And he said to them, "Go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature:

he who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who will not believe shall be condemned.

he said, "The time has now come, God's reign is near: repent and believe in the gospel."

After John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the gospel of God;

And for those who believe, these miracles will follow: they will cast out daemons in my name, they will talk in foreign tongues,

THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God].

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

for the Son of man himself has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus replied, "The chief one is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,

(a) Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala out of whom he had cast seven daemons.

And when the sabbath had passed Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some spices in order to go and anoint him;

Then a scribe came up, who had listened to the discussion. Knowing Jesus had given them an apt answer, he put this question to him, "What is the chief of all the commands?"

When he entered Capharnahum again after some days it was reported that he was at home,

If your hand is a hindrance to you, cut it off: better be maimed and get into Life, than keep your two hands and go to Gehenna, to the fire that is never quenched.

As he went out on the road a man ran up and knelt down before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit life eternal?"

So I tell you, whatever you pray for and ask, believe you have got it and you shall have it.

Then he called the crowd to him with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and so follow me;

Now it was in those days that Jesus arrived from Nazaret in Galilee and got baptized in the Jordan by John.

This order they obeyed, debating with themselves what 'rising from the dead' meant.

Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! Anything can be done for one who believes."

And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath:

That same day when evening came he said to them, "Let us cross to the other side;"

Now no one knows anything about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father.

Now people brought children for him to touch them, and the disciples checked them;

Then they reached the opposite side of the sea, the country of the Gerasenes.

Now the Pharisees gathered to meet him, with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem.

What profit is it for a man to gain the whole world and to forfeit his soul?

Then Jesus and his disciples set off for the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road he inquired of his disciples, "Who do people say I am?"

and she is an adulteress if she divorces her husband and marries another man."

Is this not the joiner, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters settled here among us?" So they were repelled by him.

But from the beginning, when God created the world, Male and female, He created them:

Then they reached Jericho; and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a considerable crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who sat beside the road,

He will show you a large room upstairs, with couches spread, all ready; prepare the passover for us there."

then he asked them, "Is it right to help or to hurt on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" They were silent.

and at three o'clock Jesus gave a loud cry, "El?i, El?i, lema sabachthanei" (which means, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?)

Six days afterwards Jesus took Peter, James and John, and led them up a high hill by themselves alone; in their presence he was transfigured,

And as they were eating he took a loaf, and after the blessing he broke and gave it to them, saying, "Take this, it means my body."

And he proceeded to teach them that the Son of man had to endure great suffering, to be rejected by the elders and the high priests and the scribes, to be killed and after three days to rise again;

Then after speaking to them the Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God,

some other seed fell on stony soil where it had not much earth, and it shot up at once because it had no depth of earth,

(There were about four thousand of them.) Then he sent them away,

From within, from the heart of man, the designs of evil come: sexual vice, stealing, murder,

Leaving there, he went away to the territory of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house and wished no one to know of it, but he could not escape notice;

but Jesus was angry when he saw this, and he said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not stop them: the Realm of God belongs to such as these.

Also, whenever you stand up to pray, if you have anything against anybody, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

Sitting down opposite the treasury, he watched the people putting their money into the treasury. A number of the rich were putting in large sums,

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this disloyal and sinful generation, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God!

Then in the early morning, long before daylight, he got up and went away out to a lonely spot.

Now when they came near Jerusalem, near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Hill of Olives, he despatched two of his disciples,

Now the apostles gathered to meet Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

Once more he proceeded to teach by the seaside, and a crowd gathered round him greater than ever, so he entered a boat on the sea and sat down, while all the crowd stayed on shore.

They then entered Capharnahum. As soon as the sabbath came, he at once began to teach in the synagogue;

A leper came to him beseeching him on bended knee, saying, "If you only choose, you can cleanse me;"

I tell you truly," he said, to them, "there are some of those standing here who will not taste death till they see the coming of God's Reign with power."

he called them at once, and they left their father Zebedaeus in the boat with the crew and went to follow him.

On leaving the synagogue they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew, accompanied by James and John.

I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit."

they will handle serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and make them well."

Leaving there he went to his native place, followed by his disciples.

I tell you truly, whoever says to this hill, 'Take and throw yourself into the sea,' and has not a doubt in his mind but believes that what he says will happen, he will have it done.

At once they dropped their nets and went after him.

Now some Pharisees came up and asked him if a man was allowed to divorce his wife. This was to tempt him.

and he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman is an adulterer to the former,

The passover and the festival of unleavened bread fell two days later; so the high priests and scribes were trying how to get hold of him by craft and have him put to death.

James and John, the sons of Zebedaeus, came up to him saying, "Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you."

