As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,

So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.

They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong.

And they were without children, because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very old.

And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes.

And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time.

And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house.

The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.

And blessed art thou that believedst: For those things shall be performed which were told thee from the Lord."

“He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.

And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and so they were rejoicing with her.

And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him {after} his father Zechariah.

and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,

And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.

And his mouth and his tongue were opened immediately, and he began to speak, praising God.

And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.

And everyone who heard about this incident remembered it [i.e., for some time]. They were saying, "What will this child become? For the hand of the Lord was [surely] with him."

Even as he promised by the mouth of his holy prophets which were since the world began.

to shine upon them who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

and all were going to be enrolled, each to his proper city,

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And in the same country there were keepers of sheep in the fields, watching over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and {they were terribly frightened}.

Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a large number of the heavenly "army" [i.e., of angels], who were praising God and saying,

And it fortuned, as soon as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is happened, which the Lord hath showed unto us."

After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child,

And all those to whose ears it came were full of wonder at the things said by the keepers of the sheep.

And when eight days were completed {so that he could be circumcised}, he was named Jesus, his name [that] [he] was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the days of their purification were completed according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present [him] to the Lord

by the divine direction he came into the temple, just as the parents of Jesus were bringing in the child to perform what the law required in his behalf.

And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

And his father and mother were full of wonder at the things which were said about him.

And coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, talking of him to all those who were waiting for the freeing of Jerusalem.

And when they had done all the things which were ordered by the law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to Nazareth, the town where they were living.

His parents were in the habit of going to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.

And when the days of the feast came to an end and they were going back, the boy Jesus was still in Jerusalem, but they had no knowledge of it:

and, having supposed him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and were seeking him among the kindred and among the acquaintances,

And all to whose ears it came were full of wonder at his knowledge and the answers which he gave.

And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow.

And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? was it not clear to you that my right place was in my Father's house?

Now it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler of the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitus [Note: These two men were sons of Herod the Great (See Matt. 2:1) and ruled over provinces east of the Jordan River] and Lysanias was ruler of Abilene [Note: This was a province just north of the two previously mentioned ones].

When Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the waste land.

And he came into all the country round about Jordan, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed.

Then said he to the people that were come to be baptised of him, "O generation of vipers: who hath taught you to fly away from the wrath to come?

And the crowds were asking him, saying, "What then should we do?"

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."

And while the people were waiting, and all men were questioning in their hearts about John, if he was the Christ or not,

whether he were not the Christ, John answered saying to them all, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

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

When beginning his work, Jesus was about thirty years old. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, whose ancestors were--Eli,

forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and [when] they were completed, he was hungry.

And when all these tests were ended the Evil One went away from him for a time.

And shutting the book he gave it back to the servant and took his seat: and the eyes of all in the Synagogue were fixed on him.

The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him, and he began to say to them, "Today is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing."

And they were all giving witness, with wonder, to the words of grace which came from his mouth: and they said, Is not this the son of Joseph?

And he said to them, Without doubt you will say to me, Let the medical man make himself well: the things which to our knowledge were done at Capernaum, do them here in your country.

Truly I say to you, There were a number of widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months and there was no food in the land;

And there were a number of lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and not one of them was made clean, but only Naaman the Syrian.

And all who were in the Synagogue were very angry when these things were said to them.

And rising up, they cast Him out of the city, and were leading Him to the brink of the mountain on which their city was built, to hurl Him down;

And they were surprised at his teaching, for his word was with authority.

Now there was a man in the synagogue who was dominated by the spirit of an evil demon [Note: These "evil spirits" or "demons" were powerful beings sent by Satan to inhabit people, causing physical, mental and spiritual harm to them]. He was shouting with a loud voice,

And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

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.

And [when it] was day, he departed [and] went to an isolated place. And the crowds were seeking him, and came to him and were trying to prevent him from departing from them.

And when the people were pressing on Him to hear the word of God, as He stood by the lake of Gennesareth, seeing two vessels at the edge of the lake,

and he saw two boats standing by the lake: but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

And Simon, answering, said, Master, we were working all night and we took nothing: but at your word I will let down the nets.

And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking;

And they made signs to their friends in the other boat to come to their help. And they came, and the two boats were so full that they were going down.

For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken;

and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Then He ordered the man not to tell anyone [about the healing], saying, "Go on your way and show yourself to the priest and offer the proper sacrifice for your healing that Moses required [Lev. 13:49; 14:2ff] as evidence to people [that you were healed]."

But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear [him] and to be healed of their illnesses.

And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

And behold, men [came] carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and place [him] before him.

And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?

Jesus saw that they were arguing, and answered them: "Why are you arguing so in your hearts?

And amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God; and they were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day.

And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.

And Levi made him a great feast in his house: and there was a great multitude of publicans and of others that were sitting at meat with them.

Now the Pharisees and their scribes were grumbling at His disciples, and were saying, "Why are you eating and drinking with tax-collectors and notorious sinners?"

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.

And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read even this, what David did, when he was hungry, he, and they that were with him;

how he entered into the house of God, and took and ate the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests alone?

And the scribes and Pharisees were watching him to see if he would make him well on the Sabbath, so that they might be able to say something against him.

But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand at the front." So he got up and stood there.

But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

[They were] Simon, also called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John [also brothers], Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45],

And having come down with them, he stood on a level place. And a company of his disciples, and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the maritime Tyre and Sidon, were those who came to hear him, and to be h

and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed.

And all the people were desiring to be touched by him, for power came from him and made them all well.

rejoice in that day, and leap, for lo, your reward is great in the heaven, for according to these things were their fathers doing to the prophets.

Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you -- for according to these things were their fathers doing to false prophets.

but he that does not practise what he hears, is like a man who built his house upon the loose earth without any foundation: the current beat impetuously against it: in the instant down it fell, and great were its ruins.

After Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people who were there listening, he went to Capernaum.

And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying -- 'He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this,

And when these things were said to Jesus, he was surprised, and, turning to the mass of people coming after him, said, I have not seen such great faith, no, not in Israel.