Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 Dear Theophilos:

Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts

2 based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message.

3 Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative,

4 so that you might know how well-founded are the things about which you have been taught.

5 In the days of Herod, King of Y’hudah, there was acohennamed Z’kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.

6 Both of them were righteous before God, observing all themitzvotand ordinances ofAdonaiblamelessly.

7 But they had no children, because Elisheva was barren; and they were both well along in years.

8 One time, when Z’kharyah was fulfilling his duties ascohenduring his division’s period of service before God,

9 he was chosen by lot (according to the custom among thecohanim) to enter the Temple and burn incense.

10 All the people were outside, praying, at the time of the incense burning,

11 when there appeared to him an angel ofAdonaistanding to the right of the incense altar.

12 Z’kharyah was startled and terrified at the sight.

13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Z’kharyah; because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to name him Yochanan.

14 He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many people will rejoice when he is born,

15 for he will be great in the sight ofAdonai. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with theRuach HaKodesheven from his mother’s womb.

16 He will turn many of the people of Isra’el toAdonaitheir God.

17 He will go out ahead ofAdonaiin the spirit and power of Eliyahu to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready forAdonaia people prepared.”

18 Z’kharyah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man; my wife too is well on in years.”

19 “I am Gavri’el,” the angel answered him, “and I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to give you this good news.

20 Now, because you didn’t believe what I said, which will be fulfilled when the time comes, you will be silent, unable to speak until the day these things take place.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Z’kharyah; they were surprised at his taking so long in the Temple.

22 But when he came out unable to talk to them, they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple; speechless, he communicated to them with signs.

23 When his period of his Temple service was over, he returned home.

24 Following this, Elisheva his wife conceived, and she remained five months in seclusion, saying,

25 “Adonaihas done this for me; he has shown me favor at this time, so as to remove my public disgrace.”

26 In the sixth month, the angel Gavri’el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Miryam.

28 Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady!Adonaiis with you!”

29 She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God.

31 Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua.

32 He will be great, he will be called Son ofHa‘Elyon.Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David;

33 and he will rule the House of Ya‘akov forever — there will be no end to his Kingdom.”

34 “How can this be,” asked Miryam of the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered her,

“TheRuach HaKodeshwill come over you,

the power ofHa‘Elyonwill cover you.

Therefore the holy child born to you

will be called the Son of God.

36 “You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant!

37 For with God, nothing is impossible.”

38 Miryam said, “I am the servant ofAdonai; may it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

39 Without delay, Miryam set out and hurried to the town in the hill country of Y’hudah

40 where Z’kharyah lived, entered his house and greeted Elisheva.

41 When Elisheva heard Miryam’s greeting, the baby in her womb stirred. Elisheva was filled with theRuach HaKodesh

42 and spoke up in a loud voice,

“How blessed are you among women!

And how blessed is the child in your womb!

43 “But who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy!

45 Indeed you are blessed, because you have trusted that the promiseAdonaihas made to you will be fulfilled.”

46 Then Miryam said,

“My soul magnifiesAdonai;

47 and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,

48 who has taken notice of his servant-girl

in her humble position.

For — imagine it! — from now on, all generations will call me blessed!

49 “The Mighty One has done great things for me!

Indeed, his name is holy;

50 and in every generation

he has mercy on those who fear him.

51 “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm,

routed the secretly proud,

52 brought down rulers from their thrones,

raised up the humble,

53 filled the hungry with good things,

but sent the rich away empty.

54 “He has taken the part of his servant Isra’el,

mindful of the mercy

55 which he promised to our fathers,

to Avraham and his seed forever.”

56 Miryam stayed with Elisheva for about three months and then returned home.

57 The time arrived for Elisheva to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son.

58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how goodAdonaihad been to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 On the eighth day, they came to do the child’sb’rit-milah. They were about to name him Z’kharyah, after his father,

60 when his mother spoke up and said, “No, he is to be called Yochanan.”

61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has that name,”

62 and they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called.

63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is Yochanan.”

