Now the birth of Christ Jesus occurred under these conditions: After His mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, but before they had lived together, she was found to be an expectant mother through the influence of the Holy Spirit.

But her husband, Joseph, because he was an upright man and did not want to disgrace her, decided to break the engagement by secretly divorcing her.

But just as this thought occurred to him, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for it is through the influence of the Holy Spirit that she has become an expectant mother.

but he did not live with her as a husband until she had had a son; and he named Him Jesus.

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.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

I am baptizing you in water to picture your repentance. But He that 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 out His threshing-floor and store His wheat in His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with fire that never can be put out."

But John tried to prevent Him, by saying, "I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me!"

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for this is the fitting way for both of us to do our full duty to God." Then he yielded to Him.

But he answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone can man live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

and said to Him, "Every bit of this I will give to you, if you will fall on your knees and worship me."

But He left Nazareth and made His home in Capernaum, by the sea, in the district of Zebulon and Naphtali,

And as He was going on from that point, He saw two others, brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets in order; and He called them.

And at once they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its strength, what can make it salt again? It is good for nothing but to be thrown away and trodden under foot.

People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house.

I have not come to set them aside but to fill them up to the brim. For I solemnly say to you, heaven and earth would sooner pass away than the dotting of an 'i' or the crossing of a 't' from the law, until it all becomes in force.

Whoever, therefore, breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others so to do, will be ranked as least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices them and teaches others so to do, will be ranked as great in the kingdom of heaven.

But I say to you: "Everyone who harbors malice against his brother, will have to answer to the court, and whoever speaks contemptuously to his brother, will have to answer to the supreme court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You cursed fool? will have to pay the penalty in the pit of torture.

Be quick to come to terms with your opponent while you are on the road to court with him, so that he may not turn you over to the judge and the judge turn you over to the officer, and you be put in prison.

I solemnly say to you, you will never get out at all until you have paid the last penny.

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,

So if your right eye causes you to do wrong, pluck it out of your way; for it is better to have one part of your body suffer loss than to have your whole body go down to the pit.

And if your right hand causes you to do wrong, cut it off and put it out of your way, for it is better to have one part of your body suffer loss than to have your whole body go down to the pit.

But I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any other ground than unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a wife who is thus divorced commits adultery.

"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.'

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

But your way of speaking must be a simple 'Yes' or 'No.' Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

But I tell you not to resist the one who injures you, but if anyone slaps you on one cheek, turn him the other, too;

But I tell you, practice loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors,

to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike.

But whenever you, a follower of mine, do a deed of charity, never let your own left hand know what your right hand is doing,

But whenever you, follower of mine, pray, you must go to your most private place, shut the door, and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

And do not let us be subjected to temptation, but save us from the evil one.

But if you do not forgive others, your heavenly Father will not forgive your shortcomings either.

"Also whenever you fast, you must not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a gloomy countenance, to let people see them fasting. I solemnly say to you, they already have their reward.

But whenever you, follower of mine, fast, perfume your head and wash your face,

so that your fasting may be seen, not by men but by your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

But keep on storing up your riches in heaven where moths and rust do not make away with them and where thieves do not break in and steal them.

But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very source of light in you is darkness, how dense is that darkness!

But which of you by worrying can add a single minute to his life?

but I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his gorgeous splendor, was ever dressed up like a single one of these.

Now if God so gorgeously dresses the wild grass which today is green but tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you with little faith?

But as your first duty keep on looking for His standard of doing right, and for His will, and then all these things will be yours besides.

Why do you keep watching the tiny speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the girder in your own?

So if you, in spite of your being bad, know how to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your heavenly Father give what is good to those who keep on asking Him?

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

"Look out for false prophets, who come to you under the guise of sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who practice doing the will of my Father in heaven.

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, for its pillars had been laid on a rocky foundation.

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and the wreck of it was complete."

Then He put out His hand and touched him, and said, "I do choose to; be cured." And at once his leprosy was cured.

Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and, to testify to the people, make the offering that Moses prescribed."

But the captain answered, "I am not fit for you to come under my roof, but simply speak the word, and my servant-boy will be cured.

When He went into Peter's house, He saw his mother-in-law lying in bed sick with fever.

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, even wild birds have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

And He got into a boat, and His disciples went with Him.

And suddenly a furious storm came up, so that the boat was being covered over by the bursting billows, but He kept on sleeping.

And He got into a boat and crossed to the other side, and went into His home town.

But to show you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" -- turning to the paralyzed man, He said to Him -- "Get up, pick up your bed, and go home."

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

Go, learn what this means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want.' It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."

Then John's disciples went up to Him, and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees practice fasting, but your disciples do not?"

Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn, can they, as long as they have the bridegroom with them? But a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Nobody pours new wine into old wine-bottles; or, if they do, the bottles burst, the wine runs out, and the bottles are ruined. But people pour new wine into new wine-bottles, and so both are preserved."

And just as He was saying these things to them, an official came up and fell on his knees before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand upon her and she will come to life."

said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead, but is sleeping." And they began to laugh in His face.

But when the crowd had been driven out, He went in and took hold of her hand, and the girl got up.

But they went out and spread the news about Him all over that country.

But at the very time they were going out, some people brought to Him a dumb man, who was under the power of a demon,

But the Pharisees kept on saying, "It is by the help of the prince of the demons that He drives them out."

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the reapers are scarce.

but rather to the lost sheep of Israel's house.

and if the house should prove deserving, may your good wish for peace upon it come true, but if not, may your good wish bring peace to yourselves.

But when they turn you over to the courts, you must not worry at all about how or what you ought to speak, for it will be given you at that hour what you ought to speak.

For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you.

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

And you will be hated by all men, because you bear my name, but whoever bears up to the end will be saved.

But whenever they persecute you in one town, flee to a different one. For I solemnly say to you, you will not cover all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man returns.

You must never be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather you must keep on fearing Him who can destroy both soul and body in the pit.

but anyone who disowns me before men I will disown before my Father in heaven.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

But as they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

"But to what can I compare the leaders of this age? They are like little children sitting in the market places and calling to their fellows in the game,

"'We played the wedding march for you, but you did not dance. We sang the funeral dirge, but you did not beat your breasts.'

But I tell you, on the day of judgment the punishment will be lighter for the land of Sodom than for you!"

All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one but the Father perfectly knows the Son, and no one but the Son perfectly knows the Father, and the one to whom the Son chooses to make Him known.

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 He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his soldiers became hungry?

But I tell you, there is something greater than the temple here!

But He said to them, "What man is there among you, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a ditch on the sabbath, will not lay hold on it and lift it out?

But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, to put Him to death.

But because Jesus knew it, He left there. And many people followed Him, and He cured them all,

A broken reed He will not break off; a flickering wick He will not put out, until He brings His judgment to victory.

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."

But because He knew their thoughts, He said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and any city or family that is not united cannot last.

But if I by the Spirit of God am driving the demons out, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

So I tell you, every sin and all abusive speech will be forgiven men, but abuse against the Spirit cannot be forgiven.