Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

In order that you may be able to satisfy yourself of the accuracy of the story which you have heard from the lips of others.]

It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, [there was] a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And {he had a wife} from the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elizabeth.

Just then an angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,

"This wise hath God dealt with me, in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the rebuke that I suffered among men."

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have received favor from God.

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.

For no word from God shall be void of power.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Then she spoke out in a loud voice and said, " [Mary], you are [truly] blessed [from] among [all] women, and the child you will bear [i.e., Jesus] is blessed [as well].

And from where is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For behold from now all generations call me blessed; because the Mighty One did great things unto me, and His name is holy;

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

And they said unto her - There is, no one from among thy kindred, who is called by this name!

Just then his mouth was capable of uttering speech, and his tongue could form words, and he praised God.

"May the Lord be praised, [who is] the God of the Israelites, for He has come to [the aid of] His people and bought them back [i.e., from bondage].

He has raised up a mighty Savior for us from the family of his servant David,

(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

[Suddenly] an angel from the Lord [was seen] standing near them and the glorious presence of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid.

And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying,

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

For mine eyes have seen the saviour sent from thee:

(and even a sword shall go through thine own soul;) so that the thoughts may be revealed from many hearts.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

She came forward at that very time and thanked God [in prayer] and spoke about the child [Jesus] to everyone [in the Temple area] who was expecting the redemption of the people of Jerusalem [i.e., their liberation from sin].

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year to attend the Passover Festival. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

during the High-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the Desert.

He went into the whole region around the Jordan River proclaiming that those immersed on the basis of their repentance [i.e., determining to change their hearts and lives] would receive the forgiveness of sins [from God].

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.’”

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].

And he said to them, Collect not one thing more than from what has been appointed for you.

And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse any one wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

tempted all the while by the Devil. During those days He ate nothing, and at the close of them He suffered from hunger.

Jesus answered him, and said, "Hence from me, Satan. For it is written, 'Thou shalt honour the Lord thy God, and him only serve.'"

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Then Jesus returned to Galilee with power from the Holy Spirit; and a report about Him spread through all the surrounding region.

And He proceeded to teach in their synagogues, winning praise from all.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because I am marked out by him to give good news to the poor; he has sent me to make well those who are broken-hearted; to say that the prisoners will be let go, and the blind will see, and to make the wounded free from their chains,

to announce the year of favor from the Lord."

And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

They rose up and threw Jesus out of the city, leading Him to the top of the hill on which the city was built, in order to throw Him down [from a cliff].

"Ha! What business do we have with you, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are; [you are] God's Holy One."

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out from him. And the demon, having thrown him down into the midst, came out from him without doing him any injury.

And he rose up from the synagogue, and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon's wife's mother was holden with a great fever; and they besought him for her.

He went near her, and with a sharp word he gave orders to the disease and it went away from her; and straight away she got up and took care of their needs.

At sunset all who had friends suffering from any illness brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on them all, one by one, and cured them.

And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.

and he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen, having come down from them, were washing their nets.

And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Then Jesus told Simon, "Stop being afraid. From now on you will be catching people." So when they brought the boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

But the report concerning him was spread abroad still more, and great crowds came together to hear, and to be healed from their infirmities.

One day as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal.

But because they could not find a [suitable] way to get him in [to the house] because of the people crowded [around], they went up to the housetop [Note: This was a flat area, where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with a stairway accessible from the outside] and lowered the man on his cot through the roof tiles into the presence of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.”

I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”

But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

And he spake also a parable unto them: No man rendeth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon an old garment; else he will rend the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

And when it was day, he called his disciples; and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles:

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured.

And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed them all.

And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].

Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

then you may triumph with joy; secure of being greatly rewarded in heaven: for such was the treatment the prophets received from their forefathers.

But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you].

To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also.

To every one that asks of thee, give; and from him that takes away what is thine, ask it not back.

And if ye lend to those from whom ye hope to receive, what thank is it to you? for even sinners lend to sinners that they may receive the like.

But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

And do not pass [hypocritical] judgment [on other people. See Matt. 7:1-5] and you will not receive such judgment [on yourselves]. And do not condemn [others] and you will not be condemned [yourselves]. Release people [i.e., from guilt for offending you] and you will be released [i.e., by God?]

And he gave them teaching in the form of a story, saying, Is it possible for one blind man to be guide to another? will they not go falling together into a hole?

How are you able to say to your brother, "Brother, allow [me] to remove the speck [that is] in your eye," [while] you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your [own] eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your [own] eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck [that is] in your brother's eye!

for every tree is known by its own fruit, for figs are not gathered from thorns, nor grapes vintaged from a bramble.

A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

When they reached Jesus they asked him earnestly to do this. "He deserves to have this favour from you," they said,

Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: