But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born.

So, Mary stayed with [her relative] Elizabeth for about three months [i.e., until about the time John was born. See 1:26-31], and then returned to her home.

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

Yes, you [my] child [i.e., John], will be called the prophet of the Highest [i.e., God], for you will go ahead of the Lord's presence to prepare His ways.

So, the child [i.e., John] grew and became strong in [his] spirit and stayed in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the Israelites.

All of a sudden an army of celestial beings join'd the angel, singing praises to God, and saying,

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

John went into all the district about the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of the penitent for the forgiveness of sins;

Accordingly John used to say to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

John answered them, "The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise."

Even tax-gatherers came to be baptized, and said to John: "Teacher, what are we to do?"

"Do not collect more than you have authority to demand," John answered.

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

With many other exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

But when Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch was repeatedly reprimanded [and convicted by John’s disapproval] for having Herodias, his brother’s wife [as his own], and for all the wicked things that Herod had done,

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

Now it happened when all the people had been immersed [by John], that Jesus was also immersed [by him]. And while Jesus was praying, heaven was opened

Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Naum, the son of Esli,

son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semi, son of Joseph, son of Juda, son of Joanna,

Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

So, He left the synagogue and entered Simon's [i.e., Peter's] house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was [in bed] stricken with a high fever. And they [i.e., Andrew, James and John, besides Peter. See Mark 1:29] begged Him [to do something] for her.

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

After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

I came not to call saints, but sinners to repentance. Then they ask'd him, how comes it that John's disciples,

And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon, called the Zealot [i.e., the same as the Cananean. See Matt. 10:4],

And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.

And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

John is the man about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending My messenger before thy face, and he shall make ready thy way before thee.'

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers [who were experts in the Mosaic Law] annulled and set aside God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

Presently Jesus' mother and brothers came where he was, but they were not able to join him on account of the crowd.

And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;

because it was said by some, That John was risen from the dead; and by some that Elijah had appeared; by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

But He said to the apostles, "You men give them something to eat." But they replied, "We have only five loaves of [barley] bread [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish, unless we go and buy [more] food for all these people."

They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

Now Peter and those with him [i.e., James and John] had been very sleepy, but became wide awake when they saw the splendor of Jesus and the two men standing with Him.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.

"None of you must prevent him," Jesus said to John; "he who is not against you is for you."

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village [i.e., Bethany. See John 11:1], and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters.

And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah.

For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

But that person who disowns me in front of people [i.e., denies that I am the Christ, or that he is a disciple. See John 18:15-17, 25-27], will be disowned in front of God's angels.

"Or what king as he goes forth to join battle with another king in war does not sit down first and deliberate whether he can meet with ten thousand men the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand?

But the older son got angry and refused to go into [the house]. So, his father came out and pleaded with him [i.e., to come in and join the celebration].

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing; sell everything that you have and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

And he answering said, I will also ask you one thing and tell me, Was the baptism of John from heaven or of men?

The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

Then they answered Jesus that they did not know [who authorized John's immersion].

And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

So Peter and John went on, and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Then a certain one of them struck the head priest's slave and sheared off his right ear. [Note: It was Peter who struck this man, whose name was Malchus. See John 18:10].

Then Jesus called out, "Father, forgive these people [i.e., the ones responsible for crucifying Him], for they do not know [i.e., realize] what they are doing." Then the soldiers [See John 19:23] divided Jesus' clothing among them by gambling for them.

It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

now while they were conferring and debating together, Jesus himself join'd them and walk'd along with them.

Then some of our companions [i.e., Peter and John. See John 20:2-9] went to the grave site and found things just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus [either]."

And look, I [am going to] send upon you apostles what my Father promised [i.e., the Holy Spirit. See John 14:26]; but you should wait in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from above." [Note: This promise was fulfilled when the apostles were immersed in the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1:4 - 2:4].