and besought Him with many entreaties. "My little daughter," he said, "is at the point of death: I pray you come and lay your hands upon her, that she may recover and live."

And Jesus went with him. And a dense crowd followed Him, and thronged Him on all sides.

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

Immediately Jesus, well knowing that healing power had gone from within Him, turned round in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

until the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and threw herself at His feet, and told Him all the truth.

And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter and the brothers James and John.

To this their reply is a scornful laugh. He, however, puts them all out, takes the child's father and mother and those He has brought with Him, and enters the room where the child lies.

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?

But Jesus said to them, "There is no Prophet without honour except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own home."

Then summoning the Twelve to Him, He proceeded to send them out by twos, and gave them authority over the foul spirits.

Wherever you enter a house, make it your home till you leave that place.

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.

Therefore Herodias hated him and wished to take his life, but could not;

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.

He at once sent a soldier of his guard with orders to bring John's head. So he went and beheaded him in the prison,

When the Apostles had re-assembled round Jesus, they reported to Him all they had done and all they had taught.

By this time it was late; so His disciples came to Him, and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late:

Immediately afterwards He made His disciples go on board the boat and cross over to Bethsaida, leaving Him behind to dismiss the crowd.

They saw Him walking on the water, and thinking that it was a spirit they cried out;

for they all saw Him and were terrified. He, however, immediately spoke to them. "There is no danger," He said; "it is I; be not alarmed."

But no sooner had they gone ashore than the people immediately recognized Him.

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

And enter wherever He might--village or town or hamlet--they laid their sick in the open places, and entreated Him to let them touch were it but the tassel of His robe; and all, whoever touched Him, were restored to health.

Then the Pharisees, with certain Scribes who had come from Jerusalem, came to Him in a body.

So the Pharisees and Scribes put the question to Him: "Why do your disciples transgress the traditions of the Elders, and eat their food with unclean hands?"

For Moses said, 'Honour thy father and thy mother' and again, 'He who curses father or mother, let him die the death.'

And so you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or mother,

Then Jesus called the people to Him again. "Listen to me, all of you," He said, "and understand.

There is nothing outside a man which entering him can make him unclean; but it is the things which come out of a man that make him unclean."

After He had left the crowd and gone indoors, His disciples began to ask Him about this figure of speech.

"Have *you* also so little understanding?" He replied; "do you not understand that anything whatever that enters a man from outside cannot make him unclean,

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.

"What comes out of a man," He added, "that it is which makes him unclean.

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

She was a Gentile woman, a Syro-phoenician by nation: and again and again she begged Him to expel the demon from her daughter.

"For those words of yours, go home," He replied; "the demon has gone out of your daughter."

So she went home, and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Here they brought to Him a deaf man that stammered, on whom they begged Him to lay His hands.

So Jesus taking him aside, apart from the crowd, put His fingers into his ears, and spat, and moistened his tongue;

and looking up to Heaven He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Open!")

About that time there was again an immense crowd, and they found themselves with nothing to eat. So He called His disciples to Him.

If I were to send them home hungry, they would faint on the way, some of them having come a great distance."

The Pharisees followed Him and began to dispute with Him, asking Him for a sign in the sky, to make trial of Him.

And they came to Bethsaida. And a blind man was brought to Jesus and they entreated Him to touch him.

So He took the blind man by the arm and brought him out of the village, and spitting into his eyes He put His hands on him and asked him, "Can you see anything?"

So He sent him home, and added, "Do not even go into the village."

And He strictly forbad them to tell this about Him to any one.

This He told them plainly; whereupon Peter took Him and began to remonstrate with Him.

Then calling to Him the crowd and also His disciples, He said to them, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross, and so be my follower.

Every one, however, who has been ashamed of me and of my teachings in this faithless and sinful age, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."

Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and brought them alone, apart from the rest, up a high mountain; and in their presence His appearance underwent a change.

Then there came a cloud spreading over them, and a voice issued from the cloud, "This is my Son, dearly loved: listen to Him."

They also asked Him, "How is it that the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?"

Yet I tell you that not only has Elijah come, but they have also done to him whatever they chose, as the Scriptures say about him."

Immediately the whole multitude on beholding Him were astonished and awe-struck, and yet they ran forward and greeted Him.

