But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem [a small town] in Judea during the time when Herod [the Great] was king [of Judea]. About that time some astrologer/sages from the east [i.e., Persia] came to Jerusalem, saying,

saying - Where is he that hath been born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and have come to bow down to him.

and sending them to Bethlehem, said - Go search out accurately concerning the child, - and, as soon as ye find it, bring report unto me, that, I also, may come and bow myself down to it.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

When they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the infant and his mother, flee into Egypt, and don't stir thence till I order you, for Herod will endeavour to have the child destroy'd. Joseph therefore arose,

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologer/sages, he was furious and sent out [his soldiers] to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity. This was done to those from two years old and under, basing [their decision] on the exact time determined from the astrologer/sages.

[Jer. 31:15], "A voice was heard in [the town of] Ramah [Note: This was a village near Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried], with crying and deep mourning. It was Rachel crying for her children [Note: Initially this was a reference to the Israelites who were taken to Babylonian captivity. See Jer. 29-31]. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there; and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into Galilee and settled in a town called Nazareth,

and came and dwelt in a town called Nazareth; so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, He shall be called a Nazaraean.

And they were given baptism by him in the river Jordan, saying openly that they had done wrong.

And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the store; but he will burn down the chaff in inextinguishable fire.

But Jesus answered him, "Allow it [to be done], for it is proper for us to complete everything that is right [before God]." So, John agreed to it.

After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him.

Then the Evil One took him to the holy town; and he put him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

If having fallen down thou mayest worship me: then Jesus says to him, Get behind me, Satan; for it has been written; Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

and leaving Nazareth He went and settled at Capernaum, a town by the Lake on the frontiers of Zebulun and Naphtali,

The people who were in the dark saw a great light, and to those in the land of the shade of death did the dawn come up.

Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and the other side of the Jordan.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him:

'Ye are the salt of the land, but if the salt may lose savour, in what shall it be salted? for nothing is it good henceforth, except to be cast without, and to be trodden down by men.

*You* are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hill-top.

People don't light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets -- I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;

Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth come to an end, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will in any way be taken from the law, till all things are done.

I, however, say to you that any one who cherishes anger against his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the Court; and whoever pours contempt upon his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the High Council, while whoever calls down curses upon him shall be liable to answer for it in the fiery Pit.

It is true when I say to you, you will not be released from there until you have paid the last coin. [Note: The coin mentioned here amounted to about ten minutes' worth of a farm laborer's pay, or a little over one dollar in 1994].

And if your eye, your right eye, entices you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to lose one of your bodily organs, than to have your whole body go down into the pit.

And, if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it go down to the Pit.

It was also said [Deut. 24:1-3], 'Whoever divorces his wife, let it be done with a [legally binding] divorce decree, which he must give her.'

But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne;

Or by the earth, because it is the resting-place for his foot; or by Jerusalem, because it is the town of the great King.

But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

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.

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

"Be careful that you don't do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!

But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be done in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

"And whenever you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

And forgive us of the wrongs we have done to others, since we have also forgiven the wrongs done to us.

For if you forgive the wrongs people have done [to you], your heavenly Father will also forgive the wrongs you have done [to Him].

But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.

“Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!

so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

No person can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he will cling to the one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and material things [at the same time].

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread.

So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

"Don't judge, so that you won't be judged.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye?

Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then I will declare to them, 'I never acknowledged you [as my people]; go away from me, you people who have done sinful things.'

and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.

and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

And 1o! a leper, coming near, began to bow down to him saying, - Lord! if thou be willing, thou canst cleanse me.

Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them.”

and saying, Lord, my boy has been laid down in the house, paralyzed, extremely tormented.

for I am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command: I bid this man, go, and he's gone: another, come, and he's here: and to my servant, do this, and it is done.

And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

And when Jesus had come to Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law laid down and in a fever;

So they went to Him and woke Him up, and said, "Lord, save us; we are going down!"

and they roar'd out, Jesus, thou son of God, what injury have we done you? are you come here to torment us before the time?

And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons.

And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

And Jesus, getting into a boat, crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to [Capernaum] His own city.

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.

Then John's disciples came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"

While He was saying these things to them, a ruler (synagogue official) entered [the house] and kneeled down and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just now died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

When Jesus came to the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players [who were professional, hired mourners] and the [grieving] crowd making an uproar,

Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done unto you.

Then their eyes were opened. And assuming a stern tone Jesus said to them, "Be careful to let no one know."

When the evil spirit was driven out [by Jesus] the [former] deaf-mute began to speak, and the crowds marveled, saying, "No one in Israel has ever seen this done before."

And Jesus was going up and down all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign, and healing every sickness and every malady among the people.

But, seeing the multitudes, he was moved with compassion concerning them, because they were torn and thrown down, like sheep hating no shepherd.

Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans;

Don’t take along gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts.

Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker is worthy of his food.