64 At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were ab’rakhahto God.

65 All their neighbors were awestruck; and throughout the hill country of Y’hudah, people talked about all these things.

66 Everyone who heard of them said to himself, “What is this child going to be?” For clearly the hand ofAdonaiwas with him.

67 His father Z’kharyah was filled with theRuach HaKodeshand spoke this prophecy:

68 “Praised beAdonai, the God of Isra’el,

because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people

69 by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer

who is a descendant of his servant David.

70 It is just as he has spoken

through the mouth of the prophets from the very beginning —

71 that we should be delivered from our enemies

and from the power of all who hate us.

72 “This has happened so that he might show

the mercy promised to our fathers —

that he would remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath he swore beforeAvraham avinu

74 to grant us that we, freed from our enemies,

would serve him without fear,

75 in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

76 You, child, will be called a prophet ofHa‘Elyon;

you will go before the Lord to prepare his way

77 by spreading the knowledge among his people

that deliverance comes by having sins forgiven

78 through our God’s most tender mercy,

which causes the Sunrise to visit us from Heaven,

79 to shine on those in darkness, living in the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the paths of peace.”

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until the time came for him to appear in public to Isra’el.

1 Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire.

2 This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria.

3 Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y’hudah,

5 to be registered, with Miryam, to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant.

6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth;

7 and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.

8 In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks,

9 when an angel ofAdonaiappeared to them, and theSh’khinahofAdonaishone around them. They were terrified;

10 but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people.

11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.

12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God:

14 “In the highest heaven, glory to God!

And on earth, peace among people of good will!”

15 No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go over to Beit-Lechem and see this thing that has happened, thatAdonaihas told us about.”

16 Hurrying off, they came and found Miryam and Yosef, and the baby lying in the feeding trough.

17 Upon seeing this, they made known what they had been told about this child;

18 and all who heard were amazed by what the shepherds said to them.

19 Miryam treasured all these things and kept mulling them over in her heart.

20 Meanwhile, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen; it had been just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time for hisb’rit-milah, he was given the name Yeshua, which is what the angel had called him before his conception.

22 When the time came for their purification according to theTorahof Moshe, they took him up to Yerushalayim to present him toAdonai

23 (as it is written in theTorahofAdonai, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated toAdonai”)

24 and also to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by theTorahofAdonai.

25 There was in Yerushalayim a man named Shim‘on. This man was atzaddik, he was devout, he waited eagerly for God to comfort Isra’el, and theRuach HaKodeshwas upon him.

26 It had been revealed to him by theRuach HaKodeshthat he would not die before he had seen the Messiah ofAdonai.

27 Prompted by the Spirit, he went into the Temple courts; and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua to do for him what theTorahrequired,

28 Shim‘on took him in his arms, made ab’rakhahto God, and said,

29 “Now,Adonai, according to your word,

your servant is at peace as you let him go;

30 for I have seen with my own eyes youryeshu‘ah,

31 which you prepared in the presence of all peoples —

32 a light that will bring revelation to theGoyim

and glory to your people Isra’el.”

33 Yeshua’s father and mother were marvelling at the things Shim‘on was saying about him.

34 Shim‘on blessed them and said to the child’s mother, Miryam,

“This child will cause many in Isra’el to fall and to rise,

he will become a sign whom people will speak against;

35 moreover, a sword will pierce your own heart too.

All this will happen in order to reveal many people’s inmost thoughts.”

36 There was also a prophet named Hannah Bat-P’nu’el, of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman — she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage

37 and had remained a widow ever since; now she was eighty-four. She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying.

38 She came by at that moment and began thanking God and speaking about the child to everyone who was waiting for Yerushalayim to be liberated.

39 When Yosef and Miryam had finished doing everything required by theTorahofAdonai, they returned to the Galil, to their town Natzeret.

40 The child grew and became strong and filled with wisdom — God’s favor was upon him.

41 Every year Yeshua’s parents went to Yerushalayim for the festival ofPesach.

42 When he was twelve years old, they went up for the festival, as custom required.

43 But after the festival was over, when his parents returned, Yeshua remained in Yerushalayim. They didn’t realize this;

44 supposing that he was somewhere in the caravan, they spent a whole day on the road before they began searching for him among their relatives and friends.

