Day 234 of 365

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

²"Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him."

³And when King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written through the prophet,

⁶'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a ruler, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.'"

⁷Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him."

⁹And they, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

¹⁰And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

¹¹And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²Being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."

¹⁴And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,

¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.

¹⁷Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

¹⁸"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are no more."

¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

²⁰"Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead."

²¹And he arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,

²³and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he will be called a Nazorean.

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

³He came into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.

⁴As it is written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.

⁶All flesh will see God's salvation.'"

⁷He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!

⁹Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰The multitudes asked him, "What then must we do?"

¹¹He answered them, "He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise."

¹²Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what must we do?"

¹³He said to them, "Collect no more than that which is appointed to you."

¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?" He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."

¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Messiah,

¹⁶John answered them all, "I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,

¹⁷whose fan is in his hand, to thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

¹⁸Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,

¹⁹but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,

²⁰added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased."

²³Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Eli,

²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Shimei, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

²⁷the son of John, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan,

³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

¹And in those days John the Baptist came, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

²"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!"

³For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight."

⁴Now John himself wore clothing made of camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him,

⁶and they were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance,

⁹and do not think to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

¹⁰"And even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

¹¹I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire."

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.

¹⁴But John would have hindered him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?"

¹⁵But Jesus, answering, said to him, "Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.

¹⁶And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.

¹⁷And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.

³And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

⁴But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

⁵Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will put his angels in charge of you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.'"

⁷Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'You shall not test the Lord, your God.'"

⁸Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.

⁹And he said to him, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me."

¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.'"

¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

¹²Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.

¹³And leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

¹⁴that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁵"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

¹⁶the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned."

¹⁷From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, and to say, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

¹⁸And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁹And he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men."

²⁰And they immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, Jacob the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

²²And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³And he went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴And the report about him went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.

²⁵And great multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.