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 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.

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

Then the Spirit drove him immediately into the desert,

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.

At once they dropped their nets and went after him.

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

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

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

Then they were all so amazed that they discussed it together, saying, "Whatever is this?" "It's new teaching with authority behind it!" "He orders even unclean spirits!" "Yes, and they obey him!"

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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?"

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

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

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.

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And when his family heard this, they set out to get hold of him, for what they said was, "He is out of his mind."

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

there was a crowd sitting round him, and he was told, "Here are your mother and brothers and sisters wanting you outside."

And glancing at those who were sitting round him in a circle he said, "There are my mother and my brothers!

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.

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

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

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

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."

so, leaving the crowd, they took him just as he was in the boat, accompanied by some other boats.

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

But they were overawed and said to each other, "Whatever can he be, when the very wind and sea obey 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

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

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

On catching sight of Jesus from afar he ran and knelt before him,

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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?"

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

and the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came forward in fear and trembling and fell down before him, telling him all the truth.

He would not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

They laughed at him. However, he put them all outside and taking the father and mother of the child as well as his companions he went in to where the child was lying;

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.

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;"

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;

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

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.

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,

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

Then, as the day was far gone, his disciples came up to him, saying, "It is a desert place and the day is now far gone;

He said, "How many loaves have you got? Go and see." When they found out they told him, "Five, and two fish."

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

but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and shrieked aloud ??50 for they all saw him and were terrified. Then he spoke to them at once; "Courage," he said, "it is I, have no fear."

whatever village or town or hamlet he went to, they would lay their invalids in the marketplace, begging him to let them touch even the tassel of his robe ??and all who touched him recovered.

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

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?"

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

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

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

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

He said to them, "So you do not understand, either? Do you not see how nothing outside a man can defile him by entering him?

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

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

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

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

And a deaf man who stammered was brought to him, with the request that he would lay his hand on him.

So taking him aside from the crowd by himself, he put his fingers into the man's ears, touched his tongue with saliva,

and looking up to heaven with a sigh he said to him, "Ephphatha" (which means, Open).

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

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

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?"

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.

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

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

Then he forbade them to tell anyone about him.

he spoke of this quite freely. Peter took him and began to reprove him for it,