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Here I send my messenger before your face to prepare the way for you:

Now when he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, lying at table, a woman came up with an alabaster flask of pure nard perfume, which had cost a great sum; the flask she broke and poured the perfume over his head.

They came up and said to him, "Teacher, we know you are sincere and fearless; you do not court human favour, you teach the Way of God honestly. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Now when Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side again, a large crowd gathered round him; so he remained beside the sea.

As he went out of the temple one of his disciples said to him, "Look, teacher, what a size these stones and buildings are!"

He said to them, "Isaiah made a grand prophecy about you hypocrites ??as it is written, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me:

And summoning the twelve he proceeded to send them out two by two; he gave them power over the unclean spirits,

And the moment he rose from the water he saw the heavens cleft and the Spirit coming down upon him like a dove;

But whenever you see the appalling Horror standing where he has no right to stand (let the reader note this), then let those who are in Judaea fly to the hills;

On the first day of unleavened bread (the day when the paschal lamb was sacrificed) his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the passover?"

Immediately morning came, the high priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and all the Sanhedrin, and after binding Jesus they led him off and handed him over to Pilate.

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out daemons in your name; but he does not follow us, and so we stopped him."

Then he left and went to the territory of Judaea over the Jordan. Crowds gathered to him again, and again he taught them as usual.

Now as he passed along the sea of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon's brother Andrew netting fish in the sea ??for they were fishermen;

Now it happened that he was passing through the cornfields on the sabbath, and as the disciples made their way through they began to pull the ears of corn.

The disciples went away into the city and found it was as he had told them. So they prepared the passover,

And he said, "It is with the Realm of God as when a man has sown seed on earth;

So they put this question to him, "Why do the [Pharisees and] scribes say that Elijah has to come first?"

Then they came to Jerusalem, and entering the temple he proceeded to drive out those who were buying and selling inside the temple; he upset the tables of the money-changers and the stalls of those who sold doves,

but whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit is never forgiven, he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "There is one thing you want," he said; "go and sell all you have; give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, take up the cross, and follow me."

Again he entered the synagogue. Now a man was there whose hand was withered,

Then he proceeded to address them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a trough for the winepress, and built a tower; then he leased it to vinedressers and went abroad.

Then going on a little further he saw James the son of Zebedaeus and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets;

"Abba, Father," he said, "thou canst do anything. Take this cup away from me. Yet, not what I will but what thou wilt."

Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, "Sit here till I pray."

Then they reached Bethsaida. A blind man was brought to him with the request that he would touch him.

while they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the miracles that endorsed it. (b) But they gave Peter and his companions a brief account of all these injunctions. And, after that, Jesus himself sent out by means of them from east to west the sacred and imperishable message of eternal salvation.

But when that misery is past, in those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not yield her light,

There were some women also watching at a distance, among them Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome,

And whoever is a hindrance to one of these little ones who believe, it were better for him to have a great millstone hung round his neck and be thrown into the sea.

But they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him for the purpose of catching him with a question.

Now this came to the hearing of king Herod, for the name of Jesus had become well known; people said, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, that is why miraculous powers are working through him;"

Then the Spirit drove him immediately into the desert,

Then he went up the hillside and summoned the men he wanted, and they went to him.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

Then came his brothers and his mother, and standing outside they sent to call him;

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "Those who are strong have no need of a doctor, but those who are ill: I have not come to call just men but sinners."

The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other command greater than these."

Afterwards he appeared at table to the eleven themselves and reproached them for their unbelief and dulness of mind, because they had not believed those who saw him risen from the dead. [But they excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief lies under the sway of Satan, who will not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God; therefore," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now." Christ answered them, "The term of years for Satan's power has now expired, but other terrors are at hand. I was delivered to death on behalf of sinners, that they might return to the truth and sin no more, that they might inherit that glory of righteousness which is spiritual and imperishable in heaven."]

When they reached the disciples they saw a large crowd round them, and some scribes arguing with them.

embarked at once in the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

but when the sun rose it got scorched and withered away, because it had no root;

Jesus looked at them and said, "For men it is impossible, but not for God: anything is possible for God."

Next day, when they had left Bethany, he felt hungry,

vain is their worship of me, for the doctrines they teach are but human precepts.

so Jesus called them and said, "You know the so-called rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men overbear them:

Then he made the disciples at once embark in the boat and cross before him towards Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd;

And in the course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes! They like to walk about in long robes, to get saluted in the marketplaces,

and people were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them like an authority, not like the scribes.

and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables,

for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

Jesus said, "I tell you truly, no one has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,

They forced Simon a Cyrenian who was passing on his way from the country (the father of Alexander and Rufus) to carry his cross,

On leaving there they passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know of their journey,

Woe to women with child and to women who give suck in those days!

