to perform his customary duties as a priest before God, he drew the responsibility [that day] of entering the Temple of the Lord to burn the incense offering. [Note: This was done on a golden Altar in the Temple by a priest twice a day].

"The Lord has done this for me, and at this time [in my life] He has favored me by removing the stigma placed on me by people [i.e., for not having children]."

Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth's pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the Galilean town of Nazareth,

About that time Mary made a hurried trip to a Judean town in the hill country. [Note: This was be the same province in which Jerusalem was located].

For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name is holy.

And everyone went to register in his own home town.

So, Joseph also went from the Galilean town of Nazareth to David's town, which was the Judean town of Bethlehem, because he was among the descendants and family of David.

So, when Joseph and Mary had completed everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their [current home] town of Nazareth, in Galilee.

So, Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and [continued] to obey them. And His mother kept all these things [stored up] in her heart.

And even now the axe is also ready to chop down the trees at their roots [i.e., you Jews]. Every tree [i.e., person] that does not produce wholesome fruit [i.e., a godly life] will be cut down and thrown into the fire [i.e., the punishment of hell]."

But because he had rebuked Herod, the tetrarch, for [marrying] his brother's wife Herodias, and for all the other bad things he had done,

and the Holy Spirit came down on Him in a physical form, as a dove, and a voice spoke out of heaven [saying], "You are my dearly loved Son. I am very pleased with you."

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,

Then He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were focused on Him.

And He replied to them, "No doubt you will tell me this proverb, 'Doctor, heal yourself,' and 'Perform [the miracles] here in your own home town also that we heard you did in Capernaum.'"

And He said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his own home town.

Elijah was not sent to any of them, except to a widow in Zarephath [i.e., a Gentile town] in the region of Sidon.

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 He went down to the Galilean city of Capernaum and taught the Jews on the Sabbath day.

Then Jesus spoke sternly to the evil spirit [in the man], saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him." And when the evil spirit had thrown the man down in front of them, it came out of him, without causing any harm.

So, He entered one of the boats that belonged to Simon [i.e., Peter], and asked him to launch out a short distance from shore. Then He sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

And when they had done this, they gathered in a large number of fish [until] their nets began to break.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man."

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.

Then He came down [from the mountain] with them and stood on a level place [where] a large crowd of His disciples and a large group of people had gathered to hear Him and be healed from their diseases.

Give [to others] and you will have [things] given to you. People will pour into your lap a full measure [of goods]; it will be pressed down, shaken together and running over [the edges]. Because the standard you use in giving [to others] will be the standard used [by them or God] in giving back to you."

And it happened soon after this that Jesus went to a town called Nain [Note: This was a town of Galilee about

Now when He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out; it was the only son of his widowed mother. And many people from the town were with her.

And when a sinful woman from the town learned that He was having dinner at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of liquid perfume,

And it happened soon after this that Jesus went through one town and village after another, preaching and proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God. [Traveling] with Him were the twelve apostles

Then when a large crowd assembled and people from every town were coming to Jesus, He told them this parable [i.e., a brief story to illustrate His teaching]:

For there is nothing done in obscurity that will not be made known [openly], and nothing done secretly that will not [eventually] become known and be revealed.

But while they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A windstorm blew down on the lake and [the boat] began filling with water so they were in great danger [of sinking].

And when He stepped out [of the boat] onto the shore, He was met by a certain man from the town, who was dominated by evil spirits. He had not worn any clothes for a long time and lived in the graveyard instead of a house.

Then the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the hogs. The herd [immediately] rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

And when those who had been grazing the hogs saw what had happened, they ran and told it in the town and [around] the country.

People went out to see [i.e., to find out] what had happened. And [when] they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the evil spirits had been driven out sitting down at Jesus' feet with his clothes on and perfectly sane, they were afraid.

"Return to your house and tell people about the great things God has done for you." So, he went on his way, proclaiming throughout the whole town [i.e., Gerasa. See verse 26] the great things Jesus had done for him.

