25 his wife; and he knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name Jesus.

II. Now when Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judæa,

in the days of Herod the king, lo! there came magians 2 from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is the king of the Jews that hath been born? for we saw his star in the 3 East, and came to do him homage. But when Herod the king heard of these things, he was troubled, and all Jeru4 salem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and

scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ 5 was to be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of 6 Judæa; for thus it is written by the prophet: "And thou

7

Bethlehem, land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a ruler, who shall feed my people Israel."*

Then Herod, having privately called the magians, ascertained from them exactly the time when the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search carefully for the child; and when ye have found him, bring 9 me word, that I also may go and do him homage. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo! the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them, till 10 it came and stood over where the child was. When they 11 saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy; and

when they had come into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and did homage to him; and opening their treasures, they presented him 12 gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

Ver. 25. Comp. Luke ii. 7, 11.

Ver. 25. In some manuscripts, her first-born son. Chap. II. 1. devoted themselves to astrology and kindred arts.

―magians; i.e. Persian, Median, or

Chaldæan priests, whe * Mic. v. 2.

13

And when they had gone, lo! an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain

there until I speak to thee; for Herod will seek the child, 14 to destroy him. And he arose, and took the child and his 15 mother by night, and went to Egypt; and was there until

the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "I 16 called my son out of Egypt." Then Herod, when he

saw that he had been deceived by the magians, was greatly enraged; and sent forth, and slew all the male. children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time 17 which he had ascertained from the magians. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the 18 prophet, saying, "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they were no 19 more."† But when Herod was dead, lo! an angel of the 20 Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel; for they who sought the child's life are 21 dead. And he arose, and took the child and his mother, 22 and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judæa in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, 23 and came and took up his abode in a city called Naza reth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets," He will be called a Nazarene."

III. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the

Reference unknown; possibly to the Hebrew word netser, which is translated branch, in Isa. xi. 1.

2 wilderness of Judæa, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of 3 heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of

through Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, 4 make straight his paths!"* And John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5

Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and 6 all the country about the Jordan; and were baptized by 7 him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warned 8 you to flee from the coming wrath? Bring forth there9 fore fruit worthy of repentance, and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise 10 up children to Abraham. And already is the axe lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that beareth not good fruit is to be cut down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you in water, for repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit 12 and in fire. His winnowing-shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.

13

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, 14 to be baptized by him. But John opposed him, saying, I have need to be baptized by thee, and dost thou come 15 to me? And Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

Chap. III. 1-17. Comp. Mark i. 1-11; Luke iii. 1-22; John i. 6.

⚫ Is. xl. 3.

16 Then he suffered him. And Jesus, as soon as he was baptized, went up from the water; and, lo! the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God, descending like a 17 dove, coming upon him. And lo! a voice from the heav

ens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

IV. Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilder2 ness, to be tempted by the Devil. And when he had fasted 3 forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceedeth 5 from the mouth of God."* Then the Devil taketh him into the holy city, and setteth him on the pinnacle of the 6 temple; and saith to him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, "He will give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they will bear thee up, that thou mayst not dash thy foot against a 7 stone." Jesus said to him, Again it is written, "Thou 8 shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God." Again, the Devil taketh him to an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and their 9 glory; and said to him, All these things will I give thee, 10 if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus

to him, Be gone, Satan! for it is written, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."§ 11 Then the Devil leaveth him; and lo! angels came and ministered to him.

12

Now when Jesus heard that John had been cast intc

Chap. IV. 1-11. Comp. Mark i. 12, 13; Luke iv. 1-13.

Ver. 12-17. Comp. Mark i. 14, 15; Luke iv. 14, 15, 81.

13 prison, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazara, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, on the shore of the lake, 14 in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali; that it might be

fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, say15 ing, “The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the lake beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gen16 tiles, the people that sat in darkness, saw a great light; and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light arose

17

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Re18 pent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And while walking by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into 19 the lake; for they were fishers. And he saith to them, 20 Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And 21 they immediately left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, aud John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called 22 them. And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23

And he went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among 24 the people. And his fame went forth into all Syria; and they brought to him all that were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were possessed by demons, and lunatics, and those who were struck with 25 palsy; and he healed them. And great multitudes followed

66

Ver. 17. Repent. The prominent meaning of the Greek term is change of sentiment and character. Repentance is a whole volume of duty, to which godly sorrow is but the titlepage."

Ver. 18-22. Comp. Mark i. 16-20; Luke v. 1-11.

Ver. 28-25. Comp. Mark i. 39; Luke iv. 44; Mark i. 28, iii. 7, 8; Luke vi. 17-19.

* Isa. ix. 1, 2.