'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.'

And do not think that you can say among yourselves 'Abraham is our ancestor,' for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!

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.

After the baptism of Jesus, and just as he came up from the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, like a dove, and alighting upon him,

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

But Jesus answered: "Scripture says--'It is not on bread alone that man is to live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

"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.'"

"Scripture also says," answered Jesus, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'"

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

And Jesus went all through Galilee, teaching in their Synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and curing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people;

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

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

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.

Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellow men, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.

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,

And, when any one wants to go to law with you, to take your coat, let him have your cloak as well;

That you may become Sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for he causes his sun to rise upon bad and good alike, and sends rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous.

Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

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?

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?

Do not then ask anxiously 'What can we get to eat?' or 'What can we get to drink?' or 'What can we get to wear?'

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.

So, too, every sound tree bears good fruit, while a worthless tree bears bad fruit.

A sound tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a worthless tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that fails to bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

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

Suddenly they shrieked out: "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before our time?"

Afterwards Jesus got into a boat, and, crossing over, came to his own city.

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

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."

The man got up and went to his home.

When the crowd saw this, they were awe-struck, and praised God for giving such power to men.

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.

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

Jesus went round all the towns and the villages, teaching in their Synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and curing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

He who welcomes a Prophet, because he is a Prophet, shall receive a Prophet's reward; and he who welcomes a good man, because he is a good man, shall receive a good man's reward.

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.

Yes, Father, I thank thee that this has seemed good to thee.

How he went into the House of God, and how they ate the consecrated bread, through it was not allowable for him or his companions to eat it, but only for the priests?

And how much more precious a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath."

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.

How, again, can any one get into a strong man's house and carry off his goods, without first securing him? And not till then will he plunder his house.

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.

A good man, from his good stores, produces good things; while an evil man, from his evil stores, produces evil things.

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

Some, however, fell on good soil, and yielded a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold.

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.

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?'

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?

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

Immediately afterwards Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and cross over in advance of him, while he dismissed the crowds.

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

When they had got into the boat, the wind dropped.

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

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,'

But you say 'Whenever any one says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is 'Given to God,'"

He is in no way bound to honor his father.' In this way you have nullified the words of God on account of your traditions.

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.

Then, after dismissing the crowds, Jesus got into the boat, and went to the neighborhood of Magadan.

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

But Peter took Jesus aside, and began to rebuke him. "Master," he said, "please God that shall never be your fate!"

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."

What good will it do a man to gain the whole world, if he forfeits his life? or what will a man give that is of equal value with his life?

"Master," exclaimed Peter, interposing, "it is good to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

If your hand or your foot is a snare to you, cut it off, and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the Life maimed or lame, than to have both hands, or both feet, and be thrown into the aeonian fire.

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

And a man came up to Jesus, and said: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain Immortal life?"

"Why ask me about goodness?" answered Jesus. "There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments."

I say again, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!"

But Jesus looked at them, and said: "With men this is impossible, but with God everything is possible." Then Peter turned and said to Jesus:

The crowd told them to be quiet; but the men only called out the louder: "Take pity on us, Master, Son of David!"

The immense crowd of people spread their cloaks in the road, while some cut branches off the trees, and spread them on the road.

The crowds that led the way, as well as those that followed behind, kept shouting: "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God save him from on high!"

But, when the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things that Jesus did, and the boys who were calling out in the Temple Courts "God save the Son of David!", they were indignant,

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.

But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.'

And that, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation that does produce the fruit of the Kingdom.

The servants went out into the roads and collected all the people whom they found, whether bad or good; and the bridal-hall was filled with guests.

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.

"The Emperor's," they answered: on which he said to them: "Then pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and to God what belongs to God."

"Your mistake," replied Jesus, "is due to your ignorance of the Scriptures, and of the power of God.

As to the resurrection of the dead, have you not read these words of God--

'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of dead men, but of living."

His answer was: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'

while a man, swearing by Heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it.

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.

And this Good News of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all nations; and then will come the end.

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

nor must one who is on his farm turn back to get his cloak.