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words never.

He left the territory of Tyre again and passed through Sidon to the sea of Galilee, crossing the territory of Decapolis.

but he said to them, "Do not be bewildered. You are looking for Jesus of Nazaret, who was crucified? He has risen, he is not here. That is the place where he was laid.

a man on the housetop must not go down into the house or go inside to fetch anything out of his house,

But the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul," and "It is by the prince of daemons that he casts out daemons."

He appointed twelve to be with him, also that he might despatch them to preach

Then they reached Capharnahum. And when he was indoors he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?"

Pray it may not be winter when it comes,

But Jesus checked it; "Be quiet," he said, "come out of him."

At once the father of the boy cried out, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

and noticing a fig tree in leaf some distance away he went to see if he could find anything on it; but when he reached it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the time for figs.

By this time it was evening, and as it was the day of Preparation (that is, the day before the sabbath)

As the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were observing a fast, people came and asked him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, and your disciples do not fast?"

And there was a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years ??26 she had suffered a great deal under a number of doctors and had spent all her means but was none the better; in fact she was rather worse.

They were on the way up to Jerusalem, Jesus walking in front of them: the disciples were in dismay and the company who followed were afraid. So once again he took the twelve aside and proceeded to tell them what was going to happen to himself.

Jesus said to him, "Why call me 'good'? No one is good, no one but God.

for false Christs and false prophets will rise and perform signs and wonders to mislead the elect if they can.

so Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me and I will make you fish for men."

and as they could not get near Jesus on account of the crowd they tore up the roof under which he stood and through the opening they lowered the pallet on which the paralytic lay.

When twelve o'clock came, darkness covered the whole land till three o'clock,

In those days, when a large crowd had again gathered and when they had nothing to eat, he called the disciples and said to them,

He said nothing and made no answer. Again the high priest put a question to him. "Are you the Christ?" he said, "the Son of the Blessed?"

Yes, forsooth," he added, "you set aside what God commands, so as to maintain your own tradition.

Jesus said, "I am. And, what is more, you will all see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."

You drop what God commands and hold to human tradition.

then they dressed him in purple, put on his head a crown of thorns which they had plaited,

He said to them, "Elijah does come first, to restore all things; but what is written about the Son of man as well? This, that he is to endure great suffering and be rejected.

Are we to pay, or are we not to pay?" But he saw their trick and said to them, "Why tempt me? Bring me a shilling. Let me see it."

The soldiers took him inside the courtyard (that is, the praetorium) and got all the regiment together;

they were to wear sandals, but not to put on two shirts, he said.

shrieking aloud, "Jesus, son of God most High, what business have you with me? By God, I adjure you, do not torture me."

So his fame at once spread in all directions through the whole of the surrounding country of Galilee.

So they brought one. He said, "Whose likeness, whose inscription is this?" "Caesar's," they said.

As for Elijah, I tell you he has come already, and they have done to him whatever they pleased ??as it is written of him."

and a man in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

On this the Pharisees withdrew and at once joined the Herodians in a plot against him, to destroy him.

But you say that if a man tells his father or mother, 'This money might have been at your service, but it is Korban' (that is, dedicated to God),

he is exempt, so you hold, from doing anything for his father or mother.

and when evening fell he arrived along with the twelve.

And after convulsing him the unclean spirit did come out of him with a loud cry.

some other seed fell on good soil and bore a crop that sprang up and grew, yielding at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

and would not allow anyone to carry a vessel through the temple;

"Teacher," he said, "I have observed all these commands from my youth."

and he went up to her and taking her hand made her rise; the fever left her at once and she ministered to them.

Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with fever, so they told him at once about her,

Had not the Lord cut short those days, not a soul would be saved alive; but he has cut them short for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen.

(For he had said, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.")

Then he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you after this!" The disciples heard him say it.

But he sighed in spirit and said, "Why does this generation demand a Sign? I tell you truly, no Sign shall be given this generation."

and whenever it seizes him it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth. He is wasting away with it; so I told your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."

some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so it bore no crop;

As they were at table eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me, one who is eating with me."

"Teacher," they said, "Moses has written this law for us, that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother is to take the woman and raise offspring for his brother.

Also, he told them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there till you leave the place.

Conscious at once that they were arguing to themselves in this way, Jesus asked them, "Why do you argue thus in your hearts?

They had forgotten to bring any bread, and had only one loaf with them in the boat.

Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."

"Leaven?" they argued to themselves, "we have no bread at all."

On seeing him the whole crowd was thunderstruck and ran to greet him.

But his face fell at that, and he went sadly away, for he had great possessions.

