exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ’s ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],

And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.

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].

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]

And when, after eight days, the time came for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given to him before his birth.

Now when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

And full of the Spirit he came into the Temple; and when the father and mother came in with the child Jesus, to do with him what was ordered by the law,

Simeon took Jesus in his arms, praised God and said,

For my eyes have seen your salvation [i.e., Jesus],

Joseph and the mother of Jesus were surprized to hear such things pronounc'd concerning him.

Then Simeon [asked God to] bless them and said to Jesus' mother Mary, "Look, many Israelites will be caused to fall [i.e., into spiritual ruin] or rise [i.e., to spiritual renewal] because of Him. And [He will be] a 'sign' [for people] to speak against,

and happening to come in just at the same time, she likewise express'd her thanks to the lord, and spoke of Jesus to all those, who expected deliverance in Jerusalem.

And the child [i.e., Jesus] grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and God's favor was upon Him.

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover.

when Jesus therefore was twelve years old they went thither, as was customary at the time of that festival.

And when the days of the feast came to an end and they were going back, the boy Jesus was still in Jerusalem, but they had no knowledge of it:

And all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers.

When Jesus' parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

Jesus replied, why were ye so sollicitous about me? don't you know that 'tis my business to be in my father's house?

However Jesus went down with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them: and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

And Jesus was increasing in wisdom and in years, and in grace before God and men.

Now it came about that when all the people had been given baptism, Jesus, having had baptism with them, was in prayer, when, the heaven being open,

And Jesus at this time was about thirty years old, being the son (as it seemed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

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

And Jesus made answer to him, It has been said in the Writings, Bread is not man's only need.

And the Devil led Jesus up, and showing him in a single moment all the kingdoms of the earth, said to him:

He told Jesus, "I will give you all this authority, along with their glory, because it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please.

And Jesus in answer said to him, It has been said in the Writings, Give worship to the Lord your God, and be his servant only.

Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and placed Him on the elevated wing of the Temple and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

And Jesus made answer and said to him, It is said in the Writings, You may not put the Lord your God to the test.

And when the devil had finished every test, he left Jesus until a [later] time.

And Jesus came back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news of him went through all the country round about.

Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,

The book given him was that of the Prophet Isaiah; and Jesus opened the book and found the place where it says--

And Jesus began: "This very day this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself!' and say, 'What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.'"

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].

Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee. On the Sabbath he taught the people.

Let us be! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? have you come to put an end to us? I have knowledge who you are, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no hurt.

And rumors about Jesus traveled through every place in the neighborhood.

When Jesus came out of the synagogue, he went to Simon's house, whose mother-in-law was seized with a violent fever, and they desired him to relieve her.

As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them.

And evil spirits also came out of many people, shouting [at Him], "You are the Son of God." And Jesus spoke sternly to them and would not allow them to speak [anymore] because they knew He was the Christ [Note: Jesus would not accept the endorsement of these Satanic spirits].

The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

But Jesus said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do."

As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret.

He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from 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.

And when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

And it came to pass, while he was in one of the cities, behold, a man full of leprosy: and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

then Jesus stretch'd out his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou cured. and immediately the leprosy disappear'd:

And instantly the leprosy left him. Jesus ordered him to tell no one, "But be off," he said, "show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

But the news about what Jesus had done spread all the more widely, so that large crowds assembled to listen to Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

But Jesus Himself continued His habit of retiring to lonely spots and praying.

On one of those days, when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and Doctors of the Law were sitting near by. (They had come from all the villages in Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was upon Jesus, so that he could work cures.)

And some men had with them, on a bed, a man who was ill, without power of moving; and they made attempts to get him in and put him before Jesus.

And not finding by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

But Jesus perceiving their reasonings, answered and said unto them, Why reason ye in your hearts?

After this Jesus left the place, and seeing a publican named Levi, sitting at the custom-house, he said to him, follow me.

So, Matthew gave up everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

Now the Pharisees and their experts in the law of Moses complained to Jesus' disciples, saying, "Why do you men eat and drink with tax collectors and worldly people?"

And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are in health have no need of a physician; but they that are sick.

Then they said to Jesus, "John [the Immerser's] disciples fast frequently [i.e., going without food and/or drink for religious reasons] and they offer earnest prayer requests, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same things. But your disciples eat and drink."

And Jesus said unto them, Can ye make the sons of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them [Note: Jesus here refers to Himself]. Then they will fast at that time."

Then, as an illustration, Jesus said to them: "No man ever tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old one; for, if he does, he will not only tear the new garment, but the piece from the new one will not match the old.

On the second-prime sabbath, as Jesus was passing through the corn-fields, his disciples happen'd to pluck the ears, and rubbing out the corn with their hands began to eat.

And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read even this, what David did, when he was hungry, he, and they that were with him;

Then Jesus added: "The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was withered.

The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him.

But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue." So he got up and stood there.

And Jesus said unto them, I ask you, Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to destroy it?

But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

About that time, Jesus retired to a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in an oratory.

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

Judas, the son of James [i.e., the same as Thaddaeus. See Matt. 10:3] and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor [to Jesus].

Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "How blessed are you who are destitute, because the kingdom of God is yours!

Then Jesus told them a parable [i.e., a brief story to illustrate His teaching]: "Can a blind person lead a blind person? Will not both of them fall into a ditch?

After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum.

And when he heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, asking him that he would come and save his servant.

And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him;

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:

And when Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned and said unto the multitude that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.

And when Jesus saw her, he was moved with compassion for her, and said unto her, Weep not.

Then He went near the casket and touched it; [immediately] the pallbearers stopped. Jesus said, "Young man, I tell you, get up."

Then the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

This report about Jesus circulated throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

Then the disciples of John [the Immerser] told him all about these things [i.e., what Jesus was doing].

and John, having called two of his disciples, sent to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that is coming, or are we to wait for another?

accordingly they came to Jesus, and said, John the Baptist sent us to enquire, if you are he that was to come, or must we look for another?

At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many blind people.

And Jesus answering said to them, Go, bring back word to John of what ye have seen and heard: that blind see, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, dead are raised, poor are evangelized;