The Diatessaron of Tatian — Section 17

St. Cyril of Alexandria

1. 0. Greeting

1 [[Matthew 13.24]] And he set forth to them another parable, and said, The kingdom of heaven is 2 like a man who sowed good seed in his field; [[Matthew 13.25]] but when men slept, his enemy came 3 and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. [[Matthew 13.26]] And when the blade sprang up 4 and brought forth fruit, there were noticed the tares also. [[Matthew 13.27]] And the servants of the master of the house came, and said to him, Our lord, did you not sow good 5 [Arabic, p. 66] seed in your field? Whence are there tares in it? [[Matthew 13.28]] He said to them, An enemy has done this. His servants said to him, Will you that we go 6 and separate it? [[Matthew 13.29]] He said to them, Perhaps, when you separate the tares, you would 7 root up with them wheat also. [[Matthew 13.30]] Leave them to grow both together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say unto the reapers, Separate the tares first, and bind them in bundles to be burned with fire; and gather the wheat into my barns.

8, 9 [[Matthew 13.31]] a And he set forth to them another parable, and said, [[Luke 13.18]] b To what is the kingdom of 10 God like? And to what shall I liken it? And in what parable shall I set it forth? It 11 is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and planted in his field: and of the number of the things that are sown in the earth it is smaller than all of the things 12 which are sown, which are upon the earth; but when it is grown, it is greater than all the herbs, and produces large branches, so that the birds of heaven make their nests in its branches.

13, 14 And he set forth to them another parable: [[Luke 13.20]] b To what shall I liken the kingdom of 15 God? [[Matthew 13.33]] b It is like the leaven which a woman took, and kneaded into three measures of flour, until the whole of it was leavened.

16 And Jesus spoke all that to the multitudes by way of parables, according as they 17 were able to hear. And without parables spoke he not unto them; that the saying of the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:

> I will open my mouth in parables; And I will utter secrets which were before the foundations of the world.

18 [[Mark 4.34]] b But he explained to his disciples privately everything.

19 [[Matthew 13.36]] Then Jesus left the multitudes, and came to the house. And his disciples came unto him, and said to him, Explain unto us that parable about the tares 20 [Arabic, p. 67] and the field. [[Matthew 13.37]] He answered and said to them, He that sowed good seed is 21 the Son of man; [[Matthew 13.38]] and the field is the world; and the good seed are the children of the 22 kingdom; [[Matthew 13.39]] and the tares are the children of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is Satan; and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 23 [[Matthew 13.40]] And as the tares are separated and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of 24 this world. [[Matthew 13.41]] The Son of man shall send hi