In the days when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the division of Abijah. His wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

And the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe stirred within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit

And Mary said, "My heart extols the Lord,

Her neighbors and relatives heard of the great mercy the Lord had shown her, and they came and congratulated her.

and everyone who heard them kept them in mind, and said, "What is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

"Because the heart of our God is merciful, And so the day will dawn upon us from on high,

And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them,

And the shepherds went back glorifying God and praising him for all that they had heard and seen in fulfilment of what they had been told.

And he gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a portent that will be much debated??35 you yourself will be pierced to the heart??nd so the thoughts of many minds will be revealed."

and everyone who heard him was astonished at his intelligence and at the answers he made.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod governor of Galilee, while his brother Philip was governor of the territory of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the governor of Abilene,

but Herod the governor, whom he condemned because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the wicked things Herod had done,

And when the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all very angry,

A good man, out of the good he has accumulated in his heart, produces good, and a bad man, out of what he has accumulated that is bad, produces what is bad. For his mouth says only what his heart is full of.

When the captain heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, to ask him to come and save his slave's life.

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such faith as this even in Israel!"

And he answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind are regaining their sight, the lame can walk, the lepers are being cured and the deaf can hear, the dead are being raised and good news is being preached to the poor.

And all the people, even the tax-collectors, when they heard him, acknowledged the justice of God's demands, by accepting baptism from John,

and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them with their means.

But Jesus heard it and said to him, "Do not be afraid; just have faith, and she will get well."

Herod the governor heard of all that was happening, and he was perplexed because some people said that John had risen from the dead,

But Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who can this be about whom I hear such reports?" And he endeavored to see him.

Here I have given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and to trample on all the power of the enemy. Nothing will hurt you at all.

He answered, " 'You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind,' and 'your neighbor as you do yourself.' "

For what you say in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you whisper in someone's ear, behind closed doors, will be proclaimed from the housetops.

For wherever your treasure is, your heart will be too.

Just then some Pharisees came up and said to him, "Go! Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you!"

One of the other guests heard this, and said to him, "Blessed is the man who shall be at the banquet in the Kingdom of God!"

But his elder son was in the field. When he came in and approached the house, he heard music and dancing,

The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is one thing that you still lack. Sell all that you have, and divide the money among the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come back and be a follower of mine."

But when he heard that, he was much cast down, for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw it, he said, "How hard it will be for those who have money to get into the Kingdom of God!

And those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

He will come and put those tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this they said, "Heaven forbid!"

Then they said, "What do we want of testimony now? We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!"

When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean

and learning that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction he turned him over to Herod, for Herod was in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus he was delighted, for he had wanted for a long time to see him, because he had heard about him and he hoped to see some wonder done by him.

And Herod and his guards made light of him and ridiculed him, and they put a gorgeous robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.

And Herod and Pilate became friends that day, for they had been at enmity before.

Neither has Herod, for he has sent him back to us. You see he has done nothing to call for his death.