it seemed good to me also, having obtained exact information of all things from the very first, to write them in order for you, most excel lent Theophilus,

And Zachariah said to the angel: By what sign shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife is advanced in years.

And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak, till the day in which these things shall take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time.

Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days in which he has looked with regard upon me, to take away my reproach among men.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

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

For, behold, when the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;

for he has looked upon the lowly condition of his handmaid. For, behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed;

for He that is Mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name:

for my eyes have seen thy salvation,

(and a sword shall pierce through your own soul,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

And he said to them: Why did you seek for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

and the Holy Spirit descended upon him, in a bodily form, like a dove; and there came a voice from heaven, which said: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I delight.

And the devil said to him: I will give you all the authority and glory of these, for it is delivered to me; and to whomever I will, I give it.

If, therefore, you will bow with reverence before me, all shall be yours.

And Jesus answered and said to him: Get behind me, Satan; it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed;

And he said to them: You will assuredly apply to me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself. Whatever things we have heard were done in Capernaum, do also here in your country.

And when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at the knees of Jesus, and said: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.

And it came to pass, that he was in one of their cities; and 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.

And he charged him to tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and make offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, that it may be a testimony to them.

But that you may know that the Son of man on the earth has power to forgive sins, (he said to the paralytic,) I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house.

And after these tilings, he went out and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the custom-house; and he said to him: Follow me.

And if you lend to them from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? for even sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive the same.

Or, how can you say to your brother: Brother, let me pull out the splinter that is in your eye, when you yourself see not the beam that is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first pull the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to pull out the splinter that is in your brother's eye.

But why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I command?

Every one that comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like.

And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, and said to him: Lord, give thyself no trouble; for I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof.

For which reason, neither did I count myself worthy to go to thee; but command in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

For I am a man placed under authority, and have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.

and blessed is he who shall find no cause of offense in me.

This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way be fore thee.

And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon: Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet; but she has washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.

You gave me no kiss; but she, from the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

He replied: To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that when they see, they may not see, and when they hear, they may not understand.

No one when he has lighted a lamp, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a divan, but sets it on a lamp-stand, that they who come in may see the light.

But he answered and said to them: My mother and my brothers are they that hear the word of God and do it.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice: "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of God Most High? I beseech thee, torment me not.

And Jesus said: Who touched me? When they all denied, Peter and those with him said: Master, the multitudes press upon thee, and throng thee, and dost thou say, Who touched me?

But Jesus said: Some one touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from me.

And the day began to decline; and the twelve came and said to him: Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and the country round about, and lodge, and find food; for we are here in a desert place.

And he said to them all: If any one determines to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and fol low me.

For whoever will save his life, shall lose it; but whoever will lose his life for my sake, shall save it.

For whoever will be ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in his own glory; and that of the Father, and of the holy angels.

And there came a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son; hear him.

And, behold, a man from the multitude cried out, saying: Teacher, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is my only child;

and said to them: Whoever will receive this little child on my account, receives me; and whoever will receive me, receives him that sent me. For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

And he said to another: Follow me. But he replied: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.

And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but first permit me to take leave of those at home.

He that hears you, hears me; and he that rejects you, rejects me; and he that rejects me, rejects him that sent me.

All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

But, wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor?

And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him: Take care of him; and whatever you spend more, on my return, I will repay you.

But Martha made herself busy with much serving; and she came to him, and said: Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her, therefore, that she help me.

And he said to them: Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

for a friend of mine, who is on a journey, has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is already closed, and my children and myself are in bed; I can not rise and give you.

He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathers not with me, scatters.

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return to my house out of which I came.

No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, nor under the measure, but upon the lamp-stand, that those who come in may see the light.

that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

But I say to you, my friends, Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

And I further say to you, Whoever confesses me before men, him will the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

But he that denies me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.

And a certain one of the multitude said to him: Teacher, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

But he said to him: Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

And he reasoned within himself, saying: What shall I do? for I have no place in which I can store my fruits.

And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns and I will build larger ones; and there I will store ail my produce, and my good things;

and I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.

and be like men that are waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that, when he comes and knocks, they may open for him immediately.

But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming, and shall begin to strike the men-servants and the maid-servants, and to eat and to drink, and to be drunk;

and it may bear fruit; but if not, after ward you shall cut it down.

And he shall say, I tell you, I know you not, whence you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.

But I must continue my journey to-day and to-morrow and the day following; for it is not possible that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Behold, your house is deserted; and I say to you, You shall not see me till the time come when you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.

When you are invited by any one to a wedding, do not recline in the first place, lest a more honorable man than you may have been invited by him;

But when you are invited, go and recline in the last place, that when he that invited you shall come, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher. Then you shall have honor in the presence of those who recline with you.

And they all, with one consent, began to make excuse. The first said to him, I have bought a farm, and I must go and see it; I pray you, have me excused.

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them; I pray you, have me excused.

And the lord said to his servant, Go out into the roads, and among the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full.

For I say to you, that not one of those men who have been invited, shall taste of my supper.

If any one comes to me, and hates not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and his own life also, he can not be my disciple.

And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, can not be my disciple.

So, then, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, can not be my disciple.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, and says to them., Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma that I lost.

And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of the property that falls to me. And he divided his estate between them.

But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I am perishing with hunger!

I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight,

and am no longer worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants.

for this my son was dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

But he answered and said to his father, Behold, for so many years do I serve you, and never have I transgressed your commandment, and yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.

And he said to him, Son, you are ever with me, and all that I have is yours.

And the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes from me the stewardship. I have not strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

I am resolved on what I shall do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, I may be received into their houses.

And he called to him every one of his lord's debtors, and said to the first, How much do you owe my lord?

And I say to you, Make for yourselves friends with the unrighteous riches, that when you fail, you may be received into the everlasting habitations.