So the whole number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen, and from David to the Babylonian Exile, fourteen, and from the Babylonian Exile to the Christ, fourteen.

But while he was thinking of doing this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary, your wife, to your home, for it is through the influence of the holy Spirit that she is to become a mother.

She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for it is he who is to save his people from their sins."

All this happened in fulfilment of what the Lord said through the prophet,

"The maiden will be pregnant and will have a son, And they will name him Immanuel."?? word which means "God with us."

When King Herod heard of this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

So he called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ was to be born.

" 'And you, Bethlehem in Judah's land, You are by no means least important among the leading places of Judah, For from you will come a leader Who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "

Then Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologers, and he was very angry, and he sent and made away with all the boys in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood who were two years old or under, for that was the tune he had learned from the astrologers by his inquiries.

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole Jordan valley went out to him,

Then produce fruit that will be consistent with your professed repentance!

I am baptizing you in water in token of your repentance, but he who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not fit to carry his shoes. He will baptize you in the holy Spirit and in fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean up his threshing-floor, and store his wheat in his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with inextinguishable fire."

and said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down, for the Scripture says, " 'He will give his angels orders about you, And they will lift you up with their hands So that you may never strike your foot against a stone!' "

Again the devil took him to a very high mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor,

and said to him, "I will give all this to you, if you will fall on your knees and do homage to me."

He said to them, "Come and follow me, and I will make you fish for men!"

Then he went all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing any disease or sickness among the people.

Word went all through Syria about him, and people brought to him all who were suffering with any kind of disease, or who were in great pain??emoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics??nd he cured them.

"Blessed are the mourners, for they will be consoled!

"Blessed are the humble-minded, for they will possess the land!

"Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for uprightness, for they will be satisfied!

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy!

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God!

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called God's sons!

Be glad and exult over it, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way they persecuted the prophets who went before you!

Your light must burn in that way among men so that they will see the good you do, and praise your Father in heaven.

For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.

Anyone, therefore, who weakens one of the slightest of these commands, and teaches others to do so, will be ranked lowest in the Kingdom of Heaven; but anyone who observes them and teaches others to do so will be ranked high in the Kingdom of Heaven.

For I tell you that unless your uprightness is far superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never even enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

"You have heard that the men of old were told 'You shall not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.'

But I tell you that anyone who gets angry with his brother will have to answer to the court, and anyone who speaks contemptuously to his brother will have to answer to the great council, and anyone who says to his brother 'You cursed fool!' will have to answer for it in the fiery pit!

Be quick and come to terms with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

I tell you, you will never get out again until you have paid the last penny!

But if your right eye makes you fall, tear it out and throw it away, for you might better lose one part of your body than have it all thrown into the pit!

If your right hand makes you fall, cut it off and throw it away, for you might better lose one part of your body than have it all go down to the pit!

But I tell you not to swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne,

"But take care not to do your good deeds in public for people to see, for, if you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven.

So when you are going to give to charity, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and the streets, to make people praise them. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get!

so that your charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, to let people see them. I tell you, that is the only reward they will get!

But when you pray, go into your own room, and shut the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

And when you pray, do not repeat empty phrases as the heathen do, for they imagine that their prayers will be heard if they use words enough.

Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven!

For if you forgive others when they offend you, your heavenly Father will forgive you too.

But if you do not forgive others when they offend you, your heavenly Father will not forgive you for your offenses.

"When you fast, do not put on a gloomy look, like the hypocrites, for they neglect their personal appearance to let people see that they are fasting. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get.

so that no one may see that you are fasting, except your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret, will reward you.

For wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is sound, your whole body will be light,

but if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be dark. If, therefore, your very light is darkness, how deep the darkness will be!

No slave can belong to two masters, for he will either hate one and love the other, or stand by one and make light of the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about life, wondering what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body, wondering what you will have to wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body than clothes?

But which of you with all his worry can add a single hour to his life?

and yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendor was never dressed like one of them.

But if God so beautifully dresses the wild grass, which is alive today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more surely clothe you, you who have so little faith?

For these are all things the heathen are in pursuit of, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need all this.

But you must make his kingdom, and uprightness before him, your greatest care, and you will have all these other things besides.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries of its own. Let each day be content with its own ills.

For you will be judged by the standard you judge by, and men will pay you back with the same measure you have used with them.

How can you say to your brother, 'Just let me get that speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a beam in your own?

"Do not give what is sacred to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

Ask, and what you ask will be given you. Search, and you will find what you search for. Knock, and the door will open to you.

Which of you men when his son asks him for some bread will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake?

So if you, bad as you are, know enough to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give what is good to those who ask him for it!

It is not everyone who says to me 'Lord! Lord!' who will get into the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

Many will say to me on that Day, 'Lord! Lord! Was it not in your name that we prophesied, and by your name that we drove out demons, and by your name that we did many mighty acts?'

Then I will say to them plainly, 'I never knew you! Go away from me, you who do wrong!'

"Everyone, therefore, who listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it, will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.

And anyone who listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

He said to him, "I will come and cure him."

But the captain answered, "I am not a suitable person, sir, to have you come under my roof, but simply say the word, and my servant will be cured.

And I tell you, many will come from the east and from the west and take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven,

while the heirs to the kingdom will be driven into the darkness outside, there to weep and grind their teeth!"

In the evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove the spirits out with a word, and cured all who were sick,

And a scribe came up and said to him, "Master, I will follow you wherever you are going!"

And he said to them, "Begone!" And they came out and went into the pigs. And suddenly the whole drove rushed over the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the water.

And the men who tended them ran away and went off to the town and told it all, and the news about the men possessed by demons.

And the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to go away from their district.

While Jesus was at home at table, a number of tax-collectors and irreligious people came in and joined Jesus and his disciples at table.

But he heard it, and said, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor!

Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees are keeping the fast, while your disciples are not keeping it?"

Jesus said to them, "Can wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and they will fast then.

But no one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old coat, for the patch will tear away from the coat, and make the hole worse than ever.

Just as he said this to them, an official came up and bowing low before him said to him, "My daughter has just died. But come! Lay your hand on her and she will come to life!"

For she said to herself, "If I can just touch his cloak, I will get well."

And Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, "Courage, my daughter! Your faith has cured you!" And from that time the woman was well.

And the news of this spread all over that part of the country.

But they went out and spread the news about him all over that part of the country.

Jesus went round among all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing any disease or illness.

And as you go into his house, wish it well.

If the house deserves it, the peace you wish it will come over it, but if it does not deserve it, your blessing will come back upon yourselves.

And where no one will welcome you, or listen to you, leave that house or town and shake off its very dust from your feet.

I tell you, the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will fare better on the Day of Judgment than that town.

But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues,

and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen.

But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say,

for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you.

One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death.