Diatessaron

Tatian, ANF 9

This said Jesus, and went forth with his disciples to a place which was called …

This said Jesus, and went forth with his disciples to a place which was called Gethsemane,¹ on² the side that is in the plain³ of Kidron, the mountain,⁴ the place in which was a garden; and he entered thither, he and his disciples. 2And Judas the betrayer knew that place: for Jesus oft-times met with his disciples there. 3And when Jesus came to the place, he said to his disciples, Sit ye here, so that I may go and pray; and pray ye, that ye enter not into temptations. 4And he took with him Cephas and the sons of Zebedee together, 5James and John; and he began to look sorrowful, and to be anxious. 6And he said unto them, My soul is distressed unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me. 7And he withdrew from them a little, the space of a stone’s throw; 8and he kneeled,⁵ and fell on his face, and prayed, so that, if it were possible, this hour might pass⁶ him. 9And he said, Father, thou art able for all things; if thou wilt, let this cup pass me: but let not my will be done, but let thy will be done. 10And he came to his disciples, and found them sleeping; and he said unto Cephas, Simon, didst thou sleep? 11Could ye thus not for one hour watch with me? 12Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptations: the spirit is willing and ready, but the body is weak.⁷ 13And he went again a second time, and prayed, and said, My Father, if it is not possible with regard to⁸ this cup that it pass, except I drink it, thy will be done. 14And he returned again, and found his disciples sleeping, for their eyes were heavy from their grief and anxiety; and they knew not what to say to him. 15And he left them, and went away again, and prayed a third time, and said the very same word. 16And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, encouraging him. 17And being afraid⁹ he prayed continuously:¹⁰ and his sweat¹¹ became like a stream of blood, and fell on the ground. 18Then he rose from his prayer, and came to his disciples, and found them sleeping. 19And he said unto them, Sleep now, and rest: 20the end hath arrived,¹² and the hour hath come; and behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 21Arise, let us go:¹³ for he hath come that betrayeth me.

And while he was still speaking, came Judas the betrayer, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude carrying lanterns and torches¹⁴ and swords and staves, from the chief priests and scribes and eiders of the people, and with him the footsoldiers of the Romans.¹⁵ 23And Judas the betrayer gave them a sign, and said, He whom I shall kiss, he is he: take him with care,¹⁶ and lead him away.¹⁷

And Jesus, because he knew everything that should come upon him, went forth unto them. 25And immediately Judas the betrayer came to Jesus, and said, Peace, my Master; and kissed him. 26And Jesus said unto him, Judas, with a kiss betrayest thou the Son of man? 27Was it for that thou camest, my friend? And Jesus said to those that came unto him, Whom seek ye? 28They said unto him, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said unto them, I am he. And Judas the betrayer also was standing with them. 29And when Jesus said unto them, I am he, they retreated backward, and fell to the ground. 30And Jesus asked them again, Whom seek ye? They answered, Jesus the Nazarene. 31Jesus said unto them, I told you that I am he: and if ye seek me, let these go away: that the word might be fulfilled which he spake, 32Of those whom thou hast given me I lost not even one. 33Then came those that were with Judas, and seized Jesus, and took him.

And when his disciples saw what happened, they said, Our Lord, shall we smite them with swords? 35And Simon Cephas had a sword, and he drew it, and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of that servant was Malchus. 36Jesus said unto Cephas, The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 37Put the sword into its sheath: for all that take with¹⁸ the sword shall die by the sword. 38Thinkest¹⁹ thou that I am not able to ask of my Father, and he shall now raise up for me more than²⁰ twelve tribes of angels? 39Then how should the scriptures which were spoken be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 40Your leave in this.²¹ 41And he touched the ear of him that was struck, and healed it. And in that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, As they come out against a thief are ye come out against me with swords and staves to take me? Daily was I with you in the temple sitting teaching, and ye took me not: 42but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. 43And that was, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. 44Then the disciples all left him, and fled. And the footsoldiers and the officers and the soldiers²² of the Jews seized Jesus, and came. 45And a certain²³ young man followed him, and he was wrapped in a towel, naked: 46and they seized him; so he left the towel, and fled naked. 47Then they took Jesus, and bound him, and brought him to Annas first; because he was the father in law of Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year. 48And Caiaphas was he that counselled the Jews, that it was necessary that one man should die instead of the people.

And Simon Cephas and one of the other disciples followed Jesus. And the chief priest knew that disciple, and he entered with Jesus into the court; but Simon was standing without at the door. 50And that other disciple, whom the chief priest knew, went out and spake unto her that kept the door, and she brought Simon in. 51And when the maid that kept the door saw Simon, she looked stedfastly at him, and said unto him, Art not thou also one of the disciples of this man, I mean Jesus the Nazarene? 52But he denied, and said, Woman, I know him not, neither know I even what thou sayest. 53And the servants and the soldiers rose, and made a fire in the middle of the court, that they might warm themselves; for it was cold. 54And when the fire burned up, they sat down around it. 55And Simon also came, and sat down with them to warm himself, that he might see the end of what should happen.

Notes

Matt. xxvi. 36.
Vat. MS. has and on.
The word rendered plain (cf. Dozy, Supplement, sub voc.), which occurs also in the text of Ibn-aṭ-Ṭayyib (loc. cit., f. 362b), properly means lake. The word in the Jerusalem Lectionary means valley as well as stream. For the whole clause cf. the text of Jo. 18, in Die vier Evangelien, arabisch, aus der Wiener Handschrift, edited by P. de Lagarde, 1864.
cf. Sinaitic Syriac and Luke xxii. 39.
Lit. fell on his knees.
Lit. let this hour pass. The Borg. MS. omits him.
Lit. diseased. The Arabic word is rare in the sense required by the context (cf. Pesh.
This reading would perhaps more easily arise out of the Sinaitic than out of the Peshitta.
cf. Peshitta. Or, And although he was afraid.
The Peshitta (hardly Cur.) is capable of this interpretation.
cf. Syr., especially Peshitta.
cf. Syr., especially Peshitta.
cf. §4, 20, note.
John xviii. 3.
cf. Jo. 18, 3 (Jerusalem Lectionary). In Syriac Romans means soldiers. The Arabic footsoldiers might be man (singular).
cf. Syriac versions. Obviously we must supply a diacritical point over the last radical, or read the middle one as dhal.
Lit. him to -. Borg. MS. probably means bear him away.
With is doubtless an accidental repetition of by (the same Arabic particle) in the next clause.
The introductory interrogative particle may represent an original Or.
Vat. MS. omits than, and has more only in the margin by another hand.
The phrase is awkward. The rendering is different in the text (f. 292a, cf. Lagarde, Die vier Evv.), and yet again in the comment (f. 293a) of Ibn-aṭ-Ṭayyib’s Commentary.
cf. §11, 11.
Lit. one.