So they brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw Jesus it at once convulsed the boy; he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

And when evening came he went outside the city.

So he cautioned them, "See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

the second took her and died without leaving any offspring: so did the third:

The disciples were amazed at what he said; so he repeated, "My sons, how difficult it is [for those who rely on money] to get into the Realm of God!

He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this."

Then he left them, embarked again, and went away to the opposite side.

Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and died leaving no offspring:

Now there were some scribes sitting there who argued in their hearts,

Jerusalem, Idumaea, the other side of the Jordan, and the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon, as they had heard of his doings.

and began to salute him with, "Hail, O king of the Jews!"

This came to the ears of the scribes and high priests, and they tried to get him put to death, for they were afraid of him. But the multitude were all astounded at his teaching.

but, taking his hand, Jesus raised him and he got up.

Jesus asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"

And they begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he said, "there is a host of us."

So he told his disciples to have a small boat ready; it was to prevent him being crushed by the crowd,

They struck him on the head with a stick and spat upon him and bent their knees to him in homage.

The Son of man goes the road that the scripture has described for him, but woe to the man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Better that man had never been born!"

He was praying there when Simon and his companions hunted him out

none of the seven left any offspring. Last of all the woman died too.

And the leprosy at once left him and he was cleansed.

Then Peter remembered. "Rabbi," he said, "there is the fig tree you cursed, all withered!"

but he said to them, "Let us go somewhere else, to the adjoining country-towns, so that I may preach there as well; that is why I came out here."

Indoors, the disciples again asked him about this,

And he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how are you to understand the other parables?

The inscription bearing his charge was: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

--

And Jesus gave them leave. Then out came the unclean spirits and entered the swine, and the drove rushed down the steep slope into the sea (there were about two thousand of them) and in the sea they were drowned.

And whenever the unclean spirits saw him they fell down before him, screaming, "You are the Son of God!"

Which is the easier thing, to tell the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to tell him, 'Rise, lift your pallet, and go away'?

But he charged them strictly and severely not to make him known.

for he healed so many that all who had complaints were pressing on him to get a touch of him.

"One of the twelve," he told them, "one who is dipping into the same dish as I am.

He answered them, "O faithless generation, how long must I still be with you? how long have I to bear with you? Bring him to me."

others said, "It is Elijah," others again, "It is a prophet, like one of the old prophets."

You have eyes, do you not see? you have ears, do you not hear?

Now a large drove of swine was grazing there on the hillside;

"See, you are not to say a word to anybody; away and show yourself to the priest and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, to notify men."

So when some scribes of the Pharisees saw he was eating with sinners and taxgatherers they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat and drink with taxgatherers and sinners?"

Jesus asked his father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he said;

And he rose, lifted his pallet at once, and went off before them all; at this they were all amazed and glorified God saying, "We never saw the like of it!"

As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them.

He also took a cup and after thanking God he gave it to them, and they all drank of it;

They were more astounded than ever; they said to themselves, "Then who ever can be saved?"

And he went preaching in their synagogues throughout the whole of Galilee, casting out daemons.

and asked him, "What authority have you for acting in this way? Who gave you authority to act in this way?"

Jesus said to them, "He wrote you that command on account of the hardness of your hearts.

He is not the God of dead people but of living. You are far wrong."

No, let us say, From men" ??but they were afraid of the multitude, for the people all held John had been really a prophet.

Jesus said to him, "I tell you truly, to-day you will disown me three times, this very night, before the cock crows twice."

for those days will be days of misery, the like of which has never been from the beginning of God's creation until now ??no and never shall be.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this."

He noted this and said to them, "Why do you argue you have no bread? Do you not see, do you not understand, even yet? Are you still dull of heart?

Peter said to him, "Though all are disconcerted, I will not be."

Then, after making fun of him, they stripped off the purple, put on his own clothes, and took him away to crucify him.

and when they reached Jesus they saw the lunatic sitting down, clothed and in his sober senses ??the man who had been possessed by 'Legion.' That frightened them.

Herodias had a grudge against him; she wanted him killed but she could not manage it,

and the pair shall be one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Now as Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he checked the unclean spirit. "Deaf and dumb spirit," he said, "leave him, I command you, and never enter him again."

"Rise, I tell you, lift your pallet, and go home."

so the spirits begged him saying, "Send us into the swine, that we may enter them,"

Now when he went indoors away from the crowd, his disciples asked him the meaning of this parabolic saying.

Then they tried to get hold of him, but they were afraid of the multitude. They knew he had meant the parable for them. So they left him and went away.

So he replied, "What did Moses lay down for you?"

The sower sows the word.

