inquiring, "Where is the newly born king of the Jews? For we have seen his Star in the east, and have come here to do him homage."

He then directed them to go to Bethlehem, adding, "Go and make careful inquiry about the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and do him homage."

and do not imagine that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.

John protested. "It is I," he said, "who have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

The people who were dwelling in darkness have seen a brilliant light; and on those who were dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them light has dawned."

"Blessed are those who have borne persecution in the cause of Righteousness, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens.

"Blessed are you when they have insulted and persecuted you, and have said every cruel thing about you falsely for my sake.

"Do not for a moment suppose that I have come to abrogate the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abrogate them but to give them their completion.

"You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'Thou shalt not commit murder', and whoever commits murder will be answerable to the magistrate.

I solemnly tell you that you will certainly not be released till you have paid the very last farthing.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform thy vows to the Lord.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.'

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

For if you love only those who love you, what reward have you earned? Do not even the tax-gatherers do that?

When you give in charity, never blow a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets in order that their praises may be sung by men. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward.

"And when praying, you must not be like the hypocrites. They are fond of standing and praying in the synagogues or at the corners of the wider streets, in order that men may see them. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward.

and forgive us our shortcomings, as we also have forgiven those who have failed in their duty towards us;

"When any of you fast, never assume gloomy looks as the hypocrites do; for they disfigure their faces in order that it may be evident to men that they are fasting. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward.

Everything, therefore, be it what it may, that you would have men do to you, do you also the same to them; for in this the Law and the Prophets are summed up.

Many will say to me on that day, "'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name expelled demons, and in Thy name performed many mighty works?'

For I myself am also under authority, and have soldiers under me. To one I say 'Go,' and he goes, to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this or that,' and he does it."

Jesus listened to this reply, and was astonished, and said to the people following Him, "I solemnly tell you that in no Israelite have I found faith as great as this.

And Jesus said to the Captain, "Go, and just as you have believed, so be it for you." And the servant recovered precisely at that time.

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

And when He saw the crowds He was touched with pity for them, because they were distressed and were fainting on the ground like sheep which have no shepherd.

Cure the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse lepers, drive out demons: you have received without payment, give without payment.

But when they have delivered you up, have no anxiety as to how you shall speak or what you shall say; for at that very time it shall be given you what to say;

Whenever they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for I solemnly tell you that you will not have gone the round of all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Enough for the learner to be on a level with his teacher, and for the servant to be on a level with his master. If they have called the master of the house Baal-zebul, how much more will they slander his servants?

"blind eyes receive sight, and cripples walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf ears hear; the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them;

But from the time of John the Baptist till now, the Kingdom of the Heavens has been suffering violent assault, and the violent have been seizing it by force.

"'We have played the flute to you,' they say, 'and you have not danced: we have sung dirges, and you have not beaten your breasts.'

"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.

"All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father, nor does any one fully know the Father except the Son and all to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

"Have you never read," He replied, "what David did when he and his men were hungry?

And have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath without incurring guilt?

And if you knew what this means, 'It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt.

"This is My servant whom I have chosen, My dearly loved One in whom My soul takes pleasure. I will put My spirit upon Him, and He will announce justice to the nations.

For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away.

For this people's mind is stupefied, their hearing has become dull, and their eyes they have closed; to prevent their ever seeing with their eyes, or hearing with their ears, or understanding with their minds, and turning back, so that I might heal them.'

For I solemnly tell you that many Prophets and holy men have longed to see the sights you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the words you hear, and have not heard them.

"Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said.

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

And he would have liked to put him to death, but was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a Prophet.

"We have nothing here," they said, "but five loaves and a couple of fish."

but you--this is what you say: 'If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me--

he shall be absolved from honouring his father'; and so you have abrogated God's Word for the sake of your tradition.

"I have only been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He replied.

But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."

"How many loaves have you?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they said, "and a few small fish."

they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have not brought any bread."

Jesus perceived this and said, "Why are you reasoning among yourselves, you men of little faith, because you have no bread?

I solemnly tell you that some of those who are standing here will certainly not taste death till they have seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom."

But Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Rouse yourselves and have no fear."

As they were descending the mountain, Jesus laid a command upon them. "Tell no one," He said, "of the sight you have seen till the Son of Man has risen from among the dead."

"Sir," he said, "have pity on my son, for he is an epileptic and is very ill. Often he falls into the fire and often into the water.

I have brought him to your disciples, and they have not been able to cure him."

"Because your faith is so small," He replied; "for I solemnly declare to you that if you have faith like a mustard-seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Remove from this place to that,' and it will remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

But whoever shall occasion the fall of one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung round his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

"Beware of ever despising one of these little ones, for I tell you that in Heaven their angels have continual access to my Father who is in Heaven.

And if he succeeds in finding it, in solemn truth I tell you that he rejoices over it more than he does over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.

"If your brother acts wrongly towards you, go and point out his fault to him when only you and he are there. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

"For this reason the Kingdom of the Heavens may be compared to a king who determined to have a settlement of accounts with his servants.

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

"Have you not read," He replied, "that He who made them 'made them' from the beginning 'male and female,

There are men who from their birth have been disabled from marriage, others who have been so disabled by men, and others who have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of the Heavens. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."

"All of these," said the young man, "I have carefully kept. What do I still lack?"

"If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

Then Peter said to Jesus, "See, *we* have forsaken everything and followed you; what then will be *our* reward?"

"I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that in the New Creation, when the Son of Man has taken His seat on His glorious throne, all of you who have followed me shall also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

And whoever has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children or lands, for my sake, shall receive many times as much and shall have as his inheritance the Life of the Ages.

And going out about five o'clock he found others loitering, and he asked them, "'Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'

"'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.'

Have I not a right to do what I choose with my own property? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

"Do you hear," they asked Him, "what these children are saying?" "Yes," He replied; "have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and of babes at the breast Thou hast brought forth the praise which is due'?"

"I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to this mountain, 'Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,' it shall be done;

and everything, whatever it be, that you ask for in your prayers, if you have faith, you shall obtain."

"And I also have a question to ask *you*," replied Jesus, "and if you answer me, I in turn will tell you by what authority I do these things.

and if we say 'a human origin' we have the people to fear, for they all hold John to have been a Prophet."

"Have you never read in the Scriptures," said Jesus, "'The Stone which the builders rejected has been made the Cornerstone: this Cornerstone came from the Lord, and is wonderful in our eyes'?

But as to the Resurrection of the dead, have you never read what God says to you,

"'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I have put thy foes beneath thy feet'?

"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law--just judgement, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone.

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.'

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children to me, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not come!

"When you have seen (to use the language of the Prophet Daniel)

And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!

Remember, I have forewarned you.

"Now learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branches have now become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you all know that summer is near.

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.

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.'

"'You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,' replied his master; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.'

"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.'

"'Good and trustworthy servant, you have done well,' his master replied; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.'

So being afraid I went and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you.'

"'You wicked and slothful servant,' replied his master, 'did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed?

Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest.

(For to every one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken away.)