forth evil things. And I say unto you,
that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

THE DEMAND FOR A SIGN.

Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying,
"Teacher, we would see a sign from thee."

But he answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the
sign of Jonah the prophet; for even as Jonah became a sign unto the
Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The
queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this
generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than
Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the
preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

"But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth
through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. Then he
saith, 'I will return into my house whence I came out;' and when he is
come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and
taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and
they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh
worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil
generation."

And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of
the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto him, "Blessed is the
womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck."

But he said, "Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God
and keep it."

THE PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM

THE SOWER.

On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And
there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into
a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. And he
spake to them many things in parables, saying, "Hearken: Behold, the
sower went forth to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed
fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it. And other
fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway
it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: and when the sun
was risen, it was scorched; and because it