After the Removal to Babylon Jeconiah had a son Shealtiel; Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel;

But Joseph her husband, being a kind-hearted man and unwilling publicly to disgrace her, had determined to release her privately from the betrothal.

All this took place in fulfilment of what the Lord had spoken through the Prophet,

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded, and brought home his wife,

but did not live with her until she had given birth to a son. The child's name he called JESUS.

After hearing what the king said, they went to Bethlehem, while, strange to say, the star they had seen in the east led them on until it came and stood over the place where the babe was.

There he remained till Herod's death, that what the Lord had said through the Prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then Herod, finding that the Magi had trifled with him, was furious, and sent and massacred all the boys under two years of age, in Bethlehem and all its neighbourhood, according to the date he had so carefully ascertained from the Magi.

But hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod on the throne of Judaea, he was afraid to go there; and being instructed by God in a dream he withdrew into Galilee,

*You* are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hill-top.

And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.'

Which of you by being over-anxious can add a single foot to his height?

When Jesus had concluded this discourse, the crowds were filled with amazement at His teaching,

for He had been teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their Scribes taught.

Seeing great crowds about Him Jesus had given directions to cross to the other side of the Lake,

"Foxes have holes," replied Jesus, "and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

The swineherds fled, and went and told the whole story in the town, including what had happened to the demoniacs.

And the crowds were awe-struck when they saw it, and ascribed the glory to God who had entrusted such power to a man.

But a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with haemorrhage came behind Him and touched the tassel of His cloak;

And when He had gone indoors, they came to Him. "Do you believe that I can do this?" He asked them. "Yes, Sir," they replied.

When Jesus had concluded His instructions to His twelve disciples, He left in order to teach and to proclaim His Message in the neighbouring towns.

Now John had heard in prison about the Christ's doings, and he sent some of his disciples to inquire:

When the messengers had taken their leave, Jesus proceeded to say to the multitude concerning John, "What did you go out into the Desert to gaze at? A reed waving in the wind?

Then began He to upbraid the towns where most of His mighty works had been done--because they had not repented.

"Alas for thee, Chorazin!" He cried. "Alas for thee, Bethsaida! For had the mighty works been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in both of you, they would long ere now have repented, covered with sackcloth and ashes.

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted even to Heaven? Even to Hades shalt thou descend. For had the mighty works been done in Sodom which have been done in thee, it would have remained until now.

That same day Jesus had left the house and was sitting on the shore of the Lake,

but when the sun is risen, it is scorched by the heat, and through having no root it withers up.

When He had dismissed the people and had returned to the house, His disciples came to Him with the request, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel sown in the field."

For Herod had arrested John, and had put him in chains, and imprisoned him, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,

because John had persistently said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

So she, instigated by her mother, said, "Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist."

The head was brought on a dish and given to the young girl, and she took it to her mother.

Those who had eaten were about 5,000 adult men, without reckoning women and children.

When He had done this, He climbed the hill to pray in solitude. Night came on, and he was there alone.

When they had quite crossed over, they put ashore at Gennesaret;

Then, when He had called the people to Him, Jesus said, "Hear and understand.

When the disciples arrived at the other side of the Lake, they found that they had forgotten to bring any bread;

Then they perceived that He had not warned them against bread-yeast, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Then it dawned upon the disciples that it was John the Baptist about whom He had spoken to them.

When they had returned to the people, there came to Him a man who fell on his knees before Him and besought Him.

and was unable to pay. So his master ordered that he and his wife and children and everything that he had should be sold, and payment be made.

But no sooner had that servant gone out, than he met with one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 shillings; and seizing him by the throat and nearly strangling him he exclaimed, "'Pay me all you owe.'

His fellow servants, therefore, seeing what had happened, were exceedingly angry; and they came and told their master without reserve all that had happened.

ought not you also to have had pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'

When Jesus had finished these discourses, He removed from Galilee and came into that part of Judaea which lay beyond the Jordan.

On hearing those words the young man went away much cast down; for he had much property.

"When those came who had begun at five o'clock, they received a shilling apiece;

So when they had received it, they grumbled against the employer, saying,

"'These who came last have done only one hour's work, and you have put them on a level with us who have worked the whole day and have borne the scorching heat.'

When they were come near Jerusalem and had arrived at Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on in front,

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them:

But when the High Priests and the Scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done and the children who were crying aloud in the Temple, "God save the Son of David," they were filled with indignation.

