He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"At Bethlehem in Judea," was their answer; "for it is said in the Prophet--

And, sending them to Bethlehem, he said: "Go and make careful inquiries about the child, and, as soon as you have found him, bring me word, that I, too, may go and do homage to him."

At the sight of the star they were filled with joy.

After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said: "Awake, take the child and his mother, and seek refuge in Egypt; and stay there until I bid you return, for Herod is about to search for the child, to put him to death."

But, on the death of Herod, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said:

When, however, John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to receive his baptism, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who has prompted you to seek refuge from the coming judgment?

But John tried to prevent him. "It is I," he said, "who need to be baptized by you; why then do you come to me?"

And from the heavens there came a voice which said: "This is my son, the Beloved, in whom I delight."

And the Tempter came to him, and said: "If you are God's Son, tell these stones to become loaves of bread."

Then the Devil took him to the Holy City, and, placing him on the parapet of the temple, said to him:

The third time, the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, and, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, said to him:

Then Jesus said to him: "Begone, Satan! for Scripture says-- 'Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and worship him only.'"

Afterwards, leaving Nazareth, he went and settled at Capernaum, which is by the side of the Sea, within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali;

"Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men."

On seeing the crowds of People, Jesus went up the hill; and, when he had taken his seat, his disciples came up to him;

You have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.'

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

It was also said--'Let any one who divorces his wife serve her with a notice of separation.'

Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shall keep thine oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'

You have heard that it was said--'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.'

And he saw a leper who came up, and bowed to the ground before him, and said: "Master, if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean."

And then Jesus said to him: "Be careful not to say a word to any one, but go and show yourself to the Priest, and offer the gift directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure."

"Sir," he said, "my manservant is lying ill at my house with a stroke of paralysis, and is suffering terribly."

Jesus was surprised to hear this, and said to those who were following him: "Never I tell you, in any Israelite have I met with such faith as this!

Then Jesus said to the Captain: "Go now, and it shall be according to your faith." And the man was cured that very hour.

And a Teacher of the Law came up to him, and said: "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

"Master," said another, who was a disciple, "let me first go and bury my father."

"Why are you so timid?" he said. "O men of little faith!" Then Jesus rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and a great calm followed.

And on getting to the other side--the country of the Gadarenes--Jesus met two men who were possessed by demons, coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one was able to pass that way.

"Go," he said. The spirits came out, and entered the pigs; and the whole drove rushed down the steep slope into the Sea, and died in the water.

And there some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: "Courage, Child! Your sins are forgiven."

Then some of the teachers of the Law said to themselves: "This man is blaspheming!"

But, that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--then he said to the paralyzed man-- "Get up, take up your bed, and return to your home."

As Jesus went along, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Matthew got up and followed him.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples: "Why does your Teacher eat in the company of tax-gatherers and outcasts?"

On hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill.

While Jesus was saying this, a President of a Synagogue came up and bowed to the ground before him. "My daughter," he said, "Has just died; but come and place your hand on her, and she will be restored to life."

"If I only touch his cloak," she said to herself, "I shall get well."

Turning and seeing her, Jesus said: "Courage, Daughter! your faith has delivered you." And the woman was delivered from her malady from that very hour.

He said: "Go away, the little girl is not dead; she is asleep." They began to laugh at him;

Upon that he touched their eyes, and said: "It shall be according to your faith."

Then their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly cautioned them. "See that no one knows of it," he said.

But the Pharisees said: "He drives out the demons by the help of the chief of the demons."

And he said to his disciples: "The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.

For I have come to set--'a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

The blind recover their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, the dead, too, are raised to life, and the good news is told to the poor.

For, when John came, neither eating nor drinking, men said 'He has a demon in him';

But, when the Pharisees saw this, they said: "Look! your disciples are doing what it is not allowable to do on a Sabbath!"

But Jesus said to them: "Which of you, if he had only one sheep, and that sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not lay hold of it and pull it out?

Then he said to the man. "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and it had become as sound as the other.

