SINCE many have undertaken to compose a history of the things that are fully believed among us,

even as they were delivered to us by those who were, from the beginning, eye-witnesses and. ministers of the word;

It came to pass, while he was officiating as priest before God, in the order of his class, that,

But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachariah; for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

And Zachariah said to the angel: By what sign shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife is advanced in years.

to a virgin be trothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.

And the angel came into her presence, and said: Hail, graciously accepted: the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.

And the angel answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for which reason, also, that which is begotten, being holy, shall be called the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman, even she has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren;

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke with a loud voice, and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And blessed is she who believed; for there shall be a fulfillment of the things which were spoken to her from the Lord.

for He that is Mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name:

and his mercy is from generation to generation upon those who fear him.

He has helped Israel his servant, (as he spoke to our fathers,)

And they said to her: There is no one among your relatives that is called by this name.

And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying: His name is John. And they were all astonished.

and he has raised up for us, in the house of David his servant, a horn of salvation,

(as he spoke by the mouth of all his holy prophets of ancient times,)

salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us,

that he would grant to us, that being delivered from the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear,

through the tender mercies of our God; by which the dawn from on high has visited us,

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (for he was of the house and family of David,).

For there is born for you this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And it came to pass, that, after the angels had gone away into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: Let us now go to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all things which they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.

And when eight days were completed for circumcising him, his name was called Jesus, as it had been called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb.

(as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

and to offer a sacrifice, according to that which is commanded in the law of the Lord: A pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him:

And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign to be spoken against,

And when they saw him they were amazed. And his mother said to him: Child, why have you acted thus toward us? Be hold, your father and I have sought for you in sorrow.

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight;

Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance. And begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

And now also the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire.

And he said to them: Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

John answered them all, saying: I indeed immerse you in water; but there comes One mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose; he will immerse you in the Holy Spirit and in fire.

His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his thrashing-floor, and gather the grain into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

And it came to pass, while all the people were being immersed, that Jesus also was immersed; and as he was praying, the heaven was opened,

And Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, son of lleli,

And Jesus answered him, and said: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And the devil said to him: I will give you all the authority and glory of these, for it is delivered to me; and to whomever I will, I give it.

And Jesus answered and said to him: Get behind me, Satan; it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

for it is written, He will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you carefully;

And Jesus answered and said to him: It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the proof.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he entered the synagogue on the sabbath-day, and stood up to read.

And the volume of Isaiah the prophet was given to him: and when he had unrolled the volume, he found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed;

And he began to say to them: This scripture which you have heard, is this day fulfilled.

And all extolled him; and they wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth, and said: Is not this the son of Joseph?

And he said: Verily I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

saying: Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Nazarene? Hast thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

And amazement came upon all, and they spoke one to another, saying: "What teaching is this? for with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.

And he charged him to tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and make offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, that it may be a testimony to them.

And the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying: Who is this that utters impious words? Who can forgive sins but God alone?

Which is easier, to say., Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Arise and walk?

And he said to them: Can you make the sons of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

And no one, after drinking old wine, immediately desires new; for he says: The old is better.

And some of the Pharisees said to them: Why are you doing what it is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

that he entered the house of God, and took the loaves of the presence, and ate, and gave to those also who were with him, which it is not lawful, except for the priests alone, to eat?

And he said to them: The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

And it came to pass, on another sabbath, that he entered the synagogue and taught; and a man was there, whose right hand was withered.

Then Jesus said to them, I will ask you a question: Which is lawful on the sabbath, to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?

Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphreus, and Simon who is called Zelotes,

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: Blessed are you that are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and shall withdraw themselves from you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man.

Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for so did their fathers to the prophets.

And as you would that men should do to you, do you also in like manner to them.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Be you, therefore, merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

The disciple is not above his teacher; but every accomplished disciple shall be as his teacher.

And why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but perceive not the beam that is in your own eye?

Or, how can you say to your brother: Brother, let me pull out the splinter that is in your eye, when you yourself see not the beam that is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first pull the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to pull out the splinter that is in your brother's eye.

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes gathered from brambles.

The good man, out of the good treasury of his heart, brings forth that which is good; and the evil man, out of the evil treasury of his heart, brings forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

Every one that comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like.

He is like a man that, when building a house, digged deep, and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the torrent dashed against that house, and it was not able to shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

But he that hears, and does not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth, without a foundation, against which the torrent dashed with violence, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.

And they came to Jesus, and besought him earnestly, saying: He is worthy for whom thou shouldst do this;

for he loves our nation, and of his own accord has built us a synagogue.

And fear seized on all; and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet has arisen among us; and, God has visited his people.

And the men came to him and said: John the Immerser has sent us to thee, and says, Art thou he that was to come, or must we look for another?

and blessed is he who shall find no cause of offense in me.

This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way be fore thee.

For I say to you, Among those born of women, there is no prophet greater than John the Immerser. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

But when the Pharisee who had invited him, saw it, he said within himself: This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who, and what sort of woman this is that touches him; for she is a sinner.

But as they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them, then, will love him the more?

Wherefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much. But he to whom little is forgiven, loves little.

And those who reclined at table with him began to say within themselves: Who is this that also forgives sins?

The sower went forth to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the air ate it up.

He replied: To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that when they see, they may not see, and when they hear, they may not understand.

But the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the word of God;

For there is nothing concealed, that shall not be made manifest, nor hid, that shall not be known and brought into view.

And it came to pass, on a certain day, that he entered a ship with his disciples; and he said to them: Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they set sail.

And he said to them: "Where is your faith? And being afraid, they wondered, and said one to another: "Who, then, is this, that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?

And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite to Galilee.

And Jesus asked him, saying: What is your name? He answered, Legion; for many demons had entered into him.

And, behold, there came a man, whose name was Jairus; and he was a ruler of the synagogue; and he fell down at the feet of Jesus, and besought him to come into his house;

for he had a daughter, his only child, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. And as he went, the multitude pressed upon him.