John's Baptism, whence was it? --had it a heavenly or a human origin?" So they debated the matter among themselves. "If we say 'a heavenly origin,'" they argued, "he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

"But give me your judgement. There was a man who had two sons. He came to the elder of them, and said, "'My son, go and work in the vineyard to-day.'

"They however gave no heed, but went, one to his home in the country, another to his business;

Now we had among us seven brothers. The eldest of them married, but died childless, leaving his wife to his brother.

Now the Pharisees came up when they heard that He had silenced the Sadducees,

and your boast is, "'If we had lived in the time of our forefathers, we should not have been implicated with them in the murder of the Prophets.'

Jesus had left the Temple and was going on His way, when His disciples came and called His attention to the Temple buildings.

Then will many stumble and fall, and they will betray one another and hate one another.

And if those days had not been cut short, no one would escape; but for the sake of God's own People those days will be cut short.

But of this be assured, that if the master of the house had known the hour at which the robber was coming, he would have kept awake, and not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Without delay the one who had received the five talents went and employed them in business, and gained five more.

In the same way he who had the two gained two more.

But the man who had received the one went and dug a hole and buried his master's money.

"After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them.

The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, and said, "'Sir, it was five talents that you entrusted to me: see, I have gained five more.'

"The second, who had received the two talents, came and said, "'Sir, it was two talents you entrusted to me: see, I have gained two more.'

"But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, "'Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed.

When Jesus had ended all these discourses, He said to His disciples,

a woman came to Him with a jar of very costly, sweet-scented ointment, which she poured over His head as He reclined at table.

The Son of Man is indeed going as is written concerning Him; but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It had been a happy thing for that man if he had never been born."

He had scarcely finished speaking when Judas came--one of the Twelve--accompanied by a great crowd of men armed with swords and bludgeons, sent by the High Priests and Elders of the People.

Now the betrayer had agreed upon a sign with them, to direct them. He had said, "The one whom I kiss is the man: lay hold of him."

But the officers who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the High Priest, at whose house the Scribes and the Elders had assembled.

and Peter recollected the words of Jesus, how He had said, "Before the cock crows you will three times disown me." And he went out and wept aloud, bitterly.

Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, smitten with remorse he brought back the thirty shekels to the High Priests and Elders

When the High Priests had gathered up the money they said, "It is illegal to put it into the Treasury, because it is the price of blood."

Then were fulfilled the words spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah, "And I took the thirty shekels, the price of the prized one on whom Israelites had set a price,

and at this time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

For he knew that it was from envious hatred that Jesus had been brought before him.

They twisted a wreath of thorny twigs and put it on His head, and they put a sceptre of cane in His right hand, and kneeling to Him they shouted in mockery, "Long live the King of the Jews!"

Then they spat upon Him, and taking the cane they repeatedly struck Him on the head with it.

Over His head they placed a written statement of the charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And there were a number of women there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to His necessities;

Towards sunset there came a wealthy inhabitant of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself also had become a disciple of Jesus.

He then laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn in the solid rock, and after rolling a great stone against the door of the tomb he went home.

But to their amazement there had been a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord had descended from Heaven, and had come and rolled back the stone, and was sitting upon it.

While they went on this errand, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the High Priests every detail of what had happened.

As for the eleven disciples, they proceeded into Galilee, to the hill where Jesus had arranged to meet them.

Then, after John had been thrown into prison, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming God's Good News.

But the man, when he went out, began to tell every one and to publish the matter abroad, so that it was no longer possible for Jesus to go openly into any town; but He had to remain outside in unfrequented places, where people came to Him from all parts.

Finding themselves unable, however, to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they untiled the roof just over His head, and after clearing an opening they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

But no sooner had the Pharisees left the synagogue than they held a consultation with the Herodians against Jesus, to devise some means of destroying Him.

For He had cured many of the people, so that all who had any ailments pressed upon Him, to touch Him.

The Scribes, too, who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Baal-zebul in him; and it is by the power of the Prince of the demons that he expels the demons."

But He Himself was in the stern asleep, with His head on the cushion: so they woke Him. "Rabbi," they cried, "is it nothing to you that we are drowning?"

for many a time he had been left securely bound in fetters and chains, but afterwards the chains lay torn link from link, and the fetters in fragments, and there was no one strong enough to master him.