They got distressed at this, and said to him one after another, "Surely it is not me?" "Surely it is not me?"

and a large number at once gathered, till there was no more room for them, not even at the door. He was speaking the word to them,

Let the fig tree teach you a parable. As soon as its branches turn soft and put out leaves, you know summer is at hand;

Then he entered Jerusalem, entered the temple, and looked round at everything; but as it was late he went away with the twelve to Bethany.

and discovered him; they told him, "Everybody is looking for you,"

(The Pharisees and all the Jews decline to eat till they wash their hands up to the wrist, in obedience to the tradition of the elders;

The herdsmen fled and reported it to the town and the hamlets. So the people came to see what had happened,

No one stitches a piece of undressed cloth on an old coat, otherwise the patch breaks away, the new from the old, and the tear is made worse:

adultery, lust, malice, deceit, sensuality, envying, slander, arrogance, recklessness,

Jesus said to them, "Can friends at a wedding fast while the bridegroom is beside them? As long as they have the bridegroom beside them they cannot fast.

--

At the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? She was wife to the seven of them."

Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word,

He began to see and said, "I can make out people, for I see them as large as trees, moving."

no one pours fresh wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and both wine and wineskins are ruined."

But when Herod heard of it he said, "John has risen, the John I beheaded."

Then the Pharisees and scribes put this question to him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders? Why do they take their food with 'common' hands?"

they decline to eat what comes from the market till they have washed it; and they have a number of other traditions to keep about washing cups and jugs and basins [and beds].)

Those who passed by scoffed at him, nodding at him in derision and calling, "Ha! You were to destroy the temple and build it in three days!

Nothing is hidden except to be disclosed, nothing concealed except to be revealed.

So Jesus went away with him. Now a large crowd followed him; they pressed round him.

Then he will despatch his angels and muster the elect from the four winds, from the verge of earth to the verge of heaven.

and they watched to see if he would heal him on the sabbath, so as to get a charge against him.

They noticed that some of his disciples ate their food with 'common' (that is, unwashed) hands.

He was astonished at their lack of faith. Then he made a tour round the villages, teaching.

They said, "Moses permitted a man to divorce her by writing out a separation notice."

He said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first of all; it is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

"And how many basketfuls of fragments did you pick up when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand?" They said, "Seven."

Now take care! I am telling you of it all beforehand.

He gave them many lessons in parables, and said to them in the course of his teaching:

Then came a holiday, when Herod held a feast on his birthday for his chief officials and generals and the notables of Galilee.

Do you not remember how many baskets full of fragments you picked up when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand?" They said, "Twelve."

Then he sent him off at once with the stern charge,

John had told Herod, "You have no right to your brother's wife."

But he took Peter and James and John along with him; and as he began to feel appalled and agitated,

and both those in front and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name!

Blessed be the Reign to come, our father David's reign. Hosanna in high heaven!"

and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Then they went indoors,

Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm;

When the sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and the large audience was astounded. "Where did he get all this?" they said. "What is the meaning of this wisdom he is endowed with? And these miracles, too, that his hands perform!

As for those who were sown 'on good soil,' these are the people who listen to the word and take it in and bear fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

this is the doing of the Lord, and a wonder to our eyes."

But after my rising I will precede you to Galilee."

When the season came round he sent a servant to the vine dressers to collect from the vine dressers some of the produce of the vineyard,

a woman heard of him, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, and she came in and fell at his feet

the stars will drop from heaven, and the orbs of the heavens will be shaken.

But he went off and proceeded to proclaim it aloud and spread news of the affair both far and wide. The result was that Jesus could no longer enter any town openly; he stayed outside in lonely places, and people came to him from every quarter.

but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled.

No one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods unless first of all he binds the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

He went into the house of God (Abiathar was high priest then) and ate the loaves of the Presence which no one except the priests is allowed to eat, and also shared them with his followers."

saying to them, "Go to the village in front of you. As soon as you enter it you will find a colt tethered, on which no one has ever sat; untether it and bring it here.

for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing he was a just and holy man; so he protected John ??he was greatly exercised when he listened to him, still he was glad to listen to him.

And as soon as he stepped out of the boat a man from the tombs came to meet him, a man with an unclean spirit

(the woman was a pagan, of Syrophoenician birth) begging him to cast the daemon out of her daughter.

with the power of casting out daemons;

"I am sorry for the crowd; they have been three days with me now, and they have nothing to eat.

"it has thrown him into fire and water many a time, to destroy him. If you can do anything, do help us, do have pity on us."

He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and his men?

Also, to love him with the whole heart, with the whole understanding, and with the whole strength, and to love one's neighbour as oneself ??that is far more than all holocausts and sacrifices."

And those who had seen it related to them what had happened to the lunatic and the swine.

