"Awake, take the child and his mother, and go into the Land of Israel, for those who sought to take the child's life are dead."

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

"If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for Scripture says- -'He will give his angels commands about thee, And on their hands they will upbear thee, Lest ever thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted in the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when people taunt you, and persecute you, and say everything evil about you--untruly, and on my account.

It is you who are the Salt of the earth; but, if the salt should lose its strength, what will you use to restore its saltiness? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown away, and trampled underfoot.

It is you who are the Light of the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.

And, if you show courtesy to your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Even the Gentiles do this!

And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!

Look at the wild birds--they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! And are not you more precious than they?

All these are the things for which the nations are seeking, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

If you, then, wicked though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those that ask him!

Go in by the small gate. Broad and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and those that go in by it are many;

For small is the gate, and narrow the road, that leads to Life, and those that find it are few.

Beware of false Teachers--men who come to you in the guise of sheep, but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

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 the disciples came and roused him. "Master," they cried, "save us; we are lost!"

"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 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."

Which, I ask, is the easier?--to say 'Your sins are forgiven'? or to say 'Get up, and walk about'?

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

Nor do people put new wine into old wine-skins; for, if they do, the skins burst, and the wine runs out, and the skins are lost; but they put new wine into fresh skins, and so both are preserved."

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

The names of the twelve Apostles are these: First Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebediah, and his brother John;

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who is able to destroy both soul and body in the Pit.

Are not two sparrows sold for a half-penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's knowledge.

While as for you, the very hairs of your head are numbered.

Do not, therefore, be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

And asked--" Are you 'The Coming One,' or are we to look for someone else?"

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.

"What did you go out into the Wilderness to look at? A reed waving in the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man richly dressed? Why, those who wear rich things are to be found in the courts of kings!

And--if you are ready to accept it--John is himself the Elijah who was destined to come.

And now that the Son of Man has come, eating and drinking, they are saying 'Here is a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and outcasts!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

Come to me, all you who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest!

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

And have not you read in the law that, on the Sabbath, the priest in the Temple break the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

And had you learned the meaning of the words--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned those who are not guilty.

You must assume either that both tree and fruit are good, or that both tree and fruit are worthless; since it is by it's fruits that a tree is known.

You brood of vipers! how can you, evil as you are, say anything good? For what fills the heart will rise to the lips.

"Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

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

For the mind of this nation has grown dense, And their ears are dull of hearing, Their eyes also have they closed; Lest some day they should perceive with their eyes, And with their ears they should hear, And in their mind they should understand, and should turn--And I should heal them.'

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear;

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.

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

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

And the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest-time is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

And, just as the tares are gathered and burnt, so it will be at the close of the age.

And his sisters, too--are not they all living among us? Where, then did he get all this?"

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."

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

'This is a people that honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far removed from me;

Let them be; they are but blind guides; and, if one blind man guides another, both of them will fall into a ditch."

These are the things that defile a man; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

But in the morning you say 'To-day it will be stormy, for the sky is as red as fire and threatening.' You learn to read the sky; yet you are unable to read the signs of the times!]

On noticing this, Jesus said: "Why are you talking among yourselves about your being short of bread, O men of little faith?

And to this Simon Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

"Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah," Jesus replied. "For no human being has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.

Jesus, however, turning to Peter, said: "Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as man does."

I tell you, some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Son of Man coming into his Kingdom."

If your Brother does wrong, go to him and convince him of his fault when you and he are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your Brother.

So that they are no longer two, but one. What God himself, then, has yoked together man must not separate."

But many who are first now will then be last, and those who are last will be first.

Have not I the right to do as I choose with what is mine? Are you envious because I am liberal?'

So those who are last will be first, and the first last."

"Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death,

"You do not know what you are asking," was Jesus' answer. "Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?" "Yes," they exclaimed, "we can."

And, if any one says anything to you, you are to say this-- 'The Master wants them'; and he will send them at once."

And said to them: "Scripture says??My House shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

And said to him: "Do you hear what these boys are saying?" "Yes," answered Jesus; "but did you never read the words--'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast called forth perfect praise'?"

But if we say 'human,' we are afraid of the people, for every one regards John as a Prophet."

Which of the two sons did as his father wished?" " The second," they said. "I tell you," added Jesus, "that tax-gatherers and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God before you.

A second time he sent some servants, with orders to say to those who had been invited 'I have prepared my breakfast, my cattle and fat beasts are killed and everything is ready; come to the banquet.'

For many are called, but few chosen."

They sent their disciples, with the Herodians, to say to him: "Teacher, we know that you are an honest man, and that you teach the way of God honestly, and are not afraid of any one; for you pay no regard to a man's position.

Tell us, then, what you think. Are we right in paying taxes to the Emperor, or not?"

Perceiving their malice, Jesus answered: "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

He asked: "Whose head and title are these?"

For at the resurrection there is no marrying or being married, but all who rise are as angels in Heaven.

All their actions are done to attract attention. They widen their phylacteries, and increase the size of their tassels,

But alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. For you do not go in yourselves, nor yet allow those who try to go in to do so.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You destroy widow's houses, even while pretending to make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.

Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when he is gained, you make him twice as deserving of the Pit as you are yourselves.

Fools that you are and blind! Which is the more important? The gold? Or the Temple which has given sacredness to the gold?

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth.

It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the Prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men,

By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the Prophets.

"then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains;

and a man on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house;

And alas for the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing infants in those days!