There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense;

and He will be King over the House of Jacob for the Ages, and of His Kingdom there will be no end."

"There is not one of your family," they said, "who has that name."

But while they were there, her full time came,

and she gave birth to her first-born son, and wrapped Him round, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in the same part of the country, keeping watch over their sheep by night in the open fields,

And immediately there was with the angel a multitude of the army of Heaven praising God and saying,

Now there was a man in Jerusalem of the name of Symeon, an upright and God-fearing man, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

There was also Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, belonging to the tribe of Asher. She was of a very great age, having had after her maidenhood seven years of married life,

There came also a party of tax-gatherers to be baptized, and they asked him, "Rabbi, what are we to do?"

And there was handed to Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah, and, opening the book, He found the place where it was written,

But I tell you in truth that there was many a widow in Israel in the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three years and six months and there came a severe famine over all the land;

And there was also many a leper in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha, and yet not one of them was cleansed, but Naaman the Syrian was."

But in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of a foul demon. In a loud voice he cried out,

On another occasion, when He was in one of the towns, there was a man there covered with leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet and implored Him, saying, "Sir, if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean."

but Jesus Himself constantly withdrew into the Desert and there prayed.

One day He was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village in Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to cure people.

Levi also gave a great entertainment at his house in honour of Jesus, and there was a large party of tax-gatherers and others at table with them.

On another Sabbath He had gone to the synagogue and was teaching there; and in the congregation was a man whose right arm was withered.

He knew their thoughts, and said to the man with the withered arm, "Rise, and stand there in the middle." And he rose and stood there.

With these He came down till He reached a level place, where there was a great crowd of His disciples, and a multitude of people from every part of Judaea, from Jerusalem, and from the sea-side district of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be cured of their diseases;

There is no disciple who is superior to his teacher; but every one whose instruction is complete will be like his teacher.

"There is no good tree that yields unsound fruit, nor again any unsound tree that yields good fruit.

so John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord. "Are you the Coming One?" he asked, "or is there another that we are to expect?"

The men came to Jesus and said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you with this question: 'Are you the Coming One, or is there another that we are to expect?'"

"I tell you that among all of women born there is not one greater than John. Yet one who is of lower rank in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, there is a man who is overfond of eating and drinking--he is a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners!'

And there was a woman in the town who was a notorious sinner. Having learnt that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee's house she brought a flask of perfume,

"There were once two men in debt to one money-lender," said Jesus; "one owed him five hundred shillings and the other fifty.

There is nothing hidden, which shall not be openly seen; nor anything secret, which shall not be known and come into the light of day.

During the passage He fell asleep, and there came down a squall of wind on the Lake, so that the boat began to fill and they were in deadly peril.

So they came and woke Him, crying, "Rabbi, Rabbi, we are drowning." Then He roused Himself and rebuked the wind and the surging of the water, and they ceased and there was a calm.

Now there was a great herd of swine there feeding on the hill-side; and the demons begged Him to give them leave to go into them, and He gave them leave.

"Return home," He said, "and tell there all that God has done for you." So he went and published through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him.

Just then there came a man named Jair, a Warden of the Synagogue, who threw himself at the feet of Jesus, and entreated Him to come to his house;

I tell you truly that there are some of those who stand here who will certainly not taste death till they have seen the Kingdom of God."

And suddenly there were two men conversing with Him, who were Moses and Elijah.

But while he was thus speaking, there came a cloud which spread over them; and they were awe-struck when they had entered into the cloud.

Then there came a voice from within the cloud: "This is My Son, My Chosen One: listen to Him."

Now there arose a dispute among them, which of them was to be the greatest.

But the people there would not receive Him, because He was evidently going to Jerusalem.

And if there is a lover of peace there, your peace shall rest upon it; otherwise come back upon you.

"Go to the Law," said Jesus; "what is written there? how does it read?"

And what father is there among you, who, if his son asks for a slice of bread, will offer him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish offer him a snake?

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more malignant than itself, and they enter and dwell there; and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first.

There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and mark! One greater than Jonah is here.

There is nothing that is covered up which will not be uncovered, nor hidden which will not become known.

For where your wealth is stored, there also will your heart be.

For from this time there will be in one house five persons split into parties. Three will form a party against two and two will form a party against three;

Then He said to the people also, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'There is to be a shower;' and it comes to pass.