And when the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling [with fear] and fell down in front of Him, declaring before all the people why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed.

When the apostles returned they told Jesus what they had done. Then Jesus took them and went away privately to a town called Bethsaida. [Note: This town was on the east side of Lake Galilee, and apparently was a different "Bethsaida" from the one mentioned in Mark 6:45].

And it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a large crowd met Jesus.

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said [to Him], "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to burn them up?"

Now after these things [happened] the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "seventy." This group would have been in addition to the twelve. See Luke 9:1], and sent them two by two on ahead of Him into every town and locality that He planned to visit.

And into whatever town you enter and are welcomed, eat whatever is placed in front of you,

But whatever town you enter that does not welcome you, go out into its streets and say [to them],

I tell you, the people of Sodom will be shown more leniency on that day [i.e., the day of judgment] than that town will receive.

And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up [as high] as heaven? [Certainly not], you will be brought down to the unseen place of departed spirits [i.e., you will become obscure or obliterated as a city].

Jesus answered him, "A certain man was traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho [Note: This was a town about eighteen miles northeast of Jerusalem], when he was attacked by robbers, who stripped him [of his clothing and belongings] and beat him up, then went away leaving him half dead.

And it just happened that a certain priest was traveling down that [same] road, and when he saw the [injured] man, he went around him on the opposite side of the road.

"But it is too bad for you Pharisees! For you give a tenth of your mint, rue and every [other] herb [Note: These were small garden plants used for seasoning or medicine] and [yet] neglect [demonstrating] justice and the love of God [toward others]. But you should have done these things and not neglected to do the other things [as well].

But there is nothing [they do that will remain] covered up; it will [all] be exposed. [And there is] nothing done secretly that will not be made known [openly].

Then he said [to himself], 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger [ones]; then I will store all my grain and [other] goods there [i.e., farm supplies].

So, he said to the orchard worker, "Look, I have been coming [here] looking for figs for three years now, but have not found any. Cut down the tree, [for] why should it waste the space [i.e., by not producing]?"

And [then] if it begins to produce, fine; but if it does not, [then] you should cut it down."

And He will say [i.e., the Lord is represented as saying this in the judgment. See Matt. 7:23; 8:11-12], 'I tell you, I do not know where you came from, [so] go away from me, all you people who have done sinful things.'

And people will come from the east and west and from the north and south to sit down in the kingdom of God.

Then the slave returned and told his master about these things. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring people who are poor, and handicapped, and blind and crippled in here [i.e., to the supper].'

For which one of you who wants to build a [lookout] tower will not first sit down and calculate its cost, to see whether he has enough [money and materiel] to complete it?

Or what king, planning to engage another king in war, will not first sit down and evaluate whether he will be able, with ten thousand [soldiers], to defeat someone who attacks him with twenty thousand [soldiers]?

Or what woman, who has ten silver coins [Note: These coins each amounted to about one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994], and if she loses one of them, would not light a lamp, sweep the house and search for it diligently until she finds it?

And he replied, 'Eight hundred gallons of [olive] oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your contract and quickly sit down and write in four hundred [gallons].'

No person can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he will cling to the one [i.e., as a close friend] and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and material things [at the same time].'"

"But which of you, whose slave is plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come and sit right down to eat'?

So, you too, after you have done everything you were told to, should say, 'We are unworthy slaves. We have done [only] what we were supposed to do.'"

And as He entered a certain village, He was met by ten men with infectious skin diseases, who were standing some distance away [Note: Restrictions in the Jewish law prevented contact with persons having infectious diseases. See Lev. 13:45ff],

Jesus asked [those standing nearby], "Were there not ten men [who were] healed? Where are the [other] nine?

But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from the sky and consumed them all.

