Now when Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judea in the days of King Herod, stargazers came from the East to Jerusalem

Now when King Herod heard of it, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Then Herod secretly sent for the stargazers, and found out from them exactly the time the star appeared.

Then, as they had been divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they set out to their own country by another route.

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Wake up! Tenderly take the child and His mother, and escape to Egypt; stay there until I further direct you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him."

he stayed there until Herod's death, so as to fulfill what the Lord had said by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my Son."

Then Herod, because he saw that a trick had been played on him by the stargazers, was very angry, and sent and slaughtered all the boy babies in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood, from two years down, in accordance with the time which he had found out from the stargazers.

"A sob was heard in Ramah, weeping and great wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they were gone."

But after Herod died, an angel of the Lord in a dream appeared to Joseph in Egypt,

But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there; and because he was divinely warned in a dream, he set out for the region of Galilee.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He set out for Galilee.

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

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.'

"You have heard it was said, 'You must not commit adultery.'

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman so as to have an evil desire for her at once has already committed adultery with her in his heart,

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not swear falsely, but you must perform your oaths as a religious duty.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

And whenever you pray, you must not keep on repeating set phrases, as the heathen do, for they suppose that they will be heard in accordance with the length of their prayers,

For wherever your treasure is, there too your heart will be.

But narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life, and few are they that find it.

When Jesus heard it, He was astounded, and said to His followers, "I solemnly say to you, I have not found, in a single case among the Jews, so great faith as this.

And when He heard it, He said, "It is not well, but sick people that have to send for a doctor.

When He saw the crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them, because they were tired and scattered like sheep without a shepherd.

Now when John in prison heard of the doings of the Christ, he sent this message by his disciples:

Put on my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man is not driving out demons except by the help of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons."

You brood of vipers! How can you, wicked as you are, say anything that is good? For the mouth talks about the things that fill the heart.

For as Jonah was in the whale's stomach for three days and nights, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

While He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brothers had taken their stand outside, trying hard to get to speak to Him.

When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and carries off the seed that was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

At that time Herod the governor heard the reports about Jesus,

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him out of the way by putting him in prison, just to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the guests. Herod was fascinated by her,

When Jesus heard it, He left there in a boat for a quiet place, to be alone. And when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him on foot from the towns.

So when He got out of the boat and saw a great crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, and He cured their sick people.

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they make the man foul.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, immorality, stealing, false witnessing, irreverent speech.

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for it is now three days they have been staying with me, and they have nothing at all left to eat, and I fear they might give out on the way home."

When the disciples heard it, they fell upon their faces, for they were terribly frightened.

And his master's heart was moved with pity, and he let the slave go free with his debt cancelled.

And when the young man heard that, he went away in deep distress, for he owned a great deal of property.

Jesus said to His disciples, "I solemnly say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.

But when the disciples heard this, they were dumbfounded, and asked, "Who then can be saved!"

When the other ten heard of it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

And two blind men sitting by the roadside heard that Jesus was passing and cried out, "Do pity us, Lord, you Son of David!"

Then Jesus' heart was moved with pity, and He touched their blinded eyes, and at once they could see again, and followed Him.

When the high priests and the Pharisees heard His stories, they knew that He was speaking about them,

And when they heard it, they were dumbfounded; and they left Him and went away.

And when the crowds heard this, they were dumbfounded at His teaching.

Now the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, and so they had a meeting.

And He answered him, "'You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind.'

Then the man who had received the one thousand came up and said, 'Master, I knew you were a hard man, who reaped where you had not sown, who gathered where you had not threshed.

And He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons along with Him and He began to give way to His grief and distress of heart.

Then He said to them, "My heart is breaking, it almost kills me! You must stay here and keep watching with me."

Then the high priest tore his clothes, and said, "He has uttered blasphemy, What more evidence do we need? You have just heard His blasphemy.

Some of the bystanders, when they heard it, said, "He is calling for Elijah."

And His heart was moved with pity for him, so He stretched out His hand and touched him, and said, "I do want to! Be cured!"

Jesus heard it, and said to them, "Not well but sick people have to send for the doctor. It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."

His kinsmen heard of it and came over to get hold of Him, for they kept saying, "He has gone crazy."

heard the reports about Jesus. So she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His coat,

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue. And the people were dumbfounded when they heard Him, and said, "Where did He get all these things? What sort of wisdom is it that has been given Him? And such mighty deeds are done by Him!

King Herod heard of Him, for His name was now on everybody's lips, and people were saying that John the Baptist had risen from the dead, and that this was why such mighty powers were working in Him.

But when Herod heard of Him, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead."

For this very Herod had sent and seized John and bound him and put him in prison, just to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.

For John kept saying to Herod, "It is not right for you to be living with your brother's wife."

for Herod stood in awe of John, because he knew that he was an upright and holy man, and so he protected him. When he heard him speak, he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him.

When a holiday came and Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to his state officials, his military officers, and other leading men of Galilee,

Herodias' daughter came in and danced for them, and fascinated Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you."

When his disciples heard of it, they came and carried off his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

So when He got out of the boat, He saw a great crowd waiting, and His heart was moved with pity at the sight of them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and so He proceeded to teach them a number of things.

and hurried all over the countryside and began to bring the sick to Him on their pallets, wherever they heard He was.

because it does not reach his heart but only his stomach, and then passes off into the waste?" In thus speaking He made all foods clean.

On the contrary, a woman, whose little daughter had a foul spirit, at once heard about Him and came and flung herself at His feet.

"My heart goes out in pity for these people, for they have been staying with me three days now, and they have nothing left to eat.

Then He kept warning them by saying, "Look out! Keep on guarding yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have money to get into the kingdom of God!"

His disciples were startled at this statement. But Jesus again said to them as He continued the topic, "My children, how hard it is to get into the kingdom of God!

When the other ten heard of it, they were at first very indignant at James and John.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, you son of David, do pity me!"

Then the high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they kept looking for some way to destroy Him, for they were afraid of Him, for everybody was swept off his feet at what He said.

I solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Get up and throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt at all in his heart, but has faith that what he says will take place, shall have it.

and you must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength.'

and to love Him with one's whole heart, one's whole understanding, and one's whole strength, and to love one's neighbor as one loves himself is far more than all the burnt-offerings and sacrifices."

And they began to show that they were hurt and to ask Him one by one, "It cannot be I, can it?"

And he took Peter, James, and John along with Him, and He began to feel completely dazed and to realize His anguish of heart,

and so He said to them, "My heart is breaking, it almost kills me! You must stay here and keep watching."

"We ourselves have heard Him say, 'I will tear down this temple built by men's hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.'"

Some of the bystanders when they heard it said, "Listen! He is calling for Elijah!"

But although they had heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

they will take snakes in their hands; even if they drink anything poisonous, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well."

In the days when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest whose name was Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah. His wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and so they were rejoicing with her.

and all who heard them kept them in their hearts, and said, "What then is this child to be?" for the hand of the Lord was with him.

Because the heart of our God is merciful. And so the day will dawn upon us from on high,

And all who heard it were astounded at what was told them by the shepherds,

but Mary continued to treasure it all up and to ponder it in her heart.

Then the shepherds went back continuing to give glory and praise to God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.