him, shrieking
out in a loud voice, what do you want with me, Jesus,
Son of the Most High God? For God's sake, do
not torment me. For Jesus had said to him, come
out of the man, you foul spirit.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
And he asked him, what is your name?

Speaker 1 (20:42):
My name he said is Legion, for there are many
of us. And he begged Jesus again and again not
to send them away out of that country. There was
a large drove of pigs close by, feeding on the hillside,
and the spirits begged Jesus send us into the pigs,
that we may take possession of them. Jesus gave them leave.

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They came out and entered into the pigs, and the drove,
about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep slope
into the sea and were drowned.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
In the sea.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
On this the men who tended them ran away and
carried the news to the town and to the country round,
and the people went to see what had happened. When
they came to Jesus, they found the possessed man sitting there,
clothed and in his right mind, the very man who
had the legion in him, and they were awe struck.
Then those who had seen it related to them all
that had happened to the possessed man, as well as

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about the pigs, upon which they began to beg Jesus
to leave their neighborhood. As Jesus was getting into the boat,
the possessed man begged him to let him stay with him,
but Jesus refused. Go back to your home, to your
own people, he said, and tell them of all that
the Lord has done for you, and how he took
pity on you. So the man went and began to

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proclaim in the district of the ten towns all that
Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed. By
the time Jesus had recrossed in the boat to the
opposite shore, a great number of people had gathered to
meet him and were standing by the sea. And one
of the presidents of the synagogue, whose name was Jyrus,
came and as soon as he saw Jesus, threw himself

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at his feet with repeated entreaties. My little daughter, he said,
is at the point of death. I beg you to
come and place your hands on her, that her life
may be spared. So Jesus went with him. A great
number of people followed Jesus and kept pressing round him. Meanwhile,
a woman who for twelve years had suffered from hymorrhage

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and undergone much at the hands of many doctors, spending
all she had without obtaining any relief. But on the contrary,
growing worse, heard about Jesus, came behind in the crowd
and touched his cloak. If I can only touch his clothes,
she said, I shall get well. At once the mischief
was stopped, and she felt in herself that she was

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cured of her complaint. Jesus at once became aware of
the power that had gone out from him, and, turning
round in the crowd, he said, who touched my clothes?
You see the people pressing round you, exclaimed his disciples,
And yet you say who touched me? But Jesus looked
about to see who had done it. Then the woman,
in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her,

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came and threw herself down before him and told him
the whole truth.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
Daughter.

Speaker 1 (23:24):
He said, your faith has delivered you. Go and peace
be with you, be free from your complaint. Before he
had finished speaking, some people from the house of the
president of the synagogue came and said, your daughter is dead.
Why should you trouble to teach your further? But Jesus,
overhearing what they were saying, said to the president of

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the synagogue, do not be afraid, only have faith, and
he allowed no one to accompany him except Peter James
and John, the brother of James. Presently they reached the
president's house, where Jesus saw a scene of confusion, people
weeping and wailing incessantly. Why this confusion and weeping, he said,
on entering, the little child is not dead, she is asleep.

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They began to laugh at him, but he sent them
all out, and then with the child's father and mother
and his companions, went into the room where she was lying.
Taking her hand, Jesus said to her, tay litha ghoom,
which means, little girl, I am speaking to you.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
Rise.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
The little girl stood up at once and began to
walk about, for she was twelve years old, and as
soon as they saw it they were overwhelmed with amazement.
But Jesus repeatedly cautioned them not to let any one
know of it, and told them to give her something
to eat.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
End of Chapters one through five.

Speaker 1 (25:00):
M