49 Whereupon he said to them, Why did you seek me? Did 50 you not know that I must be at my father's? But they did not 51 comprehend the meaning of what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and continued 52 subject to them. And his mother kept all these things in her mind. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. III. Now in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea; and Herod, tetrarch of Galilee; and his brother Philip, tetrarch of Iturea 2 and the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias, being tetrarch of Abilene-in the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas, a word of 3 God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness, and he went into all the country along the Jordan, proclaiming a 4 baptism of reformation for a forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, "A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord: make the roads for him straight. Let every valley be filled 5 up; and every mountain and hill levelled; and let the crooked 6 be made a straight road, and the rough ways, smooth. And 7 all flesh shall see the salvation of God.*" Therefore to the multitudes who came out to be baptized by him, he said, Offspring of vipers! who hath warned you to flee from the im8 pending wrath? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of this reformation: and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that out of these 9 stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Now, indeed, the axe is at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which doth not produce good fruit, is cut down and cast into 10 the fire. And when the people asked him, saying, What then 11 shall we do? He in reply, said to them, Let him who hath two coats impart to him who hath none: and let him who hath pro12 visions, do the same. And when publicans came to be bap13 tized, and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do? He said to 14 them, Exact no more that what is enjoined you. And when soldiers asked him, saying, And what shall we do? He said VOL. IV. *Es, 40. 3. 15 to them, Injure no man, either by violence or false accusation, and be content with your wages. And as the people were in suspense, and all were reasoning in their minds concerning John, That he perhaps might 16 be THE CHRIST, John addressed them all, saying, I, indeed, baptize you in water; but there is one coming; who is mightier than I; the latchet of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. 17 He will baptize you in a holy spirit and fire. His winnowing instrument is in his hand; and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor, and gather together the wheat for his granary; 18 but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Thus, with many other exhortations, he published the glad tidings to the 19 people. But Herod, the tetrarch, being reproved by him, for 20 Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the crimes which he had committed, added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison. 21 Now, while all the people were receiving baptism, Jesus 22 also being baptized, and praying; the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit, in a bodily form, came down like a dove upon him, and there came a voice from heaven, saying, "Thou art my son, the Beloved; in thee I am well pleased." Now this 23 very Jesus had been about thirty years under governance, be ing, as was supposed, a son of Joseph, son of Eli, son of Mat24 that, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Janna, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Naum, son of Esli, 26 son of Naggai, son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semei, 27 son of Joseph, son of Juda, son of Joanna, son of Rhesa, son 28 of Zorobabel, son of Salathiel, son of Neri, son of Melchi, son 29 of Addi, son of Kosam, son of Elmodam, son of Er, son of 30 Jose, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Symeon, son of Juda, son of Joseph, son of Jo31 nan, son of Eliakim, son of Melea, son of Mainan, son of 32 Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, son of Jessai, son of 33 Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Naasson, son of 34 Aminadab, son of Aram, son of Esrom, son of Phares, son of $5 Juda, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of 36 Thara, son of Nachor, son of Saruch, son of Ragau, son of 37 Phalec, son of Eber, son of Sala, son of Kainan, son of Arphax ed, son of Sem, son of Noe, son of Lamech, son of Mathusa 38 la, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Maleleel, son of Kainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God. IV. Now Jesus being full of a holy spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the wilderness; and be2 ing forty days tempted by the devil, he ate nothing during 3 those days. And when they were ended, he at length was hungry. Whereupon the devil said to him, If thou art Son of God, 4 command that stone to become a loaf of bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man can live, not by 5 bread only, but by whatever God appointeth.* Now the devil having taken him up to a high mountain, had shewed him all 6 the kingdoms of the inhabited land, in a moment of time, and the devil said to him, To thee I will give all this dominion and the glory of these; for to me it is delivered over, and I give 7 it to whom I please. