Matthew 13:19–22

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Let us see, in concrete terms, what it is to be “on the road.” (Matthew 13:19–22) Every road is somehow hard and useless, because it lies under everyone’s feet; none of the seed is heaped into it, but lies on the surface, ready for any birds that want to snatch it. So those who have a hard, packed mind in themselves do not receive the divine seed, but have become a road trampled by unclean spirits — for these are “the birds of the heaven.” By heaven here we mean the air, in which the spirits of wickedness move, by whom the good seed is also snatched and destroyed.

And who are those on the rock? Some hold the faith in themselves without investigation and do not let the mind down into testing the mystery. These have a light, rootless piety toward God. If Christian affairs are carried with a fair wind and no trial storms them, they scarcely keep the faith in themselves then; but when persecution disturbs them, they have a soul unwilling to fight.

Greek

Ἴδωμεν ὡς ἐν παχέσι πράγμασι, τί ἐστι τὸ ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ εἶναι. σκληρὰ καὶ ἀνόνητός πώς ἐστι πᾶσα ὁδὸς διὰ τὸ τοῖς ἁπάντων ὑπο κεῖσθαι ποσὶ καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῇ ἐγχώννυται τῶν σπερμάτων, κεῖται δὲ μᾶλλον ἐπιπολῆς καὶ τοῖς ἐθέλουσι τῶν πτηνῶν ἕτοιμα εἰς διαρπαγήν. οὐκοῦν οἳ τὸν νοῦν ἔχουσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς σκληρὸν καὶ οἷον πεπιλημένον, οὗτοι τὸν θεῖον οὐ παραδέχονται σπόρον, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύ μασι πεπατημένη γεγόνασιν ὁδός· ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι "τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρα νοῦ". οὐρανὸν δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὸν ἀέρα νοοῦμεν, ἐν ᾧ τὰ τῆς πονηρίας πνεύ ματα στρέφονται, ὑφ' ὧν καὶ τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα διαρπάζεται καὶ ἀπόλλυ ται. τίνες δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας; εἰσί τινες ἀπεριέργως ἔχοντες τὴν πίστιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, τὸν δὲ νοῦν οὐ καθιέντες εἰς τὴν τοῦ μυστηρίου βά σανον. οὗτοι κούφην τε καὶ ἀνάρριζον ἔχουσι τὴν εἰς θεὸν εὐσέβειαν. κἂν μὲν ἐξ οὐρίας φέρηται τὰ Χριστιανῶν πράγματα οὐδενὸς αὐτὰ καταχειμάζοντος πειρασμοῦ, σῴζουσιν τηνικάδε μόλις ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκεῖνοι τὴν πίστιν, θορυβήσαντος δὲ διωγμοῦ ἀφιλοπόλεμον ἔχουσιν τὴν ψυ χήν.

About this text

Catena fragments on Matthew (CPG 5206). Contents follow Matthew chapter and verse. Edition fragment numbers stay in About this text and under each passage.

English follows the named copy-text (Aegean/khazarzar Migne PG 72 extract). Other prints were checked as noted; no silent merge of recensions.

Witnesses

Copy-text Migne PG 72 Commentarii in Matthaeum (Aegean Digital Patrologia / khazarzar) (Greek · CPG 5206 catena fragments (290 parsed heads))
Checked print matia.gr mirror of same Aegean extract (Greek · Byte-identical PDF; integrity check only)
Checked print Internet Archive PG 72 volume OCR (bim … 1859_72) (Greek (OCR damaged) · Locus confirmation only; not used as reading text)

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.