Diatessaron

Tatian, ANF 9

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There be here now some standing that shall …

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There be here now some standing that shall not taste death, until they see the kingdom of God come¹ with strength, and the Son of man who cometh in his kingdom.

And after six days Jesus took Simon Cephas, and James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain, the three of them only. 3And while they were praying, Jesus changed, and became after the fashion of another person; 4and his face shone like the sun, and his raiment was very white like the snow, and as the light of lightning, so that nothing on earth can whiten² like it. 5And there appeared unto him Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. 6And they thought that the time of his decease which was to be accomplished at Jerusalem was come. 7And Simon and those that were with him were heavy in the drowsiness of steep; and with effort they roused themselves, and saw his glory, and those two men that were standing with him. 8And when they began to depart from him, Simon said unto Jesus, My Master, it is good for us to be here: 9and if thou wilt, we will make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah; not knowing what he said, because of the fear which took possession of them. 10And while he was yet saying that, a bright cloud overshadowed them. 11And when they saw Moses and Elijah that they had entered into that cloud, they feared again. 12And a voice was heard out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, whom I have chosen; hear ye therefore him. 13And when this voice was heard, Jesus was found alone. 14And the disciples, when they heard the voice, fell on their faces from the fear which took hold of them. 15And Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, be not afraid. 16And they lifted up their eyes, and saw Jesus as he was.

And when they went down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, and said unto them, Tell not what ye have seen to any man, until the Son of man rise from among the dead. 18And they kept the word within themselves, and told no man in those days what they had seen. 19And they reflected among themselves, What is this word which he spake unto us, I, when I am risen from among the dead? 20And his disciples asked him, and said, What is that which the scribes say, then, that Elijah must first come? 21He said unto them, Elijah cometh first to set in order everything, and as it was written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things, and be rejected. 22But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they knew him not, and have done unto him whatsoever they desired, as it was written of him. 23In like manner the Son of man is to suffer of them. 24Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them concerning John the Baptist.

And on that day whereon they came down from the mountain, there met him a multitude of many people standing with his disciples, and the scribes were discussing with them. 26And the people, when they saw Jesus, were perplexed,³ and in the midst of their joy hastened⁴ and saluted him. 27And on that day came certain of the Pharisees, and said unto him, Get thee out, and go hence; for Herod seeketh to kill thee. 28Jesus said unto them, Go ye and say to this fox, Behold, I am casting out demons, and I heal to-day and to-morrow, and on the third day I am perfected. 29Nevertheless I must be watchful⁵ to-day and to-morrow, and on the last day I shall depart; for it cannot be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.

And after that, there came to him a man from that multitude, and fell upon his knees, and said unto him, I beseech thee, my Lord, look upon my son; he is my only child: and the spirit cometh upon him suddenly. 31A lunacy⁶ hath come upon him, and he meeteth with evils. 32And when it cometh upon him, it beateth him about;⁷ and he foameth, and gnasheth his teeth, and wasteth;⁸ 33and many times it hath thrown him into the water and into the fire to destroy him, and it hardly leaveth him after bruising him. 34And I brought him near to thy disciples, and they could not heal him. 35Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, till when shall I be with you? and till when shall I bear with you? bring thy son hither. 36And he brought him unto him: and when the spirit saw him, immediately it beat him about; and he fell upon the ground, and was raging and foaming. 37And Jesus asked his father, How long is the time during which he hath been thus? He said unto him, From his youth until now. 38But, my Lord, help me wherein thou canst, and have mercy upon me. 39Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe! All things are possible to him that believeth. 40And immediately the father of the child cried out, weeping, and said, I believe, my Lord; help my lack of faith. 41And when Jesus saw the hastening of the people, and their coming at the sound, he rebuked that unclean spirit, and said to it, Thou dumb⁹ spirit that speakest not, I command thee,¹⁰ come out of him, and enter not again into him. 42And that spirit, devil,¹¹ cried out much, and bruised him, and came out; and that child fell as one dead, and many thought that he had died. 43But Jesus took him by his hand, and raised him up, and gave him to his father; and that child was healed from that hour. 44And the people all marvelled at the greatness of God.

And when Jesus entered into the house, his disciples came, and asked him privately,¹² and said unto him, Why were we not able to heal him? 46Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence; and it shall remove; and nothing shall overcome you. 47But it is impossible to cast out this kind by anything except by fasting and prayer.

And when he went forth thence, they passed through Galilee: and he would not that any man should know it.¹³ 49And he taught his disciples, and said unto them, 50Keep ye these sayings in your ears and your hearts: for the Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, he shall rise on the third day. 51But they knew not the word which he spake unto them, for it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they feared to ask him about this word. 52And they were exceeding sorrowful.

Notes

i.e., already come.
Or, become white. In the Pesh. the verb is transitive. In Sin. the clause is omitted.
This rendering assumes that the diacritical point is due to a clerical error. The text as printed can hardly be translated without forcing.
This Arabic word repeatedly represents a Syriac ran (cf. §53, 11). A different word is so used in §26, 21.
The Syriac word used in the Peshitta is here translated just as it was translated in §1, 79 (see note); but the Greek shows that in the present passage the Syriac word means go about (cf. Cur.).
Lit. The son-of-the-roof, a Syriac phrase meaning a demon of lunacy.
A word used in Arabic of the devil producing insanity; but here it reproduces the Peshitta.
Lit. becometh light; but a comparison with the Peshitta suggests that we should change one diacritical point and read withereth, as in Ibn-aṭ-Ṭayyib’s Commentary. An equally easy emendation would be wasteth.
In Syriac, but not in Arabic, the word means deaf or dumb, according to the context.
Ciasca’s Arabic follows Vat. MS. in inserting a that (pronoun) after thee.
Doubtless alternative renderings of the same Syriac word (demon).
Lit. between themselves and him.
Or, about him.