asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."

He also sent them to Bethlehem, telling them, "Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you have found him report to me, so that I may go and worship him too."

instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of goodness! the Realm of heaven is theirs.

Do not imagine I have come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy but to fulfil.

You have heard how the men of old were told, 'Murder not: whoever murders must come up for sentence,

You have heard how it used to be said, Do not commit adultery.

If your right eye is a hindrance to you, pluck it out and throw it away: better for you to lose one of your members than to have all your body thrown into Gehenna.

And if your right hand is a hindrance to you, cut it off and throw it away: better for you to lose one of your members than to have all your body thrown into Gehenna.

Once again, you have heard how the men of old were told, 'You must not forswear yourself but discharge your vows to the Lord'.

You have heard the saying, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

whoever wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well;

You have heard the saying, 'You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy.'

and forgive us our debts as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors,

The captain answered, "Sir, I am not fit to have you under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be cured.

For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard that, he marvelled; "I tell you truly," he said to his followers, "I have never met faith like this anywhere in Israel.

Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go; as you have had faith, your prayer is granted." And the servant was cured at that very hour.

Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

They shrieked, "Son of God, what business have you with us? Have you come here to torture us before it is time?"

When Jesus heard it he said, "Those who are strong have no need of a doctor, but those who are ill.

Go and learn the meaning of this word, I care for mercy not for sacrifice. For I have not come to call just men but sinners."

As Jesus passed along from there, he was followed by two blind men who shrieked, "Son of David, have pity on us!"

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out daemons; give without paying, as you have got without paying;

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; truly I tell you, you will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of man arrives.

enough for the scholar to fare like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If men have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they miscall his servants!

Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Do not imagine I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

"Woe to you, Khorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! Had the miracles performed in you been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

And you, O Capharnahum! Exalted to heaven? No, you will sink to Hades! ??for if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Sodom, Sodom would have lasted to this day.

He replied, "Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry,

Have you not read in the Law that the priests in the temple are not guilty when they desecrate the sabbath?

Besides, if you had known what this meant, I care for mercy not for sacrifice, you would not have condemned men who are not guilty.

Here is my servant whom I have selected, my Beloved in whom my soul delights; I will invest him with my Spirit, and he will proclaim religion to the Gentiles.

I tell you, men will have to account on the day of judgment for every light word they utter;

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we would like to have some Sign from you."

For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them.

I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it.

Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."

since John had told him, "You have no right to her."

They said, "We have only five loaves with us and two fish."

Then Jesus spoke to them at once; "Courage," he said, "it is I, have no fear."

But you say, whoever tells his father or mother, 'This money might have been at your service but it is dedicated to God,'

need not honour his father or mother. So you have repealed the law of God to suit your own tradition.

Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees have taken offence at what they hear you say?"

And a woman of Canaan came out of these parts and wailed, "Have pity on me, Lord, O Son of David! My daughter is cruelly possessed by a daemon."

At that Jesus replied, "O woman, you have great faith; your prayer is granted as you wish." And from that hour her daughter was cured.

Then Jesus called his disciples and said, "I am sorry for the crowd; they have been three days with me now, and they have nothing to eat. I will not send them away starving, in case they faint on the road."

Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you got?" They said, "Seven, and some little fish."

They argued among themselves, "But we have not brought any bread!"

When Jesus noted this he said, "How little trust you have in me! Why all this talk, because you have brought no bread?

but Jesus came forward and touched them, saying, "Rise, have no fear."

Nay, I tell you Elijah has already come, but they have not recognized him ??they have worked their will on him. And the Son of man will suffer at their hands in the same way."

"Ah, sir," he said, "have pity on my son; he is an epileptic and he suffers cruelly, he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long must I still be with you? How long have I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."

He said to them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you truly, if you had faith the size of a grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this hill, 'Move from here to there,' and remove it would; nothing would be impossible for you."

But whoever is a hindrance to one of these little ones who believe in me, better for him to have a great mill-stone hung round his neck and be sunk in the deep sea.

Woe to the world for hindrances! Hindrances have to come, but ??woe to the man by whom the hindrance does come!

If your brother sins [against you], go and reprove him, as between you and him alone. If he listens to you, then you have won your brother over;

For where two or three have gathered in my name, I am there among them."

So the servant fell down and prayed him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you it all.'

So his fellow-servant fell down and implored him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'

Ought you not to have had mercy on your fellow-servant, as I had on you?'

He replied, "Have you never read that He who created them male and female from the beginning

He said to them, "True, but this truth is not practicable for everyone, it is only for those who have the gift.

There are eunuchs who have been eunuchs from their birth, there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Realm of heaven. Let anyone practice it for whom it is practicable."

The young man said, "I have observed all these. What more is wanting?"

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell your property, give the money to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."

Then Peter replied, "Well, we have left our all and followed you. Now what are we to get?"

Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me shall also sit on twelve thrones to govern the twelve tribes of Israel.

And when he went out at five o'clock he came upon some others who were standing; he said to them, 'Why have you stood doing nothing all the day?'

'These last,' they said, 'have only worked a single hour, and yet you have ranked them equal to us who have borne the brunt of the day's work and the heat!'

Can I not do as I please with what belongs to me? Have you a grudge because I am generous?'

"You shall drink my cup," said Jesus, "but it is not for me to grant seats at my right hand and at my left; these belong to the men for whom they have been destined by my Father."

and when two blind men who were sitting beside the road heard Jesus was passing, they shouted, "O Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!"

The crowd checked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "O Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!"

they said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" "Yes," said Jesus, "have you never read Thou hast brought praise to perfection from the mouth of babes and sucklings?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you truly, if you have faith, if you have no doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even if you say to this hill, 'Take and throw yourself into the sea,' it will be done.

All that ever you ask in prayer you shall have, if you believe."

When he entered the temple, the high priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "What authority have you for acting in this way? Who gave you this authority?"

Jesus replied, "Well, I will ask you a question, and if you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have for acting as I do.

So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He said to them, "No more will I tell you what authority I have for acting as I do.

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected is the chief stone now of the corner: this is the doing of the Lord, and a wonder to our eyes?

And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,

Woe to you, you impious scribes and Pharisees! you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and omit the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness; these latter you ought to have practised ??without omit ting the former.

and you say 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! slaying the prophets and stoning those who have been sent to you! How often I would fain have gathered your children as a fowl gathers her brood under her wings! But you would not have it!

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see and do not be alarmed. These have to come, but it is not the end yet.

Pray that you may not have to fly in winter or on the sabbath,

But be sure of this, that if the householder had known at what watch in the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the watch, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Then the servant who had got the twelve hundred pounds came forward, bringing twelve hundred more; he said, 'You handed me twelve hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another twelve hundred.'

His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.'

Then the servant with the five hundred pounds came forward. He said, 'You handed me five hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another five hundred.'

His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.'

His master said to him in reply, 'You rascal, you idle servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I have never sowed and gather where I have never winnowed!

Well then, you should have handed my money to the bankers and I would have got my capital with interest when I came back.

and took counsel together to get hold of Jesus by craft and have him put to death.

"the perfume might have been sold for a good sum, and the poor might have got that."

The poor you always have beside you, but you will not always have me.