The birth of [Jesus] Christ came about thus. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was discovered to be pregnant by the holy Spirit.

As Joseph her husband was a just man but unwilling to disgrace her, he resolved to divorce her secretly;

but after he had planned this, there appeared an angel of the Lord to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her comes from the holy Spirit.

but he did not live with her as a husband till she bore a son, whom he called Jesus.

But when Herod died, there appeared an angel of the Lord in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

but on hearing that Archelaus reigned over Judaea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and, by a divine injunction in a dream, withdrew to the region of Galilee.

But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath?

I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing-fan is in his hand, he will clean out his threshing-floor, his wheat he will gather into the granary, but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable."

But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.

He answered, "It is written, Man is not to live on bread alone, but on every word that issues from the mouth of God."

Then going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedaeus and his brother John, mending their nets in the boat beside their father Zebedaeus. He called them,

and they left the boat and their father at once, and went after him.

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes insipid, what can make it salt again? After that it is fit for nothing, fit only to be thrown outside and trodden by the feet of men.

Nor do men light a lamp to put it under a bowl; they put it on a stand and it shines for all in the house.

Do not imagine I have come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy but to fulfil.

Therefore whoever relaxes a single one of these commands, were it even one of the least, and teaches men so, he will be ranked least in the Realm of heaven; but whoever obeys them and teaches them, he will be ranked great in the Realm of heaven.)

whoever maligns his brother must come before the San hedrin, whoever curses his brother must go to the fire of Gehenna.' But I tell you, whoever is angry with his brother [without cause] will be sentenced by God.

But I tell you, any one who even looks with lust at a woman has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

But I tell you, anyone who divorces his wife for any reason except unchastity makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Once again, you have heard how the men of old were told, 'You must not forswear yourself but discharge your vows to the Lord'.

But I tell you, you must not swear any oath, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

But I tell you, you are not to resist an injury: whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well;

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.'

but if you do not forgive men, your Father will not forgive your trespasses either.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

so that your fast may be seen not by men but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

but if your Eye is selfish, the whole of your body will be darkened. And if your very light turns dark, then ??what a darkness it is!

Therefore I tell you, do not trouble about what you are to eat or drink in life, nor about what you are to put on your body; surely life means more than food, surely the body means more than clothes!

But the road that leads to life is both narrow and close, and there are few who find it.

Beware of false prophets; they come to you with the garb of sheep but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

every good tree bears sound fruit, but a rotten tree bears bad fruit;

a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot bear sound fruit.

It is not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord!', who will get into the Realm of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.

The rain came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on rock.

The rain came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, and down it fell ??with a mighty crash."

Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

Then he embarked in the boat, followed by his disciples.

Now a heavy storm came on at sea, so that the boat was buried under the waves. He was sleeping.

So he embarked in the boat and crossed over to his own town.

But to let you see the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins" ??he then said to the paralytic, "Get up, lift your pallet, and go home."

When Jesus heard it he said, "Those who are strong have no need of a doctor, but those who are ill.

Go and learn the meaning of this word, I care for mercy not for sacrifice. For I have not come to call just men but sinners."

nor do men pour fresh wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine is spilt, the wineskins are ruined. They put fresh wine into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

he said, "Be off with you; the girl is not dead but asleep." They laughed at him.

But after the crowd had been put out, he went in and took her hand, and the girl rose up.

But they went out and spread the news of him all over that country.

[vs omitted but shown in footnote] But the Pharisees said, "He casts out daemons by the prince of daemons."

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few;

if the household is deserving, let your peace rest on it; but if the household is undeserving, let your peace return to you.

Brother will betray brother to death, the father will betray his child, children will rise against their parents and put them to death,

and you will be hated by all men on account of my name; but he will be saved who holds out to the very end.

Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Do not imagine I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace, who call to their playmates,

'We piped to you and you would not dance, we lamented and you would not beat your breasts.'

how he went into the house of God, and there they ate the loaves of the Presence which neither he nor his men were allowed to eat, but only the priests?

He said to them, "Is there a man of you with one sheep, who will not catch hold of it and lift it out of a pit on the sabbath, if it falls in?

but as Jesus knew of it he retired from the spot. Many followed him, and he healed them all,

He will not break the bruised reed, he will not put out the smouldering flax, till he carries religion to victory:

But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This fellow only casts out daemons by Beelzebul the prince of daemons."

But if I cast out daemons by the Spirit of God, then the Reign of God has reached you already.

I tell you therefore, men will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but they will not be forgiven for blaspheming the Spirit.

Whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.

He replied to them, "It is an evil and disloyal generation that craves a Sign, but no Sign will be given to it except the Sign of the prophet Jonah;

But he replied to the man who told him this, "Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

but, as great crowds gathered to him, he entered a boat and sat down, while all the crowd stood on the beach.

but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root.

He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people.

For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given, but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has.

In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive.

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear!

I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it.

he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled.

As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful.

He put another parable before them. "The Realm of heaven," he said, "is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,

but while men slept his enemy came and resowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.

Let them both grow side by side till harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burnt, but to collect the wheat in my granary.'"

He put another parable before them. "The Realm of heaven," he said, "is like a grain of mustard-seed which a man takes and sows in his field.

It is less than any seed on earth, but when it grows up it is larger than any plant, it becomes a tree, so large that the wild birds come and roost in its branches."

When it was full, they dragged it to the beach and sitting down they gathered the good fish into vessels but flung away the bad.

So they were repelled by him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet never goes without honour except in his native place and in his home."

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip,

He was anxious to kill him but he was afraid of the people, for they held John to be a prophet.

The king was sorry, but for the sake of his oath and his guests he ordered it to be given her;

When Jesus heard it he withdrew by boat to a desert place in private; but the crowds heard of it and followed him on foot from the towns.

Then he made the disciples embark in the boat and cross before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds;

but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, buffeted by the waves (for the wind was against them).

but when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified; "It is a ghost," they said and shrieked for fear.

He said, "Come." Then Peter got out of the boat and walked over the water on his way to Jesus;

but when he saw the strength of the wind he was afraid and began to sink. "Lord," he shouted, "save me."

When they got into the boat the wind dropped,

and the men in the boat worshipped him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son."

But you say, whoever tells his father or mother, 'This money might have been at your service but it is dedicated to God,'

This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me:

vain is their worship of me, for the doctrines they teach are but human precepts."

Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind, and if one blind man leads another, both of them will fall into a pit."

But he made no answer to her. Then his disciples came up and pressed him, saying, "Send her away, she is wailing behind us."

But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, do help me."