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

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

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.

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

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 the leprosy at once left him and he was cleansed.

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

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,

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

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.

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?"

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.

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

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."

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

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

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.

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

there was Simon, whom he surnamed Peter,

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

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."

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

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

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

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?"

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

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

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

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.

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

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?"

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?"

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;

The girl got up at once and began to walk (she was twelve years old); and at once they were lost in utter amazement.

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!

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

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.

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

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;

(The number of men who ate the loaves was five thousand.)

Now when evening came the boat was [far out] in the middle of the sea, and he was on the land alone;

but when he saw them buffeted as they rowed (for the wind was against them) he went to them about the fourth watch of the night walking on the sea. He meant to pass them,

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."

they hurried round all the district and proceeded to carry the sick on their pallets wherever they heard that he was;

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

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

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

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,

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

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."

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.

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

They said nothing, for on the road they had been disputing about which of them was the greatest.

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

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.

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.

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,

heard it was Jesus of Nazaret. So he started to shout, "Son of David! Jesus! have pity on me."

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 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.

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

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

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

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.

This angered some of those present. "What was the use of wasting perfume like this?

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?"

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

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.

Day after day I was beside you in the temple teaching, and you never seized me. However, it is to let the scriptures be fulfilled."

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

(There was a man called Bar-Abbas in prison, among the rioters who had committed murder during the insurrection.)

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

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

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

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

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."

women who had followed him when he was in Galilee and waited on him, besides a number of other women who had accompanied him to Jerusalem.

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

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.

Pilate was surprised that he was dead already; he summoned the captain and asked if he had been dead some time,

Now Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses noted where he was laid.

They said to themselves, "Who will roll away the boulder for us at the opening of the tomb?" (for it was a very large boulder).

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.

but although they heard he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

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."]

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