Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^ahave been accomplished among us, 2 ^bjust as those who ^cfrom the beginning were ^deyewitnesses and ^eministers of ^fthe word ^ghave delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^han orderly account for you, ⁱmost excellent ^jTheophilus, 4 that you may have ^kcertainty concerning the things ^lyou have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ^mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{1 n}of ^othe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both ^prighteous before God, walking ^qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because ^rElizabeth was barren, and ^sboth were advanced in years.

8 Now ^twhile he was serving as priest before God when ^uhis division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^vto enter ^wthe temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people ^xwere praying ^youtside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^zthe altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^afear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^byour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^cyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^drejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be ^egreat before the Lord. And ^fhe must not drink wine or strong ^gdrink, and ^ghe will be ^hfilled with the Holy Spirit, ⁱeven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and ^jhe will go before him ^kin the spirit and power of Elijah, ^lto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^mthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ⁿto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, ^o“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am ^pGabriel. ^qI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, ^ryou will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^sthe temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^sthe temple. And ^the kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And ^uwhen his time of ^vservice was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^wto take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel ^xGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^yNazareth, 27 ^zto a virgin betrothed² to a man whose name was Joseph, ^aof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^bO favored one, ^cthe Lord is with you!”³ 29 But ^dshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^eyou have found favor with God. 31 And behold, ^fyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^gyou shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of ^hthe Most High. And the Lord God ⁱwill give to him the throne of ^jhis father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^kforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”⁴

35 And the angel answered her, ^l“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^hthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born⁵ will be called ^mholy—ⁿthe Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^owho was called barren. 37 For ^pnothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant⁶ of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^qthe angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^rthe hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^swas filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^t“Blessed are you among women, and ^ublessed is ^vthe fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^wmy Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And ^xblessed is she who believed that there would be⁷ a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And ^ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; ^uhe shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And ^vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for ^wa writing tablet and wrote, ^u“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 ^xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^yloosed, and he spoke, ^zblessing God. 65 And ^afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^bthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them ^claid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^dthe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ^ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and ^fprophesied, saying,

80 ^jAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^kin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 ^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.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24 ^k“But woe to you who are rich, ^lfor you ^mhave received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for ⁿyou shall be hungry.

“Woe to ^oyou who laugh now, ^ofor you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, ^pwhen all people speak well of you, for ^qso their fathers did to ^rthe false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

27 “But I say to you who hear, ^sLove your enemies, ^tdo good to those who hate you, 28 ^ubless those who curse you, ^spray for those who abuse you. 29 ^vTo one who ^wstrikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic² either. 30 ^xGive to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And ^yas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 ^z“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And ^aif you ^blend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But ^clove your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and ^dyou will be sons of ^ethe Most High, for ^fhe is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 ^gBe merciful, even as ^hyour Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ^ij“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^jforgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 ^kgive, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put ^linto your lap. For ^mwith the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39 He also told them a parable: ⁿ“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 ^oA disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is ^pfully trained will be like his teacher. 41 ⁱWhy do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but ^qdo not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck 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 the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “For ^rno good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for ^seach tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 ^tThe good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces ^uevil, ^vfor out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

46 ^w“Why ^xdo you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 ^yEveryone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.³ 49 ^zBut the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and ^athe ruin of that house was great.”

Women Accompanying Jesus

1 Soon afterward he went on ⁿthrough cities and villages, proclaiming and ^obringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also ^psome women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^qMary, called Magdalene, ^rfrom whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and ^sJoanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them¹ out of their means.

The Parable of the Sower

4 ^tAnd when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 ^u“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^vit withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among ^wthorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^xa hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^y“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, ^z“To you it has been given to know ^athe secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^bthat ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 ^cNow the parable is this: The seed is ^dthe word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^ebelieve and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^fwith joy. But these have no root; they ^gbelieve for a while, and in time of testing ^hfall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ⁱas they go on their way they are choked by the ^jcares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^kbear fruit ^lwith patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

16 ^mn“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 ^oFor nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 ^pTake care then how you hear, ^qfor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

19 ^rThen his mother and ^shis brothers² came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^twho hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

22 ^uOne day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of ^vthe lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on ^vthe lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and ^wrebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, ^xand there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ^ywere afraid, and they ^zmarveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ^ahe commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”