So he called them and said to them by way of parable, "How can Satan cast out Satan?

They also crucified two robbers along with him, one at his right and one at his left.

He said to the man with the withered hand, "Rise and come forward;"

As he was stepping into the boat the lunatic begged that he might accompany him;

For he who has, to him shall more be given; while as for him who has not, from him shall be taken even what he has."

If anyone has an ear to hear, let him listen to this."

So he took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village; then, after spitting on his eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked him, "Do you see anything?"

What about the baptism of John? Was it from heaven or from men?"

but they took and flogged him and sent him off with nothing.

So he went off and began to proclaim throughout Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; it made everyone astonished.

"John the Baptist," they told him, "though some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the prophets."

Then they began begging Jesus to leave their district.

"Do you not understand now?" he said.

The daughter of Herodias went in and danced to them, and Herod and his guests were so delighted that the king said to the girl, "Ask anything you like and I will give you it."

with earnest entreaties. "My little girl is dying," he said, "do come and lay your hands on her that she may recover and live,"

and his clothes glistened white, vivid white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

all these evils issue from within and they defile a man."

But these vinedressers said to themselves, 'Here is the heir; come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be our own.'

A time will come when the bridegroom is taken from them; then they will fast, on that day.

and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up;

But he persisted, "Though I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And they all said the same.

truly I tell you, I will never drink the produce of the vine again till the day I drink it new within the Realm of God."

If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing that?' say, 'The Lord needs it,' and he will send it back immediately."

Then they brought the colt to Jesus, and when they had put their clothes on it Jesus seated himself.

He said to her, "Well, go your way; the daemon has left your daughter, since you have said that."

Jesus was at once conscious that some healing virtue had passed from him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

So she went home and found the child lying in bed and the daemon gone from her.

So Peter addressed Jesus, saying, "Rabbi, it is a good thing we are here; let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"

He had still one left, a beloved son; he sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

Jesus said to them, "I am going to ask you a question. Answer this, and I will tell you what authority I have for acting as I do.

So the people ate and were satisfied, and they picked up seven baskets of fragments which were left over.

if a household is divided against itself, that household cannot stand:

he sleeps at night and rises by day, and the seed sprouts and shoots up ??he knows not how.

Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and he will give the vineyard to others.

If I send them home without food they will faint on the road. Besides, some of them have come a long way."

When he went indoors his disciples asked him in private, "Why could we not cast it out?"

Once more he sent them another servant; him they knocked on the head and insulted.

So he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground, and taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve out. They served them out to the crowd,

(For the earth bears crops by itself, the blade first, the ear of corn next, and then the grain full in the ear.)

Sadducees, men who hold there is no resurrection, also came up and put a question to him.

The Pharisees said to him, "Look at what they are doing on the sabbath! That is not allowed."

(This was because they said, "He has an unclean spirit.")

So they answered as Jesus had told them, and the men allowed them to go.

Many also spread their clothes on the road, while others strewed leaves cut from the fields;

So they took and killed him, and threw him outside the vineyard.

then said a voice from heaven, 'Thou art my Son, the Beloved, in thee is my delight.'

All night and day among the tombs and the hills he shrieked and gashed himself with stones.

And it did come out, after shrieking aloud and convulsing him violently. The child turned like a corpse, so that most people said, "he is dead";

Then she hurried in at once and asked the king, saying, "I want you to give me this very moment John the Baptist's head on a dish."

He swore to her, "I will give you whatever you want, were it the half of my realm."

so the king at once sent one of the guard with orders to bring his head. The man went and beheaded him in the prison,

He sent another, but they killed him. And so they treated many others; some they flogged and some they killed.

who dwelt among the tombs; by this time no one could bind him, not even with a chain,

And Elijah along with Moses appeared to them, and conversed with Jesus.

for he had often been bound with fetters and chains and had snapped the chains and broken the fetters ??nobody could tame him.

But whenever the crop is ready, he has the sickle put in at once, as harvest has come."

She answered him, "No, sir, but under the table the dogs do pick up the children's crumbs."

and if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, he comes to an end.

She heard about Jesus, got behind him in the crowd, and touched his robe;

As they went down the hill, he forbade them to tell anyone what they had seen, till such time as the Son of man rose from the dead.

Off they went and found a colt tethered outside a door in the street. They untethered it;

"if I can touch even his clothes," she said to herself, "I will recover."

So she went out and said to her mother, "What am I to ask?" "John the Baptizer's head," she answered.

And as he sat on the Hill of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him in private,

but some of the bystanders said to them, "What do you mean by untethering that colt?"

