When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And having been warned [by God] in a dream not to go back to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been tricked by the magi, was extremely angry, and he sent [soldiers] and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old and under, according to the date which he had learned from the magi.

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
She refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”

Now this same John had clothing made of camel’s hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus),

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

So the news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were sick, those suffering with various diseases and pains, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When Jesus had finished [speaking] these words [on the mountain], the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed at His teaching;

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons; and He cast out the evil spirits with a word, and restored to health all who were sick [exhibiting His authority as Messiah],

The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God and praised Him, who had given such authority and power to men.

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows this!”

While they were going away, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus.

And when the demon was driven out [by Jesus], the mute man spoke; and the crowds wondered in amazement, saying, “Never before has anything like this [miracle] been seen in Israel.”

When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He began to denounce [the people in] the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent [and change their hearts and lives].

At that particular time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

All the people wondered in amazement, and said, “Could this be the Son of David (the Messiah)?”

But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, many prophets and righteous men [who were honorable and in right standing with God] longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

And after coming to [Nazareth] His hometown, He began teaching them in their synagogue, and they were astonished, and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers [what is the source of His authority]?

And they took offense at Him [refusing to believe in Him]. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve full baskets of the leftover broken pieces.

There were about 5,000 men who ate, besides women and children.

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.

And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word throughout all the surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;

and they begged Him to let them merely touch the fringe of His robe; and all who touched it were perfectly restored.

Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?”

And they all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up seven full baskets of the broken pieces that were left over.

[Among] those who ate were 4,000 men, not counting women and children.

When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.”

When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies];

and they will kill Him, and He will be raised [from death to life] on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved and distressed.

When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and they went and reported to their master [with clarity and in detail] everything that had taken place.

Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them.

When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished and bewildered, saying, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?”

And when the [other] ten heard this, they were resentful and angry with the two brothers.

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

And two blind men were sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David (Messiah)!”

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful and miraculous things that Jesus had done, and heard the boys who were shouting in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple [in praise and adoration], “Hosanna to the Son of David (the Messiah),” they became indignant

And although they were trying to arrest Him, they feared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a prophet.

But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and they left Him and went away.

Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Now while the Pharisees were [still] gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:

For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

Five of them were foolish [thoughtless, silly, and careless], and five were wise [far-sighted, practical, and sensible].

But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked.

But when the disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, “Why all this waste [of money]?

And as they were eating, He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

Being deeply grieved and extremely distressed, each one of them began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

And one of those who were with Jesus reached out and drew his sword, and struck [Malchus] the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel;

But when the charges were brought against Him by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.

Now as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced into service to carry the cross of Jesus.

At the same time two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left.

The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.

And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints (God’s people) who had fallen asleep [in death] were raised [to life];

Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

There were also many women there looking on from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him.

Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and [Salome] the mother of Zebedee’s sons [James and John].

The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

While they were on their way, some of the [Roman] guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

and said, “You say this, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’

So they took the money [they were paid for lying] and did as they were instructed; and this [fabricated] story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to the present day.

And all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were continually going out to him; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon’s brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending and cleaning the nets.

They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

They were all so amazed that they debated and questioned each other, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits (demons), and they obey Him.”

Now when evening came, after the sun had set [and the Sabbath Day had ended, in a steady stream] they were bringing to Him all who were sick and those who were under the power of demons,

And Jesus healed many who were suffering with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him [recognizing Him as the Son of God].

Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him,

But some of the scribes were sitting there debating in their hearts [the implication of what He had said],

And he got up and immediately picked up the mat and went out before them all, so that they all were astonished and they glorified and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting [as a ritual]; and they came and asked Jesus, “Why are John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasting, but Your disciples are not doing so?”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?”

He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables.

With many such parables, Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear and understand it;

and He did not say anything to them without [using] a parable; He did, however, explain everything privately to His own disciples.

So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered the pigs. The herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea; and they were drowned [one after the other] in the sea.

They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the “legion” [of demons]; and they were frightened.

So he [obeyed and] went away and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten Hellenistic cities] all the great things that Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.