Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way.

the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him' ??4 John appeared baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.

and he proclaimed, saying, 'He doth come -- who is mightier than I -- after me, of whom I am not worthy -- having stooped down -- to loose the latchet of his sandals;

I baptized you with water, but it is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

And he said, Come after me: and they went away from their father Zebedee, who was in the boat with the servants, and came after him.

They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

where Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, who presently acquainted Jesus with it.

And evening having come, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all who were ill, and who were demoniacs,

and he healed many who were ill of manifold diseases, and many demons he cast forth, and was not suffering the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him,

And there came a leper to him, who fell on his knees, and thus address'd him, "if you will, you can heal me."

Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

who finding it impossible to come nigh Him because of the press, uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the cradle wherein the paralytic lay.

But certain experts in the law of Moses, who were sitting there, began reasoning in their minds,

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

And Jesus, who knew immediately in his spirit that they were thus reasoning within themselves, said unto them, Why do ye dispute these things in your hearts?

Which is the simpler, to say to a man who is ill, You have forgiveness for your sins, or, Get up, take up your bed, and go?

And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.

And when the scribes who were of the Pharisees' party saw that he was eating with irreligious people and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?"

And Jesus having heard it says to them, They that are strong have not need of a physician, but those who are ill. I have not come to call righteous men, but sinners.

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

how he went into the house of God, (at 'Abiathar the chief priest,') and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to eat, except to the priests, and he gave also to those who were with him?'

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered.

And he says to the man who had his hand dried up, Rise up and come into the midst.

and Jerusalem and Idumea and from the other side of the Jordan and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon a great many who had heard of the things he was doing came to him.

for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

But He many a time checked them, forbidding them to say who He was.

And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

and he appointed a twelve, whom also he named, Apostles, - that they might be with him, and that he might be sending them forth to make proclamation,

Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

Zebedee's sons James and his brother John (whom he named Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder),

and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. And he cometh into a house.

When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”

And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons he casts out demons.

No man who has got into a strong man's house can carry off his goods, without first securing him; and not till then will he plunder his house.

But the person who speaks against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, for he is guilty of a never ending sin."

And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

"Here are my mother and my brothers. For wherever there is one who has been obedient to God, there is my brother--my sister--and my mother."

“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.

And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables.

And he said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables,

He who is sowing doth sow the word;

These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

And others are they who are sown among the thorns: these are they who have heard the word,

who hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

And these are they who have been sown on the good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bear fruit; one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred fold.

Listen, every one who has ears to listen with!"

And he said to them, 'Take heed what ye hear; in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you; and to you who hear it shall be added;

For whosoever has, to him shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken from him.

Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground;

and He did not say anything to them without [using] a parable; He did, however, explain everything privately to His own disciples.

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

And, as soon as Jesus had got out of the boat, he met a man coming out of the tombs, who was under the power of a foul spirit,

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.

They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the “legion” [of demons]; and they were frightened.

Those who had seen it described [in detail] to the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [told them all] about the pigs.

As He was stepping into the boat, the [Gentile] man who had been demon-possessed was begging with Him [asking] that he might go with Him [as a disciple].

when there came one of the Wardens of the Synagogue--he was called Jair--who, on beholding Him, threw himself at His feet,

And a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years,

and had endured much [suffering] at the hands of many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

And he looked round about to see her who had done this.

While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official’s house, saying [to Jairus], “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?”

And he came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw the tumult, and those who were weeping and wailing greatly.

They began laughing [scornfully] at Him [because they knew the child was dead]. But He made them all go outside, and took along the child’s father and mother and His own [three] companions, and entered the room where the child was.

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

is not he the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses, of Juda and Simon? are not these his sisters, who are here with us? and they were scandalized at him.

And He could not do any miracle there, except that He laid His hands on a few who were out of health and cured them; and

And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

And King Herod heard [it], because his name had become known. And they were saying, "John, the one who baptizes, has been raised from the dead, and because of this these miraculous powers are at work in him."

But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.

And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and did a dance, Herod and those who were at table with him were pleased with her; and the king said to the girl, Make a request for anything and I will give it you.

And the king was very sad; but because of his oaths, and those who were with him at table, he would not say 'No' to her.

And immediately the king sent a soldier who served as his guard and ordered him to bring John's head to him. So, he went and decapitated him in the prison,

and brought his head on a dish and gave it to the young girl, who gave it to her mother.

And he said to them, "You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time." For those [who were] coming and going were many, and they did not even have time to eat.

And the people saw them going, and a number of them, having knowledge who they were, went running there together on foot from all the towns, and got there before them.

Jesus then having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, look'd up to heaven and gave thanks; then breaking the loaves, he gave them to his disciples to distribute among the people: for whom he likewise divided the two fishes.

Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children].

It was now late in the evening, and the bark in full sea, when Jesus, who was ashore all alone,

And when they had come out of the boat, the people immediately knowing who he was,

They ran about [through] that whole region and began to carry around those {who were sick} on stretchers, wherever they heard that he was.

And wherever he would go, into villages or into towns or to farms, they would put those who were sick in the marketplaces and would implore him that if they could touch even the edge of his cloak. And all those who touched it were healed.

And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,

For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, he who speaks ill of father or mother, let him surely die.

She was a heathen who spoke Greek and had been born in Syro-Phenicia. And she kept begging Him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

And they bring to him a deaf man who could not speak right, and they beseech him that he might lay his hand on him.

Then Jesus ordered the people [who witnessed the miracle] not to tell anyone [about it], but the more He urged them not to, the more widely they publicized it.

And they were overcome with wonder, saying, He has done all things well: he even gives back the power of hearing and the power of talking to those who have been without them.