Jesse of David--the King. David (by Uriah's widow)

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

So he assembled all the High Priests and Scribes of the people, and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.

"At Bethlehem in Judaea," they replied; "for so it stands written in the words of the Prophet,

Thereupon Herod sent privately for the Magi and ascertained from them the exact time of the star's appearing.

After hearing what the king said, they went to Bethlehem, while, strange to say, the star they had seen in the east led them on until it came and stood over the place where the babe was.

When they saw the star, the sight filled them with intense joy.

So they entered the house; and when they saw the babe with His mother Mary, they prostrated themselves and did Him homage, and opening their treasure-chests offered gifts to Him--gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

So Joseph roused himself and took the babe and His mother by night and departed into Egypt.

There he remained till Herod's death, that what the Lord had said through the Prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then Herod, finding that the Magi had trifled with him, was furious, and sent and massacred all the boys under two years of age, in Bethlehem and all its neighbourhood, according to the date he had so carefully ascertained from the Magi.

But after Herod's death an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said to him,

"Rise from sleep, and take the child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."

So he roused himself and took the child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

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

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he exclaimed, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

and do not imagine that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.

And already the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not produce good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire.

"Let it be so on this occasion," Jesus replied; "for so we ought to fulfil every religious duty." Then he consented;

and Jesus was baptized, and immediately went up from the water. At that moment the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him,

So the Tempter came and said, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into loaves."

and said, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, "'To His angels He will give orders concerning thee, and on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any moment thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

Then the Devil took Him to the top of an exceedingly lofty mountain, from which he caused Him to see all the Kingdoms of the world and their splendour,

"Zebulun's land and Naphtali's land; the road by the Lake; the country beyond the Jordan; Galilee of the Nations!

And walking along the shore of the Lake of Galilee He saw two brothers--Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew--throwing a drag-net into the Lake; for they were fishers.

So they immediately left their nets and followed Him. As He went further on,

He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zabdi and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zabdi mending their nets; and He called them.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Be joyful and triumphant, because your reward is great in the Heavens; for so were the Prophets before you persecuted.

Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.

But I say to you that every one who becomes angry with his brother shall be answerable to the magistrate; that whoever says to his brother 'Raca,' shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and that whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the Gehenna of Fire.

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.

But I tell you not to swear at all; neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne;

that so you may become true sons of your Father in Heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked as well as the good, and sends rain upon those who do right and those who do wrong.

"And when praying, you must not be like the hypocrites. They are fond of standing and praying in the synagogues or at the corners of the wider streets, in order that men may see them. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward.

let Thy kingdom come; let Thy will be done, as in Heaven so on earth;

Look at the birds which fly in the air: they do not sow or reap or store up in barns, but your Heavenly Father feeds them: are not you of much greater value than they?

And if God so clothes the wild herbage which to-day flourishes and to-morrow is thrown into the oven, is it not much more certain that He will clothe you, you men of little faith?

And why do you look at the splinter in your brother's eye, and not notice the beam which is in your own eye?

Or how say to your brother, 'Allow me to take the splinter out of your eye,' while the beam is in your own eye?

Hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

"Beware of the false teachers--men who come to you in sheep's fleeces, but beneath that disguise they are ravenous wolves.

Just so every good tree produces good fruit, but a poisonous tree produces bad fruit.

So by their fruits at any rate, you will easily recognize them.

Many will say to me on that day, "'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name expelled demons, and in Thy name performed many mighty works?'

So Jesus put out His hand and touched him, and said, "I am willing: be cleansed." Instantly he was cleansed from his leprosy;

"Sir," replied the Captain, "I am not a fit person to receive you under my roof: merely say the word, and my servant will be cured.

For I myself am also under authority, and have soldiers under me. To one I say 'Go,' and he goes, to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this or that,' and he does it."

And Jesus said to the Captain, "Go, and just as you have believed, so be it for you." And the servant recovered precisely at that time.

But suddenly there arose a great storm on the Lake, so that the waves threatened to engulf the boat; but He was asleep.

So they came and woke Him, crying, "Master, save us, we are drowning!"

"Why are you so easily frightened," He replied, "you men of little faith?" Then He rose and reproved the winds and the waves, and there was a perfect calm;

On His arrival at the other side, in the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two men possessed by demons, coming from among the tombs: they were so dangerously fierce that no one was able to pass that way.

So the demons entreated Him. "If Thou drivest us out," they said, "send us into the herd of swine."

So at once the whole population came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they besought Him to leave their country.

Why, which is easier? --to say, 'Your sins are pardoned,' or to say 'Rise up and walk'?

And the crowds were awe-struck when they saw it, and ascribed the glory to God who had entrusted such power to a man.

Passing on thence Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the Toll Office, and said to him, "Follow me." And he arose, and followed Him.

At that time John's disciples came and asked Jesus, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?"

"Can the bridegroom's party mourn," He replied, "as long as the bridegroom is with them? But other days will come (when the Bridegroom has been taken from them)

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.

Entering the Ruler's house, Jesus saw the flute-players and the crowd loudly wailing,

So He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be to you."

And when He saw the crowds He was touched with pity for them, because they were distressed and were fainting on the ground like sheep which have no shepherd.

but, instead of that, go to the lost sheep of Israel's race.

And as you go, preach and say, 'The Kingdom of the Heavens is close at hand.'

But when they have delivered you up, have no anxiety as to how you shall speak or what you shall say; for at that very time it shall be given you what to say;

Do not two sparrows sell for a halfpenny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave.

and a man's own family will be his foes.

Every one who receives a prophet, because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward, and every one who receives a righteous man, because he is a righteous man, will receive a righteous man's reward.

Now John had heard in prison about the Christ's doings, and he sent some of his disciples to inquire:

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

When the messengers had taken their leave, Jesus proceeded to say to the multitude concerning John, "What did you go out into the Desert to gaze at? A reed waving in the wind?

But what did you go out to see? A man luxuriously dressed? Those who wear luxurious clothes are to be found in kings' palaces.

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

This is he of whom it is written, "'See I am sending My messenger before Thy face, and he will make Thy road ready before Thee.'

"'We have played the flute to you,' they say, 'and you have not danced: we have sung dirges, and you have not beaten your breasts.'

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'

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 the Pharisees saw it and said to Him, "Look! your disciples are doing what the Law forbids them to do on the Sabbath."

At that time a demoniac was brought to Him, blind and dumb; and He cured him, so that the dumb man could speak and see.

And if it is by Baal-zebul's power that I expel the demons, by whose power do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.

Then He was accosted by some of the Scribes and of the Pharisees who said, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign given by you."

For just as Jonah was three days in the sea-monster's belly, so will the Son of Man be three days in the heart of the earth.

Then he goes and brings back with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they come in and dwell there; and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first. So will it be also with the present wicked generation."

So some one told Him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and desire to speak to you."

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

He then spoke many things to them in figurative language. "The sower goes out," He said, "to sow.

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.

For this people's mind is stupefied, their hearing has become dull, and their eyes they have closed; to prevent their ever seeing with their eyes, or hearing with their ears, or understanding with their minds, and turning back, so that I might heal them.'

"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.

"So the farmer's men come and ask him, "'Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed on your land? Where then does the darnel come from?'

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."

As then the darnel is collected together and burnt up with fire, so will it be at the Close of the Age.

Then will the righteous shine out like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, every one who has ears!

"Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a draw-net let down into the sea, which encloses fish of all sorts.

So will it be at the Close of the Age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

And He came into His own country and proceeded to teach in their synagogue, so that they were filled with astonishment and exclaimed, "Where did he obtain such wisdom, and these wondrous powers?