but after he had planned this, there appeared an angel of the Lord to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her comes from the holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you will call him 'Jesus,' for he will save his people from their sins."

So on waking from sleep Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him; he took his wife home,

asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."

They told him, "In Bethlehem belonging to Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet:

He also sent them to Bethlehem, telling them, "Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you have found him report to me, so that I may go and worship him too."

on reaching the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down to worship him, and opening their caskets they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

After they had gone, there appeared an angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt; stay there till I tell you. For Herod is going to search for the child and destroy him."

Then Herod saw the magicians had trifled with him, and he was furiously angry; he sent and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the neighbourhood who were two years old or under, calculating by the time he had ascertained from the magicians.

(This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.')

Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him

and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

John tried to prevent him; "I need to get baptized by you," he said, "and you come to me!"

But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.

Now when Jesus had been baptized, the moment he rose out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove upon him.

And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, in him is my delight."

So the tempter came up and said to him, "If you are God's son, tell these stones to become loaves."

Then the devil conveyed him to the holy city and, placing him on the pinnacle of the temple,

said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down; for it is written, He will give his angels charge of you; they will bear you on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone."

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

Once more the devil conveyed him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the realms of the world and their grandeur;

Then Jesus told him, "Begone, Satan! it is written, You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone."

At this the devil left him, and angels came up and ministered to him.

And they dropped their nets at once and followed him.

and they left the boat and their father at once, and went after him.

The fame of him spread all through the surrounding country, and people brought him all their sick, those who suffered from all manner of disease and pain, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics; he healed them all.

So when he saw the crowds, he went up the hill and sat down; his disciples came up to him

But I tell you, you are not to resist an injury: whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well;

whoever wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well;

whoever forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him;

give to the man who begs from you, and turn not away from him who wants to borrow.

you must not copy them; your Father knows your needs before you ask him.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field which blooms to-day and is thrown to-morrow into the furnace, will not he much more clothe you? O men, how little you trust him!

Why, which of you, when asked by his son for a loaf, will hand him a stone?

Or, if he asks a fish, will you hand him a serpent?

Well, if for all your evil you know to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?

A leper came up and knelt before him, saying, "If you only choose, sir, you can cleanse me";

so he stretched his hand out and touched him, with the words, "I do choose, be cleansed." And his leprosy was cleansed at once.

Then Jesus told him, "See, you are not to say a word to anybody; away and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, to notify men."

When he entered Capharnahum an army-captain came up to him and appealed to him,

He replied, "I will come and heal him."

so he touched her hand; the fever left her and she rose and ministered to him.

Now when evening came they brought him many demoniacs, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all the invalids ??17 that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, He took away our sicknesses and he removed our diseases.

When Jesus saw crowds round him he gave orders for crossing to the other side.

A scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you anywhere";

Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first of all";

Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

So the disciples went and woke him up, saying, "Help, Lord, we are drowning!"

Men marvelled at this; they said, "What sort of man is this? the very winds and sea obey him!"

so the daemons begged him saying, "If you are going to cast us out, send us into that drove of swine."

Then all the town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to move out of their district.

There a paralytic was brought to him, lying on a pallet; and when Jesus saw the faith of the bearers he said to the paralytic, "Courage, my son! your sins are forgiven."

As Jesus passed along from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me"; and he rose and followed him.

Jesus was at table indoors, and many taxgatherers and sinners had come to be guests with him and his disciples.

Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast a great deal, and your disciples do not fast?"

As he said this, an official came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter is just dead; do come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

So Jesus rose and went after him, accompanied by his disciples.

Now a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his robe;

he said, "Be off with you; the girl is not dead but asleep." They laughed at him.

When he went indoors the blind men came up to him, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can do this?" They said, "Yes, sir."

But they went out and spread the news of him all over that country.

As they went out, a dumb man was brought to him, who was possessed by a daemon,

Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Whatever town or village you go into, find out a deserving inhabitant and stay with him till you leave.

Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Everyone who will acknowledge me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven;

and whoever will disown me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me.

to ask him, "Are you the Coming One? Or are we to look out for someone else?"

He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

All has been handed over to me by my Father: and no one knows the Son except the Father ??nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

When the Pharisees noticed it, they said to him, "Look at your disciples, they are doing what is not allowed on the sabbath."

Now a man with a withered hand was there; so in order to get a charge against him they asked him, "Is it right to heal on the sabbath?"

So the Pharisees withdrew and plotted against him, to destroy him;

but as Jesus knew of it he retired from the spot. Many followed him, and he healed them all,

charging them strictly not to make him known ??17 it was for the fulfilment of what had been said by the prophet Isaiah,

Here is my servant whom I have selected, my Beloved in whom my soul delights; I will invest him with my Spirit, and he will proclaim religion to the Gentiles.

Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we would like to have some Sign from you."

He was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and brothers came and stood outside; they wanted to speak to him.

But he replied to the man who told him this, "Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

but, as great crowds gathered to him, he entered a boat and sat down, while all the crowd stood on the beach.

He who has an ear, let him listen to this."

Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?"

For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given, but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has.

As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm;

As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful.

As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

So the servants of the owner went to him and said, 'Did you not sow good seed in your field, sir? How then does it contain weeds?'

He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then would you like us to go and gather them?'

Then he left the crowds and went indoors. And his disciples came up to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

Then the just will shine like the sun in the Realm of their Father. He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."

So they were repelled by him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet never goes without honour except in his native place and in his home."

And he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip,

since John had told him, "You have no right to her."

He was anxious to kill him but he was afraid of the people, for they held John to be a prophet.

His disciples came and removed the corpse and buried him; then they went and reported it to Jesus.