And, therefore, I also, since I have investigated all these events with great care from their very beginning, have resolved to write a connected history of them for you,

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord; he shall not drink any wine or strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth,

He shall go before him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah, 'to reconcile fathers to their children' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."

"How can I be sure of this?" Zechariah asked the angel. "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."

Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.

After this his wife, Elizabeth, expecting to become a mother, lived in seclusion for five months.

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to take away the reproach under which I have been living."

When the angel spoke again: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And he shall reign over the descendants of Jacob for ever; And to his kingdom there shall be no end."

"How can this be?" Mary asked the angel. "For I have no husband."

For no promise from God shall fail to be fulfilled."

For, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child moved within me with delight!

For he has remembered his servant in her lowliness; And from this hour all ages will count me happy!

Great things has the Almighty done for me; And holy is his name.

(As he promised to our forefathers) For Abraham and his race for ever."

Asking for a writing-tablet, he wrote the words--'His name is John.' Every one was surprised;

And all who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another-- "What can this child be destined to become?" For the Power of the Lord was with him.

And has raised up for us the Strength of our Salvation In the House of his servant David--

And should serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, In his presence all our days.

And thou, Child, shalt be called Prophet of the Most High, For thou shalt go before the Lord to make ready his way,

The child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the Wilds till the time came for his appearance before Israel.

And she gave birth to her first child, a son. And because there was no room for them in the inn, she swathed him round and laid him in a manger.

When an angel of the Lord suddenly stood by them, and the Glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were seized with fear.

"Have no fear," the angel said. "For I bring you good news of a great joy in store for all the nation.

And this shall be the sign for you. You will find the infant swathed, and lying in a manger."

And the shepherds went back, giving glory and praise to God for all that they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple Courts, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law,

For my eyes have seen the Salvation

There was also a Prophetess named Hannah, a daughter of Phanuel and of the tribe of Asher. She was far advanced in years, having lived with her husband for seven years after marriage,

And then a widow, till she had reached the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple Courts, but, fasting and praying, worshiped God night and day.

At that moment she came up, and began publicly to thank God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem.

Thinking that he was with their fellow-travelers, they went one day's journey before searching for him among their relations and acquaintances;

And then, as they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching everywhere for him.

His parents were amazed when they saw him, and his mother said to him: "My child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."

"What made you search for me?" he answered. "Did not you know that I must be in my Father's House?"

And John went through the whole district of the Jordan, proclaiming baptism upon repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.

Let your lives, then, prove your repentance; and do not begin to say among yourselves 'Abraham is our ancestor,' for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!

Already, indeed, the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

John, addressing them all, said: "I, indeed, baptize you with water; but there is coming one more powerful than I, and I am not fit even to unfasten his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

His winnowing-fan is in his hand, that he may clear his threshing-floor, and store the grain in his barn, but the chaff he will burn with inextinguishable fire."

But Prince Herod, being rebuked by John respecting Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother, and for all the evil things that he had done,

On returning from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the power of the Spirit through the Wilderness for forty days, tempted by the Devil.

"I will give you all this power, and the splendor of them; for it has been given into my hands and I give it to whom I wish.

For Scripture says--'He will give his angels commands about thee, to guard thee safely,'

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to bring Good News to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and restoration of sight to the blind, To set the oppressed at liberty,

There were, doubtless, many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, and a severe famine prevailed throughout the country;

And they were all lost in amazement, and kept saying to one another: "What words are these? For he gives his commands to the foul spirits with a marvelous authority, and they come out."

At daybreak, Jesus went out and walked to a lonely spot. But crowds of people began to look for him; and they came to where he was and tried to detain him and prevent his leaving them.

Jesus, however, said to them: "I must take the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other town also, for that was why I was sent."

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon: "Push off into deep water, and throw out your nets for a haul."

When Simon Peter saw this, he threw himself down at Jesus' knees, exclaiming: "Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man!"

For he and all who were with him were lost in amazement at the haul of fish which they had made;

And then Jesus impressed upon him that he was not to say a word to any one, "but," he added, "set out and show yourself to the priest, and make the offerings for your cleansing, in the manner directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure."

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.

And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins; for, if he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine itself will run out, and the skins be lost.

No man after drinking old wine wishes for new. 'No,' he says, 'the old is excellent.'"

Then, raising his eyes and looking at his disciples, Jesus spoke as follows: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Then indeed you may be glad and dance for joy, for be sure that your reward in Heaven will be great; for that is what their ancestors did to the Prophets.

