Matthew 2:3–6:16
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the 1Messiah was to be born.
5 They said to him, “aIn Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written 1by the prophet:
6 ‘aAnd you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will bshepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them 1the exact time athe star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with aMary His mother; and they 1fell to the ground and bworshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been awarned by God bin a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an aangel of the Lord * bappeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
14 So 1Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
15 He 1remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “aOut of Egypt I called bMy Son.”
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by athe magi, he became very enraged, and sent and bslew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “aA voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord * aappeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
21 So 1Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being awarned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,
23 and came and lived in a city called aNazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a bNazarene.”
The Preaching of John the Baptist
1 Now ain those days bJohn the Baptist * 1came, 2preaching in the cwilderness of Judea, saying,
2 “aRepent, for bthe kingdom of heaven 1is at hand.”
3 For this is the aone referred to 1by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“bThe voice of one 2crying in the wilderness,
‘cMake ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’ ”
4 Now John himself had 1aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was blocusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem awas going out to him, and all Judea and all bthe district around the Jordan;
6 and they were being abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the aPharisees and bSadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from dthe wrath to come?
8 “aTherefore bear fruit bin keeping with repentance;
9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘aWe have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
10 “The aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, aI baptize you 1with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; bHe will baptize you 1with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 “His awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the cchaff with dunquenchable fire.”
13 aThen Jesus * arrived bfrom Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.
14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then he * permitted Him.
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and 1ahe saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and 2lighting on Him,
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “aThis is 1My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
1 aThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness bto be tempted by the devil.
2 And after He had afasted forty days and forty nights, He 1then became hungry.
3 And athe tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the bSon of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘aMan shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil * took Him into athe holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and * said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
‘aHe will command His angels concerning You’;
and
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “1On the other hand, it is written, ‘aYou shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8 aAgain, the devil * took Him to a very high mountain and * showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;
9 and he said to Him, “aAll these things I will give You, if You fall down and 1worship me.”
10 Then Jesus * said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘aYou shall worship the Lord your God, and 1serve Him only.’ ”
11 Then the devil * left Him; and behold, aangels came and began to minister to Him.
12 Now when Jesus heard that aJohn had been taken into custody, bHe withdrew into Galilee;
13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and asettled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
15 “aThe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
1By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the 2Gentiles—
16 “aThe people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 aFrom that time Jesus began to 1preach and say, “bRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
18 aNow as Jesus was walking by bthe Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, cSimon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 And He * said to them, “1Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, 1aJames the son of Zebedee, and 2John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
23 Jesus was going athroughout all Galilee, bteaching in their synagogues and cproclaiming the 1gospel of the kingdom, and dhealing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
24 The news about Him spread athroughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, bdemoniacs, 1cepileptics, dparalytics; and He healed them.
25 Large crowds afollowed Him from Galilee and bthe Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from cbeyond the Jordan.
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
1 aWhen Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on bthe 1mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 aHe opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 “1aBlessed are the 2poor in spirit, for btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are athose who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are athe 1gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are athose who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are athe merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are athe pure in heart, for bthey shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for athey shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been apersecuted for the sake of righteousness, for btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people ainsult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ain the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but aif the salt has become tasteless, how 1can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden;
15 anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a 1basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may asee your good works, and bglorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the aLaw or the Prophets; I did not come …