and Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

saying, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising and have come to worship him."

'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead."

For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

But [when he] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I [am], whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And behold, [there was] a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death, a light has dawned on them."

And a report about him went out {throughout} Syria, and they brought to him all those {who were sick} with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.

Blessed [are] the ones who mourn, because they will be comforted.

Blessed [are] the ones who hunger and thirst [for] righteousness, because they will be satisfied.

Blessed [are] those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In the [same] way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, {let him have} your outer garment also.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same?

"And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; {otherwise} you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door [and] pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Therefore you pray in this way: "Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy.

so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And who among you, [by] being anxious, is able to add one hour to his life span?

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

"Enter through the narrow gate, because broad [is] the gate and spacious [is] the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it,

because narrow [is] the gate and constricted [is] the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does [it]."

Now [when] Jesus heard [this], he was astonished, and said to those who were following [him], "Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel.

Now [when it] was evening, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he expelled the spirits with a word. And he healed all {those who were sick},

in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said, "He himself took away our sicknesses, and carried away our diseases."

But [when] the crowds saw [this], they were afraid and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

And [when he] heard [it], he said, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}.

And behold, a woman who had been suffering with a hemorrhage twelve years approached from behind [and] touched the edge of his cloak,

Now [as] they were going away, behold, they brought to him a demon-possessed man [who was] unable to speak.

And [after] the demon had been expelled, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished, saying, "{This has never been seen before} in Israel!"

Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother,

Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot--the one who also betrayed him.

Heal those who are sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, expel demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

And into whatever town or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay [there] until you depart.

For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father [who is] speaking through you.

and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end--this one will be saved.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Therefore everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge him before my Father [who is] in heaven.

But whoever denies me before people, I also will deny him before my Father [who is] in heaven.

The one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.

"The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me.

The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.

[and] said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"

But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings.

It is this man about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'

Truly I say to you, among [those] born of women there has not arisen [one] greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

and if you are willing to accept [it], he is Elijah, the one who is going to come.

The one who has ears, let him hear!

"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a man [who is] a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

All [things] have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and {anyone to whom} the Son wants to reveal [him].

Come to me, all [of you] who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

And behold, [there was] a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?" in order that they could accuse him.

But he said to them, "What man will there be among you who will have one sheep and if this one fell into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift [it] out?

in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

"Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Then a demon-possessed man [who was] blind and mute was brought to him. And he healed him so that the [man who was] mute could speak and see.

And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel [them]? For this [reason] they will be your judges!

The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

But he answered [and] said to the one who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

For whoever does the will of my Father [who is] in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother."

The one who has ears, let him hear!"

And what was sown on the rocky ground--this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

And what was sown into the thorn plants--this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive.

But what was sown on the good soil--this is the one who hears the word and understands [it], who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred [times as much], and this one sixty, and this one thirty."

He put before them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation."

So he answered [and] said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds,

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear!

And he said to them, "For this [reason] every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new [things] and old [things]."

Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

And [when] the men of that place recognized him, they sent [word] into that whole surrounding region, and they brought to him all those {who were sick}.

And they were imploring him that they might only touch the edge of his cloak, and all those who touched [it] were cured.

For God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother {must certainly die}.'

Now those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children.

Now [when] Jesus came to the region of Caesarea {Philippi}, he began asking his disciples, saying, "Who do people say [that] the Son of Man is?"

He said to them, "But who do you say [that] I am?"

And Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal [this] to you, but my Father [who is] in heaven.

Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."