45 Failing to find him, they returned to Yerushalayim to look for him.

46 On the third day they found him — he was sitting in the Temple court among the rabbis, not only listening to them but questioning what they said;

47 and everyone who heard him was astonished at his insight and his responses.

48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked; and his mother said to him, “Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you!”

49 He said to them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be concerning myself with my Father’s affairs?”

50 But they didn’t understand what he meant.

51 So he went with them to Natzeret and was obedient to them. But his mother stored up all these things in her heart.

52 And Yeshua grew both in wisdom and in stature, gaining favor both with other people and with God.

1 In the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius’ rule; when Pontius Pilate was governor of Y’hudah, Herod ruler of the Galil, his brother Philip ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

2 with ‘Anan and Kayafa being thecohanim g’dolim; the word of God came to Yochanan Ben-Z’kharyah in the desert.

3 He went all through the Yarden region proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven.

4 It was just as had been written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Yesha‘yahu,

“The voice of someone crying out:

‘In the desert prepare the way forAdonai!

Make straight paths for him!

5 Every valley must be filled in,

every mountain and hill leveled off;

the winding roads must be straightened

and the rough ways made smooth.

6 Then all humanity will see God’s deliverance.’”

7 Therefore, Yochanan said to the crowds who came out to be immersed by him, “You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment?

8 If you have really turned from your sins, produce fruit that will prove it! And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘Avraham is our father’! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones!

9 Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!”

10 The crowds asked Yochanan, “So then, what should we do?”

11 He answered, “Whoever has two coats should share with somebody who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

12 Tax-collectors also came to be immersed; and they asked him, “Rabbi, what should we do?”

13 “Collect no more than the government assesses,” he told them.

14 Some soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?” To them he said, “Don’t intimidate anyone, don’t accuse people falsely, and be satisfied with your pay.”

15 The people were in a state of great expectancy, and everyone was wondering whether perhaps Yochanan himself might be the Messiah;

16 so Yochanan answered them all, “I am immersing you in water, but he who is coming is more powerful than I — I’m not worthy to untie his sandals! He will immerse you in theRuach HaKodeshand in fire.

17 He has with him his winnowing fork to clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the straw with unquenchable fire!”

18 And with many other warnings besides these he announced the Good News to the people.

19 But Yochanan also denounced Herod the regional governor for taking as his own wife Herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the other wicked things Herod had done;

20 whereupon Herod added this to the rest: he locked up Yochanan in prison.

21 While all the people were being immersed, Yeshua too was immersed. As he was praying, heaven was opened;

22 theRuach HaKodeshcame down on him in physical form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you.”

23 Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. It was supposed that he was a son of Yosef who was of Eli,

24 of Mattat, of Levi, of Malki, of Yannai, of Yosef,

25 of Mattityahu, of Amotz, of Nachum, of Hesli, of Naggai,

26 of Machat, of Mattityahu, of Shim‘i, of Yosef, of Yodah,

27 of Yochanan, of Reisha, of Z’rubavel, of Sh’altiel, of Neri,

28 of Malki, of Addi, of Kosam, of Elmadan, of Er,

29 of Yeshua, of Eli‘ezer, of Yoram, of Mattat, of Levi,

30 of Shim‘on, of Y’hudah, of Yosef, of Yonam, of Elyakim,

31 of Mal’ah, of Manah, of Mattatah, of Natan, of David,

32 of Yishai, of ‘Oved, of Bo‘az, of Salmon, of Nachshon,

33 of Amminadav, of Admin, of Arni, of Hetzron, of Peretz, of Y’hudah,

34 of Ya‘akov, of Yitz’chak, of Avraham, of Terach, of Nachor,

35 of S’rug, of Re‘u, of Peleg, of ‘Ever, of Shelah,

36 of Keinan, of Arpakhshad, of Shem, of Noach, of Lemekh,

37 of Metushelach, of Hanokh, of Yered, of Mahalal’el, of Keinan,

38 of Enosh, of Shet, of Adam, of God.

1 Then Yeshua, filled with theRuach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

2 for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.