But the Pharisees heard of it and said: "He drives out demons only by the help of Baal-zebub the chief of the demons."

Jesus, however, was aware of what was passing in their minds, and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself becomes a desolation, and any town or household divided against itself will not last.

At this point, some Teachers of the Law and Pharisees interposed. "Teacher," they said, " we want to see some sign from you."

Then, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, he said: "Here are my mother and my brothers!

such great crowds gathered round him, that he got into a boat, and sat in it, while all the people stood upon the beach.

As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Afterwards his disciples came to him, and said: "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

For I tell you that many Prophets and good men have longed for the sight of the things which you are seeing, yet never saw them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, yet never heard them.

When any one hears the Message of the Kingdom without understanding it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his mind. This is the man meant by the seed which was sown along the path.

By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the man who hears the Message, and at once accepts it joyfully;

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."

Another parable which Jesus told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

On this the owner's servants came to him, and said 'Was not it good seed that you sowed in your field? Where, then, do the tares in it come from?'

'No,' said he, 'for fear that, while you are gathering the tares, you should root up the wheat as well.

Let both grow side by side till harvest; and then I shall say to the reapers, Gather the tares together first, and tie them in bundles for burning; but bring all the wheat into my barn.'"

Another parable which he told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

This seed is smaller than all other seeds, but, when it has grown up, it is larger than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that 'the wild birds come and roost in its branches.'"

Then Jesus left the crowd, and went into the house. Presently his disciples came to him, and said: "Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field."

And he answered: "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world. By the good seed is meant the People of the Kingdom. The tares are the wicked,

When it was full, they hauled it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets, but threw the worthless ones away.

Going to his own part of the country, he taught the people in their Synagogue in such a manner that they were deeply impressed. "Where did he get this wisdom?" they said, "and the miracles?

These things proved a hindrance to their believing in him; whereupon Jesus said: "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house."

And said to his attendants: " This must be John the Baptist; he must be risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are active in him."

For John had said to him 'You have no right to be living with her.'

Prompted by her mother, the girl said 'Give me here, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.'

On getting out of the boat, Jesus saw a great crowd, and his heart was moved at the sight of them; and he cured all the sick among them.

In the evening the disciples came up to him, and said: " This is a lonely spot, and the day is now far advanced; send the crowds away, that they may go to the villages, and buy themselves food."

But Jesus said: "They need not go away, it is for you to give them something to eat."

"We have nothing here," they said, "except five loaves and two fishes."

Jesus ordered the people to take their seats on the grass; and, taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to Heaven, and said the blessing, and, after he had broken the loaves, gave them to his disciples; and they gave them to the crowds.

But Jesus at once spoke to them. "Courage!" he said, "It is I; do not be afraid!"

And Jesus said: "Come." So Peter got down from the boat, and walked on the water, and went towards Jesus;

Instantly Jesus stretched out his hand, and caught hold of him. "O man of little faith!" he said, "Why did you falter?"

But the men in the boat threw themselves on their faces before him, and said: "You are indeed God's Son."

Then some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law came to Jesus, and said:

His reply was: "How is it that you on your side break God's commandments out of respect for your own traditions?

For God said--'Honor thy father and mother,' and 'Let him who reviles his father or mother suffer death,'

Hypocrites! It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you--

Then Jesus called the people to him, and said: "Listen, and mark my words.

On this his disciples came up to him, and said: "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked on hearing what you said?"

Upon this, Peter said to Jesus: "Explain this saying to us."

But Jesus did not answer her a word; and his disciples came up and begged him to send her away. "She keeps calling out after us," they said.

But the woman came, and, bowing to the ground before him, said: "Master, help me."

"Yes, Master," she said, "for even dogs do feed on the scraps that fall from their owners' table."

On leaving that place, Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee; and then went up the hill, and sat down., you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done.

And the crowds were astonished, when they saw the dumb talking, the cripples made sound, the lame walking about, and the blind with their sight restored; and they praised the God of Israel.