There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were far advanced in life.

and her neighbours and relatives heard how the Lord had had great compassion on her; and they rejoiced with her.

To deliver us from our foes and from the power of all who hate us.

Then, as soon as the angels had left them and returned to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go over as far as Bethlehem and see this that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

And when they saw the child, they told what had been said to them about Him;

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen in accordance with the announcement made to them.

When eight days had passed and the time for circumcising Him had come, He was called JESUS, the name given Him by the angel before His conception in the womb.

And when the days for their purification appointed by the Law of Moses had passed, they took Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord--

To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Anointed One.

There was also Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, belonging to the tribe of Asher. She was of a very great age, having had after her maidenhood seven years of married life,

Then, as soon as they had accomplished all that the Law required, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

But Herod the Tetrarch, being repeatedly rebuked by him about Herodias his brother's wife, and about all the wicked deeds that he had done,

Now when all the people had been baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the sky opened,

He came to Nazareth also, where He had been brought up; and, as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

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.

He, however, saw two fishing-boats drawn up on the beach (for the men had gone away from them and were washing the nets)

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Push out into deep water, and let down your nets for a haul."

(For he was astonished and terrified--he and all his companions--at the haul of fish which they had taken;

One day He was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village in Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to cure people.

Instantly he stood up in their presence, took up the mattress on which he had been lying, and went away to his home, giving glory to God.

On another Sabbath He had gone to the synagogue and was teaching there; and in the congregation was a man whose right arm was withered.

These were Simon, to whom also He had given the name of Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

"Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man's sake.

"But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies; seek the welfare of those who hate you;

After He had finished teaching all these things in the hearing of the people, He went into Capernaum.

And the friends who had been sent, on returning to the house, found the servant in perfect health.

And the report of what Jesus had done spread through the whole of Judaea and in all the surrounding districts.

No oil did you pour even on my head; but she has poured perfume upon my feet.

and certain women whom He had delivered from evil spirits and various diseases--Mary of Magdala, out of whom seven demons had come,

"When any one lights a lamp, he does not cover it with a vessel or hide it under a couch; he puts it on a lampstand, that people who enter the room may see the light.

Here, on landing, He was met by one of the townsmen who was possessed by demons--for a long time he had not put on any garment, nor did he live in a house, but in the tombs.

For already He had been commanding the foul spirit to come out of the man. For many a time it had seized and held him, and they had repeatedly put him in chains and fetters and kept guard over him, but he used to break the chains to pieces, and, impelled by the demon, to escape into the Desert.

"What is your name?" Jesus asked him. "Legion," he replied--because a great number of demons had entered into him;

The swineherds, seeing what had happened, fled and reported it both in town and country;

whereupon the people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were terrified.

And those who had seen it told them how the demoniac was cured.

But the man from whom the demons had gone out earnestly asked permission to go with Him; but He sent him away.

"Return home," He said, "and tell there all that God has done for you." So he went and published through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him.

Now when Jesus was returning, the people gave Him a warm welcome; for they had all been looking out for Him.

for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. And as He went, the dense throng crowded on Him.

And a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with haemorrhage--and had spent on doctors all she had, but none of them had been able to cure her--

Then the woman, perceiving that she had not escaped notice, came trembling, and throwing herself down at His feet she stated before all the people the reason why she had touched Him and how she was instantly cured.

Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was going on; and he was bewildered because of its being said by some that John had come back to life,

by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that some one of the ancient Prophets had come back to life.

The Apostles, on their return, related to Jesus all they had done. Then He took them and withdrew to a quiet retreat, to a town called Bethsaida.

So they ate and were fully satisfied, all of them; and what they had remaining over was gathered up, twelve baskets of fragments.

But while he was thus speaking, there came a cloud which spread over them; and they were awe-struck when they had entered into the cloud.

After this voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept it to themselves, and said not a word to any one at that time about what they had seen.

"The foxes have holes," said Jesus, "and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

"Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! For had the miracles been performed in Tyre and Sidon which have been performed in you, long ere now they would have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

She had a sister called Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching.

When He had thus spoken, a Pharisee invited Him to breakfast at his house; so He entered and took His place at table.