3 The Adversary said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order this stone to become bread.”

4 Yeshua answered him, “TheTanakhsays, ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”

5 The Adversary took him up, showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world,

6 and said to him, “I will give you all this power and glory. It has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I choose.

7 So if you will worship me, it will all be yours.”

8 Yeshua answered him, “TheTanakhsays, ‘WorshipAdonaiyour God and serve him only.’”

9 Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here!

10 For theTanakhsays,

‘He will order his angels

to be responsible for you and to protect you.

11 They will support you with their hands,

so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”

12 Yeshua answered him, “It also says, ‘Do not putAdonaiyour God to the test.’”

13 When the Adversary had ended all his testings, he let him alone until an opportune time.

14 Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside.

15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected him.

16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, onShabbathe went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,

17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit ofAdonaiis upon me;

therefore he has anointed me

to announce Good News to the poor;

he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned

and renewed sight for the blind,

to release those who have been crushed,

19 to proclaim a year of the favor ofAdonai.”

20 After closing the scroll and returning it to theshammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.

21 He started to speak to them: “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of theTanakhwas fulfilled!”

22 Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, “Can this be Yosef’s son?”

23 Then Yeshua said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me this proverb — ‘“Doctor, cure yourself!” We’ve heard about all the things that have been going on over in K’far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!’

24 Yes!” he said, “I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his home town.

25 It’s true, I’m telling you — when Eliyahu was in Isra’el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows;

26 but Eliyahu was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Tzarfat in the land of Tzidon.

27 Also there were many people withtzara‘atin Isra’el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na‘aman the Syrian.”

28 On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury.

29 They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off.

30 But he walked right through the middle of the crowd and went away.

31 He went down to K’far-Nachum, a town in the Galil, and made a practice of teaching them onShabbat.

32 They were amazed at the way he taught, because his word carried the ring of authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, who shouted in a loud voice,

34 “Yaah! What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”

35 But Yeshua rebuked it: “Be quiet, and come out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in the middle of the crowd and came out of him, having done him no harm.

36 They were all astounded and said to one another, “What kind of teaching is this? Why, he gives orders with power and authority to the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

37 And reports about him went out through the whole surrounding district.

38 Leaving the synagogue, he went to Shim‘on’s house. Shim‘on’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him to do something for her.

39 So, standing over her, he rebuked the fever; and it left her. She immediately got up and began helping them.

40 After sunset, all those who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Yeshua, and he put his hands on each one of them and healed them;

41 also demons came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But, rebuking them, he did not permit them to say that they knew he was the Messiah.

42 When day had come, he left and went away to a lonely spot. The people looked for him, came to him and would have kept him from leaving them.

43 But he said to them, “I must announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too — this is why I was sent.”

44 He also spent time preaching in the synagogues of Y’hudah.

1 One day, as Yeshua was standing on the shore of Lake Kinneret, with the people pressing in around him in order to hear the word of God,

2 he noticed two boats pulled up on the beach, left there by the fishermen, who were cleaning their nets.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Shim‘on, and asked him to put out a little way from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Shim‘on, “Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 Shim‘on answered, “We’ve worked hard all night long, Rabbi, and haven’t caught a thing! But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

6 They did this and took in so many fish that their nets began to tear.

7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both boats to the point of sinking.

8 When he saw this, Shim‘on Kefa fell at Yeshua’s knees and said, “Get away from me, sir, because I’m a sinner!”

9 For astonishment had seized him and everyone with him at the catch of fish they had taken,

10 and likewise both Ya‘akov and Yochanan, Shim‘on’s partners. “Don’t be frightened,” Yeshua said to Shim‘on, “from now on you will be catching men — alive!”

11 And as soon as they had beached their boats, they left everything behind and followed him.

12 Once, when Yeshua was in one of the towns, there came a man completely covered withtzara‘at. On seeing Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged him, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

13 Yeshua reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “Iamwilling! Be cleansed!” Immediately thetzara‘atleft him.

14 Then Yeshua warned him not to tell anyone. “Instead, as a testimony to the people, go straight to thecohenand make an offering for your cleansing, as Moshe commanded.”