On that day, the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], whose belongings are [still] in his house, is not to go down and [attempt to] take any of them away. And the person who is in a field [i.e., doing farm work], also is not to return [to his house].

There will be two women grinding grain together [Note: This was done with a hand-operated millstone where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken while the other one will be left. {{Some ancient manuscripts include verse

He said, "There was a certain judge in this town who did not revere God nor respect man.

There was [also] a widow in that [same] town who kept coming to the judge saying, 'Grant me a [favorable] judgment against my opponent.'

Then Jesus told this parable to certain ones who were relying on their own goodness and putting everyone else down:

And it happened as Jesus was approaching Jericho [Note: This was a town about eighteen miles northeast of Jerusalem], that a certain blind man was [seen] sitting along side of the road, begging.

And when Jesus came to the tree, He said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down [from that tree], for I need to stay at your house today."

So, he came down immediately and welcomed Jesus gladly.

So, he called ten of his slaves and gave each of them a sum of money [Note: The amount of each sum was equivalent to one hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or about $7,000 in 1994]. [Then] he said to them, 'Invest this money until I return.'

So, the first one appeared in front of him, and said, 'Master, your sum of money has earned ten times more.'

And the gentleman replied, 'Well done, you are a good slave. Because you have proven trustworthy over a [relatively] very small matter, you will [now] have charge over ten towns.'

for I was afraid of you, knowing you are a hard man to deal with and that you pick up [and keep] something you did not lay down [i.e., lose], and you harvest a crop that you did not plant.'

The gentleman replied to him, 'I will judge you [based] on what you [yourself] have [just] said, you evil slave. [Since] you knew that I am a hard man to deal with, picking up [and keeping] something I had not laid down, and harvesting a crop I had not planted,

Then he said to those who were standing around, 'Take the sum of money away from him and give it to the one who made ten times as much [with the original sum].'

But the people said to him, 'Master, he [already] has ten times as much money [as you gave him].'

And He saw a certain poor widow throwing two small copper coins into it [Note: These two coins amounted to about ten minutes of a farm laborer's pay, or about one dollar in 1994].

"As for these things you are looking at, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another here that will not be thrown down."

For these are times for punishment [i.e., to be inflicted on Jerusalem], so that everything written [i.e., by the prophets] may be fulfilled [i.e., about Jerusalem's destruction. See Dan. 9:26-27].

And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to kill Jesus because they were afraid of the people [i.e., that people would riot if it were done during the Festival. See Matt. 26:5].

Then Jesus went away from them about the distance of a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed,

And when they [i.e., the priest's servants] had built a fire in the middle of the courtyard, they sat down together [i.e., to warm themselves. See Mark 14:67], with Peter [sitting] among the group.

or Herod have brought [against him]. For Herod sent him back to us and now I find that he has not done anything deserving of death.

So, Pilate called out to them a third time, "Why [should he be crucified]; what wrong has this man done? I have not found any reason for putting him to death, so I will punish him and [then] release him."

And for us it is truly a just sentence, for we are getting back what we deserve for our actions, but this man has not done anything wrong."

the sun's light failed to shine. Then the Temple curtain became torn down the middle.

And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men saw what had happened, he honored God [by] saying, "Certainly this man had [always] done what was right."

[Upon receiving permission] he took it down [from the cross] and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a grave site, cut out of [a ledge of] rock, where no one had ever been buried.

Now at early dawn on the first day of the week [i.e., early Sunday morning], the women [See Mark 16:1] went to Jesus' grave site, taking the spices which they had prepared [for His burial].

As the women became terrified and bowed down with their faces toward the ground [i.e., in reverence and awe], the two men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living [One] where they bury dead people?

But Peter got up and ran to the grave site. He stooped down [i.e., because of the low opening in the cave-like tomb], looked in and saw the linen cloths [lying there] by themselves. Then he went home, puzzled over what had happened.}}

And they were there in the Temple [area] continually praising God [i.e., for the next ten days. See Acts 2].