Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put afence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it tovine-growers and went on a journey.

²And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.

³And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.

⁵And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.

⁶He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’

⁸And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹What will theowner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE;

¹¹THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?”

¹²And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

¹³Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.

¹⁴They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

¹⁵Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me adenarius to look at.”

¹⁶And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

¹⁸Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying,

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.

²¹The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise;

²²and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

²³In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.”

²⁴Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do notunderstand the Scriptures nor the power of God?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶Butregarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’?

²⁷He is not the Godof the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

²⁸One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “Theforemost is, ‘HEAR, ISRAEL! THE LORD IS OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE;

³⁰AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’

³¹The second is this: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³²And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO OTHER BESIDES HIM;

³³and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

³⁵And Jesus responded and began saying, as He taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that theChrist is the son of David?

³⁶David himself saidin the Holy Spirit, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET.” ’

³⁷David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

³⁸And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like personal greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets,

⁴⁰who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

⁴¹And Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts.

⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two lepta coins, which amount to a quadrans.

⁴³Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than allthe contributors to the treasury;

⁴⁴for they all put in out of theirsurplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned,all she had to live on.”

¹As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, look! What wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

²And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things come about, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”

⁵And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

⁶Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and they will mislead many.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“But be on your guard; for they will hand you over to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

¹⁰And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

¹¹And when theyarrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit.

¹²And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents andhave them put to death.

¹³And you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

¹⁴“Now when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be— let the reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Whoever is on thehousetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house.

¹⁶Andwhoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.

¹⁷But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁸Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter.

¹⁹For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again.

²⁰And if the Lord had not shortened those days, nolife would have been saved; but for the sake of theelect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

²¹And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is theChrist’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it;

²²for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect.

²³But beware; I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT,

²⁵AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.

²⁷And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together Hiselect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

²⁸“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹So you too, when you see these things happening,recognize thatHe is near, right at thedoor.

³⁰Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³²But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³“Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is.

³⁴It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house andputting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert.

³⁵Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when themaster of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

³⁶so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep.

³⁷What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’ ”

¹Now the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him;

²for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

³While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head.

⁴But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?

⁵For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me.

⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.

⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

⁹Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.

¹¹They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹³And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him;

¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’

¹⁵And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left and came to the city, and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When it was evening He *came with the twelve.

¹⁸And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you willbetray Me—one who is eating with Me.”

¹⁹They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl.

²¹For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that manby whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been goodfor that man if he had not been born.”

²²While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”

²³And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many.

²⁵Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷And Jesus *said to them, “You will allfall away, because it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP WILL BE SCATTERED.’

²⁸But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

²⁹But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away, yet I will not!”

³⁰And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, thatthis very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.”

³¹But Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

³²They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.”

³³And He *took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.

³⁴And He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here andkeep watch.”

³⁵And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.

³⁶And He was saying, “Abba!Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you notkeep watch for one hour?

³⁸Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him.

⁴¹And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is beingbetrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

⁴³And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.”

⁴⁵And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and *said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him.

⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt?

⁴⁹Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰And His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him.

⁵²But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together.

⁵⁴And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any.

⁵⁶For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent.

⁵⁷And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying,

⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’ ”

⁵⁹And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.

⁶⁰And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?”

⁶¹But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

⁶⁵And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him and slapped Him in the face.

⁶⁶And while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came,

⁶⁷and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch.

⁶⁹The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!”

⁷⁰But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, for you are a Galilean as well.”

⁷¹But he began to curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”

⁷²And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he hurried on and began to weep.

¹Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate.

²Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”

³And the chief priests started accusing Him of many things.

⁴But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”

⁵But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

⁶Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

⁷And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt.

⁸And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

⁹Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

¹⁰For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

¹²And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

¹⁶Now the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman cohort.

¹⁷And they *dressed Him in purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;

¹⁸and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹And they repeatedly beat His head with a reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him.

²⁰And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

²²Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

²³And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.

²⁴And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man would take.

²⁵Now it was the third hour when they crucified Him.

²⁶The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷And they *crucified two rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

²⁸

²⁹Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

³⁰save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

³¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself!

³²Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

³³When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

³⁵And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!”

³⁶And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died.

³⁸And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that He died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

⁴¹When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had already come, since it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

⁴⁵And after learning this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him.

²And very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

³They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?”

⁴And looking up, they *noticed that the stone had been rolled away; for it was extremely large.

⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.

⁶But he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him.

⁷But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ”

⁸And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

⁹[[ Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

¹⁰She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

¹¹And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

¹²Now after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.

¹³And they went away and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them, either.

¹⁴Later He appeared to the eleven disciples themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reprimanded them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen from the dead.

¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

¹⁶The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned.

¹⁷These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;

¹⁸they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

¹⁹So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.]] [[ And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. ]]

¹Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,

²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,

³it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus;

⁴so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

⁷And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years.

⁸Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

¹¹Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹²Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.

¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF FATHERS BACK TO their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her years.”

¹⁹The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

²²But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly made signs to them, and remained speechless.

²³When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.

²⁴Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

²⁵“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.”

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.

³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

³⁴But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.

³⁶And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹Now at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴²And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

⁴⁸For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant; For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

⁵⁰And His mercy is to generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.

⁵¹He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent the rich away empty-handed.

⁵⁴He has given help to His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

⁵⁵Just as He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after his father.

⁶⁰And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”

⁶¹And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

⁶²And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

⁶³And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

⁶⁴And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

⁶⁹And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David—

⁷⁰Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times—

⁷¹Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²To show mercy to our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant,

⁷³The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Would serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

⁷⁷To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

⁷⁹To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant.

