But Joseph her husband, being a kind-hearted man and unwilling publicly to disgrace her, had determined to release her privately from the betrothal.

but did not live with her until she had given birth to a son. The child's name he called 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."

"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."

This man John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a loincloth of leather; and he lived upon locusts and wild honey.

But I tell you that whoever looks at a woman and cherishes lustful thoughts has already in his heart become guilty with regard to her.

"It was also said, 'If any man puts away his wife, let him give her a written notice of divorce.'

But I tell you that every man who puts away his wife except on the ground of unfaithfulness causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries her when so divorced commits adultery.

And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

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

He touched her hand and the fever left her: and then she rose and waited upon Him.

They cried aloud, "What hast Thou to do with us, Thou Son of God? Hast Thou come here to torment us before the time?"

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 was thus speaking, a Ruler came up and profoundly bowing said, "My daughter is just dead; but come and put your hand upon her and she will return to life."

And Jesus turned and saw her, and said, "Take courage, daughter; your faith has cured you." And the woman was restored to health from that moment.

For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

"Go and report to John what you see and hear," replied Jesus;

"blind eyes receive sight, and cripples walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf ears hear; the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them;

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they exclaim, 'See this man! --given to gluttony and tippling, and a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

But I tell you that there is here that which is greater than the Temple.

There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and mark! there is One greater than Jonah here.

The Queen of the south will awake at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and mark! there is One greater than Solomon here.

And pointing to His disciples He added, "See here are my mother and my brothers.

I speak to them in figurative language for this reason, that while looking they do not see, and while hearing they neither hear nor understand.

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.

"But as for you, blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

For I solemnly tell you that many Prophets and holy men have longed to see the sights you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the words you hear, and have not heard them.

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

because John had persistently said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

that with an oath he promised to give her whatever she asked.

So she, instigated by her mother, said, "Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist."

The king was deeply vexed, yet because of his repeated oath and of the guests at his table he ordered it to be given her,

The head was brought on a dish and given to the young girl, and she took it to her mother.

"We have nothing here," they said, "but five loaves and a couple of fish."

"Bring them here to me," He said,

Then, when He had called the people to Him, Jesus said, "Hear and understand.

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. Then the disciples interposed, and begged Him, saying, "Send her away because she keeps crying behind us."

"O woman," replied Jesus, "great is your faith: be it done to you as you desire." And from that moment her daughter was restored to health.

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.

I solemnly tell you that some of those who are standing here will certainly not taste death till they have seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom."

Then Peter said to Jesus, "Master, we are thankful to you that we are here. If you approve, I will put up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

Just then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who ranks higher than others in the Kingdom of the Heavens?"

If he refuses to hear them, appeal to the Church; and if he refuses to hear even the Church, regard him just as you regard a Gentile or a tax-gatherer.

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.

"Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her 'a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."

"For the Kingdom of the Heavens is like an employer who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard,

And going out about five o'clock he found others loitering, and he asked them, "'Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'

"'These who came last have done only one hour's work, and you have put them on a level with us who have worked the whole day and have borne the scorching heat.'

Then the mother of the sons of Zabdi came to Him with her sons, and knelt before Him to make a request of Him.

saying to them, "Go to the village you see facing you, and as you enter it you will find a she-ass tied up and a foal with her. Untie her and bring them to me.

"Do you hear," they asked Him, "what these children are saying?" "Yes," He replied; "have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and of babes at the breast Thou hast brought forth the praise which is due'?"

"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.'

"'My friend,' he said, 'how is it that you came in here without a wedding robe?'

At the Resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? for they all married her."

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children to me, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not come!

"You see all these?" He replied; "in solemn truth I tell you that there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be pulled down."

And before long you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the End is not yet.

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

"But immediately after those times of distress the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed her light, the stars will fall from the firmament, and the forces which control the heavens will be disordered and disturbed.

But of this be assured, that if the master of the house had known the hour at which the robber was coming, he would have kept awake, and not have allowed his house to be broken into.

the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed;

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

But Jesus heard it, and said to them, "Why are you vexing her? For she has done a most gracious act towards me.

In pouring this ointment over me, her object was to prepare me for burial.

In solemn truth I tell you that wherever in the whole world this Good News shall be proclaimed, this deed of hers shall be spoken of in memory of her."

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. And He said to the disciples, "Sit down here, whilst I go yonder and there pray."

and He said to them, "My soul is crushed with anguish to the very point of death; wait here, and keep awake with me."

Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and He said to Peter, "Alas, none of you could keep awake with me for even a single hour!

"Do you not hear," asked Pilate, "what a mass of evidence they are bringing against you?"

Here they gave Him a mixture of wine and gall to drink, but having tasted it He refused to drink it.

He is not here: He has come back to life, as He foretold. Come and see the place where He lay.

As for John, his garment was of camel's hair, and he wore a loincloth of leather; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

And all were amazed and awe-struck, so they began to ask one another, "What does this mean? Here is a new sort of teaching--and a tone of authority! And even to foul spirits he issues orders and they obey him!"

Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill in bed with a fever, and without delay they informed Him about her.

So He went to her, and taking her hand He raised her to her feet: the fever left her, and she began to wait upon them.

"Here are my mother and my brothers. For wherever there is one who has been obedient to God, there is my brother--my sister--and my mother."

Those, on the other hand, who have received the seed on the good ground, are all who hear the Message and welcome it, and yield a return of thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold."

He also said to them, "Take care what you hear. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and that with interest.

and besought Him with many entreaties. "My little daughter," he said, "is at the point of death: I pray you come and lay your hands upon her, that she may recover and live."

In a moment the flow of her blood ceased, and she felt in herself that her complaint was cured.

until the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and threw herself at His feet, and told Him all the truth.

So they come to the Warden's house. Here He gazes on a scene of uproar, with people weeping aloud and wailing.

Then, taking her by the hand, He says to her, "Talitha, koum;" that is to say, "Little girl, I command you to wake!"

Instantly the little girl rises to her feet and begins to walk (for she was twelve years old)

but He gave strict injunctions that the matter should not be made known, and directed them to give her something to eat.

Is not this the carpenter, Mary's son, the brother of James and Joses, Jude and Simon? And do not his sisters live here among us?" So they turned angrily away.

For Herod himself had sent and had had John arrested and had kept him in prison in chains, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her.

At length Herodias found her opportunity. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to the nobles of his court and to the tribunes and the principal people in Galilee,

at which Herodias's own daughter came in and danced, and so charmed Herod and his guests that he said to her, "Ask me for anything you please, and I will give it to you."

He even swore to her, "Whatever you ask me for I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

She at once went out and said to her mother: "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptizer," she replied.

The girl immediately came in, in haste, to the King and made her request. "My desire is," she said, "that you will give me, here and now, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist."

Then the King, though intensely sorry, yet for the sake of his oaths, and of his guests, would not break faith with her.

and brought his head on a dish and gave it to the young girl, who gave it to her mother.

By this time it was late; so His disciples came to Him, and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late:

send them away that they may go to the farms and villages near here and buy themselves something to eat."

Then He rose and left that place and went into the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon. Here He entered a house and wished no one to know it, but He could not escape observation.

She was a Gentile woman, a Syro-phoenician by nation: and again and again she begged Him to expel the demon from her daughter.