15 But the news about Yeshua kept spreading all the more, so that huge crowds would gather to listen and be healed of their sicknesses.

16 However, he made a practice of withdrawing to remote places in order to pray.

17 One day when Yeshua was teaching, there wereP’rushimandTorah-teachers present who had come from various villages in the Galil and Y’hudah, also from Yerushalayim; and the power ofAdonaiwas with him to heal the sick.

18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. They wanted to bring him inside and lay him in front of Yeshua,

19 but they couldn’t find a way to get him in because of the crowd. So they went up onto the roof and lowered him on his mattress through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, right in front of Yeshua.

20 When Yeshua saw their trust, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 TheTorah-teachers and theP’rushimbegan thinking, “Who is this fellow that speaks such blasphemies? Who can forgive sin except God?”

22 But Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, answered, “Why are you turning over such thoughts in your hearts?

23 Which is easier to say? ‘Your sins are forgiven you’? or ‘Get up and walk’?

24 But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” He then said to the paralytic, “I say to you: get up, pick up your mattress and go home!”

25 Immediately, in front of everyone, he stood up, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.

26 Amazement seized them all, and they made ab’rakhahto God; they were awestruck, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

27 Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, “Follow me!”

28 He got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Levi gave a banquet at his house in Yeshua’s honor, and there was a large group of tax-collectors and others at the table with them.

30 TheP’rushimand theirTorah-teachers protested indignantly against histalmidim, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?”

31 It was Yeshua who answered them: “The ones who need a doctor aren’t the healthy but the sick.

32 I have not come to call the ‘righteous,’ but rather to call sinners to turn to God from their sins.”

33 Next they said to him, “Yochanan’stalmidimare always fasting anddavvening, and likewise thetalmidimof theP’rushim; but yours go on eating and drinking.”

34 Yeshua said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them?

35 The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and when that time comes, they will fast.”

36 Then he gave them an illustration: “No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; if he does, not only will the new one continue to rip, but the piece from the new will not match the old.

37 Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins too will be ruined.

38 On the contrary, new wine must be put into freshly prepared wineskins.

39 Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don’t want new; because they say, ‘The old is good enough.’”

1 OneShabbat, while Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields, histalmidimbegan plucking the heads of grain, rubbing them between their hands and eating the seeds.

2 Some of theP’rushimsaid, “Why are you violatingShabbat?”

3 Yeshua answered them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

4 He entered the House of God and took and ate the Bread of the Presence” — which no one is permitted to eat but thecohanim.

5 “The Son of Man,” he concluded, “is Lord ofShabbat.”

6 On anotherShabbat, when Yeshua had gone into the synagogue and was teaching, a man was there who had a shriveled hand.

7 TheTorah-teachers andP’rushimwatched Yeshua carefully to see if he would heal onShabbat, so that they could accuse him of something.

8 But he knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up and stand where we can see you!” He got up and stood there.

9 Then Yeshua said to them, “I ask you now: what is permitted onShabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or destroying it?”

10 Then, after looking around at all of them, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, his hand was restored.

11 But the others were filled with fury and began discussing with each other what they could do to Yeshua.

12 It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

13 When day came, he called histalmidimand chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries:

14 Shim‘on, whom he named Kefa; Andrew, his brother; Ya‘akov; Yochanan; Philip; Bar-Talmai;

15 Mattityahu; T’oma; Ya‘akov Ben-Halfai;

16 Shim‘on, the one called the Zealot; Y’hudah Ben-Ya‘akov; and Y’hudah from K’riot, who turned traitor.

17 Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of histalmidimwas there with great numbers of people from all Y’hudah, Yerushalayim and the coast around Tzor and Tzidon; they had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases.

18 Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being healed;

19 and the whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power kept going out from him, healing everyone.

20 He looked at histalmidimand said:

“How blessed are you poor!

for the Kingdom of God is yours.

21 “How blessed are you who are hungry!

for you will be filled.

“How blessed are you who are crying now!

for you will laugh.

