'And thou, Bethlehem in Judah's land, Art in no way least among the chief cities of Judah; For out of thee will come a Chieftain- - One who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

And, sending them to Bethlehem, he said: "Go and make careful inquiries about the child, and, as soon as you have found him, bring me word, that I, too, may go and do homage to him."

And there he stayed until Herod's death; in fulfillment of these words of the Lord in the Prophet, where he says--'Out of Egypt I called my Son.'

I, indeed, baptize you with water to teach repentance; but He who is Coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

But John tried to prevent him. "It is I," he said, "who need to be baptized by you; why then do you come to me?"

And from the heavens there came a voice which said: "This is my son, the Beloved, in whom I delight."

"All these I will give you, if you will fall at my feet and do homage to me."

"Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men."

Blessed are you when people taunt you, and persecute you, and say everything evil about you--untruly, and on my account.

Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellow men, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.

That you may become Sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for he causes his sun to rise upon bad and good alike, and sends rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous.

Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!

So that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you.

And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!

You, therefore, should pray thus--'Our Father, who art in Heaven, May thy name be held holy,

And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

Do not judge, that you may not be judged.

How will you say to your brother 'Let me take out the straw from your eye,' when all the time there is a beam in your own?

Not every one who says to me 'Master! Master!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.

On 'That Day' many will say to me 'Master, Master, was not it in your name that we taught, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many miracles?'

And then I shall say to them plainly 'I never knew you. Go from my presence, you who live in sin.'

Everyone, therefore, that listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it may be compared to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock.

And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

And he saw a leper who came up, and bowed to the ground before him, and said: "Master, if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean."

"Sir," he said, "my manservant is lying ill at my house with a stroke of paralysis, and is suffering terribly."

"Sir," the Captain went on, "I am unworthy to receive you under my roof; but only speak, and my manservant will be cured.

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and, if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

"Master," said another, who was a disciple, "let me first go and bury my father."

But Jesus answered: "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead."

But, that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--then he said to the paralyzed man-- "Get up, take up your bed, and return to your home."

As Jesus went along, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Matthew got up and followed him.

While Jesus was saying this, a President of a Synagogue came up and bowed to the ground before him. "My daughter," he said, "Has just died; but come and place your hand on her, and she will be restored to life."

Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves.

And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, that you may witness for me before them and the nations.

And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.

Every one, therefore, who shall acknowledge me before his fellow men, I, too, will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven;

But, if any one disowns me before his fellow men, I, too, will disown him before my Father who is in Heaven.

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And the man who does not take his cross and follow in my steps is not worthy of me.

He who has found his life will lose it, while he who, for my sake, has lost his life shall find it.

He who welcomes you is welcoming me; and he who welcomes me is welcoming him who sent me as his Messenger.

And blessed is the man who finds no hindrance in me."

This is the man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am myself sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

Everything has been committed to me by my Father; nor does any one fully know the Son, except the Father, or fully know the Father, except the Son and those to whom the Son may choose to reveal him.

Come to me, all you who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest!

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly-minded, and 'you shall find rest for your souls';

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

'Behold! the Servant of my Choice, My Beloved, in whom my heart delights! I will breathe my spirit upon him, And he shall announce a time of judgment to the Gentiles.

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not help me to gather is scattering.

"Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

Then, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, he said: "Here are my mother and my brothers!

For any one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Let both grow side by side till harvest; and then I shall say to the reapers, Gather the tares together first, and tie them in bundles for burning; but bring all the wheat into my barn.'"

Prompted by her mother, the girl said 'Give me here, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.'

In the evening the disciples came up to him, and said: " This is a lonely spot, and the day is now far advanced; send the crowds away, that they may go to the villages, and buy themselves food."

"Bring them here to me," was his reply.

"Master," Peter exclaimed, "if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water."

But, when he felt the wind, he was frightened, and, beginning to sink, cried out: "Master! Save me!"

'This is a people that honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far removed from me;

But vainly do they worship me, For they teach but the precepts of men.'"

Then Jesus called the people to him, and said: "Listen, and mark my words.

"Every plant," Jesus replied, "that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

There, a Canaanite woman of that district came out and began calling to Jesus: "Take pity on me, Master, Son of David; my daughter is grievously possessed by a demon."

But the woman came, and, bowing to the ground before him, said: "Master, help me."

Afterwards Jesus called his disciples to him, and said: "My heart is moved at the sight of all these people, for they have already been with me three days and they have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, for fear that they should break down on the way."

"Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah," Jesus replied. "For no human being has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.

Yes, and I say to you, Your name is 'Peter--a Rock, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the Powers of the Place of Death shall not prevail over it.

Jesus, however, turning to Peter, said: "Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as man does."

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, and whoever, for my sake, loses his life shall find it.

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and there was a voice from the cloud that said-- "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I delight; him you must hear."

"Master, take pity on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers terribly; indeed, he often falls into the fire and into the water;

"O faithless and perverse generation!" Jesus exclaimed, "how long must I be among you? how long must I have patience with you? Bring the boy here to me."

Still, that we may not shock them, go and throw a line into the Sea; take the first fish that rises, open its mouth, and you will find in it a piece of money. Take that, and give it to the collectors for both of us."

And any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me.

But, if any one puts a snare in the way of one of these lowly ones who believe in me, it would be best for him to be sunk in the depths of the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck.

Beware of despising one of these lowly ones, for in Heaven, I tell you, their angels always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven.

So, too, it is the will of my Father who is in Heaven that not one of these lowly ones should be lost.

But, if he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that 'on the evidence of two or three witnesses, every word may be put beyond dispute.'

Again, I tell you that, if but two of you on earth agree as to what they shall pray for, whatever it be, it will be granted them by my Father who is in Heaven.

For where two or three have come together in my Name, I am present with them."

Then Peter came up, and said to Jesus: "Master, how often am I to forgive my Brother when he wrongs me? As many as seven times?"

And therefore the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

Thereupon the servant threw himself down on the ground before him and said 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'

But, on going out, that same servant came upon one of his fellow-servants who owed him ten pounds. Seizing him by the throat, he said 'Pay what you owe me.'

Thereupon his fellow-servant threw himself on the ground and begged for mercy. 'Have patience with me,' he said, 'and I will pay you.'

Upon that the master sent for the servant, and said to him 'You wicked servant! When you begged me for mercy, I forgave you the whole of that debt.

So, also, will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each one of you forgives his Brother from his heart."

Jesus, however, said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for it is to the childlike that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs."

"Why ask me about goodness?" answered Jesus. "There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments."

"I have observed all these," said the young man. "What is still wanting in me?"

"If you wish to be perfect," answered Jesus, "go and sell your property, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me."

"I tell you," answered Jesus, "that at the New Creation, 'when the Son of Man takes his seat on his throne of glory,' you who followed me shall be seated upon twelve thrones, as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Every one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or land, on account of my Name, will receive many times as much, and will 'gain Immortal Life.'

'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you what is fair.'

'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. 'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said.

'My friend,' was his reply to one of them, 'I am not treating you unfairly. Did not you agree with me for two shillings?

"What is it that you want?" he asked. "I want you to say," she replied, "that in your Kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right, and the other on your left."

"You shall indeed drink my cup," he said, "but as to a seat at my right and at my left--that is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."