and Jessai the father of king David. David was the father of Solomon by Uriah's wife,

So on waking from sleep Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him; he took his wife home,

asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."

so he gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people and made inquiries of them about where the messiah was to be born.

And you Bethlehem, in Judah's land, You are not least among the rulers of Judah: For a ruler will come from you, Who will shepherd Israel my people."

Then Herod summoned the magicians in secret and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.

He also sent them to Bethlehem, telling them, "Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you have found him report to me, so that I may go and worship him too."

on reaching the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down to worship him, and opening their caskets they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

So he got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went off to Egypt,

Then Herod saw the magicians had trifled with him, and he was furiously angry; he sent and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the neighbourhood who were two years old or under, calculating by the time he had ascertained from the magicians.

saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."

So he rose, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel;

He went and settled in a town called Nazaret, so that what had been said by the prophets might be fulfilled: 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'

This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.

instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Now when Jesus had been baptized, the moment he rose out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove upon him.

So the tempter came up and said to him, "If you are God's son, tell these stones to become loaves."

said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down; for it is written, He will give his angels charge of you; they will bear you on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone."

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali lying to the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles!

The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, yea light dawned on those who sat in the land and the shadow of death.

As he was walking along the sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew, casting a net in the sea ??for they were fishermen;

so he said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for men."

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,

So when he saw the crowds, he went up the hill and sat down; his disciples came up to him

Blessed are the pure in heart! they will see God.

So your light is to shine before men, that they may see the good you do and glorify your Father in heaven.

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.)

So if you remember, even when offering your gift at the altar, that your brother has any grievance against you,

Be quick and make terms with your opponent, so long as you and he are on the way to court, in case he hands you over to the judge, and the judge to the jailer, and you are thrown into prison;

Let what you say be simply 'yes' or 'no'; whatever exceeds that springs from evil.

whoever wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well;

When you give alms, make no flourish of trumpets like the hypocrites in the synagogues and the streets, so as to win applause from men; I tell you truly, they do get their reward.

so as to keep your alms secret; then your Father who sees what is secret will reward you openly.

Also, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they like to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street-corners, so as to be seen by men; I tell you truly, they do get their reward.

Do not pray by idle rote like pagans, for they suppose they will be heard the more they say;

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they look woebegone to let men see they are fasting; I tell you truly, they do get their reward.

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.

The eye is the lamp of the body: so, if your Eye is generous, the whole of your body will be illumined,

Look at the wild birds; they sow not, they reap not, they gather nothing in granaries, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than birds?

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field which blooms to-day and is thrown to-morrow into the furnace, will not he much more clothe you? O men, how little you trust him!

Seek God's Realm and his goodness, and all that will be yours over and above.

So do not be troubled about to-morrow; to-morrow will take care of itself. The day's own trouble is quite enough for the day.

for as you judge so you will be judged, and the measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to yourselves.

Why do you note the splinter in your brother's eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take out the splinter from your eye,' when there lies the plank in your own eye?

You hypocrite! take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see properly how to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

So you will know them by their fruit.

Many will say to me at that Day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? did we not cast out daemons in your name? did we not perform many miracles in your name?'

so he stretched his hand out and touched him, with the words, "I do choose, be cleansed." And his leprosy was cleansed at once.

Then Jesus told him, "See, you are not to say a word to anybody; away and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, to notify men."

The captain answered, "Sir, I am not fit to have you under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be cured.

so he touched her hand; the fever left her and she rose and ministered to him.

When Jesus saw crowds round him he gave orders for crossing to the other side.

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

So the disciples went and woke him up, saying, "Help, Lord, we are drowning!"

He said to them, "Why are you afraid? How little you trust God!" Then he got up and checked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Men marvelled at this; they said, "What sort of man is this? the very winds and sea obey him!"

When he reached the opposite side, the country of the Gadarenes, he was met by two demoniacs who ran out of the tombs; they were so violent that nobody could pass along the road there.

so the daemons begged him saying, "If you are going to cast us out, send us into that drove of swine."

He said to them, "Begone!" So out they came and went to the swine, and the entire drove rushed down the steep slope into the sea and perished in the water.

Then all the town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to move out of their district.

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

There a paralytic was brought to him, lying on a pallet; and when Jesus saw the faith of the bearers he said to the paralytic, "Courage, my son! your sins are forgiven."

Jesus saw what they were thinking and said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Which is the easier thing, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?

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."

The crowds who saw it were awed and glorified God for giving such power to men.

As Jesus passed along from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me"; and he rose and followed him.

So when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with taxgatherers and sinners?"

Jesus said to them, "Can friends at a wedding mourn so long as the bride groom is beside them? A time will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will fast.

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."

So Jesus rose and went after him, accompanied by his disciples.

Then Jesus turned round, and when he saw her he said, "Courage, my daughter, your faith has made you well." And the woman was well from that hour.

Now when Jesus reached the official's house and saw the flute-players and the din the crowd were making,

Then he touched their eyes and said, "As you believe, so your prayer is granted,"

and their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly charged them, "See, nobody is to know of this."

As he saw the crowds he was moved with pity for them; they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.

so pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to gather his harvest."

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents and guileless like doves.

Now, when they bring you up for trial, do not trouble yourselves about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will come to you at the moment,

yes, a man's own household will be his enemies.

He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward; he who receives a good man because he is good, will receive a good man's reward.

Jesus answered them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:

the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised.

As the disciples of John went away, Jesus proceeded to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?

Come, what did you go out to see? A man arrayed in soft raiment? The wearers of soft raiment are in royal palaces.

Come, why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.

For John has come neither eating nor drinking, and men say, 'He has a devil';

the Son of man has come eating and drinking, and men say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of taxgatherers and sinners!' Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindicated by all that she does."

Now a man with a withered hand was there; so in order to get a charge against him they asked him, "Is it right to heal on the sabbath?"

So the Pharisees withdrew and plotted against him, to destroy him;

Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.

Why, how can anyone enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first of all binds the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow,

This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand.

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.

For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them.

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.