Now these were the circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, his mother, was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married it was found that she was about to become a mother through the influence of the holy Spirit.

When they saw the star, they were very glad,

When they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said, "Wake up! Take the child and his mother and make your escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave. For Herod is going to look for the child in order to make away with him."

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.

"A cry was heard in Ramah! Weeping and great lamenting! Rachel weeping for her children, And inconsolable because they were gone."

and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, in acknowledgment of their sins.

The people that were living in darkness Have seen a great light, And on those who were living in the land of the shadow of death A light has dawned!"

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was afterward called Peter, and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

And he went on a little farther and saw two other men who were brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother, John, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, putting their nets in order, and he called them.

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.

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

"You have heard that men were told 'You shall not commit adultery.'

"They were told, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

"Again, you have heard that the men of old were told, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you must fulfil your oaths to the Lord.'

"You have heard that they were told, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"You have heard that they were told, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew, and beat about that house, and it did not go down, for its foundations were on rock.

When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,

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 the men were amazed and said, "What kind of man is this? For the very winds and sea obey him!"

When he reached the other side, in the region of Gadara, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and confronted him; they were so extremely violent that nobody could go along that road.

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, "Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts?

And when the crowd saw it, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to men.

But just as they were going out, some people brought to him a dumb man who was possessed by a demon,

and as soon as the demon was driven out, the dumb man was able to speak. And the crowds were amazed, and said, "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel!"

But the sight of the crowds of people filled him with pity for them, because they were bewildered and dejected, like sheep that have no shepherd.

But as they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What was it that you went out into the desert to look at? A reed swaying in the wind?

But he said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his companions were hungry?

And all the crowds of people were astounded, and said, "Can this be the Son of David?"

But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, "Any kingdom that is disunited is on the way to destruction, and any city or household that is disunited cannot last.

but while people were asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

and went to his own part of the country. And he taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished, and said, "Where did he get this wisdom, and the power to do these wonders?

And the king was sorry, but because he had sworn to do it, and because of the guests who were present, he ordered it to be given to her.

So when he got out of the boat he found a great crowd gathered, and his heart was touched at the sight of them, and he cured those of them that were sick.

There were about five thousand men who were fed, besides women and children.

And the disciples saw him walking on the sea, and they were terrified and said, "It is a ghost!" And they screamed with fear.

And the men of the place recognized him, and sent all over that district and brought to him all who were sick,

and they begged him to let them touch just the tassel of his cloak, and all who touched it were cured.

Then his disciples came up to him and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked to hear you say that?"

Then great crowds came to him bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, or dumb, and many others. And they laid them down at his feet, and he cured them,

so that the people were astonished to see the dumb speak, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they praised the God of Israel.

And they all ate and satisfied their hunger. And the pieces that they left that were picked up filled seven baskets.

There were four thousand men who were fed, besides women and children.

But they were discussing something with one another, and saying, "We have not brought any bread!"

When the disciples heard it, they were dreadfully frightened and fell upon their faces.

And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus cautioned them, saying, "Do not tell anyone of the vision you have seen until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."

As they were going about in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men,

and they will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised to life again." And they were greatly distressed.

When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went to their master and reported the whole matter to him.

Then some children were brought up to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray, but his disciples reproved the people for it.

But when the disciples heard this, they were completely astounded and said, "Then who can be saved?"

When those who were hired about five o'clock came they received a dollar apiece.

And when those who were hired first came they expected to get more, but they too got a dollar apiece.

and said, 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have put them on the same footing with us who have done the heavy work of the day and have stood the midday heat.'

When Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve off by themselves, and said to them as they were on the way,

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

As they were going out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.

When they were near Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,

And Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all who were buying or selling things in it, and he upset the money-changers' tables and the pigeon-dealers' seats,

But when the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and saw the boys shouting in the Temple, "God bless the Son of David!" they were indignant,

When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, "How did the fig tree come to wither up immediately?"

and they wanted to have him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for the people considered him a prophet.

Then he said to his slaves, 'The banquet is ready, but those who were invited have proved unworthy of it.

And when they heard it they were amazed, and they went away and left him.

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first of them married and died, and as he had no children, he left his wife to his brother;

When the crowd heard this, they were astounded at his teaching.

While the Pharisees were still gathered there, Jesus asked them,

For just as in those days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and being married, until the very day Noah entered the ark,

Now five of them were foolish and five were sensible.

But while they were gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and the ones that were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was closed.

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

And as they were eating, he said, "I tell you, one of you will betray me!"

They were deeply hurt and began to say to him one after another, "Can it be I, Master?"

As they were eating Jesus took a loaf and blessed it, and he broke it in pieces and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it. It is my body!"

When he went back to the disciples he found them asleep. And he said to Peter, "Then were you not able to watch with me for one hour?

At that same time Jesus said to the crowd, "Have you come out to arrest me with swords and clubs, as though I were a robber? Day after day I have sat in the Temple preaching, and you never seized me.

Now the high priests and the whole council were trying to get false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death.

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a maid came up to him, and said, "You were with Jesus the Galilean, too!"

So the words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver pieces, the price of the one whose price had been fixed, on whom some of the Israelites had set a price,

And while the high priests and elders were making their charges against him, he made no answer.

There were two robbers crucified with him at the time, one at his right and one at his left.

Even the robbers who were crucified with him abused him in the same way.

And the captain and the men with him who were watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, were dreadfully frightened and said, "He surely must have been a son of God!"

There were several women there watching from a distance who had followed Jesus from Galilee to wait upon him,

While they were on their way, some of the guard went into the city and reported to the high priests all that had happened.

and said to them, "Tell people that his disciples came in the night and stole him away while you were asleep.

So they took the money and did as they were told. And this story has been current among the Jews ever since.

There they saw him and bowed down before him, though some were in doubt about it.

As he was passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets in the sea, for they were fishermen.

He went on a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; they too were in their boat putting their nets in order.

And they were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

And they were all so amazed that they discussed it with one another, and said, "What does this mean? It is a new teaching! He gives orders with authority even to the foul spirits, and they obey him!"

In the evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons,

And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and drove out many demons, and he would not let the demons speak, because they knew that he was Christ.

There were some scribes sitting there pondering and saying to themselves,

Jesus, at once perceiving by his spirit that they were pondering over this, said to them, "Why do you ponder over this in your minds?

And he got up, and immediately picked up his mat and went out before them all, so that they were all astonished and acknowledged the power of God, saying, "We never saw anything like this before."

He was at table in his house, with many tax-collectors and irreligious people who were at table with him and his disciples, for there were many of them among his followers.

And when the scribes who were of the Pharisees' party saw that he was eating with irreligious people and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?"

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast. And people came and asked him, "Why is it that when John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are keeping the fast, yours are not keeping it?"