so that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.

And Zechariah said to the angel, "By what will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced {in years}!"

Now after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion [for] five months, saying,

Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee {named} Nazareth,

And he will reign over the house of Jacob {forever}, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Now in those days Mary set out [and] traveled with haste into the hill country, to a town of Judah,

because he has looked upon the humble state of his female slave, for behold, from now on all generations will consider me blessed,

Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

And his mother answered [and] said, "No, but he will be named John."

And they said to her, "There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name."

Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And it happened that when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has revealed to us!"

"Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord, according to your word.

And [after] the days were completed, while they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And his parents did not know [it],

And he said to them, "{Why} were you searching for me? Did you not know that it was necessary [for] me to be in the [house] of my Father?"

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, [when] Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

And even now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And he said to them, "Collect no more than {what you are ordered to}."

And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Extort from no one, and do not blackmail [anyone], and be content with your pay."

Now it happened that when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and [while he] was praying, heaven was opened,

the [son] of Cainan, the [son] of Arphaxad, the [son] of Shem, the [son] of Noah, the [son] of Lamech,

And he said, "Truly I say to you that no prophet is acceptable in his [own] hometown.

"Ha! {Leave us alone}, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"

Now [as] the sun was setting, all who had those who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and placing [his] hands on every one of them, he healed them.

And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Son of God!" And he rebuked [them] [and] did not permit them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,

and so also [were] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!"

And he ordered him, "Tell no one, but go [and] show yourself to the priest and bring [the offering] for your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he said to the one who was paralyzed, "I say to you, 'Get up and pick up your stretcher [and] go to your home.'"

And he also told a parable to them: "No one tears a patch from a new garment [and] puts [it] on an old garment. Otherwise, he will have torn the new also, and the old will not match the patch [that is] from the new.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled and the wineskins will be destroyed.

But new wine must be put into new wineskins.

And no one [after] drinking old [wine] wants new, because he says, 'The old is [just] fine!'"

Now it happened that on a Sabbath he went through the grain fields, and his disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing [them] in [their] hands.

Now it happened that on another Sabbath he entered into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there, and his right hand was withered.

But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and stand in the middle," and he got up [and] stood there.

Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God.

Blessed [are] those who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied. Blessed [are] those who weep now, Because you will laugh.

Woe to you who are satisfied now, because you will be hungry. Woe, you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep.

"For there is no good tree that produces bad fruit, nor on the other hand a bad tree that produces good fruit,

Now a certain centurion's slave, who was esteemed by him, {was sick} [and] was about to die.

So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, [and] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof.

I tell you, there is no one greater among [those] born of women than John, but the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Now one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he entered into the house of the Pharisee [and] reclined at the table.

Now [when] the Pharisee who invited him saw [this], he spoke to himself, saying, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman [this is] who is touching him, that she is a sinner."

[When] they were not able to repay [him], he forgave [the debts] of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

And he said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest [they are] in parables, so that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God,

"And no one, [after] lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts [it] under a bed, but puts [it] on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.

Now his mother and brothers came to him, and they were not able to meet with him because of the crowd.

Now it happened that on one of the days both he and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they set sail,

Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding there on the hill, and they implored him that he would permit them to enter into those [pigs]. And he permitted them.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him.

because {he had} an only daughter, about twelve years [old], and she was dying. Now as he was going, the crowds were pressing against him.

But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, because I know power has gone out from me."

[While] he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue ruler's [house], saying, "Your daughter is dead! Trouble the Teacher no longer!"

Now [when he] came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and mother of the child.

And they began laughing at him, [because they] knew that she was dead.

And her parents were astonished, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John has been raised from the dead,

Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up [and] said to him, "Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place.

But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people."

But he warned [and] commanded them to tell this to no one,

Now it happened that about eight days after these words, he took along Peter and John and James [and] went up on the mountain to pray.

Now Peter and those with him were {very sleepy}, but [when they] became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.

And after the voice had occurred, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Now it happened that on the next day, [when] they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

But Jesus, [because he] knew the thoughts of their hearts, took hold of a child and had him stand beside him

Now it happened that when the days were approaching {for him to be taken up}, he set [his] face to go to Jerusalem.

Now [when] the disciples James and John saw [it], they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky [have] nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay [his] head."

But Jesus said, "No one who puts [his] hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God!"

Do not carry a money bag or a traveler's bag or sandals, and greet no one along the road.

"Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you! Nevertheless know this: that the kingdom of God has come near!"

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No! You will be brought down to Hades!

All [things] have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son, and [anyone] to whom the Son wants to reveal [him]."

Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down on that road, and [when he] saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

Now as they traveled along, he entered into a certain village. And a certain woman {named} Martha welcomed him.

Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he was expelling a mute demon. Now it happened that [when] the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished.

Now it happened that as he said these [things], a certain woman from the crowd raised [her] voice [and] said to him, "Blessed [is] the womb that bore you, and [the] breasts [at] which you nursed!"

And [as] the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah!

"No one [after] lighting a lamp puts [it] in a cellar or under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.

But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greediness and wickedness.

Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over [them] do not know [it]!

Now someone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!"

the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the unbelievers.

And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will {will be given a severe beating}.

But the one who did not know and did [things] deserving blows {will be given a light beating}. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him [for] even more.

Do you think that I have come to grant peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!

For from now on there will be five in one household, divided three against two and two against three.

Hypocrites! You know how to evaluate the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how [is it] you do not know how to evaluate this present time?

Now at the same time some had come to tell him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as well!

No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!"

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

when once the master of the house has gotten up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock [on] the door, saying, 'Lord, open [the door] for us!' And he will answer [and] say to you, 'I do not know where you are from!'

And he will reply, saying to you, 'I do not know where you are from! Go away from me, all [you] {evildoers}!'

Now he told a parable to those who had been invited [when he] noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them,