And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;

Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.

And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.

They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

Simon and his companions searched for Him;

they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

And they *came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.

Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.

And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.

John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”

They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him.

And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him;

for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!”

And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”

Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him.

A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.”

Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!

He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain;

because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;

For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”

And they began to implore Him to leave their region.

As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him.

And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore.

One of the synagogue officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet

and *implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”

And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.

Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”

And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was.

Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him.

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so;

for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison,

The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.

When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late;

But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;

for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”

When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him,

Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,

The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”

you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;

After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

[If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.

And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him.

Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;

and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”