The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days ^la decree went out from ^mCaesar Augustus that all the world should be ⁿregistered. 2 This was the first ⁿregistration when¹ Quirinius ^owas governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up ^pfrom Galilee, from the town of ^qNazareth, to Judea, to ^rthe city of David, which is called ^sBethlehem, ^tbecause he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,² who was with child. 6 And ^twhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^uwrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^vlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^wthe inn.³

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord ^xappeared to them, and ^ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all ^zthe people. 11 For ^aunto you is born this day in ^bthe city of David ^ca Savior, who is ^dChrist ^ethe Lord. 12 And ^fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel ^ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^mlying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But ⁿMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, ^oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And ^pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, ^qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

22 And ^rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem ^sto present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in ^tthe Law of the Lord, ^u“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in ^tthe Law of the Lord, ^v“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^wrighteous and ^xdevout, ^ywaiting for ^zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^asee death before he had seen ^bthe Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and ^dblessed God and said,

33 And ^mhis father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed ⁿfor the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign ^othat is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was ^pa prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.⁶ She did not depart from the temple, ^qworshiping with ^rfasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were ^swaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

39 And when they had performed everything according to ^tthe Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of ^uNazareth. 40 ^vAnd the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

41 Now ^whis parents went ^xto Jerusalem every year at ^ythe Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, ^zthey went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast ^awas ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. ^wHis parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, ^bsitting among ^cthe teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents⁷ saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, ^dyour father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that ^eI must be in ^fmy Father’s house?”⁸ 50 And ^gthey did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And ^hhis mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus ⁱincreased in wisdom and in stature⁹ and in ⁱfavor with God and man.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of ^jTiberius Caesar, ^kPontius Pilate ^lbeing governor of Judea, and ^mHerod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during ⁿthe high priesthood of Annas and ^oCaiaphas, ^pthe word of God came to ^qJohn the son of Zechariah in ^rthe wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming ^sa baptism of repentance ^tfor the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in ^uthe book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ^c“You brood of ^dvipers! Who warned you to flee from ^ethe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits ^fin keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ^g‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from ^hthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ⁱEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, ^j“What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, ^k“Whoever has two tunics² is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 ^lTax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, ^jwhat shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, ^m“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, ^jwhat shall we do?” And he said to them, ^m“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your ⁿwages.”

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, ^owhether he might be ^pthe Christ, 16 ^qJohn answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but ^rhe who is mightier than I is coming, ^sthe strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you ^twith the Holy Spirit and ^ufire. 17 His ^vwinnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to ^wgather the wheat into his barn, ^xbut the chaff he will burn with ^yunquenchable fire.”

18 So ^zwith many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But ^aHerod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that ^bhe locked up John in prison.

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when ^cJesus also had been baptized and was praying, ^dthe heavens were opened, 22 and ^ethe Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and ^fa voice came from heaven, ^g“You are my beloved Son;³ with you I am well pleased.”⁴

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23 Jesus, ^hwhen he began his ministry, was about ⁱthirty years of age, being ^jthe son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^kthe son of Zerubbabel, the son ^lof Shealtiel,⁵ the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of ^mNathan, the son of David, 32 ⁿthe son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 ^othe son of Jacob, ^pthe son of Isaac, ^qthe son of Abraham, ^rthe son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^sAnd Jesus, ^tfull of the Holy Spirit, ^ureturned from the Jordan and was led ^vby the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for ^wforty days, ^xbeing tempted by the devil. ^wAnd he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^yhe was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are ^zthe Son of God, command ^athis stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, ^b“It is written, ^c‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 ^dAnd the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you ^eI will give all this authority and their glory, ^efor it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, ^f“It is written,

9 ⁱAnd he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^jthe Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

11 and

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^l‘You shall not ^mput the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ⁿuntil an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^oAnd Jesus returned ^pin the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and ^qa report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And ^rhe taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16 ^sAnd he came to ^tNazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^uas was his custom, ^vhe went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^wto read. 17 And ^xthe scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^fsat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^gfixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today ^hthis Scripture ⁱhas been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at ^jthe gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^k“Is not this ^lJoseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^m‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did ⁿat Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^ono prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^pthe heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them ^qbut only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And ^rthere were many lepers¹ in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^sbut only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and ^tdrove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But ^upassing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

31 ^vAnd he ^wwent down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And ^xhe was teaching them ^yon the Sabbath, 32 and ^zthey were astonished at his teaching, ^zfor his word possessed authority. 33 And ^xin the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha!^{2 a}What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^bI know who you are—^cthe Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus ^drebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And ^ethey were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? ^eFor with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And ^freports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

38 ^gAnd he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now ^hSimon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and ⁱrebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and ^jhe laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 ^kAnd demons also came out of many, ^lcrying, “You are ^mthe Son of God!” But he rebuked them and ^kwould not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was ⁿthe Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

42 ^oAnd when it was day, he departed and went ^pinto a desolate place. And ^qthe people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, ^r“I must ^spreach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching ^tin the synagogues of Judea.³

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by ^uthe lake of Gennesaret, 2 ^vand he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were ^wwashing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And ^xhe sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^y“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, ^zwe toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, ^athey enclosed a large number of fish, and ^atheir nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. ^bAnd they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^c“Depart from me, for ^dI am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”¹ 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, ^ethey left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 While he was in one of the cities, ^fthere came a man full of leprosy.² And when he saw Jesus, he ^gfell on his face and begged him, “Lord, ^hif you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus³ stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him ⁱto tell no one, but “go and show ^jyourself to the priest, and ^kmake an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ^lfor a proof to them.” 15 ^mBut now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But ⁿhe would withdraw to desolate places and ⁿpray.