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

Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born that Jesus, that is called Christ.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: His mother, Mary, that is, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

but while he pondered on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.

And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," that is to say, God our Saviour.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews?

Where is the king of the Jews that has been born? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to do him homage.

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet:

'And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Jewry, art not the least concerning the Princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come the captain, that shall govern my people Israel.'"

Then Herod, having secretly called the magi, inquired of them accurately the time of the star that was appearing;

And he sent them to Bethlehem [and] said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found [him], report to me so that I also may come [and] worship him."

And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was.

And after they were warned of God in a dream that they should not go again to Herod, they returned into their own country another way.

And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Then Herod, [when he] saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent [soldiers] [and] executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region [around] it from [the age of] two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying,

Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's life.

But [when he] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.

And he came [and] lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled: "He will be called a Nazarene."

At that time appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

For this is he who has been spoken of through Esaias the prophet, saying, Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

At that time Jerusalem, and all Judea, as well as the whole district of the Jordan, went out to him

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

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance you profess,

And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham [as] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Even now is the axe put unto the root of the trees: so that every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

I indeed baptise you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to bear; he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire;

His winnowing-fork is in His hand, and He will clean out His threshing-floor and store His wheat in His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with fire that never can be put out."

Then came Jesus from Galilee unto Jordan to John, that he might be baptized by him.

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

and Jesus was baptized, and immediately went up from the water. At that moment the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him,

And, lo, there came a voice from heaven, saying, "This is that, my beloved son, in whom is my delight."

At that time Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the Desert in order to be tempted by the Devil.

There He fasted for forty days and nights; and after that He suffered from hunger.

And the tempter approached [and] said to him, "If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread."

But he answered [and] said, "It is written, 'Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God."

and said unto him, "If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, 'He shall give his angels charge over thee: and with their hands they shall hold thee up, that thou dash not thy foot against a stone.'"

he said, "I will give you all that if you will fall down and worship me."

Now [when he] heard that John {had been arrested}, he withdrew into Galilee.

and having left Nazareth, having come, he dwelt at Capernaum that is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtalim,

in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

the people that is sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death -- light arose to them.'

From that time [on], Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near."

And as He was going on from that point, He saw two others, brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets in order; and He called them.

And his fame went out into the whole of Syria, and they brought to him all that were ill, suffering under various diseases and pains, and those possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics; and he healed them.

And there followed him a great number of people from Galilee, and from the ten cities, and from Jerusalem, and from Jewry, and from the regions that lie beyond Jordan.

Blessed are they, that are of an humble spirit, for of such is the kingdom of the Messias.

Blessed they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that mourn: because they shall be comforted.

Happy are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness'sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

You will be blessed when people speak against you and harm you and say bad things about you that are untrue, because of [your devotion to] me.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes insipid, what can make it salt again? After that it is fit for nothing, fit only to be thrown outside and trodden by the feet of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill, cannot be hid,

neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it lighteth all them that are in the house.

In the [same] way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

"Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy [them] but to fulfill [them].

for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.

For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not commit murder,' and 'whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.'

But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.

Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

[stop right there]; leave your gift at the Altar and [immediately] go to that brother and settle the matter first, before returning to offer your gift.

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest that adversary deliver ye to the judge, and the judge deliver ye to the minister, and then thou be cast into prison.

verily I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till that thou mayest pay the last farthing.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'

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 causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.

'And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing 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.

"Again you have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'

I, however, say to you that you must not swear at all, either by Heaven, since that is God's throne,

nor yet by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of that great King:

But your communication shall be, 'Yea, Yea; Nay, nay': for whatsoever is more than that cometh of evil.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

But I say to you, That ye resist not wrong. But whosoever give thee a blow on thy right cheek, turn to him the other.

and to him that would go to law with thee and take thy body coat, leave him thy cloak also.

To him that asks of thee give, and from him that desires to borrow of thee turn not away.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and 'Hate your enemy.'

But I say unto you, Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them which do you wrong and persecute you;

in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you practice loving only those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax-collectors practice that?

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same?

Take heed to your alms, that ye give it not in the sight of men, to the intent that ye would be seen of them: or else ye get no reward of your father which is in heaven.

Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand [and] pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

"But [when you] pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.

be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him;

Give us to-day the bread that we shall need;

"Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"See that ye gather not treasure together upon the earth, where rust and moths corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

for wherever [you store] your valuables, that is where your heart [i.e., your real concern] will be also.

but if thine eye be wicked, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!