and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias;

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way. For his mother Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found having in her womb from Holy Spirit.

So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly.

But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her is by the Holy Spirit; and she will bear a son, and you are to call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Behold, the virgin will have in her womb, and will bring forth a son. And they will call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us.

So when Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and took her as his wife;

and {did not have sexual relations with} her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

"Where is the one who was born to be king of the Jews? For we saw a star [signifying his birth while we were still] in the east, and have come here to worship him."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."

"You must repent [i.e., change your hearts and lives], for the kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, when he said: "Here is a voice of one who shouts in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord; Make the paths straight for him.'"

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but and if the salt have lost her saltiness, what can be salted therewith? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.

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].

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word "Gehenna," and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

"And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Do not store your valuables [here] on earth, where moths can eat them and where rust can corrode them, and where burglars can break in and steal [them].

That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here--what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body-- what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?

But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

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 he touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.

And behold, they cried out, saying, "{What do you have to do with us}, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

Now a long way from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.

So the demons implored him, saying, "If you are going to expel us, send us into the herd of pigs."

And he said to them, "Go!" So they departed [and] went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.

[Upon seeing this happen] the men who were tending the herd ran away and went into the town [i.e., of Gadara, one of ten towns making up the province of Decapolis], and told the people everything, [including] what had happened to the men dominated by evil spirits.

Here they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, my child; your sins are pardoned."

[As] he was saying these [things] to them, behold, one of the rulers came [and] knelt down before him, saying, "My daughter has just now died, but come, place your hand on her and she will live!"

And a woman, who for twelve years had had a flow of blood, came after him, and put her hand on the edge of his robe:

for she said within her self, if I do but touch his garment, I shall be cured:

But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, "Have courage, daughter! Your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that hour.

But when the crowd had been sent out, he entered [and] took her hand, and the girl got up.

And the news about her spread all over that country.

And beholding the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were fainting, and lying here and there, as sheep that had no shepherd.

Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who was named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John,

Here is how it will be: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore you should be as crafty [Note: The Greek word here is "sensible"] as snakes, yet as harmless [Note: The Greek word is "sincere"] as doves.

Are not two sparrows sold [in the market for food] for a small coin [Note: The coin mentioned here was worth about a half hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $3 in 1994]? And not a [single] one of them can fall to the ground without your Father [knowing about it].

For I have come to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

The person who finds [everything to satisfy him in] this life [here on earth] will lose [never ending life]. But the person who [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] this life [here on earth] for my sake [i.e., in loyal service to me] will find it [i.e., never ending life]. [See Mark 10:29-30]

This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you; He will prepare the road ahead of you.'

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a man [who is] a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

And you, Capernaum, were you not to be lifted up to heaven? you will go down into hell: for if the works of power which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been here to this day.

But I tell you that [something] greater than the temple is here!

"Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom my soul delights itself. I will endow Him with my Spirit, and He will announce a judgment to the heathen.

The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, [something] greater than Jonah [is] here!

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, [something] greater than Solomon [is] here!

and somebody said to Him, "Here are thy mother and thy brethren standing without, desiring to speak to thee."

And with a gesture toward His disciples He said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

It is the smallest of all seeds, and yet when full-grown it is larger than any herb and forms a tree, so that the birds come and build in its branches."

And are not his sisters all here with us? Whence hath he all these things?"

because John had been saying to him, "It is not permitted for you to have her."

But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the guests. Herod was fascinated by her,

Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

And coached by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!"

And the King sorrowed: nevertheless for his oath's sake, and for their sakes, which sat also at the table, he commanded it to be given her.

and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought [it] to her mother.

But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to leave here; give them something to eat yourselves."

And they said to him, "We do not have [anything] here except five loaves and two fish."

So he said, "Bring them here to me."

The boat was by this time some miles from shore, laboring in the waves, for the wind was against her.

And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; I am here; fear not.

Just then a Canaanite woman came out of that area [Note: Mark 7:26 calls her a Syrophoenician Gentile], crying, "O Lord, son of David, have pity on me. My daughter is seriously troubled by an evil spirit."

But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came up [and] asked him, saying, "Send her away, because she is crying out after us!"

however she advanc'd, and throwing her self at his feet, cried, O Lord, assist me.

And He answered [her], "It is not proper to take bread away from the children and throw it to the dogs."

Then Jesus answered [and] said to her, "O woman, your faith [is] great! Let it be done for you as you want." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and, to test Jesus, requested him to show them some sign from the heavens.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; and no sign shall be given her, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. And having left them, he departed.

"Moreover I say to you that you are Petros (a rock), and on this petra (rock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her.

[And] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [i.e., for opening up the way into it]. And whatever [truth] you [and the other apostles. See 18:18] require [people to believe and practice] here on earth will have already been required of them [by God] in heaven. And whatever [truth] you do not require [of people] on earth, will not be required [by God] in heaven."

For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Here he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.

So Peter answered [and] said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good [that] we are here! If you want, I will make here three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."

And Jesus answered [and] said, "O unbelieving and perverse generation! {How long} will I be with you? {How long} must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!"

Bring him here to me. And when Jesus rebuked him, the demon departed out of him, and the child was cured from that time.

And he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here [to] there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies];

I tell you again, if two of you agree [here] on earth concerning anything you ask for [i.e., in prayer], God in heaven will grant it to you.

They said to him, "Why then did Moses command [us] to give a document--a certificate of divorce--and to divorce her?"

Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back here and follow me."

Then Peter spoke and said to him, "Here we have left all we had and followed you. What are we to have?"

When he had agreed with the workers [on wages] for the usual farm laborer's pay for a day's work, he [then] sent them to work in his vineyard. [Note: The coin mentioned here would amount to $60-$84 in 1994, based on $5-$7 an hour for a twelve hour day. This coin also forms the basis for calculating all other monetary references in the New Testament].

And about the eleventh [hour] he went out [and] found others standing [there] and said to them, 'Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?'

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, [and] kneeling down [she] asked something from him.

And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom."

But Jesus replied to her, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They [i.e., James, John and their mother. See Mark 10:35ff] answered, "[Yes] we are able to."

saying to them, "Go into the village before you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie [them] [and] bring [them] to me.

Tell the daughter of Sion, 'Here is your king coming to you, He is gentle and mounted on an ass, And on a colt the foal of a beast of burden.'

brought the ass and her foal, and they spread over them their garments, and seated him upon them.

But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.'

Once more he sent some other servants, saying, 'Tell the invited guests, here is my supper all prepared, my oxen and fat cattle are killed, everything is ready; come to the marriage-banquet.'

And he says to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a guest's robe? And he had nothing to say.

"Teacher, Moses said [in Deut. 25:5] that when a man dies without having had any children, his brother must marry his widow and father children by her, who would [then] be considered his [dead] brother's.

And last of all the woman came to her end.