The birth of Jesus Christ took place as follows:--His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but, before the marriage took place, she found herself to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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.

'Behold! the virgin shall be with child and shall give birth to a son, And they will give him the name Immanuel'--a word which means 'God is with us.'

He called together all the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law in the nation, and questioned them as to where the Christ was to be born.

But afterwards, having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another road.

Joseph awoke, and taking the child and his mother by night, went into Egypt,

When Herod found that he had been trifled with by the Astrologers, he was very angry. He sent and put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and the whole of that neighborhood, who were two years old or under, guided by the date which he had ascertained from the Astrologers.

And there he settled in the town of Nazareth, in fulfillment of these words in the Prophets--'He will be called a Nazarene.'

And were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Already the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him.

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?"

"Let it be so for the present," Jesus answered, "since it is fitting for us thus to satisfy every claim of religion." Upon this, John consented.

Then Jesus was led up into the Wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil.

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

'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, The land of the Road by the Sea, and beyond the Jordan, With Galilee of the Gentiles--

And his fame spread all through Syria. They brought to him all who were ill with any form of disease, or who were suffering pain--any who were either possessed by demons, or were lunatic, or paralyzed; and he cured them.

And he was followed by large crowds from Galilee, the district of the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.

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

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

Be glad and rejoice, because your reward in Heaven will be great; for so men persecuted the Prophets who lived before you.

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

Whoever, therefore, breaks one of these commandments, even the least of them, and teaches others to do so, will be the least- esteemed in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever keeps them, and teaches others to do so, will be esteemed great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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.'

I, however, say to you that any one who cherishes anger against his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the Court; and whoever pours contempt upon his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the High Council, while whoever calls down curses upon him shall be liable to answer for it in the fiery Pit.

Leave your gift there, before the altar, go and be reconciled to your brother, first, then come and present your gift.

Be ready to make friends with your opponent, even when you meet him on your way to the court; for fear that he should hand you over to the judge, and the judge to his officer, and you should be thrown into prison.

If your right eye is a snare to you, take it out and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it thrown into the Pit.

And, if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it go down to the Pit.

I, however, say to you that you must not swear at all, either by Heaven, since that is God's throne,

Or by the earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the Great King.

Nor should you swear by your head, since you cannot make a single hair either white or black.

Let your words be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from what is wrong.

Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in Heaven has no reward for you.

Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!

So that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you.

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!

When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing.

You, therefore, should pray thus--'Our Father, who art in Heaven, May thy name be held holy,

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done--on earth, as in Heaven.

And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up;

But, if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkened. And, if the inner light is darkness, how intense must that darkness be!

That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here--what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body-- what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?

But which of you, by being anxious, can prolong his life a single moment?

And why be anxious about clothing? Study the wild lilies, and how they grow. They neither toil nor spin;

If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, will not he much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

But first seek his Kingdom and the righteousness that he requires, and then all these things shall be added for you.

Therefore do not be anxious about to-morrow, for to-morrow will bring its own anxieties. Every day has trouble enough of its own.

Do not judge, that you may not be judged.

For, just as you judge others, you will yourselves be judged, and the measure that you mete will be meted out to you.

And why do you look at the straw in your brother's eye, while you pay no attention at all to the beam in yours?

Ask, and your prayer shall be granted; search, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.

For he that asks receives, he that searches finds, and to him that knocks the door shall be opened.

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;

By the fruit of their lives you will know them. Do people gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Hence it is by the fruit of their lives that you will know such men.

Everyone, therefore, that listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it may be compared to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock.

And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

By the time that Jesus had finished speaking, the crowd was filled with amazement at his teaching.

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," the Captain went on, "I am unworthy to receive you under my roof; but only speak, and my manservant will be cured.

While the heirs to the Kingdom will be 'banished into the darkness' outside; there, there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."

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

In the evening the people brought to Jesus many who were possessed by demons; and he drove out the spirits with a word, And cured all who were ill,

Then he got into the boat, followed by his disciples.

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.

Jesus answered: "Can the bridegroom's friends mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom will be parted from them, and they will fast then.

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."

As Jesus was passing on from there, he was followed by two blind men, who kept calling out: "Take pity on us, Son of David!"

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

Just as they were going out, some people brought up to Jesus a dumb man who was possessed by a demon;

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

I tell you, the doom of the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than the doom of that town.

Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves.

Be on your guard against your fellow men, for they will betray you to courts of law, and scourge you in their Synagogues;

And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, that you may witness for me before them and the nations.

Whenever they betray you, do not be anxious as to how you shall speak or what you shall say, for what you shall say will be given you at the moment;

For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks within you.

Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death;

And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.

It is enough for a scholar to be treated like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Baal-zebub, how much more the members of his household!

Do not, therefore, be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden which will not become known.

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.

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

A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

Now John had heard in prison what the Christ was doing, and he sent a message by his disciples,

"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!

From the time of John the Baptist to this very hour, the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken by force, and men using force have been seizing it.

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."

Yet, I tell you, the doom of Tyre and Sidon will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than yours.

Yet, I tell you, the doom of Sodom will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than yours."

Everything has been committed to me by my Father; nor does any one fully know the Son, except the Father, or fully know the Father, except the Son and those to whom the Son may choose to reveal him.

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

So, if Satan drives Satan out, he must be divided against himself; and how, then, can his kingdom last?

And, if it is by Baal-zebub's help that I drive out demons, by whose help is it that your own sons drive them out? Therefore they shall themselves be your judges.

But, if it is by the help of the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God must already be upon you.