Now these were the circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, his mother, was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married it was found that she was about to become a mother through the influence of the holy Spirit.

Be glad and exult over it, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way they persecuted the prophets who went before you!

leave your gift right there before the altar and go and make up with your brother; then come back and present your gift.

So when you are going to give to charity, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and the streets, to make people praise them. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get!

You must not be like them. For God, who is your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

But you must make his kingdom, and uprightness before him, your greatest care, and you will have all these other things besides.

"Do not give what is sacred to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

And a leper came up to him and fell on his knees before him, saying, "If you only choose, sir, you can cure me!"

And they suddenly screamed out, "What do you want of us, you Son of God? Have you come here before the appointed time to torture us?"

Just as he said this to them, an official came up and bowing low before him said to him, "My daughter has just died. But come! Lay your hand on her and she will come to life!"

and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen.

But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives.

Therefore everyone who will acknowledge me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven,

but anyone who disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you; He will prepare the road ahead of you.'

Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and in the end the man is worse off than he was before. That is the way it will be with this present wicked age."

But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the company. And Herod was delighted with her,

And he immediately made his disciples get into the boat and cross before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds.

And the men in the boat fell down before him and said, "You are certainly God's Son!"

And she came and fell down before him, and said, "Help me, sir!"

So the slave threw himself down before him and implored him, 'Give me time, and I will pay you all of it.'

So his fellow-slave threw himself down before him, and begged him, 'Give me time, and I will pay you.'

And most of the crowd spread their coats in his way, and others cut branches from the trees and scattered them before him.

I tell you, these things will all happen before the present age passes away.

For just as in those days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and being married, until the very day Noah entered the ark,

and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats,

But after I am raised to life again, I will go back to Galilee before you."

Jesus said to him, "I tell you, tonight, before a cock crows, you will disown me three times!"

And he left them and went away again and prayed a third time, in the same words as before.

But he denied it before them all, and said, "I do not know what you mean."

And Peter remembered Jesus' words when he had said, "Before a cock crows, you will disown me three times!" And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said, "Yes."

and made a wreath of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a stick in his hand, and knelt down before him in mockery, saying, "Long live the king of the Jews!"

And Mary of Magdala and the other Mary remained there, sitting before the tomb.

Now go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has risen from the dead, and is going back to Galilee before you. You will see him there.' Now I have given you my message."

And Jesus himself met them, and said, "Good morning!" And they went up to him and clasped his feet, and bowed to the ground before him.

There they saw him and bowed down before him, though some were in doubt about it.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "Here I send my messenger on before you; He will prepare your way;

Early in the morning, long before daylight, he got up and left the house and went off to a lonely spot, and prayed there.

And he got up, and immediately picked up his mat and went out before them all, so that they were all astonished and acknowledged the power of God, saying, "We never saw anything like this before."

And whenever the foul spirits saw him, they fell down before him and screamed out, "You are the Son of God!"

He immediately had his disciples get into the boat and cross before him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he was dismissing the crowd.

But you must be on your guard; they will hand you over to courts and you will be taken into synagogues and beaten, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to testify to them.

For before the end the good news must be preached to all the heathen.

I tell you, these things will all happen before the present age passes away.

It was now two days before the festival of the Passover and of Unleavened Bread. And the high priests and scribes were casting about for a way to arrest him by stealth and put him to death,

But after I am raised to life again I will go back to Galilee before you."

Jesus said to him, "I tell you, this very night before the cock crows twice you yourself will disown me three times!"

He went away again and prayed in the same words as before.

At that moment for the second time a cock crowed. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will disown me three times!" And at that, he wept aloud.

Although it was now evening, yet since it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

But go and say to his disciples and to Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; you will see him there, just as he told you.' "

Once when he was acting as priest before God, when his division was on duty,

He will go before him with the spirit and the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children, and to bring the disobedient back to the wisdom of upright men, to make a people perfectly ready for the Lord."

"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to make his way ready,

When he was eight days old and it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, as the angel had named him, before his birth was first expected.

Which you have set before all the nations,

If you will do homage before me, it shall all be yours."

Jesus answered, "The Scripture says, 'You must do homage before the Lord your God, and worship him alone.' "

Some men came up carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to get him in and lay him before Jesus.

And he got up at once before them all, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, praising God.

This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you, He will prepare the road ahead of you!'

When he saw Jesus he cried out and threw himself down before him, and said in a loud voice, "What do you want of me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

When the woman saw that she had not escaped his notice, she came forward trembling, and fell down before him, and before all the people told why she had touched him, and how she had been cured at once.

and sent messengers before him. They started out and went into a Samaritan village, to make preparations for him.

After this the Master appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on before him, two by two, to every town or place to which he intended to come.

Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and in the end the man is worse off than he was before."

The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised.

I tell you, everyone who will acknowledge me before men, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God,

but anyone who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

When they bring you before the synagogues or the magistrates or the authorities, you must have no anxiety about how to defend yourselves or what to say,

For when you are going before the magistrate with your opponent, do your best on the way to get rid of him, or he may hurry you off to the judge and the judge hand you over to the constable and the constable throw you into prison.

But when you are invited anywhere, go and take the poorest place, so that when your host comes in, he will say to you, 'My friend, come to a better place.' So you will be shown consideration before all the other guests.

And he said to them, "You are the men who parade your uprightness before people, but God knows your hearts. For what men consider great is detestable in the sight of God.

So they could not fasten on what he said before the people, and they were amazed at his answer, and said nothing more.

But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account.

I tell you, it will all happen before the present generation passes away.

And he said to them, "I have greatly desired to eat this Passover supper with you before I suffer.

But he said, "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow today before you deny three times that you know me!"

And the Master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the words the Master had said to him??"Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times."

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the high priests and scribes assembled, and brought him before their council, and said to him,

And Herod and Pilate became friends that day, for they had been at enmity before.

and said to them, "You brought this man before me charged with misleading the people, and here I have examined him before you and not found him guilty of any of the things that you accuse him of.

as the sun was in eclipse. And the curtain before the sanctuary was torn in two.

Did not the Christ have to suffer thus before entering upon his glory?"

and he took it and ate it before their eyes.

The official said to him, "Come down, sir, before my child is dead!"

Then what if you see the Son of Man go up where he was before?

Jesus said to them, "I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born!"

He answered, "I do not know about his being a sinful man. All I know is that I was blind before and now I can see."

And he said, "I believe, sir!" and he fell on his knees before him.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep would not obey them.

Now the Jewish Passover Festival was approaching and many people went up to Jerusalem from the country, to purify themselves before the Passover.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, was living.

Before the Passover Festival began, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father, but he had loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them to the last.

From now on I will tell you things before they happen, so that when they do happen you may believe that I am what I say.

Jesus answered, "You will lay down your life for me? I tell you, before a cock crows, you will disown me thrice over!

And I have told you of it now before it happens, in order that when it happens you may believe in me.

If I had not done things before them that no one else ever did they would not be guilty of sin. But as it is, they have seen both me and my Father, and they have hated us both.

Now, Father, do such honor to me in your presence as I had done me there before the world existed.