And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Extort from no one, and do not blackmail [anyone], and be content with your pay."

His winnowing shovel [is] in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Now it happened that when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and [while he] was praying, heaven was opened,

And Jesus, [when he] began [his ministry], was himself about thirty years [old], being the son (as it was believed) of Joseph the [son] of Eli,

the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmadam, the [son] of Er,

forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and [when] they were completed, he was hungry.

So the devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, order this stone that it become bread!"

And Jesus replied to him, "It is written, 'Man will not live on bread alone.'"

And the devil said to him, "I will give you all this domain and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I want.

And Jesus answered [and] said to him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'

And Jesus answered [and] said to him, "It is said, 'You are not to put to the test the Lord your God.'"

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him went out throughout all the surrounding region.

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed,

And he rolled up the scroll [and] gave [it] back to the attendant [and] sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were looking intently at him.

And they were all speaking well of him, and were astonished at the gracious words that were coming out of his mouth. And they were saying, "Is this man not the son of Joseph?"

And Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath [in the region] of Sidon, to a woman [who was] a widow.

And they stood up [and] forced him out of the town and brought him up to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

And they were astounded at his teaching, because {he spoke} with authority.

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" And [after] throwing him down in their midst, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

And amazement came upon [them] all, and they began to talk with one another, saying, "What word [is] this? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!"

And news about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

And [after he] set out from the synagogue, he went into Simon's house. And Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a high fever, and they asked him on behalf of her.

And he stood over her [and] rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she got up [and] began to serve them.

And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Son of God!" And he rebuked [them] [and] did not permit them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

And [when it] was day, he departed [and] went to an isolated place. And the crowds were seeking him, and came to him and were trying to prevent him from departing from them.

But he said to them, "It is necessary [for] me to proclaim the good news [of] the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this [purpose].

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,

and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them [and] were washing their nets.

And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, [and] asked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down [and] began to teach the crowds from the boat.

And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

And Simon answered [and] said, "Master, [although we] worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets."

And [when he] saw [it], Simon Peter fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, Lord, because I am {a sinful man}!"

For amazement had seized him and all those [who were] with him at the catch of fish that they had caught,

And it happened that while he was in one of the towns, {there was} a man {covered with leprosy}. And [when he] saw Jesus, he fell down on [his] face [and] begged him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean."

And it happened that on one of the days as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting [there] who {had come} from every village of Galilee and Judea and [from] Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was [there] in order [for] him to heal.

And immediately he stood up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, [and] went away to his home, glorifying God.

And after these [things], he went out and saw a tax collector {named} Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me!"

And the Pharisees and their scribes began to complain to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?"

And he also told a parable to them: "No one tears a patch from a new garment [and] puts [it] on an old garment. Otherwise, he will have torn the new also, and the old will not match the patch [that is] from the new.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled and the wineskins will be destroyed.

Now it happened that on a Sabbath he went through the grain fields, and his disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing [them] in [their] hands.

But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Have you not read this, what David did when he and those [who were] with him were hungry--

how he entered into the house of God and took the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests alone), [and] ate [it] and gave [it] to those with him?"

Now it happened that on another Sabbath he entered into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there, and his right hand was withered.

And Jesus said to them, "I ask you whether it is permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy [it]?"

And [after] looking around at them all, he said to him, "Stretch out your hand," and he did, and his hand was restored.

But they were filled with fury, and began discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God.

And the whole crowd was seeking to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing [them] all.

"And if you love those who love you, what kind of credit is [that] to you? For even sinners love those who love them!

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of credit is [that] to you? Even the sinners do the same!

And if you lend [to those] from whom you expect to receive [back], what kind of credit is [that] to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal [amount]!

Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure--pressed down, shaken, overflowing--they will pour out into your lap. For with the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you in return."

And why do you see the speck [that is] in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam of wood [that is] in your own eye?

How are you able to say to your brother, "Brother, allow [me] to remove the speck [that is] in your eye," [while] you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your [own] eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your [own] eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck [that is] in your brother's eye!

The good person out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil person out of [his] evil [treasury] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

"And why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell [you]?

"Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them--I will show you what he is like:

he is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And [when] a flood came, the river burst against that house and was not able to shake it, because it had been built well.

But the one who hears [my words] and does not do [them] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, which the river burst against, and immediately it collapsed--and the collapse of that house was great!"

For I also am a man placed 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]."

And [when] Jesus heard these [things], he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!"

And it happened that on the next [day] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.

And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother's only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

And he came up [and] touched the bier, and those who were carrying [it] stopped. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"

And this report about him went out in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

And he answered [and] said to them, "Go [and] tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear; the dead are raised, the poor have good news announced to [them].

And [when] the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and luxury are in the royal palaces.

But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet!

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.'

"To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, who say, 'We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a lament and you did not weep.'

Now one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he entered into the house of the Pharisee [and] reclined at the table.

and standing behind [him] at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with [her] tears and was wiping [them] with the hair of her head and was kissing his feet and anointing [them] with the perfumed oil.

Now [when] the Pharisee who invited him saw [this], he spoke to himself, saying, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman [this is] who is touching him, that she is a sinner."

And Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he said, "Teacher, say [it]."

Simon answered [and] said, "I suppose that [it is the one] to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged correctly."

And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for [my] feet, but she wet my feet with [her] tears and wiped [them] with her hair.

And those who were reclining at the table with [him] began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

And it happened that {afterward} also he was going about from [one] town and village [to another] preaching and proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of God, and the twelve [were] with him,

and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out,

"The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

And other [seed] fell on the rock, and [when it] came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture.

And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with [it] [and] choked it.

And other [seed] fell on the good soil, and [when it] came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain." [As he] said these [things], he called out, "The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

And he said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest [they are] in parables, so that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

And those on the rock [are those] who receive the word with joy when they hear [it], and these do not have [enough] root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away.

But the [seed] on the good soil--these are the ones who, [after] hearing the word, hold fast to [it] with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

"And no one, [after] lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts [it] under a bed, but puts [it] on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.

Therefore consider how you listen, for whoever has, to him [more] will be given, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks [that he] has will be taken away from him."

And it was reported to him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you."

But he answered [and] said to them, "These are my mother and my brothers--the ones who hear the word of God and do [it].

Now it happened that on one of the days both he and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they set sail,

And they came [and] woke him up, saying, "Master, master! We are perishing!" So he got up [and] rebuked the wind and the billowing waves of water and they ceased, and it became calm.