And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way. For his mother Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found having in her womb from Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her is by the Holy Spirit; and she will bear a son, and you are to call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and will bear a son. And they will call His name Emmanuel," which being interpreted is, God with us.

Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife,

And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

inquiring, "Where is the newly born king of the Jews? For we have seen his Star in the east, and have come here to do him homage."

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

"You must repent [i.e., change your hearts and lives], for the kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, when he said: "Here is a voice of one who shouts in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord; Make the paths straight for him.'"

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but and if the salt have lost her saltiness, what can be salted therewith? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.

It is true when I say to you, you will not be released from there until you have paid the last coin. [Note: The coin mentioned here amounted to about ten minutes' worth of a farm laborer's pay, or a little over one dollar in 1994].

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word "Gehenna," and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

"Do not store your valuables [here] on earth, where moths can eat them and where rust can corrode them, and where burglars can break in and steal [them].

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?

And if the herb of the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast to the furnace, God doth so clothe -- not much more you, O ye of little faith?

for I am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command: I bid this man, go, and he's gone: another, come, and he's here: and to my servant, do this, and it is done.

And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Son of God? hast thou come here before the time to torment us?

And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

[Upon seeing this happen] the men who were tending the herd ran away and went into the town [i.e., of Gadara, one of ten towns making up the province of Decapolis], and told the people everything, [including] what had happened to the men dominated by evil spirits.

Here they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, my child; your sins are pardoned."

While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

And a woman, who for twelve years had had a flow of blood, came after him, and put her hand on the edge of his robe:

for she said within her self, if I do but touch his garment, I shall be cured:

But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

And the news about her spread all over that country.

And beholding the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were fainting, and lying here and there, as sheep that had no shepherd.

Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who was named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John,

Here is how it will be: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore you should be as crafty [Note: The Greek word here is "sensible"] as snakes, yet as harmless [Note: The Greek word is "sincere"] as doves.

Are not two sparrows sold [in the market for food] for a small coin [Note: The coin mentioned here was worth about a half hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $3 in 1994]? And not a [single] one of them can fall to the ground without your Father [knowing about it].

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The person who finds [everything to satisfy him in] this life [here on earth] will lose [never ending life]. But the person who [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] this life [here on earth] for my sake [i.e., in loyal service to me] will find it [i.e., never ending life]. [See Mark 10:29-30]

This is he of whom it is written, Here I send my messenger before your face to prepare the way for you.

The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

And you, Capernaum, were you not to be lifted up to heaven? you will go down into hell: for if the works of power which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been here to this day.

But I say unto you, that one greater than the temple is here.

Here is My Servant whom I have chosen,
My beloved in whom My soul delights;
I will put My Spirit on Him,
and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

and somebody said to Him, "Here are thy mother and thy brethren standing without, desiring to speak to thee."

And stretching out His hand toward His disciples [and all His other followers], He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

It is the smallest of all seeds, and yet when full-grown it is larger than any herb and forms a tree, so that the birds come and build in its branches."

And His sisters, are they not [living here] among us? Where then did this Man get all this [wisdom and power]?”

For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her.

Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.

And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.

And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.

And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to leave here; give them something to eat yourselves."

And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

And he said, Bring them here to me.

The boat was by this time some miles from shore, laboring in the waves, for the wind was against her.

And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; I am here; fear not.

Here a Canaanitish woman of the district came out and persistently cried out, "Sir, Son of David, pity me; my daughter is cruelly harassed by a demon."

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

however she advanc'd, and throwing her self at his feet, cried, O Lord, assist me.

And He answered [her], "It is not proper to take bread away from the children and throw it to the dogs."

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Him; and, to make trial of Him, they asked Him to show them a sign in the sky.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; and no sign shall be given her, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. And having left them, he departed.

"Moreover I say to you that you are Petros (a rock), and on this petra (rock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her.

[And] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [i.e., for opening up the way into it]. And whatever [truth] you [and the other apostles. See 18:18] require [people to believe and practice] here on earth will have already been required of them [by God] in heaven. And whatever [truth] you do not require [of people] on earth, will not be required [by God] in heaven."

For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Here he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.

Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

And Jesus answering said, O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.

Bring him here to me. And when Jesus rebuked him, the demon departed out of him, and the child was cured from that time.

He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies];

I also solemnly tell you that if two of you here on earth agree together concerning anything whatever that they shall ask, the boon will come to them from my Father who is in Heaven.

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back here and follow me."

Then Peter spoke and said to him, "Here we have left all we had and followed you. What are we to have?"

When he had agreed with the workers [on wages] for the usual farm laborer's pay for a day's work, he [then] sent them to work in his vineyard. [Note: The coin mentioned here would amount to $60-$84 in 1994, based on $5-$7 an hour for a twelve hour day. This coin also forms the basis for calculating all other monetary references in the New Testament].

And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

But Jesus replied to her, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They [i.e., James, John and their mother. See Mark 10:35ff] answered, "[Yes] we are able to."

Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

Tell the daughter of Sion, 'Here is your king coming to you, He is gentle and mounted on an ass, And on a colt the foal of a beast of burden.'

they led back the ass and her colt, and placed their cloaks on them.

"But the vine-dressers, when they saw the son, said to one another, "'Here is the heir: come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.'

Once more he sent some other servants, saying, 'Tell the invited guests, here is my supper all prepared, my oxen and fat cattle are killed, everything is ready; come to the marriage-banquet.'

And he says to him, My friend, how camest thou in here not having on a wedding garment? But he was speechless.

"Teacher, Moses said [in Deut. 25:5] that when a man dies without having had any children, his brother must marry his widow and father children by her, who would [then] be considered his [dead] brother's.

And last of all the woman came to her end.