⁶While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.

⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

²¹And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “EVERY firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG DOVES.”

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

²⁸then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples:

³²A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed—

³⁵and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.

³⁸And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

⁴⁰Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

⁴¹His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast;

⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it.

⁴⁴Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him.

⁴⁶Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!”

⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’shouse?”

⁵⁰And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

⁵¹And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

³And he came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!

⁵EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE LOWERED; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

⁶AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD!’ ”

⁷So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.

⁹But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what are we to do?”

¹¹And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.”

¹²Now even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?”

¹³And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”

¹⁴And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”

¹⁵Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, whether he himself perhaps was the Christ,

¹⁶John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹⁷His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

¹⁹But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which Herod had done,

²⁰Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

²³When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,

²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

¹Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

²for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

³And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’ ”

⁵And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want.

⁷Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”

⁸Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”

⁹And he brought Him into Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

¹⁰for it is written: ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU, TO PROTECT YOU,’

¹¹and, ‘ON their hands they will lift YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ”

¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been stated, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ ”

¹³And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

¹⁴And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region.

¹⁵And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

¹⁶And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

¹⁷And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

¹⁹TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

²⁰And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him.

²¹Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in yourhearing.”

²²And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³And He said to them, “No doubt you willquote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”

²⁴But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

²⁵But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when asevere famine came over all the land;

²⁶and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only toZarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

²⁷And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them wascleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

²⁹and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff.

³⁰But He passed through their midst and went on His way.

³¹And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

³²and they were amazed at His teaching, because His message was delivered with authority.

³³In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

³⁴“Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm.

³⁶And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

³⁷And the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.

³⁸Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.

³⁹And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and served them.

⁴⁰Now while the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He was laying His hands on each one of them and healing them.

⁴¹Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” And yet He was rebuking them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.

⁴²Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

⁴³But He said to them, “I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, because I was sent for this purpose.”

⁴⁴So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

¹Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

²and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

³And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat.

⁴Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

⁶And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;

⁷so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.

⁸But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

⁹For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

¹⁰and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”

¹¹When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

¹²While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴And He ordered him to tell no one, saying, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

¹⁶But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

¹⁷One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

¹⁸And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.

¹⁹But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

²⁰And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹The scribes and the Pharisees began thinking of the implications, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, except God alone?”

²²But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts?

²³Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

²⁴But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

²⁵And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

²⁶And they were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. They were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

²⁷After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”

²⁸And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

²⁹And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

³⁰The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

³²I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

³³And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”

³⁴And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make theattendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you?

³⁵But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old.

³⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

³⁸But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

³⁹And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’ ”

¹Now it happened that Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

³And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

⁴how he entered the house of God, and took and ate theconsecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”

⁵And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught; and a man was there whose right hand was withered.

⁷Now the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him.

⁸But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up andcome forward!” And he got up and came forward.

⁹And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰And after looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

¹¹But they themselves were filled with senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

¹²Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God.

¹³And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

¹⁵and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;

¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷And then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

¹⁸who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured.

¹⁹And all the people were trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

²⁰And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “Blessed areyou who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed areyou who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed areyou who weep now, for you will laugh.

²²Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when theyexclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

²³Rejoice on that day and jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used totreat the prophets the same way.

²⁴But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

²⁵Woe to you whoare well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used totreat the false prophets the same way.

²⁷“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who are abusive to you.

²⁹Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away yourcloak, do not withhold yourtunic from him either.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

³¹Treat people the same way you want them totreat you.

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

³⁵But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. They willpour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹Now He also spoke a parable to them: “A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

⁴⁰Astudent is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

⁴¹Why do you look at thespeck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out thespeck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out thespeck that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor,on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit.

⁴⁴For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

⁴⁵The good person out of the goodtreasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks fromthat which fills his heart.

⁴⁶“Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

⁴⁷Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words andacts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, whodug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built.

⁴⁹But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

¹When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.

²Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.

³When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.

⁴When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

⁵for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

⁶Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof;

⁷for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

⁸For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.

¹²Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.

¹³When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.”

¹⁴And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”

¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”

¹⁷And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.

¹⁸The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things.

¹⁹And after summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?”

²⁰When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?’ ”

²¹At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

²²And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and people who are poor have the gospel preached to them.

²³And blessed isanyone who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into thewilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces!

²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: ‘BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

²⁸I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

³²They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and aheavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’

³⁵And yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

³⁶Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

³⁷And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,

³⁸and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!”

⁴⁰And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹“A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundreddenarii, and the other, fifty.

⁴²When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

⁴⁴And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

⁴⁵Yougave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in.

⁴⁶You did notanoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.

⁴⁷For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

⁴⁹And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

¹Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

⁴Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

⁶Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

⁸And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.”

⁹Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been granted to know themysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so thatwhile seeing they may not see, andwhile hearing they may not understand.

¹¹“Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God.

¹²And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

¹³Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root;they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation theyfall away.

¹⁴And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the wordwith a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit withperseverance.

¹⁶“Now no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what hethinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.

²³But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

²⁴They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

²⁵And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

²⁸And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”

²⁹For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert.

³⁰And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him.

³¹And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³²Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission.

³³And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country.

³⁵And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

³⁶Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been made well.

³⁷And all the people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰And as Jesus was returning, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.

⁴¹And a man named Jairus came, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house;

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith hasmade you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will bemade well.”

⁵¹When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother.

⁵²Now they were all weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.

⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and spoke forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!”

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.