Look to yourselves. Men will hand you over to Sanhedrins and you will be flogged in synagogues and brought before governors and kings for my sake, to testify to them.

He also said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be placed under a bowl or a bed? Is it not to be placed upon the stand?

If a realm is divided against itself, that realm cannot stand:

and as they also had a few small fish, he blessed them too and told the disciples to serve them out as well.

And Jesus sent him home, saying, "Do not go even into the village."

His disciples replied, "Where can one get loaves to satisfy them in a desert spot like this?"

(for he did not know what to say, they were so terrified).

On hearing this some of the bystanders said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah."

When his disciples heard of it they went and fetched his body and laid it in a tomb.

They took Jesus away to the high priest, and all the high priests and scribes and elders met there with him.

At this he laid his hands on his eyes once more, and the man stared in front of him; he was quite restored and saw everything distinctly.

Then he forbade them to tell anyone about him.

he said to them, "This means my covenant-blood which is shed for many;

The king was very vexed, but for the sake of his oaths and his guests he did not like to disappoint her;

His disciples said to him, "You see the crowd are pressing round you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

Then he came and found them asleep; so he said to Peter, "Are you sleeping, Simon? Could you not watch for a single hour?

"Jesus of Nazaret, what business have you with us? Have you come to destroy us? We know who you are, you are God's holy One."

And at once the hemorrhage stopped, and she felt in her body that she was cured of her complaint.

He said also, "To what can we compare the Realm of God? how are we to put it in a parable?

He asked them, "How many loaves have you got?" They said, "Seven."

the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him' ??4 John appeared baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

And they fled out of the tomb, for they were seized with terror and beside themselves. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid of ??.

Then he went out again by the seaside, and all the crowd came to him and he taught them.

Now when the army-captain who stood facing him saw that he expired in this way, he said, "This man was certainly a son of God."

Then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

For this Herod had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison on account of his marriage to Herodias the wife of his brother Philip;

Jesus said to him, "You see these great buildings? Not a stone shall be left on another, without being torn down."

And suddenly looking round they saw no one there except Jesus all alone beside them.

Jesus said to them, "You will all be disconcerted, for it is written: I will strike at the shepherd, and, the sheep will be scattered.

Take care, keep awake and pray; you never know the time.

I tell you truly, whoever will not submit to the Reign of God like a child will never get into it at all."

When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable,

Then glancing round him in anger and vexation at their obstinacy he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was quite restored.

brought his head on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

And he said to them, "Come away to some lonely spot and get a little rest" (for there were many people coming and going, and they could get no time even to eat).

Now there was a man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue, who at once shrieked out,

Now when evening came, when the sun set, they brought him all who were ill or possessed by daemons ??33 indeed the whole town was gathered at the door ??34 and he cured many who were ill with various diseases and cast out many daemons; but as the daemons knew him he would not let them say anything.

Once more they came to Jerusalem. And as he was walking within the temple the high priests and scribes and elders came

also he taught them. "Is it not written," he asked, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations? You have made it a den of robbers."

As he passed along he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me," and he rose and followed him.

And as Jesus taught in the temple he asked, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is David's son?

Now when they carry you off to trial, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; say whatever comes to your lips at the moment, for he who speaks is not you but the holy Spirit.

and in the desert he remained for forty days, while Satan tempted him; he was in the company of wild beasts, but angels ministered to him.

there was Simon, whom he surnamed Peter,

At that very moment, while he was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot] one of the twelve came up accompanied by a mob with swords and cudgels who had come from the high priests and scribes and elders.

for he was teaching his disciples, telling them that the Son of man would be betrayed into the hands of men, that they would kill him, and that when he was killed he would rise again after three days.

After the hymn of praise they went out to the Hill of Olives.

not so with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,

"No," he said, "it is what comes from a man, that is what defiles him.

He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be free from your complaint."

So he sat down and called the twelve. "If anyone wants to be first," he said to them, "he must be last of all and the servant of all."

So when Jesus disembarked he saw a large crowd, and out of pity for them, as they were like sheep without a shepherd, he proceeded to teach them at length.

--

when a paralytic was brought to him; four men carried him,

The poor you always have beside you, and you can be kind to them whenever you want; but you will not always have me.

Now Levi was at table in his own house, and he had many taxgatherers and sinners as guests along with Jesus and his disciples ??for there were many of them among his followers.

Go you and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He precedes you to Galilee; you shall see him there, as he told you.'"

"Listen, a sower went out to sow,

and you will be hated by all men on account of my name; but he will be saved who holds out to the very end.

and the whole of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He replied, "Certainly."

What God has joined, then, man must not separate."

but a poor widow came up and put in two little coins amounting to a halfpenny.

