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¹ Now Jesus being full of the holy spirit, return'd from Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the desart, ² being forty days tempted by the devil, without eating any thing all that while: but that time expired, he at last was seiz'd with hunger. ³ then the devil said to him; if you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread. ⁴ but Jesus answered him, it is written , "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every thing that God appoints." ⁵ then the devil took him to the top of a high mountain, and in an instant represented to him all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ all this power, said he, will I give thee, and the glory of them: for they are at my disposal, and where I please, I bestow them. ⁷ if therefore you will worship me, they shall be all your own. ⁸ but Jesus answered him, avant, satan, for it is written, "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." ⁹ next, the devil brought him to Jerusalem, and setting him on the battlements of the temple, said to him, if you be the son of God, throw your self down from this height, ¹⁰ for it is written, "he shall charge his angels to watch for your preservation: ¹¹ and they shall bear you up in their hands, for fear your foot should hit against a stone." ¹² but Jesus replied, it is said, "thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." ¹³ and when the whole temptation was ended, the devil left him for a time.

¹⁴ Jesus return'd by the influence of the spirit into Galilee, where his same quickly spread over all the country; ¹⁵ for he preach'd in their synagogues with universal applause. ¹⁶ being come to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; according to his custom, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, and standing up to read, ¹⁷ they delivered to him the book of the prophet Esaias, and upon opening the book, that passage occurr'd, where it is written, ¹⁸ "the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, ¹⁹ to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord." ²⁰ then he closed the book, and returning it to the minister, he sat down: and as the eyes of the whole synagogue were fix'd with attention upon him, ²¹ he undertook to show them, how the passage they had heard, was actually then accomplished. ²² They all applauded him, and were surprized, that what he said, was delivered with so much grace. but they objected, is not this the son of Joseph? ²³ upon which he said, no doubt you will urge me with this proverb, "physician heal thy self. what we have heard you perform'd in Capernaum, do likewise here in your own country." ²⁴ but in truth, added he, no prophet was ever well received in his own country. ²⁵ I assure you, though there were many widows in Israel, when the heaven had furnished no rain for three years and a half, and a great famine spread through all the land: ²⁶ yet to none of them was Elias sent, except to one widow in Sarepta, a city of Sidon. ²⁷ and there were many lepers in the time of Elisha the prophet: yet none of them obtain'd a cure, except Naaman the Syrian. ²⁸ upon hearing this, the whole synagogue were incensed against him. ²⁹ and breaking up the assembly, they drove him out of the city, to the precipice of the hill, upon which it was built, in order to throw him headlong down. ³⁰ but he pass'd thro' the midst of them and went away.

³¹ At length he went to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath-days. ³² and they were astonished at his doctrine, for he spoke with authority. ³³ now there was in the synagogue a man possess'd with the spirit of an impure demon, who roar'd out, in these words, let us alone; ³⁴ what business have you with us, Jesus of Nazareth? are you come to destroy us? I know who you are; the saint of God. ³⁵ but Jesus rebuk'd him, saying, be dumb, and come out of him. upon which the demon threw him down in the midst of the assembly, and came out, without doing him any harm. ³⁶ and they were all amazed, and said to one another, what's the meaning of this? with authority and power he commands the impure spirits, and they come out! ³⁷ and his fame spread through all the neighbouring country. ³⁸ When Jesus came out of the synagogue, he went to Simon's house, whose mother-in-law was seized with a violent fever, and they desired him to relieve her. ³⁹ so approaching near her, he order'd the fever to leave her, and it left her. upon which she immediately arose, and waited upon them at table. ⁴⁰ As soon as the sun was set, all sorts of diseased persons were brought before him by their friends, and he healed them all, by laying his hands upon them. ⁴¹ many were dispossess'd of the demons, who cried aloud, you are the Messiah, the son of God. but he rebuked them, and would not suffer them to declare, that they knew him to be the Messiah. ⁴² When it was day, he retired into a desart place, where the people searching for him, found him out, and as they earnestly press'd him not to leave them, ⁴³ he said to them, I must likewise proclaim the kingdom of God in other cities; for to that end am I sent. ⁴⁴ accordingly he went preaching in the synagogues through all Galilee.