"Rabbi," answered one of the crowd, "I have brought you my son. He has a dumb spirit in him;

and wherever it comes upon him, it dashes him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth, and he is pining away. I begged your disciples to expel it, but they had not the power."

So they brought him to Jesus. And the spirit, when he saw Jesus, immediately threw the youth into convulsions, so that he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

"and often it has thrown him into the fire or into pools of water to destroy him. But, if you possibly can, have pity on us and help us."

"'If I possibly can!'" replied Jesus; "why, everything is possible to him who believes."

Then Jesus, seeing that an increasing crowd was running towards Him, rebuked the foul spirit, and said to it, "Dumb and deaf spirit, *I* command you, come out of him and never enter into him again."

but Jesus took his hand and raised him up, and he stood on his feet.

After the return of Jesus to the house His disciples asked Him privately, "How is it that we could not expel the spirit?"

for He was teaching His disciples, and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will put Him to death; and after being put to death, in three days He will rise to life again."

They, however, did not understand what He meant, and were afraid to question Him.

And taking a young child He made him stand in their midst, then threw His arms round him and said,

"Whoever for my sake receives one such young child as this, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not so much me as Him who sent me."

"Rabbi," said John to Him, "we saw a man making use of your name to expel demons, and we tried to hinder him, on the ground that he did not follow us."

"You should not have tried to hinder him," replied Jesus, "for there is no one who will use my name to perform a miracle and be able the next minute to speak evil of me.

Soon on His feet once more, He enters the district of Judaea and crosses the Jordan: again the people flock to Him, and ere long, as was usual with Him, He was teaching them once more.

Presently a party of Pharisees come to Him with the question--seeking to entrap Him, "May a man divorce his wife?"

One day people were bringing young children to Jesus for Him to touch them, but the disciples interfered.

As He went out to resume His journey, there came a man running up to Him, who knelt at His feet and asked, "Good Rabbi, what am I to do in order to inherit the Life of the Ages?"

Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "One thing is lacking in you: go, sell all you possess and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven; and come and be a follower of mine."

"Remember," said Peter to Him, "that we forsook everything and have become your followers."

They were still on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were full of wonder, and some, though they followed, did so with fear. Then, once more calling to Him the Twelve, He began to tell them what was about to happen to Him.

"See," He said, "we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the High Priests and the Scribes. They will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles;

they will insult Him in cruel sport, spit on Him, scourge Him, and put Him to death; but on the third day He will rise to life again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zabdi, came up to Him and said, "Rabbi, we wish you would grant us whatever request we make of you."

Jesus, however, called them to Him and said to them, "You are aware how those who are deemed rulers among the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men make them feel their authority;

Many angrily told him to leave off shouting; but he only cried out all the louder, "Son of David, have pity on me."

Then Jesus stood still. "Call him," He said. So they called the blind man. "Cheer up," they said; "rise, he is calling you."

"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has cured you." Instantly he regained his sight, and followed Him along the road.

"Go," He said, "to the village facing you, and immediately on entering it you will find an ass's foal tied up which no one has ever yet ridden: untie him and bring him here.

So they brought the foal to Jesus, and threw their outer garments over him; and Jesus mounted.

while those who led the way and those who followed kept shouting "God save Him!" Blessed be He who comes in the Lord's name.

Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our forefather David! God in the highest Heavens save Him!"

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.

and Peter, recollecting, said to Him, "Look, Rabbi, the fig-tree which you cursed is withered up."

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.

They came again to Jerusalem; and as He was walking in the Temple, the High Priests, Scribes and Elders came to Him

So they debated the matter with one another. "Suppose we say, 'Heavenly,'" they argued, "he will ask, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

But they seized him, beat him cruelly and sent him away empty-handed.

Again he sent to them another servant: and as for him, they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully.

Yet a third he sent, and him they killed. And he sent many besides, and them also they ill-treated, beating some and killing others.

He had still one left whom he could send, a dearly-loved son: him last of all he sent, saying, "'They will treat my son with respect.'

"But those men--the vine-dressers--said to one another, "'Here is the heir: come, let us kill him, and then the property will one day be ours.'

"So they took him and killed him, and flung his body outside the vineyard.

And they kept looking out for an opportunity to seize Him, but were afraid of the people; for they saw that in this parable He had referred to *them*. So they left Him and went away.