After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand answers on numerous points,

Meanwhile the people had come streaming towards Him by tens of thousands, so that they were trampling one another under foot. And now He proceeded to say to His disciples first, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is to say, beware of hypocrisy.

Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into.

But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.

And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, 'It will be burning hot;' and it comes to pass.

Just at that time people came to tell Him about the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, do you suppose they had failed in their duty more than all the rest of the people who live in Jerusalem?

And He gave them the following parable. "A man," He said, "who had a fig-tree growing in his garden came to look for fruit on it and could find none.

where a woman was present who for eighteen years had been a confirmed invalid: she was bent double, and was unable to lift herself to her full height.

Then the Warden of the Synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured her on a Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days in the week on which people ought to work. On those days therefore come and get yourselves cured, and not on the Sabbath day."

And this woman, daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan had bound for no less than eighteen years, was she not to be loosed from this chain because it is the Sabbath day?"

When He had said this, all His opponents were ashamed, while the whole multitude was delighted at the many glorious things continually done by Him.

Also to His host, who had invited Him, He said, "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbours, lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you.

At dinner-time he sent his servant to announce to those who had been invited, "'Come, for things are now ready.'

"If any one is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

Then coming home he calls his friends and neighbours together, and says, 'Congratulate me, for I have found my sheep--the one I had lost.'

And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, and says, "'Congratulate me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.'

He went on to say, "There was a man who had two sons.

At last, when he had spent everything, there came a terrible famine throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch of want.

"'Your brother has come,' he replied; 'and your father has had the fat calf killed, because he has got him home safe and sound.'

He said also to His disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward, about whom a report was brought to him, that he was wasting his property.

"No servant can be in bondage to two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will cling fast to one and scorn the other. You cannot be bondservants both of God and of gold."

"But in course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and had a funeral.

"'Remember, my child,' said Abraham, 'that you had all your good things during your lifetime, and that Lazarus in like manner had his bad things. But, now and here, he is receiving consolation and you are in agony.

"In a certain town," He said, "there was a judge who had no fear of God and no respect for man.

At length Jesus stopped and desired them to bring the man to Him; and when he had come close to Him He asked him,

And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading.

So those who were sent went and found things as He had told them.

And when He was now getting near Jerusalem, and descending the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began in their joy to praise God in loud voices for all the mighty deeds they had witnessed.

"O that at this time thou hadst known--yes even thou--what makes peace possible! But now it is hid from thine eyes.

At this the Scribes and the High Priests wanted to lay hands on Him, then and there; only they were afraid of the people. For they saw that in this parable He had referred to them.

For from what they could well spare they have all of them contributed to the offerings, but she in her need has thrown in all she had to live on."

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your souls be weighed down with self-indulgence and drunkenness or the anxieties of this life, and that day come upon you, suddenly, like a falling trap;

So they went and found all as He had told them; and they got the Passover ready.

When the time was come, and He had taken His place at table, and the Apostles with Him,

While He was still speaking there came a crowd with Judas, already mentioned as one of the Twelve, at their head. He went up to Jesus to kiss Him.

Then Jesus said to the High Priests and Commanders of the Temple and Elders, who had come to arrest Him, "Have you come out as if to fight with a robber, with swords and cudgels?

And when they had lighted a fire in the middle of the court and had seated themselves in a group round it, Peter was sitting among them,

"Man, I don't know what you mean," replied Peter. No sooner had he spoken than a cock crowed.

The Master turned and looked on Peter; and Peter recollected the Master's words, how He had said to him, "This very day, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times."

To Herod the sight of Jesus was a great gratification, for, for a long time, he had been wanting to see Him, because he had heard so much about Him. He hoped also to see some miracle performed by Him.

And on that very day Herod and Pilate became friends again, for they had been for some time at enmity.

There was moreover a writing over His head: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Now one of the criminals who had been crucified insulted Him, saying, "Are not you the Christ? Save yourself and us."

The Captain, seeing what had happened, gave glory to God, saying, "Beyond question this man was innocent."

And all the crowds that had come together to this sight, after seeing all that had occurred, returned to the city beating their breasts.

But all His acquaintances, and the women who had been His followers after leaving Galilee, continued standing at a distance and looking on.