Ye are bringing nigh on Mine altar polluted bread, And ye have said: 'In what have we polluted Thee?' In your saying: 'The table of Jehovah -- it is despicable,'

And when ye bring nigh the blind for sacrifice, 'There is no evil,' And when ye bring nigh the lame and sick, 'There is no evil;' Bring it near, I pray thee, to thy governor -- Doth he accept thee? or doth he lift up thy face? Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And now, appease, I pray thee, the face of God, And He doth favour us; From your own hand hath this been, Doth He accept of you appearances? Said Jehovah of Hosts.

Who is even among you, And he shutteth the two-leaved doors? Yea, ye do not kindle Mine altar for nought, I have no pleasure in you, said Jehovah of Hosts, And a present I do not accept of your hand.

For, from the rising of the sun to its going in, Great is My name among nations, And in every place perfume is brought nigh to My name, and a pure present, For great is My name among nations, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And ye have said, 'Lo, what a weariness,' And ye have puffed at it, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have brought in plunder, And the lame and the sick, And ye have brought in the present! Do I accept it from your hand? said Jehovah.

And cursed is a deceiver, who hath in his drove a male, And is vowing, and is sacrificing a marred thing to the Lord, For a great king am I, said Jehovah of Hosts, And My name is revered among nations!

If ye hearken not, and if ye lay it not to heart, To give honour to My name, said Jehovah of Hosts, I have sent against you the curse, And I have cursed your blessings, Yea, I have also cursed it, Because ye are not laying it to heart.

And ye have known that I have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And ye, ye have turned from the way, Ye have caused many to stumble in the law, Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And ye have said, 'Wherefore?' Because Jehovah hath testified between thee And the wife of thy youth, That thou hast dealt treacherously against her, And she thy companion, and thy covenant-wife.

For I hate sending away, said Jehovah, God of Israel, And He who hath covered violence with his clothing, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And ye do not deal treacherously.

Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words, And ye have said: 'In what have we wearied Him?' In your saying: 'Every evil-doer is good in the eyes of Jehovah, And in them He is delighting,' Or, 'Where is the God of judgment?'

Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, And against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Even from the days of your fathers Ye have turned aside from My statutes, And ye have not taken heed. Turn back unto Me, and I turn back to you, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And ye have said, 'In what do we turn back?'

Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: 'In what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering!

Bring in all the tithe unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till there is no space.

And I have pushed for you against the consumer, And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: 'What have we spoken against Thee?'

You have said, '[It is] useless to serve God! What [is the] gain if we keep his requirements, and if we walk as mourners {before} Yahweh of hosts?

And they have been to Me, said Jehovah of Hosts, In the day that I am appointing -- a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one hath pity on his son who is serving him.

For, lo, the day hath come, burning as a furnace, And all the proud, and every wicked doer, have been stubble, And burnt them hath the day that came, Said Jehovah of Hosts, That there is not left to them root or branch,

And ye have trodden down the wicked, For they are ashes under the soles of your feet, In the day that I am appointing, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

But just as this thought occurred to him, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for it is through the influence of the Holy Spirit that she has become an expectant mother.

Now all this occurred to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

And Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had said to him, and took her as his wife;

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

And he sent them to Bethlehem [and] said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found [him], report to me so that I also may come [and] worship him."

After hearing what the king said, they went to Bethlehem, while, strange to say, the star they had seen in the east led them on until it came and stood over the place where the babe was.

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Wake up! Tenderly take the child and His mother, and escape to Egypt; stay there until I further direct you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him."

And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Then what was declared by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled when he said,

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,

and said, "Wake up, tenderly take the child and His mother, and make the trip to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."

And he came [and] lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled: "He will be called a Nazarene."

"Repent!" he said, "for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming!"

This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, when he said: "Here is a voice of one who shouts in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord; Make the paths straight for him.'"

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?

but John opposed him, I have need, said he, to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?

But Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Permit [it] now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him.

and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I am delighted!"

And the tempter approached [and] said to him, "If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread."

But he answered [and] said, "It is written, 'Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God."

then the devil took Jesus with him to Jerusalem, and having set him on the wing of the temple, he said to him,

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On [their] hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "On the other hand it is written, 'You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'"

The third time, the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, and, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, said to him:

and he said to him, "I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down [and] worship me."

Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

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

from that time Jesus began to preach, "Repent, said he, for the kingdom of the Messiah draws nigh."

And he said to them, "{Follow me} and I will make you fishers of people."

And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the boat with their father, stitching up their nets; and he said, Come.

he opened his lips to teach them. And he said,

"Blessed are you when they have insulted and persecuted you, and have said every cruel thing about you falsely for my sake.

"You have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not commit murder,' and 'whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.'

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

"And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

"Again you have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and 'Hate your enemy.'

And a leper came up to Him, and prostrated himself before Him, and said, "Lord, if you choose to, you can cure me."

Then He put out His hand and touched him, and said, "I do choose to; be cured." And at once his leprosy was cured.

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

"Sir," he said, "my servant at home is lying ill with paralysis, and is suffering great pain."

And he said to him, "I will come [and] heal him."

And the centurion answered [and] said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed.

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.

And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave was healed at that hour.

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."

And a scribe approached [and] said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!"

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky [have] nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

And another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."

But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead!"

So they went to Him and woke Him up, and said, "Lord, save us; we are going down!"

And he said to them, "Why are you fearful, [you] of little faith?" Then he got up [and] rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled and said, "What man is this, that both winds and sea obey him?"

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

And he said to them, "Go!" So they departed [and] went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.

And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher, and [when] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven."

And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!"

And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your stretcher and go to your home."

And [as] Jesus was going away from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and said to him, "Follow me!" And he stood up [and] followed him.

And the Pharisees seeing it, said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax-gatherers and sinners?

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

Go then, and learn what is said, "I require mercy and not sacrifice:" for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Then John's disciples went up to Him, and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees practice fasting, but your disciples do not?"

And Jesus said to them, "{The bridegroom's attendants} are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

And just as He was saying these things to them, an official came up and fell on his knees before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand upon her and she will come to life."

for she said to herself, "If only I touch his cloak I will be healed."

But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, "Have courage, daughter! Your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that hour.

Now when Jesus had come into the house of the ruler, and had seen the flute-players and the wailing crowd, he said,

he said, "Go away, because the girl is not dead, but is sleeping." And they ridiculed him.

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

Then He touched their eyes, and said, "In accordance with your faith it must be done for you."

And their eyes were made open. And Jesus said to them sharply, Let no man have knowledge of it.

and as soon as the demon was driven out, the dumb man was able to speak. And the crowds were amazed, and said, "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel!"