Then the Warden of the Synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured her on a Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days in the week on which people ought to work. On those days therefore come and get yourselves cured, and not on the Sabbath day."

It is like yeast which a woman takes and buries in a bushel of flour, to work there till the whole is leavened."

when some one asked Him, "Sir, are there but few who are to be saved?"

"There will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being driven far away.

Just at that time there came some Pharisees who warned Him, saying, "Leave this place and continue your journey; Herod means to kill you."

and you will be blessed, because they have no means of requiting you, but there will be requital for you at the Resurrection of the righteous."

"Soon the servant reported the result, saying, "'Sir, what you ordered is done, and there is room still.'

I tell you that in the same way there will be rejoicing in Heaven over one repentant sinner--more rejoicing than over ninety-nine blameless persons who have no need of repentance.

"I tell you that in the same way there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one repentant sinner."

He went on to say, "There was a man who had two sons.

At last, when he had spent everything, there came a terrible famine throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch of want.

He said also to His disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward, about whom a report was brought to him, that he was wasting his property.

"There was once a rich man who habitually arrayed himself in purple and fine linen, and enjoyed a splendid banquet every day,

while at his outer door there lay a beggar, Lazarus by name,

And, besides all this, a vast chasm is immovably fixed between us and you, put there in order that those who desire to cross from this side to you may not be able, nor any be able to cross over from your side to us.'

So you also, when you have obeyed all the orders given you, must say, "'There is no merit in our service: what we have done is only what we were in duty bound to do.'"

Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' --for the Kingdom of God is within you."

Then, turning to His disciples, He said, "There will come a time when you will wish you could see a single one of the days of the Son of Man, but will not see one.

And they will say to you, 'See there!' 'See here!' Do not start off and go in pursuit.

On that night, I tell you, there will be two men in one bed: one will be taken away and the other left behind.

There will be two women turning the mill together: one will be taken away and the other left behind."

"Where, Master?" they inquired. "Where the dead body is," He replied, "there also will the vultures flock together."

"In a certain town," He said, "there was a judge who had no fear of God and no respect for man.

"Why do you call me good?" replied Jesus; "there is no one good but One, namely God.

On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

"I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that there is no one who has left house or wife, or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of God's Kingdom,

As Jesus came near to Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the way-side begging.

There was a man there called Zacchaeus, who was the local surveyor of taxes, and was wealthy.

Then He proceeded to speak a parable to the people. "There was a man," He said, "who planted a vineyard, let it out to vine-dressers, and went abroad for a considerable time.

At this the Scribes and the High Priests wanted to lay hands on Him, then and there; only they were afraid of the people. For they saw that in this parable He had referred to them.

There was nothing here that they could lay hold of before the people, and marvelling at His answer they said no more.

Next some of the Sadducees came forward (who deny that there is a Resurrection)

Now there were seven brothers. The first of them took a wife and died childless.

"As to these things which you now admire, the time is coming when there will not be one stone left here upon another which will not be pulled down."

And there will be great earthquakes, and in places famines and pestilence; and there will be terrible sights and wonderful tokens from Heaven.

"Alas for the women who at that time are with child or who have infants; for there will be great distress in the land, and anger towards this People.

"There will be signs in sun, moon, and stars; and on earth anguish among the nations in their bewilderment at the roaring of the sea and its billows;

He accepted their offer, and then looked out for an opportunity to betray Him when the people were not there.

"And he will show you a large furnished room upstairs. There make your preparations."

There arose also a dispute among them which of them should be regarded as greatest.

Then He asked them, "When I sent you out without purse or bag or shoes, was there anything you needed?" "No, nothing," they replied.

And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him;

While He was still speaking there came a crowd with Judas, already mentioned as one of the Twelve, at their head. He went up to Jesus to kiss Him.

Meanwhile the High Priests and the Scribes were standing there and vehemently accusing Him.

No, nor does Herod; for he has sent him back to us; and, you see, there is nothing he has done that deserves death.

When they reached the place called 'The Skull,' there they nailed Him to the cross, and the criminals also, one at His right hand and one at His left.

There was moreover a writing over His head: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

There was a member of the Council of the name of Joseph, a kind-hearted and upright man,

and on entering they found that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there.