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.'"

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

[People from] Jerusalem and all over Judea and the region around the Jordan River all went out [to the desert] to [hear] 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.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

But, whenever you fast, pour perfume on your hair and wash your face,

"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 who among you, [by] being anxious, is able to add one hour to his life span?

But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

'Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock;

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.

Jesus was surprised to hear this, and said to those who were following him: "Never I tell you, in any Israelite have I met with such faith as this!

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

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?

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

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,

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

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.

But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

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].

God even knows the number of hairs on your head [Note: The average full head of hair has approximately 25,000 hairs].

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.

Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

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

From the time of John the Baptist to this very hour, the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken by force, and men using force have been seizing it.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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.

[He said] "It will be too bad for you, Chorazin! It will be too bad for you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful miracles had been performed in [the cities of] Tyre and Sidon which were performed in your presence, they would have repented long ago, [demonstrating it] by wearing sackcloth [i.e., a coarse cloth made of goat hair] and throwing ashes [into the air].

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.

He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

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!

Other seeds fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew higher and choked them out.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

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

For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

But, he on the good ground sown, the same, is he who doth hear and understand the word, who, indeed, beareth fruit and produceth, - this, a hundred, and, that, sixty, and, the other, thirty.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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

At that time did Herod the tetrarch hear the fame of Jesus,

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.

and evening having come, his disciples came to him, saying, 'The place is desolate, and the hour hath now past, let away the multitudes that, having gone to the villages, they may buy to themselves food.'

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.

And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees have taken offence at what they hear you say?"

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.