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all 8 shall be thine. Thereupon Jesus, answering him, said, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, “Thou shalt worship 9 the Lord thy God, and him only thou shalt serve." He had also brought him to Jerusalem and placed him on the battle10 ment of the temple, and said to him, If thou art the son of God, throw thyself down from this; for it is written, that “He 11 will give his angels a charge concerning thee to preserve thee;" and that "With their hands they will bear thee up, 12 shouldst thou peradventure dash thy foot against a stone." In reply to which, Jesus said to him, It is said, "Thou shalt 13 not try the Lord thy God." And when the devil had ended every trial, he departed from him for a time. 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee, and a report went forth through all the neighbouring country, 15 concerning him. He indeed taught in their synagogues with 16 universal applause. And when he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went according to his custom to the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And the 17 book of the prophet Esaias was delivered to him. And having 18 unrolled the volume, he found the place where it was written, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the business for which *Deut. 8. 3. Deut. 6. 13. Ps. 91. 11. &c. §Deut. 6. 16. he anointed me. He hath sent me to publish glad tidings to the poor; to heal them who are broken hearted; to proclaim a deliverance to captives; and a recovery of sight, to the blind; to set at liberty the bruised; to proclaim the acceptable year 19 of the Lord." And when he had rolled up the volume and 20 given it to the attendant, he sat down. And the eyes of all in 21 the synagogue being fixed on him, he began with saying to them, This day there is an accomplishment of this scripture, which you have just heard. And all bore testimony in his fa22 vour, and expressed admiration at the graceful words which 23 proceeded from his mouth, and said, Is not this the son of Joseph? Upon which he said to them, You will doubtless apply to me this proverb-Physician heal thyself: what we have heard done in Capernaum, do here also in thine own country. 24 Then he said to them, Verily I say to you, No prophet is well 25 received in his own country. And indeed I tell you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, so that there 26 was a great famine over all the land; but Elias was sent to none of them, but to a widow woman at Sarepta, a city of 27 Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the days of Eliseus the prophet, but none of them was cleansed-none 28 but Neeman the Syrian. At hearing this, all that were in the 29 synagogue were filled with wrath, and rising up, they drove him out of the city, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, in order to throw him down 30 headlong. But he, having passed through the midst of them, went away. 31 When he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, 32 and was teaching them on the sabbath days, they were as33 tonished at his manner of teaching, for his discourse was with authority. And there was in the synagogue a man, who had 34 a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried with a loud voice, saying, Hah! What hast thou to do with us, Jesus of Naza35 reth! Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art. The holy one of God. Thereupon Jesus rebuked him, saying, Es. 61. 1, &c. Be silent and go out of him. And the demon having thrown the man in the midst, went out of him without hurting him. 36 And they were all amazed, and said to one another, What is the meaning of this, that with authority and power he com 37 mandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out? And his fame spread through all the neighbouring country. 38 When he withdrew from the synagogue he went to the house of Simon. Now Simon's mother in law was confined with a violent fever, and they besought him on her behalf. 39 Whereupon standing over her, he rebuked the fever and it left her; and she arose immediately and waited upon them. 40 And when the sun was set, all that had any sick of any kind of disease, brought them to him; and he, laying his hands on 41 every one of them, healed them. Now demons indeed used to go out of many, screaming and saying, Thou art the Christ the son of God; but he, rebuking them, did not suffer them to say that they knew him to be the Christ. 42 Now, having gone out as day was coming on, he went to a solitary place; and the people sought him, and went out to 43 him, and pressed him not to leave them. But he said to them, I must publish the glad tidings of the reign of God in other 44 cities also, because I am sent for this purpose. Accordingly he proceeded on, making proclamation in the synagogues of Galilee. V. And it came to pass when the people were pressing up- on him to hear the word of God, as he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, he saw two boats by the edge of the lake, 2 and the fishermen, having gone out of them, were washing 3 their nets. So, going on board one of them, which belonged to Simon, he desired him to put off a little from the land. 4 And sitting down, he taught the people from the vessel. And when he had done speaking, he said to Simon, Row into deep 5 water, and let down your nets for a draught. Upon which Simon, answering, said to him, Master, we have been toiling all. 6 night, and have caught nothing. However, at thy word, I will let down the net. And, having done this, they enclosed such 7 a great multitude of fishes that their net began to break. Whereupon they beckoned to their partners in the other vessel to come and help them. So they came, and they filled |