As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,

it seemed best to me also--[because I] have followed all [things] carefully from the beginning--to write [them] down in orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,

In order that you may be able to satisfy yourself of the accuracy of the story which you have heard from the lips of others.]

It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, [there was] a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And {he had a wife} from the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elizabeth.

Just then an angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.

After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,

"This wise hath God dealt with me, in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the rebuke that I suffered among men."

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee, named Nazareth,

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have received favor from God.

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.

For no word from God will be impossible.

So Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's female slave! May it happen to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Then she spoke out in a loud voice and said, " [Mary], you are [truly] blessed [from] among [all] women, and the child you will bear [i.e., Jesus] is blessed [as well].

And from where is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And blessed [is] she who believed that [there] will be a fulfillment to what was spoken to her from the Lord!"

For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.

For behold from now all generations call me blessed; because the Mighty One did great things unto me, and His name is holy;

He shows His mercy from age to age to those who fear him.

He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.

He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.

And they said unto her - There is, no one from among thy kindred, who is called by this name!

"May the Lord be praised, [who is] the God of the Israelites, for He has come to [the aid of] His people and bought them back [i.e., from bondage].

He has provided a horn of salvation [i.e., His saving strength] for us from a descendant of His servant King David [i.e., Jesus, born of Mary]

(As he said, by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the earliest times,)

Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us;

That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship,

Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,

Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Caesar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world.

And Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judaea, to Beth-lehem, the town of David, because he was of the house and family of David,

[Suddenly] an angel from the Lord [was seen] standing near them and the glorious presence of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid.

And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying,

And when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the keepers of the sheep said to one another, Let us go now to Beth-lehem, and see this thing which has come about, which the Lord has made clear to us.

For mine eyes have seen the saviour sent from thee:

(and even a sword shall go through thine own soul;) so that the thoughts may be revealed from many hearts.

And there was a prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was far advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,

and herself [as] a widow up to eighty-four years) who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day.

She came forward at that very time and thanked God [in prayer] and spoke about the child [Jesus] to everyone [in the Temple area] who was expecting the redemption of the people of Jerusalem [i.e., their liberation from sin].

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year to attend the Passover Festival. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, a message from God came to Zechariah's son John in the desert.

He went into the whole region around the Jordan River proclaiming that those immersed on the basis of their repentance [i.e., determining to change their hearts and lives] would receive the forgiveness of sins [from God].

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.’”

So he said to the people who went out to him for baptism: You offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come?

Make clear by your acts that your hearts have been changed; and do not say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children of Abraham.

And he said to them, Collect not one thing more than from what has been appointed for you.

And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Extort from no one, and do not blackmail [anyone], and be content with your pay."

The Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, and a voice came from heaven, saying, You are my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, came back from the Jordan, and was guided by the Spirit in the waste land

where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished.

Jesus answered him, and said, "Hence from me, Satan. For it is written, 'Thou shalt honour the Lord thy God, and him only serve.'"

And he took him to Jerusalem and put him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, let yourself go down from here; for it is said in the Writings,

And when all these tests were ended the Evil One went away from him for a time.

Then Jesus returned to Galilee with power from the Holy Spirit; and a report about Him spread through all the surrounding region.

Meanwhile He began to teach in their synagogues, and was continuously receiving praise from all.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because I am marked out by him to give good news to the poor; he has sent me to make well those who are broken-hearted; to say that the prisoners will be let go, and the blind will see, and to make the wounded free from their chains,

to announce the year of favor from the Lord."

And they were all giving witness, with wonder, to the words of grace which came from his mouth: and they said, Is not this the son of Joseph?

They rose up and threw Jesus out of the city, leading Him to the top of the hill on which the city was built, in order to throw Him down [from a cliff].

"Ha! What business do we have with you, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are; [you are] God's Holy One."

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out from him. And the demon, having thrown him down into the midst, came out from him without doing him any injury.

And he rose up from the synagogue, and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon's wife's mother was holden with a great fever; and they besought him for her.

He went near her, and with a sharp word he gave orders to the disease and it went away from her; and straight away she got up and took care of their needs.

At sunset all who had friends suffering from any illness brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on them all, one by one, and cured them.

And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

And when it was day, he came out and went into a desert place: and the multitudes sought after him, and came unto him, and would have stayed him, that he should not go from them.

and he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen, having come down from them, were washing their nets.

And he entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes out of the boat.

But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Then Jesus told Simon, "Stop being afraid. From now on you will be catching people." So when they brought the boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him.

But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.

And it came about that on one of these days he was teaching; and some Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him, to make those who were ill free from their diseases.

But because they could not find a [suitable] way to get him in [to the house] because of the people crowded [around], they went up to the housetop [Note: This was a flat area, where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with a stairway accessible from the outside] and lowered the man on his cot through the roof tiles into the presence of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.”

I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.

But the days will come; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast in those days.

And he spake also a parable unto them: No man rendeth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon an old garment; else he will rend the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

And when it was day, he called his disciples; and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles:

and he came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured.

And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed them all.

And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].

Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company , and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

then you may triumph with joy; secure of being greatly rewarded in heaven: for such was the treatment the prophets received from their forefathers.

But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you].

To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also.

Give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who takes away your things, do not ask for [them back].

And if you let those have the use of your money, from whom you are hoping to get it back, what credit is it to you? even sinners do so to sinners, hoping to get back as much as they gave.

but as for you, love your enemies, do good, and lend without expecting any advantage from it: so shall your reward be great, in acting like the children of the most high: for he is kind to the most ungrateful wretches.

And do not pass [hypocritical] judgment [on other people. See Matt. 7:1-5] and you will not receive such judgment [on yourselves]. And do not condemn [others] and you will not be condemned [yourselves]. Release people [i.e., from guilt for offending you] and you will be released [i.e., by God?]

How are you able to say to your brother, "Brother, allow [me] to remove the speck [that is] in your eye," [while] you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your [own] eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your [own] eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck [that is] in your brother's eye!

For every tree is judged by its fruit. Men do not get figs from thorns, or grapes from blackberry plants.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for from the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

When they reached Jesus they asked him earnestly to do this. "He deserves to have this favour from you," they said,

And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself; for I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof:

Jesus was surprised to hear these words from him; and, turning to the crowd which was following him, he said: "I tell you, nowhere in Israel have I met with such faith as this!"

Now when he came near the door of the town, a dead man was being taken out, the only son of his mother, who was a widow: and a great number of people from the town were with her.