Now after the birth of Jesus, which took place at Bethlehem in Judaea in the reign of King Herod, excitement was produced in Jerusalem by the arrival of certain Magi from the east,

Thereupon Herod sent privately for the Magi and ascertained from them the exact time of the star's appearing.

But being forbidden by God in a dream to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by a different route.

When they were gone, and angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise: take the babe and His mother and escape to Egypt, and remain there till I bring you word. For Herod is about to make search for the child in order to destroy Him."

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.

"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter lamentation: It was Rachel bewailing her children, and she refused to be comforted because there were no more."

But after Herod's death an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said to him,

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,

Therefore let your lives prove your change of heart;

Now when Jesus heard that John was thrown into prison, He withdrew into Galilee,

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

"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.

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

But I tell you that whoever looks at a woman and cherishes lustful thoughts has already in his heart become guilty with regard to her.

"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 where your wealth is, there also will your heart be.

Now at some distance from them a vast herd of swine were feeding.

So the demons entreated Him. "If Thou drivest us out," they said, "send us into the herd of swine."

"Go," He replied. Then they came out from the men and went into the swine, whereupon the entire herd instantly rushed down the cliff into the Lake and perished in the water.

He heard the question and replied, "It is not men in good health who require a doctor, but the sick.

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

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

He will not wrangle or raise His voice, nor will His voice be heard in the broadways.

The Pharisees heard it and said, "This man only expels demons by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of demons."

O vipers' brood, how can you speak what is good when you are evil? For it is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks.

For just as Jonah was three days in the sea-monster's belly, so will the Son of Man be three days in the heart of the earth.

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.

When a man hears the Message concerning the Kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil one comes and catches away what has been sown in his heart. This is he who has received the seed by the road-side.

About that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,

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

But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before all the company, and so pleased Herod

Upon receiving these tidings, Jesus went away by boat to an uninhabited and secluded district; but the people heard of it and followed Him in crowds from the towns by land.

"'This is a People who honour Me with their lips, while their heart is far away from Me;

Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were greatly shocked when they heard those words?"

But the things that come out of the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile the man.

For out of the heart proceed wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, impiety of speech.

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."

He was still speaking when a luminous cloud spread over them; and a voice was heard from within the cloud, which said, "This is My Son dearly beloved, in whom is My delight. Listen to Him."

The other ten heard of this, and their indignation was aroused against the two brothers.

two blind men sitting by the roadside heard that it was Jesus who was passing by, and cried aloud, "Sir, Son of David, pity us."

He who falls on this stone will be severely hurt; but he on whom it falls will be utterly crushed."

They heard this, and were astonished; then left Him, and went their way.

All the crowd heard this, and were filled with amazement at His teaching.

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

"'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,'" He answered, "'with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole mind.'

But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,'

But Jesus heard it, and said to them, "Why are you vexing her? For she has done a most gracious act towards me.

Then the High Priest tore his robes and exclaimed, "Impious language! What further need have we of witnesses! See, you have now heard the impiety.

Jesus heard the words, and He said, "It is not the healthy who require a doctor, but the sick: I did not come to appeal to the righteous, but to sinners."

Those who receive the seed by the way-side are those in whom the Message is sown, but, when they have heard it, Satan comes at once and carries away the Message sown in them.

In the same way those who receive the seed on the rocky places are those who, when they have heard the Message, at once accept it joyfully,

Others there are who receive the seed among the thorns: these are they who have heard the Message,

Feeding there, on the mountain slope, was a great herd of swine.

He gave them leave; and the foul spirits came out and entered into the swine, and the herd--about 2,000 in number--rushed headlong down the cliff into the Lake and were drowned in the Lake.

heard of Jesus. And she came in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak;

On the Sabbath He proceeded to teach in the synagogue; and many, as they heard Him, were astonished. "Where did he acquire all this?" they asked. "What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And what are these marvellous miracles which his hands perform?

King Herod heard of all this (for the name of Jesus had become widely known)

But when Herod heard of Him, he said, "The John, whom I beheaded, has come back to life."

For Herod himself had sent and had had John arrested and had kept him in prison in chains, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her.

For John had repeatedly told Herod, "You have no right to be living with your brother's wife."

for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing him to be an upright and holy man, and he protected him. After listening to him he was in great perplexity, and yet he found a pleasure in listening.

At length Herodias found her opportunity. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to the nobles of his court and to the tribunes and the principal people in Galilee,

at which Herodias's own daughter came in and danced, and so charmed Herod and his guests that he said to her, "Ask me for anything you please, and I will give it to you."

When John's disciples heard of it, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

So when Jesus landed, He saw a vast multitude; and His heart was moved with pity for them, because they were like sheep which have no shepherd, and He proceeded to teach them many things.

Then they scoured the whole district, and began to bring Him the sick on their mats wherever they heard He was.

because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and passes away ejected from him?" By these words Jesus pronounced all kinds of food clean.

Forthwith a woman whose little daughter was possessed by a foul spirit heard of Him, and came and flung herself at His feet.

"My heart yearns over the people," He said; "for this is now the third day they have remained with me, and they have nothing to eat.

and when He admonished them, "See to it, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,"

Then looking round on His disciples Jesus said, "With how hard a struggle will the possessors of riches enter the Kingdom of God!"

The disciples were amazed at His words. Jesus, however, said again, "Children, how hard a struggle is it for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God!

and He said to the tree, "Let no one ever again eat fruit from thee!" And His disciples heard this.

This the High Priests and Scribes heard, and they began to devise means to destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him, because of the deep impression produced on all the people by His teaching.

In solemn truth I tell you that if any one shall say to this mountain, 'Remove, and hurl thyself into the sea,' and has no doubt about it in his heart, but stedfastly believes that what he says will happen, it shall be granted him.

Their next step was to send to Him some of the Pharisees and of Herod's partisans to entrap Him in conversation.

Then one of the Scribes, who had heard them disputing and well knew that Jesus had given them an answer to the point, and a forcible one, came forward and asked Him, "Which is the chief of all the Commandments?"

and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole mind, and thy whole strength.'

and To love Him with all one's heart, with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength, and to love one's fellow man no less than oneself, is far better than all our whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices."

and He said to them, "My heart is oppressed with anguish to the very point of death: wait here and keep awake."

"We have heard him say, 'I will pull down this Sanctuary built by human hands, and three days afterwards I will erect another built without hands.'"

You all heard his impious words. What is your judgement?" Then with one voice they condemned Him as deserving of death.

There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition has been heard: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John.

and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

and her neighbours and relatives heard how the Lord had had great compassion on her; and they rejoiced with her.

All who heard the story treasured it in their memories. "What then will this child be?" they said. For the lord's hand was indeed with him.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen in accordance with the announcement made to them.

while all who heard Him were astonished at His intelligence and at the answers He gave.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being Governor of Judaea, Herod Tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene,

Live lives which shall prove your change of heart; and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.

But Herod the Tetrarch, being repeatedly rebuked by him about Herodias his brother's wife, and about all the wicked deeds that he had done,

"Rabbi," replied Peter, "all night long we have worked hard and caught nothing; but at your command I will let down the nets."

A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good; and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil; for from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

But he who has heard and not practised is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation, against which the torrent bursts, and immediately it collapses, and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house."

Then He answered the messengers, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, deaf persons hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.

and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, all of whom contributed to the support of Jesus and His Apostles.