Now after the birth of Jesus, which took place at Bethlehem in Judaea in the reign of King Herod, excitement was produced in Jerusalem by the arrival of certain Magi from the east,

"'And thou, Bethlehem in the land of Judah, by no means the least honorable art thou among princely places in Judah! For from thee shall come a prince--one who shall be the Shepherd of My People Israel.'"

"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter lamentation: It was Rachel bewailing her children, and she refused to be comforted because there were no more."

"Repent," he said, "for the Kingdom of the Heavens is now close at hand."

Now when Jesus heard that John was thrown into prison, He withdrew into Galilee,

From that time Jesus began to preach. "Repent," He said, "for the Kingdom of the Heavens is now close at hand."

"*You* are the salt of the earth; but if salt has become tasteless, in what way can it regain its saltness? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown away and trodden on by the passers by.

But let your language be, 'Yes, yes,' or 'No, no.' Anything in excess of this comes from the Evil one.

"But beware of doing your good actions in the sight of men, in order to attract their gaze; if you do, there is no reward for you with your Father who is in Heaven.

"No man can be the bondservant of two masters; for either he will dislike one and like the other, or he will attach himself to one and think slightingly of the other. You cannot be the bondservants both of God and of gold.

If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

"And then I will tell them plainly, "'I never knew you: begone from me, you doers of wickedness.'

and Jesus said to him, "Be careful to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses appointed as evidence for them."

Jesus listened to this reply, and was astonished, and said to the people following Him, "I solemnly tell you that in no Israelite have I found faith as great as this.

On His arrival at the other side, in the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two men possessed by demons, coming from among the tombs: they were so dangerously fierce that no one was able to pass that way.

Now at some distance from them a vast herd of swine were feeding.

No one ever mends an old cloak with a patch of newly woven cloth. Otherwise, the patch put on would tear away some of the old, and a worse hole would be made.

Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins would split, the wine would escape, and the skins be destroyed. But they put new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved."

Then their eyes were opened. And assuming a stern tone Jesus said to them, "Be careful to let no one know."

And when He saw the crowds He was touched with pity for them, because they were distressed and were fainting on the ground like sheep which have no shepherd.

Now the names of the twelve Apostles were these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zabdi, and his brother John;

These twelve Jesus sent on a mission, after giving them their instructions: "Go not," He said, "among the Gentiles, and enter no Samaritan town;

"Provide no gold, nor even silver nor copper to carry in your pockets;

no bag for your journey, nor change of linen, nor shoes, nor stick; for the labourer deserves his food.

But when they have delivered you up, have no anxiety as to how you shall speak or what you shall say; for at that very time it shall be given you what to say;

Now John had heard in prison about the Christ's doings, and he sent some of his disciples to inquire:

"I solemnly tell you that among all of woman born no greater has ever been raised up than John the Baptist; yet one who is of lower rank in the Kingdom of the Heavens is greater than he.

But from the time of John the Baptist till now, the Kingdom of the Heavens has been suffering violent assault, and the violent have been seizing it by force.

"Alas for thee, Chorazin!" He cried. "Alas for thee, Bethsaida! For had the mighty works been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in both of you, they would long ere now have repented, covered with sackcloth and ashes.

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted even to Heaven? Even to Hades shalt thou descend. For had the mighty works been done in Sodom which have been done in thee, it would have remained until now.

"All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father, nor does any one fully know the Father except the Son and all to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

And if you knew what this means, 'It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt.

This is why I tell you that men may find forgiveness for every other sin and impious word, but that for impious speaking against the Holy Spirit they shall find no forgiveness.

"No sooner however has the foul spirit gone out of the man, then he roams about in places where there is no water, seeking rest but finding none.

Some falls on rocky ground, where it has but scanty soil. It quickly shows itself above ground, because it has no depth of earth;

but when the sun is risen, it is scorched by the heat, and through having no root it withers up.

"Because," He replied, "while to you it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of the Heavens, to them it is not.

And in regard to them the prophecy of Isaiah is receiving signal fulfilment: "'You will hear and hear and by no means understand, and you will look and look and by no means see.

It has struck no root, however, within him. He continues for a time, but when suffering comes, or persecution, because of the Message, he at once stumbles and falls.

"'No,' he replied, 'for fear that while collecting the darnel you should at the same time root up the wheat with it.

"Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."

So they turned angrily away from Him. But Jesus said to them, "There is no prophet left without honour except in his own country and among his own family."

