who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

“But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.

For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.

Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.”

For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.

For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.

She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?

And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.

For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent.

But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.”

Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take.

When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.”

Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

And he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;

Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.

“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.

Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.

All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—

To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.

When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”

And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,

But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”

When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”