Then Jesus said, "Go, your faith has made you well;" and he regained his sight at once and followed Jesus along the road.

Now the Pharisees came out and started to argue with him, asking him for a Sign from heaven, by way of tempting him.

For nation will rise against nation, and realm against realm; there will be earthquakes here and there, and famines too. All that is but the beginning of the trouble.

The scribe said to him, "Right, teacher! You have truly said, He is One, and there is none else but Him.

Now as Peter was downstairs in the courtyard, a maidservant of the high priest came along,

Jesus retired with his disciples to the sea, and a large number of people from Galilee followed him; also a large number came to him from Judaea,

one young man did follow him, with only a linen sheet thrown round his body, but when the [young] men seized him

(Ere the end, the gospel must be preached to all nations.)

John was dressed in camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

A president of the synagogue called Jairus came up, and on catching sight of him fell at his feet

Jesus said to them, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God." He astonished them.

but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful.

When people rise from the dead they neither marry nor are married, they are like the angels in heaven.

That is repealing the word of God in the interests of the tradition which you keep up. And you do many things like that."

Salt is excellent: but if salt is tasteless, how are you to restore its flavour? Let there be 'salt between you'; be at peace with one another."

and on entering the tomb they saw a youth sitting on the right dressed in a white robe. They were bewildered,

There he could not do any miracle, beyond laying his hands on a few sick people and curing them.

so he stretched his hand out in pity and touched him saying, "I do choose, be cleansed."

He said to them, "Nothing can make this kind come out but prayer and fasting."

so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven."

As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, at the passage on the Bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

I tell you truly, the sons of men shall be forgiven all their sins, and all the blasphemies they may utter,

and very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, after sunrise.

So, too, the high priests made fun of him to themselves with the scribes; "he saved others," they said, "but he cannot save himself!

Now at festival time he used to release for them some prisoner whom they begged from him.

so that the Son of man is Lord even over the sabbath."

If your eye is a hindrance to you, tear it out: better get into God's Realm with one eye, than keep your two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna,

He, after buying a linen sheet, took him down and swathed him in the linen, laying him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock and rolling a boulder up against the opening of the tomb.

It is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the Realm of God."

who does not get a hundred times as much ??in this present world homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands, together with persecutions, and in the world to come life eternal.

Let 'the Christ,' 'the king of Israel' come down now from the cross! Let us see that and we will believe!" Those who were crucified with him also denounced him.

Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of good position who himself was on the outlook for the Reign of God, ventured to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus.

"Tell us, when is this to happen? What will be the sign for all this to be accomplished?"

nothing outside a man can defile him by entering him; it is what comes from him that defiles him.

But to let you see the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins" ??he said to the paralytic,

Watch then, for you never know when the Lord of the House will come, in the late evening or at midnight or at cock-crow or in the morning.

But when they looked they saw the boulder had been rolled to one side,

Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet never goes without honour except in his native place and among his kinsfolk and in his home."

"We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of man will be betrayed to the high priests and scribes; they will sentence him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles,

And he woke up, checked the wind, and told the sea, "Peace, be quiet." The wind fell and there was a great calm.

And when you hear of wars and rumours of war, do not be alarmed; these have to come, but it is not the end yet.

he said to them, "My heart is sad, sad even to death; stay here and watch."

Thus, Moses said, Honour your father and mother, and, He who curses his father or mother is to suffer death.

also they cast out a number of daemons and cured a number of sick people by anointing them with oil.

"Whoever receives one of these little ones in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me but him who sent me."

Watch and pray, all of you, so that you may not slip into temptation. The spirit is eager but the flesh is weak."

but the crowd gathered again, so that it was impossible even to have a meal.

So Jesus began: "Take care that no one misleads you: ??6 many will come in my name saying, 'I am he,' and mislead many.

they prey upon the property of widows and offer long unreal prayers. All the heavier will their sentence be!"

and ordered them to take nothing but a stick for the journey, no bread, no wallet, no coppers in their girdle;

Also he said to them, "Take care what you hear; the measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to yourselves, and you will receive extra.

"What does the man mean by talking like this? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins, who but God alone?"

David himself said in the holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'

She has done all she could ??she has anticipated the perfuming of my body for burial.

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Then a cloud came overshadowing them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him."

"Only," they said, "it must not be during the festival; that would mean a popular riot."

I tell you truly, wherever the gospel is preached all over the world, men will speak of what she has done in memory of her."

He was still speaking when a message came from the house of the synagogue-president, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher to come any further?"

He was sleeping on the cushion in the stern, so they woke him up saying, "Teacher, are we to drown, for all you care?"

Then he called the crowd to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand this:

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the high priests to betray him to them.