But her husband, Joseph, was an upright man and did not wish to disgrace her, and he decided to break off the engagement privately.

But while he was thinking of doing this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary, your wife, to your home, for it is through the influence of the holy Spirit that she is to become a mother.

But he did not live with her as a husband until she had had a son, and he named the child Jesus.

Then, as they had been divinely warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.

Then he awoke and took the child and his mother by night and took refuge in Egypt,

Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you God can produce descendants for Abraham right out of these stones!

I am baptizing you in water in token of your repentance, but he who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not fit to carry his shoes. He will baptize you in the holy Spirit and in fire.

But John dissuaded him, and said, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

But he answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone is man to live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!' "

Jesus said to him, "The Scripture also says, 'You shall not try the Lord your God.' "

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was afterward called Peter, and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

Word went all through Syria about him, and people brought to him all who were suffering with any kind of disease, or who were in great pain??emoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics??nd he cured them.

"Blessed are those who feel their spiritual need, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them!

People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure; they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

"Do not suppose that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to do away with them but to enforce them.

For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.

"You have heard that the men of old were told 'You shall not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.'

"You have heard that men were told 'You shall not commit adultery.'

"Again, you have heard that the men of old were told, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you must fulfil your oaths to the Lord.'

But I tell you not to swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne,

You must not swear by your own head, for you cannot make one single hair white or black.

But I tell you not to resist injury, but if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him too;

If anyone begs from you, give to him, and when anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

For if you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect? Do not the very tax-collectors do that?

And if you are polite to your brothers and no one else, what is there remarkable in that? Do not the very heathen do that?

"But take care not to do your good deeds in public for people to see, for, if you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven.

So when you are going to give to charity, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and the streets, to make people praise them. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get!

But when you give to charity, your own left hand must not know what your right hand is doing,

"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, to let people see them. I tell you, that is the only reward they will get!

And when you pray, do not repeat empty phrases as the heathen do, for they imagine that their prayers will be heard if they use words enough.

You must not be like them. For God, who is your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

And do not subject us to temptation, But save us from the evil one.'

But if you do not forgive others when they offend you, your heavenly Father will not forgive you for your offenses.

"When you fast, do not put on a gloomy look, like the hypocrites, for they neglect their personal appearance to let people see that they are fasting. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get.

"Do not store up your riches on earth, where moths and rust destroy them, and where thieves break in and steal them,

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about life, wondering what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body, wondering what you will have to wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body than clothes?

Look at the wild birds. They do not sow or reap, or store their food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more account than they?

Why should you worry about clothing? See how the wild flowers grow. They do not toil or spin,

But if God so beautifully dresses the wild grass, which is alive today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more surely clothe you, you who have so little faith?

So do not worry and say, 'What shall we have to eat?' or 'What shall we have to drink?' or 'What shall we have to wear?'

For these are all things the heathen are in pursuit of, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need all this.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries of its own. Let each day be content with its own ills.

"Pass no more judgments upon other people, so that you may not have judgment passed upon you.

"Do not give what is sacred to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and burned.

It is not everyone who says to me 'Lord! Lord!' who will get into the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

Many will say to me on that Day, 'Lord! Lord! Was it not in your name that we prophesied, and by your name that we drove out demons, and by your name that we did many mighty acts?'

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew, and beat about that house, and it did not go down, for its foundations were on rock.

And anyone who listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

for he taught them like one who had authority and not like their scribes.

But the captain answered, "I am not a suitable person, sir, to have you come under my roof, but simply say the word, and my servant will be cured.

When Jesus heard this he was astonished, and said to his followers, "I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith as this.

But he heard it, and said, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor!

You must go and learn what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for.' I did not come to invite the pious but the irreligious."

Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees are keeping the fast, while your disciples are not keeping it?"

And people do not put new wine into old wine-skins, or if they do, the skins burst, and the wine runs out and the skins are spoiled. But people put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and so both are saved."

he said, "You must go away, for the girl is not dead; she is asleep." And they laughed at him.

And their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly not to let anyone hear of it.

Jesus sent these twelve out, after giving them these directions: "Do not go among the heathen, or to any Samaritan town,

Do not accept gold or silver or copper money to put in your pockets,

and do not take a bag for your journey, nor two shirts, nor shoes, nor a staff, for the workman deserves his food!

If the house deserves it, the peace you wish it will come over it, but if it does not deserve it, your blessing will come back upon yourselves.

for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you.

But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives.

A pupil is not better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master.

So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing covered up that is not going to be uncovered, nor secret that is not going to be known.

Do not sparrows sell two for a cent? And yet not one of them can fall to the ground against your Father's will!

You must not be afraid; you are worth more than a great many sparrows!

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

and no one who will not take up his cross and follow me is worthy of me.

" 'We have played the flute for you, and you would not dance! We have wailed and you would not beat your breasts!'

Then he began to reproach the towns in which his numerous wonders had been done, because they did not repent.

Or did you never read in the Law how the priests in the Temple are not guilty when they break the Sabbath?

But if you knew what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty.

But he said to them, "Who among you if he has even a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

and warned them not to say anything about him

He will not wrangle or make an outcry, And no one will hear his voice in the streets;

He will not break off a bent reed, And he will not put out a smoldering wick, Until he carries his judgment to success.

Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters.

and some fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and it sprang up at once, because the soil was not deep,

He answered, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but they are not.

This is why I speak to them in figures, because though they look they do not see, and though they listen they do not hear or understand.

For I tell you, many prophets and upright men have longed to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it.

When anyone hears the teaching of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and robs him of the seed that has been sown in his mind. That is what was sown along the path.

And the owner's slaves came to him and said, 'Was not the seed good that you sowed in your field, sir? So where did these weeds come from?'

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the sea, and inclosed fish of all kinds.

Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary, and are not his brothers named James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

And do not all his sisters live here among us? Then where did he get all this?"

And he did not do many wonders there, because of their want of faith.

for John said to him, "It is not right for you to be living with her."

But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. Give them food yourselves."

But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

does not have to provide for his father.' So you have nullified what God has said, for the sake of what has been handed down to you.

"Listen to this, and grasp it! It is not what goes into a man's mouth that pollutes him; it is what comes out of his mouth that pollutes a man."

But he answered, "Any plant that my heavenly Father did not plant must be uprooted!

Can you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is disposed of?

It is these things that pollute a man, but not eating with unwashed hands!"

But he would not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps screaming after us."

He said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs!"

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, "I pity these people for they have been staying with me three days now and they have nothing left to eat, and I do not mean to send them away hungry, for they may give out on the way."