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.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and ^oteachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And ^pthe power of the Lord was with him to heal.⁴ 18 ^qAnd behold, some men were bringing ^ron a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on ^sthe roof and let him down with his bed ^tthrough the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And ^uwhen he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^vyour sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^wblasphemies? ^xWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus ^yperceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that ^zthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, ^aglorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they ^aglorified God and were filled ^awith awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 ^bAfter this he went out and saw ^ca tax collector named ^dLevi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And ^eleaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company ^fof tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and ^gtheir scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ^h“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 ⁱI have not come to call the righteous ^jbut sinners ^kto repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

33 And they said to him, ^l“The disciples of John ^mfast often and ^moffer prayers, ⁿand so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, ^o“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 ^pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^qthen they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old ^rwineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”⁵

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^sOn a Sabbath,¹ while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples ^tplucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, ^u“Why are you doing ^vwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, ^w“Have you not read ^xwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate ^ythe bread of the Presence, ^ywhich is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, ^z“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

6 On another Sabbath, ^ahe entered the synagogue ^band was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees ^cwatched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, ^dso that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But ^ehe knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ^fis it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And ^gafter looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^hhe did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with ⁱfury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

12 In these days ^jhe went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, ^khe called his disciples ^land ^mchose from them twelve, whom he named ⁿapostles: 14 Simon, ^owhom he named Peter, and ^pAndrew his brother, and ^pJames and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and ^qMatthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called ^rthe Zealot, 16 and ^sJudas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude

17 And ^the came down with them and stood on a level place, with ^ua great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of ^vTyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. ^wAnd those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd ^xsought to touch him, for ^ypower came out from him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes

20 And ^zhe lifted up his eyes on his disciples, ^aand said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for ^byours is the kingdom of God.

21 ^c“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

^d“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when ^epeople hate you and when they ^fexclude you and revile you and ^gspurn your name as evil, ^hon account of the Son of Man! 23 ⁱRejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for ^jso their fathers did to the prophets.