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John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(a)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (b)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (f)John appeared, baptizing in ^(g)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(h)a baptism of ⁽ⁱ⁾repentance ^(j)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(k)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(l)clothed with camel's hair and ^(m)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ⁽ⁿ⁾locusts and ^(o)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(p)"After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(r)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (s)In those days Jesus ^(t)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(u)saw ^(v)the heavens being torn open ^(w)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(x)a voice came from heaven, ^(y)"You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased."

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (aa)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(ab)tempted by ^(ac)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(ad)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (ae)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(af)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(ag)"The time is fulfilled, and ^(ah)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[e] (ai)}repent and believe in the gospel."

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^16 (aj)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become ^(ak)fishers of men."^{[f] 18} And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

^21 (al)And they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^(am)on the Sabbath ^(an)he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And ^(ao)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(ap)for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ^24 (aq)"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(ar)I know who you are—^(as)the Holy One of God." ²⁵ But Jesus ^(at)rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, ^(au)convulsing him and ^(av)crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(aw)amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? ^(ax)A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (ay)And immediately he^{[g] (az)}left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now ^(ba)Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ And he came and ^(bb)took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^(bc)oppressed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ^34 (bd)And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^(be)he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^35 (bf)And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^(bg)there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, ^(bh)"Everyone is looking for you." ³⁸ And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^(bi)that is why I came out." ^39 (bj)And ^(bk)he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

^40 (bl)And a leper^[h] came to him, imploring him, and ^(bm)kneeling said to him, ^(bn)"If you will, you can make me clean." ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And ^(bo)Jesus^[i] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, ^(bp)"See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(bq)show yourself to the priest and ^(br)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^(bs)for a proof to them." ^45 (bt)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^(bu)a town, but was out in ^(bv)desolate places, and ^(bw)people were coming to him from every quarter.