But 'alas for you who are rich,' for you have had your comforts in full.

Alas for you who are sated now, for you will hunger. Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

Alas for you when all men speak well of you; for this is what their ancestors did to the false Prophets.

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who insult you.

For, if you show kindness only to those who show kindness to you, what thanks will be due to you? Even the outcast do that!

But love your enemies, and show them kindness, and lend to them, never despairing. Then your reward shall be great, and you shall be Sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the thankless and the bad.

Give, and others will give to you. A generous measure, pressed and shaken down, and running over, will they pour into your lap; For the measure that you mete will be meted out to you in return."

For every tree is known by its own fruit. People do not gather figs off thorn bushes, nor pick a bunch of grapes off a bramble.

A good man, from the good stores of his heart, brings out what is good; while a bad man, from his bad stores, brings out what is bad. For what fills a man's heart will rise to his lips.

"For he is devoted to our nation, and himself built our Synagogue for us."

So Jesus went with them. But, when he was no great distance from the house, the Captain sent some friends with the message-- "Do not trouble yourself, Sir; for I am unworthy to receive you under my roof.

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

Just as he approached the gate of the town, there was a dead man being carried out for burial--an only son, and his mother was a widow. A large number of the people of the town were with her.

When he saw her, the Master was moved with compassion for her, and he said to her: "Do not weep."

So he summoned two of them, and sent them to the Master to ask--"Are you 'The Coming One,' or are we to look for some one else?"

When these men found Jesus, they said: "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask--'Are you 'The Coming One,' or are we to look for somebody else?'"

What then did you go to see? A Prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a Prophet.

They are like some little children who are sitting in the market-place and calling out to one another--'We have played the flute for you, but you have not danced; We have wailed, but you have not wept!'

For now that John the Baptist has come, not eating bread or drinking wine, you are saying 'He has a demon in him';

And then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon: "Do you see this woman? I came into your house--you gave me no water for my feet, but she has made my feet wet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

And for this, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, have been pardoned, because she has loved greatly; but one who has little pardoned him, loves but little."

By the seed which fell upon the rock are meant those who, as soon as they hear the Message, welcome it joyfully; but they have no root, and believe it only for a time, and, when the time of temptation comes, they draw back.

Take care, then, how you listen. For, to all those who have, more will be given; while, from all those who have nothing, even what they seem to have will be taken away."

And, on getting ashore, Jesus met a man, who had demons in him, coming out of the town. For a long time this man had worn no clothing, and he had not lived in a house, but in the tombs.

For Jesus was commanding the foul spirit to come out from the man. On many occasions it had seized him, and, even when secured with chains and fetters, and watched, he would break through anything that bound him, and be driven by the demon into the Wilds.

"What is your name?" Jesus asked. "Legion," he answered (for many demons had taken possession of him);

Upon which all the people in the neighborhood of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, for they were terrified. Jesus got into a boat and returned.

"Go back to your home," he said, "and relate the story of all that God has done for you." So the man went through the whole town and proclaimed, as he went, all that Jesus had done for him.

On his return, Jesus was welcomed by the people; for everyone was looking out for him.

And a woman, who had suffered from hemorrhage for twelve years, and whom no one could cure,

"Somebody touched me," said Jesus; "for I felt that power had gone out from me."

Then the woman, when she saw that she was discovered, came forward trembling, and threw herself down before him; and, in the presence of all the people, she told him her reason for touching him, and that she had been cured instantly.

And every one was weeping and mourning for her. "Do not weep," Jesus said, "she is not dead; she is asleep."

They began to laugh at him, for they knew that she was dead.

"Do not," he said to them, "take anything for your journey; not even a staff, or a bag, or bread, or any silver, or a change of clothes with you.

The day was drawing to a close, when the twelve came up to him, and said: "Send the crowd away, so that they may make their way to the villages and farms round about, and find themselves lodgings and provisions, for we are in a lonely spot here."

But Jesus said: "It is for you to give them something to eat." "We have not more than five loaves and two fishes," they answered; "unless indeed we are to go and buy food for all these people."

(For the men among them were about five thousand.) "Get them seated in companies," was his reply, "about fifty in each."

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, and whoever, for my sake, loses his life--that man shall save it.

And, as Moses and Elijah were passing away from Jesus, Peter exclaimed: "Sir, it is good to be here; let us make three tents, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what he was saying;

And just then a man in the crowd shouted out: "Teacher, I entreat you to look at my son, for he is my only child;