But when evening was come, the disciples came to Him and said, "This is an uninhabited place, and the best of the day is now gone; send the people away to go into the villages and buy something to eat."

But instantly Jesus spoke to them, and said, "There is no danger; it is I; do not be afraid."

Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were greatly shocked when they heard those words?"

But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."

Jesus perceived this and said, "Why are you reasoning among yourselves, you men of little faith, because you have no bread?

Then He urged His disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.

But Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Rouse yourselves and have no fear."

So they looked up, and saw no one but Jesus.

As they were descending the mountain, Jesus laid a command upon them. "Tell no one," He said, "of the sight you have seen till the Son of Man has risen from among the dead."

said, "In solemn truth I tell you that unless you turn and become like little children, you will in no case be admitted into the Kingdom of the Heavens.

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But no sooner had that servant gone out, than he met with one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 shillings; and seizing him by the throat and nearly strangling him he exclaimed, "'Pay me all you owe.'

Thus they are no longer two, but 'one'! What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

"I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that in the New Creation, when the Son of Man has taken His seat on His glorious throne, all of you who have followed me shall also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

"But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.

"'Because no one has hired us,' they replied. "'You also, go into the vineyard,' he said.

"'My friend,' he answered to one of them, 'I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a shilling?

Jesus was now going up to Jerusalem, and He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,

"None of you know what you are asking for," said Jesus; "can you drink out of the cup from which I am about to drink?" "We can," they replied.

But Jesus called them to Him, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.

and seeing a fig-tree on the road-side He went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. "On you," He said, "no fruit shall ever again grow." And immediately the fig-tree withered away.

So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Nor do I tell you," He replied, "by what authority I do these things."

For John came to you observing all sorts of ritual, and you put no faith in him: the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners did put faith in him, and you, though you saw this example set you, were not even afterwards sorry so as to believe him.

"Again he sent other servants with a message to those who were invited. "'My breakfast is now ready," he said, 'my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and every preparation is made: come to the wedding.'

"They however gave no heed, but went, one to his home in the country, another to his business;

"Now the king came in to see the guests; and among them he discovered one who was not wearing a wedding-robe.

So they sent to Him their disciples together with the Herodians; who said, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and that you faithfully teach God's truth; and that no fear of man misleads you, for you are not biased by men's wealth or rank.

On the same day a party of Sadducees came to Him, contending that there is no resurrection. And they put this case to Him.

Now we had among us seven brothers. The eldest of them married, but died childless, leaving his wife to his brother.

Now the Pharisees came up when they heard that He had silenced the Sadducees,

No one could say a word in reply, nor from that day did any one venture again to put a question to Him.

And call no one on earth your Father, for One alone is your Father--the Heavenly Father.

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"For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town;

See, your house will now be left to you desolate!

"Take care that no one misleads you," answered Jesus;

for it will be a time of great suffering, such as never has been from the beginning of the world till now, and assuredly never will be again.

And if those days had not been cut short, no one would escape; but for the sake of God's own People those days will be cut short.

"If at that time any one should say to you, 'See, here is the Christ!' or 'Here!' give no credence to it.

"Now learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branches have now become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you all know that summer is near.

"But as to that day and the exact time no one knows--not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

For as it was in the time of Noah, so it will be at the Coming of the Son of Man.

At that time, before the Deluge, men were busy eating and drinking, taking wives or giving them, up to the very day when Noah entered the Ark,

Be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the day on which your Lord is coming.

"'In solemn truth I tell you,' he replied, 'I do not know you.'

"Keep awake therefore; for you know neither the day nor the hour.

"But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, "'Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed.

"'You wicked and slothful servant,' replied his master, 'did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed?

when homeless, you gave me no welcome; ill-clad, you clothed me not; sick or in prison, you visited me not.'

"You know that in two days' time the Passover comes. And the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."

Now when Jesus was come to Bethany and was at the house of Simon the Leper,

I tell you that I will never again take the produce of the vine till that day when I shall drink the new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom."

Now the betrayer had agreed upon a sign with them, to direct them. He had said, "The one whom I kiss is the man: lay hold of him."

who testified, "This man said, 'I am able to pull down the Sanctuary of God and three days afterwards to build a new one.'"

Then the High Priest stood up and asked Him, "Have you no answer to make? What is it these men are saying in evidence against you?"

Jesus however remained silent. Again the High Priest addressed Him. "In the name of the ever-living God," he said, "I now put you on your oath. Tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."

Then the High Priest tore his robes and exclaimed, "Impious language! What further need have we of witnesses! See, you have now heard the impiety.

He denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."