and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

Now we call the proud blessed; indeed, those who work wickedness prosper. They even tempt God and escape.'

They shall be mine," says the LORD of hosts, "my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.

You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make," says the LORD of hosts.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened like this. His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, and before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

"Look, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;" which is translated, "God with us."

And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written through the prophet,

And they, having heard the king, went their way; and suddenly the star which they saw in the east went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

Now when they had departed, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are no more."

and they were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will put his angels in charge of you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.'"

And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

And they immediately left their nets and followed him.

And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

And the report about him went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

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

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Therefore when you do merciful deeds, do not sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from people. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

"And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward.

And in praying, do not use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.

"Moreover when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

See the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin,

"Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

And when evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick;

They came to him, and woke him up, saying, "Save us, Lord. We are dying."

And suddenly they shouted, saying, "What do we have to do with you, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

And he said to them, "Go." And they came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and suddenly the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.

And suddenly all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.

And just then they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, cheer up. Your sins are forgiven."

Now when the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

he said, "Make room, because the girl is not dead, but sleeping." They were ridiculing him.

And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They told him, "Yes, Lord."

But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.

And as they went out, suddenly a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him.

But when he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

But beware of people: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.

But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say.

But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.

It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is justified by her actions."

Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

"Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, "Look, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."

And look, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" that they might accuse him.

But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

and commanded them that they should not make him known:

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."

If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

But I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the proclaiming of Jonah; and look, something greater than Jonah is here.

Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation."

And others fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

But when the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear, neither do they understand.

for this people's heart has grown callous, and their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,

which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.

"Have you understood all these things?" They answered him, "Yes, Lord."

And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?

And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house."

And though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd because they regarded him as a prophet.

Then his disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a secluded place to be alone. When the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

Now when evening had come, the disciples came to him, saying, "This place is desolate, and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food."

But he said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

And they told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish."

And they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It's a ghost." and they screamed with fear.

When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased.

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.

When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick,

and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.

"Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."

And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.'"

Then the disciples came, and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?"

Leave them alone. They are blind guides. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit."

But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.

Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, crippled, and many others, and they put them down at his feet; and he healed them.

So the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, injured whole, lame walking, and blind seeing?and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way."

Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."

They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

They reasoned among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."

Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.