22 “How blessed you are whenever people hate you and ostracize you and insult you and denounce you as a criminal on account of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad when that happens; yes, dance for joy! because in heaven your reward is great. For that is just how their fathers treated the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already had all the comfort you will get!

25 “Woe to you who are full now,

for you will go hungry!

“Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and cry!

26 “Woe to you when people speak well of you, for that is just how their fathers treated the false prophets!

27 Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this:

“Love your enemies!

Do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you,

pray for those who mistreat you.

29 “If someone hits you on one cheek,

offer the other too;

if someone takes your coat,

let him have your shirt as well.

30 “If someone asks you for something,

give it to him;

if someone takes what belongs to you,

don’t demand it back.

31 “Treat other people as you would like them to treat you.

32 What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them.

33 What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that.

34 What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children ofHa‘Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

36 Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.

37 “Don’t judge,

and you won’t be judged.

Don’t condemn,

and you won’t be condemned.

“Forgive,

and you will be forgiven.

38 Give,

and you will receive gifts —

the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can one blind man lead another blind man? Won’t they both fall into a pit?

40 Atalmidis not above his rabbi; but each one, when he is fully trained, will be like his rabbi.

41 So why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but not notice the log in your own eye?

42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter from your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother’s eye!

43 “For no good tree produces bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit.

44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit — figs aren’t picked from thorn bushes, nor grapes from a briar patch.

45 The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart.

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ but not do what I say?

47 Everyone who comes to me, hears my words and acts on them — I will show you what he is like:

48 he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn’t shake it, because it was constructed well.

49 And whoever hears my words but doesn’t act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!”

1 When Yeshua had finished speaking to the people, he went back to K’far-Nachum.

2 A Roman army officer there had a servant he regarded highly, who was sick to the point of death.

3 Hearing about Yeshua, the officer sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he come and heal his servant.

4 They came to Yeshua and pleaded earnestly with him, “He really deserves to have you do this,

5 for he loves our people — in fact, he built the synagogue for us!”

6 So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I’m not worthy to have you come under my roof —

7 this is why I didn’t presume to approach you myself. Instead, just give a command and let my servant recover.

8 For I too am a man set under authority. I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Isra’el have I found such trust!”

10 When the messengers got back to the officer’s house, they found the servant in good health.

11 The next day Yeshua, accompanied by histalmidimand a large crowd, went to a town called Na‘im.

12 As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he came close and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers halted. He said, “Young man, I say to you: get up!”

15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Yeshua gave him to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and, “God has come to help his people.”

17 This report about him spread throughout all Y’hudah and the surrounding countryside.

18 Yochanan’stalmidiminformed him of all these things. Then Yochanan called two of histalmidim

19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for someone else?”

20 When the men came to him, they said, “Yochanan the Immerser has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come? Or should we keep looking — for someone else?’”

21 Right then he was healing many people of diseases, pains and evil spirits, and giving sight to many who were blind.

22 So he answered them by saying, “Go, tell Yochanan what you have been seeing and hearing: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people withtzara‘atare being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor —

23 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”

24 When the messengers from Yochanan had gone, Yeshua began speaking to the crowds about Yochanan: “What did you go out into the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze?

25 No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? But people who dress beautifully and live in luxury are found in kings’ palaces.

26 Nu, so what did you go out to see? A prophet! Yes, and I tell you he’s much more than a prophet.

27 This is the one about whom theTanakhsays,

‘See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way before you.’

28 I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!”

29 All the people who heard him, even the tax-collectors, by undergoing Yochanan’s immersion acknowledged that God was right;

30 but theP’rushimand theTorah-teachers, by not letting themselves be immersed by him, nullified for themselves God’s plan.

31 “Therefore,” said the Lord, “how can I describe the people of this generation? What are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling to one another,

‘We made happy music, but you wouldn’t dance!

We made sad music, but you wouldn’t cry!’

33 For Yochanan has come not eating bread and not drinking wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’

35 Well, the proof of wisdom is in all the kinds of people it produces.”

36 One of theP’rushiminvited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of theParushand took his place at the table.

37 A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of theParush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume,

38 stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

39 When theParushwho had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner.”

40 Yeshua answered, “Shim‘on, I have something to say to you.” “Say it, Rabbi,” he replied.

41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other.

