He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

He made Mary his wife, but did not live with her as her husband until after the birth of her son; and to this son he gave the name Jesus.

But afterwards, having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another road.

Joseph awoke, and taking the child and his mother by night, went into Egypt,

'A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and much lamentation; Rachel, weeping for her children, Refused all comfort because they were not.'

And do not think that you can say among yourselves 'Abraham is our ancestor,' for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!

I, indeed, baptize you with water to teach repentance; but He who is Coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

But John tried to prevent him. "It is I," he said, "who need to be baptized by you; why then do you come to me?"

But Jesus answered: "Scripture says--'It is not on bread alone that man is to live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

"Scripture also says," answered Jesus, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'"

As Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew--casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen.

Men do not light a lamp and put it under the corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, where it gives light to every one in the house.

Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to do away with them, but to complete them.

For I tell you, until the heavens and the earth disappear, not even the smallest letter, nor one stroke of a letter, shall disappear from the Law until all is done.

You have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.'

I tell you, you will not come out until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

If your right eye is a snare to you, take it out and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it thrown into the Pit.

And, if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it go down to the Pit.

Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shall keep thine oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'

I, however, say to you that you must not swear at all, either by Heaven, since that is God's throne,

I, however, say to you that you must not resist wrong; but, if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also;

Give to him who asks of you; and, from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in Heaven has no reward for you.

Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!

But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!

When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing.

Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

Give us to-day the bread that we shall need;

And take us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.'

But, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.

And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up treasures for yourselves in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.

That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here--what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body-- what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?

Look at the wild birds--they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! And are not you more precious than they?

Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not robed like one of these.

If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, will not he much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

Do not then ask anxiously 'What can we get to eat?' or 'What can we get to drink?' or 'What can we get to wear?'

All these are the things for which the nations are seeking, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Therefore do not be anxious about to-morrow, for to-morrow will bring its own anxieties. Every day has trouble enough of its own.

Do not judge, that you may not be judged.

Do not give what is sacred to dogs; nor yet throw your pearls before pigs, lest they should trample them under their feet, and then turn and attack you.

Not every one who says to me 'Master! Master!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.

On 'That Day' many will say to me 'Master, Master, was not it in your name that we taught, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many miracles?'

The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for its foundations were upon the rock.

And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

For he taught them like one who had authority, and not like their Teachers of the Law.

And then Jesus said to him: "Be careful not to say a word to any one, but go and show yourself to the Priest, and offer the gift directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure."

On hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill.

Go and learn what this means--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'; for I did not come to call the religious, but the outcast."

Then John's disciples came to Jesus, and asked: "Why do we and the Pharisees fast while your disciples do not?"

He said: "Go away, the little girl is not dead; she is asleep." They began to laugh at him;

These twelve Jesus sent out as his Messengers, after giving them these instructions-- "Do not go to the Gentiles, nor enter any Samaritan town,

Do not provide yourselves with gold, or silver, or pence in your purses;

Not even with a bag for the journey, or a change of clothes, or sandals, or even a staff; for the worker is worth his food.

Whenever they betray you, do not be anxious as to how you shall speak or what you shall say, for what you shall say will be given you at the moment;

For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks within you.

But, when they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for, I tell you, you will not have come to the end of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A scholar is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

Do not, therefore, be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden which will not become known.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who is able to destroy both soul and body in the Pit.

Are not two sparrows sold for a half-penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's knowledge.

Do not, therefore, be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring, not peace, but the sword.

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And the man who does not take his cross and follow in my steps is not worthy of me.

And, if any one gives but a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple, I tell you that he shall assuredly not lose his reward."

"What did you go out into the Wilderness to look at? A reed waving in the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man richly dressed? Why, those who wear rich things are to be found in the courts of kings!

'We have played the flute for you, but you have not danced; We have wailed, but you have not mourned.'

Then Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been done, because they had not repented:

But, when the Pharisees saw this, they said: "Look! your disciples are doing what it is not allowable to do on a Sabbath!"

"Have not you read," replied Jesus, "what David did, when he and his companions were hungry--

How he went into the House of God, and how they ate the consecrated bread, through it was not allowable for him or his companions to eat it, but only for the priests?

And have not you read in the law that, on the Sabbath, the priest in the Temple break the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

And had you learned the meaning of the words--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned those who are not guilty.

But Jesus said to them: "Which of you, if he had only one sheep, and that sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not lay hold of it and pull it out?

but he warned them not to make him known,

He shall not contend, nor cry aloud, Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets;

A bruised reed he will not break, And a smoldering wick he will not quench, Till he has brought the judgment to a victorious issue,

Jesus, however, was aware of what was passing in their minds, and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself becomes a desolation, and any town or household divided against itself will not last.

How, again, can any one get into a strong man's house and carry off his goods, without first securing him? And not till then will he plunder his house.

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not help me to gather is scattering.

Therefore, I tell you, men will be forgiven every sin and slander; but slander against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in the present age, or in the age to come.

No sooner does a foul spirit leave a man, than it passes through places where there is no water, in search of rest, and does not find it.

Some fell on rocky places, where it had not much soil, and, having no depth of soil, sprang up at once.

"To you," answered Jesus, "the knowledge of the hidden truths of the Kingdom of Heaven has been imparted, but not to those.

That is why I speak to them in parables, because, though they have eyes, they do not see, and though they have ears, they do not hear or understand.

On this the owner's servants came to him, and said 'Was not it good seed that you sowed in your field? Where, then, do the tares in it come from?'

Or again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea, and caught fish of all kinds.

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

And his sisters, too--are not they all living among us? Where, then did he get all this?"

These things proved a hindrance to their believing in him; whereupon Jesus said: "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house."

And he did not work many miracles there, because of their want of faith.

But Jesus said: "They need not go away, it is for you to give them something to eat."

But Jesus at once spoke to them. "Courage!" he said, "It is I; do not be afraid!"

"How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food."