42 When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Shim‘on answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “Your judgment is right,” Yeshua said to him.

44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim‘on, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house — you didn’t give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair!

45 You didn’t give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet!

46 You didn’t put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet!

47 Because of this, I tell you that her sins — which are many! — have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little.”

48 Then he said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

49 At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, “Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?”

50 But he said to the woman, “Your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

1 After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve,

2 and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses — Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out;

3 Yochanah the wife of Herod’s finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him.

4 After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable:

5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up.

6 Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture.

7 Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

8 But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”

9 Histalmidimasked him what this parable might mean,

10 and he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.

11 “The parable is this: the seed is God’s message.

12 The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it.

13 The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root — they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize.

14 As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life’s gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures.

15 But what fell in rich soil — these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.

16 “No one who has lit a lamp covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed; no, he puts it on a stand; so that those coming in may see the light.

17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing is covered up that will not be known and come out into the open.

18 Pay attention, then, to how you hear! For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

19 Then Yeshua’s mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get near him because of the crowd.

20 It was reported to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

21 But he gave them this answer: “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s message and act on it!”

22 One day Yeshua got into a boat with histalmidimand said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

23 So they set out; and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat began to fill up with water, putting them in great danger.

24 They went and woke him, saying, “Rabbi! Rabbi! We’re about to die!” He woke up, rebuked the wind and the rough water; and they calmed down, so that it was still.

25 Then he said to thetalmidim, “Where is your trust?” Awestruck, they marveled, asking one another, “Who can this be, that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?”

26 They sailed on and landed in the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite the Galil.

27 As Yeshua stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons came to meet him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; and he lived, not in a house, but in the burial caves.

28 Catching sight of Yeshua, he screamed, fell down in front of him and yelled, “Yeshua! Son of GodHa‘Elyon! What do you want with me? I beg you, don’t torture me!”

29 For Yeshua had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often taken hold of him — he had been kept under guard, chained hand and foot, but had broken the bonds and been driven by the demon into the desert.

30 Yeshua asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he said, because many demons had entered him.

31 They begged Yeshua not to order them to go off into the Bottomless Pit.

32 Now there was a herd of many pigs, feeding on the hill; and the demons begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them permission.

33 The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, whereupon the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the town and in the country;

35 and the people came out to see for themselves. They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting — dressed and in his right mind — at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened.

36 Those who had seen it told how the formerly demonized man had been delivered.

37 Then all the people of the Gerasene district asked him to leave them, for they had been seized with great fear. So he boarded the boat and returned.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might go with him; but Yeshua sent him away, saying,

39 “Go back to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” He went away proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Yeshua had done for him.

40 When Yeshua got back, the crowd welcomed him; for they were all expecting him.

41 Then there came a man named Ya’ir who was president of the synagogue. Falling at Yeshua’s feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house;

42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old; and she was dying.

As he went, with the crowds on every side virtually choking him,

43 a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

44 came up behind him and touched thetzitziton his robe; instantly her hemorrhaging stopped.

45 Yeshua asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied doing it, Kefa said, “Rabbi! The crowds are hemming you in and jostling you!”

46 But Yeshua said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out of me.”

47 Seeing she could not escape notice, the woman, quaking with fear, threw herself down before him and confessed in front of everyone why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.

48 He said to her, “My daughter, your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

49 While Yeshua was still speaking, a man came from the synagogue president’s house. “Your daughter has died,” he said. “Don’t bother the rabbi any more.”

50 But on hearing this, Yeshua answered him, “Don’t be afraid! Just go on trusting, and she will be made well.”

51 When he arrived at the house, he didn’t allow anyone to go in with him except Kefa, Yochanan, Ya‘akov and the child’s father and mother

52 All the people were wailing and mourning for her; but he said, “Don’t weep; she hasn’t died, she’s sleeping.”

53 They jeered at him, since they knew she had died.

54 But he took her by the hand, called out, “Little girl, get up!”

55 and her spirit returned. She stood up at once, and he directed that something be given her to eat.

56 Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.